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1  41972 
THE    JOURNAL    ^^ 

OF 

THE  EOYAL  SOCIETY   OF   ANTIQUAKIES 

OF  IRELAND 
FOR   THE   YEAR   1903. 

PAPERS  AND  PROCEEDINGS-PART  L,  VOL.  XXXIII, 


ADDRESS  DELIVERED  AT  THE  ANNUAL  GENERAL  MEETING 
ON  TUESDAY,  27in  JANUARY,   1903. 

BY  JOHN  RIBTON  GARSTIN,  M.A.,  M.R.I.A.,  F.S.A.  (LOND.  AND  SCOT.), 

D.L.,  PRESIDENT. 


PRELIMINARY  AND  PERSONAL. 

FELLOWS  AND  MEMBERS  OF  THE 

ROYAL  SOCIETY  OP  ANTIQUARIES  OF  IRELAND  — 

IN  accordance  with  the  usage  of  our  Society,  its  President,  on 
entering  on  his  three-years  term  of  office,  has  to  deliver,  on  the  evening 
of  the  day  of  his  election,  an  Inaugural  Address.  The  time  available  for 
its  preparation  is  very  limited  ;  and  it  might  be  thought  advisable  to 
postpone  the  performance  of  this  duty  to  a  later  date. 

I  prefer,  however,  to  take  the  earliest  opportunity  of  meeting  the 
Fellows  and  Members  of  the  Society,  and  expressing  to  them  my  thanks 
for  the  honour  they  have  done  me. 

I  am  conscious  of  suffering  under  the  disqualifications  of  living  at  a 
considerable  distance  from  Dublin,  and  of  having  reached  an  age  which 
involved  my  having  twice  been  retired  from  the  office  of  Vice-President 


Tm,r  K  <;  A  T  $  VoL  XI1I-»  Fifth  Ser. 
Jour.  R.b.A.I.  I  ^  Cd£sec>  ger< 


[ALL    RIGHTS    RESERVED.] 


2  ROYAL   SOCIETY   OF   ANTIQUARIES    OF    IRELAND. 

on  account  of  seniority*  A  similar  fate  has  happened  to  me  in  the 
Royal  Irish  Academy ;  and  it  is  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century  since  I 
withdrew  from  its  Treasurership,  on  removing  to  the  country. 

"While  it  was  my  pleasing  duty  to  serve  the  Academy  in  that  office, 
along  with  your  late  President,  who  for  many  years  was  elected  to  the 
onerous  office  of  Secretary,  I  was  often  tempted  to  regard  this  Society  as 
one  admirably  adapted  to  train  recruits  for  the  Academy ;  but,  since  it 
has  been  your  pleasure  to  place  at  your  head  two  retired  officers  of  that 
body,  I  am  disposed  to  believe  that,  besides  its  chartered  function  of 
promoting  the  study  of  science,  polite  literature,  and  antiquities,  it 
performs  another  useful  function,  namely,  the  training  and  supplying  of 
Presidents  to  this  less  venerable  and  more  popular  Society,  which  exhibits 
an  activity,  perhaps  attributable  to  youth. 

The  disqualifications  of  age  in  your  President  and  distance  from 
Dublin  may  have  some  compensatory  advantages.  Age  is  generally 
credited  with  wisdom,  and  seems  appropriate  in  a  Society  of  Antiquaries. 
And  as  regards  my  residence  in  the  country,  it  may  be  well  that  a  Society 
which  originated  in  the  provincial  city  of  Kilkenny,  which  not  only 
claims  all  Ireland  as  its  domain,  but  year  after  year  exploits  it  to  its 
furthest  corners,  which  has  officials  for  every  province  and  every  county, 
and  which  draws  so  large  a  number  of  its  members  from  beyond  the 
limits  of  the  capital,  should  occasionally  look  afield  and  select  a  President 
from  the  Provinces. 

There  were,  however,  two  other  considerations  which  made  me  hesitate 
when  I  was  asked  if  I  would  allow  my  name  to  be  put  forward  for  the 
office.  I  was  painfully  conscious  that  I  had  not  done  much  for  this 
Society,  and  that  I  should  come  after  one  under  whose  presidency  it  had 
attained  to  a  position  of  remarkable  prosperity.  Dr.  Wright,  I  knew 
well,  brought  to  its  service  exceptionally  great  experience,  knowledge, 
and  zeal ;  and  he  further  had  the  advantage  of  leisure  in  the  midst  of 
the  abodes  of  learning.  All  of  us,  doubtless,  recognise  how  well  and 
wisely  he  has  guided  the  work  of  the  Society ;  and  it  is  satisfactory  to 
know  that,  as  a  Yice -President — albeit  transplanted  to  Munster — we  shall 
still  have  his  counsel  and  co-operation. 

SUBJECTS  FOE  ADDEESS. 

"When,  last  month,  it  became  necessary  for  me  to  consider  what  topics 
to  bring  before  you  in  this  address,  I  was  embarrassed  by  the  unlimited 
range  available.  The  past,  the  present,  and  the  future  all  suggest 
subjects  worthy  of  your  attention ;  but  I  concluded  that,  in  addressing  a 
Society  of  Antiquaries,  my  choice  should  lead  me  to  deal  chiefly  with  the 
past. 


PRESIDENT'S  ADDRESS.  3 

Looking  backwards,  then,  through  the  three  years  of  my  predecessor's 
presidency,  my  attention  was  arrested  by  the  recent  Coronation  of  King 
Edward  YII.  and  some  events  following  on  his  accession  to  the  Throne. 
As  Prince  of  Wales,  he  had  long  been  Patron-in-Chief  of  our  Society,  and 
now,  as  King,  he  is  still  graciously  pleased  to  occupy  that  position. 

To  His  Royal  Mother,  Queen  Victoria,  this  Irish  Society  of 
Antiquaries  is  indebted  for  being  permitted — alone  amongst  the  Societies 
of  Antiquaries  of  the  United  Kingdom — to  prefix  to  its  title,  since  1869, 
the  epithet  "Royal";  and,  accordingly,  in  its  badge,  which  figures  in 
the  forefront  of  its  publications,  a  crown  occupies  the  most  prominent 
position. 

One  might  be  tempted  to  expatiate  on  the  unrivalled  antiquity  of 
the  Royal  line  which  King  Edward  represents.  One  might  moralize 
on  the  various  dynasties  through  which,  from  Saxon  times,  the  crown 
has  devolved — Danish,  Norman,  Angevin,  Tudor,  Stuart,  Hanoverian — 
until,  by  the  accession  of  King  Edward,  it  has  again  reverted  to  a  Saxon 
Monarch,  and  one  of  a  race  so  ancient  that  its  name  is  now  almost 
unknown.  Strange  it  is  to  reflect  that  this  metropolis,  which  was  so 
long  under  the  dominion  of  Danish  or  Scandinavian  Kings  (whose  coins 
are  almost  the  earliest  to  perplex  our  antiquaries),  now  owes  allegiance 
to  a  Danish  Queen. 

But  I  prefer  to  avoid  such  discursive  topics,  and  to  refer  briefly  to 
the  way  in  which  the  advent  of  a  new  Sovereign  and  some  consequent 
^events  have  affected  Ireland,  chiefly  in  relation  to  the  coinage, 

I  take  up  this  topic  the  more  readily,  because,  though  this  country 
and  this  Society  in  the  past  century  possessed  many  notable  numismatists, 
such  as  Lindsay,  Simon,  Aquilla  Smith,  and  Dr.  Frazer,  this  important 
branch  of  historical  research  seems  nowadays  to  be  but  fitfully  cultivated. 
It  may  be  that  the  study  of  postage  stamps,  and  what  the  President  of 
another  society,  in  his  valedictory  address,  a  few  days  ago,  stigmatized 
as  the  "  craze  "  for  book-plates,  have  monopolised  most  of  the  available 
zeal,  in  favour  of  more  fashionable,  if  less  instructive,  researches.  Our 
antiquarian  journals,  which  used  to  contain  countless  representations  of 
coins,  now  seldom  have  a  contribution  on  the  subject.  That  of 
Mr.  Patterson  on  the  comparatively  modern  Cronebane,  or  St.  Patrick's 
•"  half-pence,"  in  the  last  volume  of  our  Journal  (p.  261),  was,  therefore, 
the  more  welcome. 

THE  CORONATION  STONE. 

First,  however,  let  me  say  a  few  words  as  to  Ireland's  share  in  the 
Coronation  itself.  A  volume  might  be  written  about  the  famous  Lia  Fail, 
or  Stone  of  Destiny,  which,  since  its  removal  from  Scotland  in  1296,  has 
been  used  at  every  Coronation  in  Westminster  Abbey.  Its  early  history 

B2 


4  ROYAL   SOCIETY    OF   ANTIQUARIES    OF   IRELAND. 

and  the  controversies  which  have  raged  about  its  supposed  connexion 
with  Tara  and  the  early  monarchs  of  Ireland,  with  the  Pharaoh  of  the 
Exodus,  with  Egypt  and  Spain,  with  the  Milesian  incursion  into  Ireland, 
and  its  alleged  identity  with  the  stone  on  which  Jacob  rested  his  head  at 
Bethel,  have  engaged  the  pens  of  many  antiquaries,  and  of  some 
romancers.  Mr.  P.  J.  O'Reilly  contributed  to  our  Journal  of  last  year 
(p.  77)  a  valuable  series  of  notes  on  this  stone;  and  I  refer  any  one  who 
desires  to  see  its  history  concisely  told  to  a  paper  written  by  Mr.  James 
Hilton  for  the  Royal  Arch  geological  Society  in  1887,  and  to  the  summary 
of  it  in  the  beautiful  "  Coronation  Book  "  of  Mr.  "W.  J.  Loftie,  F.S.A. 
He  says  that  the  actual  stone,  though  often  described  as  marble, 
"  is  really  a  piece  of  hard  red  sandstone,  such  as  occurs  in  many  places  in 
Scotland,  and  especially  in  Argyllshire,  where  its  authentic  history  may 
be  said  to  begin." 

This  is  just  one  of  the  cases — like  the  state  of  the  tide  at  the  battle 
of  Clontarf,  solved  by  Dr.  Haughton — where  the  perplexities  of  anti- 
quaries might  expect  aid  from  the  votaries  of  science.  Accordingly 
Professors  Ramsay  and  Geikie,  and  several  other  geologists,  were  invited 
to  aid,  and  the  silent  stone  was  subjected  to  microscopical  and  chemical 
examination.  The  result  was  mainly  negative,  and  tended  to  displace  the 
claims  of  Palestine,  of  Egypt,  and,  alas,  of  Tara,  which  were  pronounced 
destitute  of  the  red  sandstone  of  the  Lia  Pail.  Much  scientific  evidence 
has,  however,  been  since  adduced  to  prove  that  this  class  of  stone  is  found 
in  Moab,  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  Red  Sea,  and  also  in  Egypt ;  so, 
perhaps,  Tara  may  yet  be  able  to  have  its  claim  rehabilitated.  Belfast, 
however,  possesses  a  stone  which  is  said  to  have  been  the  Coronation 
Stone  of  the  O'Neill  monarchs. 

The  Regalia  of  England  was  broken  up  after  the  decapitation  of 
Charles  I.,  and,  at  the  Restoration,  a  new  set  had  to  be  provided  for  the 
Coronation  of  Charles  II.  A  crown  of  his  passed  into  private  hands,  and 
is,  with  others,  in  the  possession  of  Lord  Amherst  of  Hackney.  The 
various  vicissitudes  of  the  crowns  would  take  too  long  to  recount.  It  is 
a  remarkable  fact  that  the  oldest  crown  pertaining  to  the  King  is  that  of 
Scotland.  Two  elaborate  and  beautifully-illustrated  accounts  of  the 
Scottish  Regalia,  by  Messrs.  Reid  and  Brook,  were  prepared  for  the 
Society  of  Antiquaries  of  Scotland,  and  published  by  it  in  1890.  After 
the  Union  of  Scotland  with  England,  in  1707,  the  Regalia,  including  the 
Crown  arid  Sceptre  and  a  very  beautiful  Sword  of  State,  given  by  Pope 
Julius  II.  in  1507,  were  deposited  in  a  great  oak  chest  in  the  Castle  of 
Edinburgh.  There  they  lay  until  1818,  hidden  and  almost  forgotten 
for  over  a  century.  In  that  year,  partly  at  the  instance  of  Sir  Walter 
Scott,  the  oak  chest  was  opened.  This  was  done  by  driving  out  the 
joint-pins  of  one  hasp  and  cutting  through  the  other ;  for  the  keys,  of 
course,  were  not  forthcoming. 


PRESIDENT'S  ADDRESS.  5 

Eventually  the  crown,  &c.,  with  other  interesting  objects,  including 
insignia  of  the  Order  of  the  Garter,  &c.,  bequeathed  to  George  III.  by 
Cardinal  York,  were  removed  from  their  oaken  tomb,  and  they  may 
now  be  seen  in  Edinburgh  Castle. 

IKISH  CROWNS. 

What  have  we  in  Ireland  of  such  symbols  of  Royalty,  and  what  do 
we  know  of  Irish  Eegalia  in  the  past?  I  commend  this  subject  to  our 
members  as  worthy  of  further  investigation,  and  I  proceed  to  offer  a  few 
observations  on  Irish  Crowns. 

"When  Dermod  O'Connor,  styling  himself  "  Antiquary  of  the 
Kingdom  of  Ireland,"  published,  in  1723,  the  first  printed  English  trans- 
lation of  Keating' s  "  History,"  he  concluded  his  Preface  with  a  long 
paragraph,  commencing  thus  : — 

"  There  has  been  a  dispute  among  learned  men  whether  the  ancient  kings  of 
Ireland  of  the  Milesian  race  wore  crowns  of  gold,  after  the  manner  of  other  nations. 
We  are  informed  by  Hector  Boetius,  in  his  2nd  and  10th  book,  that  the  kings  of 
Scotland  from  the  time  of  Fergus,  to  the  reign  of  Achaius,  used  a  plain  crown  of 
gold,  '  Militaris  valli  forma  J  in  the  form  of  a  military  trench ;  and  it  is  more  than 
probable  that  in  this  practice  they  followed  the  Irish  monarchs,  from  whom  they 
derived  their  descent  and  customs.  And  this  conjecture  is  still  rendei'ed  more  reason- 
able by  a  golden  cap,  supposed  to  be  a  provincial  crown,  that  was  found  in  the  year 
1692  in  the  Co.  of  Tipperary,  at  a  place  called  Barnanely,  by  the  Irish,  and  by 
the  English  the  Devil's  bit.  It  was  discovered  about  ten  feet  under  ground  by  some 
workmen  that  were  digging  up  turf  for  firing.  This  cap  or  crown  weighs  about  5  oz. 
The  border  and  the  head  is  raised  in  chase  work  in  the  form  here  represented ;  and  it 
seems  to  bear  some  resemblance  to  the  close  crown  of  the  Eastern  empire,  which  was 
composed  of  the  helmet,  together  with  a  diadem,  as  the  learned  Selden  observes  in 
his  Titles  of  Honour,  Part  i.,  chap.  8.  Some  of  the  antiquaries  of  Ireland  have 
imagined  that  this  was  the  crown  worn  by  some  provincial  kings  under  the  command 
of  Bryan  Boiroimhe,  who  beat  the  Danes  in  so  many  battles  ;  others  are  rather 
inclined  to  believe  that  it  belonged  to  the  Irish  monarchs  before  the  planting  of 
Christianity  in  that  kingdom  ;  and  they  give  this  reason  :  because  it  is  not  adorned  with 
a  cross,  which  was  the  common  ensign  of  Christian  princes.  However,  it  is  a  valuable 
piece  of  curiosity,  and  would  unavoidably  have  been  melted  down  had  it  not  been 
preserved  by  Joseph  Comerford,  Esq1".,  a  curious  gentleman,  descended  from  a  younger 
brother  of  Comerford,  in  the  Co.  Stafford,  who  attended  King  John  in  his  expedition 
to  Ireland,  and  there  married  a  niece  of  Hugo  de  Lacy,  a  great  favourite  of  that 
king ;  ever  since  which  time  the  family  has  flourished  in  that  country,  and  were 
formerly  Barons  of  Danganmore.  This  gentleman  being  rendered  incapable,  by 
reason  of  his  religion,  to  purchase  lands  in  his  own  country,  has  bought  the 
Marquisate  of  Anglure,  with  a  good  estate,  on  the  river  Aule,  in  Champaigue." 

Annexed  to  this  account  is  a  small  wood-cut  representation  of  this 
cap  or  crown,  which  is  the  only  such  illustration  in  the  text,  and  so 
catches  the  reader's  eye.  Prefixed  to  this  volume  is  a  fanciful  engraved 
picture  of  Brian  Boru,  "  Monarch  of  Ireland,  Ano.  Dom.  1027."  He  is 


6  ROYAL   SOCIETY   OF   ANTIQUARIES   OF   IRELAND. 

represented  in  regal  and  warlike  panoply,  wearing  a  crown  (to  be 
presently  noticed),  and  holding  in  one  hand  a  sceptre,  and  in  the  other 
a  shield,  with  his  arms — the  three  lions.  On  a  table  beside  him  is 
another  representation  of  the  crown  or  cap  described  in  the  Preface. 
Under  it  appears,  embroidered  on  the  table-cover,  a  harp  of  impossible 
shape.  (See  plate.)  The  shamrock  had  not  established  itself  even  then 
as  a  national  emblem. 

"When,  over  forty  years  later,  "Walter  Hams  brought  out  his  transla- 
tion of  Sir  James  Ware's  works,  from  the  Latin,  he  explained,  in  his 
brief  Preface  to  the  "  Antiquities  of  Ireland,"  what  part  he  had  in  the 
work,  and  says : — 

"  I  have  discussed  two  points  not  well  settled  by  our  native  writers  : — 1st,. 
Whether  the  ancient  kings  of  Ireland  wore  a  crown  ?  And  2ndly,  Whether  they 
were  inaugurated  into  that  office  by  the  Ceremony  of  Unction,  or  by  any  other,  and 
what  Ceremonies  ?  " 

Accordingly  these  topics  are  discussed  at  length  in  chapter  10,  where 
a  summary  is  given  of  O'Connor's  notice  of  the  gold  cap  or  crown  above 
quoted,  the  only  information  added  respecting  it  being  that  it  was 
supposed  to  remain  in  France  amongst  the  descendants  of  Mr.  Joseph 
Comerford,  who  carried  it  to  that  country.  A  representation  of  it, 
identical  with  those  referred  to  as  given  in  Keating,  is  the  first  of  the 
few  engravings  of  Irish  antiquities  shown  in  this  and  in  the  former 
English  edition  of  Ware. 

It  is  as  unlike  a  modern  crown  as  it  could  be.  In  shape  it  is  more 
like  a  mandarin's  cap.  The  edges  are  turned  up  and  peaked ;  but  it  has 
no  rays,  and  the  ornamentation  seems  to  consist  mainly  of  repeated 
circles.  No  cross  figures  upon  it. 

I  wish  I  could  tell  you  what  has  become  of  it.  If  it  has  escaped  the 
melting-pot,  it  would  be  welcomed  by  our  museum  authorities. 

Although  this  is  the  only  golden  object  hitherto  depicted  and  described 
as  possibly  the  crown  of  an  Irish  king,  I  know  that  it  is  now  supposed 
that  some  of  the  larger  crescent-shaped  gold  plates  in  our  museum  may 
have  been  worn,  like  a  nimbus,  round  the  head,  and  were  regal  ornaments. 
The  question  is  too  vague  to  be  now  pursued.  I  must,  however,  briefly 
refer  to  a  stone  representation  of  a  mediaeval  Irish  crown,  and  some  bronze 
objects,  which  are  supposed  to  be  fragments  of  a  much  more  ancient 
one. 

We  have  representations  of  the  seal,  and  of  the  monumental  efiigy  of 
Felim  O'Connor,  King  of  Connaught,  who  died  in  1265,  and  was  interred 
in  the  Dominican  Friary  of  Roscommon,  which  he  had  founded  a  few 


bin  .air.)  bojKoimb 


IRISH  CROWNS. 

(From  Keating's  "  History,"  first  English  edition,  1723.) 


8  ROYAL   SOCIETY  OF  ANTIQUARIES   OF   IRELAND. 

years  before.  According  to  Walker's  "  Dress,  &c.,  of  the  Irish,"  his 
monument  was  not  erected  until  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century  later, 
so  was  not  contemporaneous.  It  has  been  described  more  than  once  in 
our  Journal,  and  is  noticed  in  the  history  of  the  family  by  0' Conor  Don. 
The  stone  effigy  of  the  king  has  been  much  mutilated.  The  right  arm 
holds  a  sceptre,  the  head  of  which  is  of  fleur-de-lis  shape.  Mr.  O'Gorman, 
who  described  the  tomb  in  1866  in  our  Journal  (p.  546,  with  plate),  says 
that,  on  close  examination  of  the  king's  head,  a  small  portion  of  the 
crown  may  be  seen,  and,  ''judging  from  the  fragment  which  remains,  the 
crown  was  formed  by  a  fillet  some  two  or  three  inches  deep,  from  which 
sprung  three  obtuse  points  [?  angles] ,  one  at  each  side  of  the  head,  and 
one  in  front."  A  note  suggests  that  the  sculptor  was  not  an  Irish  but  an 
English  artist. 

I  now  come  to  the  most  interesting  and- less  known  example — that  of 
bronze.  We  are  probably  indebted  to  its  material  for  its  survival,  and 
we  are  indebted  to  the  late  Miss  Margaret  Stokes  for  divining  its  use. 
Just  a  month  before  his  death  Mr.  John  M.  Kemble,  who  was  one  of  the 
greatest  archaeologists  of  Northern  Europe,  delivered  an  address  to  the 
Royal  Irish  Academy,  in  February,  1857.  Discussing  a  form  of  the 
double  spiral  line  found  chiefly  amongst  Celtic  remains  in  these  islands, 
he  referred  to  some  similar  objects  in  the  Academy's  Museum,  adding — 
' '  Perhaps  there  is,  in  all  Europe,  no  more  striking  one  than  an  implement 
of  unknown  use,  in  the  possession  of  our  great  archaeological  master, 
Dr.  Petrie.  For  beauty  of  design  and  beauty  of  execution  (says  Kemble) 
this  may  challenge  comparison  with  any  specimen  of  cast-bronze  work 
that  it  has  ever  been  my  good  fortune  to  see."  Much  as  Kemble,  and 
probably  Petrie  and  Dr.  Todd,  admired  this  scrap  of  bronze,  it  was  not 
until  more  than  twenty  years  later  that  Miss  Stokes,  with  that  wonder- 
ful instinct  which  few  possess,  suggested  the  purpose  for  which  so  much 
skill  had  been  lavished  upon  it. 

She  found  that  Dr.  Petrie  possessed  another  similar  fragment,  and, 
combining  these,  she  arrived  at  the  conclusion  that  they  formed  part  of  an 
Irish  crown  of  remote  antiquity.  Having  prepared  an  elaborate  descrip- 
tion and  drawings  of  these  wonderfully  interesting  objects,  Miss  Stokes 
showed  a  conjectural  ll  Restoration  of  an  Irish  Radiated  Crown  "  (see 
plate),  and  she  read  before  the  Society  of  Antiquaries,  in  London,  a 
descriptive  Paper,  which  was  published  in  the  forty-seventh  volume  of 
Archaologia.  In  that  Paper  she  gives  references  to  the  early  legends 
of  Ireland  relating  to  such  diadems  or  crowns.  I  cannot  delay  to  refer 
to  these,  or  other  literature  on  the  subject,  but  must  try  briefly  to 
describe  the  shape  of  the  crown  so  constructed  conjecturally.  Round  the 
top  of  a  band,  about  1£  inches  high,  there  are  fixed  (seven)  circular  plates 
of  somewhat  greater  diameter,  and  from  the  back  of  each  springs  a  cone 
or  ray  4£  inches  high.  All  are  elaborately  ornamented  with  the  earliest 


10  ROYAL   SOCIETY   OF   ANTIQUARIES   OF  IRELAND. 

form  of  the  divergent  spiral  or  trumpet-pattern.  Though  probably  not 
specimens  of  casting,  as  Kemble  supposed,  they  are  in  design  and 
workmanship  perhaps  unsurpassed.  The  radiated  crown,  so  constructed, 
agreed  in  form  with  those  first  shown  on  coins  minted  in  Gaul  and 
Britain  a  century  before  the  introduction  of  Christianity  into  Ireland ; 
but  these  bronzes  (now  in  our  National  Museum)  are  probably  considerably 
older,  and  may  date  from  the  beginning  of  the  Christian  era. 

Miss  Stokes  did  not  remark  upon  the  confirmation  thus  given  to  the 
form  of  radiated  or  "Eastern"  crown,  which  has  been  traditionally 
associated  with  Ireland.  It  is  found  on  the  Cashel  crozier,  and  led 
Petrie  to  think  that  it  was  of  Irish  workmanship,  which,  however,  would 
scarcely  now  be  admitted.  The  fanciful  picture  prefixed  to  "Keating," 
and  already  referred  to,  shows  such  a  radiated  crown ;  the  rays,  however, 
which  are  five  in  number,  spring  only  from  the  back.  It  was  a  radiated 
crown  which  Sir  "William  Betham,  Ulster  King- of -Arms,  introduced 
when  devising  new  armorials  for  the  Royal  Irish  Academy  in  1846,  so  that 
Miss  Stokes'  discovery  gave  some  confirmation  to  modern  heraldry  in 
this. 

"Whether  any  of  the  "  Sunburstery,"  which  this  country  is  sometimes 
supposed  to  have  transplanted  to  America,  may  have  been  inspired  by 
reminiscences  of  this  radiated  or  "Eastern"  crown,  I  leave  to  others  to 
discuss. 

IRELAND  ON  THE  COINAGE. 

But  it  is  time  to  pass  from  crowns  to  coins.  In  order  to  show  how 
gradually  and  completely  Ireland  has  vanished  from  the  coinage,  a  few 
historical  facts  must  be  mentioned ;  and  I  advise  anyone  who  desires  to 
study  the  subject  within  a  reasonable  compass,  and  with  up-to-date 
illustrations,  to  consult  the  Handbook  by  Mr.  H.  A.  Grueber,  published  in 
1899  by  the  British  Museum  authorities.  You  need  not  be  alarmed  at  the 
prospect  of  a  discussion  as  to  whether  any  of  the  many  early  monarchs  of 
Ireland  ever  coined  money — suffice  it  to  say,  that  no  coin  with  the 
image  or  inscription  of  any  of  those  kings  is  now  known,  nor  do  letters 
of  the  form  usually  called  Irish  appear  on  any  coin  now  extant.  The 
inscriptions  from  the  earliest  times  were  in  Latin.  If  the  very  interest- 
ing series  recently  arranged  in  our  National  Museum  be  examined,  it  will 
be  found  to  commence  with  the  Danish  coins  of  the  tenth  or  eleventh 
century,  which  bear  on  the  reverse  the  name  of  the  moneyer  and 
place  of  coinage,  identified  with  Dublin,  &c.,  and  in  letters  usually  styled 
Lombardic.  Then  came  the  Hiberno-English  series  in  1177,  commencing 
with  those  of  John,  son  of  Henry  II.,  as  Lord  of  Ireland,  consisting  of 
silver  halfpennies  and  farthings,  and  afterwards  pennies,  struck  in  Dublin 
and  "Waterford,  as  indicated  by  the  inscriptions. 


PRESIDENT'S  ADDRESS.  11 

John  De  Courcy,  Earl  of  Ulster,  who  was  constituted  Governor  in 
1185,  had  farthings  coined  at  Downpatrick  and  Carrickfergus,  which  were 
called  "  Patrick's."  Little  is  known  about  the  coins  of  the  first  three 
Edwards ;  hut  in  their  time  the  title  DNS.  HYB.  (Lord  of  Ireland)  appears, 
with  Dublin,  &c.,  as  the  place  of  issue.  For  about  three  centuries  this 
formula — sometimes  expanded  and  slightly  varied — prevailed.  In 
1478  the  seventh  issue  of  Edward  IY.  introduced  the  additional  titles 
(in  Latin  of  course)  of  "  King  of  England  and  France."  It  bore  three 
crowns,  in  pale,  and  was  called  "three  crowns  money"  from  that. 
Mr.  Grueber  thinks  these  crowns  probably  represented  the  arms  of 
Ireland  at  that  time  (as  they  since  did  those  of  one  of  its  provinces — 
Munster) ;  but  may  they  not  also  refer  to  the  Three  Kingdoms,  then 
first  named  on  the  coinage  ?  In  this  reign  there  was  another  issue 
of  farthings,  with  a  bust  of  St.  Patrick,  mitred,  facing,  bearing  the 
words  PATBICITJS  and  SALVATOR,  and  the  title  "  Hex "  was  sometimes 
substituted  for  "Dominus,"  which  it  finally  superseded  in  1541. 
Mention  of  the  place  of  minting  gradually  became  less  usual. 

Considerable  changes  were  made  under  Henry  VIII.,  silver  only  being 
coined,  and  new  denominations  introduced,  representing  sixpence,  three- 
pence, three-halfpence,  and  three-farthings.  The  arms  of  England  and 
France  were  shown,  quartered,  on  the  obverse ;  and  on  the  reverse  was 
introduced  the  harp,  which,  sometimes  associated  with  Hibernia,  written 
or  depicted,  held  its  place  generally  as  long  as  a  separate  coinage  for 
Ireland  existed.  In  the  English  coinage  it  first  appeared  under 
James  I. 

It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  coinage  minted  in  Ireland,  or 
bearing  special  Irish  devices,  has  always  supplied  but  a  small  part  of  the 
money  current  in  Ireland.  From  the  time  of  Charles  II.  to  the  present, 
no  silver  money  was  coined  in  or  exclusively  for  Ireland,  except  bank 
tokens.  No  money  of  any  kind  was  struck  for  Ireland  in  the  reign  of 
Queen  Anne.  Under  the  two  first  Georges  only  halfpennies  and  farthings  J 
under  George  III.  these  and  pennies.  The  Irish  series — exclusively 
copper — survived  the  Union,  but  came  to  an  end  with  an  issue  of  pennies 
and  halfpennies,  coined  in  Birmingham  in  1822,  soon  after  the  accession 
of  George  IV.  Since  then  we  have  had  no  coins  but  those  common  to 
the  United  Kingdom.  The  mint  of  Edinburgh  had  ceased  operations  in 
1709. 

From  the  time  of  William  III.  the  Irish  portion  of  the  coinage  was  to- 
all  appearance  exclusively  Irish,  having  no  reference  to  Great  Britain, 
the  King  being  simply  described  by  the  one  word  "  Rex,"  and  the  harp 
(generally  with  Hibernia  and  the  date)  occupying  the  reverse,  a& 
Britannia  did  on  the  corresponding  coins  of  the  sister  island. 


12          ROYAL   SOCIETY   OF   ANTIQUARIES   OF   IRELAND. 

Though  gold  is  frequently  mentioned  in  our  "  Annals"  as  a  medium 
of  exchange,  not  a  single  Irish  gold  coin,  in  the  ordinary  sense  of  the  word 
"  coin,"  has  been  proved  to  have  existed.  The  solitary  issue  of  gold 
pieces  was  one  of  the  several  series  known  as  "  money  of  necessity," 
which  Dr.  Aquilla  Smith  so  ably  described  in  our  Journal  for  1860. 
Mr.  Grueber  says  it  was  called  a  "  pistole,"  and  belonged  to  the  set  called 
"Inchiquin  money,"  of  1642,  of  which,  he  adds,  "  only  two  specimens 
are  known,  and  both  are  of  recent  discovery."  Like  the  silver  pieces  of 
the  issue,  they  are  irregularly  shaped  pieces  of  bullion,  with  no  inscription 
such  as  is  usual,  but  stamped  with  their  weights  in  pennyweights  and 
grains.  It  has  been  stated  that  they  were  struck  chiefly  for  the  purpose 
of  paying  the  army. 

Having  thus  referred  to  the  coins  which  bore  a  special  relation  to 
Ireland  only,  I  must  pass  on  to  consider  the  several  issues  common  to 
England  and  Ireland,  including  those  with  which,  we  of  the  present 
generation  are  concerned. 

But  here  again  it  is  necessary  to  advert  to  the  changes  which  the 
Unions  of  England  with  Scotland  and  of  both  with  Ireland,  and  the 
succession  of  different  Sovereigns,  entailed  in  the  coinage,  arid  the 
inscriptions  thereon. 

On  every  devolution  of  the  crown,  it  was  usual  to  issue  a  Royal 
Proclamation  announcing  the  Regnal  name  of  the  new  Sovereign,  and 
the  Royal  Style  and  Title.  Everyone  knows  that  His  present  Majesty 
adopted  as  his  Regnal  name  the  second  of  his  Christian  names,  as  had 
also  been  done  by  his  Royal  Mother,  Queen  Victoria.  It  has  become 
usual  for  the  Popes  on  election  to  select  names  quite  different  from  their 
baptismal  names.  Such  names  alone  appear  upon  the  coins  and  medals 
of  the  Sovereigns,  but  almost  invariably  in  Latin.  But  the  change  of 
what  is  known  as  the  Royal  Style,  though  less  generally  remarked,  is 
the  one  which  now  most  isolates  Ireland  from  the  coinage  of  the  Empire, 
so  far  as  the  inscriptions  thereon. 

William  the  Conqueror  used  the  simple  formula,  "  Rex  Anglorum," 
taking  his  title  (like  the  late  French  and  present  German  Emperor)  from 
the  people,  not  the  place,  which  latter  the  first  of  the  Plantagenets 
adopted  in  preference.  John  figures  as  "  Rex  Anglias  and  Dominus 
HiberniaB."  Nearly  a  century  and  a  half  later  Edward  III.,  in  the  13th 
'  year  of  his  reign,  interposed  France  between  England  and  Ireland. 
Henry  VIII.,  in  pursuance  of  Acts  of  the  Irish  and  English  Parliaments, 
substituted  "Rex"  for  " Dominus"  as  applied  to  Ireland:  abolishing 
the  distinction  previously  existing. 

While  Mary  and  Philip  jointly  reigned,  the  Royal  Style  was  elongated 
by  Naples  and  Jerusalem  being  associated  with  France  in  keeping  Ireland 


PRESIDENT'S  ADDRESS.  1$ 

apart  from  England,  but,  on  the  Shilling  of  1555  and  Groat  of  the 
following  year  (which  were  their  only  contribution  to  the  Irish  series  of 
coins,  and  bore  the  Harp  crowned,  though  made  in  London),  they 
curtailed  their  title  by  restricting  it  to  England,  and  the  ANGLIC 
representing  it  was  reduced  on  some  of  their  shillings  to  the  single 
letter  A. 

Under  Elizabeth  the  Royal  Style  again  reverted  to  "  Queen  of 
England,  France,  and  Ireland";  but  on  one  of  the  shillings  of  her 
extensive  coinage  for  Ireland,  the  two  former  countries  are  represented 
by  one  letter  each,  while  HIBERNIE  in  full  stands  for  Ireland,  so  that  it 
figured  last  but  not  least;  and  on  a  shilling  of  1561  there  were  three 
harps. 

Soon  after  the  crowns  of  England  and  Scotland  became  united  under 
James  I.,  England  (ANGLIA)  disappeared  from  the  coinage,  and  "MAGNA 
BRITANNIA  "  (Great  Britain)  came  into  use  as  the  designation  representing 
England  and  Scotland  united.  This,  with  France  followed  by  Ireland, 
held  the  field,  with  some  interruption  during  the  Commonwealth  and 
subsequently. 

The  Commonwealth,  of  course,  discarded  Royal  Style ;  but  it  may  be 
worth  noting  that  though  no  regular  coins  were  issued  under  it  for 
Ireland,  the  Harp  of  Ireland  was  placed  side  by  side  with  the  Cross  of 
St.  George  of  England — Scotland  being  at  first  ignored — in  the  general 
coinage  of  1649-52.  The  inscription  on  the  obverse  was  in  plain  English, 
"The  Commonwealth  of  England."  In  1656  Cromwell  had  gold  50s. 
pieces  called  "  Broads  "  struck,  bearing  his  own  head  laureated,  and 
on  the  reverse  a  crowned  shield  with  the  crosses  of  St.  George  and 
St.  Andrew  and  the  Irish  harp  :  the  Protector's  own  paternal  arms  being 
introduced,  on  an  escutcheon  of  pretence,  as  the  heralds  call  it.  He 
reverted  to  Latin,  and  described  himself  as  "  Olivar.  D.  G.  n.  p.  [Rei- 
publica3]  Ang.  Sco.  et  Hib.  Pro[tector]."  It  will  be  observed  that  he 
restores  England  with  Scotland  in  place  of  "  Great  Britain,"  and  wisely 
drops  out  France. 

With  Charles  II.  the  old  order  was  restored,  and  Ireland  figured 
prominently  in  the  Royal  Arms  and  in  the  inscriptions  on  all  coins.  In 
1668  a  new  type  of  milled  money  appeared,  bearing  on  the  reverse  the 
arms  of  the  four  kingdoms,  arranged  in  the  shape  of  a  cross,  under 
crowns,  and  showing  four  sceptres :  that  for  Ireland  having  a  small 
harp  on  its  top,  as  on  some  recent  coins. 

The  Legislative  Union  with  Scotland  seems  not  to  have  involved  any 
change  in  the  inscription  on  the  coinage  :  "  Great  Britain,"  which  then 
came  into  use  in  the  Royal  Style,  superseding  "  England  and  Scotland," 


14  ROYAL   SOCIETY   OF   ANTIQUARIES   OF    IRELAND. 

was  continued  on  the  coinage ;  but  the  arms  of  those  two  countries  were 
impaled  on  one  shield  instead  of  being  quartered  quarterly  as  before, 
which  had  made  the  three  lions  of  England  and  three  fleurs-de-lis  for 
Prance  (each  repeated  four  times)  look  small  in  contrast  with  the  bold 
Harp  of  Erin  and  the  Single  Lion  of  Scotland. 

With  the  Georges  came  in  the  use  on  the  coinage  of  the  title  PIDEI 
DEFENSOR  (long  used  on  the  Great  Seal),  and  a  perplexing  array  of 
additional  letters,  indicating  that  they  were  Dukes  of  Brunswick  and 
Liineburg,  and  Arch-Treasurers  of  the  Holy  Roman  Empire  and 
Electors. 

But  in  the  reign  of  George  III.,  on  the  Union  with  Ireland  in  1801, 
a  Royal  Proclamation  was  issued,  declaring  the  regal  title  not  only  in 
English  but  in  Latin.  The  title  of  King  of  Prance  was  then  at  last 
finally  abandoned.  Ireland  shared  with  Great  Britain,  in  the  English 
form,  as  it  has  ever  since  done,  the  exclusive  honour  of  supplying  the 
Regal  title  of  the  United  Kingdom.  But  in  the  Latin  version  a  new 
formula  was  invented  which  finally  displaced  "  HIBERNTA.  "  from  the 
coinage,  and  brought  into  use  the  plural  genitive  word  "BRITANNIARUM," 
presumably  meaning  "  of  the  Britains  " — great  and  small — (or,  as  some 
say,  "  of  the  British  Islands").  No  doubt  ancient  authority  could  be 
found  for  applying  the  name  Britain  to  Ireland,  but  it  never  was  a 
familiar  designation. 

When  Queen  Victoria  was  proclaimed  Empress  of  India,  on  January 
1st,  1870,  that  title  was  introduced  on  the  coinage  in  the  abbreviated 
and  uncouth  form  IND.  IMP.  (which  left  it  doubtful  what  the  IND.  is 
abbreviated  from).  The  coin-inscriptions  being  thus  crowded,  the 
BRITANNIARFM,  representing  the  United  Kingdom,  was  generally  curtailed 
to  the  abbreviated  BRITT.  (as  it  had  been  before  on  some  coins).  The  final 
T  was  reduplicated  to  represent  the  plural,  as  in  the  formula  LL.D.  (for 
Doctor  of  Laws),  where  the  double  L  indicates  the  plural.  This  expla- 
nation seems  to  have  been  overlooked  by  the  authorities  of  the  mint  for 
some  time,  for  the  florins  first  issued  not  only  omitted  the  "  Dei  gratia," 
(whence  they  got  the  nickname  of  "  graceless  "),  but  also  the  second  T  of 
this  BRITT.,  and  it  was  nearly  twenty  years  before  the  latter  was 
restored.  Now,  what  seems  deserving  of  attention,  especially  in  this 
country,  is  that  this  extra  letter  T  was  the  last  vestige  of  Ireland's 
appearing  in  the  inscriptions  on  the  coinage  as  forming  with  Great 
Britain  the  motherland  of  the  Empire. 

I  say  "  was,"  for  even  that  has  now  disappeared.  Under  the  second 
Proclamation  issued  after  the  King's  accession,  on  4th  of  November, 
1901,  the  Royal  title  was  expanded,  by  way  of  compliment,  it  is  sup- 
posed, to  the  Colonies,  or,  to  quote  the  Act  of  Parliament  authorizing 


PRESIDENT'S  ADDRESS.  15 

the  change,  "  in  recognition  of  His  Majesty's  Dominions  beyond  the 
Seas.'  Accordingly,  the  Royal  Style  and  Titles  to  be  used  "henceforth, 
so  far  as  conveniently  may  be,  on  all  occasions,  and  in  all  instruments," 
when  required,  now  run  thus  : — 

(1)  In  English,  (which  does  not  affect  the  coinage,) — "Edward  VII, 

by  the  Grace  of  God  of  the  United  Kingdom  of  Great  Britain 
and  Ireland  and  of  the  British  dominions  beyond  the  seas 
King,  Defender  of  the  Faith,  Emperor  of  India." 

(2)  In  Latin,  (which  alone  concerns  the  coinage,) — "  Edwardus  VII, 

Dei  Gratia  Britanniarum  et  terrarum  transmarinarum  quse 
in  ditione  sunt  Britannica  Rex  Fidei  Defensor,  Indiae  Impe- 
rator." 

The  punctuation  is  that  of  the  Gazette.  It  provides  that  all  moneys 
then  or  afterwards  "  coined  by  Our  authority  with  the  like  impressions," 
shall  be  "  deemed  and  taken  to  be  current  and  lawful  moneys  of  the  said 
United  Kingdom  ;  and  further  that  all  moneys  coined  for  and  issued  in 
any  of  the  Dependencies  of  the  said  United  Kingdom  and  declared  by  our 
Proclamation  to  be  current  and  lawful  money  of  such  Dependencies, 
respectively  bearing  Our  Style  or  Titles,  or  any  part  or  parts  thereof" 
shall  be  lawful  money  thereof.  This  last  clause  seems  to  relate  only  to 
the  Colonies,  but  it  may  have  been  held  to  warrant  the  abbreviation  of 
the  Royal  Style,  and  the  introduction  of  the  compendious  word  OMNIUM 
(akin,  of  course,  to  the  familiar  "omnibus").  According  to  Lewis  and 
Short's  Latin  Dictionary,  the  word  DITTO  (in  the  ablative),  which  it 
supersedes,  is  a  "less  correct  form  from  DICJ.O." 

The  Royal  Style  is  now  expressed  in  Latin  on  the  coinage,  and  appears 
on  the  recently  issued  coins  of  the  Realm  abbreviated  as  BKITT.  OMN., 
representing  doubtless  BEITANNIABUM  OMNIUM  (of  all  the  Britains).  It 
might  seem  captious  to  inquire  what  constitutes  a  Britain;  but  certainly 
Ireland  no  longer  enjoys  a  monopoly  of  the  final  T,  and  it  has  now  ceased 
to  figure  in  the  inscriptions  on  the  coinage,  as  England  and  Scotland  had 
ceased  before.  How  far  its  harp  and  shamrock  remain  may  next  be 
considered.  If  this  be  an  injustice  to  all  of  the  so-called  Three  Kingdoms, 
perhaps  the  simplest  remedy  would  be  to  revert  to  a  plain  English  form 
of  title,  and  banish  Latin  altogether  from  the  coinage,  as  has  been 
already  done  in  part ;  and  as  seems  to  be  threatened  in  the  education 
of  the  rising  generation. 

Let  us  now  consider  how,  since  the  Union,  Ireland  has  figured  on 
the  coinage  in  respect  of  the  national  emblems,  as  distinct  from  inscrip- 
tions. The  order  of  King  George  III.  in  Council  incidental  to  that 
Union  in  1801  determined  the  necessary  changes  in  the  Royal  Arms  and 


16     ROYAL  SOCIETY  OF  ANTIQUARIES  OF  IRELAND. 

in  the  flags  of  the  United  Kingdom,  and  it  recognised  and  officially  adopted 
as  national  emblems  the  rose,  thistle,  and  shamrock.  The  shamrock, 
and  its  colour,  green,  are  comparatively  modern  symhols  of  Ireland.  The 
same  Eoyal  order  arranged  that  in  the  Union  Flag  the  white  transverse 
cross,  or  saltire  cross  of  St.  Andrew,  was  to  he  above  the  red  saltire  of 
St.  Patrick  on  the  one  side  and  the  reverse  on  the  other.  This  red  cross 
of  St.  Patrick,  it  may  be  worth  noting  in  passing,  had  not  come  into  use 
so  early  as  the  white  cross  of  St.  Andrew,  which  had  long  figured  on  the 
Scottish  coinage.  The  earliest  instance  of  use  of  this  cross  for  Ireland, 
which  I  happen  to  have  met  with,  is  on  the  seal  of  Trinity  College, 
which  bears  date  "  Aprill,  1612."  In  the  armorial  device  on  it  the  two 
towers  of  the  castle,  supposed  to  be  derived  from  the  arms  of  Dublin 
city,  instead  of  being  "fired,  proper,"  are  surmounted  by  flags,  which 
close  inspection  shows  to  bear  the  upright  cross  of  St.  George  and  this 
saltire  for  St.  Patrick's.  It  may  be  also  worth  noticing  that  the  heraldic 
rule  forbidding  colour  to  touch  colour,  necessitated  the  interposition  of 
"metal,"  represented  by  the  silver  or  white  line  or  "  fimbriation,"  and 
this  reduces  by  a  third  the  area  of  St.  Patrick's  cross,  while  not  affecting 
that  of  St.  Andrew.  The  order  in  council  overlooked  this,  while  making 
provision  .to  obviate  national  jealousy,  not  only,  as  just  observed,  as  to 
the  sides  of  the  Union  Jack,  but  also  by  providing  for  varying  the  juxta- 
position of  the  three  floral  emblems :  the  shamrock  being  sometimes 
placed  to  the  right  of  the  rose,  and  sometimes  the  thistle.  Well,  how 
fared  the  harp  and  the  shamrock  on  the  coinage  ?  "We  have  already  seen 
how  Hibernia  with  her  harp  was,  down  to  the  time  of  George  IY.,  allowed 
an  ignoble  existence,  limited  to  the  copper  coinage,  and  on  them  restricted 
to  coins  only  intended  for  circulation  in  Ireland.  The  shield  under  the 
figure  of  Britannia,  who  now  alone  appears  on  our  bronze  coinage,  exhibits 
only  the  combined  crosses  of  St.  George  and  St.  Andrew,  and  so  far 
Ireland  is  there  unrepresented. 

In  1816,  after  the  long  series  of  wars,  it  was  decided  to  reorganize 
the  coinage.  Guineas  gave  place  to  sovereigns,  and  a  series  of  new  dies 
were  engraved  by  Benedetto  Pistrucci,  an  Italian,  who  devised  the 
St.  George  and  the  Dragon,  which  has  since  mainly  held  the  field.  It  is 
said  that  it  was  intended  for  a  gem  which  was  being  engraved  by  the 
artist  for  Lord  Spencer.  I  have  no  desire  to  disparage  St.  George,  nor 
does  it  seem  necessary  to  adopt  such  strong  language  regarding  him  as 
did  Ruskin,  who  held  him  up  to  odium  as  a  dishonest  army  contractor; 
but  I  submit  that  he  should  not  have  been  allowed  to  supplant  on  our 
gold  coinage,  as  he  and  his  Dragon  have  twice  done,  the  Royal  Arms  of 
the  United  Kingdom.  If  a  saint  must  figure  on  our  money,  as  St. 
Andrew  long  did  on  the  Scottish  coinage,  and  St.  Patrick  several  times 
fitfully  on  the  Irish,  we  might  at  least  dispense  with  this  outlandish 
personage  and  his  Dragon. 


PRESIDENT'S  ADDRESS.  17 

It  may  be  worth  noting  that  Pistrucci  not  only  introduced  St.  George 
and  the  Dragon,  hut  that  on  the  crown  piece  of  George  III.,  issued 
in  1818,  he  obtruded  his  own  surname  at  length  both  on  the  obverse 
and  reverse.  On  the  half-crown  he  surrounded  the  Royal  Arms  with 
the  Garter  and  Collar  of  that  order,  having  a  small  pendent  St.  George. 
This  introduction  of  England's  patron  saint  was  probably  intended  as  a 
personal  compliment  to  King  George.  If  so  it  is  now  out  of  date,  and 
should  not  have  been  continued  under  late  Sovereigns.  The  reverse  of 
the  half-crowns  of  1893,  by  Mr.  Brock,  and  of  the  florins  and  shillings 
of  the  same  year,  by  Sir  E.  J.  Poynter,  perpetuate  this  mode  of  treat- 
ment. Is  it  too  much  to  hope  that  the  arms  of  the  United  Kingdom  may 
again  appear  on  our  gold  coinage,  and  that  the  shamrock,  rose,  and  thistle 
may  be  less  sparingly  used,  and  not,  as  in  1826,  under  the  feet  of  the 
lion  ?  Mr.  William  Wellesley  Pole,  Master  of  the  Mint,  abused  the 
three  leaves  of  the  shamrock  on  the  half-sovereigns  of  1821,  and  on  the 
half-crowns  of  1820,  by  making  them  carry  the  three  initials  of  hi& 
name — a  liberty  which  the  new  Irish  Master  of  the  Mint  will  scarcely 
venture  to  repeat ! 

Strange  to  say,  the  supporters  of  the  Royal  Arms — the  English 
lion  and  the  Scottish  unicorn — never  gained  a  footing  on  the  coinage} 
though  it  was  accorded  to  St.  George's  Dragon.  As  Ireland  does  not 
contribute  a  supporter,  it  has  no  reason  to  complain  of  the  omission  of 
these  two  Royal  beasts.  The  design  for  the  reverse  of  our  new  shillings 
is  a  revival,  in  a  modified  form,  of  that  supplied  by  J.  E.  Merlen,  which 
was  in  use  on  what  were  known  as  tl  Lion"  shillings  from  1825  for  four 
years.  The  elongated  lion,  which  now  displaces  the  separated  arms  of 
the  three  kingdoms,  is  not  one  of  the  supporters  of  the  Royal  Arms ;  but 
the  animal  of  the  Royal  crest,  who  "  jumps  upon  the  crown."  The 
shamrock,  rose,  and  thistle  were  beneath  both  him  and  it  on  the  shillings 
of  George  IV.  Now  the  date,  and  the  words  "  one  shilling,"  take  their 
place. 

As  it  has  lately  been  suggested  that  India  should  be  represented  in 
the  Royal  Arms  and  on  the  coinage,  it  may  be  worth  recalling  to  mind 
that  on  some  guineas  of  1668,  and  down  to  1726,  an  elephant  appeared 
as  symbol  of  the  African  Company,  who  imported  from  Guinea  the  gold 
which  gave  its  name  to  the  coin;  and  the  letters  E.  I.  C.,  "  for  East  India 
Company,"  also  appeared.  Wales  was  not  allowed  any  coins  peculiar  to 
itself,  but  there  are  examples  bearing  the  plumes;  and  the  letters- 
W.  C.  C.,  for  "  Welsh  Copper  Company,"  were  once  admitted. 

TEEASUKE-THOVE. — THE  GOLD  ORNAMENTS. 

It  might  be  expected  that  your  President's  address  would  deal  with 
the  controversy  as  to  whether  the  dismal  gold  room  at  the  British 

r  \t  <;  A  T    f  Vo1-  xiii.,  Fifth  Series.       )  r 

Jour.  R.S.A.I.  |  Vol   ,aa^Lt  Consec.  Ser.  } 


18  ROYAL   SOCIETY    OF   ANTIQUARIES    OF   IRELAND. 

Museum,  or  the  National  Museum  in  Dublin,  is  to  provide  a  resting-place 
for  the  matchless  and  miscellaneous  collection  of  gold  objects  unearthed 
in  1896  near  Limavady.  Your  Council  has  in  its  present  Report  not 
touched  this  burning  question,  and  I  propose  to  follow  their  example,  for 
reasons  to  which  I  may  briefly  advert.  And,  firstly,  it  seems  to  me  that 
there  is  not  much  which  can  now  be  added  to  the  literature  on  the 
subject.  Mr.  Arthur  Evans's  Paper,  which  first  enlightened  us  about 
them,  described  them  fully  and  well.  Apart  from  numerous  newspaper 
discussions,  we  have  some  fifty  folio  pages  of  the  Report  of  the  Treasury 
Committee  (H.  C.  Return,  1st  May,  1899,  No.  179).  The  address  of  my 
predecessor  in  this  chair  in  1900  was  mainly  devoted  to  the  subject  of 
Irish  Treasure-trove  (see  the  Journal r,  vol.  xxx.).  Our  chief  excursion  last 
year  included  a  visit  to  the  district  in  which  the  gold  objects  were  found; 
and  our  Secretary,  Mr.  Cochrane,  F.S.A.,  has  enriched  our  Journal  with  a 
Paper  which,  from  the  suggested  connexion  with  S.  Columba,  makes  these 
objects — already  supremely  interesting  as  works  of  early  art — of  still 
greater  interest  to  this  country  historically. 

The  Royal  Irish  Academy  has  latterly  abstained  from  agitating  the 
subject,  since  the  Government  decided  on  testing  by  process  of  law  the 
question  of  ownership.  But  with  the  last  issue  of  its  Proceedings  it  has 
printed  a  lengthy  Report,  which  will  enable  any  one  to  see  how  the 
matter  stands. 

There  were  many  curious  questions  not  only  about  the  law  of 
Treasure-trove,  but  about  the  proper  procedure.  A  coroner's  inquisition 
was  for  a  time  deemed  necessary.  Issue  has,  however,  been  joined,  and 
the  case  has  been  entered  for  hearing  in  London  in  the  Chancery 
Division,  before  Mr.  Justice  Farwell,  or  Mr.  Justice  Swinien-Eady,  and 
it  will  probably  come  on  within  the  next  month,  when,  presumably,  the 
Law  Officers  of  England,  on  behalf  of  the  Crown,  will  have  charge  of 
the  proceedings  against  the  Trustees  of  the  British  Museum.  The  case 
being  thus  sub  judice,  it  would  manifestly  be  improper  to  discuss  its 
merits.  The  question  there  is  one  of  law  alone. 

But  I  venture  to  give  utterance  to  the  opinion  that  for  this  and  other 
reasons  the  Society  of  Antiquaries  of  London  should  have  abstained 
from  interfering  with  the  Government  on  behalf  of  the  British  Museum, 
especially  as  the  Museum  official  who  bought  these  objects  is  the 
Secretary  of  that  Society,  and  its  President  is  one  of  the  Trustees  of  the 
Museum. 

The  Society's  resolution  was  passed  at  a  special  meeting  held  on  the 
28th  of  November,  1901.  That  Society,  which  by  its  name  at  least  is  asso- 
ciated only  with  London,  therein  avows  its  u  keen  interest  in  all  matters 


PRESIDENT  S    ADDRESS.  19 

connected  with  the  archaeology  of  these  islands,"  pronounces  the  British 
Museum  to  be  the  "  central  Museum  of  the  Empire,"  and  commits  itself 
to  the  assertion  that  the  gold  objects  in  question  are  "remains  of  the 
Art  of  the  Ancient  Britons."  Each  of  these  statements  suggests  matter 
for  controversy.  I  venture  only  to  remark  that  they  go  'far  towards 
betraying  a  desire  that  outside  of  London  no  "  Society  of  Antiquaries," 
no  "National  Museum,"  and  no  "  gold  ornaments"  should  be  tolerated. 
The  regret  occasioned  by  the  action  of  the  Society  of  Antiquaries  of 
London  is  accentuated  by  the  consideration  that  that  Society  is  presided 
over  by  an  accomplished  nobleman  who,  if  not  to  be  regarded  as  an 
Irishman,  at  least  derives  his  title  from  this  country. 

The  Society  of  Antiquaries  of  London,  though  housed  at  the  expense 
of  the  State,  has  not  established  a  Museum  of  its  own.  That  was  done 
by  the  Society  of  Antiquaries  of  Scotland,  in  Edinburgh,  by  the  Royal 
Irish  Academy,  in  Dublin,  and,  on  a  smaller  scale,  by  our  Society  in 
Kilkenny.  The  last  alone  of  these  was  independent  of  Government 
assistance.  Considering  the  difficulties  experienced  by  these  Societies 
in  maintaining  Libraries  and  Museums,  the  great  and  wealthy  London 
Society  may  have  been  wise  in  not  setting  up  a  Museum,  and  the 
Academy  may  possibly  not  regret  having  been  relieved  of  the  housing 
of  its  Museum  by  the  State.  Several  very  interesting  objects  from  our 
small  Museum  have  been  transferred  to  the  same  fine  building. 

THE  NATIONAL  MUSEUM  IN  DUBLIN. 

Ireland  was  long  left  by  the  Government  without  adequate  provision 
for  a  Museum  of  Antiquities  and  of  Industrial  Art.  But  in  1868  the 
Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  promised  to  give  to  Dublin  an  institution 
analogous  to  that  at  South  Kensington,  to  which  it  should,  under  Irish 
direction,  be  a  sister  and  not  a  subordinate.  That  promise  remained 
long  unfulfilled,  and  I  can  remember  joining  in  a  successful  agitation, 
which  found  expression  in  a  pamphlet  which  I  published  in  1876.  But 
at  length  the  Museum  building  and  equipment  were  handsomely  pro- 
vided, and,  as  one  of  the  Board  of  Visitors,  I  have  loyally  supported  the 
management.  Under  one  of  the  strange  changes  of  fortune  the  Academy, 
which  successfully  resisted  its  Parliamentary  grant  being  voted  through 
the  Department  of  "  Science  and  Art,"  now  finds  its  Museum,  in  common 
with  Dublin  Institutions  of  Science  and  Art,  placed  under  an  Irish 
Department  of  "Agriculture  and  Technical  Instruction."  So  far  the 
Museum  has  not  suffered,  but  there  has  not  been  time  for  any  far- 
reaching  changes.  It  is  not  likely  that  an  enlightened  public  opinion, 
fostered  and  educated  by  organizations  such  as  ours,  would 
tolerate  such  neglect  as  prevailed  within  living  memory.  But 

C2 


20  ROYAL    SOCIETY    OF   ANTIQUARIES    OF   IRELAND. 

already,  as  with  the  National  Library,  the  Museum  buildings  are  becom- 
ing congested,  and  the  staff  was  never  fully  adequate.  Therefore,  while 
congratulating  the  Museum  authorities  on  the  success  which  has  attended 
their  operations  so  far,  it  may  be  well  to  remind  them  that  this  is  the 
National  Museum,  and  that  its  contents  are  to  be  treated  as  of  historical 
importance,  and  not  merely  as  subserving  Technical  Instruction,  and 
to  furnish  patterns  for  artizans. 

FORTHCOMING  PUBLICATIONS. 

There  are  three  works  in  preparation  relating  to  Ireland,  which  I 
think  well  to  mention,  not  so  much  for  the  purpose  of  bringing  them  to 
your  notice,  as  to  bespeak  help  from  those  able  to  co-operate. 

Irish  Bibliography  and  the  history  of  Printing  in  Dublin  engaged  the 
attention  of  Sir  John  Gilbert;  and,  not  long  before  his  lamented  death,  he 
prepared  two  Papers  on  the  subject,  one  only  of  which  has  been  partially 
published.  Both,  however,  are  to  be  edited  for  the  Royal  Irish  Academy, 
within  the  coming  year,  by  Mr.  E.  R.  M'C.  Dix.  Following  the  plan  of 
Mr.  Anderson's  excellent  list  of  Belfast-printed  books,  Mr.  Dix  decidecl 
to  publish  an  account  of  books,  &c.,  printed  in  Dublin,  but  only  during 
the  seventeenth  century.  Three  parts  of  this  work  have  appeared 
since  1898,  each  embracing  a  quarter  of  the  century,  and  each  nearly 
doubling  in  size  its  predecessor  (though  the  price  remains  unchanged).. 
The  remaining  part,  for  1676  to  1700,  has  yet  to  appear;  and  I  am 
confident  that  Mr.  Dix  would  welcome  information  as  to  rare  Dublin- 
Drinted  books  of  this  period.  May  I  express  the  hope  that  he  will 
"  advance  backwards  "  (more  Hibernico] — amplifying  his  pamphlet  of 
1901,  entitled  "Earliest  Dublin  Printing" — and  also  forwards,  so  that 
his  work  may  begin  at  the  beginning,  and  continue  at  least  to  1725  ?  I 
observe  that  Mr.  Dix  is  announced  to  read  before  the  Bibliographical 
Society  in  London,  on  the  Eve  of  St.  Patrick's  Day,  a  Paper  on  "  Early 
Dublin  Printers  and  the  London  Stationers'  Company." 

The  Papal  Archives  at  Rome  contain  a  vast  mass  of  documents  relating 
to  mediaeval  ecclesiastical  affairs  in  Ireland.  Bishop  Donnelly,  one  of  our 
Vice-Presidents,  gave  us  a  welcome  specimen;  and  the  late  Dr.  Maziere 
Brady  published  much  relating  to  Episcopal  appointments  from  this 
source.  It  has  remained,  however,  for  the  Rev.  Father  Costello,  as  the 
result  of  many  years  of  research  in  Rome  relating  to  the  Annata,  or  first 
fruits  payable  on  the  appointments  of  Ecclesiastics,  to  place  within  our 
reach  a  series  of  Latin  documents  of  venerable  antiquity,  ranging  from 
the  twelfth  to  the  fifteenth  century.  These  are  now  being  printed  at 
Dundalk,  under  the  care  of  the  Rev.  Ambrose  Coleman,  O.P.,  with 
copious  annotations;  and  the  first  portion,  including  the  Diocese  of 


PRESIDENT'S  ADDRESS.  21 

Armagh,  is  completed,  but  not  yet  issued.  The  names  of  places  and 
persons  appear  in  unfamiliar  forms,  occasionally  showing  traces  of  varia- 
tion, attributable  to  the  language  and  the  country  they  originated  in. 
Help  is  needed  for  the  identification  of  these  names ;  and  if  any  of  our 
antiquaries,  skilled  in  the  mediaeval  nomenclature  of  Irish  dioceses  and 
districts,  is  willing  to  assist  in  supplying  explanatory  notes,  he  would 
do  well  to  communicate  with  Father  Coleman. 

Hall-marks  on  plate,  and  especially  the   date-letters  used  by  the 
makers  to  perpetuate,  while  concealing,  a  knowledge  of  the  age  of  the 
pieces  of  silver  or  gold  on  which  they  are  stamped,  have  engaged  the 
attention  of  English  antiquaries  at  least  from  the  time  of  Mr.  Octavius 
Morgan.     They  have  extended  their  attention  to  the  hall-marks  used  by 
the  Goldsmiths'  Company  of  Dublin,  since  its  incorporation  in  1637  ;  but 
the  lists  hitherto  published  have  either  been  misleading  or  defective. 
Though  the  well-known  books  of  Chaffers  and  Cripps  have  passed  through 
several  editions,  we  have  as  yet  no  satisfactory  account  of  the  Dublin 
hall-marks ;  and  though  Cork  antiquaries  interested  themselves  in  trying 
to  fix  the  date  of  silver  manufactured  in  the  South  of  Ireland,  the  absence 
of  date-letters  outside  of  Dublin  made  their  task  difficult.    I  have  myself 
long  worked  at  Irish  hall-marks,  and  collected  materials  towards  a  book 
on  the  subject.    But  the  task  has  recently  been  taken  up  by  a  gentleman 
of  more  energy,  Mr.  C.  J.  Jackson,  F.S.A.,  of  London,  who  possesses  the 
happy   skill  of  being  able  to  produce  accurate  representations   of  the 
marks.     The  book  which   he  is  preparing  for  publication  will  not  be 
limited  to  Ireland ;  but  there  is  less  uncertainty  about  the  other  hall- 
marks.    The  date-letter  tables,   constructed  for  Dublin,   were  usually 
started  from  a  few  articles  of  known  dates,  on  the  erroneous  assumption 
that  the  alphabets  used  in  the  several  cycles  consisted  of  the  same  number 
of  letters ;  that  they  proceeded  uninterruptedly  ;  and  that  no  letter  of  the 
same  alphabet  was  used  for  more  than  one  year.     The  books  of  our  Gold- 
smiths' Company  are  extremely  defective,  and  they  record  only  about  a 
dozen  of  the  years  indicated  by  the  date-letters  before  the  last  century. 
There  are  not  as  many  silver  articles  in  that  time,  the  date  of  the  actual 
making  of  which  is  known.     This  being  so,  the  meaning  of  these  letters 
can  now  be  only  determined  approximately  by  examining  pieces  of  plate 
bearing  dated  inscriptions,  usually  recording  presentations.    Church  plate 
is  the  most  helpful,  because  having  been  usually  made  to  order,  it  fixed  the 
value  of  the  date-letter  more  closely  than  did  presentation  plate  in  general. 
This  fact  will  render  welcome  to  lovers  of  silver  the  forthcoming  volume 
on  Irish  Church  Plate,  of  which  Col.  Vigors,  one  of  our  Vice-Presidents, 
has  just  issued  the  prospectus.     It  is  surprising  how  few  dated  pieces 
have  been  yet  made  available.    Between  1642  and  1655,  a  time  of  unrest, 
only  one   is  forthcoming.     Of  the  alphabet  in  use   at  the  time  of  the 


22  ROYAL    SOCIETY    OF    ANTIQUARIES    OF    IRELAND. 

Eestoration,  only  three  letters  have  yet  been  recorded  as  found  on  dated 
Church  plate.  Two  of  these  are  on  Communion  plate  at  Kells,  County 
Meath;  but,  though  they  are /and  g,  coming  next  to  each  other,  the 
inscribed  dates,  1665  and  1671,  differ  by  six  years.  This  I  mention  as 
an  example  of  the  difficulty  of  fixing  the  date  of  making.  From  1685  to 
1692  no  Dublin  date-letter  has  been  identified.  In  the  next  cycle  some 
letters  seem  to  have  done  duty  for  more  than  one  year  each.  If  any  of 
our  antiquaries  will  help  by  communicating  inf  ormation  as  to  early  dated 
examples,  it  will  be  useful  and  welcome. 

THE  u  BOOTS.  OF  ARMAGH." 

"While  referring  to  new  books  about  to  be  published,  I  should  turn 
for  [a  moment  to  a  Book  in  Manuscript,  which  is  probably  the  oldest 
connected  with  Ireland,  and  the  publication  of  which  has  long  been 
anxiously  awaited.  I  refer  to  the  famous  and  venerable  "Book  of  Armagh." 
That  great  antiquary,  Bishop  Eeeves,  was  instrumental  in  securing  it  a 
permanent  and  suitable  resting-place;  and  the  munificence  of  Primate 
Lord  John  George  Beresford  provided  for  its  publication.  This  was 
undertaken  by  the  Eoyal  Irish  Academy,  who  entrusted  the  work  to 
the  Eev.  Professor  Gwynn,  who  will  doubtless  do  it  justice.  The  text 
of  the  book,  consisting  chiefly  of  the  Gospels  in  Latin,  is  printed  in 
ordinary  type.  Dr.  Eeeves,  who  hoped  to  edit  the  precious  MS.  himself, 
prepared  a  large  collection  of  illustrative  matter  for  the  purpose.  He 
published  a  short  memoir  of  it  in  1861,  which  has  been  at  least  twice 
reprinted ;  and,  just  thirty  years  later,  it  was  the  subject  of  the  last  but 
one  o"f  the  many  Papers  he  read  before  the  Eoyal  Irish  Academy.  It  is- 
now  nearly  ten  years  since  the  issue  of  the  book  was  announced  as 
imminent.  Perhaps  you  may  see  it  before  you  have  to  elect  my  successor 
as  President. 

THE  SOCIETY  AND  ITS  EOLL. 

I  must  not  conclude  without  referring  to  the  state  of  our  Society. 
Several  Presidential  Addresses  and  Annual  Eeports  to  kindred  societies 
are  mainly  composed  of  obituary  notices  of  their  members  whom  death 
recently  removed.  I  would  willingly  dilate  on  the  loss  we  have  sustained 
by  the  death  of  Mr.  Cooke-Trench,  one  of  our  Yice-Presidents,  though 
his  work  lay  more  with  the  Kildare  ArchaBological  Society.  For  that 
body  he  unravelled  the  intricacies  of  the  interlacing  work,  which  used 
to  be  considered  to  belong  especially  to  Irish  Art,  but  which  Italy  now 
claims — perhaps  only  as  deriving  it  from  us.  His  love  of  research  also- 
showed  itself  in  his  History  of  the  Trench  Family,  which  is  a  model  for 
the  genealogist.  He  had  the  rare  advantage  of  being  able  to  trace  all 
persons  of  his  name  to  one  ancestor,  whose  name,  Le  Tranche,  originally 
derived  from  France,  on  his  migration  hither  took  the  form  now  familiar 
in  Ireland. 


PRESIDENT'S  ADDRESS.  23 

But  I  must  leave  to  others  such.  Memorials  of  the  Dead,  and  notice 
the  present  state  of  our  Society's  Roll.  When  His  Majesty  the  King 
was  lately  petitioned  to  assume  the  office  of  Patron,  he  was  told  that  the 
Society  was  supposed  to  be  the  largest  of  its  kind  in  his  kingdom.  I  was 
justly  proud  when  the  prospect  of  being  made  President  of  such  a  body 
was  placed  before  me.  But,  long  accustomed  to  "  verify  quotations,"  I 
resolved  to  inquire  how  the  roll  of  similar  societies  figured,  and  here  is  the 
result: — The  Society  of  Antiquaries  of  Scotland  at  the  close  of  1900, 
after  a  net  loss  of  23  in  the  year,  numbered  687.  The  great  Society  of 
Antiquaries  of  London,  in  1899,  after  a  less  loss,  numbered  750 ;  so  that 
there  is  not  such  disparity  as  might  be  expected  between  the  antiquarian, 
zeal  of  North  and  South  Britain. 

The  Royal  Irish  Academy,  according  to  the  numerical  summary 
appended  to  its  List  of  Members  in  1902,  was  reduced  to  255  members 
(besides  63  Honorary),  and  of  these,  Science  would  probably  claim  half 
as  exclusively  its  own. 

The  number  on  our  roll,  as  to-day  reported,  is  1248,  so  that  our 
Society  in  membership  nearly  equals  those  of  the  English  and  Scottish 
Societies  combined.  If  the  roll  of  the  Academy  be  added  to  ours, 
Ireland,  comparatively  small  and  poor,  shows  a  larger  number  of 
persons  devoted  to  the  study  of  antiquities  than  does  the  Britain  styled 
Great. 

As  regards  the  larger  and  better  portion  of  the  human  race,  the 
disparity  is  even  more  in  our  favour.  The  Scottish  Antiquaries  recog- 
nize women's  rights  (or  claims)  so  far  as  to  admit  gratuitously  to  a 
separate  class,  styled  "Lady  Associates"  (not  Fellows),  a  chosen  few 
"who  have  done  valuable  work  in  the  field  of  Archaeology,"  but 
"according  to  the  laws  their  number  is  limited  to  25."  The  London 
Society  has,  I  believe,  no  such  law  for  ladies,  and  no  lady  Fellows  or 
Associates.  The  Royal  Irish  Academy  has,  in  over  a  century,  numbered 
on  its  roll  two  only,  I  believe.  We  have  no  law  or  limitation  such  as- 
Scotland  interposes.  All  are  welcome  with  us,  and  I  rejoice  to  notice 
on  our  long  list  of  communications  for  to-night  that  a  Paper  by  a  lady 
heads  that  list. 

And  not  only  has  this  Irish  brotherhood  and  sisterhood  of  ours  itself 
flourished  and  grown,  but  its  influence  and  training  have  led  to  the 
establishment  of  similar  local  societies ;  and  besides  welcoming  from  Cork 
and  Belfast  the  admirable  archaeological  journals  which  they  have  long 
issued,  we  greet  the  publications  of  the  younger  provincial  Societies  of 
Kildare,  Waterford,  Galway,  and,  I  may  add,  Limerick. 


24  ROYAL   SOCIETY   OF  ANTIQUARIES    OF    IRELAND. 

Numbers  alone,  however,  could  not  ensure  success  ;  but  they  have 
helped  to  secure  to  this  Society  some  measure  of  financial  prosperity,  and 
that,  in  turn,  has  tended  to  make  its  publications  worthy  of  our  Society. 

If,  as  in  the  case  of  the  kindred  societies  which,  thanks  to  the  bounty 
of  the  State,  acquiesce  in  a  plan  supposed  to  be  peculiar  to  Ireland,  and 
"  pay  no  rent,"  we  could  be  relieved  by  a  paternal  Government  from  that 
somewhat  antiquated  obligation,  our  Society  might  become  more  firmly 
rooted  in  and  racy  of  the  soil,  our  meetings  would  be  in  more  inviting 
and  inspiriting  surroundings,  and  our  Society  would  be  better  able  to 
promote  in  Ireland  those  branches  of  learning  which  for  over  half  a 
century  it  has  cultivated  so  zealously,  and,  as  a  last  word,  I  venture  to 
add,  successfully. 


IsOTES  ON  ASKEATON,  COUNTY  LIMERICK. 
PART  I. — THE  HISTOBY,  A.D.  900  TO  1579. 

BYjTHOMAS  J.  WESTROPP,  M.A.,  M.R.I.A.,  VICE-PKESIDENT. 
[Read  JULY  1,  1901,  and  OCTOBER  28,  1902.] 

A  SKEATON,  an  ancient  village  and  former  parliamentary  borough  on  the 
•^*-  river  Deel,  possesses  a  castle,  church,  and  Franciscan  friary,  which 
form  a  most  interesting  group  of  ruins  only  inferior  to  Adare  and 
Kilmallock,  in  the  same  county.  The  site  is,  however,  lacking  in  the 


Askeaton,  from  the  Franciscan  Convent. 

beautiful  surroundings  of  the  last-named  places.  The  modern  (and  in 
many  cases  half -ruinous  and  poor)  houses  of  the  village  close  round  the 
castle,  and  appear  in  nearly  every  distant  view  of  the  friary,  while  ugly 
quays  with  no  shipping,  and  flat  country  with  only  low  and  distant 
hills,  take  the  place  of  the  reed-  and  bush-shaded  Lubagh  and  Maigue 


26  ROYAL   SOCIETY    OF   ANTIQUARIES    OF   IRELAND. 

and  the  piled  masses  of  the  Galtees  behind  Kilmallock.  Coming  to 
Askeaton  from  the  railway  station,  through  a  flat  and  unpicturesque 
though  wooded  country,  with  only  the  broken  keep  of  the  castle  to 
show  that  we  are  approaching  any  place  of  ancient  note,  the  first  impres- 
sion is  one  of  disappointment.  It  is  not  till  we  drop  abruptly  from  the 
table-land  to  the  bridge  over  the  shallows  of  the  Deel  that  we  see  to  any 
advantage  the  towering  and  picturesque  ruins  of  the  fortress  in  its  river 
gorge,  and,  on  the  other  side,  the  confused  mass  of  ivied  gables  and 
shafted  windows  of  the  Franciscans'  ancient  house. 

No  detailed  description  of  these  fine  ruins  has  been  published,  nor  has 
any  proper  plan  or  illustration  of  them  appeared.  Grose1  gives  a  very 
inadequate  and  incorrect  view  of  the  castle,  dated  1792,  over  the  name 
of  Rockbarton  Castle,  which  proves  to  be  Rockbarkeley  or  Askeaton. 
O'Callaghan  Kewenham,  in  a  style  of  picturesque  inaccuracy  (surpassing 
even  Bartlett),  depicts  the  friary.  Of  the  quaint  but  instructive  old  view 
in  "  Pacata  Hibernia  "  we  shall  have  more  to  say.  The  best  account 
hitherto  published  is  that  by  the  Rev.  James  Dowd  ;a  but  from  the  scope 
of  his  very  interesting  book,  "  Round  About  the  County  Limerick,"  the 
description  is  brief  and  untechnical.  Some  architectural  notes  on  the 
friary  and  castle  have  also  appeared  in  the  Gentleman's  Magazine  f  or  I864.z 

In  the  face  of  all  this,  we  may  be  forgiven  for  striving  to  deal  more 
fully  with  this  place  and  its  history,  trying  to  fill  up  a  gap  no  less  in  the 
history  of  the  lesser  Irish  towns  than  in  our  monastic  literature,  and  to 
lay  up  material  for  some  future  author  who  may  compile  an  Irish 
Monasticon  more  worthy  of  the  abbey-abounding  Isle  of  Saints. 

THE  NAMES  OF  ASKEATON  AND  INISKEFTY. 

Askeaton  most  probably  derives  its  name,  Eas  Gephthine — Gephten's 
Cascade — from  an  ancient  though  obscure  tribe,  the  Gebtini,4  who  held 
in  pre-Christian  times5  the  western  section  of  the  present  county  of 
Limerick,6  and  shared  the  district  with  the  more  important  and  far- 
reaching  tribes  of  Ua  Cathbar  and  Ua  Corra. 

Older  legend  tells  of  Gared,  one  of  the  chieftains  who  commanded 
under  Finn  Mac  Coul  at  the  battle  of  Cnamross,  and  how  he  dwelt  at 
Eas  Gepthine ;  later  antiquaries  tell  of  a  lady,  or  chieftain,  Gephthine, 
or  Gepten,  or,  with  perfervid  fancy  in  derivation,  evolve  the  name 

1  "  Antiquities  of  Ireland,"  vol.  i.,  plate  xxx.,  p.  71. 

2  "  Round  About  the  County  Limerick  "  (1896),  p.  178. 

3  Part  2,  pp.  542,  544. 

4  See  valuable  Paper,  by  Mr.  H.  T.  Knox,  in  Journal,  vol.  xxx.  (1900),  p.  344, 
with  map  based  on  M'Firbis. 

^O'Donovan,  in  Ordnance  Survey  Letters,  R.I. A.  MSS.,  14,  E.  9,  p.  453.  Eas 
geptine,  Gepten,  a  man's  name  "  in  pagan  times."  In  tbis  and  the  following  notes, 
C.  S.  P.  I.  indicates  the  "  Calendar  of  State  Papers  relating  to  Ireland  "  ;  L.  M.  H., 
"  Liber  Munerum  Publicorum  Hibernise"  ;  R.  I.  A.,  Royal  Irish  Academy. 

6  Borlase's  "  Dolmens  of  Ireland,"  vol.  in.,  p.  876. 


NOTES    ON   ASKEATON,  COUNTY   LIMERICK,  27 

11  Eas  caed  tinne,"  from  the  "  hundred  fires  "  lighted  in  honour  of  Baal. 
Few  things  are  more  dangerous  to  true  archaeology  than  false  etymology 
derived  from  revising  local  names  into  supposed  Irish  equivalents  when 
unchecked  by  ancient  records. 

We  have  seen  that  the  basis  of  the  name  was  Gebten ;  but  in  the 
records  from  1200  to  1450  a  variant  to  Eas  Gebthine  appears,  and  was 
almost  exclusively  used  among  the  clergy  and  the  English.  It  appears 
in  various  forms ;  but  was  evidently  Iniskefty,  i.e.  Inis  Geibhthine.  It 
occurs  in  such  strange  forms  as  Iniskefly,  Iniskesty,  Inisketti,  Hineskefly,. 
Hinckesti,  Hinksti,  Imkesti,  Inikefli,  Iniskyfly,  Inknesci,  Jyskefty,  and 
Imkefti.  It  gets  into  forms  so  dangerously  like  Iniscatti,  Inisketty,  and 
Iniscathaig  that  I  have  in  some  cases  refrained  from  using  records  with 
the  less  usual  spellings,  lest  they  should  not  refer  to  Askeaton,  unless 
where  the  internal  evidence  decided  the  question.  These  vague  spellings^ 
and  the  appearance  of  "  Asketon"  castle  in  the  early  records,  led  me  into 
the  belief  that  Askeaton  and  Iniskefty  were  different  places.  I  also 
supposed  that  some  of  the  entries  related  to  Iniscathaig,  and  these 
mistakes  I  take  this  opportunity  of  noticing  and  correcting.1  No  previous 
writer  has2  given  any  proof  for  the  identification  ;  so  until  I  was  satisfied 
by  the  "  llental  of  O'Connyll"  that  Iniskefty  was  actually  Askeaton,  I 
feared  to  use  any  of  the  Iniskefty  records.  Prom  other  documents  it 
appears  that  Asketon  (or  rather  Askeion)  was  Escloon  or  Eschluana,. 
a  castle,  church,  cantred  and  parish  in  the  deanery  of  Limerick,  probably 
near  Carrigogunnell,  but  not  Kilkeedy.3  Accordingly  we  may  dismiss  the 
Asketon  entries,  and  confine  ourselves  to  Iniskefty  and  Askeaton.  The 
intermediate  form,  "  Yneskitun,"  is  used  in  the  "  Valor  Beneficiorum  " 
in  1539. 4  It  is  impossible  to  suppose  that  Iniskefty  is  a  corruption  of 
Eas  Geibhthine ;  it  is  much  more  probable  that  both  prefixes  to  the  name 
Gebhthine  existed  in  Irish,  representing  the  island  and  the  waterfall  of 
the  Deel,  and  thence  the  castle  on  that  island.5 

EARLY  HISTORY,  A.D.  900  TO  1383. 

The  fort  of  Geibhtine  was  reserved  to  the  kings  of  Cashel  in  the 
"Book  of  Rights,"  at  any  rate  before  A.D.  900,  if  not  in  the  fifth 

1  I  may  give  as  corrigenda  to  my  former  Papers  references  to  mistakes  as  to 
Iniskefty,  or  Inisketty,  in  our  Journal,  vol.  xxvii.  (1897),  p.  279,  note  5,  and  vol. 
xxiv.  (1894),  p.  335  ;  also  to  Proc.R.I.A.,  Ser.  in.,  vol.  vi.,  p.  112.     As  an  Appendix 
to  this  Paper  shows,  the  fact  of  the  early  annexation  of  Iniscathaigh  by  the  See  of 
Limerick  rests  on  a  mass  of  evidence  untouched  by  these  errors. 

2  As  in  Bishop  Reeves's  Manuscripts,  T.C.D.*,  and  ''Round  About  the  County 
Limerick,"  p.  293. 

3  Bishop  O'Dea's  "Taxa.  Procuration  urn,"  1418,  gives  "Eschluana,  alias  Kyl- 
kyde,"next  Mungret,  but  the  older  records,  the  Taxation  of  1291,  &c.,  give  these 
churches  as  in  separate  parishes. 

*  MS.  T.C.D.,  E.  13,  15,  No.  632. 

5  The  Inquisition  of  the  estates  of  Gerald,  Earl  of  Desmond,  September  11,  xxvi. 
Eliz. ,  includes  the  castle  of  Inniskesty,  in  the  *  service  '  of  Asketten. 


23  ROYAL  SOCIETY   OF   ANTIQUARIES   OF   IRELAND. 

century.1  We  hear  nothing  more  of  the  place  till,  in  1199,  the  "  Annals 
of  Inisf alien  "2  record  the  building  of  the  castle  of  "Eas  Gephthine." 
There  was  "great  abundance  of  fruit  in  Desmond"  that  year,  which 
probably  extended  to  other  neighbouring  districts,  and  favoured  the 
foundation.  The  founder  is  not  mentioned,  but  (as  we  shall  see) 
was  most  likely  William  de  Burgo.  King  John,  of  England,  on  October 
13th,  1203,  notified  to  his  Irish  Government  that  "William  de  Burgo 
had  paid  for  the  livery  of  the  castles  of  Kilfeakle  and  Hinneskefti,  and 


Askeaton  Castle,  from  the  south-west. 

that  he  retained  de  Burgo's  sons  as  hostages  till  the  justiciary,  Meyler 
fitz  Henry,  came  to  the  king  at  Caen.3  In  the  same  year  the  king 
restored  to  Hamon  fitz  Hamon  de  Valoignes  the  castle  of  Hineskesty, 
or  Hinckesty,  which  belonged  to  said  Hamon  by  inheritance,  he  having 
paid  50  marks  for  it.4 

1  "Book  of  Rights"  (ed.  O'Donovan),  pp.  89,  91». 

2  MS.  T.C.D.  i.  i.  19.      Ware,  in  his   "  Annals,"  1198,  says  :— "  The  English 
built  .   .  .  another  (castle)  the  next  year  at  Astretin,  hy  the  river  Delvin,"  sic. 

3  Calendar,  Patent  Rolls,  John,  An.  xvii.  ;   "  Liber  Munerum  Pub.  Hib."  vol.  i., 
p.  30  ;  Calendar  of  Documents  relating  to  Ireland,  1171-1251,  No.  593. 

4  Fine  Rolls,  John,  xvii.  and  xviii.,  m.  8  ;  Patent  Rolls  same  years,  No,  593,  grant 
of  castle  of  Hineskefty. 


NOTES   ON   ASKEATON,  COUNTY   LIMERICK.  29 

It  next  appears  as  having  a  church  dedicated  to  St.  Mary.  Through 
some  unexplained  favour  of  the  ruling  powers  to  the  Augustinian  abbey 
of  Keynsham,  in  Somerset,1  a  number  of  the  Limerick  churches  had  been 
granted  to  that  monasteiy.  Hubert  de  Burgo,  Bishop  of  Limerick  in 
1237,  had  the  ability  to  procure  the  restitution  of  most  of  them  from 
John  de  Bineford,  Canon  of  Keynsham,  proctor  for  the  abbot  and  convent. 
They  were  Rathgel  (Rathkeale),  Eathfergus  (Kilfergus),  Mayntaueney 
(Moy  Tawnagh,  or  Mahoonagh),  Mayryne  (Kiltennan),  Browry  (Bruree), 
Culballysiward  (probably  Howardstown),  Karracnesy  (Caherhenesy, 
llathkeale),  Mayne,  Moymolcally,  Orosse  (Iveruss),  and  Doundouenolde.2 
The  church  of  Iniskefty  seems  to  have  been  also  given  to  Keynsham ; 
but  the  transaction,  save  as  to  the  grant,  is  not  very  clearly  stated. 
The  bishop  granted  "  Iniskefty, "  with  the  consent  of  its  chapter,  to  the 
church  of  St.  Mary  of  Keynsham,  in  England,  and  to  the  abbot  and  con- 
vent of  that  place.  One-third  of  its  income  was  reserved  to  the  vicar  of 
Iniskefty,  Thomas  de  Cardiff,  a  canon  of  England.3  This  grant  was 
unrepealed ;  for  in  the  great  Desmond  Roll,  an  Elizabethan  survey  of 
county  Limerick,  by  Christopher  Peyton  in  1584,  "  the  rectory  of 
Askeaton  church  was  impropriate  to  the  Crown  in  right  of  the  dissolved 
abbey  of  Kensam."4 

The  grant,  however,  led  to  litigation;  for  in  1268  we  find  that 
Walter  de  Lacton  and  Gunnora,  his  wife,  were  plaintiffs  in  an  action 
against  the  abbot  of  "Keyneresham."  The  plaintiffs  claimed  10  marks 
off  Oross,  and  other  matters,  "  out  of  the  inheritance  of  the  said  Gunnora, 
held  by  the  king  in  capite,"  and  "another  writ  against  the  abbot  con- 
cerning the  advowson  of  the  churches  of  Ineskefty  and  Kilculgin."5 
In  1289  an  Inquisition  was  taken,  which  found  that  Hamo  de  Yalenges, 
former  lord  of  "  Iniskyfty,"  enfeoffed  the  predecessor  of  John  (deSanford), 
Archbishop  of  Dublin,  of  one  knight's  fee  in  Culballysiward,  in  pure 
and  perpetual  alms,  along  with  a  certain  tenement  in  Browry.  The 
original  charter  was  evidently  lost ;  for  in  the  "  Registry  of  the  Arch- 
bishops of  Dublin"  there  is  no  older  document  than  the  grant  of  the 
whole  tenement  of  Culballisiward,  in  County  Limerick,  from  Alexander 

1  Keynsham  was  a  foundation  of  William,  Earl  of  Gloucester,  in  1170,  and  of 
Gilbert  De  Clare,  a  later  earl.   Had  the  connexion  of  either  the  De  Clares  or  Berkeleys 
with  Askeaton  or  Limerick  been  of  earlier  date,  the  grants  of  the  Irish  benefices  to 
Keynsham  would  be  less  problematical.     Hamo  de  Valoniis  was,  however,  connected 
with  it.     Dugdale's  "Monasticon  Anglicanurn,"  ed.  1830,  vol.  vi.,  Part  i.,  page  451. 
"  History  of  Somerset,"  by  the  Rev.  J.  Collinson,  vol.  ii.,  p.  402. 

2  "  Black  Book  of  Limerick,"  No.  LI.,  p.  75.     Culballysiward  seems  to  have  been 
Cooleen  and  Howardstown  ;  hut  there  was  another  Ballysyward,  or  Ballyhoward,  at 
Adamstown,  some  miles  to  the  east. 

3  A  Richard  de  Kaerdiff  was  living  at  Keynsham  at  the  same  time.     Dugdale,  as 
ahove,  p.  453. 

4  Desmond  Roll,  Record  Office,  Dublin  ;  also  an  Inquisition  on  possessions  of  late 
Abbey  of  Keynsham,  1542  (C.  S.  P.  I.,  p.  62). 

5  Plea  Roll  (Ireland),  53  H.  in.,  mem.  8,  /.  (Cal.,  vol.  i.,  p.  32). 


30  ROYAL    SOCIETY    OF    ANTIQUARIES    OF    IRELAND. 

Anno,  son  of  Godfrey  de  Anno,  to  John  de  Sandford,  Archbishop  of 
Dublin,  along  with  the  homage  of  the  grantor's  nephew  John,  on  the 
morrow  of  the  Holy  Trinity,  1284.1 

Among  the  lists  of  "  capitnla  "  (an  equivalent,  it  should  appear,  to 
later  parochial  administrations),  and  the  coroners'  districts  in  Limerick 
under  Edward  I.,  Iniskefty  appears.  For  example,  we  find — "  For 
the  Crown — Inskyfty  and  Rathgele — Villa ta  de  Coulbalysyward — John 
Dondon  tried  for  their  neglect.2  The  bridges  of  Coulbalysyward  and 
Cloncullig  were  broken  (as  was  alleged).  The  jnry  find  that  the  said 
John  does  not  hold  and  repair  the  bridge  of  Cloncullig,  and  that  the 
bridge  of  Coulbalysiward  is  made  up,  so  that  men,  horses,  and  wagons 
(carruce)  are  able  to  cross."  An  interesting  side-light  on  the 
maintenance  of  public  works  under  the  great  Prince  in  1290.3 

Iniskefty  is  next  stated  to  have  passed  to  the  ill-starred  Thomas  de 
Clare  and  his  wife,  Juliana,  daughter  of  Maurice  FitzMaurice,  Lord  of 
Offaley,  before  1287,4  and  particulars  are  given  as  to  the  house  of 
Desmond  succeeding  to  that  of  Offaley.  This  is  not  borne  out  by  the 
elaborate  Inquisitions  on  the  death  of  Thomas  de  Clare,  1287.  However, 
we  find  a  grant  of  Edward  IT.,  1318,  to  Robert  de  Welle  and  his  wife 
Matilda  (sister  of  Richard  de  Clare,  who  that  year  had  fallen  at 
Dysertodea)  of  the  castle,  manor  and  barony  of  Imkifty  or  Inikefty, 
valued  at  £14  Is.  I%d.  They  also  claimed  the  advowsons  of  the 
churches  of  Inikifty  and  of  Bunratty  and  Quin,  in  Tomond,  in  1322.6 

In  1314  (8  Edward  II.)  a  lawsuit  was  tried  at  Limerick.  The 
plaintiff  Isabella,  widow  of  Gilbert  de  Clare,  proceeded  against  Robert 
de  Wall  on  a  plea  of  account  for  the  time  when  he  was  Gilbert's  bailiff 
in  the  manors  of  Yoghell,  Inchecoyn,  Candlestown,  Any,  Iniskyfty, 
Mountauenach,  Bonrat,  and  Ardrayn.6  So  it  is  evident  that,  if  not 
Thomas  de  Clare,  at  least  his  sons  Gilbert  and  Richard  held  the  Manor 
at  the  beginning  of  the  fourteenth  century. 

To  go  back  for  a  few  years,  King  Edward  I.  in  1300  asked  for  an  aid 
from  the  towns  of  Ireland  for  his  war  with  Scotland.  The  entry  gives 

1  Plea  Roll,  xviii.  Ed.  I.,  mem.    10  (Cal.,  vol.  i.,  p.  50),  and   "  Liber  Niger 
Alani"  (Reeves's  MSS.  T.C.D.,  1061),  vol.  ii.,  p.  828.     Dr.  Stokes  gives  a  note,  but 
a  very  inaccurate  one,  on  this  deed  in  the  Journal,  vol.  xxvii.  (1897),  p.  407. 

2  This  old  family,  not  unrepresented  among  the  present  inhabitants  of  Limerick, 
appears  from  the  thirteenth  to  the  sixteenth  centuries  as  landowners  at  Ballysiward. 

3  Plea  Roll,  xviii.  Ed.  I.,  m.  44  (Cal.,  vol.  i.,  p.  140).      The  other  "  chapters  " 
given  are  Ardach,  Othenach,  Esclon,Iolegar  (luregar),  Browry,  Fontymchil  (Fontemel), 
and  Cromyth  (Groom).     The  Pipe  Rolls  give  the  "  Villate  "  as  Adar,  Rathgel,  Ins- 
kyfti,  Ardagh,   Cromech,    Kilmehallock,  Dermochy,  Natherlagh,  Any,   Grene,  and 
Karkinl(iss),  1303. 

4  Journal,  vol.  ix.  (1867),  p.  79. 

5  Cal.  Close  Rolls,  1322,  p.  440.     Matilda,  sister  and  heir  of  R.  de  Clare,  claims 
the  advowsons  of  Bonrat,   Conighy,   and   Inskifty.     See  also  Grossi  Fines,  1321. 
Matilda  holding  "  Castra  de  Bonrath,  Coinguy  de  Totomon,  cast.  man.  et  barouiam  de 
Inskisty,  castr  de  Corkemoyth,  cus.  de  Any,"  &c. 

6  Plea  Roll,  No.  109,  viii.  Edward  II.,  mem.  40  (Cal.,  vol.  iv.,  p.  19). 


NOTES   ON    ASKEATON,  COUNTY    LIMERICK.  31 

the  names  and  assessments  of  each  of  the  Irish  towns,  and  is  an 
invaluable  record  of  their  standing  and  wealth.  Inskefty  is  assessed  at 
40«.,  and  is  evidently  a  town  of  the  standing  of  "  Athdare,"  "  Rathgel," 
and  "  Cromoth,"  its  sister  towns  in  County  Limerick.1 

If  the  "Dictionary  "  of  Lewis  can  be  trusted,  there  was  a  preceptory 
of  the  Knights  of  the  Temple  at  Iniskefty,  and  they  built  the  church, 
part  of  whose  ruins  still  stand,  in  1291.  This  derives  some  support 
from  the  Civil  Survey  of  1655,  which  mentions  "one  garden,  hospital 
land  surrounded  by  the  lands  of  Asketten,"  as  being  in  the  town.  It  is 
probable  that  here,  as  in  so  many  other  cases,  the  hospitallers  succeeded 
to  the  possessions  of  the  suppressed  Templars.2  The  Church  appears 
in  the  Papal  Taxation  of  1302  to  1306  as  Ynyskyfty,  and  is  valued  at 
16  marks,  and  its  vicarage  at  8  marks.3 

The  invasion  of  Bruce  gave  the  English  Government  a  deadly  blow, 
and  its  elaborate  organization  nearly  collapsed.  The  notices  in  the  Plea 
Rolls  and  other  records  get  fewer  and  of  less  interest.  We  learn  from 
a  group  of  pardons  in  1346  that  among  the  families  residing  in 
u  Ineskyfty  "  that  year  were  those  of  Albus  (White),  Bethegan,  Catewoly, 
Cissor,  FitzDavid,  Germye,  Harold,  Nasshe,  O'Calan,  Pronce,  Playfort, 
and  Rus.4 

Two  years  later  the  place  appears  as  held  by  that  most  ill-starred 
family,  the  Lords  of  Desmond,  who  left  the  mark  of  their  power,  wealth, 
and  liberality  on  the  buildings,  still  beautiful  in  their  ruin  among  the 
crowded  houses  of  the  modern  village.  On  June  20th,  1348,  the 
Escheator  notifies  to  the  King  "  that  he  has  learned  by  Inquisition 
that  Maurice  Fitzmaurice,  late  Earl  (Comes)  of  Dessemond,  held," 
among  numerous  other  possessions,  "  the  manor  of  lyskifti  "  by  service, 
and  40*.,  along  with  the  manor  of  Glynnogre.5  The  Barony,  as  already 
stated,  formed  a  cantred;  so  late  as  1358  we  find  the  cantreds  of  County 
Limerick  named  as  Inyskysty,  Ocarbri,  Adare,  Cromyth,  Any,  Grene, 
Ardagh,  Fontymshyll,  Esclon,  and  Wethney,  or  Oghney.6 

About  1367  John  Maltravers,  junior,  held  the  manors  of  Rathgell 
and  Inskyfty,  in  County  Limerick,  in  Ireland,7  but  thenceforth  the  name 
of  Desmond  stands  almost  alone  in  the  Annals  of  Askeaton  for  two 
centuries. 

1  Plea  Koll  (Ireland),  xxvii.  Ed.  I.,  mem.  2.      Mr.  James   Mills,  the    Deputy 
Keeper  of  the  Records  of  Ireland,  most  kindly  called  my  attention  to  this  important 
document. 

2  "  Topographical  Dictionary  of  Ireland"   (Lewis),  vol.  i.,  p.  81;  and  "Civil 
Survey,"  1655,  pp.  66,  67  (Record  Office). 

3  C.  S.  P.  I.,  1302,  from  Exchequer  Rolls. 

*  Cal.  Patent  Rolls,  xx.  Ed.  II.  "  Catewoly  "  is  the  Welsh  family  of  Cadewalla, 
•or  Cadwelly,  frequently  mentioned  in  Plea  Rolls. 

5  Cal.  Patent  Rolls,  An.  xxii.  Ed.  III.,  p.  72,  No.  2. 

6  Ib.  xx.,  Ed.  III.,  No.  44,  and  An.  xxxii.,  No.  101,  p.  72,  Nos.  2-10. 

7  Calendar  Inquis.post  mort.,  1367  and  1375,  pp.  284,  352. 


32  ROYAL   SOCIETY    OF    ANTIQUARIES    OF   IRELAND. 

In  1383,  Philip  de  Courtenay  held  a  meeting  at  Kilmehallock  to 
consult  as  to  payments  of  scutage,  &c.  This  was  necessitated  by  the 
wars  raised  in  Munster.  At  this  meeting  40s.  was  paid  by  the  Earl  of 
Desmond  for  the  Barony  of  Incheskyn,  in  County  Limerick.1 

THE  FEANCISCAN  FBIAEY,  1389-1420. 

One  of  the  Earls  of  Desmond,  according  to  Wadding,2  founded  the 
Friary  of  Franciscan  monks  in  1389.  The  founder  was  probably  Gerald, 
"  the  poet,"  the  fourth  Earl  of  Desmond,  Lord  Justice  of  Ireland, 
of  whom  tradition 3  asserts  that  he  mysteriously  disappeared  into  the 


Askeaton — Franciscan  Convent  (Chancel). 

enchanted  waters  of  Lough  Gur  to  re-appear  once  in  seven  years,  and 
ride  over  its  waters  till  the  silver  shoes  of  his  horse  were  worn  out. 
Our  Annals  only  know  of  his  penitent  death  after  receiving  the  Sacra- 
ments. The  Four  Masters  and  Ware,  on  the  other  hand,  place  the  date 
of  the  foundation  in  1420,  James,  the  7th  Earl  of  Desmond,  being  then  in 

1  Remembrance  Rolls,  vii.  Ric.  II.,  m.  42,  facie. 

2  "  Annales  Minorum,"  xv.,  pp.  xviii,  145. 

3  Also  told  as  of  Gerald,  the  "  rebel  Earl." 


NOTES   ON   ASKEATON,  COUNTY    LIMERICK.  33 

power.1  Father  Hugh  Ward,  writing  about  1630,  says  :  "  The  founder 
of  the  convent  was  *  D.'  Earl  of  Desmond,  who  erected  there  a  tomb 
for  himself  and  his  family,  as  also  did  '  D.'  Macnamara  of  Tomond,  and 
many  others  of  both  families."2 

Wadding  adheres  to  the  earlier  date  in  another  passage  of  his  works  : 
"  1389,  conventus  de  Athskettin  dictus  .  .  .  per  haec  tempora  constructus, 
ferunt  a  quodam  comite  Desmonie."  He  then  relates  its  ruin  by  the 
English,  under  Malbie,  in  1581  (recte  1579).  Allemand  (or  more 
probably  his  printer)  reproduced  this  date  as  1481,  misleading  Archdall, 
Lenihan,  and  the  later  writers.  The  Four  Masters  record  how,  in  1420, 
"  The  monastery  of  the  Franciscans  at  Easgephtine,  in  Munster,  on  the 
bank  of  the  Shannon  (Deel),  was  founded  for  Franciscan  Friars  by  the 
Earl  of  Desmond,  who  erected  a  tomb  in  it  for  himself  and  his  descen- 
dants." The  Earl  was,  however,  buried  far  from  Askeaton,  at  Youghal. 

It  is  possible,  despite  the  indecision  and  4< ferunt"  of  Wadding,  that 
1389  may  represent  the  foundation,  and  1420  the  completion,  or,  as  in 
so  many  cases  (e.g.  Q,uin,  1433),  an  addition,  though  many  features 
suggest  a  date  nearer  the  time  of  Earl  James'  death  (1459)  than  1420, 
much  less  1389.  Indeed,  it  was  about  1460  that  Terence  (Torlough), 
the  MacMahon  of  Corcovaskin,  the  husband  of  More  Ine  Brien  (whose 
fine  monument  remains  at  Ennis),  "made  another  tomb  for  himself  and 
his  family  in  the  convent  of  the  minorites  at  Askeaton."3 

To  supplement  the  brevity  and  want  of  detail  of  these  records,  we 
may  here  record  the  possessions  of  the  convent  in  1 586  as  given  by  Peyton : 
"  Scitus  dom.  relig.  in  Asketten  vocat'  the  Begginge  ffryers."  It  was 
built  near  the  river  Deele  (which  flows  into  the  Shannon),  and  contained 
certain  buildings  and  half  an  acre.  .  .  The  field  called  "  Clone  numrare, 
also  called  the  ffryers'  lande  "...  to  the  north  of  the  Abbey.  .  .  One 
water-mill  called  "  Mollin  begg,"  within  the  town  .  .  .  near  the  mill  of 
the  Earl  of  Desmond.  A  weare  commonly  called  "  a  ffysshing  weare," 
also  called  "  Corra  numrar,"  alias  "the  ffryers  weare."  .  .  .  There  per- 
tained to  the  same  religious  house  .  . .  tythe  of  the  f ysh  called  tythe  ffysche 
from  one  of  the  weares  in  Asketten,  called  "  Corren  Erie,"  "the  Erles 
weare  "  which  was  built  near  the  bridge,  .  .  .  namely,  the  fishes  taken  in 
the  Tides  on  one  day  and  two  nights  in  each  week,  .  .  .  namely,  between 

1  "  Annals  of  the  Four  Masters,"  1420. 

2  "  Brevis  Synopsis  Provincise  Hiberniee"  (F.  Hugo  Ward).     A  translation  has 
heen  published  by  Dr.  Mullock,  Roman  Catholic  Archbishop  of  Newfoundland,  in 
Duffy's  Catholic  Magazine.     I  must  here  thank  the  Rev.  Mr.  O'Reilly,  Librarian  of 
the  Franciscan  Convent,  Dublin,  for  his  kind  trouble  in  copying  for  me,   at  the 
suggestion  of  Mr.  M.  M'Enery,  of  the  Record  Office,  this  and  other  still  more  im- 
portant notes  from  unpublished  manuscripts  in  his  custody.     Ward  is  mistaken  as  to 
Macnamara.    Bruodin  has  Mac  Mahon  of  Corcovaskin,  whose  wife  made  the  beautiful 
"  Mac  Mahon  "  monument,  now  partly  rebuilt  into  the  Creagh  tomb  in  Ennis  Friary 
To  this  the  broken  tomb  in  Askeaton  Friary  bears  a  very  marked  resemblance. 

3  "Annales  Minorum"  (Luke  Wadding),  vol.  viii.,  pp.  46-47.      For  the  Ennis 
tomb,  see  Journal,  vol.  xxv.  (1895),  pp.  145,  150. 

T~  *  v  <  *  ^    f  Vol«  xiii.,  Fifth  Ser.  ( 

Jour.  R.S.A.I.  j  Vol  xxxm     Consec<  Ser>  j  D 


34 


ROYAL    SOCIETY    OF    ANTIQUARIES    OF    IRELAND. 


12  o'clock  on  Saturday  and  6  or  7  o'clock  on  Monday."1  Then  for  several 
generations  the  convent  and  its  inmates  sink  into  obscurity ;  doubtless  the 
feet  of  the  monks  kept  to  the  paths  of  peace  and  silence,  and  events  bore 
out  the  trite  proverb,  "  Happy  the  place  that  has  no  history."  It  was 
reformed  to  the  strict  observance  in  1497,  and  was  given  over  to  the 
Observantines  by  the  Provincial,  Father  Patrick  Healy,  in  15 13.2 

ASKEATON-,  1440-1550. 

The  records  almost  cease    during  the  remainder   of    the  fifteenth 
century,  save  some  entries  relating  to  the  Abbey  and  to  the  successive 


Askeaton— Franciscan  Convent  (north-east  angle  of  Cloister). 

Earls  of  Desmond.  This  is  the  more  to  be  regretted  from  the  fact  that 
many  of  the  most  beautiful  details  of  the  monastery  and  the  Banqueting 
Hall  of  the  Castle  date  from  the  period. 

The  noteworthy  "  Rental  of  O'Connyll"  in  the  Exchequer  collection, 

1  "Survey  of  Escheated  Estates  in  County  Limerick,"  by  Christopher  Peyton  and 
other  Commissioners,  1586,  Record  Office,  Dublin,  pp.  198,  262,  and  263. 

2  "Wadding's  "Annales,"  xv.,  xxviii.,  p.    145,  and  "Ward's  "  Bre vis  Synopsis." 
As  Father  Patrick  Healy  was  Provincial  from    1497  to  1500,  and  Father  Philip 
O'Meagber  held  office  in  1513,  Ward,  despite  the  divergent  date,  thus  bears  out  that 
given  by  Wadding. 


NOTES  ON  ASKEATON,  COUNTY   LIMERICK.  35 

1452,  is  the  chief  authority  for  the  Desmond  estates  in  the  century. 
It  gives  the  lands  and  their  valuations,  with  the  royalties  and  sergeantries, 
the  mills,  and  free  tenants  on  the  Desmonds'  Manors  of  Shaned, 
Killyde  (Killeedy),  Corkothe,  Bathyn,  Eathgalway,  Moytawnagh. 
(Mahoonagh),  Innyskefty  and  O'ffargus.  (Appendix  B,  at  end  of 
Paper.) 

The  rental  was  probably  taken  by  the  Crown  during  a  minority  or  tem- 
porary seizure  of  the  lands.  There  is  no  mention  of  the  castle,  though  the 
castles  of  "  Eobert  Dondwnull  vocata  haroldes  castell "  and  "  Castro  Robti 
Goer  vocat "  (blank)  are  mentioned  on  other  manors.  If  silence  proves  any- 
thing, we  might  suppose  that  the  castle  of  1199  had  perished,  and  that 
the  present  castle,  as.  tradition  said  (when  the  Ordnance  Survey  letters 
were  written  in  1840)  was  only  built  by  Gerald,  the  7th  Earl  of 
Desmond,  who  died  in  1459. l  At  least  the  tradition -falls  in  with  many 
of  the  details  of  the  building,  and  the  apparently  older  portions  (at  least) 
are  not  inconsistent  with  an  extensive  rebuilding. 

In  1541  a  meeting  was  held  in  the  Chapter  House  of  the  convent 
before  Maurice  Maddy,  Official  General  of  the  diocese,  and  Hugh  Lees, 
in  presence  of  John,  Bishop  of  Limerick,  at  which  John,  son  of  Thomas, 
son  of  Philip,  Knight  of  the  Yalley,  acknowledged  an  obligation  to  the 
Bishop  of  5  marks,  in  usual  English  money,  out  of  Cappagh  Kilmclwony.2 
This  must  have  been  soon  followed  by  the  Dissolution. 

THE  CLOSING  YEARS  OF  DESMOND  RULE,  1557-1575. 

As  the  Earls  of  Desmond  were  all-powerful  in  their  own  domain,  it 
is  not  surprising  that  the  convent  survived  the  dissolution  for  many  years. 
In  1558  James,  the  14th  Earl  of  Desmond,  and  in  1564,  Joan,  Countess  of 
Ormond  (wife  of  James  Butler,  the  9th  Earl),  were  buried  within  its  walls.3 
The  Countess  was  the  only  daughter  of  James,  the  llth  Earl  of  Desmond. 
"During  the  time  "  of  the  14th  Earl  "it  was  not  found  necessary  to 
infold  cattle  or  to  close  the  door  in  all  Munster."  Alas  !  other  records 
show  that  this  is  a  pretty  fiction,  like  the  jewelled  lady  of  King  Brian's 
day,  and  other  personages  of  the  Golden  Age  yearned  after  but  never 
seen.4  The  year  1564  also  saw  a  chapter  of  the  order  held  in  the 
monastery. 

There  remains  one  tragic  story  of  the  monks  before  that  terrible  day 
when  Malbie  destroyed  their  convent  under  the  eyes  of  Gerald,  Earl  of 
Desmond,  safe  in  his  stronghold  up  the  river,  but  unable  to  beat  off  the 
invincible  heretics  of  the  "Red  Queen."  If  Russell,  the  author  of  the 
curious  "History  of  the  Fitzgeralds,"  can  be  trusted  in  this  tale  (though 
he  differs  elsewhere  from  the  Four  Masters  and  the  State  Papers  as  to  the 

1  Ordnance  Survey  Letters,  R. I. A.  MSS.  14.  E.  9,  p.  453. 

2  "  Black  Book  of  Limerick,"  p.  144. 

3  "  Annals  of  the  Four  Masters,"  1558  and  1564.  *  Ibid,,  1558. 

D2 


36  ROYAL    SOCIETY    OF    ANTIQUARIES    OF    IRELAND. 

slaying  of  Earl  Gerald  and  other  matters,  and  wrote  nearly  a  century 
later),  the  neglect  of  Earl  Gerald  to  punish  a  crime  led  to  his  own  death 
at  the  hands  of  the  murderer's  sons.  The  story  gets  a  strange  side-light 
from  another  tale  "  heard  truly"  by  Sir  Henry  Sidney,  how  the  same 
Earl  of  Desmond  countenanced  "  a  principal  servant  of  his  "  after  a  still 
more  revolting,  inhuman,  and  above  measure  detestable  crime.1  It  is> 
therefore,  conceivable  that  the  weak  earl,  under  the  influence  of  his 
strong-minded  and  not  very  scrupulous  wife,2  may  well  have  condoned 
the  crime  of  a  favourite  and  (then  the  most  powerful  of  ties  in  Ireland)  a 
fosterer.  In  any  case  it  will  bear  repeating  as  part  of  the  great  latter- 
day  "  saga  of  Gerald  the  Earl "  worthy  of  a  place  with  the  lays  of  Deirdre 
and  the  other  "  sorrows  of  story-telling"  in  Ireland;: — 

"  '  Garrett  (fitz  James,  the  15th  Earl  of  Desmond)  was  betrayed  by  his  own 
fosterers,  who,  with  their  own  hands,  did  cut  off  his  head  in  Glunegeinhagh,  in  the 
County  of  Kerry.'  So  powerful  were  the  *  murtherers,  that  Fitzmaurice,  Lord  Kerry, 
could  get  no  man  to  execute  the  chief  actor,  who  first  laid  hands  on  the  Earle,  and,, 
being  before  the  gallows,  he  was  forced  to  put  the  halter  about  his  neck  with  his  owne 
hands.  It  was  surely  the  judgment  of  God  fell  out  upon  this  great  person,  for  the 
very  father  of  these  murtherers,  being  overseer  of  the  Earl's  lands  about  Athskeaton, 
was  wont  to  distrain  two  or  three  cowes,  which  the  Poor  fryers  had  thereabout  in 
a  little  pasture  belonging  to  their  Abbey,  which  cowes,  chancing  to  goe  out  of  it,, 
were  by  this  man  detained  from  them  until  they  should  pay  treble  trespass.  This 
fellowes  cattle,  I  say,  chanced  to  goe  into  the  said  fryers'  little  pasture,  and  were 
by  the  fryers  also  impounded,  they  (poore  souls !)  thinking  noe  other  harme  but 
something  to  allay  the  man's  fury,  always  bent  against  them.  This  man  haveing 
notice  hereof  came  to  the  Abbey  door  and  there  knocked,  whereupon  one  of  the  Fryers 
came  forth  and  saluted  him  according  to  their  wonted  manner,  which  was  noe  satisfac- 
tion to  him,  but  called  for  the  father  Guardian,  who  likewise  came,  and  with  a 
religious,  grave  countenance,  saluted  him.  There  was  no  further  discourse,  but  he, 
asking  the  guardian  how  durst  he  presume  the  boldness  as  to  impound  his  cattle,  he 
being  the  Earl's  fosterer,  and  with  him  in  great  estimation  ?  He  expected  [awaitedj 
noe  answer,  but  presently  [at  once]  draweing  out  his  long  skeane,  stabbed  the  good 
prelate  to  the  heart:  whereupon  the  fellow  betooke  himself  to  flight;  thinking  by 
long  running  to  procure  his  pardon  from  the  Earle.  .  .  .  Not  long  after  this  man's 
wife  goes  to  the  Countesse  of  Desmond  with  a  present  of  a  whole  cupboard's  furniture 
of  plate,  and  with  many  other  fine  and  gay  things,  begging  her  Ladyship,  with  weep- 
ing eyes,  that  she  would  mitigate  the  Earl's  fury  against  her  husband,  but,  to  be 
short,  the  mild  Earle  being  of  merciful  and  generous  disposition,  pardoned  at  last  this 
wicked  malefactor,  whose  sons,  as  I  sayd,  brought  him  to  his  ruine.'  "  3 

1  Letter  of  20th  April,  1567,  "  Hamilton  Calendar,"  p.  330  ;  «  Carew  Calendar," 
vol.  iii.,  p.  Iviii  ;  Eichey's  "  Short  History,"  p.  490. 

2  Eleanor,  Countess  of  Desmond,  the  second  wife  of  Gerald.     See  accounts  of  her 
interviews  with  her  husband's  enemies,  and  of  her  securing  a  pension  and  her  own 
interests  while  he  was  a  fugitive.     She  was  daughter  of  Edmond  Butler,  Baron  of 
Dunboyne,  and  married,  secondly,  Donogh,  the  O'Conor  Sligo.     Her  will,  September 
6th,  1636,  was  proved  at  Dublin,  and  her  well-preserved  effigy  remains  in  the  chancel 
of  Sligo  Friary. 

3  Journal,  (vol.  x.  (1868-9),  pp.  466-7). 


NOTES   ON   ASKEATON,  COUNTY   LIMERICK.  37 

ASKEATON  ON  THE  EVE  OF  DESMOND'S  REBELLION. 

It  is  a  difficult  task  to  restrain  oneself  from  telling  once  more  the 
story  of  that  awful  desolation  which  swept  over  a  whole  province,  and 
confine  oneself  to  the  vicissitudes  of  one  little  fortress.  The  waves 
of  destruction  swept  again  and  again  over  the  ill-destined  lands  of  the 
Ef,rl  of  Desmond  and  his  adherents  till,  in  the  fearful  words  of  a  recent 
historian,  "  the  victory  was  terribly  purchased.  The  entire  province  of 
Munbter  was  utterly  depopulated.  Hecatombs  of  helpless  creatures — 
the  aged,  the  sick,  the  blind,  the  young  mother,  and  the  babe 
at  the  breast,  had  fallen  under  the  English  sword ;  and  though  the 
authentic  details  of  the  struggle  have  been  forgotten,  the  memory  of  a 
vague  horror  remains  imprinted  on  the  national  traditions."1  "  They 
killed  the  feeble  men,  women,  boys  and  girls,  sick  people,  idiots,  and 
old  people,"  say  the  Four  Masters ;  and  the  English  despatches  abound 
in  similar  horrors,  and  more  than  support  the  Irish  accounts.  The  far 
less  deadly  and  cruel  Cromwellian  war  has  overlaid  and  obliterated  the 
traditions  of  the  Desmond  campaign ;  but  the  record  lives  in  countless 
letters  and  reports ;  and  as  we  read  these,  our  blood  can  still  be  stirred  and 
our  interest  intensified  till  that  dark  war  seems  closer  and  more  real  to 
us  than  even  the  campaigns  of  our  own  days.  To  tell  how  Askeaton 
fared  in  that  evil  period,  when  "  the  gods  of  destruction  were  athirst  "  in 
Munster,  is  all  that  we  can  here  attempt. 

So  early  as  October  18th,  1569,2  we  find  the  Government  casting 
covetous  eyes  on  "the  Earl's  house  of  Askeating"  for  the  President  of 
Munster ;  and  its  owner  corresponded  with  Cecil  about  a  surrender  of  the 
castle  to  the  Crown.  Desmond  had  at  the  time  160  "  galliglasse,"  300 
kerne,  and  30  horsemen,  and  the  Government  was  not  in  a  position  to 
oust  him  from  any  of  his  castles  by  violence ;  but  in  some  way  the 
English  got  possession  of  some  of  them,  and  retained  them,  as  he  com- 
plained to  the  Lord  Deputy  on  November  28th,  1573.  Desmond  had 
been  under  some  restraint ;  but  he  got  free,  gathered  his  kerne,  and  this 
threatening  portent  led  the  Deputy  to  send  him  in  great  haste  royal 
letters  securing  his  personal  liberty,  and  asking  him  to  disperse  his 
forces.  Desmond  might  have  kept  himself  very  safe  had  he  observed  an 
armed  neutrality  and  formal  loyalty ;  but,  unfortunately  for  himself,  he 
tried  to  be  "  all  things  to  all  men" — unlike  the  apostle,  to  save  him- 
self. He  sent  his  relatives  letters,  and  betrayed  some  proscribed  eccle- 
siastics to  the  Government,  while  at  the  same  time  (not  so  secretly  as  he 
imagined)  he  kept  in  touch  with  the  more  dangerous  of  the  malcontents 
of  the  time — encouraging  them  to  plot  against  the  Crown. 

In  1574  he  went  to  Killaloe  to  meet  with  O'Brien  Arra,  and  Clan- 
rickard,  and  promised  "to  fortify  Castlemaine  and  Askeaton."  That 

1  Froude's  "  History  of  England."         2  Carew  MSS.,  p.  392  ;  C.  S.  P.  1.,  p.  421. 


38  ROYAL   SOCIETY   OF   ANTIQUARIES    OF   IRELAND. 

same  day  Queen  Elizabeth  wrote  to  Lord  Burleigh  to  complain  of 
Desmond's  "  undutiful  taking  of  Castlemaine."  The  Earl  soon  f;ot 
information  that  he  was  being  watched ;  he  brought  "  pickaxes  and  tools  " 
to  Askeaton,  sent  a  threatening  letter  to  the  sheriff  of  County  Limerick, 
and  a  letter  of  injured  rectitude  to  the  Lord  Deputy,  complaining  tlkat 
the  latter  was  bent  on  making  war  on  him.1 

On  June  10th,  1575,  Desmond  wrote  to  Leicester  "from  Asketten," 
asking  to  have  his  castles  restored.  He  was  afraid  to  "come  into  a 
walled  town  since  Kildarewas  committed,"  wrote  Lord  Ormonde,2  •'  and 
ke  maketh  a  yery  strong  house  at  Askeaton."  Desmond  also  made  an 
unsuccessful  attempt  to  bring  his  son  from  Bristol  to  Askeaton.  The 
Earl  of  Ormonde,  on  October  28th,  visited  Desmond,  and  attempted  to 
arrange  for  the  surrender  of  Askeaton;  but,  of  course, in  vain.  Again 
the  Government  hesitated  to  proceed  to  extremities,  and  again  the  Earl 
got  a  respite  to  mature  his  plans  and  prepare  for  a  struggle  now  scarcely 
avoidable. 

Desmond  was  more  or  less  forced  into  revolt  by  the  action  of  his  more 
manly  relatives ;  they  had  taken  up  arms  under  Sir  John  of  Desmond  and 
the  Papal  Legate,  Nicholas  Saunders.  They  met  near  the  noble  Cister- 
cian Abbey  of  Monasternenagh  (which  also  perished  in  the  struggle), 
and  a  btoody  combat  terminated  in  favour  of  Malbie  and  the  English 
(October  3rd,  1579).3  Desmond,  wavering  to  the  very  last,  watched  the 
battle  from  the  summit  of  Dromassell,  or  Tory  Hill ;  his  sympathy, 
of  course,  lay  with  his  brother  Sir  John  and  his  followers,  but  he  saw 
the  Irish,  after  a  brave  attack  on  Malbie  and  the  English,  checked, 
broken,  beaten  back,  the  Papal  standard  taken,  and  all  lost ;  so  he  fled 
to  Askeaton  Castle.  Malbie  had  written  a  fierce  letter,  bidding  him  not 
to  heed  Saunders,  "who  deceiveth  with  false  lies";  but  even  yet  the 
Earl  imagined  that  he  could  prevaricate,  and  wrote  exculpating  himself 
and  asking  Malbie  not  to  camp  in  the  Abbey.  The  distracted  Earl  had 
recently  met  Sir  William  Drury  at  Kilmallock,  and  attempted  to  clear 
himself  from  the  charges  of  Sir  James  Eitz  Maurice ;  he  now  realised  at 
last  that  his  statements  were  disbelieved.  He  wrote,  in  his  despair,  to 
some  unnamed  member  of  Elizabeth's  Government,  enumerating  hi& 
services,  and  telling  how  he  had  executed  a  bishop  and  two  Irish  soldiers, 
and  opposed  the  O'Elaherties.  It  was  all  in  vain,  for  Drury  had  returned 
"  in  his  chariot  to  Waterford,"  and  there  died.4 

1  C.  S.  P.  I.  (1574-1585),  pp.  28,  34. 

2  The  "Carew  Papers,"  vol.  i.,  page  15,  show  that  in  January,  1541,  James, 
Earl  of  Desmond,  renounced  the  right  (claimed  since  the  beheading  of  his  grandfather 
at  Drogheda)  of  exemption  from  appearing  in  Parliament,   or    "  entering  a  walled 
town,  under  the  King's  obedience." 

3  Journal,  vol.  xix.  (1889),  pp.  235,  236. 

4  C.  S.P.I.,  October,  1579,  various  Papers,  p.  189,  &c.  ;  "Annals  of  the  Four 
Masters."     Father  Hugh  Ward  puts  the  destruction  of  the  Abbey  "  in  the  day  of 
persecution  in  1575,"  Wadding  in  1581  ;  both  probably  trusted  to  memory. 


NOTES   ON   ASKEATON,  COUNTY   LIMERICK.  39 


ASKEATON  RAVAGED. 

Malbie  followed  the  Earl  like  an  avenging  spirit — burning,  slaying, 
"  spoiling  " — he  slew  at  the  altar  the  monks  of  Monasternenagh ;  he 
burned  Rathmore  ;  he  destroyed  Rathkeale  ;  and  Desmond  could  see  the 
smoke  of  his  advance  from  the  keep  of  Askeaton.  The  Earl  wrote  an 
agonised  letter  to  his  friend  in  the  ministry — "  As  you  are  a  gentleman, 
tell  the  Queen  of  my  wrongs  "  ;  but  long  ere  the  letter  could  have  reached 
the  Tudor  Court  it  was  too  late — Malbie  was  at  his  gates.  The  fierce 
captain  and  army  burned  the  town  and  crops ;  they  then  c '  defaced  and 
burned  the  Abbey " ;  they  entered  the  deserted  church,  desecrated  it, 
and  smashed  the  tomb  of  Earl  James.  The  monks  had  fled,  save  brother 
John  Cornelius  (or  Conolly) ;  him  they  "  cruelly  slew  "  ;  they  also  hanged 
an  Irish  soldier  of  the  Earl,  one  Geoffrey  Eerall;  and  (if  there  is  no 
mistake  in  the  later  "  Epitome,"  for  the  original  "  Annales  Minorum  " 
are  silent)  hanged  with  his  own  cord  another  monk,  William  Tenal.1 

While  this  tragedy  was  accomplished,  the  Earl  was  safe  in  his  island 
fortress.  In  view  of  the  flaming  friary,  he  wrote  a  letter  to  Malbie, 
protesting  against  "  the  destruction  of  his  tenants'  property,"  but  he  was 
powerless  to  save,  and  the  only  notice  taken  by  the  English  Captain  was 
to  press  him  to  disseminate  the  English  manifestoes,  and  to  arrest 
Saunders  and  give  him  up  to  the  Government.  The  wretched  Earl 
wrote  to  another  Englishman,  October  7th,  1579  :  "  Sir  Nicholas  Malbay 
camped  within  the  Abbey  of  Askeaton,  and  there  most  maliciously 
defaced  the  ould  monuments  of  my  ancestors,  fired  the  Abbey,  the  whole 
town  and  the  corn  thereabouts,  and  ceased  not  to  shoot  at  my  men 
within  Askeaton  Castle."-  Malbie  again,  on  October  8th,  wrote  "  to  the 
Earl  or  Countess,  or  Morice MacSheehan  or  the  Constable  of  Askeaton"; 
but  the  matter  was  now  beyond  negotiation,  and  after  a  week  in  the 
blackened  ruins  of  the  convent,  and  a  feeble  attempt  to  take  the  castle, 
Malbie  marched  away.  The  Fitzgeralds  were  left  to  bury  the  slain,  and 
probably  gibbeted,  body  of  Eriar  Conolly  in  the  Chapter  House,3  while 
the  refugees  could  steal  back  to  the  ruined  town  and  burned  cornfields, 
to  face  the  anxiety  and  scarcity  of  winter. 

Events  came  rapidly  to  a  crisis ;  a  vain  correspondence  with  Pelham, 
Malbie,  and  Captain  Felton  closed  on  November  8th,  1579,  by  the  formal 
proclamation  of  Gerald,  Earl  of  Desmond,  as  a  traitor.  He  had,  they 

1  "  Annales  Minorum  "  of  "Wadding  (ed.  1723),  vol.  -viii.,  p.  87  ;  "  Epitome'*  of 
same  makes  Ferral  a  friar.  Volume  xx.,  p.  303,  mentions  the  deaths  of  Conolly  and 
Tenal.  One  suspects  confusion  hetween  "Ferral"  and  "Tenal";  see  also  Carew 
MSS.,  1579,  p.  161.  A  few  bosses,  ribs,  panels  with  defaced  saints,  and  other  shattered 
remnants  of  a  canopied  tomb  remain  in  the  Friary,  and  may  bear  the  mark  of  the 
vengeance  of  Malbie. 

a  "  Carew  MSS.,  1579,  p.  160  ;  also  C.  S.  P.  I.,  pp.  189,  195,  and  "Annals  of  the 
Four  Masters." 

3  "  Annales  Minorum,"  loc.  cit. 


40  ROYAL   SOCIETY    OF   ANTIQUARIES   OF   IRELAND. 

stated,  "practised  with  foreign  princes,  caused  murders,  settled  the 
Spaniards  at  Smerwick,  released  traitors,  hanged  the  Queen's  servitors, 
and  his  warrs  in  his  castle  of  Askeaton  caused  the  death  of  2  or  3  of 
Her  Majesty's  soldiers." 

They  could  not  as  yet  besiege  the  castle  of  "Asketten,"  for  they 
"  had  no  victuals  or  other  necessities,  and  especially  because  the  house  is 
circuited  with  a  deep  water  and  well  fortified,"1  while  all  their  own 
artillery  was  "  one  dismounted  culverin."1 

1  Carew  MSS.,  1579,  p.  165. 


(To  le  continued.) 


ON  A  DOUBLE  CROSS  AT  DUNCRUN,  COUNTY  DERRY. 

BY  THE  REV.  GEO.  RAPHAEL  BUICK,  A.M.,  LL.D.,  M.R.I.A., 
Vi  CE  -  PRE  SIDENT  . 

[Submitted  MARCH  31,  1903.] 

Q  OME  time  ago,  being  the  guest  of  the  Rev.  Hugh  Mclntyre  Butler,  of 
Magilligan,  in  the  County  of  Deny,  he  took  two  other  friends  and 
myself  to  see  a  rounded  hill,  almost  opposite  his  home,  known  locally  as 
the  Canon-Brae. 


Double  Cross  at  Duncrun,  County  Deny. 

The  hiH  itself  is  the  end  of  a  somewhat  elevated  ridge,  which  runs 
parallel  to  the  .sea-coast,  and  occupies  a  position  midway  between  the 
Magilligan  plain  and  the  mountain  range,  of  which  Benevenagh  is  the 
highest  and  most  dominating  point. 


42  ROYAL   SOCIETY   OF  ANTIQUARIES   OF  IRELAND. 

Here,  to  our  surprise  and  pleasure,  we  found  a  large  stone  of  trap  or 
basalt,  standing  in  the  fence  of  one  of  the  fields,  with  a  fine  double  cross, 
in  relief,  upon  it.  The  farm  on  which  it  stands  belongs  to  Mr.  A. 
MacDermot,  of  Church-hill,  in  the  townland  of  Duncrun. 

From  beside  the  stone,  the  spectator  obtains  a  magnificent  view  of  both 
land  .and  sea.  To  the  west  and  north-west  lies  Lough  Foyle,  gleaming  in 
the  sunshine  like  a  long  river  of  molten  silver,  touched  here  and  there 
with  gold.  Behind  the  Lough  are  the  ' '  grey  mountains  of  dark  Donegal " 
and  the  undulating  high  lands  of  fair  Inishowen.  At  his  feet  spread  out 
the  low-lying  lands  of  Magilligan,  as  level  almost  as  the  sea  itself,  from 
which,  in  comparatively  recent  geological  times,  they  have  emerged  to  be 
the  beloved  home  of  as  thrifty  and  as  estimable  a  race  of  men  and  women 
as  can  anywhere  be  found ;  while,  if  the  observer  turns  northward,  his  eye 
will  range,  delighted,  past  the  bold  headlands  of  Downhill  and  Portrush, 
white  at  the  base  with  breaking  waves ;  and  then,  out  and  on,  over  the 
wide  expanse  of  broad  ocean  to  where,  in  the  distance,  the  Paps  of  Jura, 
dimly  discerned  as  faint  blue  specks,  just  break  the  outline  of  the  far 
horizon  to  tell  of  land  beyond,  but  all  unseen,  the  "  land  of  the  mountain 
and  the  flood." 

The  stone  must  have  stood  where  it  is  for  many  centuries.  It  is  now 
the  sole  remaining  relic  of  the  once  celebrated  ancient  ecclesiastical 
establishment  which  formerly  occupied  the  neighbouring  spot.  As  will 
be  seen  from  the  late  Bishop  Beeves'  reference  to  it,  cited  below,  the 
foundations  of  a  small  building  could  be  traced  when  he  paid  the  place  a 
visit.  Now  they  are  all  gone,  and  the  stones  used  up  in  the  neighbouring 
fences.  Fortunately,  the  one  bearing  the  cross  has  escaped  the  vandalism 
of  the  past,  and  remains  in  solitary  state  "to  point  the  moral  or  adorn 
the  tale."  It  is  to  be  hoped  that,  as  the  years  go  by,  those  who  own  the 
farm  on  which  it  stands  will  see  to  it  that  no  one  is  allowed  to  deface  or 
destroy  it. 

The  cross  itself  is  a  little  over  two  feet  two  inches  in  length  ;  the  stem 
is  two  inches  broad;  the  lower  arms  are  of  the  same  breadth  as  the  stem  ; 
the  upper  ones  about  half  an  inch  broader ;  and  the  whole  stands  out  about 
half  an  inch  above  the  surrounding  surface  of  the  stone,  which  has  been 
entirely  cut  away  to  leave  it  in  bold  relief.  The  other  dimensions 
can  easily  be  made  out  from  the  sketch,  drawn  to  scale  for  me  by 
Mr.  S.  K.  Kirker,  C.E.,  who  was  one  of  the  party  on  the  occasion  of  my 
visit  to  the  spot.  (See  page  43.) 

It  is  an  early  form,  though  possibly  not  quite  so  early  as  crosses  of 
a  similar  form  which  are  incised.  Mr.  Wakeman,  in  his  paper  "  On 
the  earlier  forms  of  inscribed  Christian  Crosses  found  in  Ireland," 
Journal  R.S.AJ.,  vol.  xxi.  (1890-1891),  page  354,  writing  of  this 
particular  class,  says : — "  Immediately  adjoining  St.  Kieran's  Monastery, 
on  the  great  Island  of  Aran,  County  Galway,  is  a  pillar-stone  exhibiting 
a  double  cross.  At  Glendalough,  County  "Wicklow,  and  on  Devenish, 


ON  A  DOUBLE  CROSS  AT  DUNCRUN,  COUNTY  DERRY.   43 

County  Fermanagh,  are  double  figures  of  the  same  kind,  most  beautifully 
executed.  Mr.  Patterson,  of  Belfast,  in  our  Journal  for  January,  1883, 
has  given  an  illustration  of  a  four-armed  cross  slab  or  pillar  remaining 
at  Maghera,  County  Down." 

This  latter,  which  would  be  more  correctly  described  as  a  slab,  or 
pillar,  with  a  four-armed  cross  incised  upon  it,  "  appears,"  says  Mr. 
Patterson,  "to  be  very  ancient."  In  all  probability  the  cross  with  two 
arms  is  older  still ;  the  simpler  form  would  naturally  come  before  the 
more  complex.  There  is  one  with  three  arms  on  Inismurray.  Why 


Double  Cross  at  Duncrun,  County  Deny. 

there  should  be  this  variety  is  at  present  unknown.  It  has  been  surmised 
by  some  antiquaries  that  those  which  have  three  arms  symbolized  the 
Trinity ;  but  as  we  find  others  with  two  and  four  arms  respectively,  the 
explanation  seems  defective  and  unreasonable. 

Of  the  ancient  Church  of  Duncrun,  little  is  known  historically. 

The  Rev.  G.  Y.  Sampson,  in  his  "  Memoir  explanatory  of  the  Chart 
and  Survey  of  the  County  of  Londonderry,  Ireland,"  writes  as  follows, 
page  224: — " Under  this  title" — viz.,  Dunbo,  the  mount  of  the  Ox — 
"  the  Monasticon  Hibernicum  relates  that  St.  Patrick  founded  Duncruthen 


44  ROYAL  SOCIETY  OF  ANTIQUARIES  OF  IRELAND. 

(i.e.,  the  fort  on  the  round  hill)  for  St.  Beoran.  In  Magilligan  there  is 
a  remarkable  hill  of  this  description,  and  on  it  are  found  all  the  traces  of 
an  ancient  burial-place.  One  part  is  called,  to  this  day,  the  Canon 
bank — not,  improbably,  from  tradition  of  its  having  been  a  convent  of 
Canons  Regular.  There  is  also  a  traditionary  recollection  of  a  great 
robbery  having  been  committed  by  the  Danes,  and  of  a  great  battle 
in  consequence.  So  far,  it  might  seem  as  if  the  convent  in  question  had 
been  at  Duncrun,  and  the  robbery  at  the  same  place,  rather  than  at  the 
present  chapel;  but  then  the  Monasticon  adds  that  it  is  opposite  the 
Atlantic  Ocean,  and  on  the  territory  of  Machare.  [Does  this  mean  Derry, 
formerly  called  Macharerabeg,  or  does  it  intend  the  present  Maghera  ?] 
It  is  also  mentioned  as  in  the  Barony  of  Coleraine.  I  cannot  resolve  this ; 
not  unlikely  there  has  been  another  Duncruithan,  where  the  ruined  old 
Church  of  Dunbo  now  stands." 

It  is  not  at  all  likely  that  there  was  anything  of  the  kind.  Sampson 
was  led  into  making  this  supposition,  because  he  evidently  confounded 
Duncrun  with  Ballinascreen.  The  robbery  was  from  the  latter — not  the 
former — as  the  entry  of  the  Four  Masters,  under  the  date  1203,  clearly 
shows : — 

"  Dermot,  the  son  of  Murtough  O'Loughlin,  went  on  a  predatory 
excursion  into  Tyrone,  and  plundered  Screen-Columbkille.  He  was 
encountered,  however,  by  a  party  of  the  Kinel-Owen,  who  defeated 
Dermot  and  his  English ;  and  Dermot  himself  was  killed,  through  the 
miracle  of  the  Shrine." 

In  the  same  Annals,  under  the  date  1206,  we  are  told : — "  Gillapatrick 
O'Falaghty,  Erenagh  of  Dun-crun,  died."  0 'Donovan's  note  to  this  is  as 
follows: — "  Duncrun  (t)u n-Cpui en e),  translated  Arx  Cruthanonm  by 
Colgan  in  'Trias  Thaum.,'  p.  181,  col.  2.  The  name  is  now  sometimes 
anglicised  Dun-croon,  and  is  a  townland  in  the  parish  of  Ard  Magilligan, 
in  the  County  of  Londonderry.  There  was  a  church  here,  erected  by  St. 
Patrick,  and  a  shrine  finished  for  St.  Columbkille  by  the  celebrated 
brasier  Conla.  (See  'Tripartite  Life  of  St.  Patrick,'  lib.  2,  c.  125,  and 
O'DonnelTs  'Life  of  St.  Columbkille,'  lib.  1,  c.  99  ;  see  also  Sampson's 
'Memoirs  of  a  Map  of  Londonderry, 'p. 487.)"  This  last  reference,  viz., 
page  487,  is  wrong,  as  the  Yery  Rev.  A.  MacMullen,  P.P.,  Ballymena,  has 
taken  the  trouble  to  point  out  to  me.  It  should  be  p.  224.  There  are 
only  359  pages  altogether  in  the  Memoir,  which  was  published  in  1814. 

The  Rev.  Richard  King,  M.A.,  of  Ramelton,  has  kindly  sent  me 
the  following  interesting  account  of  Duncrun,  taken  from  Archbishop 
Colton's  "  Visitation  of  the  Diocese  of  Derry"  : — 

Extract  from   the  "  Rentale   reverendissimi   in   Christo  Patris   et 
Domini  Johannis  permissione  divina  Archiepiscopi  Ardmachani, 

etc.,  etc.,  ....  Decanatus  de  Bennagh 

"  .  .  ,  .  Item  de  tertiis  episcopalibus  ejusdem  decanatus." 


ON  A  DOUBLE  CROSS  AT  DUNCRUN,  COUNTY  DERRY.   45 

TEXT. 

"  Dunchron,1  Tawlaght  de  ardo,m  et  Ballenescrine  de  ardo. 

iij.  marc." 

BEEVES'  NOTES. 

"  l  Dunchron  (Dun  Cpuicne),  'Arx  Cruthaenorum '  ('Trias  Thaum.,'  p.  181  bt 
n.  187).  Gillapatrick  O'Falaghty  was  erenagh  of  Duncrun  in  1206  (Four  Masters). 
The  '  Tripartite  Life '  ascribes  the  foundation  of  the  church  to  St.  Patrick,  stating 
that  he  left  Beoaidh  bishop  there.— ii.  c.  125  ('  Trias  Thaum., 'pp.  146, 181,  £,n.  188). 
The  modern  parish  church  of  Magilligan  is  in  the  townland  Duncrun,  and  at  a  short 
distance  W.N.W.,  on  the  top  of  a  hill  called  locally  Canon's  Brae,  may  be  traced  the 
foundations  of  a  small  building,  35  feet  by  19,  inside  which  lies  a  long  rude  stone, 
having  on  it  the  figure  of  a  cross  in  relievo.  The  cemetery  has  not  been  used  for 
many  years,  and  has  been  partly  tilled ;  a  ditch  which  has  been  drawn  across  the  hill 
divides  the  sites  of  the  cemetery  and  the  church.  The  spot,  however,  can  always 
be  identified,  for  it  is  marked  on  the  Ordnance  Survey  *  ruins  of  an  abbey  '  (London- 
derry S.  5)." 

'  < m  Tawlaght  de  Ardo.  Tamlaght  Ard  is  still  the  ecclesiastical  name  of  the  parish 
of  Magilligan,  and  the  ruins  of  the  old  church  are  in  the  townland  Tamlaght,  which 
adjoins  Duncrun  on  the  S.W.  The  patron  saint  was  Cadan,  or  Catanus,  whose  tomb, 
nearly  covered  by  the  surrounding  graves,  lies  close  under  the  east  gable  of  the  old 
church.  In  the  '  Book  of  Leacan,'  as  cited  by  O'Donovan,  he  is  called  cpuimceji 
Cdbdn  o  Camla6cain  Qpbba,  'Priest  Cadan  of  Tamlaght  Ard'  ('  Annals  of  the 
Four  Masters,"  448).  The  *  Tripartite  Life'  styles  him  'Catanus  PrEesbyter,'  and 
notices  him  as  one  of  St.  Patrick's  household. — iii.  c.  98  ('  Trias  Thaum.,'  p.  167«.) 
The  Ordnance  Survey  was  led  into  a  slight  mistake  by  the  similarity  of  pronunciation, 
marking  the  spot  as  '  Espug  Aedarfs  tomb,'  and  the  neighbouring  well  as  '  Tobar 
Easpuig  Aedain  (Bishop  Aedan's  well').  (Londond.  S.  5.)  The  herenagh  paid  20s. 
per  an.  out  of  the  Tertia.  Inq" 

Extract  from  the  "  Tripartite  Life  "  (p.  124)  :— 

"  Where  Patrick  went  [next]  was  into  Daiggurt  and  into  Magh 
Dola,  in  Aird-Dailauig.  He  erected  a  church  there — namely,  Dun- 
Cmithne ; b  he  left  Bishop  Beoaedh  there,  after  having  made  friendship 
"between  him  and  Eugen,  and  [he  erected  also]  Domhnach-airthir- 
Arda.c" 

"  b  Dun  cruithne,  now  Duncroon,  in  Magilligan." 
" c  Arda,  now  Tamlaght- Ard." 


46  ROYAL   SOCIETY    OF   ANTIQUARIES    OF    IRELAND. 


ANCIENT  ECCLESIASTICAL  BELLS  IN  ULSTER. 
BY  SEATON  F.  MILLIGAN,  M.R.I.A.,  VICE-PRESIDENT. 

[Read  JULY  28,  1902.] 

the  introduction  of  Christianity  into  Ireland,  bells,  consecrated  to 
the  service  of  religion,  were  used  in  the  Irish  Church.  It  is  recorded 
in  our  Annals  that  St.  Patrick  had  associated  with  him  skilled  artificers, 
amongst  whom  were  three  smiths  who  made  bells,  as  well  as  three 
brasiers  who  made  altar-cups.  One  of  these  smiths  called  Mac  Cecht 
made  a  bell  known  as  the  Finn  Faidhech.  From  this  time,  the  Irish 
became  skilled  as  metal-workers,  many  beautiful  specimens  of  whose 
handiwork  have  survived  the  hands  of  the  spoiler  and  the  vicissitudes 
of  time,  and  remain  with  us  as  examples  of  the  work  that  Irishmen 
were  capable  of  producing  in  past  ages.  The  first  bells  were  made  of 
hammered  sheet-iron,  riveted  on  two  sides,  quadrangular  in  form, 
sloping  from  the  base  upwards  to  the  crown,  and  surmounted  by  a 
handle.  They  were  next  dipped  in  a  solution  of  molten  bronze,  which 
filled  up  all  apertures  and  coated  the  bell,  giving  it  more  resonance 
and  solidity.  The  quadrangular  shape  continued  to  about  the  twelfth 
century,  gradually  becoming  more  rounded  at  the  angles,  until  the 
rotund  shape  was  ultimately  adopted.  The  earliest  iron  bells  show  indi- 
cations that  the  clapper  was  added  at  a  later  period,  and  were  rung  by 
being  struck,  like  a  gong,  with  a  hammer  or  small  mallet.  The  clapper, 
when  adopted,  was  found  more  convenient,  as  it  left  one  hand  free  to 
the  ringer,  and  soon  came  into  universal  use.  Until  quite  recent  times, 
some  of  the  larger  bells  suspended  in  church-towers  in  various  European 
countries  were  rung  by  being  struck  like  a  gong.  A  few  years  ago,  I 
acquired  a  gong  said  to  have  been  used  from  the  seventeenth  century  as 
a  church  bell.  It  is  a  circular  disk  of  metal,  about  39  inches  in  diameter, 
and  about  1  cwt.  weight.  It  was  suspended  on  an  axis  through  a  central 
aperture,  and  was  rung  by  being  struck  by  a  mallet,  which  I  have  been 
informed  was  worked  by  an  ordinary  bell -rope.  This  gong  is  now  in 
the  collection  of  the  Royal  Irish  Academy. 

The  Irish  name  for  bell  is  clog,  French  cloche,  which  some  assert  is 
derived  from  the  Irish,  whose  missionaries  in  the  early  ages  brought 
with  them,  not  alone  their  books  but  their  bells  to  ancient  Gaul,  to  be 
used  in  the  service  of  religion.  Bells  were  known  in  Italy  before  the 
introduction  of  Christianity,  and  are  referred  t6  by  some  of  the  classical 
writers  of  that  country.  Church  bells  were  first  made  in  Campania  in 


ANCIENT    ECCLESIASTICAL    BELLS    IN    ULSTEli. 


47 


southern  Italy  in  the  town  of  Nola.  The  Italian  for  a  bell  is  campana, 
derived  from  the  province  where  they  were  first  made.  Considering 
the  length  of  time  that  has  elapsed  since  these  Irish  bells  were  made,  it 
is  rather  remarkable  how  so  many  of  them  have  been  handed  down 
through  the  intervening  centuries  for  a  thousand  years  and  more — even 
from  the  time  of  St.  Patrick,  whose  bell  we  still  have.  The  explanation 
is,  the  special  reverence  the  Irish  always  exhibited  for  such  sacred  relics, 
and  the  method  they  adopted  to  preserve  them.  The  head  of  a  special 
family  was  selected,  to  whom  the  guardianship  of  rare  manuscripts  or 
bells  was  entrusted.  This  was  accompanied  by  a  grant  of  land  for 
maintenance.  In  the  event  of  invasion  or  danger  from  fire,  the  first  care 


Bell  found  near  Ballymena  (now  in  Belfast  Museum) ;  iron-riveted,  and  partly 
overlaid  with  bronze.    (Photograph  by  Mr.  R.  Welch.) 

of  the  custodian  was  to  safeguard  the  sacred  object  entrusted  to  him. 
This  will  account  largely  for  the  preservation  of  so  many  rare  manuscripts, 
bells,  and  relics  of  various  kinds.  The  hereditary  keepers  of  the  bell  of 
St.  Patrick,  all  through  the  ages — with  the  exception  of  a  short  interval — 
was  a  family  called  Mulholland ;  and  for  this  duty,  they  were  given  a 
townland  called  Ballyclog  (or  the  town  of  the  bell),  situated  near  to 
Stewartstown  in  the  east  of  the  County  Tyrone. 

The  contributions  to  the  pages  of  this  Journal  on  the  subject  of 
ecclesiastical  bells  are  not  numerous.  The  Yery  Kev.  Abraham  Dawson, 
Rector  of  Seagoe,  and  Dean  of  Dromore,  read  a  Paper,  at  a  meeting  of 
the  Society  at  Ballymena  in  the  year  1883,  on  a  bell  known  as  the 


48          ROYAL   SOCIETY    OF   ANTIQUARIES   OF   IRELAND. 

"  Clog  Ban."  This  Paper  is  given  in  vol.  xvi.  (1883-4),  page  126,  of 
this  Journal.  The  Clog  Ban  was  in  the  possession  of  a  family  called 
Hennon  or  Henning,  who  lived  in  a  cottage  on  the  low  road  midway 
between  Lurgan  and  Portadown.  It  was  frequently  borrowed  from. 
its  hereditary  keeper  that  it  might  be  rung  at  funerals,  where  it  was 
carried  after  the  coffin  and  in  front  of  the  teeners,  and  was  always,  on 
these  occasions,  carried  by  one  of  the  Henning  family.  Sometimes 
there  was  a  pause  in  the  procession  whilst  a  service  was  performed  in 
a  field  by  the  roadside,  on  the  way  to  the  graveyard,  during  which  the 
Clog  Ban  was  rung  at  intervals. 

The  Rev.  A,  Dawson  says  further  that  an  intelligent  woman,  then  in 
her  ninety-fourth  year,  recollected  seeing  the  coffin  carried  three  times 
around  the  old  church  in  Seagoe  graveyard,  and  being  made  to  touch  the 
four  corners  of  the  church  at  each  round,  whilst  the  Clog  Ban  was  rung, 
and  the  keeners  chanted  alternately.  The  very  ancient  custom  of  three 
rounds  to  the  right  in  the  direction  of  the  sun  is  still  practised  in  some 
remote  districts  of  Ireland,  and  is  a  survival  of  sun-worship,  coming 
down  from  Pagan  times.  If  the  movement  was  of  a  maledictory 
character,  it  would  be  a  turn  to  the  left,  or  in  a  direction  opposite  to  the 
sun.  The  Clog  Ban  was  occasionally  borrowed  to  be  brought  to  the  bed- 
side of  sick  persons,  and  placed  near  them,  being  supposed  to  have  healing 
virtue.  It  was  also  used  to  swear  people  on,  as  it  was  considered  the  most 
binding  oath  that  could  be  taken,  and  was  never  known  to  be  violated. 
The  Hennon  family  were  not  able  to  state  clearly  how  or  when  this  bell 
came  into  their  possession.  It  was  said  to  have  been  found  in  the  year 
1725,  in  the  graveyard  of  Ballynaback  in  County  Armagh,  It  is  called 
Clog  Ban  from  the  colour  of  the  metal,  being  a  fair  or  light  colour,  a& 
another  in  the  parish  of  Moira  was  called  the  "  Clog  Ruadh,"  or  Red 
Bell.  A  bell  I  shall  refer  to  later,  and  not  hitherto  described,  is  known 
as  the  Black  Bell  or  Clog  Dubh.  The  Clog  Ban  passed  through  several 
hands  until  it  reached  its  final  resting-place  in  the  collection  of  the 
Royal  Irish  Academy.  There  is  an  inscription  in  Irish  on  this  bell  in 
three  lines,  which  reads,  "A  prayer  for  Cummascach  MacAilell."  He 
was  oeconomist  in  the  cathedral  of  Armagh ;  and  his  death  is  recorded  in 
the  Annals  of  the  Pour  Masters,  in  the  year  904.  The  handle  and 
tongue  are  of  iron,  and  the  body  of  the  bell  a  light-coloured  bronze. 
The  height,  including  the  handle,  is  12£  inches;  width  at  mouth,  11  inches 
by  8 — quadrangular  shape.  The  name  Cummisky  or  MacCummisky  is 
still  known  in  County  Armagh. 

The  late  Mr.  W.  J.  Doherty,  C.E.,  a  native  of  Innishowen,  and  long 
resident  in  Dublin,  contributed  very  materially  to  our  store  of  knowledge 
on  Irish  ecclesiastical  bells,  particularly  those  of  his  native  county  of 
Donegal.  He  read  a  Paper  before  the  Royal  Irish  Academy  on  bells, 
which  he  afterwards  included  in  a  work  entitled  "Innishowen  and 
Tyrconnell,"  which  also  embodied  historical  sketches  of  eminent  Donegal 


ANCIENT    ECCLESIASTICAL    BELLS    IN    ULSTER.  49 

men.  He  referred  to  the  bell  of  St.  Buodan,  which,  is  still  in  the 
possession  of  its  hereditary  keeper.1  Mr.  Doherty,  in  his  Paper,  referred 
to  the  following  Donegal  bells  : — the  Long  Island  bell,  the  Gartan  bell,, 
the  bell  of  St.  Ernan  of  Drumnaholm,  the  Clog  Columcille,  bell  and 
shrine  of  St.  Mura  of  Fahan,  the  Donegal  bell,  the  bell  of  Connall  of 
Inniskeel. 

Many  of  these  bells  are  lost,  not  alone  to  Donegal,  but  to  Ireland — 
notably  the  bell  and  shrine  of  St.  Mura  ;  this  bell  and  shrine  were 
purchased  by  a  Mr.  M'Clelland,  of  Dungannon,  from  a  man  called 
Reynolds,  of  Innishowen,  in  the  year  1850,  for  the  sum  of  six  pounds. 
It  was  afterwards  sold  by  auction  at  Christie's  in  London,  and  bought  by 
Lord  Londesborough,  for  72  guineas ;  and  at  the  disposal  of  his  collection 
was  sold  to  a  Erench  dealer,  who  took  it  to  Paris,  and  thus  one  of  the 
most  valuable  relics  of  early  Christianity  in  Ireland  is  probably  lost  to 
us  for  ever.2 

The  extinction  by  death  of  the  hereditary  keepers,  and  the  great 
Irish  famine  of  1846,  and  the  distress  and  emigration  in  the  years 
following,  were  the  principal  factors  that  led  to  the  dispersal  of  many 
valuable  Irish  relics.  The  Gartan  bell  was  sold  to  the  Rev.  G.  H.  Reade, 
Rector  of  Inniskeen,  County  of  Louth,  for  the  sum  of  three  pounds,  in  the 
year  1847.  It  was  a  riveted  iron  bell  coated  with  bronze,  and  was  used  as 
a  cup  to  drink  water  or  medicine  from  as  a  cure.  It  is  stated  there  are 
some  ten  Irish  ecclesiastical  bells  in  the  Antiquarian  Museum,  Edinburgh, 
that  were  sold  by  a  collector,  Mr.  John  Bell,  of  Dungannon.  We  cannot 
deal  with  Irish  bells  without  referring  to  the  greatest  Irish  antiquary  of 
the  latter  part  of  the  nineteenth  century,  the  late  Bishop  Reeves  of 
Down  and  Connor.  He  was  a  great  Irish  scholar,  and  deeply  read  in  the 
ancient  ecclesiastical  history  of  Ireland.  In  the  year  1849,  he  published, 
through  the  firm  of  Marcus  Ward  &  Co.,  a  beautifully  illustrated  monograph 
on  the  bell  of  St.  Patrick,  with  five  chromo-lithographic  drawings.  In 
November,  1863,  he  read  a  Paper  on  this  bell  before  the  Royal  Irish 
Academy;  and  in  the  following  month,  December,  he  read  a  second 
Paper  on  "  Some  ecclesiastical  bells  in  possession  of  the  Lord  Primate." 
The  most  important  bell  in  the  Primate's  collection  was  the  bell  of  St. 
Mogue,  which  he,  the  Rev.  Marcus  Gervais  Beresford,  secured  when 
Vicar  of  Drung  and  Larah,  in  the  County  of  Cavan.  But  it  is  the  bell 
of  St.  Patrick  that  we  are  most  interested  in,  from  its  ancient  con- 
nexion with  the  city  in  which  this  meeting  of  our  Society  is  held,  viz., 
Deny  Columcille. 

1  This  bell  was  exhibited  by  its  keeper,  Mr.  Charles  Doherty,  to  the  members  of 
the  Society  at  Culdaff,  the  day  after  this  Paper  was  read. 

2  Mr.  W.  H.  Patterson,  M.R.I.A.,  who  was  present  at  the  reading  of  this  Paper, 
afterwards  informed  me  that  he  believed  it  was  then  in  Hertford  House,  Manchester- 
square,  London.     I  have  since  ascertained  it  was  secured  in  Paris  by  the  late  Sir 
llichard  Wallace,  and  is  now  safe  in  the  Wallace  collection.     It  is  described  and 
illustrated  in  the  old  Ulster  Journal  of  Archeology,  vol.  i.,  p.  271. 

Trmr     «    «;   A   T    J  Vo1'  XIU->  Fiftt  Series,  )  p. 

Jour.  K.b.A.I.  j  Vol  xxxin  ?  Consec  Ser-  j 


50  ROYAL    SOCIETY   OF   ANTIQUARIES    OF   IRELAND. 

As  Bishop  Reeves'  Paper  on  the  bell  of  St.  Patrick  is  of  great 
interest,  and  as  it  may  not  be  accessible  to  all  our  members,  I  may  be 
pardoned  for  repeating  some  of  the  references  in  it,  made  with  that 
thorough  knowledge  of  his  subject  that  characterised  all  Dr.  Beeves' 
work : — 

"  This  bell  is  known  as  the  bell  of  St.  Patrick's  "Will  ;  it  was  so  called,  par 
excellence,  as  the  one  supposed  to  have  been  reserved  by  him  for  his  own  immediate 
use,  and  to  have  been  conveyed,  after  his  death,  to  the  church  of  his  especial 
regard." 

Bells  he  distributed  through  the  multitudinous  churches  and  oratories 
founded  by  him  with  unsparing  hand.  Fifty  he  is  said  to  have  bestowed 
on  the  churches  of  a  single  province,  Connaught ;  and  wherever  he  placed 
a  minister  of  religion,  he  provided  him  with  the  instrument  of  invitation 
to  his  ministrations. 

He  further  says,  agreeably  to  the  ancient  custom — both  Pagan  and 
Christian — of  depositing,  in  the  graves  of  the  illustrious  dead,  the  personal 
insignia  of  life,  there  was  an  early  belief  that  three  sacred  objects  were 
buried  with  our  apostle  in  his  grave  at  Saul ;  and  the  record  of  the 
invention,  which  the  mediaeval  compiler  of  the  Annals  of  Ulster  borrowed 
from  the  then  ancient  Book  of  Cuana,  may  be  regarded  as  the  earliest 
announcement  of  the  existence  of  the  bell  under  consideration.  At 
the  year  552  he  thus  writes  : — I  have  found  what  follows  in  the  Book 
of  Cuana.  The  relics  of  Patrick  were  placed  in  a  shrine  by  Columcille, 
sixty  years  after  his  death.  Three  precious  reliquaries  were  found  in  his- 
tomb — to  wit,  the  Cup,  the  Gospel  of  the  Angel,  and  the  Bell  of  the  Will. 
The  angel,  in  this  manner  showed  to  Columcille  how  to  distribute  the 
three  reliquaries,  namely,  the  Cup  to  Down,  the  Bell  of  the  Will  to 
Armagh,  and  the  Gospel  of  the  Angel  to  Columcille  himself ;  and  it  is- 
called  the  Gospel  of  the  Angel,  because  he  received  it  at  the  Angel's 
hand. 

Then  follows  a  very  elaborate  description  of  St.  Patrick's  bell,  which 
is  given  in  Dr.  Reeves'  Paper  in  the  Transactions  of  the  Royal  Irish 
Academy,  vol.  xxvii.,  from  page  1  to  page  30.  It  is  an  iron-riveted 
bell,  coated  with  bronze,  formed  of  two  plates  of  sheet-iron,  bent 
over  so  as  to  meet;  the  height,  including  the  handle,  is  7f  inches, 
exclusive  of  handle,  6£  inches ;  breadth  at  crown  is  five,  and  the  width 
1£  inches  ;  the  mouth  is  4£  by  3|  inches,  and  its  girth  16  inches.  The 
entire  weight  is  3lb.  11  oz.  The  Four  Masters,  in  1425,  style  it  the 
Bell  of  St.  Patrick's  Will;  and  Dr.  O'Donovan  accepts  the  name  as 
denoting  a  bequest  of  the  saint.  In  the  course  of  ages,  this  bell  came  to 
be  regarded  as  a  most  valuable  relic.  Like  the  Cathach,  it  was  probably 
taken  in  front  of  the  battle,  the  warriors  being  actuated  by  the  same  idea 
as  the  Israelites  when  they  took  with  them  the  Ark  of  the  Covenant. 
Oaths  taken,  and  covenants  made  on  it,  were  supposed  to  be  inviolable ; 


ANCIENT    ECCLESIASTICAL    BELLS    IN    ULSTER.  51 

so  that  by  the  eleventh  century  it  became  greatly  venerated,  and  an 
hereditary  keeper  was  appointed,  whose  special  duty  was  its  charge. 

The  keepers  of  St.  Patrick's  Bell  were  a  family  called  Mulholland,  who 
had  its  custody  for  ages,  for  which  service  a  townland  was  granted  to  them. 
This  responsibility  was  shared  only  for  a  short  period  by  another  family 
called  O'Mellin.  The  Annals  of  Ulster,  at  the  year  1044,  record — "A 
predatory  expedition  by  Niall,  son  of  Maelsechlainn,  King  of  Aileach, 
against  Ui-Meith,  and  against  Cuailgne,  in  which  he  carried  off  1,200 
cows  and  a  multitude  of  captives  in  revenge  for  the  violation  of  '  the 
Bell  of  the  Will.'  Another  excursion  by  Muirchertach  Ua  !N"eill  into 
Mughdorna,  whence  he  carried  off  a  cattle  spoil  and  prisoners.in  revenge 
of  the  violation  of  the  same  bell."  Thus  we  see  that  any  violation  of  the 
sanctity  of  covenants  or  oaths  taken  on  this  bell  was  visited  with  the 
most  severe  punishment.  In  the  eleventh  century,  some  time  between  the 
years  1091  and  1105,  a  most  magnificent  shrine  was  made  for  this  bell. 
There  are  four  names  on  the  shrine  :  the  first  was  Domhnall  O'Lachlainn. 
His  death  is  thus  recorded  by  the  Four  Masters  at  1121 — "Domhnall, 
son  of  Ardghar  Mac  Lochlainn,  King  of  Ireland,  the  most  distinguished 
of  the  Irish,  for  personal  form,  family,  sense,  prowess,  prosperity  and 
happiness;  for  bestowing  of  jewels  and  food  upon  the  mighty  and  the 
needy;  died  at  Doire-Choluim-Chille,  after  being  twenty-seven  years  in 
sovereignty  over  Ireland,  and  eleven  years  in  the  kingdom  of  Aileach, 
in  the  seventy-third  of  his  age,  on  the  night  of  Wednesday,  the  fourth  of 
the  ides  of  February,  being  the  festival  of  Mochuarog." 

The  second  name  was  Domnhall,  coarb  or  heir,  that  is  successor  in 
the  Abbacy  of  St.  Patrick.  The  third  name  is  that  of  the  keeper,. 
Chatholan  O'Maelchallan. 

The  fourth  name  is  that  of  the  cerd  or  artificer  who  designed  and 
executed  the  costly  and  beautiful  work  which  covers  the  shrine.  It 
was  customary  for  artists  to  record  their  names  on  important  works  such 
as  the  one  under  consideration.  His  name  was  Cudulig  O'Immainen 
(O'Meenan).  He  was  of  a  County  Cork  family,  and  was  assisted  in  the 
execution  of  the  work  by  his  sons.  There  is  a  minute  description  of  the 
shrine  in  the  preface  to  Stuart's  History  of  Armagh,  as  well  as  in 
Dr,  Beeves'  Paper,  which  are  too  lengthy  to  repeat  here.  The  metals- 
used  in  this  rare  work  are  bronze,  copper,  silver,  and  gold.  There  is 
beautiful  gold  filagree  work  in  various  convoluted  and  interlaced  patterns 
of  great  beauty  and  intricacy ;  also  ornaments  of  fine  gold  representing 
serpents  curiously  and  elegantly  intertwined  in  most  intricate  folds  and 
in  various  knots.  The  shrine  was  made  at  the  expense  and  by  order  of 
King  Domhnal,  and  presented  to  his  friend  and  namesake  Domhnal  Mac 
Amhalgaidh  (M'Auley),  the  Primate.  This  unique  relic  passed  from 
the  last  of  the  Mulhollands,  an  old  man  who  had  been  a  teacher,  who 
gave  it  on  his  death -bed  to  one  of  his  pupils,  Mr.  Adam  M<  Clean,  of 

E2 


52  ROYAL  SOCIETY  OF  ANTIQUARIES  OF  IRELAND. 

Belfast,  who  had  rendered  him  many  acts  of  kindness,  and  saved  him 
from  arrest  for  being  implicated  in  the  rising  of  1798. 

He  said:  ''My  dear  friend,  you  were  an  old  and  valued  scholar  of 
mine  ;  on  one  occasion  you  were  the  means  of  saving  my  life,  and  on 
many  subsequent  occasions  of  providing  for  its  comforts.  I  am  now 
going  to  die  ;  I  have  no  child  to  whom  I  might  leave  the  little  I  possess, 
nor  have  I  any  near  of  kin  who  might  prefer  any  claim  to  it.  In  either 
case  the  treasure  I  possess,  and  which  I  hold  dear  as  life,  should  not 
have  left  the  family  of  Mulholland,  in  which  it  has  been  handed  down 
for  ages  and  generations  ;  but  I  am  the  last  of  my  race,  and  you  are  the 
best  friend  I  have.  I  therefore  give  it  to  you  ;  and  when  I  am  gone,  dig 
in  the  garden  in  a  certain  spot,  and  you  will  find  a  box  there ;  take  it  up 


The  Bell  of  Cappagh. 

and  preserve  the  contents  for  my  sake."  Mr.  M'Clean  did  so,  and  came 
upon  an  oak  box,  on  opening  which  he  found  this  bell  and  shrine,  and 
beside  them  a  worn  copy  of  Bedell's  quarto  Irish  Bible.  The  bell  and 
shrine  passed  from  Mr.  M'Clean  to  Dr.  Todd  of  Trinity  College,  and 
afterwards  to  the  Royal  Irish  Academy,  in  whose  collection  (now  in  the 
National  Museum,  Dublin)  it  is  one  of  the  most  valued  treasures. 

I  will  next  refer  to  two  bronze  bells  which  have  not  been  previously 
described  ;  and  some  facts  connected  with  them  which  I  wish  to  record 
are  probably  known  only  to  myself.  Both  bells  belong  to  County 
Tyrone — one,  the  bell  of  the  parish  of  Cappagh,  and  the  other  the 
Bell  of  Drumragh,  the  parish  in  which  Omagh  is  situated.  The  Bell 


ANCIENT    ECCLESIASTICAL   BELLS   IN   ULSTER.  53 

of  Cappagh  is  at  present  in  the  collection  formed  by  the  late  Surgeon 
Young,  of  Monaghan,  and  which  was  purchased  after  his  death  by  Sir 
John  Leslie,  Bart.,  of  Glasslough  House.  I  have  frequently  handled 
this  bell,  and  have  a  photo  of  it  taken  by  Mr.  Young.  The  following 
inscription  is  on  a  label  on  the  bell  in  the  handwriting  of  Mr.  Young  : — 
"  The  old  bell  of  Cappagh  Abbey,  County  Tyrone,  founded  A.D.  792. 
This  ancient  bell  was  given  by  the  Rev.  Francis  Quinn,  P.P.,  to  Mr. 
John  Donnelly,  merchant,  Omagh,  when  he  removed  from  Cappagh  to 
another  parish."  Mr.  Donnelly  certified  this,  and  that  he  sold  it  to 
J.  F.,  5th  April,  1858. 

The  J.  F.  from  whom  Surgeon  Young  purchased  this  bell  was  an  old 
man  whom  I  last  saw  in  the  year  1890.  He  was  an  itinerant  bell-hanger 
and  collector  of  antiquities,  whose  circuit  of  operations  extended  over  the 
provinces  of  Ulster  and  Connaught.  He  corresponded  with  me  about 
antiquities  he  picked  up  in  his  travels ;  and  I  retain  several  of  his  letters, 
written  with  great  intelligence  and  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  objects 
he  collected.  His  name  was  John  Ford.  The  last  two  letters  I  received 
from  him  were  written  from  Ballina,  Co.  Mayo,  dated  October,  1890. 

He  informed  me  that  he  collected  for  several  gentlemen  in 
Dublin — amongst  others,  the  late  Sir  William  "Wilde ;  and  the  method 
he  adopted  was  rather  novel,  and  worth  repeating.  In  the  course 
of  his  journeys,  he  attended  fairs  and  markets,  and  usually  retained 
a  few  typical  specimens  of  bronze,  stone,  and  flint  implements.  He 
would  procure  a  hay-rake,  and  suspend  the  various  articles  from  the 
pegs  of  the  rake,  and  mount  it  over  his  shoulder.  The  country  folk  were 
attracted ;  and  he  then  announced  that  he  was  a  purchaser  of  such  things. 
By  this  means  he  was  most  successful  in  getting  implements  at  a  time 
that  they  were  very  little  valued.  Mr.  John  Donnelly,  of  Omagh,  from 
whom  Ford  purchased  the  Eell  of  Cappagh,  was  personally  known  to  me 
for  very  many  years.  Cappagh  was  an  ancient  ecclesiastical  seat  in 
existence  for  centuries  before  the  town  of  Omagh — near  to  which  it  is 
situated — was  heard  of.  It  is  referred  to  in  Primate  Colton's  Yisitation 
of  the  See  of  Derry  in  the  year  1397  (see  Ulster  Journal  of  Archeology ; 
vol.  i.,  page  184).  The  Primate  passed  through  Cappagh  on  his  way 
to  Derry.  It  was  too  small  to  accommodate  his  retinue,  so  that  they 
had  to  proceed  to  Ardstraw — another  veiy  ancient  foundation — to  lodge 
for  the  night. 

The  following  are  the  dimensions  of  this  ancient  bronze  bell : — from 
mouth  to  crown,  9  inches;  to  top  of  handle,  2f  inches ;  total  height,  llf 
inches;  breadth  at  mouth,  6J  inches  by  4f  inches;  breadth  at  crown,. 
1*  by  3£  inches. 

The  Bell  of  Drumragh,  known  as  the  Black  Bell,  is  still  in  possession 
of  its  hereditary  keepers,1  a  family  long  resident  in  the  vicinity  of  Omagh, 

1  The  Bell  of  Drumragh  was  exhibited  at  the  Derry  Meeting,  having  been 
entrusted  to  me  by  its  hereditary  keeper. 


54  ROYAL   SOCIETY    OF   ANTIQUARIES    OF   IRELAND. 

called  M'Enhill.  The  last  of  the  M'Enhills  in  the  male  line  died  within 
the  past  few  years,  and  the  bell  passed  to  a  sister  who  is  married  to  a  Mr. 
Doherty,  of  Omagh,  in  whose  possession  it  now  is.  The  last  member 
of  the  M'Enhills  in  the  male  line  related  to  me  several  years  since 
some  legends  about  the  bell.  When  a  member  of  this  family  died, 
the  oldest  surviving  male  member  carried  this  bell  before  the  coffin, 
and  rung  it  at  intervals  until  the  church  was  reached.  After  leaving 
the  church,  the  bell  was  carried  behind  the  coffin  and  rung  till  the 
grave  was  reached.  The  following  legend  was  told  me  many  years 
ago  by  an  old  man  of  the  M'Enhill  family.  He  said : — "  Many  cen- 
turies ago,  before  roads  or  bridges  were  made  to  old  Drumragh  grave- 
yard, two  funerals  were  entering  it  at  the  same  time,  one  a  person  called 


The  Bell  of  Drumragh,  Omagh. 


M'Enhill,  and  the  other  Campbell.  When  the  M'Enhills'  funeral  was 
passing  a  certain  spot,  a  bell  began  to  ring  in  the  ground ;  but  when  the 
other  funeral  passed  the  same  spot,  it  ceased.  After  this,  when  any 
member  of  the  M'Enhill  family  was  being  buried,  and  passed  this  spot,  the 
bell  rang;  but  it  never  rang  when  anyone  else  passed  over,  so  the 
M'Enhills  dug  down  and  discovered  the  bell ;  and  it  has  been  in  their 
family  ever  since."  Another  legend  related  to  me  by  the  present 
custodian  of  the  bell  is :-« About  twenty  years  ago,  Sarah  M'Enhill 
The  night  before  the  funeral,  an  uncle  of  deceased,  a  certain  Oiney 
Owen  M'Enhill,  was  returning  from  Omagh  about  ten  o'clock  at  night; 
when  he  reached  the  plantation  at  Cavanacaw,  the  bell  started  ringing  in 


ANCIENT   ECCLESIASTICAL   BELLS   IN    ULSTER.  55 

the  plantation,  and  kept  ringing  until  he  got  half  a  mile  further  on  his 
way.  Thinking  someone  was  ringing  the  bell  for  mischief,  he  inquired 
when  he  reached  the  house,  and  was  told  the  bell  had  not  been  moved 
from  its  place."  The  following  are  the  dimensions  of  this  bell  : — 
7^  inches  high  from  mouth  to  crown;  2  inches  to  top  of  handle — a 
total  of  9£  inches ;  at  mouth  it  is  5  inches  in  breadth,  by  4£  inches  in 
depth. 

Another  well-known  Ulster  bell  is  that  of  Kilbroney,  which  is  now 
in  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  Rostrevor,  Co.  Down.  It  is  10£  inches 
high;  handle,  If  inches;  at  mouth  it  is  7f  inches  by  7.  I  was  shown 


St.  Broncha's  Bell,  Kilbroney,  near  Rcstrevor,  County  Down 
(From  a  Photograph  by  Mr.  R.  Welch.) 

this  bell  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Lowry,  c.c.,  in  the  church  in  the  year  1888, 
It  is  a  fine  specimen  of  a  bronze  bell.  Father  Lowry  gave  me  the 
following  particulars  : — It  was  found  about  a  century  ago  amongst  the 
branches  of  a  tree  that  had  been  blown  down  during  a  storm,  in  the  ruins 
of  the  monastery  of  St.  Broncha,  patroness  of  the  parish. 

The  Bell  of  Bangor  Abbey,  County  Down,  is  now  in  the  possession  of 
Colonel  M'Cance,  of  Knocknagoney,  near  Holywood.  In  the  old  Ulster 
Journal  of  Archeology r,  vol.  i.,  p.  179,  it  is  recorded  that  "  This  bell  was 
found  in  the  ruins  of  the  Abbey  about  sixty  years  ago"  (which  would  bring 
it  back  to  the  last  decade  of  the  eighteenth  century),  and  was  in  1853  (the 


56  ROYAL    SOCIETY    OF   ANTIQUARIES    OF   IRELAND. 

date  this  reference  was  made)  in  possession  of  Dr,  Stephenson,  Belfast. 
It  is  quite  perfect,  except  the  clapper,  and  made  of  a  darkhronze,  giving  a 
good  tone  when  struck.  It  is  ornamented  by  an  incised  border  around  the 
base  as  well  as  a  handsome  Latin  cross  on  each  side  of  its  broadest  lace. 
I  submitted  a  photograph  of  the  ornament  to  Mr.  John  Ymycomb, 
M.K.I.A.,  who  considers  it  a  Celtic  variety  of  the  Tret.  The  cross 
extends  from  the  border  to  the  crown;  and  where  the  arms  cross  the 
shaft,  it  is  cusped.  It  measures— height  to  crown,  12  inches,  and  to  top  of 
handle  14  inches ;  the  mouth  is  9  inches  by  8  ;  the  metal  is  i  of  an  inch 
thick,  and  the  entire  weight  is  20  Ib.  6|  oz.  From  its  large  size,  style 
of  ornament,  and  weight,  I  consider  it  one  of  the  later  bells. 


The  Bell  of  Bangor,  County  Down.    Height,  14  inches  ;  mouth,  9  inches  by  8.     * 
(From  a  Photograph  by  Mr.  R.  Welch.) 

The  Bell  of  St.  Patrick  weighs  only  3  Ib.  11  oz.  ;  and  all  the  early 
bells  are  small  in  size,  and  light  in  weight,  so  that  the  Bell  of  Bangor, 
weighing  as  it  does  almost  1 J  stone,  would  be  heavy  for  a  hand-bell,  and 
may  have  been  made  at  a  period  that  bells  were  beginning  to  be 
suspended. 

I  will  briefly  refer  to  another  Ulster  bell  known  as  the  Bell  of 
Bally mena.  It  was  discovered  in  the  townland  of  Cabragh,and  parish 
of  Kirkinriola,  distant  from  Bally mena  three  miles.  It  was  found  in 
July,  1 870,  and  purchased  by  Mr.  W.  Arthurs,  a  dealer  in  antiquities,. 


ANCIENT    ECCLESIASTICAL    BELLS    IN    ULSTER.  57 

and  bought  from  him  by  Robert  Day,  Esq.,  J.P.,  F.S.A.,  Cork.  I  had  a 
personal  interview  with  Mr.  Day  about  this  bell,  and  he  assured  me  that 
it  was  found  at  the  ruined  Church  of  Kirkinriola,  which  was  appropriate 
to  the  Abbey  of  Muckamore,  and  that  Bishop  Reeves  had  no  doubt  but 
that  it  was  the  ancient  bell  of  that  church,  of  which  there  is  little  else 
remaining.  Mr.  Day  stated  further  that  he  was  in  Ballymena  the 
week  that  Arthurs  bought  it,  and  that  he  was  able  to  verify  hi& 
story.  It  is  now  in  the  custody  of  Professor  E.  Perceval  "Wright,  M.D., 
J.P.,  of  Trinity  College,  President  of  our  society.  The  following  are 
the  dimensions  of  this  bell  kindly  forwarded  to  me  by  Dr.  Wright : — from 
mouth  to  crown,  10  inches ;  to  top  of  handle,  1£  inches — total  height,  11£ 
inches  ;  breadth  at  mouth,  7£  inches ;  depth  at  one  side,  4  inches ;  at  the- 
other  side,  3f  inches.  It  has  no  ornamentation,  and  shows  no  signs  of 
weathering. 

I  have  confined  myself  to  bells  belonging  to  Ulster ;  but  there  are- 
many  others  in  museums  and  private  collections  that  I  have  not  referred 
to.  There  are  bells,  and  also  many  ancient  Irish  manuscripts,  in  various 
places  on  the  Continent  of  Europe.  Of  the  latter,  the  Book  of  St.  Gall 
and  the  Antiphonary  of  Bangor,  both  brought  from  County  Down  in  the 
very  infancy  of  the  ancient  Celtic  Church  :  the  first  is  now  in  Switzer- 
land, and  the  second  in  Milan,  removed  from  Bobbio,  Northern  Italy,  to- 
which  it  probably  came  with  St.  Columbanus  or  some  of  his  disciples. 


NOTES  ADDED  IN  THE  PRESS. 

Page  49. — The  bells  referred  to  on  this  page  were  presented  bjr 
Primate  M.  G.  Beresford's  son  to  Armagh  Library.  Bishop  Reeves' 
account  of  these  five  bells  was  published  in  the  Proceedings  of  the 
Royal  Irish  Academy,  vol.  viii.,  pp.  441-450,  and  the  Paper  was  partly 
reproduced  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Society  of  Antiquaries  of  London 
in  1865,  with  a  plate  and  woodcut. — [ED.] 

Page  50.— Dr.  Reeves'  Paper  was  not  published  until  fourteen  years- 
after  it  was  read.  It  was  re-issued  with  an  enlarged  title  and  a  brief 
introduction. — [ED.] 


58          ROYAL   SOCIETY   OF   ANTIQUARIES   OF   IRELAND. 


OCCUPATION1   OF  COKtf  AUGHT   BY  THE  ANGLO-NORMANS 
AFTER  A.D.  1237. 

BY  H.  T.  KNOX,  M.R.I.A.,  FELLOW. 
(Continued  from  Volume  XXXII. ,  page  406.) 

PART   III. 


CANTRED  OF  Own,.2 — INQUISITION  C. 

taken  before  John  Moriz,  Escheator  of  Ireland,  at  Athemy, 
on  the  last  day  of  December,  in  seventh  year  of  King  Edward  III., 
by  the  oath  of  Bernard  de  Staunton,  Knight,  John  de  Stauntone,  Knight, 
John  de  Exeter,  Robert  Gaynard,  Maurice  Gaynard,  Robert  a  clerk, 
Thomas  Dolfyn,  William  Walshe,  William  Seman,  Thomas  Glyse, 
"William  de  Atthy,  and  Richard  Dolfyn,  jurors,  who  say,  etc.,  etc.,  that 
there  is — 

£10  from  one  cantred  in  Owyl  Botiller,  by  John  le  Botiller. 

£10  13s.  4d.  from  four  townlands  which  John  de  Burgo  held 

£10  13s.  4d.  from  four  townlands  which  Onayl3  held. 

£16  13s.  4d.  from  seven  townlands  which  Robert  Laweles  holds. 

53s.  4d.  from  one  townland  in  Myntraghyn,4  which  "William  de 
Burgo  of  Owyl  holds. 

40s.  from  Knappaugy.5 

Total  of  value  of  this  cantred  of  Owyl,  parcel  of  the  manor  of 
Loghry,  £52  13s.  4d. 

CANTEED  OF  BAK  AND  OF  GLEN. 

£13  6s.  8^.  from  the  cantred  of  Bak  and  of  Glen,  which  the  heirs  of 
William  Baret  hold  freely. 

13s.  Sd.  from  one  townland  in  Irchloghton,  now  nothing. 
22s.  from  one  townland  of  Cabragh6  and  Raytrayny. 
11s.  Sd.  from  one  quarter  in  Corbeggan.7 
10s.  4d.  from  one  quarter  in  Lyssarewel. 
Us.  Sd.  from  one  quarter  in  Cathyrleilan. 
2s.  from  Inchawyn,  by  Richard  Baret. 

1  The  Paper  on  the  "Occupation  of  the  County  Galway  "  was  prepared  for  the 
meeting  at  Gaiway,  and  was  confined  to  that  county  (Journal,  vol.  xxxi.,  p.  365). 
Uinnall.  3  o'Maille  (?) 

6*  rTbabiy  M°ne7  .°v  Moyna>  near  Castle  Affy-  5  Knappagh. 

Cabragh,  near  Inishcoe.  7  Corraveggaun,  in  Ballynahaglish. 


OCCUPATION  OF  CONNAUGHT  BY  ANGLO-NORMANS.        59 

12d.  from  Row,1  by  Thomas,  son  of  Philip  Baret. 

6^.  from  a  piece  of  land,  by  Geoffrey  Martyn. 

Tenants  in  Rathberk  pay  six  crannocs  of  oats  for  suit  of  the  lord's 
mill,  in  ordinary  years  worth  405. 

Total  of  old  value  of  these  cantreds,  parcel  of  the  Manor  of  Loghiy, 
£19  7s.  2d. 

Total  of  value  now,  £18  13s. 


CANTRED  OP  TrRAULYF,2  ORRus,3  TrROMoy,4  AND  CONDTJMMOR.S 

£13  6s.  Sd.  from  the  cantred  of  Tyraunlyf.2 

26*.  Sd.  from  one  townland  in  Casteldunghy,6  now  nothing. 

110*,  from  one  townland  in  Carne.7 

Pleas  and  perquisites  of  the  Court,  4s. 

£13  6s.  8^.  from  one  cantred  of  Orrus,3  which  John  de  Exeter  holds 
in  fee. 

£13  6s.  Sd.  from  the  cantred  of  Tyrremoy,4  now  nothing. 

40s.  from  three  townlands  in  Duncoghy,8  now  nothing. 

£13  6s.  Sd.  from  the  cantred  of  Condomnor,  now  nothing. 

£4  10s.  from  three  townlands  in  Leyghuyl,9  now  nothing. 

Total  of  old  value  of  these  cantreds,  parcel  of  the  manor  of  Loghry, 
£66  17s.  4d. 

Total  of  value  now,  £32  7s.  4d. 

CANTRED  OF  SYLMOLRON  10  (CASTLE  OF  ToBERBRiDE).11 

At  Toberbride  is  an  old  castle  surrounded  by  a  stone  wall,  which 
would  be  very  useful  for  keeping  the  peace  of  those  parts,  if  a  sufficient 
ward  was.  .  .  In  the  castle  are  ruinous  buildings,  a  hall,  a  chamber,  a 
kitchen,  and  other  houses,  worth  nothing  beyond  cost  of  repairs,  because 
they  need  great  repairs. 

In  demesne  two  carucates  and  sixty  acres  of  arable  land  were  under 
the  lord's  plough,  worth  I2d.  an  acre,  in  all  £15,  but  now  nothing. 

12  acres  of  meadow,  12s.,  but  now  nothing. 

One  pasture  13s.  4d.t  but  now  nothing. 

Another  woodland  pasture  in  Rathfernan,  26s.  8d.,  but  now  nothing. 

Another  pasture,  10s.,  now  nothing. 

A  watermill  at  Rathfernan,  46s.  Sd.,  now  nothing,  because  ruinous, 
and  on  account  of  the  war. 

1  Roe  Island,  in  Lough  Con. 

2  Tirawly,  i.e.  Kilmoremoy  and  Ballysakeery  parishes. 

3  Parishes  of  Toomore,  Attymas,  and  Kilgarvan. 

4  Tireragh,  east  of  Leaffony  river. 

5  Dunmaic  Uonchobhair,  now  Castleconor.     An  indistinct  mark  of  contraction  is 
over  the  Con  in  each  case. 

6  Castle-na-Geeha,  near  Rathfran.  7  Cam,  in  Moygawnagh  parish. 

8  Donicoy,  in  Tireragh. 

9  Lisladhghuill,  obsolete,  in  Dromard  parish. 

10  Sil  Maelruain.  n  Ballintoher,  in  Roscommon. 


60  ROYAL  SOCIETY    OF   ANTIQUARIES   OF  IRELAND. 

20«.  from  prisage-of  beer,  with  "  Staus,mnow  nothing. 

Grass  of  a  certain  place,  3s.,  now  nothing. 

At  Toberbride,   a  water-mill,   66s.  8d.,  now  nothing. 

26s.  8d  from  prisage  of  beer  there,  now  nothing. 

Free  Tenants.— £14  from  one  townland  in  Balymacgagan,  three 
townlands  in  Dyrydunus  and  elsewhere,  which  M'Cortan  held  at  will, 
but  now  nothing. 

Pleas  and  perquisites  of  the  Hundred  of  Toberbryd,  £4,  now  nothing. 

10s.  from  one  townland  in  Fichbary2  [or  Fithbary],  which  the  heirs 
of  John  de  Barry  held,  but  now  nothing. 

6d.  from  one  piece  of  land  in  Clanfadd,3  which  Lucas  M'Cortan  held, 
now  nothing. 

40s.  from  one  townland  in  Curran,4  which  Adam  de  Burgo  held,  but 
now  nothing. 

£12  14s.  4d.  from  five  townlands  in  the  Burgage  of  Rathfernan,  but 
now  nothing. 

£20  from  five  townlands  atToberbrid,  now  only  £10. 

40s.  from  half  a  townland  which  was  under  the  lord's  plough,  but  now 
nothing. 

52s.  from  one  townland  in  Myntynan,  now  nothing. 

Total  of  old  value  of  this  cantred,  parcel  of  the  manor  of  Loghry, 
£84  Is.  IQd. 

Total  of  value  now,  £10. 

Sleoflow. — £20  from  the  cantred  of  Sleoflow,5  but  now  nothing. 

66s.  8d.  from  one  theodum  in  Arkagh,6  now  nothing. 

66s.  Sd.  from  one  theodum  in  Kerymoyng,7  and  Keryloghnayrn,8  but 
now  nothing. 

66s.  8d.  from  Caryoghtragh,9  now  nothing. 

Total  of  old  value  of  this  cantred,  parcel  of  the  manor  of  Loghry, 
£30,  now  nothing. 

SEEJEANTY  AND  PLEAS  AND  PEBQTJISITES  OF  GREAT  COTJET  OF  CONNAUGHT. 

£13  6s.  8d.,  from  the  Serjeanty  of  Connaught,  and  now  only 
£6  3s.  4d. 

Pleas  and  perquisites  of  the  Great  Court  of  Connaught,  were  500 
marks,  but  now  only  £100. 

Total  of  old  value  of  Serjeanty  and  Great  Court  of  Connaught, 
£346  13s.  4d. 

Total  of  value,  now  £106  3s.  4d. 

1  Or  «  Stans.'     This  is  not  understood.     May  it  be  a  mistake  for  «  Stallage ' : 
Figh,  T.  L.,  north-west  of  Lough  Glinn  (?).  , 

1  Clonfad,  north-east  of  Lough  Glinn. 

4  Caran,  in  Cloonigormican  (?),  or  an  obsolete  Curraun. 
Sliabh  Lugha.  «  Airtech. 

7  Ciarraige  Muige  Ai.  a  Ciarraige  Locha  na  n Airneadli . 

9  Ciarraige  Uachtarach. 


OCCUPATION    OF   CONNAUGHT  BY  ANGLO-NORMANS.        61 

William,  late  Earl  of  Ulster,  held  in  demesne  in  fee  71  acres  of  land 
of  Bede  of  the  Bishopric  of  Clonfert  by  service  of  36s.  Gd.,  which  are 
worth  nothing  for  the  present  on  account  of  poverty  of  tenants  of  those 
parts. 

Sligagh. — The  Earl  held  the  manor  of  Sligagh,  Goran,  Lune,  and 
Carbry  with  appurtenances,  which  were  worth  £333  6s.  8d.,  which  are 
in  Connaught,  by  the  same  services  by  which  he  held  his  other  lands, 
etc.,  in  Connaught,  from  which  nothing  can  be  got  now,  on  account  of 
the  destruction  of  the  war  of  both  English  and  Irish  there. 

Total  of  old  value,  £333  6s.  8d.,  now  nothing. 

Knights'  Fees. — They  cannot  learn  anything  about  knights'  fees, 
because  they  hold  their  lands  by  townlands  making  suit  at  the  lord's 
court.  There  is  one  church,  taxed  at  6  marks,  whose  advowson  and 
presentation  belonged  to  the  Earl  and  will  belong  to  his  heirs.  There 
is  another  church1  at  Owyl,  taxed  at  6  marks,  whose  advowson  and 
presentation  belonged  to  the  Earl  and  will  belong  to  his  heirs.  There  is 
another  church  at  Arthdraghyn,2  taxed  at  6  marks,  whose  advowson  and 
presentation  belonged  to  the  Earl  and  to  the  heir  of  Richard  de  Cla  .  .  .3 
alternately. 

There  are  other  lands  in  Connaught,  Ulster,  and  other  parts  of 
Ireland  which  are  among  the  Irish,  and  none  can  go  to  them  to  value 
them  or  take  any  profit,  because  the  Irish  among  whom  they  lie  will  not 
allow  any  minister  of  the  king  or  any  other  Englishman  to  manage 
them. 

Elizabeth  de  Burgo  is  daughter  and  next  heir  of  the  Earl,  and  is  of 
age  of  one  year  and  a-half  and  upwards. 


The  kingdom  of  Umhall  is  at  the  head  of  Inquisition  C,  forming  one 
great  cantred  of  Umhall.  It  was  much  broken  up.  A  Butler  had  the 
northern  part,  the  parishes  of  Achill  and  Burrishoole,  which  were  a 
large  native  denomination  called  Latharis  in  the  Taxation,  which  I  think 
is  Leath  Fhearghuis.  O'Fergus  was  one  of  the  three  chief  families  of 
Clann  Maille.  As  the  Earl  of  Ormond  owned  Ballycroy  at  the  Compo- 
sition, I  suppose  that  the  O'Malleys  held  it  in  the  thirteenth  century. 
"The  sons  of  Maghnus,  and  the  sons  of  Conchobhar  Ruadh,  joined 
together,  and  turned  against  the  Foreigners,  and  the  castle  of  Mac  Henry 
was  burned  by  them,  and  its  constable  taken  prisoner ;  .  .  .  .  Jordan  de 
Exeter,  however,  and  John  Butler,  and  Robin  Lawless,  and  several 
persons  along  with  them,  assembled  and  went  to  Baile-tobair-Patraic, 
and  from  thence  to  Achadh-Fabhair ;  and  they  plundered  all  Umhall, 
north  and  south  on  the  morrow.  Mac  Henry  came  also,  with  a  large 
army,  into  Umhall  (for  it  belonged  to  himself  and  he  was  residing  in  it), 

1  Latharis,  in  Taxation,  i.e.  Burrishoole.  2  Ardrahan.  3  Clare. 


62  ROYAL   SOCIETY    OF   ANTIQUARIES    OF    IRELAND. 

MacHenry  then  made  peace  with  Domhnall,  son  of  Maghnus"  (L.C.  1248). 
From  this  it  appears  that  the  sons  of  Maghnus  and  of  Conchobhar  Ruadh,. 
the  Clann  Muirchertaigh  Muimhnigh,  had  previously  submitted  and 
lived  under  MacHenry. 

In  this  paragraph  "  Mac  "  has  been  inserted  in  the  translation  before 
the  second  Henry,  which  does  not  appear  in  the  Irish.  It  would  run 
that  after  Mac  Henry's  castle  was  taken  by  insurgents  John  Butler  and 
others  assembled.  Henry  himself  also  brought  a  large  army.  Mac  Henry 
then  made  peace.  This  is  the  form  in  which  the  event  is  described  by 
the  "Four  Masters"  who  copied  the  annals  of  Loch  Ce  or  a  common 
original.  But  they  explain  that  Mac  Henry  is  Piers  Poer.  For  calling 
him  Piers  Poer  I  see  no  authority  beyond  the  entry  in  1249  (L.C.)> 
"Piers  Poer,  i.e.  the  son  of  Henry."  A  son  of  Henry  Pincerna  is 
mentioned  in  1215  and  Henry  le  Buttiler  in  1237. l  I  take  this  second 
Henry,  if  they  were  not  the  same,  to  be  the  Henry  who  came  up,  and 
Mac  Henry  to  be  his  son  who  owned  the  castle,  to  whom  Donnell  0' Conor 
again  submitted  in  face  of  irresistible  force.  John  Butler  was  killed  in 
1270,  and  Henry  Butler,  lord  of  Umhall,  was  slain  by  Conor  Roe's  son 
Cathal  and  others  in  1272  (L.C.).  The  turmoil  of  this  period  seems  to 
have  been  the  cause  of  the  final  expulsion  of  Clan  Murtough  from  Erris. 

I  think  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  Henry  Butler  and  his  sons  were 
the  immediate  lords  of  north  Umhall.  The  Butlers  do  not  appear  again, 
in  the  Annals,  and  seem  to  have  had  quiet  possession  after  the  turbulent 
0' Conors  left.  The  Irish  gentry  must  have  had  a  much  easier  time 
under  their  Norman  lords  than  when  they  were  subject  to  the  irregular 
domination  and  exactions  and  encroachments  of  the  0' Conor  family.  The 
Butlers  of  this  branch  became  extinct  or  removed  soon  after  1333,  as 
the  whole  Butler  estate  was  occupied  by  Bourkes  and  O'Malleys  in  the 
sixteenth  century.  The  Lawless  family  also  disappeared  from  Connaught. 

The  castle  is  called  of  Tyren-morein  the  "  Annals  of  Clonmacnoise." 
Downing  says  that  Burrishoole  was  reputed  to  have  been  a  corporation, 
and  to  have  been  built  by  the  Butlers.  The  castle,  of  which  some 
traces  remain  on  the  point  to  the  north  of  the  abbey,  was  Mac  Henry's 
castle.  The  town  was  the  Burgeis  Cinntrachta,  Burgage  of  Head  of 
Strand,  burnt  by  Clan  Murtough  in  1247  (L.C.). 

A  large  part  of  Umhall  belonged  to  the  Archbishop  of  Tuam. 
Regarding  the  remainder,  the  only  information  is  that  given  by  the 
Inquisition.  John  de  Burgo  and  O'Malley  each  held  four  townlands  at 
£10  13*.  4d.  Robert  Lawless  had  seven  at  £16  13s.  4d.  •  "William  de 
Burgo  had  one  in  Myntroghyn,  at  £2  13s.  4^;  and  £2  10s.  came  from 
Knappagh.  The  whole  territory  seems  to  be  covered  by  these  holdings. 
John  de  Burgo  is  probably  the  son  of  Philip,  from  whom  descended  the 
MacPhilpins,  and  "William  is  probably  his  brother.  O'Malley  thus- 

1  D.I.  i.,  Nos.  672,  2266. 


OCCUPATION   OF   CONNAUGHT   BY   ANGLO-NORMANS.        63 

appears  as  a  tenant  of  the  Earl.  He  was  the  only  Irish  chieftain 
who  had  a  considerable  position  in  the  county  Mayo  in  the  sixteenth 
century. 

The  Inquisition  does  not  mention  Erris  in  any  form  that  I  can 
recognize.  The  Clan  Murtough,  having  been  driven  out  of  Carra  and 
Clancowan  by  Richard  de  Burgo  in  1235  in  consequence  of  their  rising 
against  him,  remained  in  North  TJmhall  and  in  Erris.  It  is  most  likely 
that  the  head  of  the  clan  held  Erris  by  knight  service,  or  that  Erris  was 
given  on  such  service  to  William  Barrett  on  condition  of  expelling  them. 
They  were  at  all  times  a  very  turbulent  clan.  After  a  rising  under 
Donnell  Irruis  in  1272,  they  were  finally  expelled  in  1273  (L.C.).  The 
country  seems  then  to  have  been  given  to  "William  Barrett,  called  by 
Mac  Firbis,  "William  Mor  of  Kilcommon,1  I  suppose,  because  he  built  a 
castle  at  Kilcommon  Erris.  It  remained  in  the  hands  of  the  Barretts 
until  the  Bourkes  of  Carra  encroached  on  them  in  the  fifteenth  century, 
and  they  built  several  castles  therein. 

Next  after  Umhall  the  Inquisition  takes  the  two  great  cantreds  called 
of  Bak  and  Glen  and  of  Tyraulyf,  which  comprise  the  whole  kingdom  of 
O'Dubhda,  omitting  Erris.  The  former  was  the  southern  part  of  Tiraw- 
ley,  broken  up  in  part  into  small  holdings.  A  Hundred  court  was  put  at 
Carn  in  Moygawnagh,  where  a  castle  has  been  from  early  times. 

Omitting  profits  of  mill  and  court,  the  rents,  from  what  I  have 
identified  as  in  the  present  barony  of  Tirawley,  come  to  £37  10s.  6d., 
which  is  very  close  to  the  sum  of  £40  charged  upon  the  freeholders  of 
160  quarters  of  land  as  Mac  William's  rent  in  the  Composition,  being  the 
sum  due  to  him  out  of  certain  lands  named  in  a  list  extracted  from  the 
Historia  et  Genealogia  Familiae  de  Burgo,  all  but  a  few  of  which  are 
identified.2  These  I  take  to  be  the  tenures  of  1333. 

The  principal  tenants  were  the  Barretts,  who  certainly  had  Bac  and 
Glen.  The  Bacs  are  the  parishes  of  Ballynahaglish  and  Kilbelf  ad ;  Glen 
is  Glen  Nephin,  which  included,  I  think,  Glenhest,  which  took  its  name 
from  Hosty  Merrick,  said  to  have  held  it  under  the  Barretts.3  He  was 
killed  fighting  on  the  side  of  the  Butlers  in  1272  (L.C.). 

Barrett  built  a  castle  called  Caislen  na  Circe,  and  founded  a  town, 
just  opposite  to  Foxford,  but  on  the  Tirawley  side  of  the  Moy.* 

The  small  cantred  of  Tyraulyf  is  the  part  of  the  parish  of  Kilmoremoy, 
on  the  west  of  the  Moy.  The  parish  bears  the  name  of  Tirawley  in  the 
Yalor  Beneficiorum  of  1535  and  in  the  Eegal  Visitation  of  1615.  The 
cautred  seems  to  have  included  Ballysakeery  or  a  considerable  part 
thereof,  for  the  Barretts  were  in  possession  in  the  sixteenth  century, 
except  so  far  as  the  Bourkes  had  ousted  them.5 

The  Carews  had  lands  and  a  castle  called  Doonmacnyny,  which  I 

1H.  F.  329.  2H.W.C.  335,  and  H.  F.  455.  3H.F.  331. 

4  0.  S.  L.  Mayo,  ii.,  p.  354.  5  H.  F.  458  ;  H.  W.  C.  331. 


64  ROYAL   SOCIETY   OF    ANTIQUARIES    OF   IRELAND. 

cannot  identify,  at  the  Composition,  llichard  Care w  is  mentioned  in  1 255 
as  haying  conveyed  11  villsof  land  in  Bredagh,  the  parish  of  Moygaw- 
nagh,  and  part  of  that  of  Kilfian,  to  William  Barrett.1  It  is  likely  to  be 
the  1  vill  in  Carne,  held  at  £5  10s.,  which  would  be  10s.  for  each  of 
1 1  carucates,  sometimes  called  villatas,  supposing  villata  to  be  used  in 
the  Inquisition  in  the  indefinite  sense  of  a  tract  less  than  a  cantred,  but 
not  a  defined  tribal  denomination  like  theodum. 

Mac  Firbis  says  that  Sir  William  Lawless  had  the  tract  from  the 
strand  of  Lacken  to  Eathfran.2  The  name  does  not  otherwise  appear  in 
connexion  with  Tirawley,  so  I  suppose  the  Lawless  rights  were  trans- 
ferred. The  estate  would  be  respresented  by  Casteldunghy,  castle  of 
Dun  na  Gaoithe,  afterwards  Caislen  nagaoithe. 

In  1306,  a  Cogan  and  an  Usher  and  John  son  of  William  of  Eathcogan 
-were  indicted  for  robbing  the  abbot  of  the  B.V.M.'s  convent  near  Cross- 
molina.3  That  abbey  seems  to  have  been  founded  within  the  estate  of  a 
de  Barry,  as  the  rectory  of  that  parish  church  belonged  to  the  Francis- 
can House  of  Ballybeg,  near  Buttevant.4  Eathcogan  is  an  old  name  of 
Charleville  in  the  de  Barry  estate  in  the  county  Cork.  An  estate  seems 
here  to  have  passed  from  de  Barry  to  de  Cogan,  as  did  Clancuain.  Cab- 
~bragh  and  Eagtrayny  may  represent  it. 

Cusacks  were  among  the  earliest  settlers.  The  family  was  important 
in  the  thirteenth  century.  They  survived  as  freeholders  in  a  small 
position  to  the  sixteenth  century,  but  I  cannot  ascertain  where  their 
lands  were.  According  to  Mac  Firbis,  Adam  Cusack  had  Meelick.  The 
fighting  between  the  Barretts  and  the  Cusacks,  in  which  William 
Barrett  was  killed,  explains  the  entry  in  the  accounts  of  considerable 
sums  paid  in  1285  and  following  years  by  Batinus  Barrett  and  Gilbert  de 
Lyneth  "for  having  peace."5  The  Lynets  were  of  some  importance,  as 
Gilbert  was  sheriff  for  a  time,  but  became  obscure. 

In  the  thirteenth  century  the  Barretts  were  in  two  branches.  Their 
relationship  is  not  clear,  but  taking  the  entries  in  the  English  records 
and  the  statements,  admittedly  uncertain,  of  D.  Mac  Firbis  and  of 
M.  O'Clery,6  it  seems  that  there  were  two  William  Barretts  ;  one  was 
father  of  Batin,  and  seems  to  be  the  William  who  fought  with  Adam 
Cusack,  and  to  have  been  the  owner  of  Tyraulyf.  The  other  William 
was  lord  of  Bac  and  Glen  Nephin.  Batin  was  head  of  his  family,  and 
gave  its  chief  the  title  Mac  Bhaitin,  but  he  was  chief  of  his  own  branch 
only,  which  was  the  most  important ;  in  the  Composition  Barretts  and 
Clanpadynes  are  mentioned  as  if  separate  families. 

Breatnach  is  given  as  another  name  of  the  uncertain  William  of 
Moyne,  and  Mac  Firbis  thought  it  was  correctly  given.  The  name 
Bretnach  occurs  in  the  English  record  in  connexion  with  Connaught, 

i  ?hLi?'f/0<  272>  474'r,         ?  H'  F'  333'  3  Arohdall'B  "  Mon.,»  501 . 

*  8  D.  K.,  No.  902.         »  D.  I.  lii.        «  H.  F.  325  ;  Journal,  vol.  xvii.,  p.  91,  92. 


OCCUPATION    OF    CONNAUGHT    BY   ANGLO-NORMANS.        65 

4mt  indefinitely.  This  William  is  called  of  Kilcommon,  and  is  said  to 
be  the  ancestor  of  the  Barretts  of  Erris.  I  suppose  the  name  Breatnach 
(Welshman)  was  merely  descriptive,  and  was  not  carried  on  by  the 
family. 

Tirawley  was  one  of  the  tracts  kept  much  in  the  lord's  hands. 
Hence  there  was  room  for  the  Bourkes  to  settle  themselves  in  the  fifteenth 
century,  and  cause  for  fighting  if  the  Bourkes  sought  to  enforce  against 
the  Barretts  a  superior  title  to  lands  not  included  in  the  old  estates. 
Until  then  the  Barretts  had  no  rival  power  in  Tirawley. 

The  Inquisition,  down  to  the  item  of  the  court  at  Carne,  has  dealt 
with  the  present  barony  of  Tirawley  ;  it  now  deals  with  the  land  of  the 
Hy  Fiachrach  of  the  Moy,  the  present  barony  of  Tireragh  and  the 
parishes  of  Kilgarvan  and  Attymas  and  Toomore  in  Gallen.  These 
three  parishes  form  the  "  cantred  of  Orrus  which  John  de  Exeter  holds  in 
fee."  Orrus  looks  like,  and  may  be,  a  form  of  lorrus,  but  it  is  not  the 
barony  of  lorrus.  That  had  a  proper  name,  "  lorrus  larthair  "  (H.  F. 
73).  This  tract  may  have  been  lorrus,  with  a  qualifying  word.  Con- 
donmor  I  take  for  Conordonmor,  and  to  be  a  name  of  the  ancient  Dun 
Maic  Conchobhair,  now  called  Castleconor.  This  cantred  and  Orrus 
make  up  the  tract  from  Toomore  to  Leaffony,  which  was  the  lordship  of 
O'Caomain.  Orrus  is  now  in  Gallen,  because  Mac  Jordan  held  it. 

The  cantred  of  Tyrremoy,  or  Tiromoy,  I  take  to  be  Tir  Muaidhe,  or 
a  form  from  Tir  Fhiachrach  Muaidhe,  and  to  be  the  rest  of  Tireragh, 
except  the  comparatively  small  estates  of  "Duncoghy  and  Leyghuyl. 

Duncoghy  must  be  Dun  Ui  Chobhthaigh,  now  Donicoy,  a  little  to  the 
east  of  Donaghintraine,  and  may  have  covered  that  castle.  Leyghuyl  is 
Ladhghuill,  which  appears  in  Lios  Ladhghuill,1  "  the  head  seat  of  the 
eastern  district."  Longford  Castle  answers  in  position  ;  for  the  district, 
according  to  the  account  in  "  Hy  Fiachrach,"  must  be  at  least  a  part  of 
Dromard  parish.  Dr.  O'Korke  says  he  has  found  the  Lis  in  Coillte 
Luighne,  but  gives  no  reasons.2 

Tireragh  was  known  as  Mac  Pheorais's  country,  and  the  eastern  part 
was  certainly  occupied  by  the  de  Berminghams.  They  are  mentioned  in 
connexion  with  this  country  in  1249  and  1261,  L.C.,  and  1278,  P.M.,  and 
in  1308,  if  Mac  Walter,  constable  of  Bunfinne,  was  one  of  them.  Dr. 
O'Rorke  quotes3  a  deed  of  1330,  by  Gilbert  de  Bermingham,  dealing  with 
parts  of  Tireragh  and  the  Termon  of  Ballysadare.  The  O'Dowdas  easily 
accepted  the  new  lord.  They  are  rarely  mentioned  as  fighting  against 
the  Foreigners;  and,  in  1308,  Brian  O'Dowda  and  the  Hy  Fiachrach 
were  in  alliance  with  the  Foreigners  of  Luighne.  In  1248  Murtough 
O'Dowda  was  killed  by  Aedh  0' Conor,  who  had  attacked  the  Ber- 
minghams.4 

Ardnarea  was  burnt  against  the  Foreigners  in  1266,  and  this  marks 

1  H.  F.  173,  263,  273.  2  «  Ballysadare  and  Kilvarnet,  pp.  275,  276." 

3  Ibid.,  p.  9.  *  F>  Mt  1247,  1248,  1278,  1316  ;  L.  C.  1308. 

Tnnr  T?  <;  A  T    f  Vo1-  XIII-»  Fifth  Series.        {  v 

>ur.  R.S.A.I.  ' 


66  ROYAL   SOCIETY   OF   ANTIQUARIES   OF   IRELAND. 

at  least  a  castle.  Castles  of  Duncontreathain  and  Bunfinne  are  men- 
tioned in  1249,  1266,  1308,  1310,  L.C.  It  is  evident  that  some  Berming- 
hams  were  settled  here  for  forty  or  fifty  years  after  the  Conquest. 
Thereafter  members  of  the  family  are  not  mentioned.  It  seems  as  if 
there  were  latterly  no  resident  landlords,  only  garrisons,  the  country 
being  let  out  to  the  O'Dowdas  and  others. 

Castleconor  and  Ardnarea  are  said  to  have  been  taken  from  the 
Foreigners  in  1371  by  Donnell  O'Dowda  (P.M.).  This  shows  the  early 
existence  of  Castleconor— a  ruin  remarkable  for  veiy  narrow  lancet 
windows,  looking  as  of  an  earlier  period  than  the  ordinary  square  tower. 
It  also  shows  that  the  de  Burgo  tenants  held  their  own  until  then  at 

least. 

It  is  not  certain  that  the  Berminghams  ever  held  the  cantred  of 
Castleconor.  I  have  noted  that  Eustace  Le  Poer  had  lands  at  Castle- 
conor, which  may  be  these  lands.  Piers  Poer  was  with  the  Berming- 
hams in  1247.  It  may  be  that  this  part  of  the  country  held  out  till 
1371,  and  was  a  subject  of  contention  later  on,  because  Sir  William, 
de  Burgo  or  his  son  had  taken  it  over  from  Le  Poer. 

The  Inquisition  now  moves  to  the  county  Roscommon.  The  marginal 
note  is  Cantred  of  Sylmolron,  which  is  Sil-Maelruain,  the  tribe  name  of 
the  O'Flynns.  The  omission  of  this  cantred  in  the  text  must  be  because 
no  rent  was  due,  but  only  knight  service.  "  Piers  Ristubhard,  lord  off 
Sil-Maelruain,  and  a  noble  baron,  was  killed  by  Murchadh  O'Maelsech- 
lainn  on  Loch  Ribh  "  (L.C.,  1254).  Ristubhard  seems  to  be  the  same 
name  as  Ritabhard,  which  represents  Ridelesford  in  1235,  L.C.  ;  but  it 
may  be  meant  for  Rochford.  It  is  the  only  reference  in  the  Annals  to  a 
Ridelesford  as  settled  in  Connaught.  But  the  name  appears  in  the 
State  Papers  in  connexion  with  Connaught  from  time  to  time. 

Hardiman's  List  gives  Henry  de  Rupe  as  tenant  of  Sylmorne,  which 
should  be  the  same  place.  His  tenancy  of  this  tract  accounts  for  his 
having  taken  up  the  neighbouring  Keryloughnarney.  He  must  have 
succeeded  Piers  Ristubhard,  if  the  latter  held  immediately  from  de  Burgo. 
No  real  settlement  appears  to  have  been  made,  or  the  property  fell  into 
absentee  hands  and  the  colony  decayed.  The  O'Flynns  fought  vigor- 
ously against  the  English ;  but,  as  after  fifty  years  they  drop  out  of  the 
Annals,  I  suppose  that  Earl  Richard's  subjugation  of  the  O'Conors  in 
1286  made  them  give  up  hope,  submit  to  the  English,  and  accept  the 
position  of  tenants,  whereby  they  were  in  possession  and  became  inde- 
pendent after  1338.  There  is  some  direct  evidence  of  agreement  in  the 
record  that  Fiachra  O'Flynn  was  killed  by  a  Burke  and  de  Berraingham 
when  he  went  to  contract  a  marriage  with  the  Foreigners  in  1289,  L.C. 

The  territory  consisted  of  the  parish  of  Kiltullagh  and  a  part  of 
Kilkeevin. 

The  castle  of  Toberbride  appears  as  the  head  of  a  valuable  cantred  or 
Hundred.  The  place-names  being  now  generally  unknown,  the  extent 


OCCUPATION    OF    CONNAUGHT    BY    ANGLO-NORMANS.        67 

is  uncertain.  The  parish  of  Ballintubber  and  the  eastern  part  of  Kil- 
keevin  were  in  it,  and  part  of  Cloonigormican,  and  the  part  of  Tibohine, 
close  north-west  and  north  and  east  of  Lough  Glinn,  and  probably  a  good 
deal  of  Baslick.  The  value  was  high,  though  the  area  was  small,  be- 
cause the  land  was  kept  under  the  chief  lord's  management,  and  not  let 
out  in  large  fees.  The  castle  is  suitable  for  the  reception  of  a  large 
garrison  and  use  as  a  magazine,  a  great  border  castle  in  the  best  position 
to  overawe  the  O'Conors  and  prevent  raids  or  to  punish  them.  It  is 
never  mentioned  in  the  Annals ;  because  it  was,  like  the  towns  of 
Athenry  and  Gal  way,  far  too  strong  for  a  plundering  Irish  army  to 
attempt  to  take.  In  1315  the  burning  of  the  town  of  Toberbride  is  men- 
tioned in  the  "  Annals  of  Loch  Ce."  The  Inquisition  calls  it  an  old 
castle,  and  notes  that  the  buildings  within  it  need  repair,  and  that  with 
a  sufficient  garrison  it  would  be  very  useful  for  keeping  the  peace  in 
those  parts.  It  fell  into  neglect  because  the  O'Conors  and  all  the 
Irish  of  Connaught  had  been  thoroughly  beaten  down  in  1316,  and  had 
been  quiet  since.  There  is  no  record  of  date  of  building;  but  I  am 
inclined  to  attribute  it  to  the  earliest  years  of  the  occupation.  It  has 
been  fully  described  in  the  Journal,  vol.  xix.,  p.  24. 

Boroughs  had  been  established  at  Toberbride  and  at  Eathfernan, 
five  townlands  for  each  borough.  The  rent  and  mill  and  prisage  of 
beer  of  Eathfernan  were  worth  little  more  than  half  of  the  value  of 
those  of  Toberbride.  Possibly  Milltown  House,  near  Castleplunket, 
preserves  the  memory  of  the  mill  of  Eathfernan,  but  it  is  only  a  guess. 
I  suspect  the  Curran,  which  Adam  de  Burgo  held,  to  be  Caran,  a  town- 
land  name  close  by  in  Cloonygormican  parish.  The  principal  tenant  was 
Mac  Cortan,  one  of  the  very  few  Irish  tenants.  With  no  resident 
lord  to  protect  them  these  little  towns  must  have  disappeared  imme- 
diately. 

The  presence  of  de  Barry  here,  as  well  as  at  Ballyhaunis,  is  to  be 
noted.  The  Bary  in  Fychbary  may  be  the  name  of  the  owner. 

The  next  Great  Cantred  is  called  Sleoflow,  Sliabh  Lugha,  from  the 
first  item  the  cantred  of  Sliabh  Lugha.  With  it  are  placed  three  theodums 
of  the  Kerry. 

At  the  Conquest,  or  soon  after,  Miles  de  Angulo,  in  Irish  called 
Mac  Goisdealbh,  had  the  territory  of  Sliabh  Lugha,  consisting  of  the 
parishes  of  "Kilcolman,  Castlemore,  Kilmovee,  Kilbeagh.  The  Mac  Cos- 
tellos  had  also  part  of  Kilturra.  He  moved  here  from  his  old  possessions 
in  Gal  way,  Muinter  Mailfinnain,  &c.,  if  he  were  indeed  son  of  that 
Gilbert  to  whom  they  were  given.  Miles  certainly  settled  here,  and  is 
mentioned  as  Lord  of  Sliabh  Lugha  in  1253,  L.C.  He  secured  his  pos- 
sessions by  building  the  Caislen  Mor  of  Sliabh  Lugha,  now  called  Castle- 
more  Cost<  llo.  It  is  close  by  and  was  most  likely  partly  built  of  the 
stones  of  Ailech  Mor  Ciarraige,  which  in  position  answers  to  the  Dun  of 
Ailill  Finn,  the  king  of  the  Gamanraige,  to  which  Fergus  Mac  Eoigh 

F2 


•68  ROYAL    SOCIETY    OF    ANTIQUARIES    OF    IRELAND. 

marched  from  Cruachan  in  the  Tain  Bo  Elidais.      In  his  time  or  soon 
after  was  built  the  castle  of  Kilcolman,  mentioned  in  1270,  L.C. 

Airtech  is  said  to  have  been  the  parishes  of  Kilnamanagh  and 
Tibohine.  These  did  constitute  the  lordship  of  Mac  Dermot  Gall  in  the 
later  times.  In  the  Taxation  of  1306  three  churches— Kilrodan,  Clonard, 
Kilnardan,  now  called  Kilrooan,  Clonard,  Kilroddan,  or  Kilredan— are  in 
the  south,  and  two  churches,  Glynsemvill,  now  Clonshanville,  and  Tech- 
bithiri,  now  Tibohine,  are  in  the  north  of  Tibohine.  The  account  of 
"St.  Patrick's  journey  from  near  Castlemore  toDrummut,  now  Kilroddan, 
indicates  that  he  left  Airtech.  The  territory  of  Airtech  lay  between  the 
river  Lung  on  the  west  and  Abhaim  na  Foraoise  near  Belanagare  on 
the  east.1 

Thus  the  country  about  the  three  southern  churches  would  be  the 
Kerymoyny  part  of  Mac  Dermot  Gall's  lordship,  and  the  three  northern 
churches  would  be  in  the  part  properly  called  Airtech,  which  is  called  a 
theodum  in  this  Inquisition,  that  is  the  parish  of  Kilnamanagh  and  the 
northern  part  of  that  of  Tibohine. 

Airtech  thus  restricted  was  a  part  of  Mac  Dermot' s  kingdom  at  the 
time  of  the  Conquest,  but  must  have  been  still  in  actual  occupation  of 
families  of  the  Ciarraige.  Nothing  indicates  how  it  was  dealt  with  at 
the  Conquest ;  but  it  seems  to  have  been  let  out  by  Earl  Richard  or  by 
his  tenant  to  one  of  the  Mac  Dermots  called  Dermot  Gall,  who  first 
appears  in  history  on  the  side  of  the  English  at  Ahascragh  in  1307, 
and  who  in  1315  was  in  possession  of  Airtech.  Hence  I  suppose  he 
was  called  Diarmaid  Gall,  English  Dermot.  He  called  himself  lord  of 
Moylurg  in  1315,  and  was  killed  in  1316  fighting  against  Felim  O'Conor 
and  the  English.2  His  descendants  were  lords  of  Airtech  with  the 
title  Mac  Dermot  Gall,  and  acquired  possession  at  some  time  of  the 
Kerymoyny  portion  of  Tibohine  parish,  but  how  or  when  I  find  no 
indication. 

Kerymoyng  and  Kerylochnayrn  are  to  be  taken  as  one  theodum.  I 
take  Kerymoyng  to  be  really  Kerymoyny.  Loch  na  n  Airneadh  is  known 
to  be  Mannin  Lake.  The  Ciarraige  of  Magh  n  Ai  in  early  days  occupied 
the  parishes  of  Kilkeevin  and  Baslick  and  Kilcorkey  and  Ballintubber, 
but  by  the  thirteenth  century  had  been  much  reduced  by  the  Silmurray, 
and  seem  at  this  time  to  have  had  but  a  part  of  Kilkeevin  and  the  southern 
part  of  Tibohine.  Mac  Cethernaigh,  the  chief  of  the  Ciarraige  Ai,  had 
an  estate  near  Castlereagh.  He  seems  to  have  been  of  the  same  family 
as  O'Cerin,  the  old  king  of  the  Ciarraige.  O'Donovan  gives  the  reputed 
-district  of  Ciarraige  Ai  as  extending  from  Castlereagh  to  the  county  of 
Mayo.3  This  agrees  with  the  other  indications.  Hardiman's  list  gives 
Thomas  Fitz  Lyons  and  John  Fitz  Thomas  as  tenants  of  two  cantreds  in 
Kerymoy  and  Kerylothnarne.  This  relates  to  a  much  earlier  time  than 

1  O'Donovan,  0.  S.L.  Mayo,ii.,  p.  293.  *  L.  C.  1307,  1315,  1316. 

3  "  Book  of  Rights,"  p.  104. 


OCCUPATION    OF   CONNAUGHT   BY   ANGLO-NORMANS.        69 

the  Inquisition,  and  denotes  two  tenures,  if  the  note  is  accurate,  but  in 
the  Inquisition  they  are  one  theodum. 

.  By  an  Inquisition  of  8th  August,  1282,  taken  to  ascertain  what  lands 
John  Fitz  Thomas  of  Desmond  had  held  in  fee  that  John  held  at  his  death 
in  1261,  it  was  found  that  he  owned  "£  theodum  at  Kerylochnarn,  in  the 
earldom  of  Connaught,  of  Sir  Maurice  of  London,  rendering  to  the  chief  lord 
5  marks  a  year,  worth  in  time  of  peace  120  marks,  now  worth  60  marks 
and  no  more,  for  the  greater  part  is  destroyed  hy  the  war  of  the  Irish.  After 
the  death  of  John,  the  said  Thomas  Fitz  Maurice  when  he  came  of  age 
gave  the  same  theodum  to  Henry  de  Roche  in  exchange  for  the  manor  of 
Moyale,  in  the  county  of  Cork,"  subject  to  certain  conditions.1 

It  was  a  temporary  exchange,  not  a  sale,  but  it  continued,  and  Henry 
de  Rupe  and  his  son  appear  in  the  accounts  making  payments  to  the  king 
for  this  cantred.  Henry  Roche  held  it  at  Thomas  Friz  Maurice's  death 
in  1298  at  a  rent  of  £33  6*.  Sd. 

Sir  Maurice  of  London  was  a  contemporary  of  Maurice  Fitz  Gerald 
the  Justiciary,  but  I  cannot  ascertain  who  he  was.  He  seems  to  have 
been  a  Carew.2  As  the  rent  due  to  the  chief  lord  was  5  marks,  I  think  the 
term  £  theodum  s  of  no  significance,  and  that  there  was  but  one  tenure. 

In  early  times  the  Upper  Ciarraige  lands  extended  into  the  parishes 
of  Knock  and  Bekan,  if  I  correctly  identify  the  names  of  places  in  the 
list  of  offerings  which  u  the  Upper  Ciarrichi  and  their  kings  offered  for 
ever  to  Patrick,"  which  is  in  the  Book  of  Armagh  after  Tirechan's  Collec- 
tions. They  were  there  in  the  thirteenth  century,  and  left  their  name  to- 
a  large  denomination  of  land ;  but  the  portion  of  their  territory  lying 
within  the  barony  of  Clanmorris  had  come  to  be  known  as  Tirnechtaiii 
and  Tir  Enna. 

John  Mac  Costello's  surrender  to  the  Queen  in  1586  describes  hi& 
territory  under  twenty  denominations,  whereof  the  first  seven  are  in 
Sliabh  Lugha.3  Among  the  rest  are  "  Keryeghter,  Keryoghter,  and 
Cowgy."  Coogue  townlands  lie  north  and  west  of  Mannin  Lake.  Kery- 
oghter  should  be  near  it  and  is  in  fact  the  parish  of  Knock  and  the 
northern  part  of  Aghamore.  The  term  "parish"  here  is  not  very  accurate, 
but  is  a  sufficient  indication.  Mannin  is  a  separate  denomination.  The 
castle  was  occupied  by  Mac  Jordan  Mac  Costello,  who  was  known  as 
Mac  Jordan  of  Keryeighter.  A  list  made  in  settling  the  Composition  in 
1587  reduces  the  whole  to  5,  and  these  13  to  3  tuaths,  viz.  : — 

1.  Castlemore,  52  quarters  =  Castlemore,  Kilcolman,  Kilturra,  North 

Kilbeagh. 

2.  Litter  Mac  Philip,  48  quarters  =  South  Kilbeagh,  Kilmovee. 

3.  Kearyoughter,  52  quarters  =  Nearly  all  Aghamore,  Knock. 

4.  Twlwroghan,  52  quarters  =  West  Bekan,  South  Annagh. 

5.  Bellahawnes,  48  quarters  =  East  Bekan,  North  Annagh,  South  and 

East  Aghamore. 

1  D.  I.  ii.,  No.  1912.  *  D.  I.  i.,  Nos.  448,  1732,  2138,  2346  ;  ii.,  No.  1912. 

3  15  D.K.,  No.  4898. 


70  ROYAL    SOCIETY    OF    ANTIQUARIES    OF    IRELAND. 

These  quarters  were  really  only  one-fourth  of  a  quarter,  called 
"  carrow-myres." 

Keryeighter  should  be  the  land  about  Mannin,  east  and  south  of 
Keryoughter.  The  Lower  Kerry  seem  to  be  the  same  as  the  Kerry  of 
Lough  Narney,  and  to  have  the  latter  name  because  the  chief  residence  of 
the  family  was  in  the  peninsula  on  which  Mannin  Castle  stood.  Downing 
writes  in  1684,  when  traditions  were  still  fresh  :— "  The  barony  of  Cos- 
telowe,  alias  Kerry  Arny  and  Kerry  Oughter,"  and  in  mentioning  lakes, 
"  another  fine  lough  called  Loughglinn."  This  inclusion  of  Lough  Glinn 
in  Kerry loughnarney  agrees  with  the  tradition  which  ascribes  the  build- 
ing of  Lough  Glinn  Castle  to  the  Fitz  Geralds  of  Desmond.  De  Burgo 
says  that  Urlare  Abbey  was  the  burying-place  of  the  Geraldines  of  Lough 
Glinn.1  I  find  no  other  reference  to  such  a  family.  It  shows  the  family 
survived  the  middle  of  the  fifteenth  century,  when  Urlare  Abbey  was 
built.  The  castle  is  the  only  work  ascribed  to  the  Geraldines,  and  a 
round  tower  belonging  to  it,  which  was  at  one  corner  of  a  rectangular 
enclosure,  remains. 

Downing  gives  a  tradition  that  Ballyhaunis  friary  was  founded  by  the 
Sliocht  Jordan  Duff  Mac  Costello  upon  a  site  where  the  Lords  Barry  had 
a  manor-house  about  the  beginning  of  the  English  Conquest.  It  is 
worthy  of  belief  because  the  friars  never  left  Ballyhaunis ;  a  few  always 
remained  in  houses  close  by  when  they  abandoned  the  conventual  build- 
ings. As  a  son  of  Jordan  Duff  was  killed  in  1367  (F.  M.  note)  it  is  to  be 
assigned  to  the  close  of  the  fourteenth  century  at  earliest.  The  architecture 
suits  such  a  date.  This  is  the  only  reference  to  de  Barrys  in  this  neigh- 
bourhood besides  the  entry  in  the  Inquisition  under  Toberbride. 

The  tract  called  Kerymoyny  in  the  Inquisition  I  have  defined  above 
as  part  of  Tibohine  parish,  but  it  may  have  extended  nearer  to 
Castlereagh. 

There  was  no  effective  occupation  of  Airtech,  but  there  was  an 
occupation  of  Kerymoyny  by  the  Castle  of  Lough  Glinn.  It  is  to  be 
noticed  that  Lough  Glinn  was  in  the  seventeenth  century  treated  as 
part  of  the  barony  of  Costello,  but  it  was  in  fact  in  the  county  Eoscom- 
mon.  It  seems  as  if  Mac  Costello  had  some  traditional  claim  over  it. 
The  Keryoughter  and  Keryloughnarny  part  was  effectively  held,  but  I 
cannot  ascertain  how  or  when  the  Mac  Costellos  got  possession.  These 
traditions  suggest  that  the  Geraldines  and  de  Barrys,  a  set  of  Munster 
colonists,  may  have  held  out  in  these  parts  longer  than  is  apparent  in  the 
Annals,  and  at  last  gave  up  their  lands  and  went  away. 

The  Inquisition  now  takes  up  the  manor  of  Sligo,  but  gives  no  details 
beyond  the  fact  that  it  comprised  Sligo,  Corran,  Leyny,  and  Carbury, 
the  great  Fitz  Gerald  estate  in  North  Connaught.  From  the  Annals  we 
learn  that  the  O'Haras  rose  immediately  after  Earl  William's  death,  and 

1  Htbernia  Dominicana,  p.  314. 


OCCUPATION    OF   CONNAUGHT    BY   ANGLO-NORMANS.        71 

that  Sir  Edmund,  his  uncle,  came  to  subdue  them.  The  fighting  appears 
to  have  been  general  and  ruinous.  Prom  the  fact  that  the  manor  com- 
prised only  the  Fitz  Gerald  estate,  it  may  be  inferred  that  it  was  con- 
stituted a  separate  manor  after  the  settlement  with  John  Fitz  Thomas. 
Though  only  portions  were  transferred  to  him  by  Amabill,  he  may  have 
held  the  remainder  by  inheritance  or  otherwise. 

Maurice  Fitz  Gerald  had  a  grant1  of  Leyny  from  Richard  de  Burgo. 
He  seems  to  have  at  first  given  a  part  of  it  in  fee  to  Jordan  de  Exeter  by 
an  "  agreement2  relative  to  Lugna"  in  24  Henry  III.,  i.e.  1239  or  1240. 
From  the  following  memorandum  it  appears  that  it  was  cancelled.  Jordan 
was  perhaps  cautious,  and  found  Gallen  and  Orrus  as  much  as  he  could 
manage.  "  A  feoff ment  from  Jordan  de  Exonia  to  Maurice  Fitz  Gerald, 
totum  theodum  de  Moynter  Lathnan,  with  these  villages,  videlicet,  Clon- 
geth,  Imegan,  Gortlanith,  the  Letchie,  Gassill,  Glimemothilt,  Lethbally, 
Macklyirch,  Crokan  called  Bally harith,  Couchcoule,  Coulkenaldetu,  Bally - 
obrollan,  Lismostuly,  Ardcarthie,  Ferchath,  two  towns  of  Carthytuly, 
Loghbrochry,  Castlan,  Killartheth,  Elyuaxchust,  with  their  appur- 
tenances "  (11.  B.  266). 

Ballyharith  is  a  fair  rendering  of  Baile  Ui  hEathra,  now  Ballyara, 
near  Tobercurry.  Glimemothilt  is  as  to  the  first  part  some  such  word  as 
Glinna,  and  as  to  the  second  is  Mucolt,3  now  Muckelty,  a  high  hill  near 
Tobercurry.  Lethbally,  Macklyirch,  I  take  to  be  Leghbally  Meylogh,4  a 
denomination  of  land  about  Moylough  in  Achonry  parish.  Clooningan  is 
a  townland  name,  of  which  the  part  ing  an  (probably  equivalent  to  Ime- 
gan) is  uncommon.  Gortlanith  is  like  Gortlamhach,  and  there  is  a 
Lavagh  townland.  Clongeth  is  like  Clonca,  Cluaincatha,  in  Kilmacteige. 
•Couchcoule,  if  read  as  Conchcoule,  is  like  Kincuillew,  in  Kilmacteige. 
The  first  two  identifications  are,  I  think,  quite  satisfactory,  andjshow 
that  the  transaction  related  to  South  Leyny.  Castles  were  built  at 
Banada  and  at  Rathardcraibe,  which  were  destroyed  in  1265,  L.  C.  The 
latter  is  identified  as  a  fort  in  the  demesne  of  Annaghmore,  near  the 
bridge  of  Ardcree.5  There  is  no  trace  of  a  castle  in  it,  but  the  castle 
may  have  been  anywhere  within  an  estate  known  Jby  that  name.  Sir 
Maurice  Fitz  Maurice  made  over  the  lands  of  Banada  to  his  brother 
Thomas.6 

The  Templars  had  lauds  in  Kilvarnet  which  amounted  to  16  quarters 
in  the  Composition.  They  must  have  built  a  castle,  as  the  destruction  of 
the  castle  of  Templehouse  is  recorded  in  1271,  L.  C.  Dr.  O'liorke  identi- 
fies it  with  the  castle  built  by  Walter  de  Burgo  at  Athingail7  in  Corann. 
It  may  be  so,  but  the  description  of  it  as  in  Corann  is  not  likely  to  be 

1  K.  B.  266.  *  Ibid.,  271. 

3  F.  M.  1368,  note  5.  4  Wood-Martin's  "  History  of  Sligo,"  Part  i.,  p.  395. 

5  O'Rorke's  "  History  of  Sligo,"  ii.,  p.  149.  6  fi.  B.  266. 

7  "History  of  Sligo,"  ii.,  p.  73. 


72  ROYAL  SOCIETY   OF    ANTIQUARIES   OF    IRELAND. 

an  error.     It  may  have  disappeared  as  completely  as  that  of  Rathard- 
craibe,  or  have  another  name. 

The  Berminghams  held  the  tract  called  the  Termon  of  Asdara,  and 
probably  a  good  deal  of  land  southwards,  and  these  seem  to  have  been 
the  only  settlers. 

From  these  facts  it  appears  that  the  rest  of  Leyny  was  held  by 
garrisons,  and  that  no  attempt  was  made  at  colonization  on  a  large  scale. 
The  O'Haras  rose  when  they  had  a  chance  in  periods  of  general  disorder, 
restrained  by  military  occupation  of  castles  in  quiet  times.  Thus  they 
were  in  possession  all  through,  with  Fitz  Gerald  or  de  Burgo  as  their 
lord  instead  of  O'Conor.  It  is  only  in  1338  that  they  are  said  to  have 
wrested  Leyny  and  Corran  from  the  English.1  "When  Fitz  Gerald  was. 
at  war  with  his  de  Burgo  lord,  the  O'Haras  were  naturally  on  the 
de  Burgo  side. 

"A  gift2  from  Gerald  de  Prendergast  to  David  .Fitz  Maurice  upon 
the  cantred  of  the  Coron  in  Connaught,"  and  the  inclusion  of  "  the  third 
part  of  the  cantred  of  Goran,  in  Connaught,"  in  a  deed3  by  Amabill  in 
favour  of  John  Fitz  Thomas,  point  to  Gerald  Prendergast  as  the  original 
grantee,  and  to  his  having  passed  the  estate  to  his  intended  son-in-law 
David.  Fitz  Maurice.  I  find  no  David  Fitz  Maurice  in  the  Offaley  family 
at  this  time.  The  name  occurs  in  Munster.  David  Fitz  Maurice  of  the 
diocese  of  Cloyne  had  a  dispensation  from  the  Pope  in  regard  to  his 
marriage  with  Matilda,  daughter  of  Gerald  de  Prendergast,  in  con- 
sequence of  her  having  been  betrothed  to  his  deceased  brother  David.4 
It  may  be  inferred  that  Maurice  Fitz  Gerald  or  his  son  acquired  the 
land. 

This  cantred  is  not  much  noticed  in  the  "  Annals."  It  was  held  by 
chiefs  of  the  Corcofirtri  under  the  O'Haras  until  the  Conquest.  The 
Castle  of  Athingail  is  said  to  have  been  built  in  it  in  1263,  L.  C.,  and  the 
great  Castle  of  Ballymote  was  built  by  Earl  Richard  in  1300,  while  John. 
Fitz  Thomas's  lands  were  in  his  possession.  O'Dobhailen  is  mentioned 
as  king  of  Corann  in  1248,  L.  C.  Immediately  after  this  period  the 
Mac  Donoghs  appear  as  lords.  They  were  at  first  lords  of  Tirerrill  under 
Mac  Dermot,  and  are  first  mentioned  in  1318,  L.  C.  There  is  no  sign  of 
settlement  or  colonization,  only  the  record  of  building  castles  by  Walter 
and  his  son  Richard.  The  land  was  left  to  the  Irish  as  far  as  we  can 
judge.  Yet  when  we  compare  the  revenue  of  £333  from  this  manor 
with  the  revenue  of  the  Loughrea  manor,  it  is  evident  that  the  country, 
at  least  in  the  fourteenth  century,  was  held  so  firmly,  and  peace  was  so 
well  secured,  that  high  rents  were  paid,  whether  by  Irish  or  by 
English. 

1  P.M.  1250,  1261,  1266,  1269,  1278,  1316,  1335,  1338. 

2  R-  B.  266.  3  jrjtf.  267. 

4  Theiner's  Vetera  Monuments,  Ep.,  No.  212,  Pope  Alexander  IV.,  dated  12th 
October,  1259. 


OCCUPATION    OF    CONNAUGHT    BY    ANGLO-NORMANS.        73 

The  territory  of  the  Gregraige  of  the  thirteenth  century  is  defined  with 
fair  exactness  by  the  bounds  of  the  barony  of  Coolavin.  As  it  does  not 
appear  in  the  Inquisition,  it  may  have  been  held  by  knight  service,  but 
inasmuch  as  it  was  a  part  of  the  kingdom  of  the  O'Haras  and  O'Garas, 
it  is  very  likely  to  have  been  a  part  of  the  manor  of  Sligo. 

The  Castle  of  Moygara  I  take  to  be  the  Castle  of  Lough  Techet, 
mentioned  in  the  "  Annals  of  Loch  Ce  "  in  1256  as  Richard  Cuisin's 
Castle.  The  Cuisins  were  in  Connaught  in  1270,  and  the  name  occurs 
among  the  tenants  of  Admekin,  fourteen  years  later.  It  is  most  likely 
that  the  O'Garas,  abandoning  the  hope  of  recovering  Sliabh  Lugha, 
accepted  the  position  of  tenants  under  the  English  lord  of  Gregraige, 
and,  after  some  resistance  when  circumstances  were  favourable,  became 
tenants  of  the  whole  barony  under  an  absentee  Cuisin,  or  under  the  heir 
of  one,  and  so  had  effective  possession  in  1338.1 

The  castle  is  somewhat  like  Ballintubber  on  a  small  scale,  having 
small  square  castles  at  the  corners,  joined  by  curtain  walls,  enclosing 
1  rood  6  perches.  The  masonry  is  good,  of  rough  stones,  with  very  little 
cut  stone.  It  may  well  be  a  thirteenth-century  castle,  quite  unlike  the 
usual  type  of  fourteenth-  and  fifteenth-century  castles,  and  suited  for  a 
garrison  to  check  petty  raids. 

The  Gormanston  Register2  notes  an  undated  charter  of  Richard  de 
Burgo  granting  to  Hugh  Lacy,  Earl  of  Ulster,  five  cantreds  in  Connaught. 
It  was  made  about  the  time  of  the  Conquest,  as  Maurice  Fitz  Gerald  the 
Justiciary  and  Walter  de  Ridelesford  witnessed  it.  The  cantreds  are  not 
named,  but  there  are  two  grants3  by  Earl  Hugh  to  Maurice  Fitz  Gerald 
of  Tirconnell  and  of  Carbry  Dromclif  in  Connaught. 

In  1249  Stephen  de  Lungespee  had  recovered  from  Richard  de  Burgo 
the  manor  of  Melok,  by  warranty  of  a  third  part  of  five  cantreds  of  land 
as  dower  of  his  wife  Emelina,  and  Richard  gave  him  in  exchange  the 
manor  of  Tristelaurent.4  Those  are  the  only  two  that  can  be  identified. 
He  must  have  disposed  of  his  cantreds  at  once,  having  his  hands  full 
with  Ulster.  Sliabh  Lugha  may  have  been  one,  because  the  wife  of 
Miles  Mac  Costello,  the  first  lord,  is  called  a  daughter  of  the  Ultonian 
earl,  and  she  must  have  been  an  illegitimate  daughter  of  Hugh,  or  a 
daughter  of  John  de  Courcy  (L.  C.  1253). 

Maurice  built  the  Castle  of  Sligo  in  1245.  It  was  often  destroyed  or 
burnt  by  the  Irish  and  rebuilt,  finally  by  Earl  Richard  de  Burgo  in 
1310,  who  made  it  a  great  fortress,  so  that  Sir  Henry  Sidney  described 
it  thus  in  1567  : — "  The  castle  is  fair,  and  is  the  greatest  of  any  that  we 
have  seen  in  any  Irishman's  possession."6  Sligo  was  a  good  town  and  a 
port  of  considerable  trade,  as  well  as  a  most  important  position  for 
dominating  Leyny,  Corran,  and  Carbury,  and  for  action  towards 

1  F.  M.  1254,  1256,  1285.  2  Hist.  MSS.  Comm.,  8th  Report. 

3  R.  B.  266.  *  p.  I.  i.,  No.  3006.  5  Journal,  vol.  xii.,  p.  22. 


74  ROYAL   SOCIETY    OF   ANTIQUARIES    OF   IRELAND. 

Tirconnell,  and  Fermanagh,  and  Brefne.  The  town  survived  to  some 
extent  until  O'Donnell  utterly  ruined  it  in  1396,  F.M.  But  no  other 
colony  appears  in  Carbury.  The  clan  Andrias  0' Conor  submitted  to  a 
lord  who  could  give  some  protection  against  O'Conors  of  Moy  Ai  on  one 
side  and  O'Donnell  on  the  other.  It  is  quite  certain  that  they  were 
good  subjects  of  the  Fitz  Geralds  and  of  the  de  Burgo  Earls. 


JSTOTES  ADDED  IN  THE  PRESS. 

j.— Clann  Taidhg  is  associated  with  Tir-Maine  and  Soghan 
and  Ui  Diarmada  in  an  entry  under  1224  L.  C.,  so  that  it  should  adjoin 
them.  Soghan  seems  at  this  time  to  have  meant  only  the  parish  of 
Ballymacward,  as  Sogoun  is  the  name  of  that  parish  in  the  Taxation  of 
1306. 

Kilmore-ne-togher—It  is  more  likely  to  be  Abbeygrey,  in  Athleague 
parish,  which  is  between  the  townlands  of  Kilmore  and  Togher.  Abbey- 
grey  is  also  called  the  monastery  of  Slenshancough. 

In  the  second  part  of  "Occupation  of  Connaught,"  where  the  cantred 
of  Clantagg  is  mentioned,  after  the  sentence— "  The  O'Kellys  at  this 
time  were  settled  in  the  north  of  their  kingdom  upon  the  Sodhans  " — 
insert  the  following  : — 

"  *  The  Annals  of  Loch  Ce '  associate  Clann  Taidhg  with  Tir  Maine 
and  Soghan  and  Ui  Diarmada  as  suffering  from  a  malignant  shower  in 
1224.  In  the  Taxation  of  1306,  Sagoun  (Soghan?)  is  the  name  of  a 
parish  in  the  deanery  of  Othir,  which  I  take  to  be  Ballymacward,  where 
O'Mannin  lived.  The  name  Soghan  seems,  then,  to  have  been  confined 
to  a  small  area,  where  the  Sodhans  were  still  chiefs." 


The  following  abbreviations  are  used  in  references : — 

H.  F.         =  0' Donovan,  "  Tribes  and  Customs  of  Hy  Fiachrach." 

H.  M.        =»  „          "  Tribes  and  Customs  of  Hy  Many." 

H.  W.  C.  =  Hardiman's  edition  of  O'Flaherty's  "West  Connaught." 

D.I.          =  Sweetman,  "  Calendar  of  Documents  relating  to  Ireland,"    1172- 

1307. 
D.  K.         =  "  Annual  Report  of  Deputy  Keeper  of  the  Public  Records,  Ireland," 

Calendar  of  Fiants. 
K.B.         =  "Red  Book  of  Earl  of  Kildare,"  in  Hist.  MSS.  Commission,  9th 

Report,  Appendix. 

L.  C.          =  "  Annals  of  Locb  Ce  "  (Rolls  Series). 
F.M.         =          „  the  Four  Masters"  (O'Donovan's  edition). 

0.  S.  L.     =  Ordnance  Survey  Letters. 


NOTES  ON  THE  OGAM-INSCRIBED  STONES  OF  DONAGHMORE, 
CO.  KILDARE,  AND  INISVICKILLANE,  CO.  KERRY. 

BY  PROFESSOR  RHYS,  M.A.,  D.  LITT.,  HONORARY  FELLOW. 

[Submitted  MARCH  31,  1903.] 
I.— THE  DONAGHMORE  OGAM,  COUNTY  KILDARE. 

/~\NE  day  last  September,  I  received  a  card  from  Mr.  Cochrane,  the 
indefatigable  Secretary  of  the  Royal  Society  of  Antiquaries  of  Ire- 
land, to  the  effect  that  Lord  Walter  FitzGerald  had  discovered  an  Ogam 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  Carton,  the  residence  of  the  Duke  of  Leinster ; 
and  shortly  afterwards,  the  discoverer  himself  sent  me  a  rubbing  and  a 
photograph  of  the  stone,  which  enabled  me  at  once  to  read  most  of  the 
inscription.  Later,  namely  on  September  23rd,  he  took  me  to  see  the 
stone  itself :  it  was  at  Donaghmore,  a  ruined  church  surrounded  by  an 
approximately  circular  burial-ground  which  is  still  used.  Commonly  it 
goes  by  the  name  of  the  farm  on  which  it  is  situated,  namely,  Grange 
William.  It  is  about  a  mile  from  Maynooth  station,  and  just  outside 
the  demesne  of  Carton.  The  church,  contrary  to  its  name  of  Donaghmore, 
was  a  very  small  one,  but  there  seems  to  be  no  doubt  as  to  that  being  its 
name ;  and,  to  distinguish  it  from  other  churches  of  the  same  name,  Lord 
Walter  had  identified  it  in  the  Marty rology  of  Donegal  as  DomJinacJi  m6r 
Maighe  Luadhat,  or  Donaghmore  of  Maynooth.  It  is  curious  to  find 
Nuadat  changed  there,  and  in  Gorman's  Martyrology,  into  Luadhat, 
which  reminds  one  of  Lludd  in  Welsh  as  an  equivalent  of  Nudd,  the 
regular  representative  in  Welsh  of  Nuada  in  Irish.  Who  the  Nuada 
was  who  gave  its  name  of  T&ay-Nooth  to  the  plain  in  which  Donaghmore 
and  Carton  stand,  it  is  perhaps  impossible  to  discover,  or  even  to  decide 
whether  he  was  a  man  or  a  god. 

To  come  to  the  stone  itself,  it  is  described  as  limestone  of  a  bad 
quality ;  and  it  measures  along  the  edge  with  the  second  line  of  writing, 
30£  inches,  and  the  widest  face  is  15  inches  across  near  the  bottom  or 
the  beginning  of  the  writing,  while  it  is  about  2  inches  narrower  near 
the  top.  The  thickness  is  about  9  inches  near  the  top,  but  only  5£  near 
the  bottom ;  and  it  is  the  edges  containing  this  narrower  face  that  have 
the  writing  on  them.  I  am  glad  to  know  that  the  stone  has  been  placed 
under  cover  at  Carton,  for  it  is  not  of  a  nature  to  stand  much  weathering. 
Strange  as  it  may  seem,  it  was  not  safe  even  in  the  ground  ;  for  I 
noticed  that  a  bit  of  the  root  of  one  of  the  yews  had  begun  penetrating 
under  a  thin  layer  of  the  stone.  So  when  I  touched  the  bulging  surface, 
it  crumbled  off  and  the  dead  root  fell  out :  luckily  it  did  not  extend  to 
the  writing. 


76  ROYAL    SOCIETY    OF   ANTIQUARIES    OF    IRELAND. 

The  left-hand  edge  consists  for  the  most  part  of  a  long  spawl  of 
ancient  date.  The  relative  positions  may  be  roughly  indicated  as 
follows : — 

F 
C 


The  wider  face  is  contained  by  the  edges  A  G  and  B  H  ;  but  it  was  not 
the  one  envisaged,  so  to  say,  by  the  Ogmist.  He  chose  the  narrower 
face  contained  by  the  edge  A  G  and  the  spawl  c  D.  In  fact,  he  began  to 
write  on  the  edge  of  the  spawl  ;  and  near  D  he  got  to  the  original  edge, 
and  finished  the  first  part  of  his  writing  towards  F.  The  rest  of  the 
writing  he  cut  on  the  edge  A  G,  so  that  he  was  working  practically  from 
left  to  right. 

The  first  line  of  Ogams,  consisting  of  c  D,  D  E,  and  E  F,  reads  as 
follows  :  — 


iCC[i 

e 

The  scores  mostly  slope,  especially  those  of  the  n  and  the  v  ;  whereas 
the  r  is  not  far  from  being  perpendicular,  while  the  two  fs  are  of 
different  lengths.  The  o  is  quite  distinct  ;  but  the  vowel  notches  on  the 
transition  line  D  E  from  c  D  to  E  F  are  gone,  and  it  is  impossible  to  say  with 
certainty  whether  they  were  5  or  4.  In  the  next  place,  the  two  first 
scores  of  the  first  c  are  rather  faint  ;  but  a  little  close  attention  convinced 
us  that  they  are  there.  Lastly,  the  edge  E  F  is  rough  and  damaged,  so 
that  we  could  not  exactly  place  the  notches  of  the  final  vowel,  which  I 
take  for  granted  to  have  been  i.  This  would  leave  a  space  blank 
between  it  and  the  top  of  the  stone,  as  one  would  expect.  I  have  said 
enough  to  show  beyond  doubt  that  we  have  to  deal  with  an  early  form 
of  the  genitive  of  the  attested  Irish  name  JVatfrdwh,  borne,  for  instance, 
by  a  King  of  Munster  in  the  fifth  century.  The  next  line  begins  opposite 
the  e  of  the  JVetta,  and  reads  as  follows  :  — 


»  ::;::  m  . 

MAQU          IMMC         COi         T         R  E         [ft]     A    \l    It]    G     GO 

0  e 

Here  the  first  m  is  almost  perpendicular  on  the  H  side  :  the  other 
slopes  a  little  more  :    the  qu  and  the  cc  tend  to  spread  out  somewhat 


THE  DONAGHMOKE  OGAM  STONE. 
(From  a  Photograph  by  Lord  Walter  Fitz Gerald.) 


78  ROYAL    SOCIETY    OF    ANTIQUARIES    OF   IRELAND. 

like  so  many  brooms :  the  first  vowel  of  mucooi  is  not  to  be  traced. 
There  is  room  for  u,  but  it  may  have  been  o.  The  i  is  also  gone,  and  the 
notches  may  have  made  only  e.  The  first  score  of  the  r  has  to  be  looked 
for,  as  it  comes  where  there  is  a  step  in  the  stone  ;  and  as  for  the  con- 
tinuations of  the  r  on  the  B  side,  they  have  been  lost  by  a  flaking  of  the 
stone.  That  affects  also  the  next  consonant,  of  which  one  can  only  say 
that  the  space  would  do  for  n.  The  vowel  e  preceding  it,  and  the  a 
following  it,  are  quite  plain.  Thus  we  seem  to  have  to  do  with  a  name 
beginning  with  trena,  like  the  Trenacatus  occurring  more  than  once  in 
Ogams  in  Wales.  In  fact,  I  thought  at  first  that  this  was  actually  the 
name  here;  but  it  will  not  fit.  For  according  to  the  spelling  of 
Nettavroicci,  it  should  perhaps  be  written  Trenaccatto\_s],  and  even 
without  the  doubling  and  the  final  *,  it  would  have  extended  beyond  the 
corner.  That  is  improbable,  as  no  trace  of  any  such  a  continuation  of 
the  inscription  is  to  be  found  beyond  the  corner  in  either  direction, 
towards  p  or  towards  H.  There  is  even  a  greater  difficulty  :  the  cc  is  out 
of  the  question,  partly  for  lack  of  room,  and  partly  because  there  is  no 
trace  of  any  writing  there — it  must  have  been  on  the  B  side.  That  is  to 
say  the  consonant  or  consonants  must  belong  to  the  group  b,  1,  v,  s,  n, 
and  the  whole  did  not  extend  beyond  the  corner.  We  want  accordingly 
a  name  of  comparatively  short  spelling,  beginning  with  trena.  Now  the 
number  of  compounds  of  trena  is  veiy  small  so  far  as  I"know,  and  the 
only  other  one  which  occurs  to  me  is  the  Trenalngos  incorporated  in  the 
genitive  Neta-Ttrenalugos  on  one  of  the  Monataggart  stones  in  the 
Museum  in  Dublin.  Now  as  to  the  spaces,  the  lu  would  find  just  room 
enough  between  the  a,  and  the  consonant  scores  which  follow :  these 
last  incline  like  the  r,  and  look  like  the  left-hand  halves  of  two  #'s. 
The  first  two  scores  are  longer  and  more  sharply  defined  than  the  next 
two,  which  are  not  only  shorter,  but  more  ragged  as  the  edge  becomes 
worse.  The  stone  shows  no  continuation  now  of  any  one  of  the  four  \ 
and  this  we  felt  to  be  a  difficulty,  as  we  thought  that  the  B  side  was 
undamaged,  at  least  opposite  the  first  two  of  the  oblique  scores ;  but 
since  then  I  have  come  to  the  conclusion  that  a  bigger  spawl  is  gone  on 
that  side  than  we  imagined  at  the  time.  The  vowel  following  should 
be  0,  of  which  no  trace  is  to  be  expected ;  and  as  to  the  final  s  of  the 
genitive,  there  is  plenty  of  analogy  for  conjecturing  that  it  was  never 
there  at  all.  I  hardly  think  there  would  have  been  room  for  it ;  but 
this  is  one  of  the  points  on  which  I  should  be  glad  to  learn  from  others, 
now  that  the  stone  is  easy  of  access  at  Carton.  The  sum  of  these  last 
guesses  is  that  the  ancestor's  name  was  written  on  this  stone  Trenaluggo. 
I  should,  however,  have  preferred  to  regard  what  I  have  here  treated  as 
traces  of  a  second  g  as  being  the  notches  for  the  vowel  o  •  but  I  am  not 
convinced  that  it  is  possible  to  treat  them  so,  on  account  of  their  inclining 
parallel  to  the  scores  for  the  g  preceding  them,  and  because  of  their 
position  on  the  H  face  of  the  stone  rather  than  right  in  the  edge. 


NOTES    ON    OGAM-INSCRIBED    STONES.  79 

The  later  form  of  this  name  occurs  in  Gorman's  Martyrology,  June 
3rd,  as  Trianlugo,  the  genitive  of  Trianlug ;  and  from  it  one  sees  that 
our  Trenaluggo  means  Trenaluggo  ;  and  Nettavroicci  is  composed  of  a 
genitive  JVetta,  which  is  supposed  to  mean  '  a  champion/  and  Vroicci,  a 
genitive,  which  became  later  Frdich,  and  Fraoich,  from  a  nominative 
Fraech  or  Fraoch.  The  former  occurs  in  one  of  the  inscriptions  at 
Rathcroghan,  where  it  is  spelled  Yraicci:  my  notes  and  guesses,  as  to 
the  Ogam  containing  it,  have  been  printed  in  the  Journal,  1898,  pp.  230, 
231,  together  with  a  correction  at  p.  409.  The  other  day,  the  cave  was 
visited  by  Prof.  Bury,  who,  as  the  result  of  close  inspection,  confirms  my 
readings.  In  the  present  case,  however,  it  will  be  observed  that  the 
orthography  is  inconsistent  with  itself:  it  shonld  have  been  either 
Vroicci  with  cc  =  eh  and  mucoi  with  c  =  k,  or,  vice  versa,  Vroici  and  muccoi. 
The  whole  may  be  rendered  thus :  *  [the  place  or  the  monument]  of 
Natfraich,  son  of  the  kin  of  Trianlug.' 

Lastly,  in  answer  to  the  natural  question  how  it  is  that  this  stone 
has  not  been  noticed  before,  it  is  right  to  say  that  we  found  an  easy  key 
to  its  recent  history  :  there  is  lichen  on  the  bigger  end  of  it,  but  that 
lichen  reaches  only  far  enough  to  cover  the  scores  of  the  n  of  Nettavroicci : 
the  rest  of  the  stone  is  clean  and  must  have  been  in  the  ground.  That 
is  to  say,  it  formed  probably  the  headstone  of  a  grave  ;  and,  in  fact,  it 
stood,  I  have  no  doubt,  only  a  yard  or  two  away,  where  a  little  iron  cross 
had  been  fixed  to  replace  it,  apparently  not  many  months  before.1  That  is 
doubtless  where  it  was  with  only  one  group  of  the  scores  above  ground, 
and  nobody  on  earth  could  have  been  expected  to  notice  it.  Indeed, 
even  as  we  saw  it,  with  the  writing  exposed  to  view,  I  felt  sure  that 
it  would  not  have  caught  my  eye :  the  scores  are  hardly  wider  than  the 
strokes  one  could  produce  in  ink  with  an  ordinary  «T  pen.  So  the 
discoverer  of  it  deserves  all  the  more  credit  for  his  unerring  habit  of 
observation ;  and  the  history  of  this  inscription  points  to  the  great 
importance  of  our  local  archaeologists  keeping  a  sharp  look-out  when  any 
digging  of  graves  or  shifting  of  stones  is  going  on  in  ancient  burial-places 
in  Ireland.  From  time  to  time  more  Ogams  may  be  expected  to  be 
found  in  them  ;  but  I  fear  that  to  few  is  it  given  to  have  such  a  keen 
instinct  for  discovery  as  Lord  Walter  Fitz Gerald  has  shown  in  the  case 
of  Domhnach  mor  MaigJie  Luadhat. 


II.— THE  INISVICKILLANE  STONE. 

Brash,  in  his  first  reference  to  this  stone  (p.  110),  after  saying  that 
Inisvickillane  is  one  of  the  Blasket  Islands,  off  Dunmore  Head,  on  the 

1  Since  this  was  written,  Lord  Walter  Fitz  Gerald  has  sent  me  word  as  follows: — 
"I  have  since  ascertained  that  the  boulder  marked  the  grave  of  a  family  named 
O'Farrell,  who  removed  it  about  a  year  ago  to  make  room  for  the  granite  block  in 
which  the  little  iron  cross  was  fixed." 


80  ROYAL   SOCIETY    OF    ANTIQUARIES    OF    IRELAND. 

coast  of  Kerry,  writes  as  follows  : — "  On  it  stands  a  rude  cell  or  oratory, 
and  in  front  of  it  a  small  Ogam  pillar,  on  which  is  incised  a  plain  rude 
cross."  But  as  the  stone  has  a  cross  on  each  of  its  four  faces,  I  take  it 
that  it  was  lying  on  the  ground  three-fourths  covered  when  Brash's 
informant  saw  it.  A  more  detailed  reference  to  it  conies  at  p.  226, 
where  it  is  said  that  it  lay  in  front  of  a  rude  clochan,  locally  called 
St.  Brandon's  cell.  He  states  also  that  the  stone  was  discovered  by 
Mr.  Windele,  who  exhibited  a  rubbing  of  it  at  a  meeting  of  the  Cork 
Cuvierian  and  Archaeological  Society  on  January  3,  1849.  The  reading 
given  makes  mdidbilo  ....£,  but  I  do  not  think  that  any  rubbing 
of  the  stone  would  have  yielded  the  whole  of  that  lettering  even 
then — especially  the  d  and  the  t- — as  will  be  made  clear  presently.  They 
came  probably  from  Mr.  Richard  Hitchcock,1  who  was  a  gentleman 
employed  by  the  late  Bishop  Graves  to  search  for  Ogams  in  the 
Blasket  Islands,  as  the  Bishop  states  in  a  paper  on  the  Croix  Gammee 
or  swastica,  which  he  published  in  April,  1879,  in  the  Transactions  of 
the  Royal  Irish  Academy,  vol.  xxvii.  (Polite  Literature  and  Antiquities), 
pp.  41  et  seq.  The  Bishop  took  the  Ogam  to  contain  the  name  of 
Maelcedair,  after  whom  is  called  the  Church  of  Kilmalkedar,  near 
Smerwick  harbour,  in  Corkaguiny,  though  such  a  name  does  not  appear 
to  emerge  very  clearly  from  the  Ogam  scores  in  the  woodcut  used  by  him 
to  illustrate  his  paper.  The  block  has  been  reproduced  in  Mr.  Macalister's 
"  Studies  in  Irish  Epigraphy,"  Part  II.,  p.  44,  and  he  calls  Hitchcock 
the  author  of  the  drawing.  It  is  very  neat  and  pretty,  but  it  seems 
to  me  to  have  been  produced  largely  from  memory,  and  submitted  to  the 
rigid  tyranny  of  the  straight  line.  That  the  Bishop  had  misgivings  to 
the  same  effect,  I  gather  from  his  practically  confining  his  paper  to  the 
swastica,  and  declining  to  go  into  the  details  of  the  inscription.  The 
reading  which  the  drawing  yields  is  the  same  as  that  given  by  Brash, 

i  Richard  Hitchcock  was  born  near  Tralee  in  1824,  and  died  in  Dublin  in 
December,  1856.  At  the  time  of  his  death  he  was  Chief  Clerk  in  the  Library  of 
Trinity  College,  Duhlin,  and  Secretary  of  the  Geological  Society  of  Dublin.  Con- 
stitutionally delicate,  he  passed  a  good  deal  of  his  early  life  wandering  about  the 
\dlds  of  his  native  county  of  Kerry  ;  he  was  an  accurate  observer,  and  became  an 
enthusiastic  collector.  Early  in  1847  he  attracted  the  notice  of  Dr.  Graves,  who 
acknowledges  (Proc.  R.  I.  A.,  iv.,  p.  179)  being  indebted  to  him  for  the  rubbings  of 
over  eighty  Ogam  inscriptions.  There  is  in  the  Library,  Royal  Irish  Academy, 
a  MS.  giving  details  of  the  sites  and  surroundings  of  all  the  Ogam  stones  which  lie 
had  examined,  but  no  inscriptions  are  recorded,  as  he  regarded  these  as  the  property 
of  Dr.  Graves;  nor  did  Hitchcock  ever  make  any  pretence  to  being  an  expert  in 
Ogamic  writing.  He  presented  the  well-known  Aglish  Ogam  stone  and  others  to  the 
Museum  of  the  R.  I.  A.  In  Dr.  Graves'  papers  on  the  Western  Swastica  (Trans. 
R.  I.  A.,  vol.  xxix.,  pp.  31,  41)  the  drawing  of  the  Aglish  Ogam  was  made  from  the 
original,  but  the  "  pretty  sketch"  of  the  Inisvickillane  Ogam  was,  to  the  best  of  my 
memory,  drawn  (from  Hitchcock's  rubbings)  on  the  wood  by  0'  Hanlon,  and,  from 
indistinct  references  on  the  rubbings,  the  crosses  on  the  sides  of  the  stone  got  wrongly 
placed.  The  Inisvickillane  Ogam  was  first  made  known  by  Windele,  who  exhibited  a 
rubbing  in  January,  1849,  at  Cork,  from  which  rubbing  it  is  nearly  certain  that 
Brash's  reading  was  made. — E.  P.  W. 


NOTES.  ON    OGAM-INSCRIBED    STONES.  81 

except  that  it  suggests  an  m,  more  or  less  clearly,  in  both  cases,  for  the  b 
which  Brash  adopted.  Lastly,  it  places  the  Ogams  all  on  the  wrong  angle, 
or,  in  other  words,  it  misplaces  the  crosses. 

"When  Mr.  Macalister  visited  the  island  in  June,  1901,  he  found  the 
stone  "turned  into  a  lintel  for  the  ancient  cella,  in  whose  graveyard  it 
used  to  stand."  There  seems  to  be  no  evidence  of  its  standing  at  any 
lime  since  1849  ;  but  that  was  probably  not  intended  to  be  emphasised  by 
Mr.  Macalister,  who  goes  on  to  explain  how  badly  the  stone  has  been 
treated,  and  that  his  examination  of  it  was  unavoidably  incomplete, 
owing  to  the  masonry  which  stood  in  the  way.  What  he  was  able  to 
read  was  YiN^iA'^iMA,  which  so  far  as  it  goes  agrees  with  Hitchcock's 
drawing  as  regards  the  consonants;  but  he  fills  in  the  first  *,  and  reads 
a,  not  o,  after  the  second  m,  as  to  both  of  which  I  am  inclined  to  agree. 

One  day  last  autumn,  Dr.  Mahaffy  sent  me  word  that  his  friend  Lord 
Cork,  the  proprietor  of  the  island,  had  presented  the  stone  to  him,  and 
that  I  could  now  study  it  in  Trinity  College,  Dublin.  About  the  end  of 
September  I  was  over  in  Dublin,  and  gladly  spent  some  time  in  examining 
an  Ogam  which  I  had  never  expected  to  see.  The  edge  which  bears  the 
scoring  is  the  one  that  has  the  long-drawn  swastica  on  the  face  to  the 
left  of  it,  and  a  simple  cross  on  the  face  to  the  right.  It  is 
to  be  noticed  that  if  the  stone  is  set  up  so  that  the  top  of  the 
crosses  is  uppermost,  the  inscription  reads  downwards  and  away  from 
them,  so  to  say.  This  raises  the  question,  which  of  the  two  ends  of  the 
stone  was  originally  in  the  ground  —  that  is,  if  it  was  not  meant  to  be 
placed  in  a  horizontal  position,  which  would  necessarily  leave  one  of  the 
crosses  concealed  underneath.  But  I  shall,  for  the  sake  of  clearness,  here 
treat  the  stone  as  if  it  stood  erect  on  the  end  with  the  crosses.1 

The  following  is  my  reading  of  the  inscription  :  — 


V       I 


1  The  stone  measures  3  feet  6  inches  in  height,  and  6f  inches  by  6f  inches  at  it  a 
base,  tapering  very  slightly,  and  rather  irregularly,  as  will  be  seen  by  the  photo- 
graphs and  rubbings,  to  6f  inches  by  65  inches,  at  a  distance  of  7  inches  from  the 
top.  At  the  top  it  is  flaked  off  to  3|  inches.  The  stone  is  a  laminated  clay  slate 
from  the  Lower  Silurian  beds,  the  surface  of  which  is  showing  a  tendency  to  split 
along  the  lines  of  stratification,  and,  as  usual  in  stone  of  this  formation,  there  is 
tiansverse  cleavage,  which  will  cause  further  disintegration.  This  could  be  arrested 
to  some  extent  by  the  application  of  one  of  the  silicate  preparations  used  for  indurat- 
ing f liable  stone.  There  is  a  different  kind  of  cross  on  each  of  the  four  faces.  That 
on  No.  1  is  of  the  crux  ansata  type,  or  handled  cross  ;  but  the  most  remarkable  is  that 
on  face  No.  3,  where  the  swastica  is  assimilated  to  a  cross  as  much  as  possible  not  only 
by  its  long  perpendicular,  but  also  by  the  position  of  its  transverse  arms.  The  cross 
has  been  described  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Graves  in  the  Transaction?,  of  the  Royal  Irish 
Academy,  Pol.  Lit.  and  Ant.,  vol.  xxvii.,  page  41.  The  rubbings  were  taken  by 
permission  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Mahaff'y. — [£D.] 

D  c  A  T    I  Vol.  xin.,  Fifth  Series.        I  r 

Jour.  R.S.A.I.  j  Vo,   xxx;u  ;  Consec>  Ser   I 


82  ROYAL  SOCIETY  OF  ANTIQUARIES  OF   IRELAND. 

It  may  be  briefly  premised  that  the  face  to  the  left  (No.  3),  forming  the 
H  side  of  the  Ogam,  seems  to  have  been  long  exposed,  so  that  the  scoring  is 
nearly  worn  out;  while  the  other  face  (No.  4),  the  B  side,  has  hardly  suffered 


No.  1.  No.  2.  No.  3.  No  4. 

PHOTOGRAPHS  OF  THE  FOUR  FACES  or  THE  INISVICXILLANE  INSCRIBED  OGAM  STONE. 

in  that  way  at  all.  The  damage  there  is  of  a  different  kind  :  a  flake  of  the 
surface  is  gone  near  the  broken  top  of  the  stone.  The  vowel-notch  before 
the  v  of  aviis  very  close  to  it  and  partly  damaged,  but  it  is  distinctly  there. 


NOTES   ON    OGAM-lNSCltlBED    STONES. 


83 


I  notice  that,  on  this  stone,  the  notch  next  preceding  a  consonant  is  nearer 
to  that  consonant  than  the  next  following  is  to  it,  with  the  exception  of 
the  case  of  the  doubtful  mo  towards  the  end.  The  scores  for  v  and  I  are 


-f.WS 


»Bb\X*oS! 


':»     * 


f. 


v. 


HL 


No.  1. 


No.  2. 


No.  3. 


No.  4. 


RUBBINGS  OF  THE  FOUR  FACES  OF  THE  INISVICKILLANE  INSCRIBED  OGAM  STONE. 
(Reduced  from  Rubbings  by  Mr.  Cochrane.) 

not  widely  separated  ;  and  it  would,  if  necessary,  be  possible  to  read  n. 
The  t  is  worn  down,  leaving  nothing  but  the  ground  of  the  grooves  of  the 
three  scores  ;xbut  they  are  exact  and  unmistakable  ;  and  much  the  same 

GI2 


84  ROYAL    SOCIETY    OF   ANTIQUARIES    OF    IRELAND. 

remark  applies  to  what  remains  of  the  y,  which  has  lost  its  continua- 
tions on  the  B  side.  I  thought  also  that  I  traced  slight  indications  of 
some  of  the  scores  of  the  qu ;  but  I  could  not  identify  any  of  the  notches 
for  the  i  that  should  follow:  maqui  would  fit  in  better  than  mocoi,  though 
it  would  perhaps  be  possible  to  get  the  latter  in  by  a  little  crowding. 
But  I  am  not  satisfied  that  the  vowel  after  the  m  is  o  rather  than  a  :  the 
first  gap  in  the  edge  is  probably  the  result  of  accident  and  not  a  part  of 
the  writing  :  it  is  rather  minute  and  too  near  the  m.  The  rest  of  the 
spacing  is  against  its  being  regarded  as  a  vowel-notch  at  all.  I  ought  to 
have  said  that  the  m  itself  is  not  very  perfect ;  though  it  can  hardly  be 
said  to  be  doubtful.  The  stone  is  somewhat  slaty  and  liable  to  split, 
though  not  always  into  clean  flakes,  and  I  may  mention  that  there  is  just 
a  trace  of  a  long  split  running  along  the  H  face  of  the  stone  at  no  great 
distance  from  the  inscribed  edge,  and  terminating  downwards  opposite 
the  base  of  the  vl.  I  cannot  trace  across  that  crack  the  scores  of  the  t, 
owing  probably  to  their  faintness  ;  but  the  first  m  boldly  crosses  it  some 
way.  I  should  infer  the  same  of  the  qu,  but  the  imperfect  g  is 
bounded  by  it,  which  proves  that  the  present  edge  of  that  part  of  the 
stone  is  not  original,  and  that  a  flake  is  gone  off  the  B  side  near  the 
top.  In  its  deepest  part,  it  may  have  been  fully  £th  of  an  inch  thick. 
There  is  an  unevenness  on  the  B  side  at  the  base  of  the  qu  ;  and  it  is  there 
probably  the  flake  thinned  out  to  zero.  No  trace  of  a  consonant  on  the 
H  side  is  to  be  found  after  the  imperfect  #,  the  inclination  of  which  fixes 
its  identity  in  my  opinion.  There  is  otherwise  no  objection  to  d,  for  one 
has  no  hope  of  guessing  the  name.  So  what  consonants  belonged  to  the 
name  beginning  with  the  Ogam  in  question  must  have  been  on  the  B  side  ; 
where  they  were  carried  away  on  the  lost  flake,  the  first  part  of  some 
such  a  genitive  as  Glasicunas  or  Gossucttias  would  fit.  How  much  of  the 
top  of  the  stone  is  gone  I  cannot  tell,  for  such  as  it  is  now,  it  is  jagged 
and  irregular. 

A  s  to  the  formation  of  the  Ogams  generally,  they  are  neat  and  fine ;  but 
the  man  who  cut  them  worked  with  a  comparatively  long-edged  tool,  such 
as  a  hatchet  or  a  knife,  not  with  a  pointed  one  ;  so  his  work  reminds  one 
rather  of  the  movements  of  a  saw,  for  he  could  evidently  not  end  his 
grooves  short  of  the  actual  edge,  where  they  become  deeper  and  wider 
than  further  off.  In  the  latter  direction,  too,  they  betray  a  tendency  to 
become  very  fine  and  to  spread  out  somewhat  like  a  broom.  The  stone 
has  on  it  more  traces  of  writing  than  I  have  described  ;  for  though  it  has 
not  often  been  examined  by  an  Ogmist,  it  has  been  the  victim  of  other 
visitors,  as  to.whom  Mr.  Macalister  speaks  as  follows  : — "  Unfortunately 
among  the  natives  of  Coumeenoole  who  visit  the  island  for  devotional 
or  other  purposes,  it  has  become  a  fashion  to  scratch  graffiti  on  the  exposed 
surfaces  of  the  stone,  and  it  is  considerably  disfigured."  Nor  is  this  all, 
for  some  of  those  who  have  not  been  conspicuously  successful  in  leaving 
their  names  behind  them  seem  to  have  thought  that  they  could  at 


NOTES    ON    OGAM-INSCK1BED    STONES.  85 

any  rate  score  in  Ogam,  and  at  once  tried  it :  their  work  looks  quite 
fresh.  Thus  there  are  two  of  these  scores  some  distance  below  ««?*";  then 
there  is  one  opposite  the  beginning  of  the  t;  another  drawn  from  the  4th 
notch  of  the  i  of  vlati  ;  and  another  opposite  the  a  of  ami,  but  not  joining  it. 
If  I  am  not  mistaken,  they  are  all  on  the  B  side,  showing  that  it 
offered  the  most  convenient  surface  to  work  upon.  But  I  am  happy  to 
say  that  the  alarm  which  Mr.  Macalister's  words  caused  me  proves  to  be 
to  some  extent  exaggerated.  I  cannot  find  that  any  part  of  the  inscrip- 
tion seen  by  Windele  or  Hitchcock  has  since  disappeared.  At  the  same 
time,  the  stone  does  not  appear  to  have  been  removed  from  the  island  a 
day  too  soon,  not  to  mention  another  consideration  which  is  very  present 
to  my  mind,  and  it  is  this.  Had  I  been  landed  on  the  island,  I  feel  certain 
that  I  could  not  have  read  the  Ogam — it  would  have  been  a  case  of  one  eye 
on  the  stone  and  the  other  on  the  rolling  billows.  Visions  of  a  night  or 
a  week  of  exposure  would  not  leave  me  in  the  best  of  humours  for 
studying  Ogams  or  anything  else.  Something  of  the  kind  must  have 
been  actually  Mr.  Hitchcock's  state  of  mind,  for  he  appears  to  have 
sketched  the  stone  very  hurriedly,  and  filled  in  the  rest  from  a  memory 
which  left  room  for  subsequent  errors.  How  far  Mr.  Macalister 
suffered  from  the  same  kind  of  mental  sea-sickness  I  do  not  know ;  but  I 
cannot  help  observing  that  his  visit  to  the  Blaskets  was  attended  with 
less  than  his  usual  share  of  success.  At  any  rate,  no  more  unfavourable 
conditions  for  close  study  of  Ogams  can  well  be  conceived,  unless  they 
happen  to  involve  the  presence  of  the  whole  body  of  an  antiquarian 
society  after  a  champagne  lunch. 

Dismissing  all  the  difficulties  of  that  class,  I  come  now  to  those  of 
another,  the  interpretation  of  what  remains  of  the  writing,  namely,  Am 
Vlatiami  Ma\_^ui~]  G  .  .  .  .  This  may  be  rendered  "  The  Monument  of 
Vlatiam's  Descendant,  son  of  G  ...  .,"  or,  as  one  may  venture  to  put  it 
more  briefly,  "  Of  O'Flathimh,  son  of  Gr  .  .  .  ."  The  man  interred  was 
probably  the  head  of  the  clan,  that  is,  he  was  O'Flathimh  par  excellence ; 
and  to  distinguish  him  from  his  predecessors,  his  father  or  mother's  name 
was  added.  Had  we  the  remainder  of  the  stone,  the  whole  would  have  been 
probably  more  intelligible.  At  any  rate,  as  it  is,  it  yields  only  a  single 
proper  name,  but  that  happens  to  be  one  which  is  new,  in  the  sense  that 
it  has  never  been  met  with  before  in  Ogam  ;  and  it  sheds  most  welcome 
light  on  an  interesting  question  of  Goidelic  phonology.  FlatJiim  or 
Flaithim  occurs  as  the  medieval  genitive  of  Flathem ;  and  we  have  it  in 
the  pedigrees  in  the  Book  of  Leinster  several  times  (see  fo.  317a3,  323b, 
336h) ;  and  the  names  '  mac  Flaithem '  and  '  mie  Laithem  '  occur  on  fo. 
339bl,  339b2 ;  but  these  have  possibly  to  be  corrected  into  Flaiihen  and 
Flaithen,  which  occurs  on  fo.  340a,  and  appears  in  the  family  name 
O'Laithen  in  the  Annals  of  Ulster  and  the  Four  Masters,  A.D.  1054,  1062, 
1080,  1086,  1087,  1089.  Similarly  we  have  O'Laithim  as  a  patronymic 
in  the  same  Chronicles,  A.D.  1260  and  1343.  Under  the  latter  year,  the 


86  UOVAL   SOCIETY    OF   ANTIQUAKIES    OF    IRELAND. 

Pour  Masters  record  the  death  of  loJiannes  O> Laitliimli,  bishop  of  Killala. 
and  Dr.  MacCarthy  has,  in  the  Irish  of  the  Ulster  Annals,  lolianncs 
Ottaitim,  which  he  prints  in  the  English,  on  the  opposite  page,  as  "  John 
O'EFhJIaitim.1  O'Donovan,  in  his  translation,  Englishes  it  O'LatthM, 
and  appends  the  following  note  :  "  This  name  is  now  usually  anglicised 
Lahiff,  but  some  have  rendered  it  Guthrie,  from  an  erroneous  notion  that 
it  is  derived  from  lathaigh,  i.e.,  of  the  slough  or  puddle."  Leaving  them  to 
rejoice  in  the  puddle  of  their  preference,  I  now  come  to  the  other  instance 
in  the  Four  Masters,  namely,  Domhnall  uafflaithimh,  "  Donnell  0'  Flahiff," 
to  which  O'Donovan  has  appended  the  following  note  :  "  This  name  is 
now  pronounced  as  if  written  O'Flaithimh,  and  anglicised  Lahiff.  Thi& 
family  is  now  respectable  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Gort,  in  the  south  of 
the  County  of  Galway."  I  may  add  that  when  travelling  near  Castle- 
maine  in  Kerry  some  years  ago,  I  was  much  exercised  by  a  place-name 
which  I  heard  some  peasant  women  use.  I  took  it  down  as  Mo-Lahiff, 
and  was  delighted  when  I  came  home  to  find  that  it  occurs  in  the  Four 
Masters,  A.D.  1581,  where  O'Donovan  has  the  note:  "Magh-Laithimh,  i.e., 
LahifE's  plain,  now  Mo-lahiff,  a  townland  in  which  stood  a  castle  belong- 
ing to  a  respectable  sept  of  the  MacCarthys,  situated  near  the  village  of 
Castlemaine,  in  the  barony  of  Magunihy,  and  county  of  Kerry." 

Having  found  traces  of  the  family  in  the  country  from  Gort  to  th& 
Blaskets,  and  having  followed  the  name  down  to  its  most  modern  form,  I 
wish  to  show  how  it  derives  from  that  in  the  Ogam ;  and  first  let  me 
point  out  that  it  is  not  to  be  confounded  with  flaith&t*,  '  a  prince,'  geni- 
\XVQ flaithemon,  from  which  seems  to  come  a  patronymic  which  I  only 
know  in  its  anglicised  spelling  of  O'Flahavan.  These  names,  together 
with  a  good  many  compounds,  derive  from  the  abstract  feminine  faith, 
which,  in  Old  Irish,  meant  potestas,  dominus,  and  made  in  the  genitive 
flatha,  for  an  early  nominative  vlati-s  and  genitive  vlati-as,  respectively. 
"We  cannot,  however,  treat  Vlatiam-  as  Vlatiam-;  for  the"*  would  have  dis- 
appeared according  to  the  usual  analogy, 'and  we  shoufd  have  Flatham. 
So  our  vocable  was  more  nearly  VlaViami ;  and  ultimately  the  i  +  a 
resulted  in  e  in  the  same  way,  perhaps,  as  in  the  declension  of  a  word 
like  cele,  l  companion,'  from  an  early  Goidelic,  celi-as.  The  Welsh  equiva- 
lent cilydd,  l  companion,'  would  seem  to  show  that  the  Goidelic  was  more 
exactly  celiias  with  a  more  or  less  consonantal  *  or  y  in  the  hiatus. 

What  was  the  corresponding  consonant  in  Tlatzami?  One  may  say 
that  in  the  last  resort  it  was  probably  h,  into  which  a  more  original  s  had 
been  widened  according  to  the  usual  rule  :  we  should  thus  have  a  series 
riatisamas,  Vlathihamh,  Vlathiamh,  Vlathemh,  Flathevsh,  Flaitheamh? 

1  The  uncertainty  as  to  the  /  is  well  illustrated  by  the  fact  that  O'Flaherty  and 
O'Laverty  represent  the  same  Irish  patronymic,  Ua  Flaithbhertaigh.  O'Laverty 
looks  as  if  it  set  out  from  Ui  (the  genitive  singular,  or  the  nominative  plural),  which 
requires  the /coming  after  it  to  be  "  aspirated'"  into  zero. 

2^The  modern  spelling  would  he  Flaitheamh  ;  and  if  we  may  treat  the  medieval 
spelling  as  less  exact  in  its  vowels,  we  might,  perhaps,  regard  the  a  as  having  never 


NOTES  ON   OGAM-INSCRIBED  STONES.  87 

"When  the  t  became  th  is  hard  to  say,  but  probably  about  the  same  time 
as  s  became  h  •  and  when  m  became  the  v  sound  written  in  Modern  Irish 
mh  is  perhaps  a  harder  question  still.  I  do  not  pretend  to  settle  these 
questions ;  but  I  may  remark  that  very  possibly  the  intervocalic  A  was 
sounded  in  our  Vlatiam-,  though  not  written.  The  question  is  a  very 
difficult  one,  as  anybody  will  find  who  will  take"  the  trouble  to  read 
Pedersen's  Aspirationen  i '  Irsk,  pp.  124-146. 

The  name  Vlatisamas,  genitive  Vlatisami,  which  has  just  been  postu- 
lated, would  fall  naturally  into  line  with  such  as  Rigisamos,  the  name  of 
a  god  equated  with  Mars  in  an  inscription  found  in  Somersetshire,  and 
another  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Bourges  (see  the  Berlin  Corpus  Inscr. 
Lat.,  vii.  61,  xiii.  1190);  and  with  Belisama,  the  name  of  a  goddess 
equated  with  Minerva;  also  of  a  river  supposed  to  be  the  Mersey:  see 
Holder's  Altcelt.  Sprachschatx  s.  v.  Belisama,  where  he  mentions  one  or 
two  more  instances  in  point.  There  is  some  doubt  as  to  the  meaning  of 
the  latter  portion  of  these  names.  They  look  very  like  Celtic  superlatives ; 
but  they  may  be  merely  compounds  with  an  element  sam  cognate  with 
the  Irish  sam,  Welsh  Jiaf,  '  summer.'  In  that  case  Rigi-samos  would 
mean  'summer-king,'  and  so  would  Samo-rix  (Corpus  Inscr.  Lat.,  xiii. 
2615),  consisting,  as  it  does,  of  the  same  elements  in  the  other  order. 
Such  a  name  may  be  taken  to  have  meant  him  who  took  the  lead  i:i  the 
summer  expeditions  of  his  tribe.  Compare  the  old  Norse  sumarlidi,  '  a 
wicking  or  a  rover '  ;  whence  Somarled,  the  name  borne  by  a  twelfth- 
century  king  of  Argyle,  now  reduced  in  its  English  spelling  to  Sorley. 
Much  the  same  would  be  the  interpretation  of  our  Vlatiam-,  provided  it 
represents  an  earlier  Vlati-sama-s,  as  it  would  analogously  mean  him  who 
has  authority  in  summer ;  that  is,  the  leader  of  his  tribesmen's  expedi- 
tions. The  insular  situation  of  the  stone  would  suggest  expeditions  by 
sea,  like  those  which  the  Classis  Somarlidiorum  used  to  pay  at  one  time 
to  the  coasts  of  these  islands  every  summer.  The  goal  of  such  expeditions 
from  the  South  of  Ireland  may  be,  with  the  help  of  Gildas,  readily 
guessed  to  have  been  the  western  seaboard  of  Britain.  But  they  must 
have  begun  centuries  before  the  time  of  that  saint,  and  become  a 
national  practice  long  before  such  a  name  as  Vlatiam  can  have  been 
formed  in  allusion  to  them.  This  follows,  of  course,  only  in  case  the 
foregoing  interpretation  is  approximately  correct.  For  it  is  not  to  be 
disguised  that  the  name  lends  itself  to  other  etymologies  and  other  ex- 
planations. I  have  merely  chosen  the  conjecture  which  seems  to  me  to 
offer  the  fewest  difficulties,  especially  of  phonology,  which  is  the  only 
guide  one  can  have  where  the  facts  of  history  are  so  conspicuous  by  their 
absence.  As  far  as  the  Ogam  is  concerned,  there  is  nothing  to  prevent 
our  assigning  it  to  the  fifth  century;  but  it  may,  perhaps,  be  older. 

disappeared  altogether  from  the  pronunciation.  Then  also  the  changes  would  appear 
in  harmony  with  the  general  rule  that  i  preceding  an  a  becomes  e,  as  follows: — 
Vlatisamas,  Tlathehamh,  Flathenmh  or  Flaitheamh.  The  case  would  be  analogous 
with  cele,  from  a  nominative  celiias. 


88  ROYAL   SOCIETY   OF   ANTIQUARIES   OF   IRELAND. 


Note  on  Maghera,  Co.  Derry. — In  the  Journal  for  1902  (vol.  xxxii., 
p.  320)  the  Rev.  Joseph  M'Keefry,  c.c.,  M.R.I.A.,  questions  the  accuracy  of 
the  derivation  of  the  name  Maghera  as  quoted  by  me.  This  is  only  of 
secondary  importance;  the  object  I  had  in  view  was  to  direct  the 
attention  of  the  Society  to  some  remains  of  archaeological  interest  that 
I  was  fortunate  enough  to  discover  some  twelve  years  previously  whilst 
exploring  this  district.  I  had  then  the  honour  of  first  bringing  before 
the  Society  several  interesting  remains,  amongst  which  were  the  cromlech 
at  Tyrnoney,  the  Sweat  House  at  Tyrkane,  and  the  fine  bullaun  at  the 
old  Church  of  Killylagh.1 

The  Society,  on  the  occasion  of  their  late  visit,  had  the  pleasure  of 
examining  these  remains  of  our  ancient  civilization. 

Regarding  the  place-name,  Maghera,  I  followed,  in  my  sketch,  our 
first  living  Irish  authority.  Dr.  P.  W.  Joyce.  I  was  aware  of  the  reading 
given  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Sampson,  which  is  known  to  all  writers  on  this 
subject  since  his  day,  but  never  seriously  considered. 

Since  this  article  appeared  I  wrote  to  Dr.  Joyce  about  it.  He  says 
in  his  reply  : — "  The  origin  of  the  name  in  its  several  forms  was  a  noted 
Rath  which  was  taken  possession  of  by  Saint  Lurach,  or,  more  probably, 
the  Chief  whom  he  converted  made  him  a  present  of  it — a  circumstance 
very  usual  in  those  times.  From  the  Saint  it  was  called  Rath  Luraigh, 
or  Rathlowry,  viz.  Lurach' s  Rath  ;  the  other  final  development  was  that 
the  surrounding  level  land  was  called  Machaire-Ratha,  as  Colgan  records 
for  us.  This  '  Machaire-Ratha '  is  a  simple  Irish  compound  (so  obvious 
as  not  to  bear  argument) — meaning  the  plain  of  the  rath.11 

Principal  Rhys,  Professor  of  Celtic  in  Oxford,  to  whom  I  also  wrote, 
in  reply  to  my  queries,  says: — "  1st.  I  know  nothing  of  an  Irish  word 
'^Nadhra,'  meaning  'solemn  vespers,'  or  anything  else.  The  nearest 
•word  that  occurs  to  me  is  Nathair,  '  a  snake,  adder,  viper,  serpent.' 
2nd.  Even  supposing  there  ever  was  such  a  word  as  Nadhra,  solemn 
vespers,  it  is  quite  impossible  phonetically  to  derive  Maghera  from  such 
a  form.  3rd.  He  has  supplied  excellent  proof  of  the  correctness  of  your 
account  of  the  name  by  citing  the  spelling  Magherira  and  Magheragh  ; 
also  by  producing  the  lines  of  verse,  and  showing  that  the  last  syllable 
was  accented  all  through.  So  you  have  only  to  read  his  last  sentence 
but  one  with  '  disprove '  instead  of  'prove,'  and  the  case  is  quite 
correctly  stated  as  between  Mr.  M'Keefry  and  you." 

The  late  Rev.  George  Hill,  in  his  Plantation  Papers,  states : — "  The 
northern  half  barony  of  Coleraine  was  in  the  olden  days  designated 
Machaire,  or  Maghery,  '  the  plain  lying  between  the  mountains  of 

|  This  bullaun  had  disappeared  when  the  Society  visited  the  place,  but  inquiry 
having  been  made,  it  was  found  to  have  been  built  in  the  wall  enclosing  the  old 
church. 


MISCKLLANEA.  89 


Benevenagh  and  the  river  Barm.  The  greatest  length  of  this  plain  is 
17  miles,  whilst  the  breadth  varies  from  2  to  9  miles.  Its  northern 
boundary  is  the  Atlantic,  and  its  southern  the  barony  of  Loughinsholin 
(Lough-Inish-o-Lynn).  On  the  east  it  is  bounded  by  the  County 
Antrim,  and  on  the  west  by  the  barony  of  Keenaght.'  Maghera  is 
situated  within  the  bounds  of  this  ancient  territory,  and  the  Rath  in 
which  the  church  was  built  was  correctly  designated  by  Machaire- 
Ratha." 

Reeves,  in  his  work,  "  The  Ecclesiastical  Antiquities  of  Down, 
Connor,  and  Dromore,"  at  page  27,  note  c,  on  the  Parish  of  Rath,  by 
which  name  Maghera,  in  the  diocese  of  Down,  was  then  designated, 
gives  a  note  of  the  celebrated  Irish  scholar  and  antiquary,  Colgan. 
Reeves  writes  as  follows: — "Church  of  Rath,  now  Maghera  Parish, 
Ordnance  Survey  S.  43. — The  original  name  of  this  parish  was  Rath- 
Murbhuilg ;  afterwards,  as  in  the  Taxation,  simply  Rath,  and  subse- 
quently with  a  prefix,  Machaire-Ratha.  Thus  Colgan,  '  Ecclesia,  priscis 
Rath-Murbhuilg,  hodie  Machaire-Ratha  appellata,'  Act.  SS.,  p.  743,  col.  2. 
A.D.  1610,  'Magheryragh,  alias  Rathra,'  Rot.  Pat.  8  Jac.  I.  'Matherira' 
— Terrier.  'Magherera' — Ul.  Vis.  The  name  now  appears  in  the 
contracted  form  '  Maghera.'  Thus  the  name  Rathlury,  in  the  diocese  of 
Deny,  has  lost  its  characteristic  component,  and  by  a  similar  process 
become  Maghera."  We  have  on  the  side  I  quoted  Colgan,  Reeves, 
Joyce,  and  Rhys  ;  the  word  Nadhra  is  never  once  mentioned  by  or  known 
to  any  of  these  scholars,  so  that  it  is  quite  evident  that  I  have  given  the 
correct  rendering. — S.  F.  MILLIGAN,  M.E.I. A.,  Vice-President. 

Irish  Seals  in  the  British  Museum. — It  may  be  interesting  to  some 
of  our  members  to  know  that  the  following  seals,  or  impressions  from 
them,  can  be  seen  in  the  British  Museum,  London.  During  a  recent  visit 
to  the  MS.  Department  I  found  notices  of  the  following  connected  with 
Ireland,  and  it  is  probable  there  may  be  others,  which  the  time  at  my 
disposal  did  not  permit  me  to  notice  : — 

XV.    Century. — Donat  Macmuracha  Da    (sic\    King  of  Leinster. 

(No.  17,335.) 
1681.  James  Butler,  Duke  of  Ormonde,  K.G. 

Theobaldus  de  Verdun,  7th  Baron,  Constable  of  Ireland ;  also  of 

Theobald,  the  8th  Baron  (p.  363). 

Of  ECCLESIASTICAL  SEALS,  I  noticed  the  following  : — 

The  Chapter  Seal  of  the  Diocese  of  Emly,  sixteenth  or  seventeenth 

century.     (From  the  Royal  Irish  Academy.) 
1338.  Richard  Francis,  Bishop  of  Waterford. 
1426-1468.  John  Mothell,  Bishop  of  Limerick.     (From  the  Royal 

Irish  Academy.) 

1292.  John  de  Saunford,  Archbishop  of  Dublin. 
1431.  Richard  Talbot. 


90  ROYAL    SOCIETY    OF    ANTIQUAKIKS    OF    IRELAND. 

1698.  Peter  Creagh,  Vicar- Apostolique. 

1690.  William  King. 

1698.  Edward  Smyth. 

XIV.  Century.— Walter  de  Myn,  Archdeacon. 

1464.  Richard  Lang,  Bishop  of  Kildare. 

1674.  Ambrose  Jones,  Seal  of  the  Court. 

1267.  Geoffrey  de  St.  Leger,  Bishop  of  Ossory. 

1494.  Lawrence  Neville,  Bishop  of  Ferns. 

1566.  John  Devereux. 

1552.  John  O'Hinalan,  Bishop  of  Kilfenora. 

1661.  Dean  and  Chapter  Seal,  Armagh. 

1398.  Peter,  Bishop  of  Clonmacnoise.    (Irish  manufacture.) 

XIV.  Century. — Seal  of  the  Clergy,  Kilmore. 

1410.  John,  Bishop  of  Dromore. 

Dean  and  Chapter,  Cathedral  of  St.  Eunan,  llaphoe. 
1322.  Bishop  of  Annaghdown,  Tuam.     (Cotton.) 
1377.  Thomas  Barrett,  Bishop  of  Elphin. 
XIV.  Century. — David,  Dean  of  Kilmacdmigh.     (Erom  the  Royal 

Irish  Academy.) 

MONASTIC  SEALS. 

XVII.  Century. — Ballinrobe,  County  Mayo. 
XIV.  Century.— Abbey    of    St.   Peter   and    Paul,    Clones,    County 

Monaghan.     Frater  John  Uccogihu,  Abbot. 
1267.  G.  Prior  of  Kenlis,  or  Kells,  County  Kilkenny. 
1494.  John  Soloun,  Abbot,  Cistercian  Abbey  of  B.  V.  Mary,  Tin  tern, 

County  Wexford. 

Also  the  following  Local  Seals: — 


1494.  Clonmines. 
Drogheda. 


1719.  New  Boss. 
1792.  Youghal. 


Dublin. 

P.  D.  VIQOX&  (Colonel). 


Finds  at  Edenvale,  County  Clare.  -  At  the  British  Association  in 
Belfast,  Mr.  Richard  Ussher  stated  that  the  committee  appointed  to 
explore  Irish  caves  had  carried  on  works  during  the  late  summer  for 
eleven  weeks  at  Edenvale,  County  Clare.  There  were  two  systems  of 
caves  excavated,  both  proving  to  be  very  prolific  in  relics  of  man  and 
extinct  animals.  There  were  found  bones  of  Irish  elk,  reindeer,  bear, 
the  last  of  unusual  size,  besides  domestic  animals.  The  human  relics 
comprised  (besides  bones,  a  nearly  perfect  skull,  and  charcoal)  scrapers 
of  flint,  bone  awls  and  pins,  amulets,  pierced  shells,  and  teeth.  Of  more 
advanced  culture  were  an  amber  bead,  a  bronze  bracelet  of  about  the 
beginning  of  our  era ;  a  small  gold  bracelet,  a  bronze  strap  and  buckle 
with  an  ornamental  design  in  silver  and  (in  the  topmost  layer)  two  iron 
daggers.  The  caves  are  of  complex  plan,  especially  the  one  under  the 


MISCELLANEA.  9J 

house,  which  had  two  entrances  with  galleries  running  westward,  and 
at  least  four  cross-galleries  running  north  and  south;  the  galleries  are 
all  natural,  and  were  deeply  filled  with  earth. — T.  J.  WESTROPP. 

Copyhold  Tenure  in  Ireland, — Tn  the  Report  of  the  Commissioners 
of  Church  Temporalities  in  Ireland  for  the  year  1877  there  is  a  notice 
of  the  Manor  of  Kilmoon,  which  is  stated  to  he  the  only  estate  in  Ireland 
held  hy  a  copyhold  tenure.  It  was  granted  hy  the  Crown  to  the  Arch- 
bishop of  Armagh  in  1614.  The  nature  of  the  tenure  was: — That 
tenants  hold  their  lands  at  a  small  quit-rent,  payable  half-yearly.  On 
every  change  of  tenancy,  whether  by  death  or  transfer,  it  was  necessary 
to  surrender  the  lands  to  the  steward  of  the  manor,  who  was  the  servant 
of  the  lord.  The  incoming  tenant  paid  a  fine  amounting  to  double  the 
full  annual  value  of  the  holding  vacated,  and  on  payment  was  formally 
admitted  as  tenant  by  the  steward,  who  recorded  the  admission  on  the 
Court  roll,  a  copy  of  which  was  the  tenant's  title  to  the  land.  Of  the 
sixteen  copyholders  on  the  estate,  twelve  are  stated  to  have  purchased,  or 
to  have  agreed  to  purchase,  their  holdings  at  the  date  of  the  Report. — 
WILLIAM  C.  STUBBS.  

Happarees. — The  following,  from  old  Dublin  newspapers,  may  prove 
of  interest  : — Dublin  Intelligence.  No.  35.  Tuesday,  May  19,  to 
Tuesday,  May  26,  1691.  May  17.— On  Friday  last  Captain  Hugh 
Massey,  a  Captain  of  the  Militia  of  Co.  Limerick,  with  a  small  party  of 
the  garrison  of  Shanbally  Duff,  went  beyond  the  Line,  where  they  met 
with  seventeen  Rapparees,  of  whom  they  killed  eight,  and  put  the  rest 
to  flight.  In  this  action  Mr.  Vandelure,  who  was  one  of  the  party  (and 
being  the  first  that  espied  them  charged  them  singly  before  the  rest  could 
come  up),  behaved  himself  with  great  courage  and  bravery,  as  also  did 
Captain  Massey  and  the  rest,  and  brought  back  with  them  a  prey  of 
cattle  and  several  arms. 

Forcible  Abduction.  (Lublin  Intelligence,  May  27, 1707.) — Whereas 
the  18th  day  of  April  last  pursuant  Margaret  Mac  Nemarra,  a  young 
Gentlewoman  about  13  years  of  age,  small  of  stature,  the  only  Daughter 
of  John  Mac  Nemarra,  late  of  Crattellagh,  in  the  County  of  Clare,  Esqre., 
deceased,  was  in  a  violent  and  extraordinary  manner  against  her  Consent 
forced  and  carried  away  from  her  mother  by  one  John  O'Brien,  with 
several  other  armed  Men  in  his  Company,  and  carried  from  Place  to 
Place  in  such  manner  that  her  Friends,  notwithstanding  all  their 
Endeavours,  cannot  inform  Themselves  where  she  is  ;  but  is  suppos'd  to 
be  concealed  in  some  part  of  the  Province  of  Connaught.  This  is  to  give 
Notice  that  such  person  as  shall  Rescue  the  said  Margaret  Mac  Nemarra, 
and  secure  her  until  she  may  be  conveniently  sent  for  by  her  friends, 
and  gives  notice  thereof  to  Mrs.  M.  Mac  Nemarra,  the  Mother  at  her 
House  in  Limerick,  or  unto  Mr.  G.  Waller,  an  Attorney  in  Dublin,  shall 
have  a  Reward  of  Twenty  Guineas. — J.  WAEDELL. 


92  ROYAL   SOCIETY    OF   ANTIQUARIES   OF   IRELAND. 


of 

[NOTE.— The  works  marked  thus  (#)  are  by  Members  of  the  Society.'] 

^Studies  in  Irish  Epigraphy :  a  Collection  of  revised  Readings  of  the 
Ancient  Inscriptions  of  Ireland,  with  Introduction  and  Notes.  By 
R.  A.  S.  Manalister,  M.A.,  F.S.A.  Part  II.,  117  pp.,  8vo.  (London  : 
Nutt,  1902.) 

THIS  most  welcome  volume  is  devoted  to  the  Ogam  inscriptions  of  the 
Counties  of  Kerry  (not  included  in  Part  I.),  Limerick,  Cavan,  and  King's 
County,  as  well  as  the  Ogam  inscriptions  of  the  Irish  type  in  Scotland 
and  the  Isle  of  Man,  with  an  Appendix  on  the  Ogam  tablets  of  Biere,  in 
Saxony.  The  first  part  contained  only  52  inscriptions,  while  the  present 
volume  brings  the  number  up  to  127,  not  to  mention  that  it  opens  with 
revised  readings  of  several  of  the  Ogams  included  among  the  previous 
52.  This,  let  me  observe  in  passing,  is  an  excellent  feature  of  Mr. 
Macalister's  work  :  he  shows  himself  quite  willing  to  reconsider  his 
readings,  and,  if  necessary,  to  revise  them.  No  other  attitude  is,  in  fact, 
possible  for  any  man  who  values  accuracy  above  all  seeming  infallibility. 
The  first  thing,  of  course,  is  to  get  the  Ogams  correctly  read,  and  ex- 
perience has  taught  me  that  something  is  usually  gained  by  studying  the 
more  blurred  and  weather-worn  of  them  repeatedly  and  leisurely ;  it 
sometimes  results  in  the  reduction,  at  any  rate,  of  the  area  of  doubt ; 
and  the  more  students  who  try  it  the  better.  But  this  is,  perhaps,  rather 
cruel  to  Mr.  Macalister,  who  pens  his  preface  at  Jerusalem :  it  is  to  be 
hoped,  however,  that  he  is  not  going  to  listen  too  long  to  the  voice  of  the 
siren  of  Palestinian  Exploration. 

At  all  events,  the  author  must  have  made  excellent  use  of  his  last 
stay  in  this  country,  as  is  proved,  among  other  things,  by  the  appearance 
in  print  now  for  the  first  time  of  several  Ogams  which  are  quite  new  to 
me  as  well,  probably,  as  to  most  of  the  readers  of  the  Journal.  One  of 
these  comes  from  Valencia  Island,  another  from  the  neighbourhood  of 
Cuhirciveen,  and  a  third  from  Dromlusk,  near  Sneein — all  in  the  county 
of  Kerry,  and  all  traced  by  Mr.  Macalister  by  means  of  the  Papers  of 
the  late  Bishop  of  Limerick,  to  whose  memory  and  that  of  Father 
Edmoud  Barry  the  volume  is  most  appropriately  dedicated.  The  reading 
of  the  last  of  the  three  stones  to  which  I  allude  is  given  as  Catvvirr  maqi 
Luguvvec[a],  which  is  remarkable  in  that  we  have  the  combination  tvv 
by  the  side  of  guvv,  on  which  Mr.  Macalister  makes  a  remark.  The 
names  are  supposed  to  analyse  themselves  into  Catu-vvirr  and  Lugu-vvecc, 


NOTICES    OF    BOOKS.  93 

which  would  suggest  a  parallel  treatment  in  point  of  pronunciation  and 
spelling  ;  not  to  mention  that  in  another  inscription  the  former  name  is 
known  to  read  Cattuvvirr,  which,  hy  the  way,  it  is  impossible  to  equate 
with  Catalar. 

The  Dromlusk  stone  has,  besides  the  peculiarity  of  spelling  which  has 
just  been  pointed  out,  a  detail  which  Mr.  Macalister  regards  as  unique 
among  Ogam  monuments.  He  describes  it  as  follows:  — 

"This  is  a  circle  6^  inches  in  diameter,  cut  in  the  centre  of  its 
eastern  face.  There  is  also  a  curved  mark,  25  inches  below  the  circle  ; 
these  marks  are  both  shown  in  the  accompanying  photographic  view. 
The  form  of  this  symbol,  and  its  occurrence  on  the  eastern  face  of  one  of 
two  stones  in  approximate  north  and  south  alignment,  are  so  strongly 
suggestive  of  solar  symbolism  that  it  is  impossible  to  avoid  explaining  it 
in  some  such  manner,  although  such  tempting  theories  are  not  without 
risk.  If  this  be  an  admissible  interpretation,  we  have  a  highly  important 
co-existence  of  Ogham  writing  and  pagan  symbolism  ;  for  that  the  circle 
and  the  scores  are  contemporary  is  demonstrated  by  the  similarity  of 
their  technique.  The  wheel-Ogham  at  Logie,  in  which  the  scores  are 
cut  on  the  circumference  of  the  circle,  may  perhaps  be  worth  remember- 
ing in  considering  the  Dromlusk  monument." 

This  reminds  one  of  the  researches  of  Sir  Norman  Lockyer  and  Lord 
Southesk  :  the  latter  would  have  something  to  say  on  the  subject  also 
of  Ogams  as  amulets,  which  is  discussed  in  a  suggestive  manner  in  con- 
nexion with  the  Glenfahan  Ogam,  p.  38,  which  the  author  reads 
LMCBBV:  I  have  read  it  somewhat  differently,  and  given  it  up  as  a 
puzzle,  which,  however,  Mr.  Macalister's  theory  goes  some  way  to 
explain.  He  speaks  of  it  as  follows : — 

"  That  this  inscription  had  a  meaning  of  some  sort  to  its  engraver 
may  be  accepted  as  axiomatic ;  but  it  seems  hopeless  for  us  to  attempt  to 
unravel  its  interpretation.  The  letters  may  be  the  initials  of  the  words 
composing  some  formula ;  they  may  be  the  consonantal  skeleton  of 
a  word  whose  vowels  are  omitted ;  or  they  may  be  substituted  for  others 
by  some  cipher  or  cryptographic  system  .  .  .  Though  the  specific  mean- 
ing of  the  inscription  is  thus  beyond  our  reach,  we  may,  with  little 
hesitation,  come  to  one  general  conclusion  about  it — namely,  that  it  is 
an  occult  or  magical  formula  of  some  kind.  This  conclusion  is  pointed 
to  by  the  amber  bead  from  Ennis,  now  in  the  British  Museum,  described 
later  in  this  volume.  The  inscription  when  read  retroversely  is  Imcbtm, 
which  is  nearly  identical  with  that  on  the  stone  ;  and,  as  will  be  seen  in 
the  article,  the  magical  properties  of  the  amulet  were  traditional  down 
to  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century." 

This  view  seems  so  reasonable  that  it  hardly  requires  to  be  supported 
by  an  appeal  to  the  discoveries  at  Biere,  in  Saxony,  which,  according  to 
the  author,  consist  of  a  large  hoard  of  magical  tablets,  "  among  which 
are  certain  words  which  if  not  written  in  Ogham  are  in  some  character 


94  ROYAL    SOCIETY    OF    ANTIQUARIES    OF   IRELAND. 

indistinguishable  from  it."  I  have  looked  at  the  drawings,  but  I  am 
puzzled  what  to  make  of  them  :  of  course  the  first  question  which  they 
suggest  is  the  simple  one,  Are  the  tablets  genuine  ? 

Another  of  the  suggestive  conjectures  in  the  book  is  the  one  which 
concerns  mutilated  Ogams.  As  for  myself,  I  have  not  yet  been  able  to 
give  it  the  consideration  which  it  deserves  ;  but  the  following  passages  a 
propos  of  one  of  the  Ballinrannig  stones,  reading,  Cuna  maqyi  Corbbimaqq- 
\i  mucoi  .]  as,  will  make  it  clear  what  the  author  means  : — 

"  Now  it  is  very  curious  that  tribal  names  are  so  often  mutilated 
or  destroyed  on  Ogham  stones  ;  and  we  may  possibly  detect  in  this 
fact  traces  of  intertribal  jealousies.  In  this  stone  the  inscription  is 
perfect  till  we  reach  the  word  mucoi,  and  it  is  then  violently  flaked  and 
spalled :  the  same  is  true  of  the  other  Ballinrannig  stone  (No.  Ill), 
which  bore  a  tribal  name.  Though  the  whole  Ballinrannig  series  is 
rather  difficult  to  read,  these  two  are  the  only  injuries  that  cannot  be 
assigned  to  gradual  weather-  or  water-wear.  Again,  the  Ballymorereigh 
stone  (25)  is  fractured  short  in  the  middle  of  the  word  mucoi,  and  the 
llathmalode  monument  (46)  has  also  lost  its  tribal  name.  That  all  the 
mucoi  Dovinia  stones  have  preserved  their  eponymous  name  may  be 
accounted  for  on  the  obvious  theory  that  the  tribe  of  Duben,  being- 
strong  in  their  own  territory,  were  presumably  able  to  protect  their 
tribesmen's  tombstones.  ...  It  is  true  that  the  tribal  name  is 
frequently  on  the  top  of  the  stone,  which  is  the  part  most  exposed  to 
injury  ;  but  it  will  be  found  on  comparing  proportions  that  the  top  of  a 
stone  is  more  likely  to  display  injury  if  it.  bore  a  name  preceded  by 
mucoi',  and  such  an  objection  is  not  valid  in  the  frequent  case  (of  which 
thu  present  is  an  example)  of  the  name  being  flaked  off  the  side  of  a 
stone." 

He  then  lays  it  do\vn  as  a  working  hypothesis  "  that  the  tribesmen 
of  one  clan  had  no  hesitation  in  destroying  the  name  of  a  rival  clan,  and 
frequently  did  so,  though  perhaps  leaving  intact  the  names  of  individual 
members  of  the  opposing  family"  He  adds  that  it  follows  "  that  when  an 
inscription  containing  a  tribal  name  remains  intact,  it  probably  stands  in 
the  ancient  territory  of  the  tribe  to  which  it  belongs."  The  weakness  of 
this  theory,  if  there  is  any,  betrays  itself  in  the  clause  which  I  have  put 
into  italics.  "Why  should  a  hostile  clan  have  spared  the  names  of  their 
proximate  foes  and  gone  for  the  shadowy  ancestor  in  the  background  ? 
Now  the  few  instances  (about  a  dozen  in  all)  in  which  ave  (genitive  avi) 
* '  descendant  "  precedes  the  ancestor's  name,  show  no  tendency  to  have 
that  name  damaged  or  destroyed.  So  it  is  possible  that  the  objection 
was  to  the  description  of  the  descent  as  maqui  mucoi  Toicaci,  or  whatever 
the  final  vocable  might  be.  I  have  elsewhere  tried  to  prove  that  this  would 
represent  a  man  as  son  of  the  kin  or  clan  of  Toicac,  as  it  were  filius  generis 
Toicaci,  which  points  back  to  paternity  being  at  one  time  almost  more 
uncertain  than  even  in  the  state  of  things  described  by  Caesar,  v.  14, 


NOTICES    OF    BOOKS.  95 

when  he  wrote  of  the  people  of  Britain :  "  Uxores  habent  deni 
duodenique  inter  se  communes  et  maxime  fratres  cum  fratribus 
parentesque  cum  liberis" — a  notorious  passage  which  I  need  not  re- 
produce at  length.  Nothing  seems  more  natural  than  that  after  a  people 
brought  up  in  that  kind  of  social  system  became  Christians,  their 
descendants  should  feel  ashamed  of  such  a  menage,  and  go  so  far  at 
times  as  to  efface  the  record  of  it  on  their  tombstones.  Possibly  the 
missionaries  of  the  Church  would  do  it  for  them,  whether  they  themselves 
would  or  not. 

Mr.  Macalister's  readings  frequently  differ  from  mine  ;  but  in  some  of 
those  cases  I  am  certain  to  be  wrong,  and  in  some  of  them  1  am 
convinced  that  neither  of  us  has  as  yet  got  the  original  correctly — they 
require  to  be  scrutinized  again.  Nor  can  I  always  agree  with  him  in 
his  interpretation  of  the  Ogams  and  his  notes  on  the  proper  names  met 
with.  Thus  the  symbol  X,  to  which  I  ascribe  the  value  of  p,  he  treats 
as  /<;,  which  leads  him  into  rather  a  tight  place  when  he  has  to  treat 
one  of  the  Whitefield  inscriptions  as  Gosocte  asmosac  wa/c  Ini.  My 
account  of  it  will  be  found  in  the  Journal  for  1902,  vol.  xxxii.,  p.  24  ;  but 
I  have  since  then  found  reasons  for  believing  that  mosac  meant  servant  or 
attendant,  like  the  Irish  gille,  or  the  cell  of  Cell  Battigni  on  another  of 
the  Whitefield  stones.  By  no  phonological  alchemy,  I  may  remark,  can 
one  from  this  name  extract  Celibatt  as  a  form  of  Colabot.  I  wonder 
also  whether  we  have  not  a  word  of  personal  meaning  like 
mosac  and  cell  in  the  locid  of  the  Droumatouk  inscription,  as  to 
which  I  must  plead  guilty  to  having  tempted  Mr.  Macalister  to  enter 
on  a  doubtful  path  ;  but  he  has  not  followed  it  very  far.  To  return 
to  another  of  the  Whitefield  stones,  he  should  hardly  treat  Nocati  as 
a  form  of  Dunocati.  In  any  case  we  have  now  to  accept  Nocati  as 
a  real  name  :  see  Journal,  vol.  xxxii.  (1902),  p.  298,  where  the  editor 
has  published  the  forgotten  reading  of  the  Donegal  Ogam  lost  at  Clonca  : 
it  will  be  a  disgrace  to  the  local  archaeologists  if  they  do  not  discover  the 
stone  itself.  I  cannot  agree  with  the  author  in  his  treatment  of  the 
Camp  stone,  which  he  reads  in  Ogam  Conu-Nett  moqi  Conu-Ri,  and  in 
Irish  letters  FECT  CUNUBI.  It  seems  to  me  impossible  to  believe  that 
fttojimust  on  account  of  its  o  be  "analysed  into  mocui  and  equated  to 
the  more  usual  mucoi."  The  vowels  of  the  Ogmist  here  in  question  were 
peculiar,  for  he  wrote  Conu  twice  for  what  would  elsewhere  have  been 
Cana  or  Cona  ;  so  I  have  no  doubt  that  his  moqi  meant  the  word  which 
others  wrote  maqi. 

A  word  now  as  to  the  other  writing,  which  appears  to  have  been 
discovered  by  Sir  Samuel  Ferguson,  and  read  by  him  with  some  hesita- 
tion FECI  (or  FECIT)  c  UN  UNI.  When  I  saw  the  stone,  in  1883,  I 
well  remember  my  disappointment  at  not  being  able  to  discover  that  bit 
of  Latin :  I  could  see  various  traces  of  writing  on  the  stone  and  one  or 
two  little  crosses,  but  not  what  Sir  S.  Ferguson  had  found.  In  1898, 


96  ROYAL    SOCIETY    OF    ANTIQUARIES    OF    IRELAND. 

however,  my  wife  and  I  spent  some  time  scrutinizing  the  surface  of  the 
stone,  and  she,  having  better  eyes  than  I  have,  found  the  vanishing 
script :  we  might,  douhtless,  have  done  so  sooner  had  we  had  or  under- 
stood Sir  Samuel's  indication  of  its  position  "  on  the  upper  face  of  the 
block,  in  a  direction  contrary  to  the  course  of  the  associated  Oghams." 
My  own  note  made  this  last  time  is,  that  it  is  not  far  from  the  beginning 
of  the  Ogam,  and  that  it  runs  parallel  to  the  Ogam,  but  in  the  contrary 
direction.  It  is  so  minute  and  insignificant  that  I  do  not  think  it  has 
anything  to  do  with  the  Ogam,  and  I  cannot  be  sure  that  the  letters  are 
of  "  a  very  early  type."  The  best-  guess  we  could  make  came  to  this — 
peccan  blip;  but  the  first  letter  may  be  an  F,  or  even  an  E,  and  the 
third  may  be  a  c  ;  the  fifth  is  a  minuscule  a,  followed  by  a  capital  N. 
The  next  word  is  abbreviated,  consisting  of  a  minuscule  b  and  n,  followed 
by  a  tall  s  of  the  gamma  kind  :  it  may  be  an  i,  but  we  did  not  think  so. 
Partly  over  the  I  and  the  n  there  is  a  line  to  indicate  contraction; 
but  what  the  word  intended  can  have  been  is  not  clear  to  me  :  I  could 
think  of  nothing  more  suitable  than  lenedictus,  or  else  Britannicus  or 
Britannus,  though  I  should  have  preferred  Britto.  In  case  the  reading 
Pectan  is  corroborated  by  further  scrutiny,  I  may  remark  that  it  occurs 
in  Wales  in  the  corresponding  form  Peithan  in  "  Inis  Peithan"  in  the 
"Book  of  Llandaff"  ;  but  it  is  right  to  mention  also  thut  Petan  and 
Itechtdn  occur  as  Irish  names.  I  have  dwelt  on  the  Camp  monument  so 
long,  as  it  is  a  good  instance  of  one  that  requires  further  examination. 

A  few  things,  which  I  consider  blemishes,  have  been  mentioned ;  but 
[  consider  the  value  of  Mr.  Macalister's  work  as  hardly  affected  by  them  ; 
iind  I  sincerely  hope  that  the  Holy  Land  will  be  able  to  spare  him  to  go 
on  with  his  studies  in  Irish  Epigraphy.  Let  us  hope  also  that  his 
vigorous  example  may  induce  others  to  turn  their  attention  to  this  very 
difficult  subject :  the  more  men,  with  good  eyes  in  their  heads,  who  will 
study  the  old  monuments,  the  more  likely  we  are  to  have  those  monuments 
correctly  read. 

J.  BUYS. 


*  History  of  the  Warren  Family :  A  History  and  Genealogy  of  the  Warren 
Family  in  Normandy,  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  France,  Holland, 
Tuscany,  United  States  of  America,  &c.  (A.D.  912-1902).  "With 
numerous  Pedigrees.  By  the  Rev.  Thomas  Warren,  F.R.S.A.,  Ireland. 
Printed  for  private  circulation,  1902.  Copies  can  be  obtained  from 
the  Author,  29,  Gipsy  Hill,  Norwood,  London.  Price  11s. 

THE  author  of  this  History  of  the  Warrens  has  accumulated  an  immense 
amount  of  interesting  details  about  the  pedigrees  and  connexions  of  this 
great  and  widely-dispersed  family.  The  cradle  of  the  race,  still  in  exis- 
tence, is  near  the  village  of  Garenne,  only  a  short  distance  from  Dieppe, 


NOTICES    OF    BOOKS.  97 

and  lying  on  the  banks  of  the  Garenne,  or  Yarenne.  An  ancient  castle 
there,  the  ruins  of  which  were  in  existence  until  the  early  part  of  the 
last  century,  belonged  to  the  de  Warrennes.  A  bronze  wyvern,  of 
thirteenth- century  date,  the  badge  or  crest  of  the  Warren  family,  wa& 
found  among  its  ruins.  Much  has  been  published  about  branches  of 
the  family,  notably  the  important  memoir  by  the  Eev.  John  Watson, 
on  the  Earls  of  "Warren  and  Surrey,  and  the  elaborate  volume  on 
the  Comtes  de  Warren,  by  the  present  holder  of  the  title.  The  author 
has  utilized  these  works,  and  has  also  received  large  assistance  from 
various  members  of  the  family ;  he  has  also  made  elaborate  researches, 
extending  over  many  years,  into  the  Kecords  in  our  libraries  and  Public 
Record  Offices,  with  the  result  that  we  have,  in  one  volume  of  400  pages, 
a  record  which  will  be  most  useful  to  the  student.  The  author  himself 
acknowledges  that  there  is  still  a  large  field  for  further  research,  and 
feels  certain  that,  with  every  care  to  avoid  them,  errors  will  be  found ; 
but  all  corrections  of  such,  and  any  new  facts,  will  be  gratefully^ 
received,  if  forwarded  to  the  address  given. 


Jnnr  n  <*  J±  i    )  v°l-  XIII-»  Fifth  Series. 
Jonr.  R  .S.A.I    j  VoJ  ^^  Consec    Ser 


98  ROYAL   SOCIETY   OF   ANTIQUARIES    OF    IRELAND. 


THE  ANNUAL  GENERAL  MEETING  of  the  Society  was  held  in  the  Society's 
Rooms,  6,  St.  Stephen's-green,  Dublin,  on  Tuesday,  27th  January, 
1903,  at  5  o'clock,  p.m. : 

PROFESSOR  ED.  PERCEVAL  WRIGHT,  M.A.,  M.D.,  President,  in  the  Chair. 

The  following  Fellows  and  Members  attended: — 

Vice- Presidents. —3dm  R.  Garstin,  F.S.A.  ;  P.  Elrington  Ball,  M.K.I.A.  ;  Most 
Kev.  Dr.  Donnelly,  M.R.I.A.  ;  W.  E.  KeUy,  D.L.  ;  Eichard  Langrishe,  J.P.  ;  Thomas 
J.  "Westropp,  M.R.I. A. 

Hon.  General  Secretary,—  Robert  Cochrane,  P.S.A.,  M.R.I.A. 

Fellows.— H.  F.  Berry,  M.R.I.A.  ;  Geo.  D.  Burtchaell,  M.R.I.A.  ;  John  Cooke, 
M.A.  ;  R.  S.  Longworth- Dames,  M.R.I.A.  ;  Lord  Walter  Fitz  Gerald,  M.R.I.A.  ; 
Arthur  Fitzmaurice ;  S.A.  0.  Fitz  Patrick  ;  Rev.  Canon  ffrench,  M.R.I.A.  ;  Edward 
Martyn  ;  S.  F.  Milligan,  M.R.I.A.  ;  James  Mills,  i.s.o.,  M.K.I.A.  ;  R.  J.  Molloy, 
M.R.I.A.  ;  P.  J.  O'Reilly;  Henry  J.  Stokes;  Rev.  Canon  Stoney ;  Colonel  Vigors. 

Members.— Rev.  William  F.  Alment,  B.D.  ;  Major  John  R.  Baillie;  Mrs.  S. 
Bewley ;  John  B.  Cassin  Bray ;  Mrs.  Brien ;  Rev.  Richard  A.  Burnett,  M.A.  ;  John 
Carolan,  J.P.  ;  Geo.  0.  Carolin  :  Miss  J.  Clark;  Henry  A.  Cosgrave,  M.A.  ;  Rev. 
Geo.  W.  S.  Coulter,  M.A.  ;  Robert  G.  Daniell,  J.P.  ;  Rev.  Canon  Fisher,  M.A.  ;  George 
Godden;  Major  Lawrence  Gorman;  Joseph  Gougb  ;  T.  Geo.  H.  Green,  M.R.I.A.; 
Patrick  J.  Griffith  ;  Rev.  Canon  Healy,  LL.D.  ;  Henry  Hitchins  ;  William  F.  Howie  ; 
Miss  A.  M.  Joly  ;  R.  J.  Kelly,  B.L.  ;  Rev.  Canon  Kernan,  B.D.  ;  F.  B.  Knox ;  Rev. 
Dr.  Lawlor;  Mrs.  Long;  J.  B.  Mason  ;  Sheriff  Middleton  ;  Rev.  Dr.Moffatt;  J.  W. 
Montgomery  ;  John  Morton ;  Francis  M' Bride  ;  Rev.  Canon  M'Clintock,  M.A.  ; 
James  M'Connell ;  Walter  G.  Neale  ;  Rev.  Canon  O'Connor,  M.A.  ;  Kevin  E. 
O'Duffy  ;  J.  E.  Palmer ;  Miss  A.  Peter ;  George  Peyton,  LL.D.  ;  Hugh  Pollock ; 
Thomas  Rice;  W.  Johnson-Roberts;  Mrs.  Shackleton;  E.  W.  Smyth;  Mrs.  E.  W. 
Smyth  ;  William  Tempest,  J.P.  ;  Henry  Vereker ;  Rev.  Francis  J.Wall;  Rev.  Canon 
Walsh,  D.D,  ;  Robert  White ;  W.  Grove  White,  LL.B.  ;  Herbert  Wood ;  W.  Geale 
Wy brants,  M.A. 

The  Minutes  of  last  Meeting  were  read  and  confirmed. 

The  following  Candidates,  recommended  by  the  Council,  were 
elected : — 

As  FELLOW. 

€onnellan,  P.  L.,  6,  Via  Augusto  Yalenziani,  Porto  Salaria,  Rome:  proposed  by  Sir 
Thomas  H.  Grattan  Esmonde,  Bart.,  M.P.,  Fellow. 


PROCEEDINGS.  99 


As  MEMBERS. 

Allen,   Mrs.   Mary,   Ailsa   Lodge,    Kilrane,    Co.   Wexford :    proposed  by  the   Rev. 

Canon  ffrench,  M.R.I. A.,  Fellow. 
Barkley,  Dr.  James,  Maghera,  Co.  Derry  :  proposed  by  Seaton  F.  Milligan,  M.R.I. A., 

Vice- President. 
Brunskill,  Rev.  T.  R.,  B.A.,  The  Rectory,  Killencoole,  Castlebellingbam,  Co.  Louth : 

proposed  by  Rev.  K.  C.  Brunskill,  M.A. 
Colville,  Miss  Carolin,  PH.  D.,  Orono,  Maine,  U.S.A. :  proposed  by  William  C.  Stubbs, 

M.A.,  Fellow. 
Coulter,  Robert,  Merchant,  Thomas- street,   Sligo :  proposed  by  Seaton  F.  Milligan, 

M.R.I.A.,  Vice- President. 
Fricker,  Rev.  M.  A.,  Canon,  P.P.,   The  Presbytery,  25,  Rathmines-road,  Dublin  : 

proposed  by  Rev.  Francis  J.  Wall. 
Hanna,  Rev.  Robert  F.,  B.A.,  The  Manse,  White  Abbey,  Co.  Antrim:  proposed  by 

Rev.  James  H.  Maconachie,  B.A. 
Learmont- Anderson,  Mrs.,  Rossnashane,  Ballymoney,  Co.  Antrim  :  proposed  by  Miss 

J.  Clark. 
London    Library,    The,    St.   James' s-square,   London,    S.W.,  per   Charles   Hagbert 

Wright,    LL.D.,    Librarian:  proposed   by  Professor  Edward  Perceval  Wright, 

M.A.,  M.D.,  President. 
Moore,  Count  Arthur,  D.L.,  Aherlow  Castle,  Co.  Tipperary  :  proposed  by  J.  G.  Barry, 

D.L. 
Mulhall,  Mrs.  Marion,  35,  Via  Venti  Settembre,  Rome  :  proposed  by  Sir  Thomas  H. 

Grattan  Esmonde,  Bart.,  M.P.,  Fellow. 

"O'Neill,  Mrs.,  Jocelyn-street,  Dundalk:  proposed  by  Rev.  Ambrose  Coleman,  O.P. 
Pirn,  A.  Cecil,  Monarna,  White  Abbey,  Co.  Antrim :  proposed  by  William  C.  Stubbs, 

M.A.,  Fellow. 
Pirn,  Jonathan,  Barrister-at-Law,  10,  Herbert- street,  Dublin  :  proposed  by  William 

C.  Stubbs,  M.A.,  Fellow. 
Wallis,  Hector,  j.i>.,  Balheary  House,  Swords,  Co.  Dublin:  proposed  by  John  Cooke, 

M.A.,  Fellow. 
Walters,  Rev.  Thomas   F.,  B.A.,   St.  John's,  Blackrock,  Co.  Dublin:  proposed  by 

Rev.  Francis  J.  Wall. 
Wilson,  T.  W.,   10,   Selborne-road,   Handsworth,  Birmingham  :  proposed  by  John 

Panton. 

The  REPORT  or  COUNCIL  for  the  Year  1902  was  received  and  adopted, 
as  follows  : — 

In  presenting  the  Annual  Report  for  1902,  the  Council,  while  again 
congratulating  the  Society  on  its  continued  prosperity  and  satisfactory 
financial  condition,  are  obliged  to  draw  attention  to  the  neglect  of  some 
members  to  pay  their  annual  subscriptions.  Out  of  a  total  membership 
of  1248  for  the  present  year,  there  are  still  on  the  list  69  who  have 
not  paid  any  subscriptions  for  1902,  including  39  who  have  not  paid  for 
the  years  1901  and  1902. 

The  names  of  the  members  in  arrear  have  been  published  in  the 
December  issue  of  the  Journal.  Members  owing  for  three  years  will 
be  struck  off  the  Roll,  and  steps  will  be  taken  to  recover  the  amounts 
due. 

H2 


100        ROYAL    SOCIETY    OF    ANTIQUARIES    OF    IRELAND. 

In  such  a  large  Society  as  ours  it  is  not  surprising  that  some  are  found1 
who  are  but  imperfectly  acquainted  with  the  rules  of  the  organization  to 
which  they  belong,  and  their  responsibility  as  regards  the  payment  of 
their  subscriptions.  Many  appear  to  regard  the  Society  as  an  agency  for 
the  gratuitous  distribution  of  its  publications,  which  they  as  members  are 
willing  to  receive  but  not  to  pay  for.  The  removal  of  a  name  from 
the  list  of  members  does  not  extinguish  the  debt  incurred  during  the 
period  of  membership. 

ANCIENT  STRUCTURES. 

Another  misconception,  which,  however,  exists  chiefly  outside  the 
ranks  of  the  Society,  is  that  it  behoves  it  to  undertake  the  custody  and 
repair  of  structures  of  antiquity  when  neglected  by  the  owners,  or  by 
those  locally  interested. 

Before  the  passing  of  the  Irish  Church  Act  in  1869  (32  and  33  Yict. 
chap.  42)  there  was  no  legal  machinery  in  existence  beyond  that  provided 
at  common  law  for  the  punishment  of  persons  injuring  ancient  monu- 
ments, and  no  provision  for  their  preservation.  The  Society  in  these 
circumstances  found  it  necessary  to  undertake  the  execution  of  works  of 
preservation  of  the  buildings  at  Jerpoint,  Clonmacnoise,  Glendalough, 
Monasterboice,  and  other  important  ruins,  which  were  at  that  time 
practically  derelict.  The  cost  of  these  works  was  defrayed  by  voluntary 
contributions,  as  the  Society  had  no  funds  for  such  purposes,  and  their 
superintendence  was  provided  by  local  arch  geologists,  who  gave  their 
time  and  assistance  gratuitously.  The  amount  accomplished  in  this  way 
was  necessarily  limited.  "When  the  opportunity  arose,  steps  were  taken, 
in  conjunction  with  the  Royal  Irish  Academy,  assisted  by  several 
influential  members,  to  have  a  clause  inserted  in  the  Act  before 
mentioned  (section  25)  which  enabled  the  Government  to  undertake  the 
preservation  of  certain  ruins.  This  was  followed  in  1882  by  another  Act, 
called  "The  Ancient  Monuments  Protection  Act"  (45  and  46  Yict. 
chap.  73),  in  the  promotion  of  which  the  Society  was  actively  engaged ; 
and  an  additional  Act  was  passed  in  1892  (55  and  56  Viet.  chap.  46). 

The  Society  having  thus  largely  contributed  to  the  passing  of  these 
Acts,  which  resulted  in  operations  on  a  large  scale  being  undertaken  by 
the  Government,  and  the  expenditure  of  over  £40,000  on  the  works, 
spread  over  nearly  two  hundred  ruins,  it  became  unnecessary  to  con- 
tinue the  work  of  preservation,  which  now  happily  devolves,  in  a 
great  measure,  on  the  State.1 

When  the  Acts  came  into  operation,  your  Council  was  invited  to 
suggest  lists  of  ruins  which  might  with  advantage  be  brought  under  the 
operation  of  these  provisions.  "With  the  assistance  of  the  local  secretaries, 
such  lists  were  compiled  and  furnished,  and  there  are  now  194 

1  For  a  copy  of  these  Acts,  and  a  list  of  the  buildings,  see  vol.  22  of  the  Society's 
Journal,  p.  420. 


PROCEEDINGS.  101 

structures  on  the  list,  which  comprises  all  the  most  important  ruins  in 
Ireland. 

In  1894  your  Council  was  asked  to  nominate  two  members  of  a 
committee,  to  be  called  the  National  Monuments  Committee,  composed 
of  the  Chairman  of  the  Board  of  Works,  the  Inspector  of  National 
Monuments,  and  two  members  nominated  by  the  Royal  Irish  Academy, 
in  addition  to  the  two  members  nominated  by  your  Council. 

One  of  the  objects  contemplated  by  the  formation  of  this  committee 
was  to  advise  as  to  the  desirability  of  taking  charge  of  ruins  for  which 
application  to  vest  had  been  made  to  the  Board  of  Works.  Since  the 
formation  of  the  committee  your  Council  having  secured  a  sufficient 
representation  on  it,  have  not,  therefore,  as  a  Council,  put  forward  any 
recommendation  as  to  adding  to  the  list,  especially  as  it  now  devolves  on 
the  owners  who  wish  to  vest  to  make  their  applications  direct  to  the 
Board  of  Works,  and  persons  interested  in  the  preservation  of  a  ruin 
should  approach  the  owner  and  induce  him  to  make  applications  in  the 
prescribed  manner.  No  application  is  now  entertained  unless  from  the 
owner. 

Another  important  advance  in  connexion  with  the  preservation  of 
our  National  Monuments  was  made  in  the  introduction  of  section  19  of 
the  Local  Government  (Ireland)  Act,  1898,  which  enables  any  County 
Council  to  take  charge  of  any  monument  in  the  county  not  already 
vested. 

There  are  still  a  number  of  minor  structures  in  the  country,  the 
preservation  of  which  is  very  desirable.  It  is  hoped  that  County 
Councils  will  take  advantage  of  the  salutary  provisions  of  the  Act, 
which  seem  to  have  escaped  general  attention. 

The  County  Council  of  Galway  is  entitled  to  the  honour  of  being  the 
first  to  make  the  section  operative,  and  under  its  provisions  the  High 
Cross  of  Tuam,  and  the  ruined  church,  Temple  Jarlath,1  in  the  same 
town,  have  been  judiciously  repaired.  Great  credit  is  due  to  the  Chairman 
of  the  County  Council,  Mr.  Joseph  A.  Glynn,  Dr.  Costello,  Mr.  Perry 
(County  Surveyor),  and  Mr.  E.  J".  Kelly,  J.P.,  all  members  of  this 
Society  and  of  the  County  Gal  way  Historical  and  Archaeological  Society, 
for  their  exertions  in  the  matter  ;  and  there  is  little  doubt  the  example 
will  be  followed  in  other  counties  where  there  is  pressing  necessity  for 
such  work. 

It  may  be  desirable  in  this  connexion  to  remind  members  that  our 
Council  are  empowered  to  offer  a  reward  of  £5  to  any  person  who 
gives  such  information  as  would  lead  to  a  successful  prosecution  in  the 
case  of  wanton  or  malicious  in  jury  to  any  ancient  monument  in  Ireland.2 

The  foregoing  resume  is  given  for  the  information  of  members  who 
are  interested  in  the  preservation  of  ancient  monuments  and  the  legislation 

1  See  Journal,  vol.  32,  pp.  414,  415.  a  Ibid.,  vol.  24,  p.  298. 


102         KOYAL  SOCIETY    OF   ANTIQUARIES   OF   IRELAND. 

connected  therewith ;  but  a  more  detailed  account,  with  copies  of  the 
Act  and  lists  of  the  monuments,  is  given  in  the  Journal,  volume  22, 
pp.  411  to  429. 

The  Society,  liberated  from  undertaking  structural  work  of  pre- 
servation, devotes  all  its  energies  to  the  not  less  important  (and  in  the 
minds  of  some  the  more  important)  work  of  placing  on  permanent  record, 
and  correctly  describing  and  illustrating,  such  ruins  in  the  pages  of  the 
Journal,  which  are  freely  open  to  the  voluntary  contributions  of  all 
members. 

HILL  OP  TAEA,  COUNTY  MEATH. 

The  irreparable  injury  done  by  the  partial  destruction  of  the  "  Bath 
of  the  Synods,"  continued  during  a  portion  of  the  present  year,  has 
occupied  the  serious  attention  of  the  Council,  and  everything  that 
was  considered  practicable  was  done  to  stop  the  work  of  destruc- 
tion. 

The  alleged  object  in  digging  up  this  mound  is  stated  to  be  a  search 
for  "  The  Ark  of  the  Covenant,"  which  the  instigator  of  the  search  has 
stated  he  believes  to  have  been  deposited  in  this  particular  rath. 

The  search,  as  prosecuted  by  him,  involved  the  digging  up  and 
consequent  destruction  of  the  contour  of  the  portion  of  the  mound 
examined ;  and  it  is  to  the  credit  of  Irish  archaeologists  that  they  have 
not  allowed  themselves  to  be  identified  with  this  act  of  vandalism. 

The  search  having  proved  fruitless,  and  a  strong  feeling  of  indig- 
nation having  been  gradually  aroused  in  the  locality  and  elsewhere 
against  the  continuance  of  the  work,  and  for  other  reasons,  it  was 
abandoned  during  the  week  ending  28th  June  last.  On  the  18th  of 
that  month,  the  Kavan  Rural  District  Council,  in  whose  district  the 
monument  is  situate,  adopted  a  strongly-worded  Resolution  against 
"  the  action  of  the  parties  now  engaged  in  obliterating  the  ancient  and 
historic  landmarks  of  the  far-famed  Hill  of  Tara  in  the  idiotic  search  for 
the  mythical  Ark  of  the  Covenant." 

The  Council  have  received  from  the  Watching  Committee,1  appointed 

1  The  Committee  appointed  by  the  Council,  in  pursuance  of  Rule  JNo.  19  of  the 
General  Rules  of  the  Society,  consists  of — 

Mr.  B.  R.  Townley  Balfour,  D.L.,  M.R.I.A. 

Mr.  R.  Cochrane,  F.S.A.,  M.R.I.A. 

Sir  John  F.  Dillon,  Bart.,  D.L. 

Sir  Thomas  H.  Grattan  Esmonde,  Bart.,  M.P.,  M.R.I.A. 

Lord  Walter  Fitz  Gerald,  M.R.I.A. 

Mr.  John  Rihton  Garstin,  D.L.,  M.K.I. A.,  F.S.A. 

Dr.  P.  Weston  Joyce,  M.R.I.A. 

Mr.  Edward  Martyn. 

Professor  E.  P.  Wright,  M.A.,  M.D.,  M.R.I.A. 


PROCEEDINGS.  103 

to  advise  in  connexion  with  the  preservation  of  these  mounds,  a  report 
as  follows : — 

TARA.  COMMITTEE'S  REPORT. 

"The  Committee  find  that  the  famed  earthworks  on  the  Hill  of  Tara  have  for 
long  engaged  the  attention  of  the  Society.  They  formed  the  principal  attraction  of 
the  Summer  Excursion  in  June,  1894,  for  which  occasion  a  short  account  of  the 
Antiquities  and  their  History  was  published,  with  a  copy  of  the  Ordnance  Survey 
Map  of  the  Hill,  and  a  Map  which  was  adapted  from  that  of  Dr.  Petrie,  as  given  in 
his  "Essay  on  the  History  and  Antiquities  of  Tara." 

The  earthworks  of  Tara  are  enumerated  in  the  Schedule  attached  to  the  Ancient 
Monuments  Protection  Act,  1882  (45  &  46  Viet.  cap.  73).  Under  the  provisions  of 
this  Act  the  owner  might  hy  deed,  under  his  hand,  constitute  the  Commissioners  of 
Public  "Works,  Ireland,  the  guardians  thereof.  It  appears  that,  in  the  case  of  Tara, 
no  such  deed  as  was  contemplated  hy  the  Act  was  executed  hy  the  owners. 

The  portion  of  the  Hill  in  which  the  greater  numher  of  the  mounds  are  situated, 
and  the  more  important  part,  is  on  the  property  of  Earl  Eussell ;  the  remaining  portion 
is  on  the  property  of  Mr.  G. '  V.  Briscoe. 

In  the  summer  of  1 899  attention  was  called  in  Parliament  to  the  fact  that  deep 
trenches  were  being  dug  through  the  Rath  of  the  Synods,  which  is  on  the  property  qf 
Mr.  Briscoe.  The  Board  of  Works  took  steps  to  stop  the  injury  to  this  mound,  but, 
finding  that  it  was  not  vested  in  them,  withdrew  from  any  further  interference  with 
the  owner. 

On  Lord  Russell's  portion  of  the  Hill,  where  the  more  important  of  the  existing 
structures  are  to  be  found,  there  has  been  no  visible  alteration  in  their  contour  since 
Petrie's  time.  The  Council  wrote  to  Lord  Russell  representing  the  importance  of 
preserving  the  present  condition  of  the  Hill,  and  requested  his  lordship  "not  to  allow 
any  excavations  to  be  made  on  his  property  at  Tara  unless  under  competent  archseo- 
logical  advice,  and  that  if  his  lordship  wishes  to  allow  excavations  to  be  made,  the 
Society  would  he  prepared  to  arrange  for  such  assistance,  in  the  way  of  advice  and 
supervision,  as  may  be  necessary."  To  this  communication  a  reply  was  received 
from  the  agent  of  the  property,  as  follows  : — "  My  instructions  from  Lord  Russell  are 
that  he  will  allow  no  excavations  to  be  made  on  his  property  at  Tara.  I  have  so 
noticed  Mr.  Briscoe." 

Mr.  Patrick  Boy  Ian,  of  Dublin,  it  appeared,  had  acquired  the  interest  of  a  long 
lease  of  lands,  of  which  Mr.  Briscoe  was  the  owner  in  fee.  The  Council  at  once 
put  themselves  in  communication  with  him.  Mr.  Boy  Ian  being  a  resident  in  Dublin, 
the  President,  Secretary,  and  Mr.  B.  R.  T.  Balfour,  of  Townley  Hall,  had  the 
advantage  of  several  personal  interviews  with  him,  with  the  result  that,  on  the 
loth  of  June,  he  intimated  that  he  withdrew  his  permission  to  Mr.  Briscoe  ;  and  on 
the  1st  July  last  Mr.  Boy  Ian  wrote  as  follows : — "  I  had  an  interview  with  Mr.  Briscoe, 
and  he  gave  me  to  understand  that  he  would  do  anything  I  require  in  reference  to 
Tara  Hill.  The  men  have  ceased  working  at  the  Hill,  and  Mr.  Groom  has  gone 
back  to  England." 

Mr.  Boylan's  premature  decease  within  the  last  few  weeks  has,  perhaps,  created 
some  uncertainty  as  to  the  ultimate  disposal  of  this  portion  of  Tara ;  but  for  the 
moment  nothing  can  be  done. 

The  condition  in  which  the  Rath  of  the  Synods  has  been  left  is  deplorable.  It  has 
been  trenched  over  almost  entirely  to  a  depth  of  from  8  to  10  feet,  and  in  some  places 
to  a  greater  depth.  "With  such  digging  up  and  destruction  of  the  contour  no 
archseological  body  could  for  a  moment  identify  themselves  ;  nor  could  your  Society 
consent  to  take  any  part  with  the  instigators  of  this  search  for  "  The  Ark  of  the 
Covenant." 


104        ROYAL    SOCIETY    OF    ANTIQUARIES    OF    IRELAND. 

Any  well-devised  scheme  for  the  scientific  investigation  of  the  antiquities  of  Tara 
would  require  not  only  money,  but  experience  on  the  .part  of  the  investigators,  and 
would  require  the  co-operation  of  Earl  Eussell  and  the  representatives  of  the  late  Mr. 
Boy  Ian. 

MEMBERSHIP. 

The  Council  regret  to  have  to  record  the  demise  during  the  year  of 
many  friends  of  the  Society.  The  following  is  a  list  of  the  Fellows 
and  Members  whose  deaths  have  been  notified,  with  the  dates  at  which 
they  joined  the  Society : — 

FELLOWS. 

Eight  Hon.  E.  H.  Cooper,  M.R.I.A.,  H.M.L.  (1871).  His  Honor  Judge  Kane,  LL.D., 
M.R.I.A..  (1893).  Daniel  M'Donnell,  M.A.,  M.D.  (1896).  Thomas  F.  Cooke-Trench, 
M.B.I.A.,  J.P.,  D.L.  (1888),  Vice- President.  Ralph  Hugh  Westropp,  B.A.  (1898). 
William  W.  Wilson,  M.R.I.A.,  PKES.  INST.  C.E.I.  (1894). 

MEMBERS. 

Rev.  John  "Westropp  Brady,  M.A.  (1889).  Thomas  Concannon,  Solicitor  (1898). 
Anderson  Cooper,  J.P.  (1893).  Lieut.-Col.  I.  H.  Donegan,  J.P.  (1890).  Robert  H. 
Plunkett  Dunne,  J.P.  (1893).  Mrs.  Henry  L.  Hognet  (1894).  Right  Hon.  the  Earl 
of  Kimberley,  K.G.  (1865).  Very  Rev.  Owen  Mac  Cartan,  P.P.,  V.G.  (1892).  Charles 
Mullin,  Solicitor  (1889).  Middleton  Moore  O'Malley,  J.P.  (1894).  N.  Power  O'Shee, 
J.P.,  D.L.  (1860).  Right  Rev.  Monsignor  O'SuUivan,  Archdeacon,  P.P.,  V.G.  (1889). 
Alexander  Patton,  M.D.  (1889>.  Percy  S.  Swan  (1889).  Henry  Pomeroy  Truell, 
M.D.,  J.P.,  D.L.  (1892).  James  Walby,  C.B.  (1895).  Walter  Saunders  Wall,  J.P. 
(1896). 

During  the  year  3  Fellows  and  56  Members  were  elected  (five 
Members  were  transferred  to  the  rank  of  Fellow\  and,  deducting  the 
names  of  those  removed  by  death  or  resignation,  and  those  struck  off 
the  Roll,  the  numbers  are  as  follows  : — Hon.  Fellows,  8  ;  Fellows,  178  ; 
Members,  1062.  Total,  1248. 

FINANCES. 

The  Hon.  Treasurer's  Report  shows  a  balance  of  £158  10s.  to  credit. 
The  amount  received  for  Life  Composition  during  the  year  was  £58  10s., 
and  for  the  two  preceding  years  £32  and  £54,  making  for  these 
periods  a  total  of  £144  10s.  It  has  been  the  practice  to  invest  the  sums 
received  in  Life  Compositions ;  and  as  no  investment  was  made  during  the 
past  three  years,  the  Council  have  added  £100  of  the  above  balance  to 
the  invested  funds. 

THE  INDEX. 

This  work,  which  has  occupied  the  time  and  attention  of  several 
members  for  some  years  past  in  its  production,  has  been  finally 
completed.  Part  III.,  compiled  by  Dr.  Wright  as  an  Index  to  the 
Illustrations,  was  issued  in  December.  The  volume  forms  an  Index 
to  the  Journal  for  the  forty-one  years  from  1849  to  1889,  inclusive.  The 
Council  have  also  published  as  an  Appendix  to  the  Index  Volume  a 


PROCEEDINGS.  105 

List  of  the  Drawings  of  Irish  Antiquities  made  by  the  late  G.  V. 
Du  Noyer,  which  are  contained  in  twelve  bound  volumes  in  our 
Library,  arranged  under  Counties.  The  List  has  been  compiled  by 
Mr.  T.  J.  Westropp.  These  drawings  form  an  important  contribution 
to  the  history  of  Irish  Antiquities. 

PRESIDENT. 

A  vacancy  occurs  in  the  office  of  President,  the  three  years  having 
elapsed  since  the  election  of  Professor  E.  Perceval  Wright,  M.A.,  M.D. 

Mr.  John  Ribton  Garstin,  M.A.,  F.S.A.,  D.L.,  has  been  nominated  as 
President  for  the  three  years  next  ensuing.  He  has  been  long  and 
intimately  connected  with  the  work  of  the  Society. 

HON.  TREASURER. 

Your  Council  regret  to  have  to  announce  the  resignation  of  Mr. 
William  C.  Stubbs,  M.A.,  as  Hon.  Treasurer,  on  account  of  the  increasing 
pressure  of  his  .professional  engagements.  Mr.  Stubbs  has  held  this 
responsible  office  since  the  commencement  of  the  year  1900,  and  has 
laboured  most  assiduously  and  successfully  for  the  benefit  of  the  Society. 
The  Council  desire  to  place  on  record  their  high  appreciation  of  the  value 
of  his  services. 

Mr.  Henry  J.  Stokes  has  been  nominated  as  his  successor,  to  be 
elected  at  the  Annual  General  Meeting. 

THE  COUNCIL. 

There  were  ten  Meetings  of  Council  held  during  the  year,  at  which 
the  attendances  were  as  follows  : — 

The  President,  9 ;  the  Hon.  General  Secretary,  9 ;  the  Hon.  Treasurer,  7  ; 
Henry  F.  Berry,  7;  George  D.  Burtchaell,  7;  Frederick  Franklin,  6;  Colonel 
Vigors,  3  ;  Dr.  Joyce,  3  ;  James  Mills,  4  ;  Rev.  Canon  Healy,  3  ;  Edward  Martyn,  5  ; 
Lord  Walter  Fitz  Gerald,  M.R.I.A.,  4;  Rev.  Canon  ffrench,  M.R.I.A.,  3;  Most  Eev. 
Bishop  Healy,  0  ;  Sir  Thomas  Drew,  0. 

In  accordance  with  Rule  17,  the  following  Members  of  Council 
retire,  and  are  not  eligible  for  re-election  at  the  Annual  General 
Meeting,  viz. : — 

H.  F.  Berry,  M.A.,  M.R.I.A.  ;  G.  D.  Burtchaell,  M.A.,  M.K.I.A.  ,  F.  Franklin, 
F.U.I.A.I.  ;  Most  Rev.  Bishop  Healy ;  and  Sir  Thomas  Drew,  P.R.H.A. 

Nominations,  in  compliance  with  Rule  16,  in  addition  to  those 
received  for  President  and  Hon.  Treasurer,  have  been  received  to  fill 
up  these  vacancies,  and  the  nominations  are  as  follows : — 

George  Coffey,  M.R.I.A.,  Fellow,  John  Cooke,  M.A.,  Fellow;  Joseph  H.Moore, 
M.A.,  Member;  George  Noble  Count  Plunkett,  F.S.A.,  M.R.I.A.,  Fellow;  William 
Grove- White,  LL.B.,  Member. 


106        ROYAL    SOCIETY    OF   ANTIQUARIES    OF    IRELAND. 

VICE-PRESIDENTS. 

The  retiring  Vice-Presidents  are  : — 

For  Leinster — John  Ribton  Garstin,  F.S.A.,  D.L.  ;  for  Ulster — Rev.  George  R. 
Buick,  LL.D.,  M.R.I. A.  ;  for  Munster— James  Frost,  J.P.,  M.R.I. A.  ;  and  for  Connaught 
—William  E.  Kelly,  D.L. 

There  is  also  a  vacancy  caused  by  the  lamented  decease  of  Thomas  P. 
Cooke-Trencb,  D.L.,  a  Vice-President  for  Leinster. 

The  nominations  received  for  these  vacancies,  in  accordance  with 
Rule  16,  are:— 

FOB  LEINSTER  : 

SIR  THOMAS  H.  GRATTAN  ESMONDE,  Bart.,  M.P.  (Member,  1890;  Fellow,  1902). 
WILLIAM  C.  STUBBS,  M.A.  (Member,  1890;  Fellow,  1900;  Hon.  Treasurer,  1900- 
1902). 

FOR  ULSTER  : 

THE  REV.  WILLIAM  T.  LATIMER,  B.A.  (Member,  1892  :  Fellow,  1896). 

FOR  MUNSTER: 

PROFESSOR  ED.  PERCEYAL  WRIGHT,  M.A.,  M.D.  (President,  1900-1902). 
FOR  CONNAUGHT : 

THE  MOST  REV.  DR.  HEALY,  Bishop  of  Clonfert  (Fellow,  1890). 

As  only  one  nomination  has  been  received  for  each  vacancy,  the 
foregoing  will  be  declared  as  elected  to  the  vacant  seats  on  the  Council, 
and  for  Hon.  Treasurer,  Vice-Presidents,  and  President,  respectively. 

EXCURSIONS. 

During  the  past  year,  in  addition  to  the  extended  Summer  Excur- 
sions in  July  and  August  from  Londonderry  as  a  centre,  excursions  were 
made  to  Drogheda  and  Slane  from  Dublin,  on  the  6th  of  May,  and,  in 
connexion  with  the  Kilkenny  Meeting,  an  excursion  was  arranged  on  the 
8th  of  October  to  Gowran,  Tullaherin,  Thomastown,  and  Jerpoint. 
The  places  visited  in  connexion  with  the  Londonderry  Meeting  have 
been  very  fully  described  and  illustrated  in  the  Journal,1  and  the  other 
excursions  are  noted  in  connexion  with  the  report  of  the  proceedings  of 
the  Dublin  and  Kikenny  Meetings  in  May  and  October  last. 

The  Meeting  at  Kilkenny  for  the  past  few  years  has  been  held  in 
the  last  quarter  of  tbe  year,  the  earliest  month  in  which — October — is 
not  considered  sufficiently  convenient  for  a  large  excursion.  It  is  pro- 
posed in  the  coming  year  to  hold  a  meeting  in  Kilkenny,  on  the  26th  of 
May,  with  excursions,  instead  of  in  October. 

1  See  "Proceedings"  in  vol.  32,  pp.,  277-320. 


PROCEEDINGS. 


107 


The  Summer  Excursion  for  1903  is  to  be  held  in  the  province  of 
Munster  ;  and  it  is  proposed  that  Youghal  should  be  visited  during 
the  last  week  in  July,  or  first  week  in  August.  With  a  good  Local 
Committee  to  make  the  necessary  arrangements  for  vehicles  and 
luncheon,  a  successful  meeting  could  be  held,  as  the  district  is  rich 
in  places  of  historical  and  archa3ological  interest. 

Programme  for  1903. — The  following  is  proposed  for  the  Meetings 
and  Excursions  in  the  year  1903  : — 


PLACE. 

DATE. 

REMARKS. 

Dublin,       .     .     . 

Tuesday,  *Jan.  27,  t 

(  Annual  Meeting  and  Evening 
\      Meeting,  for  Papers. 

Do.,         ... 

„         Feb.  24,| 

Evening  Meeting,  for  Papers. 

Do.,         .     .     . 

Mar.  31,t 

Do.                 Do. 

Do.,         .     .     . 

„       *April  28,  t 

Quarterly  Meeting. 

Kilkenny,         .     . 

„       *May    26, 

Evening  Meeting  and  Excursions. 

Youghal,     .     .     . 

„       *Aug.     4, 

Quarterly        Do.             Do. 

Dublin,        .     .     . 

„       *0ct.     6,f 

Do.             Do.             Do. 

Do.,         .     .     . 

Nov.  24,  f 

Evening  Meeting,  for  Papers. 

The  following  is  an  alphabetical  list  of  the  Pellows  and  Members 
elected  in  1902  : — 

FELLOWS. 

Beardwood,   William    H.,  M.R.I. A.I. ,  C.E.,  Architect,   102,   Great  Brunswick-street,. 

Dublin. 

Esmonde,  Sir  Thomas  H.  Grattan,  Bart.,  M.P.,  Ballynastragh,  Gorey  ( Member,  1890). 
FitzPatrick,  S.  A.  0.,  Glenpool,  Terenure  (Member,  1898). 
Iveagh,  The  Eight  Hon.  Baron,  K.P.,  LL.D.,  M.A.  (Dublin),  D.L.,  80,  St.  Stephen's- 

green,  Dublin. 

Rath-Merrill,  Mrs.  M.  E.,  80,  North  Weiner-avenue,  Columbus,  Ohio,  U.S.A. 
Somerville,   Bellingham  Arthur,    Clermont,    Rathnew,    County  Wicklow    (Member,. 

1892). 

Stokes,  Henry  J.,  Barrister-at-Law,  Ballynaiiagh,  Howth  (Member,  1898). 
Strangeways,  William  N.,  Lismore,  17,  Queen's-avenue,  Muswell  Hill,  London,  NV 

(Member,  1895). 

MEMBERS. 

Archer,  Miss  Brenda  E.,  The  Rectory,  Ballybunion,  County  Kerry. 
Bayly,  Col.  W.  H.,  Debsborough,  Nenagh. 
Behan,  Rev.  W.  J.,  c.c.,  Killeentierna,  Farranfore. 
Bellew,  The  Hon.  Mrs.,  Jenkinstown  Park,  Kilkenny. 

*  Railway  Excursion  Tickets  will  be  obtainable  for  these  Meetings, 
t  Members  of  the  Society's   Dinner  Club  will   dine   at  the   Shelbourne  Hotel,, 
Dublin,  at  6.30  p.m.  on  above  dates. 


108        ROYAL   SOCIETY    OF   ANTIQUARIES   OF   IRELAND. 

Blake,  The  Lady,  Myrtle  Grove,  Youghal,  County  Cork. 

Boland,  John,  M.P.,  12,  King's  Bench  Walk,  Temple,  London,  E.G. 

Browne,  Thomas,  Mill  House,  Dundalk. 

Butler,  Lieut. -Gen.  Sir  W.  F.,  K.C.B.,  Government  House,  Devonport. 

•Clarke,  A.  W.,  Shanagoolan,  Bray. 

Delaney,  James,  County  Surveyor,  Tullamore,  King's  County. 

Ferguson,  Rev.  Samuel,  B.A.,  Waterside,  Londonderry. 

Finegan,  Rev.  Peter,  c.c.,  St.  Patrick's,  Dundalk. 

•Gordon,  Patrick,  D.I.,  R.I.C.,  Dunmanway. 

Gormanston,  The  Viscountess,  Gormanston  Castle,  Balbriggan. 

Griffith,  Patrick  Joseph,  Professor  of  Music,  33,  Longwood-avemie,  Dublin. 

OruBb,  Miss  Rosa  F.,  Cool  quill,  Clogheen,  Cahir. 

Hilliard,  John,  Castlelough,  Killarney. 

Howie,  William  Forbes,  5,  Mount  Temple-ter.,  Dartry-road,  Palm erston Park,  Dublin. 

Irwin,  Rev.  George  F.,  B.D.,  M.A.,  The  Diamond,  Londonderry. 

Jones,  Arthur  Ireton,  135,  St.  Stephen' s-green,  Dublin. 

Jones,  Cromwell  Walter,  B.A.,  T.C.D.,  Ashroyd,  Dundrum,  County  Dublin. 

Kelly,  Owen  J.,  Blackrock,  Dundalk. 

Kelly,  Mrs.  Owen  J.,  Blackrock,  Dundalk. 

Kyle,  Valentine,  Joyce  Gorton,  County  Tyrone. 

Laverty,  Rev.  Francis,  P.P.,  Portglenone,  County  Antrim. 

Lytle,  Samuel  Douglas,  Maghera,  County  Londonderry. 

Maclnerney,  T.  J.,  1,  Palace-terrace,  Drumcondra,  and  27,  Lower  Sackville- street. 

MacNamara,  Rev.  John,  Mount  St.  Alphonsus,  Limerick. 

M'Connell,  Sir  Robert,  Bart.,  The  Moat,  Strandtown,  Belfast. 

Moore,  John,  117,  Graf  ton-street,  Dublin. 

Mullan,  James,  Castlerock,  County  Londonderry. 

Mullany,  Joseph  James,  H.  M.  Inspector  of  National  Schools,  Gal  way. 

Mulvany,  Rev.  Thomas,  c.c.,  Killucan,  County  Westmeath. 

Neale,  Walter  G.,  86,  Grosvenor-square,  Dublin. 

Nolan,  Rev.  John,  P.P.,  Ahoghill,  County  Antrim. 

O'Brien,  Conor,  Trinity  College,  Oxford. 

O'Connell,  Mrs.  Mary,  Killeen,  Killiney,  County  Dublin. 

O'Doherty,  Rev.  Philip,  P.P.,  Claudy,  Londonderry. 

O'Donovan,  Rev.  J.,  P.P.,  Loughrea,  County  Galway. 

Pirn,  Miss  Ida,  Lonsdale,  Blackrock,  County  Dublin. 

Pirn,  Miss  Norah,  10,  Herbert-street,  Dublin. 

Prochazka,  The  Baroness  P.,  Leyrath,  Kilkenny. 

Reynolds,  Mrs.  Kate  Isabella,  The  Mullens,  Ballyshannon. 

Roberts,  W.  Johnson,  Solicitor,  14,  Adelaide-road,  Dublin. 

Robertson,  Hume,  Rose  Park,  Monkstown,  County  Dublin. 

Shaw,  Frederick,  M.R.I.A.,  20,  Laurence- street,  Drogheda. 

Shiel,  H.  Percy,  Summerhill,  Nenagh,  County  Tipperary. 

Sibley,  John  Churchill,  Mus.  Doc.,  22,  Fernshaw-road,  West  Brompton,  London,  S.W. 

Smith,  Blair,  J.P.,  Errigal  House,  Laurence-street,  Londonderry. 

Smyth,  Mrs.  John,  64,  Dalymount,  N.  C.  Road,  Dublin. 

Spring,  Richard  Francis,  C.E.,  Polehore,  Wexford. 

Tweedy,  John,  Friendly  Brothers'  House,  22,  St.  Stephen's-green,  N. 

Ward,  Edward,  Ulster  Bank,  Dundalk. 

Weldon,  Rev.  P.  S.,  Nurney  Rectory,  Bagenalstown,  County  Carlow. 

West,  George  Francis,  M.D.,  Resident  Medical  Superintendent,  Kilkenny  County  and 

City  Lunatic  Asylum,  Kilkenny. 
Wilkinson,  George,  B.A.,  Ringlestown,  Kilmessan,  County  Meath. 


PROCEEDINGS. 

- 
Report  on  the  Photographic  Survey  during  1902  l : — 

The  number  of  photographs  in  platinotype  added  to  the  Society's  collection  during 
the  year  is  123.  Of  these,  8  of  County  Carlow  are  the  gift  of  Colonel  Vigors, 
and  73  of  Counties  Clare,  Limerick,  and  Meath,  of  the  Curator.  The  Society  has 
had  42  printed  from  negatives  lent  by  Dr.  George  Fogerty,  of  places  in  the 
Counties  of  Clare,  Galway,  Kerry,  and  Mayo.  This  raises  the  number  of  permanent 
photographs  to  1860.  Besides  these,  we  have  to  thank  Mr.  H.  Knox  for  55  bromide 
photographs  in  Mayo,  Galway,  Roscommon,  and  Kerry.  As  may  be  seen  by  this  and 
former  reports,  the  "  progressive  province"  is,  in  this  depailment  at  least,  non- 
progressive  since  1896.  Unfortunately  the  greater  advance  of  the  three  southern 
provinces  is  almost  entirely  due  to  only  about  half  a  dozen  energetic  members  of  the 
Society.  The  bound  volumes  are  twenty-one  in  number.  There  are  seven  volumes 
for  Clare,  two  each  for  Antrim,  Dublin,  and  Galway,  and  one  each  for  Cork,  Down, 
Kerry,  Kilkenny,  Limerick,  Mayo,  Meath,  and  Wexford.  The  preponderance  of  the 
first  county  has  resulted  from  a  gift  of  four  volumes  by  a  member  of  the  Society.  Of 
the  others,  seven  were  bound  in  1900,  and  ten  in  1901. 

The  additions  to  the  various  counties  during  the  year  are  : — 

COUNTY  OP  CARLOW. — Agha  church,  west  door.  Brownshill  cromlech  (2).  Clo- 
grenane  castle,  Leighlin,  cathedral  (2).  Old  Leighlin,  Black  castle,  after  the  fall  of  its 
south-west  angle  in  1888.  Nurney,  cross.  Total,  8. 

COUNTY  OF  CLARE. — Ballycarrol  castle.  Ballycullen  (Sixmilebridge)  castle. 
Ballygriffy  castle.  Ballykelly  (Broadford)  cromlech.  Caheraphuca  (Crusheen) 
cromlech.  Caherblonick  (Corofin)  fort  and  cromlech  ;  the  cliff  fort.  Cahercommaun 
(Castletown)  triple  fort.  Caheridoula  (Rathborney)  fort.  Caherlough  (Ruan)  fort. 
Cahermacnaughten,  O'Davoren's  Law  School  and  fort  (2).  Cahermurphy  (Kilmihil) 
fort.  Cappagh  (Glencolumbcille)  castle.  Cappaghbane  (Scariff)  cromlech  (2). 
Cappaghkennedy  (Castletown)  cromlech  (2).  Carncreagh  (Doulough)  cromlech. 
Clare,  Augustinian  Abbey  (2).  Cloghoolia  (Broadford)  cromlech.  Drummin  (Broad- 
ford)  cromlech.  Elmhill  (Broadford)  cromlech.  Ennis,  Franciscan  convent  (4). 
Fortanne  ^Tulla),  St.  Mochulla's  well.  Glencolumbcille,  St.  Columba's  church. 
Kilbrack  (near  Lisdoonvarna)  church.  Killokennedy  (Broadford)  cromlech.  Kilna- 
boy  church  and  round  tower  (2).  Kiltachy  (Boston)  church.  Knockshanvo  (Broad - 
ford),  cromlech.  Mohernacartan  and  Mohernaglasha  (Castletown)  forts.  Rannagh 
(Castletown)  cromlech.  Rathblamaic,  St.  Blathmaic's  church,  sheela,  and  carved 
sill  (2).  Rockvale  (Boston)  castle.  Scool  (Corofin)  castle.  Tirmicbrain  (Corofin) 
castle.  Violet  Hill  (Broadford)  cromlech.  Total,  51. 

COUNTY  OF  GALWAY. — Annaghdown  church,  carved  window  and  door  (2).  Clare- 
Galway,  Franciscan  convent  (4).  Drumacoo  (Clarinbridge)  church  (3).  Galway 
City,  church  of  St.  Nicholas  (2).  Inchagoill,  churches  (3).  Killeely  church  (2). 
Knockmoy,  Cistercian  Abbey.  Ross-Errily,  Franciscan  convent  (7).  Total,  26. 

COUNTY  OF  KERRY. — Abbeydorney  Cistercian  abbey  (6).  Rattoo,  round  tower 
(2).  Total,  8. 

COUNTY  OF  LIMERICK. — Kilbradran  church  and  fort.  MonasternagalliaghdufF 
(Shanagolden),  Augustinian  convent  (6).  Shanid  castle  and  mote.  Total,  8. 

COUNTY  OF  MAYO.— Cong  Abbey,  doorway.     Total,  2. 

1  Continued  from  vol.  xxxii.,  page  110,  by  T.  J.  Westropp,  Hon.  Curator. 


110         ROYAL    SOCIETY    OF    ANTIQUARIES    OF    IRELAND. 

COTJNTY  OF  MEATH. —  Ardmulchan  church  (2).  Baronstown  (Slane)  cross. 
•Castledexter  (Slane)  castle  (2).  Duleek  abbey  (4).  Dunmoe  castle  and  church  (5). 
Fennor  church  and  old  house  (3).  Slane,  the  bridge,  mote,  and  convent  (3). 
Total,  20. 

To  prevent  misapprehension  in  our  members,  we  may  inform  them  that  the  loose 
mounts,  interchangeable  albums,  and  Du  Noyer  sketches,  can  be  seen  by  permission 
of  the  Council,  and  by  subsequent  arrangement  with  the  Curator. 

PUBLICATIONS  EECEIYED  DURING  1902. 

Votes  of  thanks  were  passed  to  the  donors  of  the  following  publica- 
tions received  during  the  year  1902  l : — 

Aarb4>ger  for  Nordisk  Oldkyndihig  og  Historie,  1901,  11  R,  J6  B,  4  H,  and 
Memoire  des  Antiquaires  du  Nord.  N.S.,  1900,  1901  ;  American  Antiquarian  Society, 
N.  S.,  vol.  xiv.,  Parts  3-4  ;  vol.  xv.,  Part  1  :  L'Anthropologie,  vol.  xii.,  Nos.  5,  6  ; 
vol.  xiii.,  Nos.  1-5  ;  Antiquary,  The,  N.  S.,  1902  ;  Archaeologia  Cambrensis,  6th 
ser.,  vol.  ii.,  Parts  1-4,  and  Index  to  5th  ser. ;  Archaeologia  Cantiana,  vol.  xxv.  ; 
Belfast  Naturalists'  Field  Club,  ser.  2,  vol.  iv.,  part  7 ;  Bristol  and  Gloucestershire 
Archaeological  Society,  vol.  xxiv..  1,  2;  British  Archaeological  Association,  New  Ser., 
vol.  vii.,  4  ;  vol.  viii.,  1,  2  ;  Cambridge  Antiquarian  Society,  Proceedings,  Nov.,  1900, 
to  May,  1901;  also  "  Christ  Church  Cathedral"  (W.  G.  Searle),  No.  xxxiv.,  and 
"Twelve  Windows  in  Canterbury  Cathedral "  (Montague  Rhodes  James,  Litt.D.)  ; 
Cambridge,  Report  of  the  Library  Syndicate  for  1901  ;  Canada,  Geological  Survey, 
Catalogue  of  Birds,  Part  I.,  and"  Index  to  Reports,  1868-1884;  Chester  and  North 
Wales  Archaeological  and  Historical  Society,  vol.  viii. ;  Cork  Historical  and  Archaeo- 
logical Society,  2nd  Ser.,  vol.  viii.,  Nos.  52-55;  Epigraphia  Indica,  vol.  vi.,  7; 
vol.  vii.,  1,  2.  3;  Folk-Lore,  vol.  xii.,  4  ;  vol.  xiii.,  1,  2,  3  ;  Galway  Archaeological 
Society,  vol.  i.,  1901  ;  vol.  ii.,  1902  ;  Glasgow  Archaeological  Society,  Report  for 
Session  1900-1901,  and  vol.  iv.,  New  Ser.,  Part  2;  Henry  Bradshaw  Society, 
vol.  xxi.  ;  Historical  Society  of  Lancashire  and  Cheshire,  vol.  Hi.,  1900 ;  Hon. 
Society  Cymmrodorion,  Magazine,  vol.  xv.,  1900-1901  ;  Irish  Builder  for  1902 ; 
Kildare  Archaeological  Society,  vol.  in.,  6,  7  ;  Limerick  Field  Club,  vol.  ii.,  6. 
Numismatic  Society,  4th  Ser.,  3,  4,  1900-1901;  5-8,  1902-1903;  Numismatic  and 
Antiquarian  Society  of  Philadelphia,  Proceedings,  1899-1901 ;  Palestine  Exploration 
Fund,  1902  ;  Pennsylvania,  University  of,  Bulletin  of  Free  Museum  of  Science  and  Art ; 
Revue  Celtique,  vol.  xxii.,  4  ;  vol.  xxiii.,  1-3  ;  Royal  Archaeological  Institute  of 
•Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  vol.  Iviii.,  No.  232;  vol.  lix.,  Nos.  233-235;  Royal 
Dublin  Society,  Transactions,  vol.  viii.,  Parts  8-13 ;  Proceedings,  vol.  ix.,  Parts  3-4  ; 
Royal  Irish  Academy,  Proceedings,  vol.  xxxi.,  12-14;  vol.  xxxii.,  1,  2;  Royal 
Institute  of  British  Architects,  vol.  ix.,  3rd  Ser.,  1-4,  and  Kalendar  ;  Societe  d'  Archeo- 
logie  de  Bruxelles,  vol.  xv.,  3-4  ;  vol.  xvi.,  1,  2,  and  Annuaire  ;  Society  of  Anti- 
quaries of  London,  Proceedings,  vol.  xviii.,  2,  and  Archaeologia,  vol.  lii.,  2  ;  Society 
•of  Antiquaries  of  Newcastle-on-Tyne,  vol.  x.,  Nos.  13-27,  and  Archaeologia  Aeliana, 
Parts  57  and  58  ;  Society  of  Antiquaries  of  Scotland,  vol.  xxxv.,  1900-1901 ;  Society 
of  Architects,  N.  S.,  vol.  ii.,  Nos.  15-25,  and  Year  Book  ;  Society  of  Biblical 
Archaeology,  vol.  xxiii.,  8;  vol.  xxiv.,  1-8;  Somersetshire  Archaeological  and  Natural 
History  Society,  vol.  xlvii.,  1901,  and  General  Index  to  vols.  i.  to  xx.  and  xxi.  to  ad.  ; 
Suffolk  Institute  of  Archaeology,  vol.  xi.,  1  ;  Surrey  Archaeological  Collections, 
vol.  xvi. ;  Sussex  Archaeological  Collections,  vol.  xlv. ;  "  The  Reliquary  "  ;  Wiltshire 
Archaeological  and  Natural  History  Magazine,  vol.  xxxii.,  96  and  97,  and  Abstracts 
of  Ina-  p.  m.,  Hen.  III.,  Part  I.  ;  Yorkshire  Archaeological  Journal,  Parts  64,  65, 
1901:  Yorkshire  Philosophical  Society,  Annual  Reports  for  1901;  "Records  of  the 
Coote  Family  "  (Mons.  A.  de  Vlieger) ;  "A  Trip  to  the  Veddahs"  (Dr.  H.  M.  Miller 
and  Dr.  W.  Furness) ;  The  Wade  Genealogy,  Parts  2  and  3  (The  Tuttle  Company, 
Rutland,  Vermont,  U.  S.  A.) ;  The  Blake  Family  Records  (Martin  J.  Blake). 


Compiled  by  Mr.  R.  Langrishe,  Hon.  Keeper  of  Printed  Books. 


PEOCEEDINGS.  Ill 

The  President  then  declared  the  President  for  190^-1905,  and  the 
other  officers  as  named  in  the  Report,  duly  elected,  as  follows  : — 

PRESIDENT  : 

JOHN  RIHTON  GARSTIN,  M.A.,  F.S.A.,  D.L. 

VICE-PRESIDENTS  FOH  LEINSTER  : 

SIR  THOMAS  H.  GRATTAN  ESMONDE,  Bart.,  M.P.  (Member,  1890  ;  Fellow,  1902). 
WILLIAM  C.  STUBBS,  M.A.  (Member,  1890  ;  Fellow,  1900  ;  Son.  Treasurer,  1900- 
1902). 

VICE-PRESIDENT  FOR  ULSTER  : 

THE  REV.  WILLIAM  T.  LATIMER,  B.A.  (Member,  1892  ;  Fellow,  1896. 
VICE-PRESIDENT  FOR  MUNSTER  : 

PROFESSOR  ED.  PERCEVAL  WRIGHT,  M.A.,  M.D.  (President,  1900-1902). 

VICE-PRESIDENT  FOR  CONNAUGHT  : 

THE  MOST  RKV.  DR.  HEALY,  Bishop  of  Clonfert  (Fellow,  1890). 

HON.  TREASURER  : 

HENRY  J.  STOKES  (Fellow}. 

• 
AUDITORS  (re-elected)  : 

JOHN  COOKE,  M.A.  (Fellow). 

SAMUEL  A.  0.  FITZ  PATRICK  (Fellow). 

Colonel  Vigors  proposed  and  Canon  ffrench  seconded  a  resolution, 
which  was  passed  nem.  con.,  expressing  the  Society's  thanks  to  the  out- 
going President  for  the  admirable  way  in  which  he  had  fulfilled  the 
duties  of  his  office. 

The  Meeting  then  adjourned  until  8  o'clock,  p.m. 

EVENING  MEETING. 

The  Chair  was  taken  by  the  newly-elected  President,  JOHN  KIBTON 
GARSTIN,  D.L.,  M.A.,  M.R.I.A.,  F.S.A.,  who  delivered  his  Inaugural  Address, 
which  was  referred  to  the  Council  for  publication.  (See  p.  1.) 

A  Paper  on  "Kilree,  with  some  mention  of  Kells  in  Ossory,"  by 
Miss  J.  Clark,  having  been  read  by  the  Rev.  Canon  ffrench  (illustrated 
with  lantern  slides),  was  referred  to  the  Council  for  publication. 

TUESDAY,  February  24,  1903. 

An  Evening  Meeting  of  the  Society  was  held  on  Tuesday,  Feb.  24, 
1903,  in  the  Society's  Booms,  6,  St.  Stephen' s-green,  Dublin,  JOHN 
RJBTON  GARSTIN,  D.L.,  M.A.,  M.R.I.A.,  F.S.A.,  President,  in  the  Chair. 

Papers  were  read  by  Colonel  P.D.  Vigors,  J.P.,  Fellow,  on  "  A  List 
of  High  Sheriffs  of  the  County  of  Carlo w  from  the  earliest  date  to  the 
Last  Century,"  and  by  the  Rev.  Canon  ffrench  on  "  Celtic  Heraldry  and 
the  Arms  of  the  Kingdom  of  Ireland,"  both  of  which  were  referred  to 
the  Council  for  publication. 

The  Meeting  then  adjourned. 


112        ROYAL   SOCIETY    OF   ANTIQUARIES    OF   IRELAND. 


TUESDAY,  March  31,   1903. 

An  Evening  Meeting  of  the  Society  was  held  on  Tuesday,  March  31, 
1903,  in  the  Society's  Booms,  6,  St.  Stephen's-green,  Dublin,  JOHN 
RIBTON  GAKSTIN,  D.L.,  M.A.,  M.R.I.A.,  F.S.A.,  President,  in  the  Chair. 

The  following  Papers  were  read,  and  referred  to  the  Council  for 
publication,  viz. : — 

"A  Note  on  the  Age  of  Defensive  Motes  in  Ireland,"  by  Thomas  J.  Westropp, 
M.A.,  M.K.I.A.,  Vice -President. 

"Antiquities  of  the   Parish   of   Kilcomenty,     near    Birdhill,    County   Tipperary " 
(illustrated  by  lantern  slides),  by  Henry  F.  Berry,  M.A.,  M.R.I.A.,  Fellow. 

The  following  Papers  were  taken  as  read,  and  referred  to  the  Council 
for  publication : — 

li  The  Inisvickillane  Ogam-stone,"  by  Professor  Rhys,  Hon.  Fellow  (see  p.  79). 
"The  Donaghmore  Ogam,  Co.  Kildare,"   by   Professor   Rhys,    M. A.,   Hon.  Fellow 
(see  p.  75).  *  : 

"  On  a  Double  Cross  at  Duncrun,    Co.    Deny,"   by  the   Rev.   Dr.   Buick,    M.A., 
WM.R.I.A.  (see  p.  41). 

"  Note  on  Maghera,"  by  S.  F.  Milligan,  M.K.I.A.,  Vice- President  (see  p.  88). 
"The  Ogam  Monument  at  Kilbonane,"  by  R.  A.  Stewart  Macalister,  M.A.,  P.S.A. 

"  The   Career  of  Colonel  Richard  Grace,  Governor  of  Athlone,"  by  the  Very  Rev. 
'  J.  J.  Kelly,  P.P.,  V.F. 

"Notices    of  Cork  in  the  Seventeenth   and    Eighteenth   Centuries,"    by  Colonel 
Lunham,  M.A.,  C.B.,  M.R.I.A. 

The  Meeting  then  adjourned  until  28th  April,  1903. 


THE   JOURNAL 

OF 

THE  EOYAL  SOCIETY   OF   ANTIQUAEIES 

OF  IRELAND 
FOR   THE   YEAR   1903. 

PAPERS  AND  PROCEEDINGS-PART  II.,  YOL,  XXXIII. 


NOTES  ON  OGAM  INSCRIPTIONS, 

BY  PROFESSOR  RHYS,  M.A.,  D.LITT.,  HON.  FELLOW. 
[Submitted  MARCH  31,  1903.] 

I.—  THE  OLDMILLS  PIPER  STONE,  DONARD,  COUNTY  WICKLOW. 

$  the  26th  of  September  last,  Professor  Bury  accompanied  me  to 
Donard  to  see  the  stone  which  Father  Cavanagh  had  set  up  in  front 
of  his  house  ;  but  we  were  surprised  to  find  that  the  stone  was  not  there, 
and  that  Father  Cavanagh  had  left  for  another  parish.  However,  we 
had  not  long  to  search,  as  we  were  told  that  the  stone  had  been  removed 
to  the  grounds  of  the  squire,  Mr.  Norris  Goddard,  on  the  other  side  of 
the  road.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Goddard  received  us  most  cordially,  and  led  us 
at  once  to  the  stone  where  it  stands  on  their  grounds.  When  Father 
Cavanagh  was  leaving  Donard,  they  undertook  the  charge  of  the  stone  ; 
and  very  properly,  too,  as  it  had  come  from  a  site  at  Oldmills,  which 
was  owned,  unless  I  am  mistaken,  by  Mrs.  Goddard'  s  father. 

Mr.  Macalister  has  printed  his  reading  of  the  inscription  in  his 
"Epigraphy,"  Part  i.,  p.  77  (No.  49);  and  it  runs  thus  :— 

IA£1NI    kO!   MAji     MOJ  ?  f        p 

F  u~    Vcoi  '  ' 

It  had  been  already  published  by  him  in  the  Academy,  August  18th, 
1894  ;    and  this  led  me  and  Mrs.  Rhys  to  go  and  see  the  stone  on 

Tn,,r  R  <;  A  T  J  Vo1-  XI1I-»  Fifth  Sen  ) 

Jour.  R.S.A.I.  j  VoL  xxxuwConsec  Ser<  { 


[ALL    RIGHTS    RESERVED.] 


ROYAL   SOCIETY    OF   ANTIQUARIES   OF   IRELAND. 

September  llth,  1896.  "When  we  reached  the  place  where  the  stone  used 
to  be,  we  could  not  find  it ;  but,  after  making  a  tedious  search  for  it,  in 
a  drenching  rain,  we  discovered  that  it  had  not  long  before  been  taken  to 
Donard,  where  we  found  it  in  front  of  Father  Cavanagh's  house.  He 
made  us  welcome  ;  but  we  were  very  wet  and  miserable.  In  that  state 
I  tried  to  read  the  inscription,  with  Mr.  Macalister's  version  in  my  hands. 
I  am  now  inclined  to  think  that  I  followed  him  a  little  too  much  in 
accepting  his  suggestion,  that,  after  the  lettering  reached 
the  top,  it  ran  round  the  head  of  the  stone  and  down 
the  edge  nearest  to  that  on  which  it  started.  I  am 
now  disposed  to  think  that  it  only  barely  reaches  the 
next  edge  to  the  right,  the  edges  occupied  by  the  scoring 
being,  No.  1,  on  which  it  begins,  and  No.  2,  the  top 
edge  :  I  am  in  doubt  whether  it  extends  round  the 
corner  to  the  top  of  No.  3.1  The  great  difficulty  in 
reading  this  stone  is  the  fact  that  the  chinks  and  hollows 
made  by  the  natural  weathering  of  the  stone,  especially  at  the  top,  are 
almost  impossible  to  distinguish  from  the  work  of  the  inscriber.  On 
that  visit  we  guessed  the  Ogams  on  edge  1  to  have  made  IA^NIP^I  ; 
and  No.  2  we  found  to  begin  with  m,  beyond  which  we  could  not  proceed 
with  any  certainty,  though  we  thought  of  a  form  of  the  usual  maquimucoi. 
For  his  &,  Mr.  Macalister  read  one  oblique  score  on  the  B  side :  that 
score  seemed  to  us,  in  1898,  to  form  the  right-hand  wing  of  4\  which 
occurs  in  Wales  for^? ;  but  this  time,  on  getting  the  edge  better  cleaned, 
I  thought  the  middle  score  looked  more  like  the  result  of  accident  than 
a  portion  of  the  writing ;  while,  on  the  other  side,  Prof.  Bury  clearly 
traced  the  remaining  half  of  X.  So  the  first  edge  stands  thus  : — 


Where  the  qu  comes  there  is  an  ancient  flake  of  some  length,  so  that  the 
scores  are  somewhat  sunk  below  the  level  of  the  others ;  but  that  is  not 
all,  for  there  is  a  score  which  seems  to  make  straight  for  the  first  notcli 
of  the  next  vowel,  so  we  were  rather  at  a  loss  whether  to  read  ci  or 
que,  but  hardly  qui. 

The  top  corner  begins  with  an  undoubted  m,  followed  by  a  vowel- 
notch,  then  by  a  chink  and  another  vowel-notch  :  this  is  followed  by 
four  scores  which  slope  backwards  on  the  H  side ;  then  comes  a  chink 
followed  by  three  or  two  scores  on  the  sarnie  side,  and  with  nearly  the 
same  inclinations.  The  first  of  these  scores  is  certain ;  but  it  ends  in  the 

1  The  height  of  the  inscribed  edge,  No.  1  above,  is  4  feet  11  inches,  the  other 
edges  varying  from  4  feet  9  inches  to  5  feet  2  inches.  The  section  at  foot  is  nearly 
square,  1  foot  10  inches.  The  top  edges  vary  from  1  foot  7  inches  to  2  feet  2  inches. 


NOTES   ON   OGAM   INSCRIPTIONS.  115 

edge  like  a  vowel-notch:  the  next  one  is  the  same,  but  somewhat 
damaged  ;  and  there  is  room  for  a  third,  but  there  is  nothing  left  of  it 
except  the  notch  ;  that  is,  if  the  notch  is  not  merely  to  be  counted  with 
the  vowel-notches  that  take  up  the  rest  of  this  top  edge.  These  notches, 
therefore,  seem  to  make  six  or  five.  The  guesses  of  the  whole  of  this 
edge  will  stand  as  follows  : — 


M   u      cad 


o  ?       t  i 

The  combination  suggested  to  me  first  some  form  of  the  name  known 
in  Irish  hagiology  as  MocJita ;  but  there  are  several  objections  which  I 
will  not  discuss.  Then  there  remains  the  reading  mucadia,  which  I 
should  treat  as  standing  for  an  earlier  Mucatias.  In  fact,  this  may 
be  the  correct  reading,  with  the  s  omitted  and  the  a  placed  on  the  very 
corner  at  the  meeting  of  the  top  edge  No.  2,  with  the  edge  No.  3.  The 
name  would  be  the  noun  which  appears  in  later  Irish  as  muccaid,  genitive 
muccada  (or  muccado),  '  a  swineherd.7  But  it  occurs  also  as  a  personal 
name,  as,  for  instance,  in  the  "  Book  of  Leinster,"  fo.  347f,  352f,  and  374b. 
The  task  of  identifying  the  other  name  is  more  difficult,  though  the 
reading  is  more  nearly  certain.  Mr.  Macalister  suggests  lucJina  from  the 
Rennes  Dindsenchas  :  it  would  have  been  easier  to  accept  this  if  the  first 
two  letters  made  iu  or  io.  I  am,  on  the  whole,  more  inclined  to 
equate  the  name  with  Echen  (or  Eicheri),  genitivc<  Echin  (or  Echein  and 
Eichen) :  see  the  "Book  of  Leinster,"  fo.  318%  322%  328%  332bl,  333% 
334%  335%  338%  339a%  353%  and  Stokes's  "  Gorman,"  October  30th.  To 
me  the  etymology  of  the  name  is  obscure ;  but  the  ia  seems  to  have 
become  e,  as  in  words  like  the  Vlatiam-i  mentioned  above  in  my  notes  on 
the  Inisvickillane  Stone ;  and  as  to  the  alternative  ci  or  que  (possibly 
qui\  I  must  explain  that,  as  a  mere  matter  of  reading  the  scores,  I  think 
que  ought  to  have  the  preference  :  and  it  has  in  its  favour  the  coincidence 
with  the  second  vowel  of  Echen  ;  but  against  it  we  have  the  fact  of  the 
comparative  scarcity  of  words  with  qu — an  objection  largely  based, 
however,  on  one's  ignorance. 

Putting  the  foregoing  guesses  together  we  have : — 

laqueni  poi  Mucadia,  where  we  appear  to  have  to  regard  poi  as  the 
relational  word,  as  in  the  case  of  the  Monataggart  stone  reading  Bro- 
nienas  poi  Net  attr  ending  os  :  see  this  Journal  for  1902,  pp.  4,  5.  Accord- 
ingly, I  should  translate  as  follows: — "The  monument  of  Echen,  boy, 
nephew,  or  successor  of  Muccaid." 

One  word  more  :  I  do  not  consider  that  our  reading  of  the  top  edge 
approaches  finality.  It  is  given  merely  as  a  conjecture  ;  but  I  do  not 
regard  it  quite  as  hopeless  as  I  did  before,  or  as  Mr.  Macalister  seems  to 
do ;  and  I  should  be  very  glad  if  he  could,  when  next  in  this  country, 

12 


116         ROYAL   SOCIETY    OF   ANTIQUARIES    OF    IRELAND. 

examine  the  stone  again.  In  the  meantime  Prof.  Bury  has  promised  to 
induce  a  geological  friend  to  accompany  him  to  Donard,  and  try  to  dis- 
tinguish between  the  inscriber's  work  and  the  destructive  effects  of  the 
weather.  I  doubt,  however,  that  this  could  be  successfully  done  till  the 
stone  is  cleared  of  the  lichen  growing  on  it.  The  most  harmless  and 
effective  way  of  doing  that  would  be  to  have  the  stone  buried  in  the 
soil  for  a  few  months  ;  or  else  to  have  some  sort  of  a  rain-proof  building 
made  to  keep  it  dry  where  it  stands.  This  would  meet  any  objection 
which  might  be  made  to  having  the  stone  shifted  again  ;  but  the  building 
ought  to  allow  room  for  photographing  and  for  conveniently  examining 
all  the  four  edges  and  the  top  of  the  stone.  Then,  when  the  lichen 
is  gone,  it  would  be  possible  to  say,  perhaps  with  certainty,  whether 
there  is  an  inscription  on  the  edges  enclosing  the  face  diametrically 
opposite  to  the  one  in  question  in  this  note.  I  was  inclined  to  think 
that  I  saw  traces  of  writing  on  more  than  one  of  them.  I  am  sorry  to 
suggest  giving  Mr.  Goddard  so  much  trouble  in  addition  to  what  he  has 
already  most  ungrudgingly  taken  in  the  matter  of  this  most  interesting 
monument;  but  I  am  all  the  more  bold  to  do  so,  as  nobody  is  more 
anxious  than  he  and  Mrs.  Goddard  to,  arrive  at  a  complete  and  correct 
reading  of  the  Ogams. 

II.—  THE  CARNCOMB  OGAM,  CONNOR,  COUNTY  ANTRIM. 

This  has  repeatedly  occupied  my  attention  since  it  has  found  a  home 
in  the  Museum  of  Science  and  Art  in  Dublin.  My  guesses  in  June  last 
maybe  represented  thus  :  — 

CV  iSB«I    MAQUI   VOBARACI. 

alu     o  la 

In  some  of  the  most  doubtful  parts,  I  was  able  to  point  to  agreement 
with  the  readings  of  Dr.  Buick,  whose  carefully  revised  version  is  now 
before  the  readers  of  this  Journal,  1902,  pp.  240-3.  "When  in  Dublin  in 
September,  I  spent  a  good  deal  of  time  gazing  at  this  difficult  bit  of 
reading,  and  made  some  progress,  as  I  am  inclined  to  think,  with  my 
letters.  My  first  guess  of  the  first  name  proved  to  be  C-mLasboi,  with 
a  somewhat  intelligible  genitive.  For  a  genitive  would  be  required  to 
precede  loi,  that  is,  if  one  is  to  regard  it  as  a  spelling  of  the  poi  of  other 
Ogams.  On  my  pointing  out  the  m  to  Mr.  Coffey,  he  at  once  detected 
another  thin  line  drawn  nicely  parallel  to  what  I  read  as  m  :  this  meant 
a  g,  a  genitive  Cag^as  on  which  we  have  not  been  able  to  improve  since. 
So  the  whole  stands  thus  :  — 


M  A    QU 


NOTES    ON    OGAM    INSCRIPTIONS.  117 

One  of  the  chief  differences  between  this  and  Dr.  Buick's  reading  is  that 
he  finds  a  v  following  the  ca ;  but  I  can  only  find  certain  abrasions  which 
come  opposite  the  ca  and  not  after  it ;  and  they  seemed  to  me  to  be  wide 
and  indefinite  for  comparison  with  the  rest  of  the  scoring.  After  the 
g,  and  at  a  distance,  come  three  notches ;  and  the  intervening  gap  contained 
probably  a  notch  :  it  would  mean  crowding  them  rather  to  suppose  that 
there  were  two  in  it.  The  first  notch  of  the  o  of  loi  is  in  a  hollow 
beyond  which  the  edge  becomes  very  rounded,  with  the  result  that  the 
vowel-notches  become  as  long  as  the  m,  whence  it  is  that  Dr.  Buick 
suggests  g  or  d.  The  spacing  of  what  I  read  as  the  i  of  loi  is  exact ; 
and  the  notches  fail  to  incline  enough  to  yield  g  among  their  number : 
that  is  my  impression.  The  a  of  maqui  is  damaged,  and  so  is  the  o  of 
Vobaraci ;  but  there  seems  to  be  room  enough  there  for  two  notches 
without  overcrowding. 

The  inscription  would  seem  to  mean  '  [The  monument]  of  Caig,  son  of 
Pobrach.'  The  latter  name  may  possibly  be  that  which  occurs  as  Folraech 
in  a  passage  quoted  by  Stokes  from  the  "  Annals  of  Innisfallen,"  A.D. 
500 :  see  the  Revue  Celtique,  xvij.  126.  Caig  is  a  name  I  have  not 
found ;  but  that  is  the  form  to  be  expected  from  a  nominative  Cagi-s, 
genitive  Cage-as  or  Cagi-as :  it  is  probably  related  to  the  element  cag 
in  the  genitive  Netacagi  on  a  stone  at  Castletimon,  in  Wicklow,  and 
possibly  to  the  first  element  in  the  old  name  Cogidulnos,  or  Cogidumnos  : 
it  may  have  meant  a  '  hedge,  fence,  defence,  or  protection/  . 


NOTES. 

Here  I  append  one  or  two  notes  which  I  wish  to  add  in  reference  to 
my  Paper  in  this  Journal  for  1902,  pp.  1-41  : — 

1.  Since  writing  of  stone  No.  15,  belonging  to  the  MacGillicuddy  group, 
and  reading  Gosocteas  mosac  Hapini,  I  have  come  across  other  spellings 
of  mosac  besides  mossach,  genitive  mossaig.  0' Curry,  in  his  "  Manuscript 
Materials,"  p.  485,  gives  a  poem  of  Dubthach  ua  Lugair,  in  which  the 
words  occur,  ar  maig  mossaid  '  upon  Magh  Mossaid  (see  the  "  Book  of 
Leinster,"  fo.  45a,  line  36).  O'Curry  fixes  the  place  in  the  barony 
of  Eliogarty,  in  County  Tipperary.  To  be  consistent  in  his  spelling, 
he  ought  to  have  written  Magh  Mossaidh.  In  any  case,  the  d  here 
meant  what  is  written  dh\  but  it  was  sounded  the  same  as  the 
g  of  mossaig,  namely,  as  gh,  a  practice  which  accounts  for  the  frequent 
confusion  in  medieval  manuscripts  between  g  and  d  non-initial.  So  in 
the  Rennes  Dinnsenchas  (Rev.  Celtique,  xvi.J  161,  162),  we  have  a 
mention  of  an  unidentified  place  called  Seg  Mosad.  Stokes,  in  his  text, 
prints  it  "Mossad  mac  Main,"  «  Mossad  son  of  Maen ' ;  but  if  the 
MS.  permits  it,  one  might  perhaps  suggest  Mossad  Mec  Mam,  'Mac 


118   ROYAL  SOCIETY  OF  ANTIQUARIES  OF  IRELAND. 

Maen's  mossag  '  ;  and  if  Beg  cannot  have  meant  anything  else  than  a 
hawk,  one  would  be  tempted  to  treat  seg  mossad  as  a  compound, 
segmossag,  which  might  mean  literally  a  hawk-servant,  or  some  kind  of 
a  falconer  ;  better  perhaps  segmossag,  '  a  strong  servant.' 

But  to  give  the  story  a  little  sense  and  consistency,  it  seems  to  me 
requisite  to  introduce  a  place-word  into  it,  and  the  vocable  wanted  is 
suggested  at  once  by  the  words  in  the  text,  isin  muigh,  *  in  the  plain' 
(magh,  dative-ablative  muigh}.  The  original  heading  must  have  been 
Mag  Segmossag  or  Mag  Segmossaig,  according  as  the  genitive  is  construed 
plural  or  singular.  One  or  other  would  seem  to  have  been  the  earlier 
name  of  the  place  called  later  Mag  Mossaig.  Lastly  this  word  occurs  in 
a  passage  in  the  "  Courtship  of  Momera,"  published  by  0'  Curry  in  the 
same  volume  as  his  "  Battle  of  Magh  Leana."  I  refer  to  pp.  156-9,  where 
Eoghan  Taidhleach  enumerates  certain  of  his  foster-brothers  and  other 
favourites  who  were  to  accompany  him  to  Spain.  The  short  list  closes 
with  the  words  :  acus  Mosad  mo  gilla,  diatd  Magh  Mosaid,  which 
O'Curry  renders,  "  and  Mosadh,  my  servant,  after  whom  Magh  Mosadh 
is  called."  Here  I  should  suggest  that  a  more  original  form  of  the 
story  probably  read  for  Mosad  mo  gilla  simply  mo  mosad,  that  is  to  say, 
'  my  servant.'  This  may  be  regarded,  I  think,  as  corroborating  the  view 
that  the  word  meant  gilla  or  servant  ;  but  the  etymology  of  the  word  is 
a  desideratum  ;  and  so  far  I  cannot  decide  whether  the  last  consonant 
of  mossach  was  c  or  g  before  it  was  reduced  to  the  spirant  which  we  have 
found  so  often  wrongly  written  d. 

2.  A  friend  has  expressed  his  surprise  at  my  reading  stone  No.  11, 
from  the  neighbourhood  of  Killorglin  : 


MAQUI  R          ECTA 

So  I  had  Mr.  Coffey's  permission  to  get  the  glass-case  removed,  so  as 
to  be  able  to  feel  the  scores,  and  turn  them  towards  the  light.  The 
result  was  that  he  and  I  could  entertain  no  manner  of  doubt  as  to  the 
four  scores  for  c. 

3.  The  same  friend  having  also  suggested  ogg  where  I  had  read  olg, 
namely,  in  Olgodipoi,  on  the  Aglish  stone,  No.  20,  I  examined  it  again, 
with  the  result  that  I  failed  to  read  gg.  I  shall  be  glad  to  hear  of  my 
friend's  having  an  opportunity  of  again  looking  at  both  these  stones. 


[To  face  page  119. 


WILLIAM  KING,  D.D. 

(From  the  Portrait  in  the  Theatre,  Trinity  College,  Dublin.) 


DIARY  OF  WILLIAM  KING,  D.D.,  ARCHBISHOP  OF  DUBLIN, 
DURING  HIS   IMPRISONMENT   IN   DUBLIN   CASTLE. 

EDITED  (WITH  INTRODUCTION,  NOTES,  AND  APPENDIX) 
BY  HUGH  JACKSON  LAWLOR,  D.D. 

[Read  JANUAKY  28,  1902.] 
INTRODUCTION. 

rPHE  story  of  the  life  of  Archbishop  King  has  been  so  fully  told  by  the 
late  Professor  G.  T.  Stokes,1  that  it  is  unnecessary  here  to  do  more 
than  chronicle  a  few  leading  dates,  so  far  as  the  earlier  years  of  his 
career  are  concerned. 

William  King  was  born  in  the  North  of  Ireland  in  the  year  1650,  and 
at  the  age  of  seventeen  entered  Trinity  College,  Dublin.  His  course 
there  seems  to  have  been  distinguished;  and  in  1672  he  competed, 
but  unsuccessfully,  for  Fellowship.  His  answering  at  the  Fellowship 
examination  was  sufficiently  good  to  attract  the  notice  of  John  Parker, 
Archbishop  of  Tuam,  and  for  his  diocese  he  was  ordained  deacon  by  the 
Bishop  of  Derry  in  1673.  In  April,  1674,  he  was  advanced  to  the 
priesthood.  Parker  gave  him  the  Prebend  of  Kilmainmore,  and  subse- 
quently the  Provostship  in  Tuam  Cathedral.  A  few  years  later  the 
Archbishop  was  translated  to  Dublin  ;  and  in  1679  he  presented  King  to 
the  living  of  St.  Werburgh's,  and  the  office  of  Chancellor  in  St.  Patrick's 
Cathedral.  John  Worth  was  at  the  time  Dean.  Nine  years  afterwards 
illness  obliged  him  to  relinquish  the  rule  of  his  cathedral,  and  he  nomi- 
nated the  Chancellor  Sub-Dean.  On  his  death  in  April,  1688,  the 
Chapter,  by  a  unanimous  vote,  elected  King  as  their  President.  A 
contest  with  the  Government  caused  a  long  delay  in  the  appointment  of 
Worth's  successor,  but  at  length  the  Chapter  met  26th  January,  1688-9, 
and  William  King  was  elected  Dean  of  St.  Patrick's. 

We  have  now  reached  the  year  of  King's  imprisonment,  and  it  becomes 
necessary,  for  the  elucidation  of  the  Diary  which  is  here  for  the  first 
time  printed,  to  follow  the  history  of  the  time,  and  of  King  himself, 
somewhat  more  minutely. 

It  is  well  known  that,  in  the  early  months  of  the  eventful  year  1689, 
there  was  a  considerable  exodus  of  Protestants  from  Ireland.  Amongst 
those  who  left  was  Francis  Marsh,  Archbishop  of  Dublin.  Marsh  had 
summoned  his  clergy  to  a  Visitation,  to  be  held  on  the  8th  April,  and  it 
was  necessary  to  appoint  commissaries  to  act  for  him  at  it,  and  to  watch 
over  the  diocese  during  his  absence  in  England.  For  this  purpose  he 

1  Worthies,  Lectures  vii.-xv.  For  references  to  the  authorities  quoted  in  this 
Paper,  see  p.  139. 


120        110 YAL   SOCIETY    OF    ANTIQUARIES   OF   IRELAND. 

selected  two  of  the  more  prominent  clergy,  William  King  and  Samuel 
Foley.  A  copy  of  the  deed  of  their  appointment  as  commissaries  is  pre- 
served in  the  Diocesan  Eegister.  It  is  dated  5th  February,  1688-9.  Ten 
days  before,  as  we  have  seen,  King  had  been  elected  Dean  of  St.  Patrick's, 
and  without  loss  of  time  Foley  had  been  appointed  to  succeed  him 
as  Chancellor  of  St.  Patrick's1  and  Incumbent  of  St.  Werburgh's, 
Dublin,  and  St.  Canice's,  Finglas.  Thus  the  Archbishop  had  made  all 
needful  preparation  for  his  departure.  He  seems  to  have  left  Ireland 
a  few  days  later,  for,  on  26th  February,  John  Fitzgerald  resigned  the 
Archdeaconry  of  Dublin,  and  his  resignation  was  accepted  the  same  day 
by  King  and  Foley,  acting  as  commissaries  for  the  Archbishop.  This 
fact,  which  is  attested  by  the  Diocesan  Eegister,  indicates  that  Francis 
Marsh  was  already  absent  from  Dublin.  He  was  apparently  followed 
shortly  afterwards  by  Samuel  Foley  ;2  and  thus  it  came  that  King,  from 
about  Easter  onwards,  was  the  real  ruler  of  the  diocese.  "  I  took  upon 
me,"  he  writes,3  "the  jurisdiction  of  the  entire  diocese,  and,  with  the 
consent  of  the  clergy,  ordered  all  things,  as  though  invested  with  full 
authority  so  to  do."  And  the  statement  is  confirmed  by  a  very  interest- 
ing letter  addressed  to  him  by  the  Rev.  Jeremiah  Dawson,  28th  May,  1689, 
and  preserved  in  the  valuable  collection  of  Mrs.  Lyons.  King  had  written 
to  him  complaining  of  his  neglect  of  his  parishes  of  Kathdrum,  Dungans- 
town  and  Derrylossary,  in  the  county  of  Wicklow.  Dawson  defends 
himself  against  the  charge,  but  admits  the  right  of  Dean  King  to  inquire 
into  his  management  of  his  cure,  since  "my  Lord  Archbishop  had  .  .  . 
left  the  care  of  the  diocese  upon  him  in  his  absence." 

Meanwhile,  under  the  strong  hand  of  Tyrconnell,  things  had  rapidly 
advanced  in  Dublin  and  throughout  Ireland.  The  Protestants  had  been 
deprived  of  their  arms  in  February ;  King  James,  after  landing  at 
Kinsale  on  the  12th  March,  had  entered  Dublin  on  Palm  Sunday,  24th 
March.  Then  followed  his  short  and  unfortunate  visit  to  the  besiegers 
of  Deny,  and  his  famous  Parliament  in  Dublin,  at  which  the  Act  of 
Settlement  was  repealed  and  the  great  Act  of  Attainder  passed.  The 
first  act  of  the  sad  drama  ended  with  the  prorogation  of  Parliament, 
20th  July,  1689.  By  the  end  of  July  the  fortunes  of  King  James  were  at 
a  low  ebb  ;  disaster  followed  disaster.  At  the  battle  of  Killiecrankie  on 
the  27th,  the  death  of  Claverhouse  had  deprived  him  of  his  chief  sup- 
porter in  Scotland ;  on  the  30th,  Kirk  had  entered  Deny,  and  two  days 
later  the  siege  was  raised  ;  on  the  30th,  too,  Justin  Mac  Carthy,  Yiscount 
Mountcashel,  had  been  defeated  by  the  Enniskilleners  at  Newtown  Butler 

1  He  was  installed  31  January  (Chapter  Minutes). 

2  In  the  Act  of  Attainder  "  Samuel  Folio,  Chancellor  of  St.  Patrick's,"  is  named 
among  those  who  "have  absented  themselves  from  this  kingdom,  and  have  gone  into 
England,  or  some  other  places  beyond  the  seas,  since  the  fifth  day  of  November  last, 
or  in  some  short  time  before,  and  did  not  return  "  (S.  P.  I.,  pp.  276,  8). 

3E.  H.  E.,  p.  318. 


DIARY  OF  WILLIAM  KING,  D.D.,  ARCHBISHOP  OF  DUBLIN.    121 

and  taken  prisoner ;  and,  above  all,  the  redoubtable  Schomberg  had 
arrived  at  Chester  on  the  20th,  and  was  waiting  his  opportunity  to  cross 
over  to  Ireland. 

It  was  probably  the  approach  of  Schomberg  which  was  the  immediate 
cause  of  the  imprisonment  of  a  considerable  number  of  Protestants  in  the 
city  of  Dublin,  which  took  place  towards  the  end  of  the  month.  Among 
the  rest  twelve  men  of  good  position  were  sent  to  Newgate,  some  of 
whom  were  transferred  to  the  Castle,  and  some  to  Trinity  College.1 
Others,  of  whom  the  Dean  of  St.  Patrick's  was  one,  were  sent  direct  to 
the  Castle.  Others,  doubtless,  were  imprisoned  elsewhere. 

About  King's  imprisonment  there  is  a  considerable  amount  of  ob- 
scurity. In  the  first  place,  it  is  impossible  to  speak  with  confidence  as 
to  the  reason  assigned  for  it.  We  may  surmise,  indeed,  that  its  real 
motive  was  the  desire  to  have  a  strong  man,  suspected  to  be  in  more  or  less 
close  sympathy  with  the  Williamite  party,  and  undoubtedly  ready  on  all 
occasions  to  resist  attempts  to  harass  the  Church,  out  of  the  way.  And 
King  certainly  implies  that  no  charge  of  any  kind  was  brought  against 
him.  "  Almost  all  the  Protestant  Gentlemen,"  he  writes2 — and  he  was 
among  the  number — "  without  Reason  or  pretence  of  Reason,  without 
so  much  as  a  Warrant,  or  Form  of  Law,  were  put  in  Goals  (sic)  under 
the  custody  of  mean  and  barbarous  Guards."  But  Leslie  challenges  the 
statement.  "  Was  not  he  accused  for  holding  Correspondence,  and  giving 
Intelligence  to  the  Rebels  (as  they  were  then  called)  both  in  England  and 
the  North  of  Ireland ?  And  was  it  not  true  ?  Did  he  not  give  frequent 
Intelligence  to  Schomlerg  by  one  Sherman,  and  keep  constant  Correspon- 
dence with  Mr.  Toilet  and  others  in  London  ?  He  knows  this  would  have 
been  called  Treason  in  those  days,  and  a  bloody-minded  Tyrant  would 
have  found  another  Remedy  for  it  than  a  short  Imprisonment."3  King 
will  not  admit  the  truth  of  these  insinuations,  but  his  denials  are  not 
altogether  satisfactory.  In  his  manuscript  notes  for  a  rejoinder  to 
Leslie4  he  writes  against  the  passage  just  quoted,  u  Most  false  y1  he  was 
accused  of  correspondence]  ;  knows  no  such  man  as  Sherman."  And 
in  a  more  formal  reply,  in  a  letter  addressed  ten  years  afterwards  to  Dean 
Trench,  he  has  these  words :  "  As  for  their  finding  any  of  my  letters,  it's 
most  horribly  false,  they  never  had  nor  cou'd  have  any  such,  nor  did  my 
Lord  Chief e  Justice,  Herbert,  ever  tax  me  with  any  such  thing."6  But 
the  real  question  is  not  what  accusation  his  friend  Herbert  may  or  may 
not  have  brought  against  him :  we  want  to  know  whether  he  was,  rightly 
or  wrongly,  suspected  by  Nugent,  or  others  in  authority,  of  sending 

1  See  below,  p.  141,  and  note  2  there. 

2  S.  P.  I.,  chap,  in.,  §  7,  p.  92. 

3  Leslie,  p.  105. 

4  Lyons  Collection  (see  Historical  Manuscripts  Commission,  Appendix  to  Second 
Report,  p.  236). 

5  Mason,  p.  211. 


122        ROYAL    SOCIETY    OF   ANTIQUARIES    OF    IRELAND. 

information  to  the  enemy.  Again,  it  may  be  quite  true  that  he  did  not 
know  Sherman;  but  he  makes  no  such  affirmation  with  respect  to  George 
Toilet  of  London ;  and  in  fact  he  was  in  correspondence  with  that  ardent 
Williamite — clearly  no  new  acquaintance — in  February,  1 688-9. l  And, 
finally,  whoever  will  read  his  own  account  in  the  following  Diary  of  his 
interview  with  Judge  Nugent  on  15th  August,  will  have  no  doubt  that 
at  least  Nugent  professed  to  believe  that  he  had  been  guilty  of  treason- 
able correspondence.  The  riddle  appears  to  us  to  be  in  part  solved, 
without  the  necessity  of  accusing  King  of  any  want  of  good  faith,  by 
the  following  passage,  which  we  translate  as  well  as  we  can,  from  his 
Autobiography : — 

"We  (so.  Anthony  Dopping,  Bishop  of  Meath,  and  himself)  were 
regarded  as  oracles,  and  whatever  news  they  (the  Protestants)  heard 
they  used  to  bring  to  us;  they  used  to  tell  us  about  any  ill-usage 
they  had  suffered  or  feared ;  so  that  almost  the  whole  history  of  what 
was  done  became  known  to  us — private  letters  addressed  to  themselves, 
others  of  a  public  nature,  public  instruments,  proclamations,  ordinances, 
even  copies  of  documents  which  were  kept  in  the  presses  of  the  secre- 
taries, were  communicated  to  me.  About  these  things  we  used  often 
to  speak  in  conversation  with  our  friends,  who  sent  notes  of  things 
which  we  had  said  with  regard  to  their  affairs  to  friends  in  England  and 
the  North  of  Ireland,  and  very  imprudently  blazoned  them  about  as 
mine.  And  when  these  things  were  reported  by  spies  to  the  faction 
of  King  James,  I  myself  was  regarded  as  the  author  of  them  all,  and 
suffered  very  severely  in  consequence."2  No  charge  may  have  been 
alleged  at  the  moment  of  King's  arrest ;  but  these  quotations  leave  little 
doubt  as  to  the  nature  of  the  accusation  which  was  subsequently  made ; 
and  they  tend  to  justify  James  and  his  Privy  Council  in  regarding  the 
Dean  of  St.  Patrick's  as  "  a  dangerous  man." 

In  what  part  of  the  Castle  was  King  imprisoned  ?  The  question  is  of 
little  moment,  and  cannot  be  answered  with  assurance.  It  is  sometimes 
asserted  without  misgiving  that  he  and  his  companions  were  lodged  in 
the  Birmingham  Tower,3  to  which  one  writer  adds,  by  way  of  explanation, 
that  his  prison  was  "  at  the  very  top  of  the  Eecord  Tower,  now  filled  with 

1  A  letter  in  Toilet's  hand,  without  address,  year,  or  signature,  but  endorsed,  in 
King's  writing,  "  Mr.  Toilet,  Feb.  22,  1688,"  is  preserved  in  a  collection  of  letters 
which  belonged  to  the  late  Bishop  Reeves  (T.C.D.  MS.  1 122,  No.  5).    It  quite  justifies 
Leslie's  significant  question.     An   interview  with   Sehomberg  is  mentioned,  in  the 
course  of  which  Toilet  spoke  to  him  about  "Dr.  K.  and  ye  Arch  BP.  of  D."     He 
begs  King  to  inform  him  of  "the  quarters  of  all  troops  and  companys,  the  number 
of  Protestants  in  Dublin,   w*  [compajnies  are  made  Garrisons,    and  "whatever  you 
conceive  [....]  inquisition  of  one  that  extreamly  longs  to  serve  his  frends  in  time  of 
need."     One  sentence  is  worth  transcribing:  "  Upon  the  Ks  election  to  ye  crown, 
several  of  our  Irish-English  here,  writ  extravagant  letters  into  Ireland,  nay  to  ye 
Deputy  himself,  and  I'm  atfraid  you  have  or  will  find  ye  effects  of  those  undecent 
heats." 

2  E.  H.  R.,  p.  318.  3  E.g.  Lough  Erne,  p.  80. 


DIARY  OF  WILLIAM  KING,  D.D.,  ARCHBISHOP  OF  DUBLIN.     123 

ancient  records."1     That  is  to  say,  King  was  confined  in  the  tower  which 

is  noiv  known  as  the  Birmingham  Tower,   but  which  he  knew  as  the 

Wardrobe  Tower.2     That  may  be  true.     His  way  of  speaking  of  that 

which  he  called  the  Birmingham  Tower,  at  17th  September,  makes  it 

unlikely  that  he  was  in  it.      He  was  certainly  (it  is  everywhere  implied 

in  the  Diary)  in  a  room  pretty  high  up,  with  a  considerable  number  of 

prisoners  below  and  none  above  him — as  it  appears,  in  "  a  cold  nasty 

garret."3   It  must  have  been  difficult,  in  the  semi-ruinous  Castle  of  those 

days,  to  find  such  a  place,  except  in  one  of  the  towers,  and  apparently 

almost  all  of  these  had  fallen  except  the  two  that  have  been  mentioned.4 

The  date  of  King's  imprisonment  is  not  wholly  without  importance, 

and  here  again  we  are  in  difficulty.     His  own  testimony  is,  indeed,  very 

precise.     "  On  the  25th  of  July,  1689, 1,  and  many  others,  were  arrested 

and  committed  to  prison."    And  equally  precise  is  his  statement  that  on 

the  4th  December,  after  an  incarceration  of  nearly  five  months,  he  was 

released.5    Eut  unfortunately  King's  recollection  of  dates  is  not  to  be 

trusted.6     In  the  present  case  he  is  inconsistent  with  himself.     For  from 

25th  July  to  4th  December  is  not  "  nearly  five  months."     In  fact,  it  is 

certain  that  his  arrest  took  place  before  25th  July ;  for  on  the  24th  he 

wrote  to  Price  asking  him  to  act  as  Sub-Dean  of  St.  Patrick's,  and  in  his 

letter  he  distinctly  states  that  he  was  "  now  under  confinement."7     It  is, 

I  suppose,  on  the  authority  of  this  letter  that  Mason  states  definitely  that 

he  was  sent  to  the  Castle  on  24th  July.8     But  this  is  scarcely  probable. 

It  is  true  that  a  man  of  King's  vigour  and  sense  of  duty  would  not  be 

likely  to  let  much  time  pass  before  he  made  such  arrangements  as  were 

possible  for  the  performance  of  his  work  at  the  Cathedral ;  but  even  he 

can  scarcely  be  supposed  to  have  sat  down  to  write  letters  the  moment 

the  doors  of  his  prison  were  closed  behind  him ;  and  we  must  not  assume 

that  pens,  ink,  and  paper  were  at  once  supplied  to  him.    There  is,  indeed, 

evidence  which  points  to  his  having  been  deprived  of  liberty  two  or  three 

days  before  he  wrote  to  Henry  Price.     It  cannot  be  stated  very  shortly, 

but  as  the  Church  Historians  tell  us  very  little  about  it,  and  as  it  is  of 

some  interest  for  its  own  sake,  we  need  not  scruple  to  devote  a  few 

paragraphs  to  it. 

1  Worthies,  p.  191.  2  See  below,  note  187. 

1  S.P.  I.,  chap,  m.,  §  16,  p.  202. 

4  One  tower  was  taken  down  about  1670,  another  had  previously  fallen,  and  the 
rest  were  "  veiy  crazy"  (Bayly's  Historical  Description  and  Sketch  of  Dublin  Castle, 
p.  16).     In  1684  the  viceregal  apartments,  which  had  been  destroyed  by  fire,  were 
rebuilt  (lb.,  p.  25.     Cp.  A.  R.,  p.  311).     At  the  end  of  July,  1689,  "  the  Mid  Rampier 
of  the  Black  Tower"  fell  (Great  News  from  the  Port  of  King  sale  in  Ireland,  London, 
1689). 

5E.H.  R.,  pp.  318,  319. 

5  He  dates  his  ordination  to  the  priesthood  incorrectly  (Worthies,  p.  161).     Pos- 
sibly he  is  also  in  error  as  to  the  day  of  his  entrance  at  Trinity  College  (/#.,  p.  149). 

7  Appendix,  No.  i. 

8  P.  209.     Harris  gives  the  date  as  29  July  in  his  edition  of  Ware's  Bishops  of 
Ireland,  p.- 364. 


124   ROYAL  SOCIETY  OF  ANTIQUARIES  OF  JRELAND. 

Among  those  who  landed  with  King  James  at  Kinsale,  12th  March, 
1689,  was  one  whose  chief  claim  to  fame  is  the  prominent  place  which 
has  been  assigned  to  him  in  recent  controversies  on  the  subject  of  Anglican 
Orders.  This  was  John  Gordon,  some  time  Bishop  of  Galloway,  in 
Scotland.1  John  Gordon  was  bom  about  1643,  in  the  parish  of  Ellon, 
in  Buchan,  Aberdeenshire.  He  was  thus  only  seven  years  senior  to 
"William  King,  and  had  as  his  birthplace  a  parish  only  a  few  miles  from 
Barra,  the  home  of  King's  forbears.2  His  parents  were  John  Gordon,  of 
Cold  wells,  and  Marjory  Cheyne,  his  wife.  Of  his  early  life  nothing  is 
known  except  that  he  took  Holy  Orders  and  was  a  naval  chaplain  at 
"New  York,  then  lately  won  for  England.  It  is  said  that  he  obtained  his 
bishopric  through  the  influence  of  Melfort.  The  conge  d'elire  was  dated 
3rd  December,  1687  ;  but  the  Charter  under  the  Great  Seal  was  not  signed 
till  4th  February,  nor  sealed  till  4th  September,  1688.  Gordon  was  conse- 
crated by  John  Paterson,  Archbishop  of  Glasgow,  and  three  other  bishops, 
in  Glasgow  Cathedral,  19th  September,  1688.  The  interval  between  his 
nomination  and  his  consecration  was  over  nine  months ;  he  ruled  his 
diocese  for  a  shorter  period.  The  Scottish  bishops  were  dispossessed  by 
Act  of  Parliament  22nd  July,  1689.3  Gordon  had  fled  from  Scotland 
before  the  catastrophe  came.  He  was  certainly  in  Dublin  that  month  ; 
he  may  have  arrived  sooner.  On  the  12th  of  July  James  appointed 
him  Chancellor  and  Vicar-General  of  the  diocese.4  Of  his  conduct 
in  that  office  more  will  be  said  presently ;  but  we  must  now  recall 
the  few  remaining  incidents  of  his  career.  He  remained  in  Dublin  till 
July,  1690,  and  then  accompanied  or  followed  his  patron  to  St.  Germain. 
There,  we  are  told,  he  ministered  to  James's  Protestant  adherents 


1  Neither  Mant  nor  Mason  seems  to  have  known  anything  about  Gordon.     His 
connexion  with  the  Irish  Church  is  mentioned  hy  the  late  Professor  G.  T.  Stokes  in 
The  Pope  and  Anglican  Orders,  Two  Introductory  Lectures  on  the  Religious  Relations 
between  Rome  and  England,  delivered  at  the   beginning   of  Michaelmas  Term,  1896, 
Duhlin,  1896,  p.  30.     But  Dr.  Stokes  appears  to  have  forgotten  him  when  he  came  to 
write  his  Lectures  on  Archbishop  King,  published  in  Worthies. 

Gordon's  case  is  mentioned  in  the  Bull  of  Pope  Leo  XIII.  on  Anglican  Orders 
(1896,  pp.  12  sqq.,  37  sq.),  and  is  more  elaborately  discussed  in  the  Reply  of  the  English 
Archbishops,  London,  1897,  pp.  13,  38  sqq.  (English  Translation,  pp.  14,  43  sqq.}.  The 
authorities  are— S.  P.  I.,  chap,  in.,  §  17,  p.  205  ;  Leslie,  p.  50  ;  a  short  account  of 
Gordon,  written  about  1730,  and  quoted  in  Collections  for  a  History  of  the  Shires 
of  Aberdeen  and  Ban/,  edited  by  Joseph  Robertson  (Spalding  Club),  Aberdeen,  1843, 
p.  305  ;  Nullite  des  Ordinations  Anglicanes,  ou  Refutation  du  livre  intitule,  Dissertation 
sur  la  Validite  des  Ordinations  des  Anglois  [par  P.F.  Courayer]  par  Michel  Le  Quien, 
Paris,  1725,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  312,  Ixix  ;  An  Historical  Catalogue  of  the  Scottish  Bishops 
down  to  the  year  1688  [by  Robert  Keith],  Edinburgh,  1824,  p.  283  ;  The  Question  of 
Anglican  Ordinations  Discussed,  by  E.  E.  Estcourt,  London,  1873,  Appendix,  p.  cxv; 
the  Diocesan  Register  of  Dublin  ;  and  the  Grant  Book  of  Dublin,  1687-1692,  preserved 
in  the  Public  Record  Office,  Dublin. 

2  The  town  of  Ellon  is  about  ten  miles,  as  the  crow  flies,  from  Barra. 

3  Grub's  Ecclesiastical  History  of  Scotland,  Edinburgh,  1861,  vol.  iii.,  p.  303. 

4  Dublin  Grant  Book.     The  grant  of  the  offices  there  given,  which  was  signed 
by  Melfort,  may  have  been  ante-dated,  like  others  issued  in  the  same  year. 


DIARY  OF  WILLIAM  KING,  D.D.,  ARCHBISHOP  OF  DUBLIN.     125 

according  to  the  forms  of  the  English  Prayer-book.  Afterwards,  how- 
ever, as  the  story  goes,  he  was  so  impressed  by  the  arguments  of  Bossuet 
that  he  determined  to  leave  the  Anglican  Communion.  He  went  to 
Rome  about  1702  for  the  purpose,  and  made  his  recantation  in  the 
presence  of  Cardinal  Sacripante.  It  is  sometimes  said  that  he  was 
baptized  conditionally  on  his  reception  into  the  Eoman  Church  ;J  but  of 
this  there  seems  to  be  no  evidence.  His  assumption  of  the  name  Clement 
is,  as  we  shall  see,  to  be  otherwise  explained.  The  Pope  was  now 
desirous  of  giving  him  certain  benefices  to  which  a  pension  was  attached. 
Accordingly  the  question  of  the  validity  or  invalidity  of  his  Anglican 
Orders  had  to  be  decided.  Gordon  prayed  that  they  should  be  pronounced 
null  and  void  ;  and  this  was  done  by  Pope  Clement  XI.,  17th  April,  1704. 
Direction  was  at  the  same  time  given  that  he  should  be  confirmed.  He 
then  received  the  tonsure  from  the  Pope,  and  on  this  occasion  (as  Le 
Quien  tells  us)  was  given  the  name  Clement.  The  minor  orders  were 
conferred  upon  him  by  Archbishop  Casoni  in  the  Church  of  St.  Mary 
Major.  These  being  sufficient  to  enable  him  to  hold  the  benefices  which 
the  Pope  designed  for  him,  he  did  not  proceed  to  the  higher  orders. 
He  was  henceforth  known  at  Rome  as  Abbot  Clement.  He  died  in 
1726. 

It  has  been  necessary  to  mention  these  facts  in  order  that  the  part  of 
Gordon's  career  which  synchronizes  with  King's  imprisonment  may  be 
understood.  For  it  our  authorities  are  a  brief  statement  in  the  State  of 
the  Protestants,  with  Leslie's  answer  thereto,  the  Diocesan  Register  of 
Dublin,  the  Dublin  Grant  Book,  the  allusions  in  our  Diary,  and  the  letters 
collected  in  the  Appendix.  The  first  notice  of  Gordon  in  the  Register  is 
the  record  of  what  seems  to  have  been  his  first  ecclesiastical  act  in  Dublin, 
the  appointment  of  William  Budworth  as  his  apparitor.  The  instrument  is 
dated  22nd  July,  1689.  In  it  he  describes  himself  as  "  Vicarius  in  spiritu- 
alibus  generalis  ac  officialis  principalis  curiae  consistorialis  metropoliticae 
Dublin  necnon  cancellarius  ejusdem  dioceseos  regia  auctoritate  rite  et 
legitime  constitutus."8  He  was  appointed  to  his  offices  of  Vicar-General, 
Official  Principal,  and  Chancellor  of  the  Diocese  by  James  II.  He  was  at 
once  recognised  by  the  Registrar  :  for  the  handwriting  which  records  his 
acts  is  the  same  as  that  in  which  the  deed  of  appointment  of  King  and 
Foley  is  written  on  a  previous  page.  His  apparitor  having  been  appointed, 
he  lost  no  time,  and  proceeded  to  rule  his  new  diocese  with  a  strong  hand. 
On  the  23rd  July  he  licensed  two  surgeons.  It  is  somewhat  significant 
that  they  both  bear  the  name  of  Gordon.  These  are  the  first  of  a 
considerable  number  of  licences  of  the  same  kind  issued  by  him  in  July, 
August,  and  September.3  On  the  same  day,  23rd  July,  he  granted  probate 

1  Responsio  Archiepiscoporum  Anglice,  p.  38  (E.  T.,  p.  43). 

2  The  same  titles,  with  the  addition  of  the  words  "  seu  Commissarius  Generalis,'* 
are  found  in  the  deed  of  appointment. 

3  On  the  illegality  of  these  acts,  see  Appendix,  No.  ii.,  note  3. 


126        ROYAL    SOCIETY    OF   ANTIQUARIES    OF   IRELAND. 

of  a  will.  But  presently  lie  exercised  his  authority  in  another  and  more 
strictly  ecclesiastical  direction.  The  number  of  sequestrations  carried 
out  under  his  regime  is  surprising.  The  Tlev.  Thomas  Hamleton  was 
appointed  sequestrator  of  Swords,  Malahide,  Killossery,  and  Killeek, 
vacant  by  the  absence  of  Henry  Scardevile ;  the  Eev.  Thomas  Tucker, 
of  Donnybrook  and  Rathfarnham  "  cum  annexis,"  vacant  by  the 
resignation  of  John  Fitzgerald,  Archdeacon  of  Dublin;  Lewis  Griffith, 
of  Chapelizod,  Palmerston  and  Ballyfermot  "cum  annexis,"  of  Castle- 
knock,  of  Mulhuddart,  and  of  Clonsilla,  vacant  by  the  absence  of  the 
several  incumbents ;  Richard  Hawkshaw,  of  Donoughmore,  of  O'Male 
(=  Imall),  of  Hollywood,  of  Donard  "cum  annexis,"  of  Dunlavin,  and 
of  Castledermot  "cum  annexis";  and  the  following  parishes  were 
sequestered,  the  sequestrator  not  being  named  :  Tallaght,  Templeshandon, 
Templeogue,  Whitechurch,  Cruagh,  Wicklow  "  cum  annexis  (vizt. 
Drumkey,  alias  Castle  macadam,  Kilpoole),"  and  Innisbohen.  Authority  for 
all  these  sequestrations  was  apparently  given  between  the  8th  and  17th 
August.  I  have  observed  only  one  case  in  which  provision  was  made 
by  Gordon  for  the  spiritual  needs  of  the  Diocese.  On  the  18th  September 
Nicholas  Richardson  was  licensed  by  him  as  curate  of  St.  Bride's.  This 
can  hardly  have  been  done  with  the  consent  of  the  Incumbent,  Dr.  Toy. 

There  were  other  parts  of  Gordon's  activity  of  which  the  Diocesan 
Register  takes  no  notice.  One  of  these  was  the  Administration  of  Wills. 
Of  this  King  tells  us  "he  made  his  advantage,"  in  spite  of  all  attempts  to 
defeat  him.  "  He  cited  the  Widow  or  Relation  of  any  deceased  Person  ; 
and  if  they  refused  to  appear,  he  granted  Administrations  to  some  of  his 
own  Creatures,  and  they  came  by  force  and  took  away  the  Goods  of  the 
Defunct."1  He  also  claimed  the  power  to  grant  licences  for  Marriages, 
in  connexion  with  which  an  incident  of  his  rule  in  Dublin  must  be 
mentioned  hereafter. 

Gordon's  practice  of  issuing  licences  to  surgeons  led  him  further, 
probably,  than  he  foresaw  when  he  began  it.  There  was  little  use  in 
licensing  surgeons  if  others  acted  in  that  capacity,  without  a  thought  of 
seeking  a  licence  from  him.  And  there  were  many  such.  Of  necessity, 
therefore,  he  cited  and  excommunicated  the  unlicensed  surgeons.  One  of 
these  excommunications  was  directed  against  a  surgeon  named  Clinton,  a 
parishioner  of  St.  Werburgh's,  and  in  the  absence  of  the  incumbent  it  came 
into  the  hands  of  the  sexton  of  the  church,  Richard  Bulkeley,  who  on 
the  2nd  of  September  brought  it  to  the  Castle,  and  showed  it  to  his  old 
pastor,  Dean  King.2  This  was,  it  seems,  the  first  intimation  which  the 
Dean  received  of  the  proceedings  of  the  intruding  Chancellor.  And  on 
this  fact  two  remarks  must  be  made. 


1  The  record  of  the  many  probates  granted  by  him  23rd  July,  1689,  to  1st  July, 
1690,  may  be  seen  in  the  Grant  Book. 

2  See  below,  Sept.  2nd,  4th,  and  note  141. 


DIARY  OF  WILLIAM  KING,  D.D.,  ARCHBISHOP  OF  DUBLIN.    127 

First,  as  to  the  date  of  King's  incarceration.  King  was  veiy  wide 
awake.  It  seems  quite  impossible  that,  if  he  had  been  at  liberty  when 
Gordon  took  possession  of  the  Register  of  the  Diocese,  appointed 
Budworth  his  apparitor,  and  began  to  preside  in  the  Court  of  Probate, 
he  should  have  known  nothing  about  it.  Hence  we  appear  to  be 
constrained  to  believe  that  King  had  been  sent  to  the  Castle  at  least 
as  early  as  the  22nd  July.' 

Secondly,  we  must  observe  the  vigour  and  promptness  of  the  im- 
prisoned Dean.  He  saw  at  once  the  danger  of  the  situation,  he  clearly 
grasped  the  legal  aspect  of  the  case,  and  devised  a  scheme  for  checkmating 
the  Bishop.  The  day  after  the  excommunication  reached  him,  he  wrote 
a  letter  to  Dopping,  Bishop  of  Meath  ;  and  a  correspondence  between  the 
friends  ensued,  some  of  the  letters  of  which  may  be  read  in  our  Appendix,2 
while  the  contents  of  the  rest  can  easily  be  guessed  with  the  help  of  the 
Diary.  Dopping  most  readily  fell  in  with  the  main  part  of  King's  sugges- 
tion, which  was  this :  that  the  Chapters  of  Christ  Church  and  St.  Patrick's 
should  meet,  and  that  each  Chapter  should  select  a  guardian  of  the 
spiritualities.  The  persons  (or  if  the  Chapters  agreed  in  their  choice,  the 
person)  so  elected  would  have  legal  authority  to  govern  the  diocese,  sede 
vacante.  By  the  beginning  of  the  next  week  (9th  September)  King  had 
written  to  the  Sub-Dean  directing  him  to  call  a  meeting  of  the  Chapter 
of  St.  Patrick's.3  The  Chapter  was  duly  summoned ;  and  the  next  day 
the  Prebendary  of  St.  Audoen's  came  to  consult  the  Dean  as  to  the 
procedure  to  be  adopted.  But,  alas,  Henry  Price  was  not  such  a  man  as 
William  King ;  and  his  efforts  to  get  a  Guardian  of  the  Spiritualities 
elected  were  for  the  time  unsuccessful.  The  Chapter  minutes  are  very 
brief  : 

"  Tuesday  the  10th  of  Septr  1689. 

"  Then  Mr  Price,  Mr  Finglass,  Mr  Syddall  [Prebendary  of  Tipperkevin],  .  .  . 
Graton  [Preb.  of  Howth],  Mr  Jackson  [Preb.  of  Stagonil],  Mr  Hewetson  [Preb.  of 
Tassagard  and  Vicar  of  St.  Andrew's]  did  adjourne  till  thursday  in  ye  afternoone. 

"  12  of  September. 

"  Then  adjourned  untill  the  14th  day  of  this  Instant." 

No  meeting  seems  to  have  been  held  on  the  14th,  and  nothing  more 
was  done  for  nearly  a  month.  On  the  10th  October  King  wrote  a  letter 
of  strong  remonstrance  to  Price,4  in  consequence  of  which  the  members  of 
the  Chapter  were  summoned  to  meet  on  pain  of  suspension,  and  on  the 
following  Thursday,  24th  October,  Anthony  Dopping  was  appointed 


1  This  conclusion  is  perhaps  confirmed  by  a  notice  of  the  prorogation  of  Parliament 
at  12th  November.     See  note  362. 

2  Nos.  ii.-v.      A  letter  from  Dopping,  and  King's  answer  to   it,  are  wanting 
between  Nos.  ii.,  iii. ;  also  a  letter  from  Dopping  between  Nos.  iv.,  v. 

3  See  Appendix  No.  v.  *  See  Appendix  No.  vi. 


128        KOYAL    SOCIETY    OF    ANTIQUARIES    OF   IRELAND. 

Guardian  of  the  Spiritualities.  What  the  Christ  Church  Chapter  did  at 
this  juncture  is  not  on  record.  A  meeting  was  held  on  the  23rd  October 
at  which  the  Chancellor  (Michael  Jephson),  acting  as  Sub-Dean,  and 
the  Prebendaries  of  St.  Michael  (John  Francis)  and  St.  John  (Thomas 
Bladen)  were  present.  But  there  is  no  minute  of  business  done.1 
However,  it  is  quite  certain  that  then  or  subsequently  Christ  Church 
concurred  in  the  choice  made  by  St.  Patrick's,  and  thus  Anthony  Dopping 
became  ruler  of  the  diocese  of  Dublin.2 

One  question  must  here  receive  a  short  answer.  It  may  be  asked, 
What  was  the  need  for  bringing  this  complicated  machinery  into  action  ? 
Had  not  King  been  already  duly  appointed  commissary  by  Marsh  ?  Why 
could  he  not  act,  or  delegate  someone  else  to  act,  without  authority  from 
the  Chapters  ?  King  himself  replies.3  Marsh  was  attainted  by  James  II.'s 
Parliament  of  1689.  The  see,  therefore,  was  vacant.  James  being  (as  King 
held)  lawful  king  of  Ireland,  and  the  Acts  of  the  Irish  parliament  having 
legal  validity,  the  moment  the  great  Act  of  Attainder  received  the  Royal 
assent  Marsh  ceased  to  be  Archbishop.  He  was  an  outlaw.  And  that 
same  moment  King's  commission  from  Marsh  lapsed.  The  see  was  as 
really  vacant  and  the  diocese  as  truly  without  a  lawful  ruler  as  if  the 
Archbishop  had  died.  The  only  wonder  is  that  King,  who  now  saw  the 
consequences  of  the  Act  of  Attainder,  did  not  perceive  them  months 
before.  If  he  had  done  so  before  his  imprisonment,  much  confusion  and 
trouble  would  have  been  averted.  As  it  was,  the  action  of  the  Chapters 
was  entirely  successful.  The  clergy  refused  to  publish  Gordon's  excom- 
munications; they  heeded  not  his  citations.  Except  in  the  matter  of  the 
administration  of  wills,  which  did  not  belong  to  the  Guardian  of  the 
Spiritualities  as  such,  he  became  powerless.  The  last  act  of  his  recorded 
in  the  Register  is  dated  4th  October — the  licence  of  a  midwife. 

Dopping  was  now  nominal  head  of  the  clergy  of  Dublin,  but  the  power 
was  still  in  the  hands  of  the  Dean  of  St.  Patrick's.  On  this  point  his 

1  Chapter  Minutes.     I  depend  on  a  copy  of  the  original  minutes  kept  at  the 
cathedral,  in  which  there  may  be  some  variations  from  the  original.     Thus,  for 
example,  the  note  of  the  seizure  of  the  church,  26th  October,  1689,  comes  before  the 
record  of  the  Chapter  meeting  of  the  3rd  September. 

2  S.P.I.,  ut  sup. 

3  Appendix  No.  ii.     Cp.  E.  H.  E.,  p.  318.     The  reasons  here  given  are  mutatis 
mutandis  those  of  the  deed  appointing  Gordon  Vicar-General :  "  Scians  quod  quum 
officium  seu  officia  Vicarii  in  spiritualibus  generalis  .  .  .  Diceceseos  Dublin  ac  pro- 
vinciae  ad  Reveiendissimum  Dubliniensem  Archiepiscopum  spectantia  racione  absentise 
ab  hoc  Regno  nostro  Hibernise  minime  per  nos  licentiate  venerabilis  yiri  Johannis 
Topham  .  .  .  necnon  Reverendissimo  in  Christo  patre  ac  Domino,  Domino  Francisco 
providentia  divina  Dublin  Archiepiscopo    ._    .    .    pariter  sese  absentante    ab    hoc 
regno  nostro  praedicto  Hibernise  necnon  par  offensiou  contra  coronam  ac  dignitatem 
nostram  vaccuum  seu  vacua  merito  censentur  et  ad  nos  nostrique  plenam  ac  liberam 
disposicionem  .  .  .  de  jure  spectat  spectantque  seu  spec-tare  debet  ac  debent,"  etc. 
The  king  had  power  to  appoint  a  Vicar- General.   But  if  the  Chapters  nominated  a 
Guardian  of    the    Spiritualities,  the  king's  Vicar- General  could  not  interfere,  nor 
exercise  purely  spiritual  functions,  such  as  the  issue  of  excommunications,  &c. 


DIARY  OF  WILLIAM  KING,  D.D.,  ARCHBISHOP  OF  DUBLIN.    129 

own  words  are  express,  and  we  have  good  reason  to  believe  them.1  He 
ruled  diligently  and  with  success.  "  With  his  consent,"  he  writes,  "  I 
ordered  all  things  in  the  diocese.  Many  of  the  clergy  had  fled  into 
England,  and  thus  most  of  the  parochial  churches  were  left  without 
pastors.  But  I  provided  clergy  for  them  all.  Some  who  had  been  driven 
from  their  benefices  by  the  Papists  were  living  in  the  more  remote  parts 
of  the  kingdom,  and  they  willingly  offered  themselves  to  perform  parochial 
duties  in  parishes  which  had  been  deserted  by  their  proper  pastors.  Hence, 
not  a  single  church  in  the  entire  diocese  remained  without  a  curate  during 
the  whole  time  of  the  tyranny.  And  though  the  Papists  in  many  places 
kept  possession  of  the  Parish  Churches,  the  Curates,  in  spite  of  this, 
performed  the  services  in  private  houses."2 

But  now  another  entry  in  the  Diocesan  Kegister  claims  our  attention. 
We  have  seen  that  Gordon  kept  in  his  own  hands  the  issuing  of  marriage 
licences.  Now  Lewis  Griffith,  the  sequestrator,  as  has  been  already 
noted,  of  several  parishes,  had  ventured  to  solemnize  marriages  without 
the  licence  of  the  Vicar-General.  For  this  and  other  offences  he  was 
excommunicated.  Francis  Marsh  returned  from  his  exile,  and  resumed 
his  position  as  Archbishop  immediately  after  the  Boyne.  Griffith  applied 
to  him  for  redress,  and  he  formally  re-admitted  him  to  Communion.  It 
seems  that  Marsh  did  not  agree  with  the  contention  of  King  and  his  legal 
advisers,  that  the  excommunications  of  Gordon  were  null  and  void.  But 
possibly  the  excommunication  had  been  duly  published  before  the  Chapters 
elected  a  Guardian  of  the  Spiritualities.  Anyhow  the  document  engrossed 
in  the  Register  is  a  highly  remarkable  one.  For  in  it  Marsh  describes  the 
Vicar-General  of  King  James  as  * '  Keverendissimus  in  Christo  pater  ac 
Dominus  Johannes  providentia  divina  nuper  Dubliniensis  Archiepiscopus." 
He  actually  recognises  the  usurping  Vicar-General  to  have  had  the  same 
claim  which  he  himself  possessed  to  the  title  of  Archbishop  of  Dublin — a 
title  which,  so  far  as  we  know,  Gordon  never  assumed! 

We  may  indeed  well  ask,  What  position  in  the  Church  of  Ireland 
did  Gordon  actually  claim  to  hold  ?  He  described  himself  as  Vicar- General 
and  Chancellor  of  Dublin.  But  either  of  these  offices,  let  us  observe, 
might  have  been  held  by  a  layman.3  We  have  no  evidence  that  Gordon 
ever  performed  in  Ireland  a  single  episcopal  nor  even  a  single  clerical 
act.  And  when  this  is  borne  in  mind,  King's  short  account  of  him,  the 
earliest  notice  of  his  career  which  we  possess,  with  the  exception  of  the 
documents  relating  to  his  appointment  to  the  See  of  Galloway  and  the 
records  of  his  official  acts  in  Dublin,  is  most  significant.  King  James, 

1  He  evidently  acted  without  reference  to  Dopping  in  the  matter  of  the  daily 
service  at  St.  John's  Church.  See  below,  note  254. 

*E.H.  R.,p.  318. 

3  All  Gordon's  offices  were  actually  held  hy  Sir  John  Topham.  Cp.  abovev 
p.  128,  note  3. 

Tn,,r  -R  *  A  T     !  Vo1-  XI»-»  Fifth  Series.        )  v 

Jour.  R. S.A.I,  j  Vol   xxxm     Consec    Ser>  | 


130         ROYAL   SOCIETY   OF   ANTIQUARIES  OF  IRELAND. 

he  tells  us,  "  appointed  one  Gordon,  who  called  himself  Bishop  of 
Galloway  in  Scotland,  to  be  Chancellor  in  the  Diocess  of  Dublin ;  this 
Gordon  was  a  very  ignorant  lewd  Man,  and  a  profest  Papist."  Leslie 
vigorously  repudiates  both  the  statement  of  fact  and  the  insinuation 
conveyed  by  these  words.  King's  remark,  he  writes,  "  was  notoriously 
false  (if  we  may  believe  the  Irish  Protestants  who  were  then  in  Dublin), 
for  this  bishop  was  then,  and  all  along,  a  Profest  Protestant,  and,  as  I 
have  heard,  a  man  of  Learning  and  Parts.  But  if  he  had  been  a  Papist 
(whether  in  Masquerade  or  otherwise),  I  would  gladly  know  this 
Author's  Opinion,  Whether  that  would  have  Uh- Bishop1 'd  him  ?  "  King 
had  made  some  preparations  for  a  reply  to  Leslie's  book  ;  and  his  notes 
are  preserved  in  the  collection  of  Mrs.  Lyons.1  His  remark  on  this  passage 
is  brief  but  interesting :  "  The  B'p  of  Galway,  a  papist,  never  went  in 
clergymens  habite."  Thus  King  reiterates  the  assertion  that  Gordon 
was  a  "profest  Papist";  and  he  adds  the  information  that  in  Dublin 
he  posed  as  a  layman.  As  a  witness  to  facts  Leslie  cannot  stand 
against  King.  King  was  on  the  spot,  and  must  have  had  good  evidence 
of  the  truth  or  falsity  of  what  he  wrote.  Leslie  confesses  that  he  had 
his  knowledge  at  second-hand  from  certain  Irish  Protestants  in  Dublin. 
King  must  have  either  lied  deliberately  and  maliciously,  or  spoken  the 
truth.  And  it  is  to  be  remembered  that  though  his  statements  about 
Gordon  may  have  been  prompted  by  rancour,  they  cannot  have  been 
suggested  by  the  subsequent  career  of  the  Bishop  of  Galloway.  It  was 
not  till  some  years  after  the  State  of  the  Protestants  was  published  that 
Gordon  professed  to  have  been  convinced  by  the  eloquence  of  Bossuet. 
Ten  years  and  more  had  passed  before  he  was  formally  received  into  the 
Roman  Communion,  and  "  unbishoped"  himself  by  his  petition  to  the 
Holy  Office.  And,  on  the  other  hand,  these  later  events  signally  confirm 
the  testimony  of  King.  There  is  certainly  nothing  improbable  in  the 
supposition  that  the  man  who  determined  to  take  the  final  step  of 
abandoning  the  Church  of  his  fathers  under  the  influence  of  Bossuet, 
should  have  drifted  away  from  Anglican  teaching  years  before  ;  or  that 
the  man  who  in  1704  used  strong  language  about  "  the  pseudo-bishops  of 
the  Protestants,"  and  renounced  his  own  orders,  should  have  been  content 
in  1689  to  use  the  title  "  Episcopus  Gallovidiensis  "  in  official  documents, 
while  at  the  same  time  indicating  his  doubts  about  the  validity  of  his 
episcopal  consecration  by  wearing  the  dress  of  a  layman.  It  was  not,  we 
may  be  sure,  from  Bossuet  that  he  first  heard  of  the  Nag's  Head  fable, 
upon  which  he  afterwards  based  much  of  his  argument  against  Anglican 
Orders. 

There  may  indeed  seem  to  be  a  difficulty  in  the  way  of  accepting 
King's  statement.      It  is  commonly  said,  as  we  have  already  observed. 

1  Historical  Manuscripts  Commission,  Appendix  to  Second  Report,  p.  236. 


DIARY  OF  WILLIAM  KING,  D.D.,  ARCHBISHOP  OF  DUBLIN.    131 

that  Gordon  ministered  to  English  Churchmen  at  St.  Germain  after  he  had 
left  Dublin.  Are  we  to  suppose  that  when  he  did  this  he  had  practically 
abandoned  the  Anglican  Communion  ?  Let  us  say  at  once  that  the  unlikeli- 
hood does  not  appear  to  us  to  be  very  great.  When  King  held  services 
for  his  fellow-prisoners  in  the  Castle,  there  were  Roman  Catholics  among 
those  who  took  advantage  of  his  ministrations ; l  and  in  so  doing  they 
certainly  did  not  act  under  any  compulsion  from  those  in  authority.  If 
James,  then,  for  reasons  of  policy,  ordered  Gordon  to  act  as  chaplain  to 
his  Protestant  adherents  at  St.  Germain,  it  is  scarcely  to  be  thought  that 
he  would  refuse  to  do  so.  As  yet  he  had  made  no  formal  recantation  of 
his  '  heresy.'  But  we  may  go  further.  It  is  quite  possible  that  the 
looseness  of  his  hold  on  Anglican  principles  would  lead  to  his  selection 
for  such  an  office.  Gordon  was  not  the  only  English  Divine  in  the 
Jacobite  Court.  That  sturdy  Protestant  Dennis  Granville,  Dean  and 
Archdeacon  of  Durham,  Bishop  Cosin's  son-in-law,  was  there  also ;  and 
of  his  life  at  St.  Germain  we  have  a  brief  notice  which  deserves  to  be 
quoted.  Some  time  after  the  exiled  King  arrived  in  France — 

"  A  protestant  Party  began  to  distinguish  themselves,  and  endeavour 
to  make  an  appearance  at  that  Court.  The  first  considerable  step  they 
made,  was  to  desire  a  Chappel  from  King  James,  for  the  exercise  of  their 
"Worship  according  to  the  Church  of  England,  and  propos'd  Dr.  Granvil 
JBrother  to  the  Earl  of  Bath,  formerly  Dean  of  Durham,  as  a  fit  Person 
to  be  their  Chaplain;  they  urged  the  great  Incouragement,  such  a 
Toleration  would  give  to  his  Adherents  in  England,  and  what  satisfac- 
tion it  would  be  to  such  protestants  as  followed  him ;  but  tho'  common 
Policy,  and  his  Circumstances  made  every  Body  believe  that  this  Request 
would  be  easily  granted,  yet  it  was  positively  denied,  and  Dr.  Granvile 
obliged  not  only  to  retire  from  Court,  but  also  from  the  Town  of  St. 
Germain  to  avoid  the  daily  insults  of  the  priests,  and  the  dreaded  Conse- 
quences of  the  Jealousies  with  which  they  posest't  (sic)  King  James's 
Court  against  him." 2 

From  this  passage,  combined  with  the  evidence  of  Dean  Granville's 
own  letters,  the  Rev.  Roger  Granville  draws  what  seems  to  be  the  just 
inference,  that  the  refusal  of  the  request  of  the  Protestants  that  Granville 
should  be  their  chaplain  was  due  to  the  influence  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
clergy  by  whom  James  was  surrounded.3  May  not  the  permission 
accorded  to  Gordon  have  been  a  compromise  ?  His  leaning  towards 
Rome  would  remove  objections  on  the  part  of  the  Roman  Catholics;  his 
former  position  in  the  Church  of  Scotland  would  secure  him  acceptance, 
if  not  a  cordial  welcome,  on  the  part  of  the  Anglicans.  And  may  not 

1  See  22  September. 

2  A  View  of  the  Court  of  St.  Germain,  from  the  Year  1690,  to  95,  With  an  account 
of  the  Entertainment  Protestants  meet  with  there,  Dublin,  1696,  p.  3. 

3  The  Life  of  the  Honble.  and  Very  Revd.  Dennis  Granville,  D.D.,  Exeter,  1902, 
p.  396. 

K2 


132         ROYAL   SOCIETY    OF   ANTIQUARIES    OF   IRELAND. 

the  petition  in  favour  of  Granville  have  been  due  to  the  dissatisfaction 
with  which  Anglicans  like  Sir  Edward  Herbert  regarded  the  ministra- 
tions of  the  Romanizing  Bishop  ? 

All  this  seems  quite  possible  ;  but  I  must  be  candid,  and  express  my 
conviction  that  the  grounds  for  believing  that  Gordon  ministered  as  an 
Anglican  at  St.  Germain  are  very  slight.  Keith  is  the  only  one  of  our 
authorities  who  makes  such  a  statement ;  and  he  wrote,  or  at  least 
printed,  as  late  as  1755.1  Against  his  evidence  must  be  placed  that  of 
the  author  of  the  View  of  the  Court  of  St.  Germain,  a  strictly  con- 
temporary witness.  The  sentence  which  follows  the  passage  already 
quoted  from  him  runs  thus  : — 

"Dr.  Gordon,  a  Bishop  of  Scotland,  the  only  protestant  Divine  that 
then  was  there,  met  with  a  worse  Treatment  still  than  Dr.  Granvile,  and 
was  reduced  to  the  necessity  of  abjuring  his  Religion  for  want  of  Bread,, 
with  which  he  could  not  be  Supplied,  but  upon  those  hard  terms." 

There  is  here  no  word  of  Gordon  being  allowed  to  minister  at  his 
lodgings  to  Protestants — the  whole  context  implies  the  contrary.  More- 
over, we  have  in  this  sentence  evidence,  which  can  scarcely  be  resisted, 
that  already,  seven  years  before  he  settled  at  Rome,  the  Scottish  Bishop 
had  renounced  his  Anglican  beliefs.  These  are  facts  which  bring  into 
serious  doubt  Keith's  statement  as  to  Gordon's  ministry  at  St.  Germain,, 
and  which  strongly  corroborate  King's  affirmation  that  even  so  early  a& 
1689  he  was  a  "  profest  Papist,"  though  not  yet  formally  received  into 
the  Roman  communion. 

But  we  must  leave  Gordon.  On  the  day  when  the  armies  of  William 
and  James  were  contending  at  the  Boyne  for  the  possession  of  Ireland, 
he  was  quietly  at  work  in  Dublin.  He  granted  probate  of  a  will  on 
the  1st  of  July,  1690;  and  from  that  day  forward  he  is  heard  of  in  Ireland 
no  more. 

"While  King  lay  in  prison,  reports,  not  always  correct,  reached  him  of 
the  war  which  was  dragging  on  its  weary  length.  We  must  now  try  to 
gather  together  the  leading  facts  to  which  those  reports  related. 

After  the  decisive  defeat  at  Newtown  Butler  and  the  relief  of  Deny, 
the  troops  which  had  been  seeking  to  harass  the  Enniskilleners  retired. 
Sarsfield,  who  had  been  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Sligo,  retreated  at  once 
to  Athlone  ;2  the  Duke  of  Berwick,  who  had  been  further  north,  made  for 


1  The  same  thing  was  asserted,  at  a  much  earlier  date,  with  regard  to  Dr.  Ralph 
Taylor,  "  a  famous  Nonjuror,  who  was  formerly  Rector  of  Stoke  Severn,  near  Worcester  / 
and  choosing  to  follow  the  Fortunes  of  King  James  the  Second  at  the  Revolution,  he 
was  some  Years  Chaplain  at  St.  Germains  to  the  Protestants  of  the  Court  of  that 
unhappy  Prince." — The  Political  State  of  Great  Britain,  vol.  xxv.   (by  A.  Boyer), 
p.  124.     Compare  J.  H.  Overton's  Nonjurors,  London,  1902,  p.  311  sq.     It  is  not 
prohahle  that  there  were  two  Anglican  chaplains  at  the  Court. 

2  Macarice  Excidium,  p.  38. 


DIARY  OF  WILLIAM  KING,  D.D.,  ARCHBISHOP  OF  DUBLIN.    133 

Newiy.1  A  few  days  later  Schomberg  found  it  possible  to  cross  the 
•Channel.  About  half  his  troops  embarked  at  Hoylake  on  the  12th 
August,  and  landed  at  Groomsport,  near  Bangor,  on  the  following  day. 
The  rest  followed  after  the  interval  of  a  day  or  two.2  James  no  sooner 
heard  the  news  of  Schomberg' s  landing  than  he  determined  to  con- 
centrate his  army  at  Drogheda,  and  there  to  resist  his  march  to  Dublin. 
Orders  were  issued  to  the  commanders  in  the  field  accordingly.  Sir 
Charles  Carney  held  the  Bann  at  Coleraine.  He  was  instructed  to 
abandon  it  and  hasten  to  Charlemont.3  About  17th  August  he  took  his 
•departure,  and  immediately  a  party  of  the  Enniskilleners,  who  had 
reached  Derry  a  couple  of  days  before,  entered  the  deserted  town. 
When  they  were  joined  by  their  comrades  under  Kirk,  they  marched 
thence  and  joined  the  army  of  Schomberg.4  James's  Brigadier,  Maxwell, 
4t  commanded  at  Carrickfergus,  Belfast,  and  all  betwixt  that  and  the 
Newry,  having  but  two  regiments  of  foot  in  a  bad  condition,  one  troop 
of  horse,  and  a  few  ill-armed  dragoons."  He  too  hastened  southwards, 
and  repaired  to  Newry,  leaving  MacCarthy  More's  regiment  and  a  part 
of  Cormac  O'Neill's  as  a  garrison  at  Carrickfergus.5 

Berwick's  orders  were  to  delay  the  enemy  as  much  as  possible.6 
Time  was,  indeed,  everything  to  James.  If  he  was  to  make  any  stand 
against  Schomberg,  he  must  gather  a  strong  force  at  Drogheda.  And 
Schomberg  certainly  helped  his  plans.  It  may  have  been  good  generalship 
to  attack  Carrickfergus,  but  it  gave  James  an  extra  week  to  collect  his 
army.  On  the  20th  August  Schomberg  (who  had  reached  Belfast  on  the 
17th)  sent  thither  five  regiments,  and  seven  more  on  the  following  day. 
Fruitless  negotiations  followed,  and  on  the  22nd  the  siege  began.  After 
a  gallant  defence,  the  town  capitulated  at  noon  on  the  27th,  and  on  the 
28th  the  garrison  marched  out,  on  a  promise  that  they  should  be  allowed 
to  proceed  with  their  arms  to  Newry.7  Charlemont  was  now  the  only 
considerable  place  of  strength  in  the  North  which  held  'for  James.8 
While  Schomberg  lay  before  Carrickfergus,  on  the  26th,  James  left 
Dublin,  and  reached  Drogheda  the  same  day.  leaving  Tyrconnell 
behind  to  hurry  up  more  troops.9  Carrickfergus  taken,  Schomberg's 
advance  began.  The  Jacobites  retreated  before  him  till  he  reached 
Newry.  Here,  by  a  clever  ruse,  Berwick  succeeded  in  outwitting  him. 


1  Life, -p.  373.  2  See  below,  notes  15,  35.  3  Life,  p.  373. 

4  Hamilton,  p.  47,  where  we  are  told  that  "the  News  coming  to  Colrain,  that  the 
Inneskilting  Horse  were  joned  (sic)  with  the  Maj.  General,  and  that  they  were  all 
on  their  march  towards  that  place,  the  Garison  there  deserted  the  place  and  fled  towards 
Charlemont.11      This  is  perhaps  not  inconsistent  with  the  statement  that  they  left 
in  obedience  to  orders  from  headquarters. 

5  Life,  p.  372.  e  lb.,  p.  373. 

7  Story,  pp.  7-10 ;  S.  P.  D.,  pp.  226,  231  ;  J.  N.,  p.  87. 

8  Buchan    was  there,  with  a  regiment  of  foot,  and  some  of  Purcell's  dragoons 
•(Life,  p.  372). 

a  Life,  p   373*2. ;  Nibell,  p.  221. 


134        ROYAL    SOCIETY    OF   ANTIQUARIES    OF   IRELAND. 

By  making  liberal  use  of  his  trumpets  he  persuaded  Schomberg  that  he 
was  in  command  of  a  large  force,  and  the  cautious  Williamite  forbade  his 
advance  guard  of  Enniskilleners  to  attack.  The  next  morning  he 
advanced  in  force,  only  to  find  that  the  town  was  partly  in  ashes,  and 
Berwick  gone.1  This  was  on  the  5th  September.  Berwick  marched 
(perhaps  by  Carlingford,  which  he  burnt)  to  Dundalk  and  thence  to 
Drogheda.2  Schomberg,  having  allowed  his  army  a  day's  rest  at  Newry, 
moved  on  to  Dundalk  on  the  7th.  He  selected  for  his  camp  there  a  spot 
about  a  mile  north  of  the  town.3  In  that  place  he  was  destined  to 
remain  inactive,  with  all  his  troops,  for  two  months.  On  the  16th  he 
began  to  entrench  his  position,4  seeing  no  immediate  prospect  of  any 
further  advance  towards  the  South. 

Meanwhile  James  was  not  idle.  He  was  joined  at  Drogheda  by 
Tyrconnell,  5th  September,  and  two  days  afterwards  by  Berwick.5  On 
the  14th  he  began  to  march  northwards.  That  day  the  entire  army 
reached  Ardee,  14  miles  north-west  of  Drogheda.  On  the  16th  the 
cavalry  and  dragoons  went  a  few  miles  further  on  the  road  to  Dundalk, 
crossing  the  Glyde  at  Mapastown,  to  select  a  place  for  a  camp.  The  rest 
of  the  army  followed  on  the  17th  ;  and  the  camp  was  formed  on  the  south 
bank  of  the  Fane,  with  the  right  at  Allerstown6  and  the  left  near 
Knockbridge.  The  armies  were  now  only  about  three  miles  apart,  each 
afraid  to  attack  the  other,  while  the  scouts  "  stood  usually  within  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  of  each  other."  On  Saturday,  the  21st,  James 
attempted  to  draw  Schomberg  from  his  trenches.  He  led  a  strong  force 
towards  Dundalk.  Schomberg  let  them  come  within  musket  shot  of  his 
camp,  and  would  not  stir.  Finding  that  the  Williamites  would  not  leave 
their  trenches,  James  retreated  to  his  camp  on  the  Fane,  and  within  the 
next  few  days  burnt  it  and  fell  back  on  Ardee,  6th  October.  There  his 
army  lay  till  the  1st  November,  when  he  began  to  disperse  it  to  winter 
quarters.7  He  himself  went  to  Drogheda  on  the  3rd  with  six  battalions 
of  foot,  leaving  a  force  of  six  battalions  of  foot  and  fifty  horse  under 

1  Story,  pp.  11-13  ;  S.P.  D.,  p.  251  ;  Nibell,  p,  221 ;  Memoires  du  Marechal  de 
Berwick  ecrits  par  lui-meme,  1778,  vol.  i.,  p.  41. 

2  Story,  p.  13. 

3  Ib.,  p.  15. 

4  Ib.,  p.  19. 

5  Life,  p.  377 ;  Story,  p.  16  ;  Memoires  du  M.  de  Berwick,  ut  sup.,  and  below,  5th 
September. 

6,Petty's  map  of  the  County  Louth  (1685)  marks  Lower  Allaristown — immediately 
south  of  which  was  Upper  Allaristown — on  the  right  bank  of  the  Fane,  two  or  three 
miles  below  the  bridge  of  Knock,  where  the  next  bridge  (the  bridge  of  Fane),  spanned 
the  stream.  Mr.  J.  E.  Garstin,  F.S.A.,  points  out  to  me  that  in  the  Townland  Index 
of  1851,  it  is  called  Allardstown,  and  is  described  as  a  townland  of  596  acres  in  the 
parish  of  Killincoole.  The  name  does  not  appear  in  the  Ordnance  map.  Hence  some 
modern  writers  have  absurdly  substituted  for  it  Tallanstown,  which  lies  four  miles  to 
the  south  on  the  Eiver  Glyde. 

7  Life,  pp.  378-382;  Story,  pp.  1S-28,  33;  S.  P.  D.,  pp.  272,  286;  Eelation* 
p.  6  sgq.  ;  Nibell,  p.  221  sq. 


DIARY  OF  WILLIAM  KING,  D.D.,  ARCHBISHOP  OF  DUBLIN.     135 

Boiseleau,  as  a  garrison  at  Ardee.1  Schomberg,  finding  that  the  Jacobites 
had  taken  their  departure,  gladly  followed  the  example  of  James,  and 
abandoned  the  pestilential  camp,  where  "fever  and  flux"  had  been 
playing  frightful  havoc  with  his  army.  Having  sent  such  of  the  sick 
as  could  be  moved  by  sea  from  Carlingford  to  Belfast,  he  gave  the  order 
to  march  on  the  6th.  On  the  7th  twelve  regiments  or  more  started  for 
the  North  ;  on  the  9th  the  remainder  of  the  army  followed.  Within  an 
hour  after  their  departure  from  Dundalk  the  town  was  in  the  hands 
of  the  enemy.3  Schomberg's  headquarters  were  now  fixed  at  Lisburn, 
his  troops  being  quartered  partly  at  Armagh  and  partly  in  the  villages 
between  Lisburn  and  Newiy.3  James,  having  left  garrisons  at  Ardee, 
Drogheda,  and  other  places,  returned  to  Dublin  on  the  8th.4 

It  was  on  the  eve  of  his  departure  from  Dundalk  that  belated  news 
reached  Schomberg  of  a  disaster  in  Connaught.  It  was  in  that  province, 
indeed,  that  the  only  notable  engagements  of  the  campaign,  after  Carrick- 
f ergus,  took  place ;  and  we  must  retrace  our  steps  to  follow  the  course  of 
events  there. 

A  considerable  interval  elapsed  after  Newtown  Butler  before  the 
Enniskilleners  who  had  not  joined  Schomberg  performed  any  notable 
deeds.  But  early  in  September,  Wolseley  sent  Sir  Albert  Cunningham 
with  some  troops  to  Sligo,  followed  on  the  10th  by  Lloyd  with  three 
troops  of  horse.  Thence  on  the  19th,  Lloyd  led  a  force  of  about  450 
men — horse,  foot,  and  dragoons — to  Ballinafad  and  over  the  Curlew 
Mountains,  and  the  next  morning,  encountering  a  force  of  the  enemy 
under  O'Kelly  outside  Boyle,  defeated  them,  and  took  possession  of  the 
town.  The  Jacobite  force  consisted  of  not  more  than  500  or  600  foot, 
and  some  300  horse.  They  lost,  according  to  Lloyd,  considerably  more 
than  200  killed  and  about  75  prisoners.  His  own  loss  was  1  killed 
and  3  wounded.  Cunningham  commanded  the  dragoons.  Lloyd's  in- 
structions were,  after  taking  Boyle,  to  press  on  to  Jamestown.  This  he 
did  not  venture  to  do,  the  enemy  being  very  numerous  in  Sligo  and 
Roscommon.5  However,  this  town  was  also  captured  ten  days  later, 
1st  October.6  These  victories  caused  great  rejoicings  in  the  camp  at 

1  Relation,  p.  14,  where  1  assume  that  13  and  18  are  misprints  for  3  and  8  ; 
Life,  p.  383. 

2  Story,  pp.  35-37. 

3  S.  P.  D.,  p.  320  ;  Story  gives  details,  p.  38.     Compare  also  S.  P.  D.,  p.  334. 

4  Life,  p.  383  sq. ;  Relation,  p.  74  ;  and  below,  8  November. 

5  An  Exact  Account  of  the  Royal  Army  under  the  Command  of  His  Grace  Duke 
Schomberg,    with  the  Particulars  of  a  Great  Defeat  given  to  the  Irish  Army  near 
Boyle,  London,  1689— a  letter  from  Dundalk,  dated  16th  October,  1689.     With  this  is 
incorporated  Lloyd's  despatch  to  Schomberg.     Compare  below,  note   216.     Story, 
p.  25,  makes  Lloyd's  force  to  consist  of  1000  men,  and  the  enemy  he  reckons  as  "about 
5000."     O'Kelly,   he  informs  us,  was  among  the  prisoners;   which  is  an   error: 
O'Kelly's  portmanteau  was  captured,  but  not  himself.     On  the  other  hand,  a  Jacobite 
writer  reduces  "  this  mighty  action "  to  "a  skirmish  between  a  small  band  of  that 
county  [Sligo]  militia  and  a  troop  of  rebels,  wherein  three  of  the  loyalists  fell,  and 
that  number  twice  told  of  the  enemy  "  (Nibell,  p.  223). 

6  Story,  p.  28  ;  S.  P.  D.,  p.  283. 


136         ROYAL   SOCIETY    OF   ANTIQUARIES    OF    IRELAND. 

Dundalk,1  but  they  led  to  no  permanent  result.  On  the  30th  September 
James  sent  two  regiments  of  foot  to  Sligo.2  They  were  followed  early 
in  October  by  Berwick  "  with  a  considerable  body  of  horse,"  whose  aim 
was,  according  to  Story  to  rescue  Mountcashel,  but  more  probably  to 
check  Lloyd.3  Another  force  of  four  regiments — Luttrell's  Horse, 
O'Neill's  Dragoons,  and  two  of  infantry,  all  under  the  command  of 
Sarsfield — marched  from  the  Fane  for  the  same  place,  apparently  on  the 
6th.4  Schomberg  replied  (8th  October)  by  despatching  "  a  detachment  of 
the  Inniskillen  Horse  and  Foot,  Colonel  Russell's  Horse,  and  eight  grena- 
diers out  of  every  Regiment"  to  keep  a  pass  in  the  direction  of  Sligo.6 
Berwick  fell  sick  a  day  or  two  after  he  left  the  Jacobite  camp,  and  repaired 
to  Dublin.6  Sarsfield  made  at  once  for  Jamestown,  which  place  he  reached, 
it  seems,  on  the  15th.7  A  news-letter  states  that  Lloyd  had  arrived 
there  two  hours  before  him,  and  was  besieged.8  Story  is  perhaps  more 
correct  when  he  says  that  the  place  was  abandoned  without  a  struggle  on 
the  approach  of  the  Jacobite  troops.  The  next  day  Sarsfield  advanced  to 
Sligo,  whereupon  Russell,  who  was  in  the  town,  ingloriously  retreated  to 
Ballyshannon  without  striking  a  blow,  while  Lloyd  and  de  Sauveur 
took  refuge  in  "  the  two  forts  at  the  end  "  of  the  town.  Lloyd  escaped 
the  same  night,  but  de  Sauveur  made  a  gallant  defence  of  his  fort,  and 
did  not  surrender  till  the  third  day,  when  no  more  provisions  were 
left.9  The  news  did  not  reach  Schomberg  till  2nd  November,  when  he 
immediately  despatched  reinforcements.10  What  they  accomplished  does 
not  appear  to  be  recorded.  Thus  ended  the  memorable  Irish  campaign 
of  1689.  Whatever  advantage  was  gained  during  its  later  months  was 
on  the  side  of  James. 

All  this  time  King  remained  a  prisoner.  The  history  of  his  con- 
finement must  be  read  in  his  Diary.  Towards  the  end,  however,  it 

1  See  below,  note  227.  3  Story,  p.  28.     Cp.  below,  note  221. 

2  Nibell,  p.  223.  4  Life,  p.  381  ;  S.  P.  D.,  p.  287. 

6  Story,  p.  28;  S.  P.  D.,  p.  287.  There  is  a  confusion  as  to  dates.  The 
Life  puts  the  expedition  of  Sarsfield  after,  and  in  consequence  of,  the  despatch  of 
Russell  by  Schomberg,  and  before  the  return  to  Ardee  on  the  6th  October,  But 
Story  is  supported  by  Schomberg's  despatch  in  S.  P.  D.  Schomberg  states  that  the 
force  '  consists  of  400  dragoons.' 

6  See  below,  5,  9  October.     I  assume  that  the  report  which  reached  Story  that 
Berwick  had  started  for  Connaugbt  was  correct. 

7  For  the  date  I  depend  on  A  full  and  true  Account  of  all  the  Remarkable  Actions 
and  Things  that  have  happened  in  the  North  of  Ireland,  Since  the  \bth  of  November,  to 
the  7th  Instant .  .  .  (a  letter  from  Lisburn,  dated  7th  December,   1689),  which  may 
probably  be  trusted  thus  far,  though  it  has  clearly  passed  through  the  hands  of  the 
censor. 

8  S.P.  D.,  p.  305. 

9  Story,  p.   34.     Compare  Life,   p.    383.      Lloyd  was  in  the   <  Green  Fort,'  de 
Sauveur  in  the  'Stone  Fort,'  on  which,  and  on  all  the  events  here  referred  to,  see 
Wood-Martin,  History  of  Sligo  from  the  Accession  of  James  I.  to  the  Revolution  of 
1688,  Dublin  1889,  p.  98  sqq.      Compare  also  his  Sligo  and  the  Ennishilleners  from 
1688-1691,  2nd  ed.,  1882,  p.  105  sqq. 

lc  Story,  p.  33  ;  S.  P.  D.,  p.  313. 


DIARY  OF  WILLIAM  KING,  D.D.,  ARCHBISHOP  OF  DUBLIN.    137 

fails  us,  and  we  are  obliged  to  fall  back  on  the  brief  narrative  of  his 
Autobiography.  We  may  leave  the  reader  to  translate  his  curious  Latin. 

"Dissoluta  militia  ex  utraque  parte,  et  exercitibus  in  Hybernia 
reductis,  visum  erat  lacobo  regi  incarcerates  protestantes  liberos  dimittere 
sub  cautione  fidei  iussorum,  deliberatum  erat  de  me  inter  alios  dimittendo, 
opponente  se  meae  libertati  summo  iusticiario  Regii  Tribunalis  in  Hybernia 
Thoma  Nogentio,  at  pro  me  stabat  amicus  mihi  antiquus  Edwardus 
Herbert,  eques,  tune  Cancellarius  Angliae  per  lacobum  declaratus,  qui  et 
ipse  religionem  ref ormatam  constanter  prof essus  est,  et  multorum  bonorum 
quantum  in  se  fuit  omnibus  eiusdem  religionis  professoribus  extitit,  in 
omnibus  enim  difficultatibus  et  angustiis  ipsis  se  exhibuit  patronum  et 
defensorem.  Accessit  etiam  ipse  Comes  Tirconnell  et  accusante  me 
iusticiario,  quod  in  concionibus  meis  perfidiam  in  regem  docere  solebam, 
respondet  Herbertus  se  me  saepius  audivisse  concionantem  nee  unquam 
aliquid  contra  regem  aut  obedientiam  ipsi  debitam  animadvertisse,  sed 
e  contra  semper  cum  occasio  esset  me  strenue  fidem  in  regem  docuisse, 
et  mirum  sibi  videri  quod  iusticiarius  qui  nunquam  concionanti  mihi 
adfuisset  contrarium  assereret,  nullo  teste  aurito  producto  quo  crimen  in 
me  probaretur.  Adiecit  praeterea  etiamsi  verum  esset  quod  obiiciebatur 
me  libertate  scilicet  male  usuruni  tamen  minus  noxae  rebus  regiis  con- 
tingeret  in  praesente  rerum  statu  ex  perverse  usu  meae  libertatis  quam  ex 
invidia  in  regem  oriunda  a  detentione  mea  in  carcere  sine  aliqua  causa. 
Sic  tandem,  scilicet  4  Decembris  1689,  post  fere  quinque  mensalem  in- 
carceratus  libertati  restitutus  officia  functionis  me  diligenter  obivi."1 

The  statement  that  the  liberation  took  place  on  the  4th  December 
must  be  taken  for  what  it  is  worth.  A  later  date  would  suit  better  the 
assertions  that  his  imprisonment  lasted  nearly  five  months,  and  that  in  the 
case  of  most  Protestants  it  ended  at  Christmas.2  But  there  is  no  evidence 
enabling  us  to  fix  the  date  more  definitely. 

Dean  King  was  once  more  sent  to  the  Castle  in  June,  1690.  Here 
again  there  is  a  conflict  of  testimony  as  to  the  date.  King  himself  puts 
it  about  the  beginning  of  the  month.  Two  other  respectable  witnesses, 
with  all  appearance  of  accuracy,  imply  that  he  was  arrested  some  three 
weeks  later.3  We  need  not  now  discuss  the  matter.  It  is  quite  certain  that 
the  victory  of  the  Boyne  set  him  free.  His  sufferings  had  their  reward 
in  the  Bishopric  of  Derry,  for  which  he  was  consecrated  25th  January, 

1  E.  H.  R.,  p.  319.     Compare  Mason,  p.  211. 

2  S.P.I.,  table  of  contents,  referring  to  p.  92.     Mason  (p.  210)  says  that  King 
was  present  at  a  Chapter,  9th  December,  but  I  find  no  record  in  the  Minute  Book  of  a 
meeting  that  day.     On  the  14th  citations  were  sent  out  for  the  Dean's  annual  Visita- 
tion.    It  seems  likely  that  King  was  present  when  this  was  done,  but  it  is  incapable 
of  proof. 

3  E.  H.  R.,  p.  319;  full  and  True  Account  states  that  King  was  not  imprisoned 
till  after  the  news  of  King  William's  landing  had  reached  Dublin,  that  is,  considerably 
later  than  14th  June ;  while  A  True  and  Perfect  Journal  of  the  Affairs  in  Ireland  since 
His  Majesties  Arrival  in  that  Kingdom,   by  a  Person  of  Quality,  London,   1690, 
(quoted  in  Worthies,  p.  191),  gives  24th  June  as  the  day. 


138        EOYAL    SOCIETY    OF   ANTIQUARIES   OF   IRELAND. 

1690-1.  In  1703-4  he  was  translated  to  Dublin.  A  vigorous  episcopate 
closed  with  his  death,  8th  May,  1729.  He  lies  in  the  churchyard  of 
St.  Mary's,  Donnybrook,  in  a  spot  which  cannot  now  be  identified. 

In  his  Autobiography,  King  informs  us  that  during  his  first  imprison- 
ment he  kept  a  Diary  of  all  that  he  observed.  That  that  Diary  is  the  one 
now  printed  can  scarcely  be  doubted.  The  original  manuscript  is  the  pro- 
perty of  Captain  J.  A.  Gordon  King,  Scots  Guards,  of  Tertowie,  Aberdeen- 
shire,  the  representative  in  Scotland  of  the  family  to  which  the  Archbishop 
belonged.  It  is  preserved  at  Tertowie,  within  a  few  miles  of  Barra,  the 
home  of  his  ancestors.  The  manuscript  is  said  to  be  in  the  Archbishop's 
hand,  and  most  readers  of  it  will  agree  that  it  bears  upon  its  face  the 
marks  of  genuineness.  Unfortunately  it  is  only  a  fragment.  At  the 
beginning,  if  the  numbering  is  correct,  twenty-six  pages  have  been  lost. 
A  few  seem  also  to  be  missing  at  the  end.1  There  remain  in  all  eighty- 
nine,  apparently  not  three-quarters  of  the  entire  record. 

It  remains  to  say  a  few  words  with  reference  to  the  present  edition. 
It  has  not  been  possible  for  me  to  consult  the  manuscript.  Captain 
Gordon  King  placed  in  my  hands  a  transcript,  a  large  part  of  which  he 
had  written  himself,  and  the  whole  of  which  he  had  most  carefully  com- 
pared with  the  original.  When  I  had  read  the  copy,  some  places  in  which 
error  seemed  possible  were  again  examined.  Finally,  Captain  Gordon 
King  was  so  kind  as  to  correct  the  proof  from  the  autograph,  paying 
special  attention  to  some  proper  names  which  a  study  of  contemporary 
documents  led  me  to  suppose  might  have  been  misread.  There  is,  there- 
fore, good  reason  to  hope  that  at  least  substantial  accuracy  has  been 
secured.  The  pages  of  the  autograph  are  for  the  most  part  numbered, 
though  sometimes  incorrectly.  The  number  given  in  the  manuscript  to 
each  page  is  here  printed  in  square  brackets  at  the  beginning  of  the  page 
to  which  it  belongs.  The  beginnings  of  pages  which  are  without  number 
in  the  original  are  marked  by  asterisks  enclosed  in  brackets.  "Where  the 
text  cannot  now  be  read  it  is  sometimes  conjecturally  restored,  the  restored 
letters  being  enclosed  in  square  brackets  ;  but  more  commonly  conjecture 
is  useless,  and  the  illegible  portions  are  represented  by  rows  of  dots. 

My  best  thanks  are  due  to  Captain  Gordon  King  for  his  ready 
response  to  my  request  that  I  might  be  allowed  to  prepare  an  edition 
of  his  interesting  manuscript,  and  for  the  valuable  aid  which  he  has 
given  me  in  so  doing.  I  must  express  my  gratitude  to  Mrs.  Lyons  for 
permission  to  examine  her  magnificent  collection  of  letters  and  other 
documents  connected  with  Archbishop  King.  To  several  friends  I  am 
also  much  indebted  for  permitting  me  to  make  free  use  of  their  stores  of 
antiquarian  learning. 

1  But  see  below,  note  403. 


DIARY  OF  WILLIAM  KING,  D.D.,  ARCHBISHOP  OF  DUBLIN.    139 


LIST  OF  THE  PRINCIPAL  AUTHORITIES  REFERRED  TO 
IN"  THE  INTRODUCTION  AND  NOTES. 


A.  R.,  .  .  Calendar  of  Ancient  Records  of  Dublin  in  the  possession  of  the  Muni- 
cipal Corporation  of  that  City,  by  J.  T.  Gilbert,  vol.  v.  (Dublin, 
1895). 

Cotton,  .  .  Fasti  Ecclesise  Hibernicse.  The  Succession  of  the  Prelates  and 
Members  of  the  Cathedral  Bodies  of  Ireland,  by  H.  Cotton  (Dublin, 
1848-1860). 

D.  N.  B.,       .     The  Dictionary  of  National  Biography. 

D'Alton,  .  Illustrations  Historical  and  Genealogical  of  King  James's  Irish  Army 
List  (1689),  by  John  D'Alton  (Dublin,  1855). 

E.  H.  R.,      .     English  Historical  Review  for  1898,  in  which,  p.  309,  King's  Latin 

Autobiography  was  printed  from  the  autograph  in  Armagh  Public 
Library  (MS.,  G.I.i.). 

Full  and  True  \  A  Full  and  True  Account  of  the  Late  Revolution  in  Dublin,  and  of 
Account,  .  }  what  hapned  there  from  the  Time  of  the  Defeat  of  King  James 
his  Army  at  the  Boyne,  the  First  of  July,  MDCXC.,  till  His  Present 
Majesty's  Entry  There.  In  a  Letter  from  a  Gentleman  who  was 
then  a  Prisoner  in  the  Colledge  of  Dublin  to  another  in  London, 
August  15th,  1690.  London,  Printed  by  D.  M.  (Licensed  15  Sept., 
1690.) 

Gilbert,    .     .     A  History  of  the  City  of  Dublin,  by  J.  T.  Gilbert  (Dublin,  1861). 

Hamilton,  .  A  true  Relation  of  the  Actions  of  the  Inniskilling-Men  from  their 
First  Taking  up  of  Arms  in  December,  1688,  for  the  Defence  of  the 
Protestant  Religion,  and  their  Lives  and  Liberties,  written  by 
A.  Hamilton  (London,  1690). 

Indictment,  .  The  Indictment  and  Arraignment  of  John  Price,  Esquire,  late  Receiver- 
General  in  Ireland,  &c.  Collected  by  a  person  that  was  present  and 
took  the  same  in  writing  (London,  1869). 

J.N.,  .  .  A  Jacobite  Narrative  of  the  War  in  Ireland,  1688-1691,  edited  by 
J.  T.  Gilbert,  1892  (one  of  the  manuscripts  of  this  work  is  cited  by 
Macaulay  by  its  proper  title— "  A  Light  to  the  Blind  "). 

Jotirnal,  .  .  The  Journal  of  the  Proceedings  of  the  Parliament  in  Ireland  with  the 
Establishment  of  their  Forces  there  (London,  1689). 

Leslie,  .  .  An  Answer  to  a  Book  intituled  the  State  of  the  Protestants  in  Ireland, 
&c.  (London,  1692). 

Life,  .  .  .  The  Life  of  King  James  the  Second,  King  of  England  .  .  .  collected 
out  of  memoirs  writ  of  his  own  hand,  by  J.  S.  Clarke  (London, 
1816),  vol.  ii. 

Lodge,  .  .  The  Peerage  of  Ireland,  by  J.  Lodge,  edited  by  M.  Archdall  (Dublin, 
1789). 

Lough  Erne,  Henry's  Upper  Lough  Erne  in  1739,  edited,  with  Notes  and  Appen- 
dices, by  Sir  C.  S.  King,  Bart.  (Dublin,  1892). 


140        ROYAL    SOCIETY    OF   ANTIQUAKIES    OF   IRELAND. 


Luttrell,  .  A  Brief  Relation  of  State  Affairs  from  September,  1678,  to  April, 
1714,  by  Narcissus  Luttrell  (Oxford,  1857),  vol.  i. 

M.,  .  .  .  The  History  of  England  from  the  Accession  of  James  the  Second,  by 
Lord  Macaulay,  vol.  iii.  (London,  1863). 

Macariae  Ex-  \  Macariae  Excidium,  or  the  Destruction  of   Cyprus ;  being  a  Secret 
cidium,       .  )      History  of  the  War  of  the   Revolution   in   Ireland,    by   Colonel 
Charles  O'Kelly,  edited  by  J.  C.  O'Callaghan  (Irish  Archaeological 
Society),  Dublin,  1850. 

Mason,  .  .  The  History  and  Antiquities  of  the  Collegiate  and  Cathedral  Church 
of  St.  Patrick,  near  Dublin,  from  its  foundation  in  1190,  to  the 
year  1819,  by  W.  Monck  Mason  (Dublin,  1820). 

Mullenaux,  .  A  Journal  of  the  Three  Months  Royal  Campaign  of  His  Majesty  in 
Ireland,  Together  with  a  True  and  Perfect  Diary  of  the  Siege  of 
Lymerick,  by  S.  Mullenaux  (London,  1690). 

Nibell,  .  .  A  Journal  of  the  most  remarkable  occurrences  that  happened  between 
His  Majesty's  Army  and  the  forces  under  the  command  of  Mareschal 
de  Schomberg,  in  Ireland,  from  the  12th  of  August  to  the  23d  of 
October,  1689.  Faithfully  collected  by  James  Nibell,  Esq.,  Under 
Secretary  to  the  Right  Honourable  the  Earl  of  Melfort  (reprinted 
in  O.P.,p.  220s??.). 

O.  P.,  .  .  Original  Papers  ;  containing  the  Secret  History  of  Great  Britain  from 
the  Restoration  to  the  Accession  of  the  House  of  Hanover,  .  .  . 
by  James  Macpherson,  vol.  i.  (Dublin,  1775). 

Paraphrase,  The  English  Life  of  Archbishop  King,  in  MS.  G.  I.  i.  in  the  Public 
Library,  Armagh.  (References  are  given  to  the  pages  of  Reeves* 
Transcript,  T.C.D.  MS.  1121.) 

Jtelation,  .  A  Relation  of  what  most  Remarkably  happened  during  the  Last 
Campaign  in  Ireland  betwixt  His  Majesties  Army  Royal  and  the 
Forces  of  the  Prince  of  Orange  sent  to  Joyn  the  Rebels,  under  the 
Command  of  the  Count  de  Schomberg.  Published  by  Authority 
(Dublin,  1689). 

Stuart  Papers.,  Calendar  of  the  Stuart  Papers  belonging  to  His  Majesty  the  King, 
preserved  at  Windsor  Castle  (Historical  MSS.  Commission),  vol.  i. 
(London,  1902). 

S.P.  D.,  .  Calendar  of  State  Papers  (Domestic  Series)  of  the  Reign  of  William 
and  Mary,  13th  Feb.,  1689-April,  1690.  Preserved  in  the  Public 
Record  Office.  Edited  by  W.  J.  Hardy  (London,  1895). 

S.  P.  I.,  .  .  The  State  of  the  Protestants  of  Ireland  under  the  late  King  James's 
Government  [by  W.  King]  (London,  1691). 

Story,  .  .  A  True  and  Impartial  History  of  the  Most  Material  Occurrences  in 
the  Kingdom  of  Ireland  during  the  Two  Last  Years  .  .  .  written 
by  an  Eye-witness  to  the  most  Remarkable  Passages  (London, 
1691). 

Worthies,  .  Some  Worthies  of  the  Irish  Church.  Lectures  delivered  in  the 
Divinity  School  of  the  University  of  Dublin  by  the  late  G.  T. 
Stokes,  edited  by  H.  J.  Lawlor  (London.  1900). 


» 
DIARY  OF  WILLIAM  KING,  D.D.,  ARCHBISHOP  OF  DUBLIN.    141 


THE  DIARY. 


[27] — August  11. — I  preached  twice  on  Luke  18.  9.1  Our  fellow- 
prisoners  had  a  promise  to  be  admitted  to  come  up  to  us,  but  ye  promise 
was  not  performed  only  Mr  Yaughan2  came  in  the  afternoon.  we 
observed  much  joy  amongst  the  soldiers,  Cornelius  came  up  &  told  us  y1 
I4m  french  were  landed  in  the  west,  ye  french  fleet  having  gotten  out 
from  brest  by  reason  y*  ye  English  who  blockt  ym  up  were  scattered  by  a 
storm,3  at  dinner  an  officer  came  up  to  us  &  told  us  ye  good  news,  *  we 
asked  how  many  ships  were  come,  he  answered  35  or  45.  I  hear  20m  men 
in  ym.  we  had  further  information  in  ye  afternoon  y4  all  this  was  only 
an  express  was  come  from  franco  y*  the  fleet  was  not  yet  come,  but  were 
ready  to  set  sail,  y1  they  consisted  of  60  men  of  war,  40  tenders  & 

(1)  The  first  verse  of  the  Gospel  for  the  day— the  llth  Sunday  after  Trinity. 

(2)  One  of  twelve  gentlemen  who  were  arrested  on  the  same  day,  about  the  end  of 
July.     Their  names,  as  given  in  Full  and  True  Account,  p.  2,  were — Captain  Robert 
Fitzgerald,  Sir  John  Davies,    Sir    Humfrey   Gervaise,   Alderman    Smith,   Esquire 
Hancock,  and  Counsellor  Hancock  his  son,  Mr.  Thomas  Crou,  Mr.  John   "Weaver, 
Mr.   Hector  Vaughan,   Mr.   Perrian  Pool,  Counsellor  "Wyngfield,   and    Counsellor 
Ormsby.     All  these,  we  are  told,    "they  carried  through  the  Streets  in  the  most 
insolent  manner  imaginable,  to  the  Lord  Chief  Justice  Nugent' s  House,  where  they 
stayed  a  pretty  while  before  they  could  be  admitted  to  speak  to  him  ;  and  when  they 
were,  it  was  ordered  they  should  be  sent  to  Newgate,  and  were  carried  to  the  most 
common  and  nasty  Room  in  that  wretched  Prison ;  And  though  it  was  represented, 
That  their  Lives  should  thereby  be  endangered,  yet  all  the  Answer  was,  That  it  was 
good  enough  for  them."     At  least  five  of  the  twelve  are  mentioned  in  our  Diary: 
from  which  it  appears  that  some  were  transferred  after  a  few  days  from  Newgate  to 
the  Castle,  and  others  released — facts  which  the  writer  just  quoted  does  not  mention. 
The  date  of  their  arrest  is  thus  fixed :  the  writer  informs  us  that  one  of  their  number, 
Mr.  Fitzgerald,  was  detained  in  Newgate  for  21  weeks,  and  then  bailed.     Now  we 
know  from  other  sources  (e.g.  S.  P.  I.,  chap,  in.,  §  7,  p.  92)  that  the  Protestants  who 
had  been  imprisoned  in  Dublin  were  released  in  December.     Counting  back  therefore 
twenty-one  weeks  from  15th  December,  we  reach  21st  July  as  the  approximate  date 
of  the  arrest  of  Vaughan  and  his  companions. 

(3)  This  was,  no  doubt,  an  exaggeration  of  a  report  which  had  reached  Schomberg  a 
fortnight  earlier.     "A  letter  received  from  France,"  he  wrote  to  King  William  on  the 
27th  July,  <•<  tells  of  great  naval  preparations  at  Brest ;  the  French  fleet,  when  augmented 
with  ships  from  Toulon,  will  be  superior  to  that  of  England  and  Holland,  and  will 
offer  battle"  (S.  P.  D.,  p.  201).     A  letter  of  the  29th  July  states  that  the  English 
and  Dutch  fleets  were  lying  off  Brest,  "  so  that  the  French  cannot  go  out  till  Monsieur 
Tourville  come  "  (S.  P.  D.,  p.  202). 

(4)  King  clearly  wrote  with  the  reserve  which  was  natural  to  a  man  whose  manu- 
script might  at  any  moment  fall  into  the  hands  of  his  enemies.     That  in  the  middle 
of  August  he  should  have  regarded  as  "good  news"  the  report  that  French  forces 
had  effected  a  landing  in  Ireland  would  have  been  hardly  consistent  with  his  state- 
ment in  the  Autobiography  (quoted  in   Worthies,  p.  168),  that  after  the  enactments 
of  the  Parliament  summoned  by  James  in  May,  and  the  subsequent  tyranny  of  the 
Government,  "  I  had  no  longer  any  doubt  but  that  it  was  lawful  for  me  and  others  to 
accept  that  deliverance  which  Providence  offered  by  the  Prince  of  Orange  .  .  .  and 
to  submit  to  him  as  king  and  liberator." 


142   ROYAL  SOCIETY  OF  ANTIQUARIES  OF  IRELAND. 

«eyerall  fire  ships,  we  had  answer  from  Ld  C:  J:  "N: 6  y*  we  must  not 
expect  to  be  bailed  before  ten  days  were  past  &  yn  if  we  had  peace 
and  quietness  we  might  expect  it. — [28] — One  Mr  Betagh  came  to  se 
Mr  Ormsby 6  &  told  him  y1  one  Shaw  a  barber  of  St.  patrick's  Street  was 
brought  before  Ld  Melfort7  &  asked  concerning  an  association  which  he 
denyd.  my  Ld  asked  whether  he  coud  know  his  hand  for  he  coud  shew 
it  under  his  hand  he  answered  no.  for  he  coud  neither  write  nor  read 
upon  wh  Ld  M:  said  if  it  were  so  a  great  many  had  wrong  don  ym  this 
story  I  did  not  believe  but  desired  Mr  0:  to  inquire  ye  truth  which 
he  might  easyly  do  since  his  wife  lived  in  Bride  street. 

Aug.  12. — Mr  Fitz: 8  drew  up  a  petition  to  be  delivered  to  ye  King 

(5)  This  is  of  course  Thomas  Nugent,  Baron  Riverstown,  Lord  Chief  Justice  of 
the  King's  Bench.   On  him  see  S.  P.  I.,  chap,  iii.,  §  3,  p.  61,  andD.N.B.,  xli.,  p.  271. 
It  is  evident  that  a  few  days  after  his  imprisonment  the  Dean  had  applied  to  Nugent 
for  release. 

(6)  This  was  probably  Eobert  Ormsby,  who  was  appointed  Seneschal  of  the  Liberty 
of  St.  Patrick's,  and  of  the  Archbishop's  Liberty  of  St.  Sepulchre's,  at  the  meeting  of 
the  Chapter  of  St.  Patrick's  Cathedral  on  the  25th  June,  1689.     In  the  Minutes  of 
the  Chapter  of  St.  Patrick's  he  is  described  as  "learned  in  the  law,"  and  he  may 
therefore,  with   some  likelihood,  be  identified  with  Counsellor  Ormsby,  mentioned 
among  the  twelve  Newgate  prisoners  in  Full  and  True  Account,  p.  2  (above,  note  2). 
He  was  "admitted  one  of   the  cittie  councell "  in  the  room  of  Serjeant  Lyndon, 
1682-3  (A.R.,  p.  203). 

(7)  John  Drummond,  brother  of  James,  fourth  Earl  of  Perth,  was  created  Viscount 
Melfort  in  1685,  Earl  in  1686,  and  Duke  in  1692.     He  and  his  brother  professed  to 
have  been  converted  to  the  Roman  Catholic  faith,  by  the  famous  papers  in  Charles  II.'s 
strong  box.    He  came  to  Ireland  with  James  II.,  and,  in  his  capacity  of  Secretary  of 
State,  was  as  unpopular  there  as  he  had  previously  been  in  England  and  Scotland. 
"  He  was  more  universally  detested,"  writes  Macaulay  (M.,  p.  182),  "  than  any  man  of 
iris  time."     He  is  blamed  in  J.  N.  (pp.  84,  94)  for  the  misfortunes  of  the  Jacobite 
army  in  Ireland.     See  D.  N.  B.,  xvi.,  p.  35,  Stuart  Papers,  p.  71,  and  below,  note  381. 

(8)  The  Christian  name  of  this  individual  does  not  occur,  and  his  surname  is  never 
written  in  full,  in  the  Diary.    He  is  variously  called  Mr.  F.,  Mr.  Fit.,  Mr.  Fitz.,  and 
•Capt.  F. ;  but  of  his  identity  there  can  be  no  doubt.     He  is  "  the  Honourable  Robert 
Fitzgerald,  Esq.,"  second  son  of  the  sixteenth  and  father  of  the  nineteenth  Earl 
of  Kildare  (Lodge,  vol.  i.,  p.  106  sqq.},  "  by  whose  great  Conduct  and    discreet 
Management  this  city  [of    Dublin]    has  been  preserved  from   violent  Tumults " 
and    many  other  evils,     and    whose    praises  are    sounded  in  the  Full  and  True 
Account,  quoted  in  a  previous  note.       According  to  that  tract  he  took  a  leading 
part  in  the  Restoration  of  1660  (compare  S.P.I.,  chap,  in.,  §  2,  p.  52),  and  was  a 
member  of  the  Irish  Privy  Council,  Comptroller  of  the  Musters,  a  Captain  of  Horse, 
and  Governor  of  the  County  Kildare  under  Charles  II.     Of  all  these  offices  he  was 
•deprived  three  weeks  after  the  accession  of  James  II.,  if  the  testimony  of  the  writer  of 
the  tract  is  to  be  accepted.     But  it  is  hard  to  reconcile  this  statement  with  the  fact 
recorded  in  the  text,  that  he  applied  to  the  king  for  the  arrears  of  his  pay  as  Cheque- 
inaster  of  the  Musters.     His  name,  in  fact,  appears  as  Comptroller  of  the  Musters  in 
a  list  of  King  James's  Field  Officers,  dated  2nd  June,  1690  (S.  P.  I.,  p.  341).      It  is 
certain,  however,  that  he  was  early  deprived  of  his  troop  (S.P.I.,  chap,  in.,  §  2, 
p.  53).     Fitzgerald  was  a  staunch  Protestant.     His  religious  opinions  were  the  cause 
of  his  dismissal  from  office,  and  of  his  subsequent  imprisonment.     He  was  arrested 
(above,  note  2)  towards  the  end  of  July,  1689,  and  taken  to  Newgate.     A  few  days 
later,  it  appears,  he  \vas  removed  to  the  Castle,  and  was  confined  there  till  the  libera- 
tion of  the  Protestants  in  the  following  December.     After  this  "  he  was  permitted, " 
says  the  writer  of  our  tract,  "  to  live  with  some  Ease  in  his  own  House  about  5  months  "  : 
where,  for  '  five,'  we  must  read  'six,'  for  his  second  incarceration  seems  to  have 
ftegun  on  the  24th  June,  1690,  shortly  after  the  news  of  the  landing  of  William  III. 

14th  June)  reached  Dublin.     On  this  occasion,  we  are  informed,  "  he  was  hurried  out 


DJAUY  OF  WILLIAM  KING,  D.D.,  ARCHBISHOP  OF  DUBLIN.    143 

for  ye  arrears  of  his  office,  of  cheque  Mr:  of  the  musters.  An  old  trooper 
of  Mr  Fitz:  came  to  him  &  told  him  yl  one  Leik9  meet  him,  one  Stockton 
&  Sr  Samuel  Foxton 10  at  his  lodgings  in  St.  George's  lane  u  &  amongst 
other  things  ye  sd  leak,  affirmed  y1  he  knew  enough  concerning  us  all  to  hang 
us :  which  was  occasioned  by  Sr  Samuel  Foxton's  saying  yl  he  knew  some  of 
us  to  be  honest  gentlemen, — [29] — &  y4t  was  a  pity  y*  we  shoud  be  troubled 
for  nothing.  In  ye  morning  mr  Spranger  came  &  gave  us  a  visite  &  told 
me  ye  news  of  ye  town.  I  was  likewise  visited  by  one  Hogon  concern- 
ing some  way  in  ye  Kings  cellor,  12  who  knew  me  at  Artragh  13  as  he  sd 
he  seemed  much  concerned  for  me  &  was  earnest  to  have  me  petition  for 
my  liberty.  I  told  him  I  was  content  to  continue  during  the  Kings 
pleasure  yl  ye  Ld  C:  J:  N:  had  advised  us  to  forbear  till  ye  end  of  this 
week,  he  told  me  y1  his  freinds  in  the  North  were  almost  destroyed  by 

of  his  House  by  an  insolent  Militia  Officer,  assisted  by  7  Townsmen,  without  allowing 
him  one  moment  of  Time  to  put  his  Affairs  in  Order,  and  carried  to  the  Castle,  where 
lie  met  with  Dr.  King  and  Dr.  Foy,  two  eminent  Divines,  in  the  Guard- Boom,  having 
been  brought  thither  some  Hours  before  on  the  same  account ;  and  after  some 
Deliberation  it  was  ordered  he  should  be  sent  to  the  Colledge,  where  at  that  time  there 
were  above  50  Prisoners  of  all  Sorts  and  Qualities."  The  day  after  the  Boyne  all 
prisoners  were  released,  and  Fitzgerald  at  once  took  the  lead  in  restoring  order  in  the 
city.  He  sent  Sir  Robert  Gore  to  demand  the  keys  of  the  Castle,  and  himself  induced 
the  soldiers  at  the  Main  Guard  to  surrender.  Their  arms  were  given  to  Protestants  ;  and 
one  Captain  Slaughter  was  made  their  commander.  Fitzgerald  was  one  of  those  who 
signed  a  letter  despatched  at  2  o'clock  the  next  morning  to  King  "William,  stating  that  the 
city  was  "  absolutely  in  his  Majesty's  dispose."  Finally  a  committee  of  nine  appointed 
him  Governour  of  Dublin.  The  king  confirmed  their  appointment,  and  continued  him  in 
his  office  of  Cheque -master  of  the  Musters.  Fitzgerald  found  his  new  master  no  more 
punctual  in  his  payments  than  the  deposed  sovereign.  The  last  notice  of  him  which  I 
have  been  able  to  discover  is  the  record  in  the  Calendar  of  Treasury  Papers,  1557-1696, 
p.  471,  under  the  date  26th  November,  1695,  of  his  petition  "concerning  the  arrears 
of  salary  due  to  him  as  comptroller  of  the  musters  and  cheques  of  the  army  in  Ireland, 
since  Michaelmas,  1688,  at  £365  per  annum,  and  £100  per  annum  for  his  deputy." 
Fitzgerald  was  a  wealthy  man,  his  income,  according  to  the  Full  and  True  Account, 
being  £3300  a  year.  As  to  his  exertions  in  restoring  order  in  Dublin,  see  further, 
Mullenaux,  p.  13.  A  shorter  account  is  given  in  A  True  and  Perfect  Journal  of  the 
Affairs  in  Ireland  since  His  Majesties  Arrival  in  that  Kingdom,  by  a  Person  of 
Quality,  London,  1690,  p.  3  sqq. 

(9)  The  following  sentences  from  S.  P.  I.,  chap,  in.,  §  7,  p.  94,  give  all  the  facts 
which  I  have  been  able  to  discover  about  Leak  :  "  Some  few  Gentlemen  were  com- 
mitted by  C.  J.  Nugents  "Warrant,  upon  a  kind  of  Affidavit  made  by  one  Leak,  whom 
most  of  them  had  never  seen  :  several  of  these,  by  express  Orders  of  the  Lord  Chief 
Justice,  were  sent  to  Newgate,  and  committed  in  the  Common  Goal  (sic).  ...  A  Bill 
was  prepared  against  them,  and  offered  to  the  Grand  Jury  ;  but  Leak  was  unwittingly 
clapt  up,  by  one  of  themselves,  for  a  former  Eobbery,  at  the  time  he  should  have  given 
Evidence,  and  so  the  Gentlemen  escaped  being  tryed."     The  gentlemen  against  whom 
Leak  made  his  charges  were  probably  the  twelve  mentioned  above,  note  2. 

(10)  Sir  Samuel  Foxton,  or  Foxon,  lived  at  a  house  on  the  Shannon,  two  or  three 
miles  above  Limerick  (J.  N.,  pp.  113,  288).    Samuel  Foxon,  junior,  of  Limerick,  Esq., 
was  attainted  in  1689  (S.  P.  I.,  p.  249). 

(11)  Now  South  Great  George's -street. 

(12)  I  cannot  explain  this  enigmatic  allusion. 

(13)  Probably  Ardtrea  (Lewis'  Topographical  Dictionary,  vol.  i.,  p.  58),  a  parish 
which  lies  along  the  western  shore  of  Lough  Neagh,  in  the  counties  of  Deny  and 
Tyrone,  and  includes  a  portion  of  the  town  of  Moneymore.     It  may  have  been  in  this 
parish  or  its  neighbourhood  that  King  spent  his  boyhood,  when  he  taxed  the  patience 
of  his  Tyrone  teacher,  and  chafed  under  the  tyranny  of  Dilgardnus,  the  master  of 
Dungannon  School.     (See  Worthies,  p.  148  ;  E.'H.  R.,  p.  311.) 


144        ROYAL    SOCIETY    OF   ANTIQUARIES    OF    IRELAND. 

burning  of  the  country,  but  I  asked  him  no  question.  This  evening  the 
former  gentleman  y*  gave  us  ye  information  concerning  ye  design  of 
burning  Dublin  u  came  again  to  Mr  Fitz:  about  7  &  told  him  y1  the  King 
had  certain  intelligence  both  from  ye  Queen  in  f ranee  &  from  England 
y1  Schomberg  had  very  formally  taken  his  leave  of  the  parlement 15  &  had 
bin  some — [30] — days  at  ye  water  side  with  the  army  which  the  King  sd 
he  was  sure  was  now  in  duglass  bay,  &  y*  he  expected  ym  every  hour,  upon 
which  he  prest  him  extremely  to  lose  no  time  or  oportunity  of  getting 
out  of  the  Castle,  y*  he  was  every  day  more  confirmed  of  his  danger  in 
being  there  by  reason  ye  town  woud  certainly  be  in  a  great  tumult  & 
y*  there  woud  certainly  be  great  danger  if  the  King's  forces  were  beaten 
upon  which  Mr  F. 16  sd  yl  he  coud  not  think  y*  they  woud  do  such  a 
violent  thing  as  burning  the  city  this  being  to  destroy  the  innocent  with 
the  guilty  &  the  King  having  a  great  number  of  good  subjects  in  it.  upon 
which  he  answered  y*  most  of  those  yl  the  K.  consulted  with  were  for 
violent  courses  &  for  his  own  part  he  knew  not  w*  to  do,  tho'  he  was  a 
"R.  C.  Mr  Fit:  sd  y1  yre  was  no  example  of  so  great  a  city  being  fired, 
on  such  an  account  &  y*  500  men  with  torches — [31] — coud  not  in  a 
week's  time  effect  it,  upon  wch  he  said  it  woud  be  don  by  fire-ball  which 
were  ready,  and  if  it  shoud  be  four  or  five  days  a  burning  it  coud  not  be 
quenched  till  reduced  to  ashes. 

he  further  told   Mr   P. 16  y1  yre  were   certainly  great   disorders   in 
England,  and  y*  my  Ld  Halifax,  and  Danby17  were  committed  toy"  Tower 

(14)  Of.  S.  P.  D.,  p.  278  tq.    "  The  papists  do  not  hesitate  to  say  that  if  their  army 
is  defeated  they  will  turn  the  city.  .  .  .  "We  may  justly  dread  if  that  city  be  burnt 
they  will  by  a  barbarous  massacre  secure  them  [the  prisoners  in  Dublin]  from  joining 
with  us."     These  statements  occur  in  a  letter  written  somewhere  in  England  by 
Thomas  Ashe  to  Oliver  St.  George,  30th  September,  1689.     They  are  based  on  infor- 
mation received  from   "  Mr.  Price's  man  "  (i.e.,  no  doubt,  a  servant  of  the  former 
Receiver-General  Price,  who  was  then  a  prisoner),  who  had  arrived  from  Dublin  the 
previous  day.     For  other  passages  in  the  Diary  in  which  reference  is  made  to  the 
apprehended  burning  of  the  city,  see  Aug.  19,  21,  22,  29,  Sept.  1,  8,  29.     The  same 
fear  still  haunted  the  Protestant  citizens  after  James  left  Dublin  on  the  16th  June, 
1690,   and  an  attempt  was  actually  made,  3rd  July,  to  set  fire  "to  the  thach'd 
Houses  in  Sevan-street11  (Full  and  True  Account,  p.  4  ;  Mullenaux,  p.   11).     See 
also  contemporary  pamphlets,  passim. 

(15)  For  a  description  of  Schomberg's  leave-taking  on  the  16th  July,  see  M.,  p.  413 
sq.     He  arrived  at  Chester  on  the  20th  July,  and,  after  long  delay,  embarked  at  Hoy- 
lake  on  the  12th  August,  the  very  day  on  which  King  wrote,  landing  at  Groomsport, 
near  Bangor,  on  the  13th.     He  did  not  touch  at  the  Isle  of  Man,  though  he  originally 
purposed  to  call  at  Ramsey  (S.  P.  D.,  p.  220  ;  Harris'  King  William,  p.  244).   He  seems 
to  have  abandoned  this  intention  at  the  very  moment  of  sailing  on  account  of  the 
favourable  wind  (Great  News  from  the  Army  Under  the  Command  of  Duke  Schomberge, 
a  letter  from  Liverpool,  dated  20th  August,  1689). 

(16)  This  letter  is  doubtful. 

(17)  George  Savile,  Marquess  of  Halifax,  and  Thomas  Osborne,  Viscount  Danby 
(and,  since  20  April,  Marquess  of   Caermarthen),    rival    ministers  of  William  III. 
The  gossip  here  recorded  had  no  foundation  in  fact.      Attempts  had  been  made  to 
induce  Parliament  to  petition  the  king  for  the  removal  of  Halifax  and  Caermarthen 
from  office,  but  they  were  entirely  unsuccessful.     The  attack  on  Halifax  was  defeated 
in  the  Lords  on  the  3rd  August,  that  on  Caermarthen  had  been  disposed  of  some  time 
before  (M.,  pp.  406-410  ;  D.  N.  B.,  xlii.,  p.  301). 


DIARY  OF  WILLIAM  KING,  D.D.,  AUCHBISHOP  OF  DUBLIN.     145 

by  ye  prince's  order  and  4  of  the  Convention,18  who  were  rescued  by  y« 
Apprentices  as  they  were  carying  to  ye  Tower,  and  yl  yrcupon  ye  P:  0: 
came  from  Hampton  Court  and  lay  in  Hide  park  with  a  great  part  of  ye 
army  encamped  about  him. 

he  also  added  yl  McCay  was  mighty ly  routed  by  Lord  Dundee  &  forced 
to  retire  to  recruit  his  army  at  Edenburgh  19 ;  yl  the  french  fleet  were 
at  sea,  and  y*  ye  K.  had  sd  yl  ye  two  fleets  had  certainly  met  by  this  time 
yt  ye  French  fleet  were  in  Cap*  ships  fire  ships  &  tenders  above  an  100. 
— [32] — He  again  presst  Mr  F.  to  endeavour  to  be  bailed,  and  told  him 
yl  he  had  presst  Ld  C.  J.  N:  to  accept  bail,  but  he  answered  y*  yre  was 
no  step  made  in  yl  matter  but  by  advice  of  ye  privy  council,20  and  y* 
we  must  aply  ourselves  yre,  whereupon  he  went  to  take  further  advice 
<3oiicerning  Mr  F.'s  release,  and  promised  to  give  an  account  of  his  pro- 
gress yrein,  either  to  night  or  to-morrow  morning  seeming  mighty  earnest 
and  pressing  yrein  begging  him  to  leave  no  stone  unturned  in  order  to 
procure  it. 

Sir  Tho  Crosby 21  being  here  this  afternoon  was  likewise  of  the 
same  mind  &  offered  to  be  bail  for  Mr  Fit:  affirming  yl  ye  fleet  under 
Schomberg  was  certainly  at  ye  isle  of  man  &  earnestly  wishing  y*  he 
might  be  released  before  they  came  here. 

August  13. — Mr  Beck zz  came  up  with  an  order  from  Ld  Chief  Justice 
N.  to  have  Mr  Crow 23  broaght  before  him  in  order  to  bail  him,  and  about 
nine  Mr  Cumberford 24  came  &  took  him  away.  I  drew  up  a  letter  to  Ld 

(18)  The  Convention  summoned  by  William,  which  met  on  the   22iid   January, 
1688-9,  was  a  month  later  (22ud  February)  transformed  into  a  parliament.     King, 
ignoring  this,  calls  it  by  its  original  name. 

(19)  General  Mackay's  defeat  at  Killiecrankie  on  the  27th  July.   King's  informant, 
it  will  be  observed,  suppressed  the  fact  that  Dundee  was  killed,  and  the  nominal 
victory  thus  made  more  disastrous  to  the  Jacobites  than  a  defeat.     This  intelligence 
did  not  reach  the  prisoners  till  15th  October.     See  below,  under  that  date.     Mackay 
retired  to  Stirling,  not  to  Edinburgh  (Life,  p.  352). 

(20)  Of.  Full  and  True  Account^  p.  2  :   "  After  frequent  Applications  and  Importu- 
nities, an  Order  of  Council  was  obtained  to  let  him  out  on  Bail." 

(21)  Sir  Thomas  Crosby,  of  Tralee,  knighted  in  1677,  a  captain  in  Colonel  Francis 
Carroll's  regiment  of  dragoons  in  King  James's  army,  and  one  of  the  representa- 
tives for  the  county  Kerry  in  tbe  Irish  Parliament  of  1689.       He  was  one  of  the 
assessors  of  taxes  for  the  county  Kerry  appointed  by  James,  10th  April,  1690.      With 
David  Crosby  of  Ardfert  (his  father?),  and  Maurice  Crosby  of  Knockmar,  Queen's 
County,  he  was  attainted  in  1691  (D'Alton,  pp.  34,  374,  383).     It  is  stated  in  a 
letter  from  Dublin,  of  date  12th  June,   1689,  that  "the  Quakers  and  Crosby  talk  of 
an  Invasion  [from  England],  but  represent  the  people  of  England  as  dissatisfied" 
(Journal,  p.  13).     A  pass  for  his  son  William  to  go  to  Ireland  was  issued  10th  April, 
1689  (S.  P.  D.,  p.  58).     He  died  in  1694,  his  will  being  dated  20th  July,  1694,  and 
proved  7th  Feb.,  1695-6. 

(22)  On  Anthony  Beck,  Mr.  Crow's  servant,  see  below,  note  184. 

(23)  Mr.  Thomas  Croue,  Crow,  or  Crou,  was  one  of  the  twelve,  stated  in  Full  and 
True  Account,  p.  2,  to  have  been  imprisoned   in  Newgate  (above,   note  2).      The 
references  to  him  which  occasionally  occur  in  A.  R.  are  sufficient  to  prove  that  he  was 
a  person  of  good  position  in  the  City  of  Dublin.     See  e.g.  pp.  417,  429,  437. 

(24)  Who  this  Mr.  Cumberford  may  have  been  I  am  unable  to  say  with  certainty ; 
but  it  is  somewhat  remarkable  that  of  five  persons  bearing  the  name  in  King  James's 
Army  List,  three  were  in  Thomas  Butler's  regiment  of  foot,  viz.  Lieutenant  Michael 

four    tt    S    \    T      $  Vo1'  XIIU»  ^ft11  Ser-  (  T 

>ur.  R.b.A.I. 


146        ROYAL    SOCIETY    OF   ANTIQUARIES    OF   IRELAND. 

C.  J.  Herbert25  &   a  petition  to  his  majesty.      I  ordered  Mr  King20 
to  manage  &  sollicit  ye  affair  for  my  releasement. 

I  need  not  advise  you  to  make  these  things  a  secret.27 


[29] — Aug.  13. — Mr  Crow  produced  his  discharge  from    the   Lordi 

Comerford,  and  Ensigns  James  and  Garrett  Comerfoid  (D'Alton,  pp.  562,  685  ;  cf. 
J.N.,  p.  206).  In  the  same  regiment  was  Lieut.  William  Smyth,  one  of  only  four 
Smiths  in  the  list  (D' Alton,  pp.  665,  685  ;  J.  N.,  p.  206),  Captain  Maurice  Roche, 
and  Ensign  Nicholas  Roche  (D'Alton,  p.  685  :  J.  N.,  p.  207,  in  the  latter  of  which 
Captain  Roche  is  called  Delaroche).  Now  officers  bearing  these  three  names  are 
mentioned  in  the  Diary  as  being  in  the  Castle.  The  inference  is  plausible  that  at 
least  part  of  the  regiment  was  stationed  in  Dublin,  and  furnished  a  guard  for  the 
prisoners  in  the  Castle.  Cumberford  is  sometimes  styled  Lieutenant  in  the  Diary  : 
from  which  we  may  infer  that  he  was  the  Michael  Comerford  mentioned  above — the 
only  lieutenant  with  that  surname  in  the  Army  List. 

'(25)  Edward  Herbert,  brother  of  Arthur  Herbert,  Earl  of  Torrington,  the  incom- 
petent admiral  of  King  William's  fleet,  was  a  graduate  of  New  College,  Oxford.  He 
practised  at  the  Irish  Bar,  and  became  K.C.  in  1677.  Subsequently  (1682)  returning 
to  England,  he  was  appointed  Chief  Justice  of  Chester  in  1683,  and  knighted  a  few 
months  later.  He  was  appointed  Attorney -General  to  the  Duke  of  York  in  January  r 
1684-1685,  and,  on  his  accession  to  the  throne,  Attorney- General  to  the  Queen. 
Later  in  the  year  he  succeeded  Jeffreys  as  Lord  Chief  Justice  of  the  King's  Bench. 
In  consequence  of  his  opposition  to  the  arbitrary  proceedings  of  King  James,  he  was 
removed  from  the  King's  Bench  to  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas.  Nevertheless,  he 
remained  faithful  to  his  sovereign,  following  him,  first  to  France,  then  to  Ireland,  and 
then  again  to  France.  As  a  recompense  James  conferred  upon  him  the  empty  titles 
of  Lord  Chancellor  of  England  and  Duke  of  Portland  (S.  P.  I.,  chap,  in.,  §  1,  p.  47  ; 
E.  H.  R.,  p.  319  ;  M.,  iv.,  p.  227 ;  Stuart  Papers,  p.  77).  As  a  Protestant,  however,  he 
seems  to  have  had  little  weight  in  his  counsels,  and  ultimately  retired  to  Flanders. 
He  died  in  1698  (D.  N.  B.,  vol.  xxvi.,  p.  183),  The  subject  of  King's  letters  to  him 
may  be  guessed  from  the  entry  under  Aug.  14,  where  see  note  30.  In  his  younger 
days,  at  the  Irish  Bar,  Herbert  was  a  smoker,  and  often  enjoyed  with  his  pipe  the 
society  of  his  friend  "  the  Minister  of  St.  Warburgh's."  So  we  learn  from  two  playful 
letters  from  him  to  King  in  Mrs.  Lyons'  collection,  the  one  dated  from  Trim,  26th 
August,  1682,  the  other  from  the  Inner  Temple,  16th  December,  1682. 

(26)  According  to  Sir  C.  S.  King,  Lough  Erne,  p.  56,  this  was  Robert  King,  of 
Lissen  Hall,  near  Swords,  second  son  of  James  King,  of  Corrard,  a  Scottish  immigrant 
of  the  time  of  Charles  I.     The  same  writer  states  that  he  was  cousin  of  "William 
King,  while  Mason,  p.  Ixxvii,  followed  by  Cotton,  ii.,  p.  138,  describes  his  brother  as 
William  King's  nephew.     What  authority  there  is  for  either  of  these  conflicting 
statements  I  do  not  know.     Robert  King,  like  his  more  famous  namesake,  suffered 
under  the  regime  of  James  II.  (see  below,  9th  September).     Sir  C.  S.  King  is  probably 
right  in  identifying  him  with  "  Mr.  King  an  Attorney,"  who,  on  22nd  January,  1690, 
escaped  "  from  the  Enemies  Quarters,  and  gave  the  Duke  [Schomberg]  an  account 
how  things  stood  at  Dublin"   (Story,  p.  53).     He  was  held  in  much  regard  by  the 
Archbishop,  for  whom  he  acted  as  law  agent,  and  is  often  mentioned  in  his  cor- 
respondence.    In  his  letters  to  him  he  usually  addressed  him  as  "Dear  Friend." 
In  his  house  in  Skinners'-row  the  Dean  resided  in  the  latter  part  of  1690,  as  we  learn 
from  the  direction  of  a  letter  addressed  to  him  on  the  9th  September  of  that  year 
(referred  to  below,  note  32).      At  his  death,  in  1711,  he  left  Archbishop  King  guardian 
of  his  daughter,  Mary,  sometimes  wrongly  described  as  the  Archbishop's  niece. 

(27)  These  words  seem  to  indicate  that  the  portion  of  the  Diary  which  precedes 


DIARY  OF  WILLIAM  KING,  D.D.,  ARCHBISHOP  OF  DUBLIN.    147 

Chief  Justice  riverstown28  to  Mr  Cumberford  he  took  leave  of  us  & 
went  down  stairs  hut  immediately  came  up  stairs  again  &  told  us  y1 
Mr  Cumberford  had  remanded  him  for  fees.  He  asked  him  what  fees  he 
demanded.  He  said  he  woud  compute  ym  immediately.  Cornelius  came  up 
&  called  for  the  keys  of  the  doors  and  told  us  y*  ^(sic)  Mr  Cumberford  had 
threatened  to  run  him  through,  and  had  commanded  him  to  lock  us  up  both 
rooms.  We  thought  this  unreasonable  and  twas  resolved  that  Mr  Crow 
shoud  stay  till  he  had  taken  advice.  He  was  remanded  about  five  in  ye 
afternoon.  It  hapened  y*  while  Mr  Cumb:  was  in  the  room  Mr  Fitz:  looked 
out  of  the  window  and  saw  one  Cap*  Smith,29  and  said  of  him  yk 
when  he  came  over  he  was  a  rough  soldier  but  now  was  become  a  very 
gentile  man.  I  sd  y*  ye  Court  woud  polish  any  man  y1  was  capable  of  it. 
This  is  observed  lest  Mr  Cumb:  should  misrepresent  it.  At  supper 
Mr  Crow's  ser1  Anthony  Beck  came  to  us  and  was  ordered  to  move  for 
a  Habeas  Corpus  for  his  master. 

[30]—  Aug.  14- — Mr  K.  came  to  me  about  4  in  ye  afternoon,  and  having 
procured  an  order  from  Ld  C.  J.  ET.  for  to  have  me  bailed,  I  gave  him  a 
letter  to  Ld  C.  J.  H.  to  be  my  bail.30  He  went  to  him  &  got  him 
to  undertake  it.  While  Mr  King  was  with  me,  Mr  Cumb.  came  up  in 
a  great  passion  and  asked  Mr  1C.  how  he  came  up.  He  answered  y1  an 
officer  came  up  with  him.  Mr  Cumb.  asked  w*  officer.  He  replied,  a 
corporall  &  shewed  him  my  Ld  C.  J.  N.'s  warrant.  He  ran  down  in  great 
passion  &  we  coud  not  imagine  w1  he  designed,  but  he  immediately 
sent  up  a  soldier  to  require  Mr  K.  to  come  down,  which  he  obeyed.  A 
little  time  after  Mr  Cumb:  came  up,  &  Mr  Crow  told  him  that  he  was 
now  his  prisoner  &  not  ye  King's,  inasmuch  as  the  Chief  Justice  had  dis- 
charged him.  He  answered  y*  he  woud  justify  what  he  did.  Mr  Fitz. 
bid  him  take  a  care  what  he  did,  for  if  he  kept  any  body  after  the  King 
had  releast  him,  it  woud  be  at  his  own  peril  &  he  must  answer  it,  &  y1 
such  a  thing  might  ruin  him.  He  reply  ed  angryly  y*  he  woud  do  it  to  any 
body,  even  to  him.  Mr  Fitz.  answered  y*  if  it  shoud  please  the — [31] — 
King  to  release  him  &  allow  him  his  sword,31  &  he  shoud  offer  after  y1 
to  lay  hands  on  him,  he  woud  not  scruple  to  run  him  throw  &  woud  not 


them  was  written  for  the  benefit  of  a  friend,  to  whom  it  was  transmitted  immediately 
afterwards.  The  words  are  followed  by  a  blank  space  of  a  page  and  a  half,  the  next 
entry  being  on  a  page  numbered  29,  though  the  present  one  has  the  number  32. 

(28)  Nugent  was  created  Baron  Riverstown  by  James  II.  in  April,  1689  (S.  P.  I., 
chap,  in.,  §  12,  p.  150  ;  Stuart  Papers,  p.  39). 

(29)  See  above,  note  24. 

(30)  Compare  the  letter  quoted  by  Mason,  p.  211  :   "I  was  much  obliged  to  him  to 
the*  last,  and  he  offered  to  be  baile  for  me,  but  was  rejected  by  my  Lord  Chiefe  Justice 
Nugent,  because  he  was  a  protestant,  which  heartily  vexed  him." 

(31)  It  will  be  remembered  that  the  Protestants  of  Dublin  had  been  deprived  of 
their  arms  by  order  of  Tyrconnell,  24th  February,  and  that  by  the  king's  Proclama- 
tion of  20th   July  they  were  forbidden  to   wear  swords    (S.  P.  I.,  chap,  in.,  §  8, 
pp.  111-113). 

L2 


148        ROYAL    SOCIETY    OF    ANTIQUARIES    OF    IRELAND. 

doubt  to  justify  it.  This  he  sd  in  some  heat.  Mr  Cum:  sd  he  wore  a 
sword  &  y*  he  shoud  find  y1  he  woud  suffer  no  body  to  run  him  thro 
and  yl  who  fees  soever  (sic)  were  forgiven  his  shoud  not,  and  y*  he  woud 
carry  ye  next  that  went  to  be  bailed  with  two  or  three  files  of  soldiers 
lest  they  shoud  refuse  to  come  back.  I  and  the  rest  endeavoured  to 
mitigate  this  heat,  and  I  told  Mr  Cumber:  that  I  thought  it  unreasonable 
that  he  shoud  be  judge  in  his  own  cause,  that  I  would  give  him  w1 
fees  I  believed  due,  y1  if  he  demanded  any  more  I  woud  give  in  security 
before  C.  J.  K".  to  pay  ym  when  convicted  by  due  course  of  Law,  and 
y1 1  thought  neither  he  nor  I  ought  to  be  judge  but  a  jury,  and  in  ye 
meantime  desired  him  to  treat  us  as  gentlemen,  and  our  differing  in  a  point 
of  right  ought  to  be  no  reason  of  quarrel  or  incivility.  He  said  he  had  bin 
but  too  civil  to  us  but  especially — [32] — to  Mr  Fitz.  who  he  perceived 
to  have  had  a  prejudice  to  him  from  ye  first  night.  Mr  Fitz  sd  he  had 
no  prejudice,  but  he  had  bin  backward  to  all  his  civility  when  he  had 
invited  him  to  eat  &  drink  &c  he  answered  y1  he  ought  not  to  impute 
y4  to  him  since  he  did  it  out  of  respite  as  not  judging  it  fit  for  him 
to  accept  such  things  from  a  person  of  Mr  Fitz.  quality,  whom  he 
reverenced.  Mr  F.  replied  that  he  had  eaten  with  an  hundred  worse 
men  yn  him,  ye  King's  commission  having  qualified  him  to  converse 
with  gentlemen.  This  brought  ym  to  a  better  temper  &  they  parted. 
L1  Lawless  came  to  visite  me  &  offered  to  be  bail  for  me,32  which  I 
accepted.  "We  discoursed  about  pious  and  religious  matter  but  nothing 
of  news  or  state  matters,  only  he  told  me  of  the  french  fleet  coming  out 
of  Brest.33  About  9  Mr  Cumb:  came  up  &  staid  till  near  11.  We 
drank  a  bottle  of  wine  &  talked  of  indifferent  things  only  something  of 


(32)  The  following  paper,  in  King's  handwriting,  is  preserved  in  Mrs.  Lyons* 
collection.     It  plainly  refers  to  the  Lieutenant  Lawless  of  the  text  (called  Captain 
Lawless  below).     No  signatures  are  appended,  from  which  \ve  may  infer  that  it  is 
merely  the  rough  draft  of  a  petition  :  — 

"  DUBLIN,  Sep*  y*  24,  1690. 

"  "We  the  undernamed  persons  do  hereby  certify  that  to  our  knowledge  Cap1 
Patrick  lawless  hath  in  the  late  troublesom  times  wherein  protestants  were 
sufferers  behaved  himself  civilly  to  ye  protestant  neighbours  about  his  quarters  in 
Dublin,  y*  upon  severall  occasions  he  readily  offered  ym  his  service  &  when 
opportunity  was  served  ym  &  particularly  offered  to  be  bound  for  some  in  order 
to  get  ym  out  of  prison  in  consideration  whereof  we  request  the  governor  to  con- 
sider him  favourably  yi  he  may  have  the  benefit  of  his  former  civilitys  &  what 
further  favour  he  lawfully  may  allow  him." 

This  petition  was  the  outcome  of  a  letter  in  the  same  collection  \vritten  from 
prison  by  Lawless  a  fortnight  earlier  (9th  September),  asking  King  to  represent  to 
those  in  authority  the  barbarous  usage  which  he  was  receiving. 

No  Captain  Patrick  Lawless  is  named,  it  seems,  in  King  James's  Army  List,  and 
our  Captain  Lawless  can  scarcely  be  identified  with  either  of  the  officers  of  that 
name  who  are  known  to  have  served  under  the  Jacobite  colours  (D' Alton,  pp.  205, 
375). 

(33)  See  above,  note  3. 


DIARY  OF  WILLIAM  KING,  D.D.,  ARCHBISHOP  OF  DUBLIN.      149 

"brass  money  34  &  w*  it  cost  the  King  monthly  in  his  army,  concerning 
which  we  asked  no  questions. 

[33] — Aug.  15. — In  the  morning  Mr  King  sent  me  word  y*  he  woud 
be  with  me  about  ten,  and  desired  me  to  get  Mr  Cumb:  ready,  and  he 
woud  be  ready  with  bail  for  me.  About  y*  time  Chief  J.  N.  came  to  \e 
Castle  which  obliged  us  to  defer  going  to  his  house  till  ye  afternoon.  We 
heard  y*  an  express  had  brought  news  of  170  ships  about  belfast35  and 
we  observed  y1  they  were  in  some  hurry  in  ye  Castle,  which  we  judged 
partly  proceeded  from  y*  news  &  partly  for  its  being  a  p:  holiday.36  Sir 
John  Ivory37  gave  us  a  visite  &  we  talkt  of  common  things.  Mr  K.  came 
to  me  and  told  me  he  had  gotten  Cap*  Martin 38  &  Cap*  Lawless 39  to 
be  bail  for  me.  About  3  in  the  afternoon  he  came  again,  and  Mr  Cumb: 
with  him.  Mr  Crow  told  him  that  y*  he  was  his  prisoner  and  not  ye  Kings, 
and  y*  he  might  allow  him  w*  liberty  he  pleased  &  desired  him  to  let 
him  walk  down  into  ye  Castle  Court,  promising  under  ye  penalty  of  an 
100lb  to  return,  but  Mr  Cumber:  refused  upon  which  he  sd  he  was  a 
pitifull  fellow  or  words  to  y*  effect,  &  y*  he  valued  him  not  an  halfpeny 
or  pin.  Hr  Cumber:  asked  whether  I  woud — [34] — upon  my  word 
promise  to  return  back  again  to  ye  Castle  as  his  prisoner,  or  else  he 
woud  cafy  a  guard  with  him  to  secure  me.  I  answered  y*  I  did  not  look 
like  a  man  y*  woud  run  away,  y*  if  he  suspected  it  he  might  carry  w* 
guards  he  pleased  to  secure  me,  as  for  myself  I  woud  not  make  myself 
prisoner  to  any  by  any  voluntary  promise.  Mr  French  &  Mr  K.  woud 
have  had  me  make  ye  promise,  but  I  desired  to  be  excused,  so  Mr  Cumber: 
caryed  me  with  a  guard,  consisting  of  a  sergeant  &  I  think  of  a  file  of 
men  attending  ye  coach.  Mr  Cumber:  told  me  y*  he  was  sorry  he  was 

(34)  By  Proclamations  of  June  18th  and  27th,  1689,  brass  money  was  to  be  accepted 
as  payment,  save  in  certain  exceptional  cases.      The  exceptions  were  removed  by 
Proclamation  4th  February,  1689-90  (S.  P.  I.,  chap.  HI.,  §11,  p.  134  sq.  ;  Harris' 
King  William,  p.  238). 

(35)  Probably  the  ships  conveying  Schomberg's  troops.     He  sailed  with  about 
ninety  ships,  the  remainder  of  his  army  following  a  few  days  later  (Harris'  King 
William,  p.  244  sq.}. 

(36)  The  Assumption  of  the  B.  V.  M. 

•N37)  Captain  William  Ivory  of  New  Ross,  County  Wexford,  (born  1624,  died 
1684),  received  a  large  grant  of  lands  under  the  Act  of  Settlement.  His  son  John 
(born  1654),  who  was  knighted  at  Windsor  Castle,  20th  May  1683,  and  was  M.P.  for 
Wexford  in  1692,  is  the  person  mentioned  in  the  text.  He  died  in  1694.  Sir  John 
Ivory  married  Anne,  daughter  of  Sir  John  Talbot  of  Lacock,  Wilts.  His  son  John 
assumed  the  name  and  arms  of  Talbot.  He  is  the  ancestor  of  the  present  family  of 
Talbot s  of  Lacock.  My  knowledge  of  these  facts  I  owe  to  the  Rev.  W.  Reynell,  B.D. 
The  only  notice  of  Sir  John  Ivory  belonging  to  the  year  1689  which  I  have  found  is 
the  statement  that  Lord  Mountgarrett  petitioned  the  Lords  on  5th  June  "that  Sir  John 
Ivory  may  commit  no  waste  on  his  Estate."  An  order  was  made  accordingly 
(Journal,  p.  9). 

(38)  Probably  Captain  Francis  Martin,  of  Colonel  Dominick  Browne's  regiment  of 
foot.     There  are  but  two  other  Martins  in  the  Jacobite  Army  List,  both  lieutenants 
(D'Alton,  p.  861). 

(39)  This  seems  to  be  the  same  person  as  Lieutenant  Lawless  mentioned  above, 
1 4th  August. 


150        ROYAL    SOCIETY    OF   ANTIQUARIES    OF   IRELAND. 

put  on  this,  knowing  y1  it  woud  create  him  a  great  deal  of  Odium  &  y1 
he  had  such  reverence  for  me  y*  it  went  against  his  inclinations  to  be 
obliged  to  expose  me  thus,  but  I  told  him  y*  I  knew  myself  to  be 
an  honest  man,  and  so  I  believed  did  all  y1  know  me,  tho  he  was 
pleased  to  use  me  as  a  rogue.  We  fell  to  talk  of  the  fees.  I  told  him 
y1  it  was  a  most  unreasonable  thing  to  expect  fees  of  innocent  men  at 
this  time  when  no  man  coud  get  a  farthing  of  his  just  rents,  y*  I  shoud 
look  on  him  as  an  ill  man — [35] — y*  woud  put  a  man  in  jail  for  a  bond 
&  judgement,  much  rather  for  fees  which  I  told  him  was  against  law, 
&  I  durst  refer  it  to  any  two  lawyers  in  Dublin  whether  the  detaining 
of  a  prisoner  on  y*  account  was  legall  or  ever  practised  in  England :  y1 
I  lookt  on  it  as  a  common  cause  of  all  the  protestant  gentlemen  of 
Ireland  who  were  generally  in  jail,  &  I  woud  not  betray  yminto  a  charge 
of  10ra  pounds  by  an  ill  precedent,  y1 1  woud  sooner  ly  in  Jail  to  Xstmass. 
He  sd  it  seemed  I  made  it  a  case  of  conscience.  I  answered  I  did  &  y* 
I  woud  nevertheless  not  deny  him  his  just  fees,  but  woud  have  ym 
determined  by  a  jury  before  I  paid  ym.  "Wn  I  came  to  Lord  Chief 
Justice  K  I  met  yre  Cap*  Martin,  Cap*  Lawless,  Mr  K.  &  Mr  French. 
I  walked  a  turn  or  two  with  Mr  French  in  the  Hall.  He  told 
me  y*  I  woud  never  get  out  without  paying  fees  but  I  told  him, 
perhaps  I  might,  for  I  did  not  believe  my  Lord  Chief  Justice  woud 
deny  me  a  Habeas  Corpus.  He  said  perhaps  it  may  be  so,  tho 
Mr  Cumber: — [36] — had  positively  assured  me  y*  Ld  C.  J.  woud  not 
meddle  in  it.  Yn  I  was  called  into  Ld  C.  J.  who  asked  for  my  bail  and 
they  appeared  he  sd  he  knew  ym  not,  &  woud  not  accept  ym  y1  he 
must  have  more  substantial  Rom.  C.  to  bail  me,  at  lest  one  and  Lord 
C.  J.  H.  y*  it  was  meerly  by  his  great  interest  with  the  K.  y*  I  was 
admitted  to  bail.  I  told  him  y1  I  was  very  hardly  dealt  with 4n  y1  it 
was  impossible  any  shoud  behave  ymselves  with  more  caution  respect  & 
submission  to  ye  Government  yn  I  had  done.  He  answered  y1  I  was 
cautious  enough,  but  that  he  had  intimations  a  great  many  against  me 
before  he  committed  me.  I  told  him  y*  those  were  false,  &  y*  it  was 
very  hard  to  have  gentlemen  refused  whom  I  had  procured  with  diffi- 
culty he  said  that  he  did  not  know  ym  that  ye  K.  had  trusted  ye 
thing  to  him,  &  y1  he  must  take  no  bail  but  what  he  thought  sufficient. 
I  answered  y*  ye  King  had  trusted  ym  both  wth  Commissions,  &  I 
thought  ym  persons  very  sufficient ;  y1 1  had  a  great  cure  &  charge  on 
me,  &  that  my  confinement  was  very  inconvenient.  He  told  me  y*  he 
wished  I  had  meddled  with  nothing  else  but  my  cure,  but  that  I  wrought 

(40)  It  will  be  remembered  that  Herbert  had  undertaken  to  give  bail  for  King 
(14th  Aug.).  It  was  perhaps  to  this  occasion  that  King  referred  when  he  wrote  to  Dean 
Trench  in  1699  :  "  When  I  pressed  for  a  tryall,  the  Lord  Chiefe  Justice  Nugent  told 
me  that  truly  they  could  prove  nothing  against  me,  but  he  believed  in  his  conscience 
I  was  guilty,  for  the  King  look'd  on  me  as  a  dangerous  man ;  to  which  I  only  replyed 
that  it  was  very  hard  I  shou'd  loose  my  liberty  for  his  Lordship's  belief"  (Mason,, 
p.  211). 


DIARY  OF  WILLIAM  KING,  D.D.,  ARCHBISHOP  OF  DUBLIN.      151 

against — [37]- — ye  Government.  I  vouched  ye  contrary  &  told  him  y* 
I  knew  w1 1  said  to  be  tru  ;  whereas  his  Lordship  had  w*  he  affirmed 
from  false  affirmations  against  which  my  heing  here  was  a  demonstra- 
tion. He  sd  many  y*  stayd  were  as  bad  as  those  who  went  &  that 
he  woud  do  justice  tho  20m  were  landed  in  the  next  county  ;  & 
finally  refused  to  bail  me  ;  upon  which  I  returned  guarded  as  before. 
I  gave  1s  6d  to  ye  soldiers  and  coachman.  In  the  afternoon  Sir  Tho : 
Crosby  came  up  to  visite  Mr  Fitz:  He  told  him  y1  somebody  had  bin  with 
the  Lord  Chief  Baron  41  &  spoken  to  him  about  bailing  us.  He  said 
ye  Ld  C.  J.  N.  might  give  us  good  words  but  he  had  positive  orders  to 
bail  none  of  us  till  they  saw  what  came  of  this  business.  A  little  after 
Mr  Yaughan  came  up.  He  told  us  y1  Coll.  Sheldon42  had  bin  about 
his  bailing  with  C.  J.  N.,  y4  his  Lordship  told  him  y*  he  knew  nothing 
for  which  Mr  Yaughan  was  in,  nor  anything  of  his  committall,  &  y* 
he  woud  bail  him  when  he  pleased,  upon  wch  Mr  Yaughan  sent  him  a 
petition  but  it  came  back — [*] — to  him  while  he  was  with  us  not 
granted. 

Mem:  y1  ye  Ch.  J.  N.  objected  to  me  ye  letter  was  found  in  my 
closet : 43  to  which  I  answered  y*  I  supposed  y*  ye  gentleman  who 
wrote  it  had  given  satisfaction  y1  there  was  no  part  (sic}  in  it,  &  for 
my  own  part  I  did  not  know  whether  I  had  ever  read  it. 

Mem:    further  y*  Mr  Cum:    asked   me    how   I   thought   ye   King's 


(41)  Sir  Stephen  Rice.     He  was  fifth  son  of  James  Rice,  of  Dingle,  and  was  born 
in  1637.     In  1686  he  was  made  a  Baron  of  the  Court  of  Exchequer,   Sir  Standish 
Harstonge,  his  predecessor,  being  dismissed,  and,  in  April,  1687,  he  became  Chief 
Baron.     King  admits  that  he  was  "a  Man  of  the  best  Sense  amongst  them,  well 
enough  versed  in  the  Law,"  though  he  declares  that  he  was  "  most  signal  for  his 
inveteracy  against  the  Protestant  Interest  and  Settlement  of  Ireland."      For  the 
importance  of  the  Court  of  Exchequer,  over  which  he  presided,  and  for  the  way  in 
which  he  conducted  it,  see  S.  P.  I.,  chap,  in.,  §  3,  p.  63.     Early  in  1688  he  went  to 
London,  with  Nugent  and  Nagle,  to  obtain  the  king's  consent  to  legislation  for  the 
repeal  of  the  Act  of  Settlement ;  and  amusing  stories  are  told  of  the  reception  accorded 
to  these  "Irish  Ambassadors,"  who  failed  to  effect  their  object.     On  the  10th  of 
January,  1689,  he  accompanied  Mountjoy  to  France  on  a  mission  of  which  more 
must  be  said  hereafter.     He  returned  to  Ireland  two  months  later  with  King  James. 
After  the  conclusion  of  the  war  he  was  allowed  to  remain  in  Ireland,  where  he  died 
16  February,  1714-15  (D.  N.  B.,  xlviii.,  p.  103  ;  D'Alton,  p.  183). 

(42)  Dominick  Sheldon  was  "  an  English  Catholic"  (J.  N.,  p.  44),  probably  from 
"Warwickshire.     He  was,  about  1687,  a  captain  to  the  Duke  of  Ormonde  (D'Alton, 
p.  375),  and  was  apparently  the  "  Captain  Sheldon,  a  professed  Papist,"  whom  King 
mentions  as  having  been  given  the   command  of  Captain   Coote's  troop  (S.P.I., 
chap,  in.,  §  2,  p.  53).     He  was  &  protege  of  Tyrconnell,  and  was  brought  to  Ireland 
by  him.     Subsequently  he  became  Lieutenant- Colon  el  of  Tyrconnell' s  Horse.     In 
1688-9  he  was  sent  from   Dublin   to  Ballinderry  to  apprehend   Mr.   Price,  who  had 
refused  to  deliver  up  his  arms  ( Indictment,  p.  4).    He  subsequently  served  at  Coleraine, 
Derry,  and  the  Boyne.     At  Limerick  he  was   Major- General  of   cavalry,   and   at 
Aughrim  he  commanded  the  left  wing.     It  is  clear  that  Jacobite  writers  had  no  high 
opinion  of  his  ability  as  a  general,  though  he  afterwards  did  good  service  on  the 
Continent.     He  appears  to  have  been  the  only  officer  of  the  name  in  the  Jacobite 
army  (D'Alton,  p.  69  ;  J.  N.,  pp.  44,  113,  138,  142,  143,  162,  167,  188). 

(43)  It  is  interesting  to  lay  beside  this  the  passage  from  King's  letter  to  Dean 
Trench,  quoted  above  in  the  Introduction,  p.  121. 


152   ROYAL  SOCIETY  OF  ANTIQUARIES  OF  IRELAND. 

officers  shoud  subsist  if  fees  were  not  pd  ;  to  which  I  answered  y*  I  was- 
not  against  paying  any  legal  fees  in  a  legal  way  when  recovered ;  but  I 
did  not  believe  y*  ye  King  had  any  intention  when  he  granted  offices  yk 
they  shoud  be  maintained  by  ye  oppression  of  his  innocent  subjects^ 
&  y*  I  thought  y*  their  salarys  allowed  ymby  the  Kings  (sic)  was  judged 
by  him  to  be  sufficient  for  ym. 

Aug.  16. — Councellour  R.  Fitz:  came  &  visited  Mr  Fitz:  and  told 
him  y*  the  rebels  were  landing  in  the  North,  that  Schomberg  was  yet  at 
ye  Isle  of  Man44  &  was  resolved  to  stay  yre  till  the  last  men  were 
shipped  of  &  to  take  measures  what  to  do. 45 

(44)  Compare  above,  note  15.  (45)  Here  follows  a  blank  leaf. 


(To  be  continued.} 


(     153     ) 


NOTES  ON  ASKEATON,  COUNTY  LIMERICK. 
PART  II.— THE  HISTORY  AFTER  1579. 

BY  THOMAS  J.  WESTROPP,  M.A.,  M.R.I.A.,  VICE- PRESIDENT. 

(Continued  from  page  40.) 

H  side  had  now  drawn  the  sword  and  thrown  away  the  scahbard. 

For  the  Government  fought  skill,  grim  determination,  fierce  religion, 
and  ardent  loyalty,  and  on  Desmond's  side  were  the  desperate  enthusiasm 
of  a  clan,  the  strongholds  of  the  woods  and  hills,  the  morasses  and 
tangled  valleys,  and  a  deep  religious  zeal  fed  with  strong  stimulants. 
There  were  no  such  overwhelming  military  resources  on  the  side  of  the 
English  as  to  decidedly  outweigh  the  advantages  of  the  outlawed  Earl 
and  his  followers  when  aided  by  the  sympathy  of  a  province. 

On  the  12th  of  November,  1579,  the  disaffected  gentry,  Nicholas 
Saunders,  and  many  other  persons  met  Gerald,  Earl  of  Desmond,  at 
Askeaton,  and  with  1000  armed  men  entered  formally  on  that  fearful 
war  ;l  soon  all  the  district  was  up  in  arms ;  reports  flew  about ;  some 
said  the  Spanish  forces  were  at  Askeaton,  others  that  Desmond  could  not 
muster  his  galloglasses  or  get  them  to  fight.2  Next  month  Ormond, 
whose  country  Desmond  had  sworn  to  burn,  ravaged  and  burned 
Desmond's  lands  from  Askeaton  to  Newcastle,  Kilfinnan,  and  Kilbride, 
"  taking  the  Earle's  studd,"  and  slaying  not  a  few  of  his  soldiers;  but 
he  was  unable  to  assault  Askeaton  Castle,  for,  despite  his  urgent  letters, 
the  Lords  Justices  and  the  War  Department  had  sent  him  no  shot  for 
his  demi  cannon.3 

1580. 

When  the  spring  came  round,  the  English  pressed  on  the  campaign, 
and  took  Carrigfoyle  in  April:  the  very  "  sound  and  roar  of  those 
unknown  and  wonderful  cannon  "4  heard  for  incredible  distances  across 
Thomond  and  Desmond  did  more  than  the  actual  damage  of  the  shot  to 
terrorise  the  garrison  into  surrender.  On  April  3rd  the  English  were 
before  Askeaton.  Lord  Justice  Pelham  had  little  difficulty  in  reducing 

1  Exchequer  Inquisitions,  vol.  xii.,  p.  219  (September  11  and  26),  1584. 

2  C.  S.  P.  I.,  1579  (November  13),  p.  195. 

3  Carew  Calendar,  1579,  p.  203  ;  (C.  S.  P.  I.),  p.  201. 

"  Annals  of  the  Four  Masters."  If  the  discharge  of  guns  on  the  Shannon  can 
(as  I  am  told)  he  heard  on  the  hills  of  Burren,  the  Annalists'  statement  is  hardly 
exaggerated.  See  also  Carew,  1580,  p.  239. 


154        ROYAL    SOCIETY    OF   ANTIQUARIES    OF   IRELAND. 

the  formidable  fortress  "  in  the  midst  of  a  deep  river";  a  few  shots  of  the 
English  cannon,  and  the  garrison  fled  by  night,  blowing  up  and  burning 
a  portion  of  the  out-buildings,1  and,  on  the  5th,  Pelham  dated  his 
letters  from  Desmond's  vaunted  stronghold. 

The  English  were  unable  to  press  their  advantage  because  of 
their  sore  want  of  horses,  the  severe  riding  "  spending"  their 
steeds.  Also  because  their  enemies  "  were  too  swift  of  foot  for  the 
heavy  English  men  at  arms.  Castles  could  not,  however,  run  away, 
and  could  be  garrisoned,  and  the  enemies'  resources  were  gradually 


THE  DESMONDS'  CASTLE,  ASKEATON. 
(From  the  Bridge,  1875.) 

but  surely  exhausted."  The  English,  moreover,  occasionally  took 
cattle,  spoil,  and  prisoners  ;  and  that  spring,  Pelham,  on  one  occasion, 
got  so  close  on  the  traok  of  Desmond  as  to  capture  his  "  aquavitse,  wine 
and  dinner."2  The  army  was  at  Askeaton  again  in  August,  and  was 
visited  by  the  Countess  of  Desmond,  who  confessed  "  with  impudences  " 
that  she  had  urged  Desmond  against  the  Queen,  but  promised  to  bring 

1  Lenihan's  "  Limerick:  its  History  and  Antiquities,"  p.  106,  falls  into  the  strange 
errors  of  stating  that  the  Lord  Justice,  after  taking  Askeaton  Castle,   "partially 
destroyed  (it)  by  gunpowder,  leaving  tbe  towers  untouched,   as  they  remain  to  this 
day."     The  error  of  the  first  statement  being  as  great  in  one  direction  as  that  in  the 
second  is  in  the  opposite. 

2  Carew  (1580),  pp.  246,  249. 


NOTES   ON   ASKEATON,  COUNTY   LIMERICK.  155 

about  his  submission.  A  wife  is  not  always  able  to  "bring  in"  a  husband 
to  surrender,  even  where  his  fate  would  be  safer  than  that  of  Desmond, 
and  nothing  came  of  the  interview.  Pelham  also  spent  some  of  his 
time  in  repairing  that  portion  of  the  castle  partly  destroyed  by  the 
retreating  Irish.1 

The  English  next  found  themselves  badly  off  for  stores,2  save  cattle : 
the  biscuit  was  musty,  the  beer  was  made  of  bad  malt,  and  a  ship,  the 
"  Green  Dragon,"  had  met  with  some  rough  weather,  and  stove  the  beer 
casks,  so  that  much  of  the  longed-for  drink  had  to  be  pumped  "  out  of 
shipboard."  The  horses  of  the  soldiers  were  again  spent,  and  the  land 
round  the  town  was  too  bare  to  restore  them  to  condition.  Guerilla 
warfare  increased,  and  the  bands  were  seldom  hunted  down,  escaping  by 
their  superior  speed  and  perfect  knowledge  of  the  country.  Desmond 
sought  foreign  intervention,  and  sent  to  ask  help  from  Philip  of  Spain, 
as  well  as  from  the  northern  chiefs  O'Neill,  O'Donnell  and  Sorley  Boy. 

In  December  Grey,  the  Lord  Deputy,  had  sent  a  captain,  Edward 
Berkeley,  who  had  served  with  distinction  against  Sorley  Boy,3  to  take 
over  the  command  of  Askeaton.  The  day  after  he  had  started  for  it  the 
rebels  entered  the  place,  but  were  driven  out  by  Lieutenant  Parker.  The 
garrison  consisted  of  400  foot,  Mr.  Treasurer's  and  Sir  Peter  Carew's 
bands  being  quartered  in  the  castle,  and  Mr.  Holling worth's  in  the  Abbey. 
We  incidentally  hear  of  a  monk  of  Askeaton,  a  certain  friar,  James 
O'Haie,  who  was  examined  by  the  English  as  to  the  message  brought 
by  Shane  O'Farrall,  Friar  of  "Askeaton,"  from  James  FitzMaurice  to 
the  Earl  of  Desmond.  O'Farrell,  on  landing  in  Spain,  hastened  to  the 
Court,  and  brought  Fitzmaurice  to  Bilbao,  where  O'Haie  lay  sick.  The 
latter  asked  how  the  Irish  fortunes  went,  "  both  good  and  bad." 
"How  does  the  Earl  of  Desmond?"  "He  is  well  if  he  gets  Fitz- 
Maurice  home";  and  (added  he)  O'Farrell  had  been  sent  by FitzMaurice 
to  the  Earl.  This  was  of  some  importance,  as  it  contradicted  the  Earl's 
statements  to  Drury.4 

THE  BERKELEYS. 

Captain  Edward  Berkeley,  who  was  now  warden  of  Askeaton  Castle, 
and  his  brother  and  successor  Francis,  were  respectively  third  and 
second  sons  of  Sir  Maurice  Berkeley,  of  Bruton,  in  Somersetshire,  who 
had  been  standard-bearer  to  Henry  VIII.,  and  (in  the  rebellion  that 
so  seriously  threatened  that  monarch's  daughter,  Queen  Mary)  had 
received  the  surrender  of  Sir  Thomas  Wyatt,  taking  up  that  ill-fated 
person  on  his  own  horse  for  his  better  temporary  security.  The 
Berkeleys  of  Bruton  sprang  from  a  warlike  race  descended  from 
Kadnoth  the  Staller,  Sheriff  of  Bristol,  under  Edward  the  Confessor, 


Desmond  Roll  (quoted  infra,  Appendix  B),  1581.          2  Carew  (1580),  p.  301. 
Carew  (1584),  p.  383  ;  (C.  S.  P.  I.)  (1598),  p.  346.        4  Carew  (1580),  p.  309. 


156         ROYAL    SOCIETY    OF   ANTIQUARIES    OF    IRELAND. 

Harold,  and  William.1  There  had  been  few  of  the  greater  battles  of 
England,  in  which  the  FitzHardings,  Barons  of  Berkeley  (the  descend- 
ants of  Eadnoth's  son  Harding),  had  not  taken  part— Hastings,  the  wars 
of  Stephen,  the  Welsh  wars,  Caerlaverock  and  Bannock  burn,  Crec,y, 
Calais,  the  French  wars  of  the  Duke  of  Bedford,  and  the  Battle  of 
Bosworth.  The  Tudors  had  few  more  loyal  or  hard-fighting  adherents. 
The  few  facts  of  Edward's  connexion  with  Munster  appear  in  these 
pages,  while  of  Francis  we  need  only  note  at  present  that  he  was  Provost 
Marshal  and  Sheriff  of  Connaught,  his  provostry  at  that  time  covering 
Thomond  (1586).  He  was  a  friend  and  favourite  of  Perrot  (in  whose 
ruin  he  was  nearly  involved),2  a  bitter  opponent  of  Bingham,  and  won 
the  confidence  and  even  some  share  of  the  friendship  of  the  Irish  in 
Connaught,  and  at  Askeaton,  and  was  indeed  censured  for  this  latter  fact 
in  the  reign  of  James  I. 

1581-1583.— END  OF  DESMOND'S  WAE. 

In  the  following  three  years  (1581-1588)  little  of  note  happened  at 
Askeaton:  (Sir)  Walter  Raleigh  reported  to  Grey  that  eleven  of  the 
ward  of  Askeaton  had  been  slain  in  May,  1581.  Edward  Berkeley 
returned  to  Bristol  in  January,  1583,  and  in  his  absence  Gregory  Morgan 
was  vice- constable,  and  was  committed  for  relieving  rebels.  A  few 
months  later  Sir  Warham  St.  Leger  heard  that  Desmond  had  crossed 
the  Shannon  to  confer  with  John  OTerrall,  friar  of  Askeaton.  Then 
Korreys,  the  President  of  Munster.  asked  for  the  place ;  but  the  Lord 
Deputy  would  not  dispossess  Edward  Berkeley.3 

At  the  end  of  the  year  fate  overtook  the  unhappy  fugitive  Earl. 
He  had  been  closely  pursued,  "  as  when  one  doth  hunt  a  partridge  on  the 
mountains,"  during  two  years.  He  spent  Christmas  Day  of  1582  in  the 
woods  near  Kilmallock,  and  was  discovered  by  that  garrison,  who  slew 
and  dispersed  his  followers,  and  took  his  goods.  He  and  his  wife  barely 
escaped,  half  naked,  and  saved  themselves  by  standing  up  to  their  chins 
in  water,  under  the  river  bank,  till  their  pursuers  had  gone.  In 

1  For  Eadnoth  and  Harding,  see  Freeman's  "  History  of  the  Norman  Conquest," 
vol.  iv.,  p.  757.     The  subsequent  descent  and  history  are  fully  given  in  Collinson's 
'*  History  of  Somerset  "—the  Visitation  of  Somerset,  1626  (Harleian  Society),  vol.  xi., 
pp.  5-7  ;  and  in  a  Paper  of  mine  in  the  "  Journal  of  the  Limerick  Field  Club," 
1902,   vol.  ii.,  p.  118.      The   descent  from  Louis  VI.  (through    the    families   of 
Taillefer,  Valence,  and  Crt-oun)  is  in  The  Genealogist,   New  Ser.,  vol.  x.  (1893-4), 
p.  140.     Mr.    Richard  Langrishe  has   deduced    the    descent  of   Catherine    Blount 
(daughter  of  Lord.  Mountjoy,  and  mother  of  Francis  and  Edward   Berkeley)  from 
John  of^Gaunt.     The  reputed  descent  from  the  King  of  Denmark  is  mythical  (though 
named  in  a  mediaeval  inscription),  as  the  "might  of  buried  Denmark"  usurps  the 
place  of  Eadnoth  in  the  pedigree. 

2  He  was  brought  to  London  and  imprisoned  on  the  occasion  of  Perrot's  arrest, 
hut   was   acquitted,    and  sent  hack  to  Ireland  the   following  year,    and  his  lands 
confirmed  to  him,  August  16,  1591  (C.  S.  P.  I.). 

3  C.  S.  P.  I.  under  dates,  pp.  304,  423,  448,  462,  557. 


NOTES    ON    ASKEATON,  COUNTY    LIMERICK.  157 

August,  1583,  he  was  in  Aherloe  with  sixty  galloglasses,  when  (as  they 
cooked  some  horseflesh)  they  were  attacked,  and  most  of  the  Irish  fell ; 
their  master  only  escaped  by  the  swiftness  of  his  horse.  How  many 
other  hair-breadth  escapes  took  place  we  know  not,  but  the  Earl 
drifted  into  western  Kerry,  and  there  he  met  his  end. 

Desmond  had  sent  his  wife  away ;  she  sought  refuge  in  England  and  got 
a  pension  from  the  Queen  : l  he  then  wandered  about  the  mountains  and 
woods  of  Kerry,  sleeping  by  day  and  watching  by  night ;  the  English 
soldiers  were  of  course  unable  to  molest  him,  but  more  mobile  allies  came 
to  their  assistance.  In  the  solemn  words  of  the  greatest  of  our  annalists — 
"At  the  beginning  of  winter,  when  the  long  nights  began  to  set  in,  the 
insurgents  and  robbers  of  Munster  .  .  .  prepared  to  rekindle  the  torch  of 
war ;  but  God  thought  it  time  to  suppress,  close,  and  finish  the  war  of  the 
Geraldines."  Desmond's  followers  seized  some  cattle;  the  owner's 
brothers-in-law  tracked  the  plunderers,  and  got  some  soldiers  from  Tralee 
to  join  them.  They  followed  the  raiders  to  Glennageenty,  watching  the 
freebooters'  camp-fire  down  in  the  glen  all  night.  In  the  "dusk  of  the 
morning  "  of  November  llth,  1583,  they  surrounded  and  surprised  their 
camp,  and  burst  into  the  huts,  finding  in  one  of  them  a  majestic  old  man. 
One  of  them  struck  him  on  the  arm,  nearly  severing  it  from  his  body. 
*•  Spare  my  life  :  I  am  the  Earl  of  Desmond,"  he  cried ;  but  the  assailants 
fell  on  him  (or,  as  some  say,  took  him  into  the  woods)  and  beheaded  him. 
His  body  was  concealed  and  buried  in  Kilnamanagh  ;  his  head  was 
impaled  on  London  Bridge.2 

1584-1598.— THE  NEW  GRANTEES. 

The  Crown  had  now  to  re-distribute  the  estates  of  its  late  too  power- 
ful subject,  which  were  made  the  scene  of  several  Inquisitions  and  Surveys. 
An  early  one,  May  20th,  1 584, 3  mentions  the  free  tenants  of  "Inislesty." 
The  mill  of  Inniskesty  worth  305.  The  weir  there  worth  16s.  The 
annual  returns  or  "royal  services"  of  O'Connyllin  Asketten,  viz.,  of  the 
Castle  of  Inneskesty  40s.,  after  which  this  ancient  and  familiar  name 
disappears  from  the  records. 

The  very  full  surveys  of  the  Castle,  Manor,  and  Abbey  of  Askeaton  in 
the  great  Desmond  Roll  and  the  Peyton  Book  of  1586  will  appear  in  the 
description  of  the  castle,  and  in  Appendix  B  to  this  Paper,  and  so  need 
not  be  given  here. 

Edward  Berkeley  continued  to  be  Constable  of  Askeaton  till  1589. 
The  Government,  in  one  of  its  periodical  fits  of  economy,  got  impatient  of 

1  She  had,  however,  to  find  securities  and  pass  a  recognizance  of  £1000  for  her- 
self, and  only  received  pardon  from  the  Queen  on  February  8,  1597. — Fiants  6195, 
Elinor,  Countess  of  Desmond. 

2  "  Annals   of  the   Four  Masters,"   C.  S.  P.  I.,  and  several  Inquisitions  in  the 
Public   Record  Office. 

3  Calendar  of  Inquisitions  (Record  Office,  Dublin),  Limerick,  pp.  206  and  208. 


NOTES   ON   ASKEATON,  COUNTS    LIMERICK.  159 

the  expense,  and  in  the  end  Berkeley  prudently  resigned  his  pension  and  15 
footmen  (small  garrison  for  so  important  a  place)  for  a  fee-farm  rent  or 
other  recompense.1  He  gave  up  the  castle  between  May  and  September,  and 
in  the  latter  month  Sir  "W.  Herbert  tried  to  get  the  "void  castle"  for 
his  cousin.  The  next  month,  however,  the  lands  of  Desmond  were 
apportioned  among  the  "  undertakers,"  and  we  find  a  group  of  three 
names  (two  of  world-wide  fame,  one  of  only  local  interest) — Sir  Walter 
Kaleigh,  12,000  acres,  Captain  Francis  Berkeley,  7000  acres,  and  Mr. 
Edmund  Spenser,  4000  acres,  at  from  3d.  to  4d.  an  acre  head  rent. 
Edward  Berkeley  must  have  died  soon  after  the  time  of  his  surrender, 
for  Queen  Elizabeth,  by  a  document  granted  at  Richmond,  December  18th, 
1589,  states  that,  "  for  the  better  re-peopling  of  the  Province  of  Munster," 
she  had  desired  that  Sir  Edward  Barkley  should  have  held  the  Castle 
and  Seignory  of  Askeaton ;  but  he  having  died  before  the  great  seal  was 
aflixed  to  the  grant,  she  desired  it  to  be  transferred  to  his  brother  Francis. 
Accordingly  Francis  Berkeley  got  "  the  Manor  of  Rock  Barkley  "  for 
ever  at  a  rent  of  £87  10s.,  and  was  bound  to  erect  houses  for  56  families 
and  himself ;  4  houses  for  freeholders,  3  for  farmers,  46  for  copyholders, 
He  was  also  granted  all  the  lands  and  tenements  in  the  town  of  Askeaton. 
except  the  castle  and  40  acres  reserved  for  the  Crown.  The  grant  com- 
prises 12,000  (not  7000)  English  acres,  and  is  dated  18th  October, 
1590.2 

The  fall  of  his  patron,  Perrot,  clouded  the  prosperity  and  endangered 
the  safety  of  the  new  constable  of  Askeaton,  after  a  few  months ;  for,  in 
1591,  he  was  sent  with  other  prisoners  to  London,  but  was  eventually  set 
free  and  given  £100  compensation  for  his  detention;  his  lands  were  also 
restored  to  him.  He  married  Katherine,  one  of  the  numerous  daughters 
of  Dr.  Adam  Loftus,  Archbishop  of  Dublin,  in  1596.  His  settlement 
now  was  7250  acres,  and  21  English  families  were  planted  on  it.3  He 
was  appointed  Governor  of  Limerick  Castle,  November  2nd,  1597,  the 
patent  being  given  free  of  seal  because  he  was  son-in-law  to  the 
Chancellor.  Strange  to  say,  the  Crown  gave  a  lease  of  "  the  castle  or 
chief  house  called  the  Castle  of  Askeatinge"  to  Sir  Anthony  St.  Leger, 
17  October,  1598  ;  but  we  may  presume  the  outbreak  a  few  weeks  later 
brought  the  grant  to  an  untimely  end.4 

1  This  was  not  unprecedented  among  English  soldiers  in  Ireland  in  the  reign  of 
Elizabeth,  and  seems  to  have  been  agreeable  to  the  economy  of  her  administration, 
though  at  times  very  much  to  the  advantage  of  the  pensioner.     For  example,  I  have 
a  copy  of  a  patent,  10  Eliz.,  part  8  (1568),  relating  to  which  I  find  a  later  grant  under 
1599,  in  the  Calendar  of  Domestic  Papers  (p.  505),  for  the  latter  year,  where  Captain 
Thomas  "Westropp,  of  Sutton,  Yorkshire,  resigns  a  pension  of  £18  for  his  services, 
and  the  loss  of  his  right  arm,  in  the  Irish  wars,  receiving  instead  a  lease  of  lands  at 
Sutton  worth  £30  per  annum,  for  thirty -one  years. 

2  Cal.  Fiants,  Eliz.,  No.  5469. 

3  C.  S.  P.  I.,  p.  592  (1591),  pp.  14,  60,  88. 

4  Cal.  Fiants,  No.  6347.     St.  Leger  was  granted  Mellifont  Abbey  and  many  other 
places  by  this  deed. 


160         ROYAL    SOCIETY    OF   ANTIQUARIES    OF   IRELAND. 


THE  WAR  OF  THE  SUGAN  EAKL. 

The  last  of  the  Earls  of  Desmond  to  "make  history"  was  James,  con- 
temptuously called  "the  Sugan  Earl."  We  may,  after  so  many  genera- 
tions, call  him  here  Earl  of  Desmond  without  political  ill  consequences. 
He  was  son  of  Sir  Thomas  Roe  Fitzgerald  (half-brother  to  the  ill-starred 
Gerald,  the  15th  Earl),  whose  first  wife,  the  daughter  of  Maurice  lloche, 
Lord  of  Fermoy,  being  his  own  grandniece,  the  issue  of  their  union 
was  illegitimate.  Sir  Thomas,  nevertheless,  was  recognised  as  Earl  of 
Desmond  by  Philip  and  Mary,  and  sat  in  Parliament  in  1555.  He  was 
knighted  by  Sidney  in  1569,  and  died  in  peace  in  January,  1593.  James 
had  joined  O'Neill  in  1598,  and  been  by  him  created  or  recognised  as 
Earl  of  Desmond.1 

The  Lords  Justices,  Adam  Loftus  and  others,  had  soon  to  write  a 
dismal  letter2  (November  3,  1598),  recounting  a  long  list  of  "regrettable 
incidents,"  losses  of  small  towns  and  castles,  raids  and  revolts  in  all 
directions.  The  rebels,  they  stated,  had  come  to  the  Castle  of  Askeaton, 
and  offered  conditions  to  Sir  Francis  Berkeley,  that  his  wife  and  others 
should  be  safely  conveyed  to  any  port  he  chose ;  and  called  on  him  to 
surrender.  Berkeley  told  them  that  the  place  was  as  rich  and  well 
furnished  as  ever  it  was  in  Desmond's  time,  and  bade  them  do  their 
worst.  Thereupon  the  enemy  promptly  assailed  it,  and  were  expelled 
with  heavy  loss,  upon  which  they  retired  from  its  neighbourhood,  but 
watched  the  English.  Twelve  days  later  Loftus  wrote  again,  pointing 
out  how  Askeaton  Castle  was  of  great  importance  and  was  much  thirsted 
after  by  the  rebels;3  and  how  Captain  Berkeley,  being  one  of  the  sons  of  Sir 
Maurice,  was  already  well  known  to  their  Lordships  by  his  services  for 
many  years  ;  he  enclosed  Berkeley's  letter,4  which  commences — "  From 
Her  Majesty's  Castle  of  Askeaton,  where  I  now  am  environed  with 
neighbours  that  seek  always  to  disadvantage  us  and  preventing  all  means 
that  may  minister  to  us  any  relief."  Berkeley  continues  by  telling  how 
the  revolt  had  been  so  sudden  and  unexpected  that  he  had  only  the  pro- 
vision fitted  for  a  private  gentleman,  when,  on  Friday,  October  6th,  1598, 
at  8  o'clock  at  night,  over  500  of  the  English  settlers — men,  women, 
and  children — came  pouring  into  the  castle  without  provisions.  He  kept 
six  score  able  men,  and  was  fortunately  able  to  send  on  the  others  in  an 
English  bark  which  lay  on  the  Deel,  to  Limerick,  where  the  Mayor  saw 
them  well  cared  for.  He  seems  to  have  got  in  supplies  of  corn  and 
beeves,  and  asked  for  500  men,  and  he  soon  had  got  his  refugees  trained 
for  service  and  anxious  to  avenge  their  losses.  The  enemy  had  only 
ventured  on  a  twelve  days'  siege,  and  then  fled  precipitately  on  a  (false) 
report  that  the  Lord  General  was  coming;  but  they  had  rallied.  And  he 

1  MSS.  T.C.D.,  E.  3.  18.  2  C.  S.  P.  I.  (1598),  p.  331. 

3C.S.P.  I.,  p.  346.  4^.,p.  347. 


NOTES  ON  ASKEATON,  COUNTY  LIMERICK.  161 

•closed  by  telling  how  "my  lands  are  wasted  and  burned,  and  my  goods 
all  taken  away  that  are  without  the  castle  gate  ;  there  remaineth  but  my 
life,  which  shall  be  bestowed  in  Her  Majesty's  service."  The  condition 
of  the  garrison,  however,  was  not  absolutely  desperate,  for  a  certain  James 
Gould  wrote,  the  same  day  as  Loftus,  to  the  Earl  of  Ormonde  to  tell  how 
he  had  convoyed  provisions  into  Askeaton,  and  that  it  was  safe.  No 
further  relief  seems  to  have  arrived  that  year ;  Sir  Thomas  Norreys  men- 
tions Berkeley  and  his  "  100  tall  men  of  the  English"  as  holding  out 
and  deserving  pay.  This  despatch  was  brought  to  the  Privy  Council  by 
Edmund  Spenser,  the  poet,  himself  a  sufferer,  ruined  in  the  same  revolt.1 
The  "Four  Masters"  merely  note  under  1598,  "  Eas  Gephthine  in  Ui 
€onnell  Gaura  plundered  by  the  Sugan  Earl." 

1599. — RELIEF  OF  ASKEATON. 

In  March  Askeaton  was  still  unrelieved,  for  '*  the  traitors'  galleys 
and  other  boats  "  still  held  the  Shannon.  At  last,  in  June,  the  Earl  of 
Essex  visited  Limerick,  and  hearing  of  the  extremity  of  the  garrison  of 
Askeaton,  set  out  to  relieve  and  victual  it  in  person.  He  was  the  more 
piqued  to  do  so  by  Desmond  l(  swearing  to  impeach"  his  pass,  so  he  set 
•out  on  June  8th  to  Adare,  where  the  venerable  bridges  green  with  ivy 
spanned  the  Maigue  near  the  noble  ruins  of  the  Desmond's  Castle  and 
the  lofty  towers  and  ivied  gables  of  three  monasteries.  The  enemy  let  him 
cross,  and  put  seven  companies  in  an  old  abbey  (probably  the  Augustiriian) 
which  secured  the  bridge.  Essex,  Bingham,  and  the  Earl  of  Thomond 
pressed  forward,  Thomond  being  in  the  van,  "  the  forlorn  hope,"  as  it  is 
strangely  called.  Desmond  lay  in  a  wooded  place  among  bogs  at  Robhar 
(Rower),  to  the  west  of  Adare,  with  u  2000  or  3000  Connaught  men  and 
bonnaughts."  Essex  makes  light  of  the  ambuscade,  saying  that  100  of 
the  rebels  fell  and  only  six  English,  with  twenty  more  hurt.  If  we  had 
Thomond's  report,  it  might  give  the  more  serious  aspect  which  the 
skirmish  presents  in  the  pages  of  the  "  Four  Masters"  ;  the  latter  state 
that  the  Geraldines  made  a  fierce  resistance,  "  they  discharged  into  their 
(the  invaders')  eyes  the  fire  and  smoke  of  their  black  powder  and  showers  of 
balls  f  rom  straightly-aimed  guns."  An  English  account  says  that  Sir  H. 
Norreys  lost  his  leg  and  Captain  Jennings  was  killed.  Essex  spent  the 
night  near  Cappagh,2  a  broken  and  picturesque  tower,  with  a  walled  and 
battlemented  courtyard  visible  to  the  north  of  the  railway,  and  one  of  the 
few  interesting  objects  seen  from  the  train  between  Adare  and  Askeaton. 

1  C.  S.  P.  I.  (1598),  pp.  399,  400. 

2  Miss  Lawless'  "  With  Essex  in  Ireland  "  has  a  picturesque  account  of  the  spirits 
of  those  slain  in  the  war  passing  before  Essex  in  the  night  as  he  camped  in  Askeaton 
Friary.     This  has  been  treated  as  a  genuine  legend  in  a  recent  History.     I  certainly 
•did  not  hear  it  from  the  people,  or  from  the  Morgans  of  Old  Abbey,  with  whom  I  first 
visited  the  ruins  in  1875.     It  is  more  likely  that  Essex  would  have  slept  in  Askeaton 
Castle  as  a  most  welcome  guest  than  in  the  ruined  Friary. 

Tmir  »  <;  A  T    f  Vol.  XIH.,  Fifth  Series.        ) 
DUF.  R.S.A.I.  '  M 


162          ROYAL    SOCIETY    OF    ANTIQUAKIES    OF    IRELAND. 

The  enemy  only  ventured  on  a  slight  attack,  so  the  English  reached 
Askeaton  on  the  Sunday,  June  10th,  drove  off  the  besiegers,  and  pro- 
visioned the  castle  in  (about)  the  247th  day  of  the  blockade.  The 
"  Four  Masters "  say  that  Essex  stayed  at  his  camp,  sending  on  the 
convoy  to  Askeaton;  but  O'Sullivan  Beare,1  confirms  the  English 
account. 

Berkeley,  after  the  relief  of  his  castle,  was  there  knighted  by  Essex, 
for  his  brave  maintenance  of  the  siege,  on  June  12th,2  and  evidently 
followed  him  to  Kilmallock.  He  "  haunted  and  hunted  "3  Garrett  Fitz- 
Nicholas  and  his  kerne,  capturing  their  cattle,  horses,  and  corn  supply  in 
July,  and  left  Askeaton  in  charge  of  a  garrison  of  300  soldiers  in  August 
to  take  various  commands  and  commissions  in  Munster  and  Connaught. 
Sir  Anthony  St.  Leger  got  a  grant  at  Dublin,  October  17th,  1599,  of 
"A  castle  or  chief  house  called  the  Castle  of  Askeatinge,  with  all  edifices, 
buildings,  towers,  gardens,  courts  and  bawns,"  and  40  acres  which  had 
been  demised  to  Sir  Francis  Berkeley  in  the  32nd  year  of  Her  Majesty's 
reign.  The  mismanagement  of  the  military  authorities  left  James 
Fitz  Thomas,  the  Sugan  Earl,  to  blockade  the  castle  (after  Berkeley  left) 
by  November  18th.  The  Government  were  able  again  to  revictual  it 
about  Christmas,  but  their  army  was  ready  to  break  up  from  foul  weather 
and  want  of  food,  money,  and  clothing.4 

1600-1610. 

Sir  G.  Carew  passed  Askeaton  Castle5  in  the  summer  of  1600,  and  put 
in  a  garrison  of  700  foot  and  75  horse,  sending  Oliver  Stephenson  to  hold 
Corgrig.  Berkeley  meanwhile  was  serving  in  the  disturbed  northern 
districts.  He  was  at  Elphin  in  August,  and  O'Docmell,  taking  advantage 
of  a  fog,  nearly  surprised  his  camp,  but  Berkeley,  noticing  his  movement, 
let  him  come  close ;  and  "  then  seeing  he  meant  mischief,"  beat  him  back, 
slaying  80  men.6  Berkeley  subsequently  took  an  active  part  in  the  siege 
of  Kinsale. 

Finally,  on  May  29th,  1601,  the  Earl  of  Desmond  was  captured  on 
the  Galtees,  and  ended  his  days  in  the  Tower  of  London,  so  fatal  to 
others  of  his  name.  Neither  his  dashing  gallantry,  his  attractive  person- 
ality, nor  the  devotion  of  a  province,  saved  him  from  this  dismal  fate ; 

1  Quoted  by  O'Donovan  ("  Annals  of  the  Four  Masters")  :— "  Essexius  Asketiniam 
pervenit  in  cujus  castra  Catholici  noctu  faciunt  impetum." 

'  »  "Arms  of  Knights"  (1565-1616),  in  Ulster's  Office,  Dublin  Castle,  Book  i., 
p.  60  : — "  Sr  Fraunces  Barkley  knighted  at  Asketon  ye  xij.  of  June,  1599.  At 
Kilrnalloke.  King  20  shillings."  The  arms  are  given  quarterly,  1st,  gules,  around  a 
chevron  argent,  10  crosses  pattee  6  and  4.  2nd,  or.  a  saltier  engrailed  sable.  3rd,  as. 
two  lions  passant,  or.  4th,  gu.,  10  bezants,  4.  3.  2.  1. 

3  "  Pacata  Hibernia"  (ed.  1810),  cap.  xii.,  p.  138. 

4  Carew  (1599),  p.  304;  C.  S.  P.  I.,  1599-1600,  p.  259,  p.  343. 

5  Carew  (1600),  p.  401. 

6  "Pacata  Hibernia"  (ed.,1810),  cap.  vii.,  p.  316. 


NOTES   ON   ASKE.VTON,  COUNTY   LIMKKICK.  163 

better  had  he  died  in  that  mountain  glen  a  free  man,  as  his  kinsman  died 
in  the  glen  in  Kerry. 

The  new  year  (1602)  had  scarcely  commenced  when  Don  Juan  de 
Aquila  came  to  terms  with  Carew,  and  the  Spanish  surrendered  Kinsale 
to  the  English  army.1  This  victory  was  commemorated  by  a  most 
honourable  monument,  the  foundation  of  the  Library  of  Trinity  College, 
by  the  soldiers.  The  rebellion  then  died  out  into  a  sullen  "peace" 
of  nearly  forty  years.  Berkeley,  in  1602-3,  repaired  Limerick  Castle, 
and  kept  in  efficiency  the  small  garrison  of  Askeaton,  numbering 
barely  150  men.2  We  hear  little  of  the  place  ;  but  during  1603  one  of 
its  citizens,  Koger  Rise,  with  Rowland  Delahoyde,  brought  about  the 
establishment  of  ferry  boats  on  the  lower  Shannon.  The  fares  are  worth 
noting,  and  were  regulated  by  the  breadth  of  the  river  according  as  the 
ferry  was  near  its  estuary  or  farther  up.  The  fee  for  a  cow  or  garron 
varied  from  4d.  to  6^.,  two  sheep,  goats,  or  pigs  from  Id.  to  l%d.,  and  pas- 
sengers from  2d.  to  3d.,  any  packs  they  carried  being  free.3  Berkeley,  the 
same  year,  petitioned  against  the  action  of  the  Crown  rent  collector,  who 
(foreshadowing  the  illegal  claims  that  cost  the  second  Stuart  King  his  head) 
claimed  the  same  rent  for  unprofitable  as  for  profitable  land  contrary  to  the 
terms  of  the  grant  of  Queen  Elizabeth.  Askeaton  was  disturbed  by  rumours  ; 
the  first  news  of  the  gunpowder  plot  said  that  it  had  been  successful,  and 
that  John  Mac  Thomas,  a  titular  Earl  of  Desmond,  was  about  to  arrive  in 
the  district  supported  by  a  Spanish  army.  We  —  though  we  may  have 
occasionally  suffered  from  false  rumours  —  can  scarcely  imagine  the  serious 
danger  and  miseiy  caused  in  those  times  by  news  that  our  better  know- 
ledge of  public  events  would  have  saved  us  from  fully  believing  till  the 
speedy  refutation  overtook  the  falsehood.  In  those  days  a  rumour  that 
would  scarcely  lead  to  the  publication  of  a  "  stop  press"  in  our  time,. 
paralysed  business  and  kept  the  authorities  in  grave  correspondence  and 
deep  anxiety  for  many  weeks.  Berkeley's  neighbourly  feelings  towards 
the  native  gentry  led  0'  Sullivan  Beare  to  write  to  him  about  this 
time,  entreating  his  intercession  with  the  Government  for  restoration  to 
his  lands  and  the  royal  favour.4  King  James,  in  1603,  granted  to  Sir 
R.  Boyle  the  churches  of  Ballengarie,  Gare  or  Garrestown  ;  Askettan, 
Askeatinge,  or  Askeaton  ;  Kilmachoe  ;  Lismakyre  or  Lesmackyrey,  and 
Eglishe  O'Rossey  (Iveross),  part  of  the  estate  of  the  dissolved  Abbey  of 
Kensham,  in  England.5 

In  1606,  despite  the  deep  unrest,  the  Government,  from  motives 
of  economy,  cut  down  the  pay  of  its  soldiers  and  the  strength  of  its 
garrisons  ;  Berkeley  found  himself  left  to  keep  down  a  large  discon- 
tented city  (writhing  under  religious  disabilities  and  every  real  and 
imaginary  grievance),  with  a  constable,  a  porter,  a  "  cannoneer,"  and 

1  "Pacata  Hibernia,"  cap.  xxiii.  2  Carew  (1602),  pp.  226,  366,  396. 

8  C.  S.  P.  I.  (1603),  p.  352.  *  C.  S.  P.  I.,  pp.  380,  432,  454,  512. 

6  Cal.  Pat.  Rolls,  1  Jas.  I.,  Ixviii,  p.  12. 


M  2 


164         ROYAL   SOCIETY    OF   ANTIQUARIES   OF   IRELAND. 

twenty  warders.  The  constable  was  paid  3s.  a  day  ;  the  porter,  9d. ; 
the  "  cannoneer,"  Is.  4d. ;  and  the  warders,  Sd.  each.  As  no  outbreak 
took  place,  the  Government  two  years  later  discharged  Berkeley  from 
his  captaincy,  but  let  him  hold  the  two  fortresses  of  Limerick  and 
Askeaton  as  best  he  was  able.1 


WALLING  AND  INCORPORATION  OP  ASKEATON,  1610-1615. 

In  January,  1610,  Sir  Arthur  Chichester,  the  Lord  Deputy,  was 
visited  by  Sir  Francis  Berkeley,  who  offered  to  wall  Askeaton  town  on 
such  terms  as  the  Lord  Deputy  should  think  fit.  A  few  months  later 
the  King  directed  Chichester  to  pass  the  Castle  of  Askeaton  and  40  acres 
of  land  in  fee-farm  to  Sir  Francis  Berkeley,  as  he  had  offered  to  make 
the  castle  a  place  of  refuge  for  the  English  in  those  parts.  He  also 
constituted  the  Constable's  lands  to  be  the  Manor  of  Rock  Barkeley, 
and  established  a  fair  and  weekly  markets.  By  a  second  letter  (April 
25th,  1611),  the  King  further  granted  the  Constableship  of  Limerick  to 
"  Morice  "  Berkeley  for  life,  after  the  death  of  his  father  Francis.  From 
a  third  document  in  the  same  collection  we  learn  that  "  Rock  Barklie  " 
was  also  called  "Magnestre,"  evidently  from  the  ruined  monastery,  and 
that  the  lands  had  originally  been  confiscated  from  Donough  MacTeige.2 
Askeaton,  even  if  a  feeble  "  walled  town,"  was  now  ripe  for  another 
act  of  the  Government,  whose  influence  was  weak  in  the  counties  and 
older  towns,  and  who  were  at  once  anxious  to  strengthen  the  new 
colonies  and  uneasy  as  to  the  strength  of  their  own  party  in  the  next 
Parliament.  A  number  of  small  boroughs  were  incorporated,  with  small 
close  constituencies,  and  among  the  rest  we  find,  "  Askeyton,"3  October 
20th,  1612.  Edmund  Drew  was  first  "  portrieve  or  provost,"  and  the 
burgesses  were  Sir  Francis  Barkley,  Edmund  Ley,  Roger  Rue,  William 
Rastell,  Henry  Widnam,  John  Eaton,  Gilbert  Rue,  Anthony  Cooper,  John 
Oreen,  John  Atkinson,  John  Stokes,  and  Andrew  Davys.4  Drew,  Lee, 

1  C.  S.  P.  I.  (1606),  p.  580  (1607),  p.  87.     The  neglect  of  Limerick  Castle  was  no 
new  policy.     In  about  1224  the  C.  S.  P.  I.,  p.  187,  records  how  "  in  the  Castle  of 
Limerick  there  were  found  (articles)  worth  scarcely  18  pence,  as  broken  dishes,"  &c. 

2  C.  S.P.I.  (1610),  pp.  351,  430,  433,  577. 

3  Members  of  Parliament  for  Askeaton — 1613.  Anthony   Stoughton  and  Roger 
Rice.     1639.  Maur.  "Williams  and  George  Crofton,     1661.  Peter  Pett  and  Richard 
Southwell.     1689.  John  Burke  and  Edward  Rice.     1691.  Robert  Taylor  and  John 
Odell.     1693.  George  Evans  and  Robert  Taylor.     1696.  Chichester  Philips.     1703. 
Robert  Taylor,  junior,  and  Chichester  Philips.     1713.  Robert  Taylor  and   Philip 
Percival.     1715.  John  Bury   and  Edward  Denny.     1723.  Berkeley  Taylor.     1727. 
Berkeley    and    Edmond    Taylor.      1729.  William    Taylor.      1747.   John    Minchin 
Walcott.     1753.  Edmond  Malone.     1761.   Joseph  Hoare    and    Sir    James    Cotter. 
1768.  J.  Hoare  and  Hon.  Hugh  Massy.     1783.  Sir  J.  Hoare,  Bart.,  and  Richard 
Griffith.     1790.  Sir  J.  Hoare  and  Henry  Alexander.     1797.  John  Seward.     1799. 
Sir  Vere  Hunt,  Bart.      The  single  names  were  persons  elected  in  succession  to  dead 
or  retiring  members. 

«'C.  S.P.I.  (1612),  p.  293. 


M         M 


166        ROYAL   SOCIETY   OF  ANTIQUARIES  OF  IRELAND. 

Widenham,  Cooper,  Green,  and  Atkinson  established  county  families  in 
Limerick,  Tipperary,  and  Clare.  Not  contented  with  the  safe  boroughs, 
every  means  were  taken  to  elect  Government  supporters  for  the  counties 
and  old  towns.  The  election  was  far  from  being  above  suspicion,  and  indeed 
it  is  impossible  to  say  anything  more  charitable  than  that  the  methods 
on  both  sides  were  of  equal  "integrity."  To  give  one  example — In 
Limerick,  Edward  Fitz  Harris  and  Jeff erie  Galway  were  said  to  have 
been  elected  by  314  freeholders,  yet  the  sheriff  returned  Sir  Francis 
Berkeley  and  Sir  Thomas  Browne.  The  matter  was  gone  into  by  the 
Parliament,  and  many  of  the  complainants'  votes  were  found  to  be  given 
by  unqualified  persons,  and  also  many  were  absent  whose  names  were 
recorded.  The  cause  being  lost,  the  complainants  confessed  that  this 
was  so ;  but  the  successful  side  by  no  means  cleared  away  all  suspicion 
from  themselves.1 

Berkeley,  however,  continued  on  no  bad  terms  with  his  Irish 
neighbours,  and  was  accused  to  the  Government,  and  found  guilty,  of 
violating  his  articles  of  plantation  by  harbouring  Irish  husbandmen. 
The  matter  seems  to  have  been  speedily  dropped  by  the  authorities,  who 
had  few  friends  to  spare,  at  any  rate  in  those  days.  The  seignory  of 
Kockbarkeley  is  stated  in  the  same  memorandum  to  have  consisted  of 
some  1200  acres  of  demesne,  900  in  fee-farm,  1200  evicted,  1100  leased, 
and  36  in  other  tenures.  The  muster  was  21  foot  and  7  horsemen. 
Berkeley  used  to  bring  his  tenants  to  church,  and  employed  Irish- 
speaking  ministers,  which  "made  the  people  very  attentive."  He  did, 
according  to  his  lights,  all  that  was  possible  for  his  tenants,  and 
evidently  had  succeeded  in  undoing  much  of  the  ravage  of  two  civil 
wars,  before  his  death,  which  took  place  at  Askeaton  Castle  on  December 
20th,  161 5.2  He  was  succeeded  by  his  eldest  son,  Maurice  Berkeley, 
then  aged  17  years  and  10  months,  who  became  governor  of  Limerick 
Castle,  and  married,  but  died  young  (aged  24),  on  September  8th,  1622. 
His  brother,  Henry,  a  boy  of  16,  succeeded  to, the  Askeaton  estates, 
Limerick  Castle  being  granted  to  his  brother-in-law,  George  Courtenay  ; 
but  Henry  died  before  the  age  of  20  ;  and  his  co-heirs  were  found  to  be 
his  nephew  and  sisters,  William  Courtenay  (son  of  George  Courtenay 
and  his  wife,  Katherine  Berkeley),  Elizabeth,  wife  of  George  Crofton,  then 
aged  20,  Frances  Berkeley,  and  Gertrude,  wife  of  John  Taylor.8  Through 
the  descendants  of  the  last  named,  the  blood  of  Sir  Francis  Berkeley  is 
1) reserved  among  the  landowners  of  the  district.  Livery  of  the  estates 
was  given  to  Elizabeth  Crofton  and  Gertrude  Taylor  on  November  21st, 
1626,  the  other  sisters  not  being  mentioned.  Frances  successively 
married  Thomas  Blayney  of  Tregonan,  Denbighshire,  by  whom  she  left 

1  C.  S.  P.  I.  (1613),  p.  362  ;  Carew  (1613),  p.  273. 

2  Inq.  post  mortem  (Exchequer).  3  Inq.  post  mortem. 


NOTES   ON   ASKEATON,    COUNTY    LIMERICK.  167 

issue,  and  James  Purcell,  of  Croagh,  who  died  without  issue  ;  her  sister, 
Katherine  Courtenay,  also  died  without  issue.1 

REVIVAL  OF  THE  CONVENT. 

It  is  evident  that  there  had  been  a  most  complete  break  in  the  history 
and  life  of  Askeaton  Convent.  The  indefatigable  Father  Donat  Mooney 
in  1617  was  unable  (through  the  dispersion  of  the  monks  and  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  English  colony)  to  collect  any  facts  of  value  about  it  or 
even  (one  concludes  from  his  unusual  silence)  to  visit  its  ruins.  His 
account  seems  all  the  more  scanty  from  the  interesting  and,  to  students 
of  monastic  architecture  in  Ireland,  invaluable  particulars  about  the 
Franciscan  Friary  of  Adare,  which  almost  immediately  precede  his 
notice  of  Askeaton.  Strange  to  say,  while  he  apologises  for  the  Adare 
notes  as  meagre  (though  giving  copious  extracts  from  the  convent  register 
and  full  particulars  about  the  founders  of  each  part  of  the  building,  and 
about  the  plate,  vestments  and  monks),  he  makes  no  apology  for  the 
truly  meagre  notes  on  Lislactin  and  Askeaton.  He  writes — "  The 
Convent  of  Askeaton  is  said  to  have  been  built  by  the  Earl  of  Desmond. 
It  has  not  been  inhabited  by  the  Friars  for  many  years.  In  the  wars 
against  the  Geraldines  of  Munster  the  inmates  were  treated  in  a  most 
barbarous  manner  by  the  English  under  Sir  Nicholas  Malbi.  Some  were 
put  to  death  for  the  Faith ;  among  these  martyrs  of  Christ  was  Father 
John  Conor,  whose  remains  are  buried  in  the  Chapter  Room.  I  have 
been  unable  to  ascertain  the  names  of  the  others."2 

The  unconquerable  courage  and  vitality  of  the  Franciscans  resuscitated 
the  convent  in  1627,  when  Father  Francis  Matthew  was  Provincial. 
Some  Friars  "  at  the  instance  of  many  of  the  nobles  (i.e.  men  of  family) 
began  to  dwell  among  the  ruins  of  the  convent  and  repaired  it,  so  far 
as  the  persecution  would  allow  them.*'  Father  Hugh  Ward,  who  re- 
cords this  in  his  "Brevis  Synopsis  Provinciae  Hibernian,"3  about  1630, 

1  A  very  full  account  (temp.  William  III.)  of  Berkeley's  descendants  is  given  in 
the  great  Loftus  Pedigree  (MSS.  T.C.D.,  r.  2.  23,  pp.  95-115).  From  Gertrude's 
son,  William  Taylor,  descend  the  Barons  Massy,  who  succeeded  to  Ballinort,  and  the 
Taylors  of  Hollypark ;  from  her  daughters  the  families  of  Gore  and  Westropp  (see 
Journal,  vol.  xx.  (1890),  pp.  74,  78,  79)  ;  of  Gore-Hickman  and  many  others.  From 
Frances  Blayney  descend,  among  others,  the  Croftons,  Blayneys,  Brownes  (of  New- 
grove,  Clare),  and  Ormsbys.  See  also  Appendix  to  Thirtieth  Annual  Report  of 
Deputy  Keeper  of  the  Records  (Patent  Rolls,  1626,  Roll  I.,  Close)  ;  also  Calendar  of 
Domestic  Papers  for  November,  1672,  giving  curious  particulars  of  the  alleged  plot 
of  Captain  Thomas  Walcott,  son-in-law  of  Frances  Blayney,  to  seize  Limerick  Castle, 
and  bring  help  from  Holland,  and  his  offer  to  Mountifort  Westropp,  son-in-law  to 
Gertrude.  It  presents  a  curious  picture  of  the  jealousies  between  the  Royalist  and 
Cromwellian  families,  and  the  deep  discontent  of  hoth  parties  against  the  Govern- 
ment. The  last  person  of  the  name  is  "  Mr.  Purcell,  alias  Berkly,"  of  Croagh 
Gowne,  in  the  parish  of  Croagh,  1655,  in  the  "  Book  of  Distribution,"  p.  21 
(Limerick).  I  cannot  locate  him  in  the  family  unless  the  "  d.s.p."  is  wrongly 
recorded  of  James  Purcell,  of  Croagh. 

"  The  Franciscan  Tertiary  "  (Dublin,  April,  1895),  vol.  v.,  p.  357. 

3  Copied  for  me  by  the  liev.  Mr.  O'Reilly,  at  the  Library  of  the  Franciscan 
•Convent,  Dublin. 


168        ROYAL   SOCIETY   OF   ANTIQUARIES   OF   IRELAND. 

unfortunately  gives  no  further  particulars.  However,  by  his  time  the 
tradition  of  the  unmolested  community,  dispersed  52  years  back,  must 
have  got  very  dim — no  less  from  the  interval  of  time  than  from  the 
expulsion  of  all  the  better  class  adherents  of  the  ruined  house  of 
Desmond  from  the  town  and  its  neighbourhood.  The  records  preserve 
no  appointment  of  a  guardian  from  1629  to  1645  ;  probably  the  monks 
who  haunted  the  ruin  never  attempted  to  organise  themselves;  but  a 
great  change  was  near  at  hand. 

THE  CONFEDERATES. 

Fifteen  years  after  the  return  of  the  monks  Askeaton  was  reduced 
by  the  Confederate  Catholics.  Lord  Broghill  had  sent  200  soldiers  to 
garrison  the  castle  a  few  months  before ;  but  the  summer  passed,  and  the 
Irish  besieged  the  place,  and  there  seemed  no  hope  of  relief.  Belling  L 
preserves  the  terms  of  the  capitulation  :  "  August  14th,  1642. — Lieut.- 
Col.  Purcell  and  the  Council  of  his  Majesty's  Cath cliques  for  the 
Province  of  Munster  for  the  one  part,  and  the  Warden  of  Askeaton  for 
the  other."  The  articles  were — 1-3.  The  arms,  munitions,  and  horses  of 
the  garrison  and  goods  belonging  to  Catholics  were  to  be  surrendered. 
4.  The  English  and  Irish  warders  to  have  their  lives  and  safe  conduct 
to  Downarayle  or  Corcke,  with  their  goods,  and  half  the  books  in  the 
Castle.  5.  To  swear  on  the  Evangelists  not  to  bear  arms  against  the 
King,  and  to  sign  and  seal  the  same.  6.  The  garrison  and  inhabitants  to 
be  unmolested  in  the  Protestant  religion.  It  was  signed  for  the  Con- 
federates by  Patrick  Purcell,  Oliver  Stephenson  (of  Castleconnell), 
Maurice  de  Rupe  (Roche  of  Fermoy),  Richard  Butler  and  Thomas 
Purcell.  Among  the  besiegers  were  Purcells,  Stephensons,  Fitzgeralds, 
Herberts,  Donough  O'Brien  of  Carrigogunnell,  gent,  and  captain  ;. 
Dermot  and  Murrough  O'Brien  of  Ballykett  (Co.  Clare),  and  Macna- 
mara  of  the  same,  captains ;  Lycett  of  Fannigiston  (Fanningstown), 
Macmahon,  and  Dominick  Fanning,  Mayor  of  Limerick.  A  letter  from 
the  Lords  Justices  to  the  Commissioners  in  London,  dated  September  1st,. 
1642,  seems  written  in  ignorance  of  the  surrender.  The  rebels,  with 
the  ordnance  found  in  Limerick  Castle,  it  runs,  "have  taken  all  the 
castles  in  the  county  of  Limerick  except  Asketon,"  and  the  numbers  of 
the  English  who  had  been  maintained  in  these  castles  was  so  great  that 
the  refugees  to  Youghal  caused  great  scarcity.2 

Those  who  have  searched  through  the  great  collection  of  depositions 
relating  to  the  rising  in  Limerick  in  1641-42  and  the  huge  rolls  wherein, 
with  lavish  waste  of  parchment  and  stern  economy  of  detailed  entries, 

1  "  History  of  the  Irish  Confederates  and  the  War  in  Ireland"  (J.  T.  Gilbert), 
vol.  ii.,  xxxvi.,  p.  51. 

2  Carte  MSS.  in.,  pp.  268,  272  ;  Gilbert's  "  History  of  the  Irish  Confederates  and 
the  War  in  Ireland  "  (1882),  vol.  ii.,  pp.  53,  54. 


NOTES    ON    ASKEATON,    COUNTY    LIMERICK.  169 

are  set  the  receipts,  booty,  and  expenditure  of  Axtell's  regiment,  found 
little  to  reward  them  so  far  as  Askeaton  is  concerned. 

Askeaton  is  only  named  once,  so  far  as  I  can  find,  in  the  1641 
depositions,  and  then  only  as  the  residence  of  a  person  casually  named  in 
one  of  them.  In  1653,  however,  commissioners  were  appointed  to  take 
evidence  against  the  leading  Confederates.  They  sat  at  Mallow,  and  one 
of  the  deponents,  "  Christopher  Webb,  of  Mallow,  aged  twenty-seaven 
yeares,"  told  briefly  how,  in  1641,  "  he  lived  at  Archkeaton  in  ye  County 
of  Limbrick  .  .  .  that  the  said  (Oliver)  Stephenson  was  in  Actuall 
Armes  against  ye  English  in  ye  yeare  1641.  This  Deponent's  cause  of 
Knowledge  is  that  hee  was  in  ye  Castle  of  Archkeaton  aforesaid,  when  y" 
sd  Castle  was  taken  by  ye  Irish,  and  that  after  it  was  surrendered  he 
saw  ye  said  Stephenson  Amongst  y*  pty  (that  party)  that  tooke  ye  said 
Castle,  and  was  called  by  name  of  Maior  Generall.  The  Deponent  further 
saith  y*  hee  had  a  passe  fr:  him  and  Lt.-Gen:  Purcell  after  ye  Castle  was 
surrendered  to  repaire  to  Eathgoggan  Castle,  in  the  County  of  Corke."1 

THE  RESTORED  CONVENT. 

The  victory  of  the  Confederates  enabled  the  monks  to  repair  and 
openly  re-establish  their  long  ruined  home.  It  is  evident  from  the  ruins 
that  no  rebuilding  took  place ;  very  probably  the  church  was  cleared 
from  the  debris  of  the  fallen  tower,  and  the  buildings,  or  a  portion,  were 
roofed  and  refurnished.  Lewis  gives  the  date  as  1648,  but  the  proba- 
bilities, and  the  date  on  the  Stephenson  monument,  make  it  clear  that 
this  is  a  misprint  for  1643.  The  monument  was  erected  (as  we  shall 
see)  in  1646,  to  Richard  Stephenson  and  his  son  Oliver;  the  latter  fell  in 
the  battle  of  Liscarroll ;  the  upper  tablet  is  dated  1 642.  I  fail  to  identify 
any  other  structural  feature  of  the  convent  as  belonging  to  that  anxious 
period.2 

In  1645  Jerome  Herbert  was  elected  by  the  monks  as  guardian,  being 
re-elected  in  1647  and  1648,  and  he  held  office  till  1650,  when  Owen 
O'Caghan,  S.T.L.,  was  elected.  In  Herbert's  time  (1647)  the  bodies  of 
Patrick  Healy,  Bishop  of  Mayo,  and  Cornelius  Rorke,  who  had  been  exe- 
cuted in  August,  1578,  were,  it  is  said,  removed  to  this  convent  with 
great  pomp  and  there  buried.3  After  this  the  acts  of  the  Chapter  are 
significantly  silent,  till  the  iron  rule  of  Cromwell  closed.  In  all  pro- 
bability the  monks  fled  abroad,  or  remained  in  close  concealment.  The 
restoration  of  Charles  brought  the  possibility  of  reorganization.  In  1661 
"William  Hurley  was  appointed  guardian ;  he  must  have  been  re-elected 
several  times,  as  he  was  only  succeeded  by  Francis  Wall  in  1670.  In 
conclusion,  and  to  keep  together  these  notes,  we  record  the  succession  of 

1  Depositions,  T.C.D.  Library,  Clare  and  Limerick,  p.  387,  March  7,  1653. 
Before  fl.  Wheeler  and  Tho.  Coakley. 


2  For  the  Stephensons,  see  Appendix  D,  at  end  of  this  Paper. 

3  O'Reilly's  "  Memorials  of  ti 


those  who  suffered  for  the  Catholic  Faith,"  p.  189. 


170        ROYAL   SOCIETY    OF   ANTIQUARIES    OF   IRELAND. 

guardians  as—  Jeremiah  Herbert,  1670,  re-elected  1675,  1676,  1681, 
1683,  1687;  Donatus  Mahon,  1672;  William  Healy  (?  Hurley),  1678. 
The  appointment  was  left  to  the  discretion  of  the  Provincial  in  1680. 
John  Mulcahy  was  elected  1684;  David  Geraldine  (Fitzgerald)  in  1689, 
1690.  In  his  term  of  office  I  find  a  legacy  of  £6  left  to  the  monks  of 
Askeaton  by  Daniel,  Viscount  Clare.1  Then  a  blank  occurs  from  the 
tremendous  change  of  that  and  the  following  year,  and  the  reversal  of  the 
indifferent  or  friendly  policy  of  the  Stuarts. 

Patrick  Purcell  was  guardian  1697  and  1703  to  1711;  Anthony 
MacEnery,  1699-1701  ;  John  Davis,  1702.  The  last  appointments  under 
the  Stuarts  were  Anthony  MacEnery  in  1711  and  Francis  Hickey  in 
1714.  The  guardianship  must  have  been  a  mere  shadow  after  1690, 
though  we  may  suppose  that  a  few  monks  long  dwelt  in  the  neighbour- 
hood and  haunted  the  ruins  of  their  "  holy  and  beautiful  house"  ;  we 
find  no  such  traces  of  the  survival  of  the  convent  as  are  found  at  Quin, 
Clare-Galway,  Ennis  —  where  one  of  the  monks  assisted  the  parish  priest, 
and  was  always  as  such  chosen  guardian  —  and  elsewhere.  The  mere 
nominal  appointments  down  to  1872  are  reserved  for  an  appendix  to  this 
Paper.2 

AJ<TEfi    1650. 


Any  account  of  Askeaton  after  1650  must  be  at  present  very  frag- 
mentary. The  ''life-history"  of  the  castle  ended  in  1652,  for  it  was 
taken  without  recorded  struggle  and  dismantled  by  Captain  Axtell, 
Governor  of  Kilkenny.3  The  enormous  parchment  rolls  of  Axtell's 
accounts  in  1652-3  give  us  no  particulars  about  Askeaton,  nor  are  any 
found  in  the  Order  Books  of  the  period.  Popular  tradition  in  1875  yet  told 
how  the  ubiquitous  "•  Cromwell"  had  undermined  the  castle,  propping  it 
Tvith  beams  as  he  worked,  and  then  burning  the  supports  ;  half  the  massive 
keep  fell  by  its  own  weight.  As  the  method  was  in  use  at  the  period, 
we  may  receive  the  story  —  less  the  name  of  Cromwell  —  until  better 
evidence  supports  or  refutes  it.  The  Stephenson  family  are  reputed  (we 
think  most  doubtfully)  to  have  expelled  the  monks  "  the  second  time  " 
(whether  the  term  implies  1651  or  1691),  and  to  have  torn  down  the 
high  altar  and  made  their  tomb  on  its  site. 

We  do  not  purpose  following  the  failing  fortunes  of  Askeaton  down  to 
modern  times,  but  are  unwilling  to  omit  a  few  scattered  notes  throwing 
a  gleam  of  light  on  its  history.  In  August,  1655,  a  description  of  Askea- 
ton is  found  in  the  Civil  Survey  of  County  Limerick  in  the  Record  Office, 
Dublin4  :— 

1  Inquisition,  Record  Office,  Dublin. 

2  I  take  these  elections  from  a  list  painstakingly  and  most  kindly  compiled  for  this 
essay  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  O'Reilly,  Librarian  of  the  Franciscan  Convent,  Dublin,  from 
the  invaluable  records  in  his  keeping.     (See  Appendix  C.) 

3  "  History  of  Limerick"  (Fitz  Gerald  and  Macgregor),  1826,  vol.  i.,  p.  361. 
4MSS.,  pp.  66,  67. 


NOTES    ON   ASKEATON,    COUNTY    LIMERICK.  171 

'"  Asketton  town  and  Lands,  beinge  a  manner  with  the  Priviledge  of  a 
Courte  Leete  and  Court  Barronn,  five  plowlands  and  halfe  with  a  Castle 
and  a  greate  stone  buildinge,  an  Abbie  and  church  ;  a  corporate  Town  ; 
two  Mills,  whereof  one  belongs  to  Mrs.  Crofton,  with  a  greate  Bridge,  a 
fishing  Leape,  Three  Eele  wears,  Three  Salmon  weares,  Two  ffaires  in 
the  yeere  and  a  markett  once  in  the  weeke,  all  thereunto  belonging ; 
niearinge  on  the  East  with  Ballihomyne  and  Englands  towne ;  on  the 
South  with  Bolliglass  ;  on  the  West  with  Tomdily  and  Ballinecahirigh 
and  on  the  north  with  Tomdili  and  Moaghneiila.  The  lliver  of  Deele 
runeth  through  the  said  lands  (p.  67).  Abbie  Land  in  Asketten,  twentie 
Irish  Acres  mearinge  with  Moagh  on  the  East,  and  the  South  with 
Asketton  towne,  on  the  West  with  the  lliver  of  Deele,  and  on  the  north 
with  Ballinash  "  (p.  66). 

In  1663  More  Purcell,  plaintiff,  claimed  two  jointures.  Thomas 
O'Hagan  proved  that  she  sent  provisions  to  the  Irish  at  Castlehaven 
(really  Castletown,  Sir  Hardress  Waller's  house,  in  the  other  depositions) 
and  Askeaton  ;  she  paid  her  proportion  towards  maintaining  the  soldiers 
at  the  river.1  Many,  like  More  Purcell,  found  the  memory  of  those 
acts  (undertaken  for  a  cause  so  sacred  and  once  bearing  all  before  it), 
rising  up  to  their  detriment  and  ruin,  when,  in  the  midway  of  this  our 
mortal  life,  ' '  they  had  to  face  poverty  and  other  grim  realities  and  try  to 
Avin  back  a  pittance  from  the  wreck  of  their  family  and  fortune  from 
unsympathetic  judges  and  hostile  interests." 

In  1690,  during  the  siege  of  Limerick,  we  find  Eichard  Taylor  of 
Ballinort,  corresponding  with  King  William's  officers,  giving  information 
on  the  dangerous  state  of  his  district,  and  asking  for  a  garrison.  He  also 
sent  an  acceptable  present  of  dainties  to  the  King.2 

In  1712  an  attempt  was  made  to  get  the  Government  to  refit  the 
castle  :  ' '  Motives  humbly  offered  by  the  Earl  of  Orrery  to  induce  her  Matie 
to  Erect  Askeaton  Castle  in  the  County  Limerick  into  a  Government."3 

"  This  castle  was  built  and  fortified  as  a  stronge  hold  by  the  Earl  of 
Desmond,  and  was  of  great  and  singular  service  to  him  in  his  Kebellion  in 
the  Keign  of  Queen  Elizabeth  :  the  town  was  made  a  Burrow  and  corpo- 
ration by  letters  patents  from  King  James  the  First. 

"  It  is  scituated  in  an  Island  made  by  a  Division  of  the  River  about  one 
hundred  yeards  above  the  Castle,  and  united  again  at  a  less  distance  below 
to  which  the  tyde  flowes  and  makes  it  a  navigable  river  to  the  Shannon, 
where  it  empties  itself  after  a  course  of  Three  mile  and  is  one  of  the 
best  passes  for  crossing  that  river  into  the  County  of  Clare.  The  want  of 

1  Calendar  of  the  Carte  Papers  (ed.  Prendergast),  Part  in.,  p.  155,  No.  347. 

-  Correspondence  relating  to  the  War  in  Ireland,  MSS.  E.I. A.,  vol.  vi.,  No.  3  ; 
and  Lenihan's  "  History  of  Limerick,"  p.  250.  The  very  interesting  will  of  Taylor 
is  preserved  in  Dublin  (Limerick  Registry).  It  dates  1693  ;  proved,  1697. 

a  Southwell  MSS.,  Record  Office,  Dublin,  vol.  ii.,  p.  131. 


172        ROYAL    SOCIETY    OF   ANTIQUARIES    OF   IRELAND. 

wch  conveniency  was  of  great  detriment  and  delay  to  the  speedy  reducing 
of  Limerick  in  both  the  late  rebellions  of  '41  and  '88. 

"It  will  alsoe  be  of  great  security  to  The  Protestants  already  settled 
there,  as  well  as  an  Encouragement  to  others  to  settle,  there  being  at 
present  no  barracks  near  to  protect  them  from  the  Insults  of  Irish 
Rapparees. 

11  Its  scituation  near  the  Confines  of  Kerry  makes  it  a  key  to  that 
County  and  commands  the  best  passes  from  Thence  for  carriages,  &c., 
which  may  be  annoyed  or  sustained  by  this  garrison. 

"It will  alsoe  greatly  secure  the  navigation  of  the  Shannon,  there 
being  noe  fortress  now  Thereon  from  the  mouth  of  the  Biver  to  the 
citty  of  Limerick,  tho  sixty  mile  distant. 


ASKEATON  CASTLE. 
(Drawn  by  G.  Holmes ;  published  1799.) 

"  The  ffortress  is  at  present  ruinous  ;  but  the  Earl  of  Orrery  proposes 
for  the  sum  of  five  hundred  pounds  from  the  Government  (sic)  to  put  it 
into  repair,  and  to  keep  it  soe  continualy  at  his  own  charge  provided 
Her  Majestie  will  make  him  Governor  of  it  at  the  usual  allowance  and 
with  the  accustomed  profitts  made  to  the  other  Governors  of  Corke  and 
Limerick.  The  Earl  of  Orrery,  having  three-fourths  of  Entire  manner  and 
town  of  Askeaton  hopes  from  thence  as  well  as  from  the  advantage  that 
is  likely  to  accrue  by  this  proposal  to  the  Publick  to  be  well  entitled  to 
this  favour  from  her  Matie." 


NOTES  ON  ASKEATON,  COUNTY  LIMERICK.      173 

The  Crofton  name  long  remained  attached  to  the  locality.  I  find  in 
the  settlement  between  Richard  Taylor  of  Rock  Abbey,  Thomas  Westropp 
of  Ballysteen,  and  John  Colles  (made  on  the  marriage  of  the  first  with 
Mary  Colles),  21st  January,  1783,1  that  Taylor  conveyed  May  or  Mayast 
or  Rock  Abbey,  near  Askeaton,  on  which  the  abbey  stands,  commonly 
called  the  Abbey  Parks,  and  Crofton's  Brook,  to  the  trustees.  I  have 
met  little  other  mention,  even  incidentally,  of  the  abbey  in  the  eighteenth 
•century.  Grose  describes  the  castle  under  a  wrong  name,  with  an 
illustration  of  1792.2 

Through  the  kindness  of  Mr.  Philip  H.  Hore,  I  am  enabled  to  give 
reproductions  of  two  interesting  (if  not  very  accurate)  engravings  of  the 
period.  The  first  gives  a  view  of  the  "  TOWN  and  CASTLE  of  ASKEYTON 
taken  from  the  RUINS  of  the  ABBEY."  It  very  much  exalts  the  latter 
building,  and,  for  picturesque  purposes  (worthy  of  the  landscape  draw- 
ings of  the  famed  Dr.  Syntax),  doubles  the  number  of  arches  in  the 
bridge.3  It  was  "  published,  as  the  Act  directs,  by  G.  Kearsly,  No.  46, 
Fleet-street,  March  1st,  1779.  P.  Sandby,  E.A.,  pinxit."  We  may  note 
that  the  club-house  at  the  castle  appears  in  this  view.  Another  illustra- 
tion dates  from,  or  at  least  was  published  August  1st,  1799,  from  a 
sketch  of  G.  Holmes,  engraved  by  J.  Walker,  of  Roseman's-street, 
London.  It  reappears  in  much  more  accurate  form  twenty-seven  years 
later  in  Fitz  Gerald  and  Macgregor's  History.  It  shows  the  five-arched 
bridge,  with  the  castle  and  hall  behind  it,  but  not  the  club-house. 

The  town  was  disfranchised  at  the  Union,  and  £15,000  paid  as 
•compensation  to  the  Earl  of  Carrick  and  Lord  Massey  (as  representatives 
of  the  Berkeleys  through  their  marriages  with  the  co-heiresses  of  William 
Taylor  of  Ballinort),  Sir  Vere  Hunt  and  Sir  Joseph  Hoare,  baronets.4 
The  Corporation  became  extinct ;  the  Manorial  Court  died  in  1834,  with 
its  last  seneschal,  and  was  replaced  by  the  unromantic  Petty  Sessions 
•Court.  Even  in  1811  the  Vice-Provost  of  Askeaton,  Richard  Taylor, 
"had  never  heard  of  there  being  any  public  record,  roll,  instrument, 
manuscript  book,  or  paper  belonging  to  the  borough,  and  had  never  held 
any,"5  so  that  there  seems  little  hope  indeed  of  any  really  satisfactory 
history  being  compiled  for  the  latter  days  of  steady  decadence  and  abuse 
of  the  little  "  pocket  borough  "  and  corporation,  founded  with  such  high 
hopes  of  prosperity  and  consolidation  of  English  interest  two  hundred 
years  before,  and  which  had  from  the  first  been  galvanized  into  life, 
and  maintained  in  it  against  reason  and  almost  against  destiny  for  many 

1  Dublin  Registry  of  Deeds,  B.  361,  p.  289. 

2  Francis  Grose's   "Antiquities  of  Ireland,"   vol.  ii.,  Plate  39,  "  Rockbarton  " 
Castle,  i.e.  Rockbarkeley. 

3  That  is  to  say  gives  ten  arches.     The  view  in  "  Pacata  Hibernia"  (c.  1586) 
shows  six.     The  bridge  at  present  has  that  number,  but  one  is  closed  by  the  quay,  as 
in  1799,  so  that  only  five  are  seen  from  the  Abbey. 

*  Lewis'  "  Topographical  Dictionary,"  vol.  i.,  pp.  80,  81. 
"  Liber  Munerum  Publicorum  Hiberniae,"  Part  iv.,  p.  247. 


ROYAL    SOCIKTY   OF  ANTIQUARIES    OF    IRELAND. 

generations.  Where  I  have  failed  to  give  a  full  and  connected  history, 
especially  in  this  closing  century  of  the  place,  I  can  only  hope  for  the 
pardon  of  my  readers,  and  that  the  time  may  come  which  may  make 
possibly  a  more  worthy  history  of  the  chequered  fortunes  of  the  castle, 
convent,  and  town  of  Askeaton. 


CORRIGENDA  AND  ADDENDA. 

Page  35,  supra. — Having  since  copied  the  entire  Rental  of  O'Conyll,  1452,  I  find, 
near  its  end,  far  from  the  Survey  of  Innyskefti,  the  following  note  among  the 
"  Regalia  de  O'Conyll"  : — "  Castro  de  Innyskesty,  xls.,"  which  escaped  my  notice. 
This  implies  that  there  is  no  break  in  the  existence  of  the  castle,  though  its  repair  by 
Gerald,  the  seventh  Earl  of  Desmond,  is  still  more  than  probable. 

Page  38  (prefix  to  note  2). — In  1443,  James,  Earl  of  Desmond,  was  licensed,  by 
the  Deputy,  James,  Earl  of  Ormond,  to  absent  himself  from  Parliament  (Sir  James 
Ware's  "  Antiquities  and  History  of  Ireland  "  (ed.  1705)  under  year). 


(To  be  completed.} 


(     175 


THE  OGHAM  MONUMENT  AT  KILBONANE. 

BY  R.  A.  STEWART  MACALISTER,  M.A.,  F.S.A. 
[Read  MARCH  31,  1903.] 

T  COMMENCE  this  Paper  with  three  postulates  :— 

First :  That  there  is  literary  evidence  that  in' the  days  when  Ogham, 
writing  was  in  use,  the  characters  were  cut  on  twigs,  and  that  the 
written  twigs  were  sometimes  looped  or  wreathed  into  a  circle.  We  read 
of  at  least  one  case  of  such  a  looped  twig,  bearing  an  important 
announcement,  and  on  the  monument  at  Logic,  in  Aberdeen  shire,  there 
seems  to  be  an  illustration  of  such  a  wreath. 

Secondly  :  That  apart  from  Ogham  writing  there  appears  to  have 
been  a  kind  of  secret  jargon  in  use  in  Ireland,  which  is  referred  to  as 
the  Ogham  language,  and  is  described  more  than  once  as  an  accomplish- 
ment of  men  of  learning ;  and  that  fragments  of  the  same  or  a  similar 
jargon  exist  in  the  shape  of  a  vocabulary  known  as  the  Bearlagair  na 
Saor. 

Thirdly :  That  it  is  possible  for  an  artificial  dialect  to  obtain 
currency  and  to  become,  as  it  were,  a  second  language  to  its  speakers, 
even  when  the  words  are  mere  random  inventions.  Volapiik  can  be 
acquired,  like  any  other  language,  by  anyone  who  has  time  to  waste : 
in  this  "language"  the  different  words  are  more  or  less  empirical. 
When  the  words  are  formed  by  cryptographical  processes  from  the 
words  of  another  language,  the  memory  is  to  some  extent  aided  by 
association.  Shelta,  which  is  Irish  written  backwards,  and  which  is 
spoken  by  certain  tramps,  is  an  illustration  of  the  possibility  of  a 
"  cryptographic  "  jargon  becoming  a  fluently-spoken  language. 

These  three  postulates  smooth  the  way  for  the  interpretation  I 
propose  in  the  following  Paper  of  the  very  singular  Ogham  monument 
lying  in  the  old  church  of  Kilbonane. 

The  writing  covers  two  angles  of  the  slab  and  the  face  between  them. 
The  inscription  on  the  face  is  in  two  lines  and  is  independent  of  the 
inscription  on  the  angles. 

The  angle  inscription  is  damaged  in  places  ;  but  after  weighing  all 
possible  alternative  readings  at  the  injured  points,  the  following  may  be 
put  forward,  with  a  fair  measure  of  certainty,  as  the  original  intention 
of  the  engraver : — 

.    .    .    AGNI  MAQI    ADDILONA   INAGENE   MT7CO-BIDANI. 
("  Of  ...  agnos,  son  of  Addilon,  daughter  of  the  tribesman  of  Bidanis.") 

For  my  present  purpose  there  is  no  special  remark  that  need  be 


176        ROYAL   SOCIETY    OF    ANTIQUARIES    OF    IRELAND. 

made  on  this  inscription,  interesting  though  it  be  for  several  reasons, 
•except  on  the  question  of  the  missing  letters  to  be  restored  at  the 
commencement  of  the  legend.  The  scribe  commenced  his  work  with  a 
mistake,  writing  first  a  B,  which  he  afterwards  scratched  out.  After 
the  B  is  a  space  now  blank,  containing  just  room  for  at  most  eight 
scores,  before  we  reach  the  surviving  AGNI.  It  is  important  to  notice  that 
these  scores  must  have  been  vowels  or  n-group  consonants  only,  as  the  B- 
surface  is  quite  uninjured,  and  shows  no  mark  whatever,  except  a  faint, 
and,  I  am  persuaded,  natural  furrow,  like  the  tail  of  an  M.  The  H-surface, 
however,  is  chipped  and  broken. 

Why  did  the  scribe  first  cut  as?  It  can  hardly  have  been  an 
-accident.  The  more  I  think  of  it  the  more  I  feel  the  probability  that 
he  was  copying  an  exemplar  cut  on  a  looped  twig ;  and,  not  observing  at 
first  the  exact  place  where  the  legend  began,  started  with  BID  ANT. 

The  face-inscription  runs  as  follows  : — 

NIK  <<«  MNIDAGNIESSICONIDDALA 
AMITBAIDAGNI. 

"When  I,  as  well  as  others,  previously  treated  of  this  inscription,  we 
considered  the  B  in  the  second  line  to  belong  to  the  angle- inscription — 
an  a  priori  possibility.  In  the  same  way  the  D  of  BIDANI  has  been 
transferred  to  the  face-inscription,  and  so  in  previous  copies  the  second 
line  appears  as  LAMITAIDAGNI. 

It  ought,  however,  to  have  been  obvious  to  me  that  the  true  reading 
is  BAIDAGNI,  and  that  it  is  to  be  equated  to  the  MUCO-BIDANI  at  the  end  of 
the  angle-inscription.  This  equation  is  nearly  equivalent  to  the  Mona- 
taggart  DALAGNI  =  MAQI  DALI. 

It  may  be  at  once  admitted  that  in  despite  of  all  attempts  that  have 
been  made,  this  inscription  has  defied  analysis  into  satisfactory  Irish  of 
any  period.  But  the  clue  afforded  by  BAIDAGNI  leads  us  to  search  the 
rest  of  the  inscriptions  for  similar  correspondences;  and  we  soon  find 
IDAGNI,  which  exactly  fills  all  the  necessary  conditions  for  the  restoration 
of  the  first  name  in  the  angle-inscription,  and  IDDALA-,  which  is  unmis- 
takably parallel  to  ADDILO-NA.  By  our  looped  twig  Deus  ex  machina  we 
.may  complete  the  correspondence  in  the  latter  case,  transferring  the  NI 
from  the  beginning  to  its  proper  place  at  the  end  of  the  first  line. 

He-arranging  the  face-inscription  in  accordance  with  the  theories 
suggested,  we  have  the  following  equation  between  the  two  legends  on 
the  stone : — 

K<^«MN       IDAGNI      ESSICON       IDDALANI  AMIT  BAIDAGNI 

=  (id)  AGNI     MAQI         ADDILONA      INAGENE      MUCO-BIDANI 

The  word  with  which  the  inscription  opens  may  perhaps  be  a  key- 
word, giving  a  clue  to  the  particular  form  of  jargon  employed.  If,  as 


THE    OGHAM    MONUMENT    AT    KILBONANE.  177 

there  seems  reason  to  conclude  from  the  Ballymote  treatise  on  Ogham 
writing,  various  forms  were  in  use,  some  such  clue  must  have  been 
necessary  to  afford  a  key  when  the  writing  was  not  in  standard  Irish  nor 
in  the  standard  alphabet.  If  we  write  the  word  in  Ogham  letters,  and 
underneath  it  write  the  same  word  backwards  : 

III 


a  correspondence  will  be  noted  between  the  number  of  scores  in  corre- 
sponding letters — a  fact  probably  not  without  significance. 

The  name  IDDALANI  is  formed  from  ADDILONA  by  the  mere  interchange 
of  i  and  A.  Properly  speaking  we  should  have  IDDALONI  ;  but  the  second 
A  comes  at  the  extreme  top  of  the  stone,  and  there  is  no  room  for  the 
second  vowel-point.  The  scribe,  therefore,  omitted  or  overlooked  it. 

ESSICON  and  AM  IT  must  correspond  to  MAQI  and  INAGENE  respectively. 
There  is  no  legitimate  language  likely  to  be  found  on  a  monument  in 
Kerry  in  which  these  words  have  these  meanings :  it  follows,  therefore, 
if  the  other  correspondence  be  not  merely  a  chain  of  curious  coincidences, 
that  they  are  arbitrary  words  invested  with  the  meanings  in  question. 
It  would  be  interesting  to  know  if  in  any  of  the  vocabularies  of  JBearlagair 
na  Saor  such  or  similar  words  have  such  meanings. 

On  their  etymology  it  is  hardly  profitable  to  speculate  ;  but  I  think 
I  have  hit  on  a  possible  explanation  of  the  existence  of  the  form  AMIT  = 
daughter.  If  the  word  for  son  is  written  MAQV  (like  QVECI  in  the  Drum- 
loghan  cave-inscription),  it  will  be  seen  that  AMIT  can  be  derived  from  it 
by  an  interchange  of  letter-groups — 

/,  MM 


/  '  Ml 

MA         Q          V 

;     /;;;;;    HJ 

AMI  T 

Theoretically,  of  course,  we  should  have  AMNT  ;  but  that  would  not 
be  pronounceable.  ESSICON  by  analogy  should  have  some  connexion  with 
INGEN  :  the  only  way  I  can  connect  these  is  by  the  unsatisfactory  device 
of  moving  the  first  three  letters  a  step  forward  in  the  scale,  and  leaving 
the  other  four  as  they  stand.  This  gives  INNICON,  which,  however,  is  still 
some  distance  off  INGEN.  But  analogy  is  an  unsafe  guide  in  so  empirical 
a  subject. 

However  these  words  may  have  been  invented,  I  think  I  have  shown 
that  the  Kilbonane  monument  affords  reason  for  believing — 

(1)  That  the  MS.  romances  state  a  credible  fact  when  they  assert 
that  Ogham  was  written  on  looped  twigs. 

T?  Q  A  T    i  Vo1-  XI"-t  F»fth  Series.        \  N 

Jour.  R.S.A.I.  j  Vol  xxxm  ;  Consec-  Ser.  j 


178        ROYAL    SOCIETY    OF    ANTIQUARIES    OF    IRELAND. 

(2)  That  a  jargon  was  actually  spoken,  founded  on  Irish  written  in 
the  Ogham  alphabet,  and  treated  cryptographically  in  accordance  with 
the  transpositions  shown  in  the  Ballymote  treatise  :  and  that  this  is  the 
language  referred  to  as  "  Ogham  "  in  the  Annals. 

(3)  That  this  jargon  had  obtained  such  currency  that  it  might  even 
be  written  on  monuments  with  no   thought  of  secrecy  or  trifling.     I 
take  it  that  those  who  had  the  Kilbonane  monument  inscribed  had  it  cut 
(as  they  thought)  in  the  two  languages  known  in  the  district,  just  as 
their  brethren  in  Wales  erected  monuments  in  Irish  and  Latin. 

(4)  That  Ogham  monuments  were  carved,  not  by  the  survivors  of 
the  deceased,  but  by  stone-cutters  or  professional  scribes,  just  as  at  the 
present  day.     The  scribe  of  the  Kilbonane  stone  knew  Irish,  and  could 
write  it  in  Ogham,  but  was  ignorant  of  the  jargon.     Hence  when  he 
commenced  writing  in  the  wrong  place,  he  detected  his  mistake  on  the 
first  occasion,  but  not  on  the  second. 

How  far  this  interpretation  will  stand  criticism  I  cannot  foresee. 
But  I  may  claim  that  it  affords  an  explanation  of  the  inscription  on  the 
Kilbonane  stone,  less  strained  than  any  other  interpretation,  founded  on 
a  philological  analysis,  that  has  yet  been  brought  forward. 


I     179     ) 


OCCUPATION1   OF  CONNAUGHT    BY   THE   ANGLO-NORMANS 
AFTER  A.D.  1237. 

BY  H.  T.  KNOX,  M.R.I.A.,  FELLOW. 

(Continued  from  page  74.) 
PART   IV. 

Po  appreciate  justly  the  FitzGerald  position  and  action  in  Connaught 
during  the  thirteenth  century,  the  position  in  Ulster  must  be  taken 
into  account. 

Amabill's  deeds  show  that  her  father  held  Tirconnell  and  Fer- 
managh.2 An  early  grant  of  Fermanagh  explains  why  Maurice  Fitz- 
Gerald built  castles  at  Clones  and  at  Caeluisce,  now  Castlecallwell, 
•on  Lough  Erne.  I  infer  that  Maurice  retired  from  Fermanagh  after  the 
destruction  of  his  castles  in  1213,  and  that  he  took  up  Carbury  and 
Tirconnell  together.  Maurice  and  his  son  Maurice  interfered  repeatedly 
in  Tirconnell  and  Fermanagh  from  1238  to  1260.  O'Donnell  burnt 
Sligo  in  1270.  A  castle  was  built  at  Caeluisce  again  in  1252.  From 
1286  onwards  the  Earl  alone  appears  in  these  proceedings,  taking  the  host- 
•ages  of  O'Neill  and  O'Donnell,  and  constituting  and  deposing  chiefs.  The 
last  proceeding  of  the  kind  was  in  1291.  In  1305  the  new  Castle  of  Inish- 
owen  was  built.  Cenel  Eoghain  was  kept  in  the  Earl's  hands.  In  1318 
an  O'Neill  was  deposed,  but  returned.  Thereafter  no  collisions  between 
foreigners  and  Cenel  Conaill  or  Cenel  Eoghain  are  recorded,3  save  in  Bruce's 
invasion,  an  occasion  of  general  rising  in  which  even  O'Kellys  and  some 
O'Maddens  and  O'Malleys  joined.  The  result  of  this  effort  convinced 
them  of  their  feebleness  against  the  great  power  of  the  Earl  of  Ulster, 
to  whom  they  gave  no  more  trouble.  It  was  not  increase  of  their  power, 
but  total  disappearance  of  the  Earl's  power  in  1338,  that  made  them  inde- 
pendent. The  king's  power  had  become  but  a  shadow  in  Connaught  and 
Ulster,  being  based  on  that  of  the  Earl  only.  The  Earl  had  taken  the 
place  of  the  king,  and  of  a  vigorous  king,  and  gave  his  dominions  a 
degree  of  peace  unknown  to  the  greater  part  of  Ireland. 

Sir  Maurice  FitzMaurice's  estates  were  divided  between  his  daughters 

1  The  Paper  on  the  "  Occupation  of  the  County  Gal  way"  was  prepared  for  the 
•meeting  at  Gaiway,  and  was  confined  to  that  county  (Journal,  vol.  xxxi.,  p.  365). 

2  R.  B.  266,  267.     For  explanation  of  references,  see  p.  189. 

3  L.  C.  1212,  1213,   1238,    1239,   1242,    1245-6-7-8,    1250,  1252-3,   1257,   1259, 
1260,  1270,  1286,  1291,  1305,  1310,  1319. 

N2 


180        ROYAL    SOCIETY    OF    ANTIQUARIES    OF    IRELAND. 

Amabill  and  Juliana.  Amabill  transferred  her  share  to  John  Fitz- 
Thomas,  afterwards  Earl  of  Kildare,  upon  conditions  not  shown  fully  in 
the  Eed  Book.  Thus  he  became  lord  of  her  share  of  the  estates  in  Con- 
naught  and  Ulster  and  Munster,  as  well  as  of  what  he  inherited  from  his 
father,  which  we  know  included  the  Banada  part  of  Leyny.  Juliana  had 
married  Thomas  de  Clare  before  1275.1 

John  FitzThomas's  Connaught  possessions  thus  acquired  were  one- 
half  Conmaicne  Cuile,  one-half  Carbury,  including  Sligo,  one-third 
Corran.  one-half  Aidhne.  The  other  parts  of  these  may  have  gone  to 
Juliana,  but  I  find  only  the  reference  already  quoted  to  inheritance  by 
Margaret  de  Badelesmere,  her  granddaughter,  and  to  the  half  share  in  the 
advowson  of  Ardrahan  in  Inquisition  C.  This  partition  had  great  con- 
sequences. John  FitzThomas,  immediately  after  his  accession  as  lord  of 
Offaley,  interfered  with  the  0' Conor  succession  in  Moy  Ai,  and  so  came 
into  collision  with  the  Earl,  who  naturally  looked  upon  the  0' Conors  as 
within  his  sphere  of  influence.  Those  confused  proceedings  appear  in 
the  Annals  of  Loch  Ce,  1288-1294.  The  quarrel  culminated  in  the- 
seizure  of  the  Earl  by  John  FitzThomas.  The  success  was  dearly  paid 
for.  When  the  Earl  was  released,  John  was  bound,  as  price  of  forgive-, 
ness,  to  surrender  to  the  Earl  120  librates  of  land  in  Connaught  as 
compensation,  and  all  his  lands  in  those  parts  and  in  the  County  of  Louth, 
receiving  for  the  residue,  over  and  above  the  120  librates,  an  equal  value 
of  the  Earl's  lands  in  other  parts.  According  to  his  petition  to  the  King 
in  1301,  John  complained  that  the  valuers  did  not  value  fairly,  but  gave 
the  Earl  possession  of  all  John's  lands,  and  gave  John  nothing  instead;3 
upon  which  the  king  called  for  the  record.  The  matter  seems  to  have 
been  settled  privately,  for  the  Eed  Book,  p.  271,  shows:  "A  release 
and  pardon,  from  the  Lord  Bourk  to  the  lord  John  FitzThomas,  of  all 
injuries  done  to  him  and  of  all  such  lands  as  the  said  John  his  ancestors  had 
in  Conaghte.  Drogheda,  1 0  June,  30  Edw.  I. "  (=  1 302).  This  says  nothing 
of  the  Louth  lands.  It  seems  most  probable  that  John  gave  up  all  the  Ulster 
and  Louth  lands,  and  was  given  back  the  Connaught  lands,  for  there  is 
no  more  interference  by  Geraldines  in  Ulster.  The  Earl  seems  to  have 
bought  from  him  some  of  his  Connaught  lands  after  this,  as  the  Earl 
built  the  castle  of  Sligo  in  1310.  And  Sir  William  seems  to  have 
acquired  other  portions,  so  that  John  FitzThomas  disappeared  com- 
pletely as  a  Connaught  lord.  Ballymote  Castle  and  Sligo  Castle,  as 
improved,  formed  two  very  strong  points  for  the  protection  of  Connaught 
on  the  north-eastern  border.  A  full  reconciliation  no  doubt  followed  in 
1312,  when  John's  son  Thomas  married  Richard's  daughter  Joan. 

The  fees  of  Aidhne  and  Luighne,  of  which  Maurice  FitzGerald  was 
enfeoffed,  would  not  have  given  his  descendants  undue  weight  in  Con- 
naught,  but  his  acquisition  of  other  grants  gave  them  so  great  a  territory 

1  D.  I.  iii.,  No.  1142.  2  D.  I.  iv.,  No.  835,  843. 


OCCUPATION    OF   CONNAUGHT    BY   ANGLO-NORMANS.       181 

in  North  Connaught  that  they  were  tempted  to  interfere  in  the  O'Conor 
quarrels,  which  their  chief  lord  was  accustomed  to  settle. 

It  seems  a  strange  statement,  but  I  think  it  is  a  fact  that  the  Norman 
settlers  disappeared  from  Thomond  because  Maurice  FitzGerald  acquired 
too  much  land  in  Connaught.  The  following  account  of  Thomoud  affairs 
is  taken  mainly  from  Mr.  Westropp's  "  Normans  in  Thomond"  (Journal, 
vol.  xxi.,  p.  284).  Thomas  de  Clare  settled  in  Tradree  in  1274,  having 
married  Juliana  in  that  year  or  earlier.  Next  year  he  and  FitzGeralds  and 
Butlers  drove  out  Torlogh  O'Brien,  King  of  Thomond,  and  set  up  Brian 
Roe.  Torlogh  returned  from  Galway  with  de  Burgos  and  O'Maddens  and 
O'Kellys,  and  beat  Brian  Hoe,  who  was  murdered  by  his  ally  de  Clare. 
In  1278  Torlogh  was  driven  out,  but  returned  next  year,  when  a 
partition  with  Brian  Roe's  son  Donough  was  arranged.  In  1280 
de  Clare  came  from  the  South  with  Geraldine  help,  and  "William 
de  Burgo  came  from  Galway  with  Butler  help.  Earl  Richard,  who 
had  been  put  in  possession  of  his  estates  in  1279,  and  arranged  par- 
tition, ordered  that  Torlogh  be  confirmed  in  possession  of  East  Thomond, 
and  that  hostages  be  given  to  de  Clare.  The  reason  of  his  giving  hostages 
to  Thomas  de  Clare  is  that  Torlogh  held  7  cantreds  and  16  vills  in 
Thomond  under  the  manor  of  Bunratty  at  a  rent  of  182  mks.,  4s.  4d.1 

Friendship  existed  between  de  Burgos  and  O'Briens  since  William 
•de  Burgo  married  Donnell  More's  daughter.  These  O'Briens  were 
Richard's  cousins,  and  he  had  no  interest  in  making  a  very  strong  king  of 
the  Irish.  Sir  William's  wife  was  a  daughter  of  Brian  Roe.  From  all 
de  Burgo  points  of  view  the  partition  was  a  satisfactory  settlement. 

As  Thomas  de  Clare  was  a  son-in-law  of  Sir  Maurice  FitzMaurice,  and 
was  now  likely  to  acquire  half  of  his  great  estates  in  Connaught,  and 
Munster  and  Ulster,  in  right  of  his  wife,  it  became  a  real  de  Burgo 
interest  to  support  Torlogh  against  the  race  of  Brian  Roe,  and  not  allow 
the  king  of  the  Irish  to  be  a  nominee  of  de  Clare.  Mr.  "Westropp  calls 
Emelina  de  Lungespee  wife  of  Maurice  of  Desmond,2  but  her  husband  was 
certainly  Maurice,  Baron  of  Offaley.  In  1287,  Thos.  de  Clare  was  again 
at  war  with  Torlogh,  who  killed  him  and  his  ally  Gerald  FitzMaurice, 
and  invaded  Munster,  whence  the  Earl  got  him  to  retreat.  It  was  no 
interest  of  the  Earl  to  destroy  Tradree  and  the  English,  his  ally  having 
been  established  as  King  of  the  Irish. 

If  these  wars  had  been  only  a  fight  for  Tradree  on  the  de  Clare  side, 
depending  on  Brian  Roe's  confirmation  of  the  English  grant,  this  defeat 
should  have  brought  the  de  Clare  power  to  an  end.  In  fact,  Gilbert 
succeeded  peacefully  when  he  came  of  age.  During  his  minority  there 
was  no  one  to  take  up  the  cause  of  Brian  Roe's  sons,  and  so  King  Torlogh 
had  peace. 

The  FitzGerald  interference  in  the  O'Conor  successions  from  1288 

1  D.  I.  ii.,  No.  459.         2  Journal,  vol.  xx.,  p.  286  ;  but  see  vol.  xxiv.,  pp.  188,  291. 


182        ROYAL    SOCIETY    OF    ANTIQUARIES    OF   IRELAND. 

to  1294  looks  like  an  attempt  to  acquire  a  footing  in  Connaught  Irish 
affairs,  to  compensate  for  the  complete  loss  of  influence  over  the  Irish  of 
Thomond. 

Gilhert  de  Clare  was  given  possession  of  his  estates  in  1303,  and  was 
succeeded  in  1308  by  his  brother  Kichard.  In  1309  Brian  Roe's  grandson 
Dermot  rose  against  Torlogh's  son  Donough,  who  succeeded  Torlogh  in 
1306,  and  was  supported  by  Richard  and  his  Munster  English.  The  de 
Burgo  power  under  Sir  William  was  for  Donough.  After  indecisive 
fighting,  Richard  and  Dermot  were  defeated  in  1311,  but  Sir  William  was 
taken  prisoner.  The  Earl  again  personally  intervened,  and  renewed  the 
partition.  Continuous  fighting  ensued  over  this  partition,  which  ended 
in  the  defeat  and  death  of  Richard  de  Clare  in  1318.  His  ally  Brian 
Bane  O'Brien  was  expelled  from  Thomond,  and  settled  in  Ara  across  the 
Shannon,  where  the  chief  of  his  descendants  was  known  afterwards  as 
Mac  I  Brien  Ara. 

The  daughters  who  shared  Richard's  estate  were,  with  their  husbands, 
absentees.  The  cantred  of  Tradree  was  left  without  a  lord  to  give  the 
English  settlers  effective  defence,  and  so  the  English  tenants  disappeared, 
and  the  land  became  purely  Irish  after  1338.  But  for  the  de  Clare 
interference  in  the  O'Brien  quarrels,  they  might  have  held  in  peace  and 
increased  in  strength  yearly,  and  but  for  the  FitzGerald  alliance,  might 
never  have  come  into  serious  collision  with  the  great  Earl,  whose  power 
predominated  over  Connaught  and  Ulster,  and  was  very  great  in  Thomond 
and  Munster.  None  could  safely  come  into  collision  with  him  or  his 
grandsons.  This  great  power  gave  to  his  part  of  Connaught  and  to  Ulster 
a  degree  of  peace  which  enabled  the  colonists  everywhere  to  establish  them- 
selves well.  The  Annals  show  that  raids  upon  the  English  of  Connaught 
became  fewer  and  fewer,  very  little  fighting  among  the  English,  and  that 
from  the  acquisition  of  the  earldom  and  the  coming  of  age  of  Earl  Richard  r 
there  was  an  irresistible  power  able  and  willing  to  enforce  peace  in  his- 
domain.  It  may  be  said  that  there  was  a  steady  progress  throughout  the 
century,  and  that  the  peace  would  have  been  general  in  Connaught  if  the 
King  had  restrained  the  O'Conors  and  kept  the  peace  among  them,  as  he 
could  have  done  easily.  The  lord  of  Connaught  steadily  beat  them  down, 
but,  having  no  right  over  Moylurg  and  Moy  Ai  and  Trituatha,  he  could 
not  build  castles  to  restrain  their  turbulence. 

A  remarkable  feature  is  the  willingness  of  the  Irish  to  accept 
government.  The  O'Kellys,  O'Maddens,  O'Heynes,  O'Shanghnessys, 
OTlahertys,  O'Dowdas,  were  generally  quiet.  The  minor  chieftains, 
lords  of  Tuaths,  like  Mac  Neills  of  Carra  and  O'Malleys  of  Umall,  gave  no 
trouble  at  all.  This  is  intelligible.  They  were  protected  from  raids  as 
they  were  never  protected  before,  were  relieved  of  the  uncertain  exactions 
of  the  kings  above  them,  and  were  at  most  required  to  pay  a  rent.  At  the 
time  of  the  Conquest  the  old  nobility  had  been,  and  were  being,  put 
down  a  step  lower  in  rank  over  a  wide  extent  of  country,  because  the 


OCCUPATION  OF  CONNAUGHT   BY  ANGLO-NORMANS.        183 

descendants  of  Torlogh  Mor  and  of  Ruaidhri  O'Conor  were  being  given 
hereditary  estates,  as  Brian  Luighnech  in  Carbury,  Cathal  Carrach  and 
Conor  Moenmoy  in  Ui  Maine,  Clan  Murtough  and  Clan  Manns  in  Clan 
Cuain  and  Umall,  the  sons  of  Ruaidhri  in  Carra,  a  Sil  Torlogh  growing 
over  the  old  tribes  as  the  Silmurray  had  grown  before.  Thns  such  minor 
lords  and  kings  were  in  rather  a  better  position  under  the  new  lord  than 
they  would  have  been  under  O'Conor  domination.  The  object  of  the 
Norman  lords  was  not  to  oust  them,  but  to  get  submission  and  rent. 

The  entries  in  the  Annals  of  Loch  Ce  for  the  years  1245  and  1247 
seem  to  mark  a  decisive  defeat  of  Mac  Costello.  It  seems  to  have  been 
temporary,  or,  in  face  of  fresh  efforts  on  the  part  of  the  de  Angulo 
lord  of  the  Navan,  to  have  been  followed  by  a  submission  and  agreement, 
de  Angulo  made  willing  to  accept  less,  and  Mag  Raghnaill  to  give  more, 
as  a  consequence  of  the  warfare,  and  the  negotiations  arising  from  the 
demands  of  the  new  and  the  old  lords.  For,  in  1551,  Thomas  Nangle, 
baron  of  the  Navan,  complained  to  the  Council  that  Mag  Raghnaill  refused 
to  pay  him  100  kine  yearly  with  a  knight's  fees,  due  to  his  ancestors  out 
of  the  country  of  Muintir  Eolais ;  Mag  Raghnaill  denied  that  such  duties 
had  ever  been  paid,  and  the  Council  awarded  £6  yearly  to  the  baron, 
with  the  consent  of  both  parties.1  The  Council  must  have  seen  some 
foundation  for  the  claim,  though  the  rent  had  not  been  paid  for  some  200 
years  perhaps.  The  Wangle  claim  was  based  on  a  grant  made  by  Walter 
de  Lacy  to  Philip  de  Angulo,  between  November,  1220,  and  July,  1221,2 
of  a  tract  comprising  all  the  lands  of  the  Conmaicne  of  Moyrein,  and  a 
good  deal  in  the  County  Cavan. 

Philip  de  la  Rochelle  complained  in  12823  that  the  escheator  let  his 
Omany  lands  during  his  minority  to  Irish  tenants  at  such  low  rents  as  did 
not  amount  to  the  rent  of  £125  due  by  him  to  the  king. 

Such  arrangements  must  have  been  common  all  over  the  country.  It 
depended  on  the  power  of  the  lord  whether  much  or  little  or  no  rent  was 
paid. 

This  account  would  be  imperfect  without  an  examination  of  the  case 
of  the  descendants  of  William  de  Burgo,  who  was  killed  at  Athanchip  in 
1270.  It  is  remarkable  that  there  is  little  or  no  evidence  to  show  what 
land  he  held,  or  what  lands  or  castles  were  held  by  his  great  son,  Sir 
William  Liath,  who  seems  to  have  been  Earl  Richard's  Governor  of 
Connaught  during  his  lifetime,  and  to  have  been  succeeded  in  that 
position  by  his  son  Walter.  They  must  have  been  given  fees  in  Con- 
naught  by  Earls  Walter  and  Richard,  and  they  or  their  sons  certainly 
acquired  fees  from  tenants  in  chief  under  the  lord  of  Connaught ;  but 
this  is  a  matter  of  inference  from  the  estates  held  by  Sir  William's  sons 
and  William  Og's  grandsons.  O'Donovan  accepted  the  descent  of  the 
Mac  Seonins  and  Mac  Philpins  from  Sir  William,  apparently  from 

1  Morrin,  Patent  and  Close  Eolls  of  Chancery,  Ireland,  p.  259. 
3/£.  p.  197.  3  D.I.  ii.,  No.  1986. 


184:        ROYAL   SOCIETY    OF    ANTIQUARIES    OF    IRELAND. 

O'Ferrall's  Pedigrees  as  set  out  by  Hardiman  j1  and  I  followed  him  in 
my  account  of  the  de  Burgo  clans  of  Galway.2 

Though  the  pedigrees  of  O'Clery  are  in  many  respects  wrong  regard- 
ing the  Normans  of  the  twelfth  and  thirteenth  centuries  before  they 
became  Hibernian,  it  seems  to  me  now  on  the  whole  that  his  account  of 
the  sons  of  William  Og  and  of  their  descendants  is,  as  regards  these 
clans,  better  supported  by  the  Inquisitions  and  the  Annals.3  It  runs 
thus  :— 

WILLIAM  OG. 

i 


Sir  William  Liath.  Seonin  (John).  Philippin  (Philip). 


1.  Hubert.         2.  Henry.         3.  Gioboun.     4.  Johnac  Bacagh  (John). 

From  Seonin  came  Mac  Seonin. 

Prom  Hubert  came  the  Sliocht  Hoiberd  na  Cille,  whom  I  cannot 
trace. 

From  Henry  came  the  Clann  Maoilir  of  the  Neale  and  the  Sliocht 
MicTeaboid. 

From  Gioboun  the  Clann  Gioboun. 

From  Johnac' s  son  Hubert  the  Clann  Philpin. 

Substituting  William  Og  for,  William  Liath  as  the  common  ancestor 
in  O'Farrell's  pedigree,  the  genealogies  agree  fairly  well.  O'Farrell 
ignores  the  clans  descended  from  Henry.  O'Clery  ignores  those  of  the 
same  name  in  TJmall. 

John  de  Burgo  is  mentioned  in  1290,  who  may  be  William  Og's  son, 
as  the  name  was  not  yet  common  in  the  family.*  O'Farrell  gives  a  John, 
son  of  Seonin,  as  first  Mac  Seonin.  A  Seonin  was  killed  in  1342  (L.  C.) 

William  and  his  wife  Matilda  are  mentioned  in  1293,5  and  Henry, 
son  of  William,  had  pardon  in  1304,  on  account  of  his  good  services  in 
Scotland,  at  instance  of  Earl  Richard.6  It  is  the  first  instance  of  the 
name  in  this  family. 

Gilbert  and  Hubert  were  taken  prisoners  with  Earl  Richard  in  1317. 
A  Gilbert  is  mentioned  in  1335.7  Hubert,  son  of  Gilbert,  was  a  juror  of 
Inquisition  B.  Heirs  of  John  and  heirs  of  Philip  and  a  William  had 
land  near  Loughrea,  and  William  of  Owyl  had  land  in  Umhall.  Three 
Richards  were  jurors.  The  heir  of  a  Richard  is  mentioned.  These 
names  show  the  opportunities  for  confusion,  and  the  necessity  of  definite 
indications. 

It  is  remarkable  that  the  Inquisitions  do  not  definitely  name  any  son  of 
Sir  William.  Possibly  Richard  le  Hore  may  be  a  son,  who  took  the 
name  le  Hore  as  a  kind  of  surname,  equivalent  to  Liath,  or  le  Hore,  his 

1  H.  W.  C.  242. 

2  "  Galway  Archaeological  and  Historical  Society,"  vol.  i.,  p.  124. 

3  Journal,  vol.  xvii.,  p.  87.  *  D- 1.  iii.  5  Ibid, 
6  D.  I.  v.,  No.  330.                                       '  Cal.  Pat.  Rolls,  Edw.  III. 


OCCUPATION    OF   CONNAUGHT    BY   ANGLO-NORMANS.       185 

father's  description.  The  heirs  of  William,  who  held  a  large  property 
near  Loughrea,  were  probably  his  sons,  but  that  is  all  that  can  be  said 
of  the  greatest  family  in  Connaught. 

In  the  sixteenth  century  the  Mac  Seonins  occupied  a  large  tract  in 
the  east  of  the  barony  of  Kilmaine.  Some  of  their  castles  were  on  lands 
belonging  to  the  Archbishop  of  Tuam,  and  others  on  land  held  from  the 
Bourkes,  but  they,  and  the  Mac  Meylers,  and  the  Mac  Tibbots,  and  some 
Bourkes,  were  freeholders  to  the  extent  of  66  qrs.  The  Mac  Meylers 
had  the  castle  of  the  Neale  and  land  about  it,  and  the  Mac  Tibbots  had 
tlie  castle  of  Creevagh  and  land  about  it,  in  Kilmolara  parish.  These 
occupied  contiguous  estates,  which  adjoined  that  of  Clann  Seonin.  It 
seems  as  if  "William  Og  had  taken  up  these  tracts,  and  had  divided  them 
between  his  sons  John  and  Philip. 

These  Mac  Meylers  and  Mac  Tibbots  may  be  the  same  as  those  of 
Umall,  but  I  think  not,  because  these  Mac  Meylers  are  described  as  of 
the  .Neale,  and  the  other  Mac  Meylers  and  Mac  Tibbots  seem  to  be 
branches  from  Clan  Philpin. 

Mac  Philpin' s  lands,  in  the  sixteenth  century,  were  in  the  southern 
part  of  Burrishoole  barony,  where  he  had  Doon  Castle,  and  another 
Mac  Philpin  had  the  castle  at  Aille.  Mac  Philpin  had  to  pay  Mac 
William  15*.  on  3  qrs.  in  Dromrany,  which  is  an  old  name  for  Aglish 
Parish.  He  had  the  "  Newcastle  by  Castlebary"  in  1574,  and  this  I 
take  to  be  an  original  seat  of  the  family,  as  O'Clery  calls  them  "  Clann 
Philpin  of  Castlebar,"1  and  the  castle  of  Bellabourke,  in  Carra  (Division 
of  Connaught  and  Thomond).  John  de  Burgo,  who  held  four  vills  in 
Umall  in  1333,  would  do,  in  point  of  time,  for  Johnac  Bacagh.  The 
William  of  Umall  is  likely  to  be  a  brother.  Dabac  Dilmain,  son  of 
Ulick  of  Umhall,  head  of  the  kerne,  and  Theobald,  son  of  Ulick,  head  of 
the  kerne,  seem  to  be  his  sons.2  Theobald  suits  for  an  ancestor  of 
Mac  Tibbot  of  Moyour.  The  castle  of  Moyour  is  now  called  Castleaffy. 
If  Myntroghyn  be  a  combination  of  Moyna,  or  Money,  neighbouring 
townlands,  with  Treathain,  a  "  strand  or  sea,"  the  word  describes  the 
castle's  position.  The  Mac  Meylers  are  called  of  Kilmaclasser.3 

The  Clangibbon  were  a  very  large  family,  but  inhabited  chiefly  the 
Archbishop's  lands,  and  some  lands  under  the  O'Malleys.  In  the  lands 
of  Clan  Philpin  and  Sliocht  Mic  Tibbot  they  owned  the  Castle  of  Bally- 
knock,  called  on  the  map  Bawn  Castle,  in  Westport  House  demesne. 
One  Mac  Gibbon  occupied  a  castle  at  Ballymacgibbon,  which  was  Arch- 
bishop's land,  and  another  a  castle  at  Ballyeogevan,  which  I  do  not 
identify,  both  in  Kilmaine  barony  (Division  of  Connaught  and  Thomond.) 
The  dwellings  of  the  Clangibbon  are  given  in  the  Calendars  of  Fiants  of 
Queen  Elizabeth.4 

1  Journal,  vol.  xvii.,  p.  90.  2  L.  C.  1351,  1377. 

3  16  D.  K.,  5173.  *  15  D.  K.,  4583,  4586,  4844  ;  16  D.  K.,  5075,  5797. 


186        ROYAL   SOCIETY    OF    ANTIQUARIES    OF    IRELAND. 

Lord  Ormond's  estate  of  40  qrs. ;  the  Archbishop's,  38  qrs. ;  Abbey- 
lands,  4  qrs. ;  Clanphilpin,  24  qrs. ;  Sliocht  Mic  Tibbot,  16  qrs. ;  and  3 
denominations  each  of  2  qrs.,  made  the  whole  barony  of  Burrishoole,  in 
which  the  last  five  items  amount  to  46  qrs.  MacWilliam  had  a  rent  of 
3s.  4d.  a  quarter  from  Mac  Philpin  out  of  6  qrs.,  and  out  of  40  other  quarters 
occupied  by  Mac  Walterboy  and  Mac  Hugoboy  (M'Kaageboy  or  M'Cawoke) 
and  the  Clandonnells  and  the  Bourkes.  The  Clandonnells  were  but  one 
family  of  gallowglasses.  "  The  Bourkes  "  must  mean  the  clans  descended 
from  Philip.  One  of  the  small  denominations  is  Money.  I  do  not  know 
the  descent  of  Mac  Walter  and  Mac  Hugo,  but  suppose  them  to  have  been 
of  this  race. 

These  46  qrs.,  11  towns  and  2  qrs.,  are  so  close  to  the  amount  of  12 
towns  held  by  the  de  Burgos  and  Lawless  that  they  must  be  the  same 
properties.  In  both  cases  town  and  quarter  meant  the  quantity  of  land 
amounting  to  a  certain  value  within  an  area.  My  inferences  are  that 
the  descendants  of  John  and  William  acquired  the  Lawless  estate,  and 
that  Sir  Edmond  Albanagh  or  his  son  acquired  the  Earl's  heir's  interest, 
perhaps  by  temporary  lease  called  a  farm,  which  was  made  a  property 
by  subsequent  neglect  to  pay  any  rent,  and  ignoring  the  chief  lord's 
title. 

Mac  Firbis's  statement  that  Sir  William  possessed  Firthire  after  de 
Cogan,  and  that  Edmond  Albanagh  had  it  afterwards,  seems  correct  in 
substance.  Sir  William  probably  took  it  up  from  the  de  Cogan  heir  in 
some  such  transaction  as  I  suggest  in  regard  to  Burrishoole. 

The  arrangements  between  Earl  Richard  and  John  FitzThomas 
account  for  a  transfer  of  the  Lough  Mask  estate  to  Sir  William,  which 
seems  to  have  taken  place,  and  from  him  it  seems  to  have  passed  to  his 
son  Edrnond,  in  whose  possession  it  is  next  found.  Sir  Walter  is 
described  as  of  the  diocese  of  Annaghdown.  Ulick  of  Annaghkeen  and 
his  son  Richard  were  connected  with  Galway.  There  is  distinct 
evidence  of  transfer  of  half  the  Geraldine  estate  in  Aidhne  to  the  Earl 
of  Ulster  in  the  note  in  Inq.  C.,  that  the  advowson  of  the  church  of 
Ardrahan  belonged  to  him  and  to  the  heirs  of  Richard  de  Clare  alternately. 
But  the  land  seems  to  have  been  let  out  again  for  knight  service,  as  it 
does  not  appear  in  the  Inquisitions. 

The  descendants  of  Redmond  and  Hubert,  sons  of  Earl  Walter,  had 
large  estates  along  the  south-eastern  border  of  Aidhne,  from  Isertkelly 
to  Kilbeacanty  and  "Kiltartan.  Thus  they  seem  to  have  been  provided 
for  in  fees  held  under  the  FitzGeralds  at  first.  For  these  seem  to  have 
been  the  lands  formerly  held  by  the  O'Clerys,  and  part  of  those  held  by 
the  O'Cahills  in  the  eastern  part  of  Kinelea,  whereof  the  greatest  part 
was  left  in  the  hands  of  O'Shaughnessy,  the  head  chief  of  that  division 
of  the  Ui  Fiachrach.  I  cannot  make  out  anything  more  definite 
regarding  the  occupation  of  this  part  of  Aidhne. 

The  FitzGerald  estate  of  Sligo  seems  to  have  been  taken  over  by  the 


OCCUPATION    OF    CONNAUGHT    BY   ANGLO-NOKMANS.       187 

Earl,  because  the  manor  and  the  three  cantreds  had  been  worth  £333  a 
year,  which  would  not  have  arisen  from  rents  reserved  at  the  original 
infeudation. 

The  Staunton  grant  of  Carra  seems  to  have  been  taken  over  by  Sir 
William  or  his  sons,  as  well  as  the  whole  of  the  Earl's  rights  over 
Tirawly.  In  the  barony  of  Clare,  in  Galway,  MacWilliam  seems  to 
have  acquired  the  same  superior  right,  as  nearly  all  that  barony  was 
held  in  freehold,  and  so  was  nearly  all  that  of  Leitrim.  In  Kiltartan 
the  opposite  case  is  found.  O'Shaughnessy  had  the  bulk  of  it  free  of 
Mac  William's  rent.  I  infer  that  O'Shaughnessy  had  a  very  large  estate 
in  fee  in  Aidhne  from  EitzGerald,  held  by  Knight  service,  or  if  under 
rent,  that  MacWilliam.  did  not  acquire  a  superior  title  from  the  Earl's 
tenant  or  heir ;  that  O'Shaughnessy  remained  in  the  same  position  as 
O'Malley  and  Butler  in  Umall. 

I  have  gone  at  length  into  these  matters,  because  they  seem  necessary 
to  explain  the  growth  of  authority  and  power  of  Sir  William  and  his 
sons  after  him  during  the  thirteenth  and  fourteenth  centuries;  and,  taken 
with  other  circumstances,  show  that  the  usual  statement,  that  Sir  TJlick 
of  Annaghkeen  and  Sir  Edmond  Albanagh  seized  Elizabeth  de  Burgo's 
Connaught  estate,  and  divided  it  between  them,  is  incorrect.  The 
offences  charged  against  Sir  Edmond  and  his  brother  Reymond  were 
that  they  adhered  to  certain  rebels  and  opponents  of  the  king  ;  the  king 
did  not  treat  them  as  principals  in  rebellion;  that  adherence  was 
before  August  1338.1  So  far  were  they  from  being  rebels,  that  Rey- 
mond, in  1340,  brought  a  party  of  men  at  arms  and  hobelers  to  join 
the  king's  army  in  France,  where  after  his  service  he  sold  thirteen 
horses  to  the  king  for  £80,  getting  £24  for  Grissel  de  Borton, 
£13  6*.  Sd.  for  Ferrant  Makgibbyn,  but  only  £l  for  Bayard  Stekes." 
As  the  king  was  bound  to  carry  him  and  his  horses  back  to  Ireland,  it  may 
be  assumed  that  Reymond  made  a  satisfactory  deal  with  the  Remount 
Department.  He  and  Edmond  were  asked  to  come  to  help  the  king  in 
the  war  against  France  in  1347. 

The  Inquisitions  show  the  immediate  loss  of  income  caused  by  the 
disorder  arising  on  the  removal  of  the  Earl's  strong  hand,  and  that  the 
rent  of  £200,  at  which  Sir  Edmond,  Earl  Richard's  son,  had  a  lease  of 
Connaught,  was  not  inadequate.  The  absentee  lords  of  large  fees  were  no 
more  able  to  enforce  their  rights  against  the  de  Burgos,  who  had  spread 
over  Connaught,  and  who  were  already  the  resident  lords  of  great  tracts, 
than  was  the  king.  It  is  unnecessary  to  suppose  a  repudiation  of  legal 
liabilities.  The  de  Clare  heiresses  and  other  absentees .  could  not  collect 
rents  if  they  were  not  voluntarily  paid  when  the  Karl's  courts  had 
disappeared  and  the  king's  courts  were  powerless.  It  would  not  have  been 

1  Gai.  Pat,  Edw.  III.,  vol.  ir. 

2  Cal.  Close  Rolls,  Edw.  III.,  vol.  v.,  p.  397,  547. 


188        ROYAL    SOCIETY    OF    ANTIQUARIES    OF    IRELAND. 

easy  for  tenants  to  pay  rents  regularly  in  the  turmoil  of  the  years  after 
1333,  and  we  know  that  matters  became  worse  and  worse.  Just  as  the 
English  townsmen  and  farmers  left  the  country  because  their  position 
was  intolerable  when  they  no  longer  had  the  protection  of  the  Earl's 
power  and  recourse  to  his  courts,  so  his  chief  tenants,  not  being  resident 
lords,  found  it  impossible  to  maintain  their  rights  by  their  own  power. 
We  can  understand  that  they  would  be  ready  to  transfer  their  estates  to 
de  Burgos  on  very  easy  terms.  After  Sir  Edmohd's  murder,  the  king's 
escheator  and  the  Duke  of  Clarence  would  be  in  much  the  same  difficulty ; 
and  they  would,  no  doubt,  be  willing  to  give  temporary  leases,  called 
farms,  of  the  Countess's  cantreds  to  Sir  Edmond  for  such  rent  as  he 
might  offer,  and  they  were  probably  obliged  to  accept  excuses  instead  of 
cash  whenever  Sir  Edmond  felt  that  justice  to  himself  forbade  him  to 
offer  the  better  payment.  The  same  remark  applies  to  Ulick  and  his  son 
Richard.  Such  a  lease  would  explain  the  array  of  the  O'Conors  of 
Sligo  usually  on  the  same  side  as  MacWilliam  of  Clanricard  from  the 
middle  of  the  fourteenth  century,  and  the  claim  made  by  the  Earl  of 
Clanricard,  admitted  by  O'Connor  Sligo,  before  Sir  Henry  Sidney,  in 
1567.1  It  would  be  followed  by  an  arrangement  between  them. 
O'Conor  Sligo's  only  doubt  was  who  was  his  lawful  chief  lord. 
O'Donnell  was  not  legally  so  ;  the  Earl  of  Kildare's  ancestor  had  parted 
with  his  right. 

It  seems  to  me  that  the  alleged  partition  was  effected  in  some  such  way, 
by  taking  leases,  Edmond  in  the  north,  TJlick  and  his  son  Bichard  in  the 
south.  The  arrangements,  whatever  they  were,  had  as  their  real  basis 
the  successful  violence  and  crime  of  the  de  Burgos. 

Thus  we  understand  too  why  so  many  lords  of  territories  paid  no 
rent  to  either  MacWilliam,  and  were  only  general  adherents  in  time  of 
war,  de  Exeter,  de  Angulo,  Prendergast,  Bermingham,  Butler,  among 
the  English;  O'Malley,  O'Flaherty,  O'Kelly,  O'Madden,  O'Shaughnessy, 
among  the  Irish.  The  Clanwilliam  had  no  desire  to  come  into  collision 
with  more  than  they  could  help.  These  lords  dealt  with  their  chief  lord, 
and  made  their  own  arrangements  in  the  same  way.  When,  to  secure 
their  position,  the  Connaught  lords  adopted  Irish  customs,  the  breach 
was  complete. 

After  1347,  Sir  Edmund  became  a  rebel,  but  I  cannot  make  out 
any  particular  act  of  rebellion,  unless  it  was  the  war  of  1349  (L.C.), 
against  Richard,  son  of  Earl  Richard's  son  Edmund,  and  the  Clanricard, 
whom  he  defeated.  That  he  was  so  considered  appears  from  the 
following  extract  from  the  Inquisition  taken  on  the  death  of  Lionel, 
Duke  of  Clarence : — "  The  Duke  held  of  the  King  in  chief  by  the  courtesy 
of  England,  in  right  of  his  wife,  the  manors  of  Loghreagh,  Tobryd, 
Tyloghoban,  Loghmeske,  Slygaghe,  Galvy,  Portdempne,  in  Connaght,  by 

1  Journal,  vol.  xii.,  p.  23. 


OCCUPATION    OF  CONNAUGHT   BY   ANGLO-NORMANS.       189 

the  service  of  twenty  knights'  fees  when  scutage  befalls,  and  they 
were  worth  when  the  said  Duke  should  be  in  Ireland  £200,  but  now 
nothing  because  they  are  occupied  by  Edmund  de  Burgo,  Knight,  and 
many  rebels  of  the  king,  both  English  and  Irish  ;  nor  has  any  minister  of 
the  king  dared  to  go  there  to  execute  his  office."1 


The  following  abbreviations  are  used  in  references  : — 

H.  F.         =  O'Donovan,  "  Tribes  and  Customs  of  Hy  Fiachrach." 

H.  M.        =•  ,,          "  Tribes  and  Customs  of  Hy  Many." 

H.  W.  C.  =  Hardiman's  edition  of  O'Flaherty's  "  West  Connaught." 

D.I.          =  Sweetman,  "Calendar  of  Documents  relating  to  Ireland,"    1172- 

1307. 
D.  K.         =  "  Annual  Report  of  Deputy  Keeper  of  the  Public  Records,  Ireland," 

Calendar  of  Fiants. 
R.  B.         =  "Red  Book  of  Earl  of  Kildare,"  in  Hist.  MSS.  Commission,  9th 

Report,  Appendix. 

L.  C.          =  "  Annals  of  Loch  Ce  "  (Rolls  Series). 
F.  M.         =          „  the  Four  Masters"  (0' Donovan's  edition). 

0.  S.  L.     =  Ordnance  Survey  Letters. 

1  Chancery  Inq.  P.  M.,  in  Public  Record  Office,  London. 


(To  be  continued.) 


190        ROYAL    SOCIETY    OF   ANTIQUARIES    OF   IRELAND. 


Kiltevenan,  County  Roscommon  (vol.  xxxii.,  pp.  194,  408).— Is  it 
certain  that  this  estate  was  in  the  County  Roscommon,  of  the  thirteenth 
and  fourteenth  centuries  ?  The  documents  quoted  do  not  say  so.  The 
deed  of  1190-1200  shows  that  Roger  de  "Wiricestria  held  land  about 
Kiltevenan  then,  and  the  next  shows  that  hy  1226  the  abbey  was  able 
to  deal  with  the  church.  It  is  not  likely  that  any  Englishman  was  so 
well  established  in  an  estate  on  the  west  of  the  Shannon  as  to  be  able 
to  make  such  a  grant  until  after  1200.  If  the  abbey  had  but  one 
Irish  estate,  I  would  seek  it  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Pethard,  which 
is  mentioned  in  the  fourth  deed.  Can  Kiltevenan  be  represented  in 
Kiltinan  Castle  to  the  south  of  Fethard  ?  Is  Wiricestria  a  form  of 
Worcester,  which  is  at  this  time  represented  in  some  cases  at  least  by 
Wigornia  ?  I  believe  there  is  in  England  a  place  called  Wroxeter.  If 
Mr.  Macray  can  answer  the  first  and  last  questions,  there  will  be  a  better 
chance  of  tracing  the  Countess. — H.  T.  KNOX,  Fellow. 


Irish    Wills  and  Administrations  from  the  Registers  at  York 
prior  to  1660. — Brayman,  John,  Nurye  in  Ireland,    October  21,    1597. 

Proved  July  10,  1599.     (Reg.  Test,  xxvii.  629.) 
Chambers,  John,  Dublin,  gent.,  Aug.  14,  1597.     Proved  Oct.  20,  1597. 

(Ibid,  xxvii.  37.) 
Cockman,  Francis,  St.  Patrick's,  Dublin,  clerk  (Halifax),  Feb.  19,  1645. 

(Bundle,  Nov.  1647-8.) 
Hoopes,  Robert,  Belhinche,  County  Armagh,  Ireland,  yeoman,  Nov.  16, 

1622.     Proved  June  14,  1627.     (Reg.  Test,  xxxix.  192.) 
Marshall,  Thomas,  Crelesse  Castle,  Ireland,  administration  of  his  estate 

granted  Aug.  9,  1625.     (Cleveland  Act  Book.) 
Mason,    Robert,    Eniskeene   (Ireland),    M.A.,  Aug.    9,    1639.     (Bundle 

July,  1641-2.) 
Scott,  Sir  Richard,  Dublin,  Knight,  April  6,  1638,  codicil  July  16,  1638. 

(Bundle  July,  1641-2.) 
Seniohus,    John,     Tanderkey    (?  Tanderagee),     County    Armagh,     Esq. 

(bur.  Newark-upon-Trent),    dated  Dec.   12,    1643.     (Bundle   Jan. 

1643-4.)      In   the  Act   Book,  John    Seniohus   is  described  as   of 

Tankersley  or  Tanderkey,  dioc.  of  York. 


MISCELLANEA. 


191 


Storehouse,  Alleson,  Bellehinche,  parish  Kilmore,  County  Armagh, 
Ireland,  Nov.  11,  1623.  Proved  May  22,  1624.  (Reg.  Test. 
xxxviii.  116.) — WILLIAM  BROWN,  F.S.A.,  Hon.  Sec.,  Yorkshire 
Archaological  Society.  

Subterranean  Chamber  at  Ballywillan,  County  Derry.— On 
Wednesday,  the  16th  May  last,  a  very  interesting  discovery  was  made 
near  the  dwelling-house  of  Mr.  Joseph  Dugan,  of  Ballywillan,  near 
Castlerock,  County  Deny.  While  sinking  a  hole  for  a  block  of  wood  on 


»o 


20 


Yard  Jurfice 

'  1 

u 

PLAN  AND  LONGITUDINAL  SECTION  OF  THK  SOUTERRAIN. 
(By  Mr.  S.  K.  Kirker.) 

the  line  of  the  door  of  Mr.  Dugan' s  car-house,  the  workman  felt  his 
crowbar  slip  from  his  hand  into  an  opening  underground.  On  examina- 
tion he  found  that  he  had  broken  into  a  subterranean  chamber  of 
considerable  size,  and  of  apparently  great  antiquity.  The  house  has 
been  in  possession  of  Mr.  Dugan's  family  for  about  200  years,  but 
nothing  has  ever  been  known  of  the  existence  of  such  a  chamber.  On 
visiting  the  place  and  making  a  careful  examination  of  all  the  accessible 
part  of  the  chamber,  I  found  that  the  proprietor  of  the  premises  had 


192         ROYAL    SOCIETY    OF   ANTIQUARIES    OF    IRELAND. 

constructed  a  very  neat  trap-door,  giving  access  to  the  passage  below.  I 
descended  this  by  means  of  a  ladder,  and  found  myself  in  an  apartment 
which  appeared  to  be  a  passage  between  some  underground  buildings 
with  the  two  ends  blocked  up  with  debris  of  stones  and  earth.  The 
length,  so  far  as  I  could  penetrate,  was  about  40  feet,  the  height  varying 
from  about  4|-  to  5£  feet,  the  width  from  3  ft.  3  in.  to  4  ft.  3  in.  The 
sides  were  built  of  large  boulder-stones,  some  of  them  marked  with  deep 
stria3.  The  interstices  between  these  were  filled  with  smaller  stones, 
many  of  them  waterworn.  The  sides  tapered  gradually  to  the  centre, 
which  was  roofed  in  with  very  large  stones  ;  some  of  them  appear  to  be 
not  far  from  half  a  ton  in  weight.  There  was  no  sign  of  quarrying 
visible  upon  them ;  but  they  were  of  an  elongated  shape  that  I  have  not 
often  seen  in  natural  boulders.  The  work  was  very  rough,  and  the 
passage  irregular  in  shape ;  but  it  had  evidently  been  constructed  with 


5                     o                      5                     10 
i    i    i    .    ,     i T I 


Jed/oa  fl-fl  faction  5  5 

TUANSVERSE    SECTIONS    OF    THE    SoTJTERRAIN. 
(By  Mr.  S.  K.  Kirker.) 

great  labour,  and  seemed  very  strong.  The  distance  of  the  roof  below 
the  surface  of  the  ground  was,  I  should  think,  between  two  and  three 
feet.  The  floor  was  of  earth  with  apparently  a  rough  paving  of  stones 
below.  It  had  been  trampled  a  good  deal  before  I  saw  it ;  and  the  only 
matters  of  interest  that  had  then  been  discovered  in  the  passage  were : — 

1 .  A  considerable  number  of  shells  of  limpets  and  whelks,  in  a  small 

heap  on  the  floor. 

2.  Some  pieces  of  bone,  among  the  rest  what  seemed  to  be  a  portion  of 

the  skull  of  some  animal,  possibly  a  sheep. 

3.  Beside  the  bones,  a  coarsely  made  knife  of  chipped  flint. 

4.  A  small  irregularly-shaped  piece  of  peat. 

5.  A  mass  of  some  dark-coloured  substance,  which  seemed  to  have 

been  burnt,  but  which,  on  drying  in  the  air,  turned  to  a  distinctly 
granulated  substance  of  a  grey  colour. 


MISCELLANEA.  193 

Mr.  Dugan,  who  takes  an  interest  in  antiquarian  matters,  is  of  opinion 
that  the  apartment  examined  is  only  a  part  of  some  extensive  under- 
ground buildings.  He  informs  me  that  he  intends  making  further 
excavations  later  on  in  the  year.  It  is  quite  possible  that  these  may  lead 
to  some  very  interesting  discoveries ;  meantime  the  place  is  to  the  anti 
quarian  well  worth  a  visit ;  and  the  owner  of  the  premises  will  be  ver^ 
happy  to  give  any  member  of  the  Society,  or  any  other  visitor  interested 
in  Irish  antiquities,  every  facility  for  examining  the  curious  structure 
which  has  been  brought  to  light,  after  lying  hidden  for  perhaps  many 
centuries.  As  the  passage  is  quite  dark,  I  found  a  good  acetylene  bicycle 
lamp  a  very  useful  aid  to  investigation. — T.  G.  HOUSTON,  Fellow. 

Bullaun- Stone,  Glen  of  Aherlow,  County  Tipperary. — This  stone 
lies  by  the  roadside  about  a  mile  east  of  Aherlow  Post  Office.  It  is  con- 
glomerate, circular,  3  feet  in  diameter,  and  has  six  deep  indentations, 
and  it  is,  I  believe,  a  remarkable  stone.  Tradition  states  that  the  hollows 
were  formed  by  the  knees  of  three  saints  who  constantly  prayed  there, 
hut  it  seems  more  probable  that  three  housewives  of  the  Stone  Age  caused 
them  by  constantly  pounding  corn ;  this  implies  a  certain  civilization, 
and  ability  to  till  the  land. — DENIS  HANAN,  D.D. 

Ancient  Ecclesiastical  Bells  in  Ulster. — Keferring  to  Mr.  Milligan's 
interesting  Paper  on  the  above  subject  (supra,  p.  46),  I  send  an  extract 
from  an  old  manuscript  book  of  my  grandfather's,  relating  to  a  Bell  at 
Moira.  It  would  be  interesting  to  know  if  this  bell  is  still  in  existence. — 
MORGAN  JELLETT  M*  WAITERS. 

"  Having  lately,  and  for  the  first  time,  travelled  on  the  railroad  from 
Belfast  to  Lurgan,  I  observed  that  the  Moira  station  was  placed  at  Lady's 
Bridge.  This  brought  to  my  recollection  a  rather  curious  fact  of  the 
reason  this  bridge  has  been  so  called,  inasmuch  as  it  records  an  evidence 
of  the  great  tenacity  with  which  the  old  Irish  families,  who  possessed 
estates  ere  their  forfeiture  by  rebellion,  retain  and  preserve  their  old 
titles  thereto,  in  the  hope  of  their  future  restoration. 

"  Somewhere  about  eighty  years  ago  one  of  those  ancient  hand-bells 
used  in  Roman  Catholic  chapels  was  found  in  an  old  Danish  fort,  on  the 
lands  of  Marahinch,  near  Moira,  and  Mr.  Bateman,  the  then  holder  of 
that  property,  gave  the  same  to  the  Earl  of  Moira,  who  then  resided  at 
Moira.  When  the  late  Marquis  of  Hastings  sold  his  father's  Moira 
estate,  his  sister,  Lady  Granard,  had  this  bell  removed  with  other 
interesting  family  heirlooms  to  Granard.  Some  twenty -five  years  ago  a 
Roman  Catholic  chapel  was  built  in  the  parish  of  Moira,  on  which 
occasion  the  then  priest,  Father  Jennings,  applied  to  Lady  Granard, 
requesting  the  restoration  of  the  bell,  to  enrich  the  new  chapel  by  so 
curious  a  relic.  In  consequence,  the  request  was  transmitted  to  the 

Totir    K  9  A  T   $  Vo1-  xlu-»  Fifth  Seri 
[our. 


194         ROYAL    SOCIETY    OF   ANTIQUARIES    OF    IRELAND. 

Marquis  of  Hastings,  then  in  India,  his  reply  to  which  was  that  the  bell 
should  be  given  for  the  purpose  required,  provided  that  the  proper  repre- 
sentatives of  the  O'Lavery  family,  who  before  the  Revolution  possessed 
the  Moira  estate,  should  join  in  the  request.  In  consequence,  a  very 
strict  investigation  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Doubourdieu  and  myself,  who  were 
appointed  by  Lady  Granard  for  that  purpose,  was  made  among  the 
various  branches  of  that  old  family,  when  one  of  them,  a  female,  who 
lived  near  this  same  Canal  Bridge,  produced  to  us  an  old  parchment  deed, 
written  in  Latin  and  signed  by  '  Tyrone,'  granting  to  Phelim  or  Patrick 
O'Lavery  that  estate.  She  signing  the  priest's  memorial,  the  bell  was 
duly  handed  over  to  Father  Jennings,  and  so  remains.  And  this  female 
was  ever  after  denominated  '  Lady  Lavery,'  and  the  Canal  Bridge  from 
thence  called  Lady's  Bridge  (MOHGAH-  JELLETT,  1  January,  1842)." 


In  reference  to  the  bell  and  shrine  of  St.  Mura,  I  have  ascertained, 
from  the  article  on  this  bell  in  vol.  i.  of  the  Ulster  Journal  of  Archceology 
(1853),  that  there  was  not  a  separate  shrine  or  cover  made  for  this  bell, 
but  that  the  ornamentation  was  attached  to  the  bell  itself. 

In  reference  to  the  note  headed  "  Lady  Lavery,"  I  was  anxious  to 
know  if  this  bell  was  still  in  the  hands  of  the  Parish  Priest  of  Magheralin, 
near  Moira.  I  also  spoke  to  Father  O'Laverty  about  it,  and  he  says  he 
made  inquiries  twenty-five  years  ago  in  reference  to  this  bell,  the  Clog 
Ruadh,  and  no  one  knew  anything  of  it.  Father  O'Laverty's  idea,  with 
which  I  agree,  is  that,  notwithstanding  the  statement  above,  the  transfer 
of  the  bell  to  Father  Jennings  never  took  place. 

On  this  point  the  Rev.  John  Quail,  P.P.,  Magheralin,  writes  as 
follows  : — "  It  was  a  Father  Jennings  who  built  Kilwarlin  chapel ;  the 
date  on  it  is  1812.  But  neither  in  it  nor  in  Magheralin  is  there  any  trace 
of  a  bell.  Magheralin  was  built  in  1843.  I  do  not  know  of  any  person 
who  had  the  Clog  Ruadh  in  his  possession.  I  will  make  some  inquiries 
about  it,  and  if  I  find  any  trace  of  it  will  be  glad  to  let  you  know.  I 
think  there  is  no  evidence  that  Father  Jennings  ever  possessed  the 
bell."— S.  F-  MILLIGAN. 

Notes  on  Bourchier  Castle  and  New  Church,  Loughgur. — Opposite 
page  415,  volume  x.,  of  the  Journal,  there  are  two  drawings  of  Bourchier 
Castle,  one  taken  from  Dineley's  Tour,  and  the  other  from  G.  V. 
Du  Noyer,  and,  in  a  footnote,  the  following  explanation  : — "  The 
castle  and  bridge  shown  in  the  foreground  were  built  by  the  Bourchiers 
after  the  Desmond's  fall." 

In  Fitz Gerald  and  MacGregor's  "  History  of  Limerick"  I  find  the 
following  notice  of  the  castle  and  church  : — "  This  castle  is  supposed  to 
have  been  built,  in  the  reign  of  Elizabeth,  by  Sir  George  Bourchier,  son 
of  the  second  Earl  of  Bath,  to  whom,  on  the  forfeiture  of  Desmond,  it 


MISCELLANEA.  195 

was  granted.  It  came  afterwards  into  the  possession  of  the  Countess  of 
Bath,  who  built  a  very  handsome  chapel-of-ease,  called  the  New  Church, 
on  the  south  side  of  the  lake.  She  also  granted  an  endowment  of  £20 
a  year." 

As  all  subsequent  writers  on  this  district  follow  these  statements,  it 
is  time  that  their  inaccuracy  should  be  put  on  record.  This  church,  or 
chapel-of-ease,,  is,  if  not  of  earlier  date,  at  least  coeval  with  the  Desmond 
stronghold  on  the  island  opposite,  as  the  photograph  will  show.  It  was, 
without  doubt,  Desmond's  "Chapel-of-ease."  There  are  many  examples 


NEW  CHURCH,  LOUGHGUR. 

of  chapels  of  the  same  kind  attached  to  castles  in  this  part  of  the  County 
Limerick.  They  are  generally  found  close  to  the  castle  when  the  latter 
is  not  near  the  parish  church.  In  and  around  this  little  church  the  old 
families  of  the  district  have  their  burial-places,  including  an  ancient 
family  of  Fitz  Gerald,  who  claim  to  have  been  resident  in  the  district, 
from  father  to  son,  since  Desmond's  fall.  This  chapel,  no  doubt,  was 
in  a  ruinous  state  after  1642,  and  was  restored,  on  the  accession  of 
Charles  II.,  by  Rachel,  Countess  of  Bath,  who  added  the  belfry  on  the 
west  gable.  As  it  was  now  for  the  first  time  used  for  the  Reformed  wor- 
ship, it  got  the  name  of  the  new  church,  and  it  still  retains  that  name. 

02 


196         ROYAL   SOCIETY    OF   ANTIQUARIES    OF   IRELAND. 

Bourchier  Castle,  properly  Castledoon,  was  erected  on  the  site  of  an 
older  fortification,  which  guarded  the  natural  and  only  passage  into  the 
island  of  Knockadoon.  That  this  was  the  only  access  to  the  island  is 
certain  before  the  building  of  the  great  causeway  across  the  lake — 
144  yards  in  length — at  its  south  side,  by  an  Earl  of  Desmond.  Here 
the  lake  was  at  its  narrowest,  and  was  fordable,  to  judge  from  that 


BOURCHIER  CASTLE,  LOUGHGUR. 

portion  between    the  two  castles,  which  was  drained  many  years  ago, 
and  is  now  a  cutaway  bog,  and  over  the  level  of  the  present  lake. 

Castledoon  is  an  oblong  structure  of  the  fifteenth  century,  and  is 
built,  like  many  castles  of  the  period,  in  two  sections,  but  on  the  same 
foundations,  which  have  a  considerable  batter  for  about  five  feet  over 
the  surface.  The  portion  of  the  castle  containing  the  doorway  and  stair- 
case, about  one-third  of  the  whole  structure,  springs  clear  and  independent 


MISCELLANEA.  197 

from  the  foundation,  with  quoin  stones  at  the  four  angles.  These 
quoins  are,  at  intervals,  bonded  into  the  rest  of  the  structure  (see  photo), 
and  the  interior  walls  are  bonded  by  thorough  stones  where  possible. 

All  the  storeys  have  grouted,  arched  floors.  The  stairs,  as  is  usual, 
wind  from  right  to  left,  to  allow  the  defender  the  free  use  of  his  sword- 
arm.  I  know  but  one  castle  in  this  locality  where  the  stairs  wind 
from  left  to  right,  and  that  is  Glenogra  Castle  (built  by  the  De  Lacys), 
where  the  tower  is  octagonal.  Why  were  these  keeps  of  the  fifteenth 
century  built  in  this  way  ? 

I  presume  that  as  these  towers  contained  the  only  means  of  access  to 
the  upper  chambers  and  battlements,  and  could  be  easily  defended,  that 
they  were  the  last  resource  for  the  garrison  when  the  main  building  was 
taken  by  assault.  On  account  of  the  thickness  of  the  interior  wall  and 
the  grouted  floors,  no  breach  could  be  made  from  the  ground  floor  of 
the  main  keep.  It  is  possible  they  were  also  a  refuge  from  fire,  as  the 
fire-places  are  invariably  in  the  main  building;  and  the  tower  being 
quite  independent  of  the  rest  of  the  structure,  and  a  storey  higher 
than  it,  would  be  likely  to  escape  when  the  rest  of  the  structure  was 
destroyed. 

It  is  possible  that  the  bridge  shown  in  Dineley's  sketch  was  built  by 
the  Countess  of  Bath,  and  also  the  addition  to  the  castle,  which  is  shown 
by  Dineley.  It  is  probable  that,  on  the  erection  of  the  castle,  the  lake 
was  deepened  and  narrowed  under  its  walls  into  a  moat,  with  the  usual 
drawbridge,  thus  affording  greater  protection.  On  the  building  of  the 
modern  addition  to  the  castle,  as  shown  in  Dineley's  sketch,  the  draw- 
bridge became  obsolete,  and  the  causeway  was  made  with  the  bridge  and 
gate-house. — J.  GBENE  BARBY,  Hon.  Secretary,  East  Limerick. 


Eschluen,  or  Eschluona  Church,  near  Limerick. — Mr.  T.  J.  Westropp, 
in  his  valuable  Paper  on  Askeaton,1  says  that :  "  From  other  documents 
it  appears  that  Asketon  (or  rather  Askelon)  was  Escloon  or  Escluana,  a 
castle,  church,  cantred,  and  parish  near  Carrigogunnell,  but  not  Kil- 
keedy";  and  in  a  note  states  that  although  Bishop  O'Dea's  "  Taxa : 
Procurationum"  of  1418  identifies  Escloon  as  Kilkyde,  the  older  records 
and  the  Taxation  of  1291  give  these  churches  in  different  parishes.  I 
think  Bishop  O'Dea's  Taxation  is  more  likely  to  be  correct,  as  I  shall 
attempt  to  show. 

The  ancient  name  of  the  district  in  question  was  Eschluona  or  Esclu- 
ana, and  Carrigogunnell  was  the  seat  of  its  chief.  There  is  no  chapel-of- 
ease  in  connexion  with  this  castle,  as  it  adjoins  the  parish  church  of 
Kilkeedy.  We  have,  therefore,  here  the  castle,  church,  cantred,  and 
parish  of  Escloon  district. 

1  Supra,  p.  27. 


198        ROYAL    SOCIETY    OF    ANTIQUARIES    OF   IRELAND. 

No  doubt  the  church  and  parish  were  known  by  the  territorial  name 
before  they  received  their  ecclesiastical  title  in  the  middle  of  the  twelfth 
century,  St.  Ceedy's  church  or  Kilkeedy.  And  for  several  generations 
afterwards  it  is  possible  that  the  church  and  parish  retained  both  names, 
and  were  sometimes  known  by  the  name  of  the  territory,  and  again  by  its 
ecclesiastical  name. 

I  find  that  in  one  set  of  Returns  in  the  Papal  Taxation  of  1302-6, 
No.  715,  the  church  of  Escluen  is  mentioned,  but  Kilkeedy  is  omitted, 
and  in  Return  No.  720  Kilkeedy  is  mentioned  and  Escluen  omitted. 

Early  in  the  fifteenth  century,  when  Brian  dubh  O'Brien  made  Carrig- 
ogunnell  his  residence  and  rebuilt  the  castle,  the  name  of  the  territory 
Escluona  gave  place  to  the  barony  name  of  Pubblebrien.  There  is  no 
other  church  or  parish  in  the  Deanery  of  Limerick  to  correspond  with  the 
description  given  of  Escloon.  I  think,  therefore,  the  evidence  is  strongly 
in  favour  of  the  accuracy  of  Bishop  O'Dea's  Taxation  of  the  early  fifteenth 
century,  when  this  church  and  parish  is  mentioned  as  Escloon  alias 
Kilkyde, 

This  district,  between  the  river  Maigue  and  Shannon,  is  of  consider- 
able antiquarian  interest.  There  are  strong  grounds  for  stating  that  a 
colony  of  Norsemen  settled  in  this  district  in  the  ninth  century. 

The  Caoille,  pronounced  Keeley,  are  mentioned  in  Irish  Records  as 
raiding  the  Irish  coasts  in  the  ninth  century.  The  "Four  Masters"  record, 
under  the  date  844,  the  plundering  of  Colooney,  near  Sligo,  by  the 
Caoille  from  their  ships.  In  a  note  it  is  stated  that  the  Caoille  were  a 
sept  of  Norsemen. 

In  a  note  under  the  year  1560  the  district  between  the  mouth  of  the 
river  Maigue  towards  Limerick  is  called  Caoille  am  Chosnamha. 

From  Carrigogunnell  towards  Limerick  there  is  a  continuous  line  of 
forts  along  the  high  ground  over  the  Shannon.  In  fact,  there  is  a  circle 
of  forts  around  Limerick,  as  they  are  also  found  on  the  Clare  side  of  the 
river.  In  Tervoe  Demesne  there  are  several  forts.  When  I  first 
knew  the  district  the  old  people  knew  the  names  of  several  of  these 
"  Danish  forts,"  as  they  were  called.  There  is  one  in  the  parish  of 
Kilkeedy,  called  Liss  Dermot-ui-Caoille  or  Caher-na-Caeille,  and  two  in 
Mungret  parish,  called  Caherdavin  and  Cahercaoillegenerah,  all  within 
the  present  Demesne  of  Tervoe.1 

1  The  Caoille.  "  Lish-Dermot-Ikallie"  is  mentioned  in  a  perambulation  of  the 
bounds  of  South  Liberties  of  Limerick  made  in  1609.  The  church  or  temple  of 
Keilnacailly  is  named  in  Bishop  O'Dea's  Taxation  as  near  the  bridge  of  Claireena.  A 
map  in  the  British  Museum,  A.D.  1680,  has  Tempulnacailly,  Caherdavin,  and  Caher- 
Jcillegennar  marked.  The  Down  Survey  gives  Cahernakilly,  Caherdavin,  and  Caher- 
keilgeneragh.  "  O'Keeley  (Irish  O'Caolidh),  chief  of  Tua  Luimnidh,  or  district  about 
Limerick,"  O'Hart's  "Irish  Pedigrees  ";  and  Lewis'  "  Topographical  Dictionary," 
p.  72,  states  that  a  Danish  chieftain  built  a  castle  and  church  in  Kilcornan  parish, 
near  the  fort  of  Moige  (Castletown  Waller).  There  is  an  ancient  burial-ground 
known  as  Kilcornan,  in  the  parish  of  Kilkeedy.  Kiltemplan  is  a  townland  in  the 
eame  parish,  adjoining  Kilcolman.  Might  this  be  Tempulkillie,  the  site  of  which 
cannot  be  located,  near  Clarina. 


MISCELLANEA.  199 

From  their  surroundings  I  think  they  were  stone  cahers,  although 
most  of  the  other  forts  in  this  district  are  earthen  ramparts.  Opposite 
Tervoe,  on  the  Clare  side  of  the  Shannon,  there  is  a  fort  called  Caher- 
dayin.  That  these  forts  were  used  by  both  the  Danes  of  Limerick  and 
the  natives  of  the  adjoining  district  for  offence  and  defence  I  have  no 
doubt.  Near  the  Maigue,  and  in  the  parish  of  Kilkeedy,  there  were  two 
ancient  churches  called  Kilcolman  and  Tempul-na-Caoille,  or  Kill-na- 
Caoille.  Now,  how  does  this  term  Caoille  come  to  be  so  common  in  this 
district  unless  the  Caoille  sept  had  a  colony  here  ?  Mr.  James  Frost,  in 
his  "  History  of  Clare,"  page  408,  says  in  a  note  with  reference  to  Bally- 
morris,  which  is  on  the  banks  of  the  Shannon  opposite  Carrigogunnell  :— 
"  In  this  townland  is  found  a  hill  called  in  Irish  Knockthurles,  which 
means  the  hill  of  the  fortress.  It  is  situated  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
Shannon,  and  it  seems  probable  that  it  was  a  stronghold  of  the  Danes. 
The  name  of  the  townland  itself  appears  to  be  derived  from  one  Maurice, 
a  chieftain  of  the  Danes  of  Limerick,  whose  name  is  mentioned  by 
Keating." 

The  Danes  of  Limerick  were  Christians,  and  it  is  probable  they 
colonized  the  districts  along  the  Shannon.  In  these  notes  I  venture  to 
put  forward  the  theory  that  the  Carrigogunnell  district  was  colonized  by 
the  Caoille,  and  that  these  ancient  forts  and  churches  perpetuate  their 
name. — J.  GRENE  BARRY,  Hon.  Secretary,  East  Limerick. 

Eschluen  or  Eschluona  Church,  near  Limerick. — I  am  glad  that  the 
necessity  for  clearing  away  the  "  Askelon  "  entries  from  the  records  of 
Askeaton  and  my  hesitation  as  to  their  identity  have  led  one  so  well 
acquainted  with  the  history  and  local  topography  as  Mr.  Grene  Barry  to 
discuss  the  question  of  the  situation  of  Eschluen.  But  I  wish  he  had 
been  able  to  supply  some  definite  evidence  as  to  the  identity  of  the 
€hurch  sites,  as  he  merely  seems  to  prove  that  of  the  parishes  or  rather 
their  early  union.  This,  so  far  from  denying,  I  believe  to  be  the  fact. 

As  may  be  seen  by  my  note  (p.  27,  supra]  I  have  obtained  no  decisive 
clue  to  the  identity.  The  following  early  records  bear  on  the  subject. 
The  charter  of  William  de  Burgo  to  Donat,  Bishop  of  Limerick  (1200- 
1207)  mentions  Lesnernamadda  as  in  Estlona.1  In  the  great  survey  of 
Meyler  Fitz Henry  and  Bishop  Donat,  1200-1201  (after  giving  Mungret 
and  "Inbeolchimir"),  the  lands  of  Ballidorchun,  Ballihibeur,  or  Balli- 
hibebon,  E-athen,  Raencuam,  and  Ballyhichnam  are  "  recognised  as  in 
Eschluona."2  This  is  copied  as  "Meschluona  recognitis"  by  Bishop 
Reeves,  and  so  given  in  the  text  published  by  Sir  John  Gilbert  in 
"Facsimiles  of  National  MSS.  of  Ireland,"  vol.  in.,  Plate  xxii.,  but  it 
evidently  reads  in  the  facsimile  "  in  Eschluona,"  and  my  reading  has 
been  confirmed  by  Mr.  Mills,  the  Deputy  Keeper  of  the  Records  in 

1  "  Black  Book  of  Limerick,"  p.  103.  2  Ibid.,  p.  14. 


200        ROYAL   SOCIETY   OF   ANTIQUARIES   OF   IRELAND. 

Ireland,  and  Mr.  Henry  Berry.  The  1291  Taxation  gives  Escluen, 
between  Kilmurry  and  Derrygalvin.1  In  1315  there  was  a  lawsuit  of 
John  le  Blound,  of  Athlecagh,  versus  John  de  Kyngesham,  about  land  at 
"  Newton  de  Esclon."2  In  1329  another  lawsuit  arose  as  to  the  Manor 
of  Cros,  Esclon,  Morsheton,  and  other  lands  in  County  Limerick.3  Lastly, 
the  "  Ecclesia  Eschluona  als  Kylkyde,  Rector  est  Prior  de  Athissill,"  occurs 
in  the  "Taxa:  Procurationum"  (1418-1422)4  of  Bishop  Cornelius  O'Dea* 
If  our  Limerick  antiquaries  can  from  local  knowledge  identify  Lisner- 
namadda,  Ballidorchun,  &c.,  they  will  establish  the  identity  of  Escluen  on 
a  sounder  basis.  Perhaps  St.  Margaret's  church  at  Newtown  may  be  the 
"  Newton  de  Esclon  "  of  the  Plea  Roll,  and  occupy  the  site  of  the  older 
church  of  Escluen.  The  flimsy  nature  of  the  wooden  churches  still 
maintained  in  the  thirteenth  century  is  such  that  the  complete  dis- 
appearance of  any  such  ecclesiastical  structure  excites  little  wonder.  If, 
in  the  certain  union  of  the  parishes  of  Kilkeedy  and  Escluen,  proved  by  the 
"  Taxatio,"  Kilkeedy  became  the  parish  church,  Escluen  may  well  have 
disappeared.  The  term  is  so  vague,  extending  perhaps  over  Mungret 
(Raheen  ?)  to  Derrygalvin,  that  the  localization  of  the  actual  church  site 
is  one  of  much  difficulty.  The  name  in  church  matters,  so  far  as  my 
notes  extend,  disappears  from  the  records  after  O'Dea's  episcopacy.  The 
last  mention  of  the  cantred  is,  I  believe,  in  the  1377  Patent  Roll.5  The 
manor  does  not,  to  my  knowledge,  appear  after  1243,  when  it  was  held 
by  Richard  de  Burgo  (along  with  Castroconigir  and  Wetheineire),  and 
was  valued  at  £37  11s.  6^.6 

To  make  my  own  position  clear,  I  may  add  that  I  am  satisfied  that  the 
parish  of  Escluen  is  now  merged  in  the  present  Kilkeedy,  but  I  do  not 
regard  the  proofs  as  to  the  identity  of  the  church  sites  as  conclusive.  The 
manor  and  cantred,  doubtless,  extended  beyond  the  limits  of  the  parish, 
and  the  site  of  the  castle  (if  not  Carrigogunnell,  the  name  of  which 
appears  at  1223  in  the  "Escluen  period,"  but^  I  think,  never  stated  to- 
be  called  Escluen)  has  yet  to  be  fixed. — T.  J.  WESTROPP. 

1  C.  S.  P.  I.,  vol.  v.  2  Plea  Roll  (Ireland),  No.  113  of  Ed.  II. ,  m.  4. 

3  "  Repertorium  Rotulis  "  (P.  R.  0.  I.,  3d.  154.  2),  No.  92. 

*  Reeves'  MSS.  T.C.D.,  No.  1063. 

5  Calendar  of  Irish  Chancery  Rolls  under  year.         6  C.  S.  P.  I.,  vol.  i.,  No.  3137. 


(     201     ) 


jjoticejs;  of 


NOTE. — Those  marked  *  are  by  Members  of  the  Society. 


*Wakemarfs  Handbook  of  Irish  Antiquities.     (Third  edition.)     By  John 
Cooke,  M.A.     (Dublin :  Hodges,  Figgis  &  Co.,  Ltd.,  1903.) 

A  LARGE  class  of  persons  to  whom  Petrie  and  Dunraven  are  " caviare"  have 
been  taught  to  claim  a  heritage  in  their  country's  past,  and  to  form  sound 
views  on  archaeology  by  Wakeman' s  Handbook,  which  in  a  "third  edition," 
now  appears.  We  may  hope  that  to  many  more  this  new  edition  may 
be  a  guide  and  help.  The  somewhat  narrow  range  of  buildings  treated 
of  by  Wakeman  has  been  extended,  and  an  attempt  to  take  an  "  all 
Ireland  "  standpoint  has  been  made ;  the  work,  too,  has  been  brought  up 
to  date.  These  two  facts  alone  might  have  justified  Mr.  Cooke  in  claim- 
ing to  be  author  rather  than  editor.  He  has,  however,  kept  on  the  title 
page  a  name  which  carries  with  the  public  greater  weight  than  many 
another  of  high  honour  among  students  of  archaeology. 

It  may  seem  late  to  say  anything  of  the  original  author.  William 
Frederick  Wakeman  has  recently  passed  from  among  us,  working  to  the 
last;  but  we  cannot  refrain  from  recalling  how  "young  Wakeman" 
worked  on  the  sketches  made  for  the  Ordnance  Survey  when  he  was 
about  seventeen,  under  the  eyes  of  Petrie,  O'Donovan,  and  0' Curry. 
There  were  giants  in  those  days,  but  they  were  needed,  for  it  was, 
perhaps,  the  crisis  of  our  national  school  of  archaeology.  Field 
archaeology  was  in  its  infancy ;  few  of  our  ancient  records  had  been 
published  ;  the  minds  of  students  were  poisoned  with  the  absurd  theories 
and  unfounded  deductions  of  men  like  Yallancey,  Ledwich,  Betham,  and 
Henry  O'Brien.  An  unreasoning  section  of  the  public  followed  these 
theorists  for  their  very  wildness,  and  savagely  attacked  the  "fathers  of 
modern  archaeology."  In  the  first  volume  of  our  Society's  Journal  it  was 
needful  to  demolish  the  authenticity  of  the  inscription  to  Baal  (really  to 
E.  Conid),  and  Papers  justifying  the  hish  of  Scott  and  Dickens  were  read, 
published,  and  approved.  The  school  which,  amid  much  discouragement 
and  unpopularity,  stormed  and  overthrew  these  errors,  found  in  Wakeman 
not  only  a  helper,  but  an  enthusiastic  advocate ;  and  he  taught  scores  of 
beginners  the  more  reliable  and  scientific  methods  by  which  alone  true 
knowledge  of  the  past  can  be  won. 

It  is  also  a  good  quality  in  the  new  edition,  that  while  broadening  its 


202        ROYAL   SOCIETY    OF   ANTIQUARIES    OF   IRELAND. 

examples  from  the  farthest  ends  of  Ireland,  it  still  brings  to  the  front  the 
idea  that  Dublin  is  not  merely  the  capital  of  the  island,  but  also  the 
focus  of  its  archaeology.  Not  alone  is  the  city  in  possession  of  the 
priceless  collection  of  the  Boyal  Irish  Academy,  and  of  the  great 
libraries  of  that  body,  and  of  Trinity  College,  but  the  neighbourhood 
abounds  in  characteristic  specimens  of  most  varieties  of  structures.  The 
raths,  dolmens,  pillars,  and  cairns  on  the  neighbouring  mountains  ;  the 
promontory  forts  of  Howth  and  Lambay ;  the  early  churches  at  Castle- 
knock,  Dalkey ;  the  round  towers  of  Clondalkin,  Lusk,  and  Swords  ;  the 
quaint  churches  of  St.  Doulough,  Howth,  and  St.  Audoen  ;  the  cathedrals 
of  the  Trinity  and  St.  Patrick  ;  the  castles  and  peel  towers  of  Malahide, 
Swords,  and  Dalkey,  are  most  representative.  "Within  easy  reach  lie  such 
centres  as  Glendalough ;  the  great  cemetery  round  Newgrange ;  Kells  and 
Monasterboice,  with  their  noble  crosses ;  the  Norman  towers  of  Trim, 
and  the  walls  and  gates  of  Drogheda. 

The  arrangement  of  the  book  is  good  and  lucid ;  the  stone  monuments 
and  early  carvings,  cromlechs,  burial  customs  and  urns,  the  raths  and 
stone  forts,  are  fully  treated,  and  take  up  the  first  half  of  the  volume. 
Then  follow  chapters  on  the  stone,  bronze,  and  gold  antiquities  of  early 
date;  an  interesting  section  on  crannogs,  and  one  on  early  churches.  So 
far,  save  in  some  minor  details,  we  can  only  express  satisfaction ;  but 
whether  from  exigencies  of  space  (for  some  300  out  of  400  pages  are 
devoted  to  the  earlier  buildings)  or  from  other  causes,  the  romanesque 
decorated  churches,  crosses,  and  later  Gothic  buildings  seem  to  us  inade- 
quately treated.  It  might  almost  have  been  well  to  have  confined  the 
book  to  pre-Norman  antiquities,  or  to  have  extended  it  a  little,  to  give 
students  a  better  text-book  of  the  most  interesting  and  ornate  architecture 
of  the  eleventh  and  twelfth  centuries  in  Ireland,  the  graceful  if  simple 
Gothic  churches  and  monasteries,  and  the  fortifications  which  kept  out 
Irish  enemies,  but  not  Irish  social  connexions  and  ideas,  from  the 
English  settlers.  It  seems  a  pity  that  so  little  can  be  found  in  the  book 
about  the  work  of  that  school  of  builders,  who  gave  us  the  beautiful 
friaries  of  Sligo,  Creevalea,  Kilconnel,  Quin,  Adare,  and  Muckross. 

Some  views  on  disputable  subjects  would,  we  think,  have  better  been 
excluded  from  a  "  handbook  "  and  left  to  specialist  Papers.  It  is  said  of 
the  round  towers  "  their  lines  can  still  be  traced  along  the  shores  of  the 
waters  where  the  fleets  of  the  Danes  are  known  to  have  appeared," 
p.  328  :  this  is  a  most  doubtful  statement.  The  lines  of  towers  round 
the  coast  (say  from  E-athmichael  to  Ardmore,  or  from  Roscam  to  Killala) 
are  non-existent,  while  towers  in  more  secluded  positions  abound  a  few 
miles  inland.  The  age  of  the  County  Clare  forts  is  stated  to  have  been 
assigned  to  a  date  after  A.D.  370.  This  we  cannot  verify  from  the 
authorities  quoted.  Clarisford,  on  the  Shannon,  is  stated  to  have 
derived  its  name  from  de  Clare,  p.  402.  We  fancied  this  had  been 
satisfactorily  refuted.  The  weighing  of  the  souls  carved  on  the  cross  of 


NOTICES   OF    BOOKS.  203 

Monasterboice  has  the  not  uncommon  addition  of  a  recumbent  devil 
trying  to  pull  down  the  scale  and  falsify  the  result.  This  is  interpreted 
as  a  soul  who  "  appears  to  have  been  weighed  and  found  wanting."  But 
these  very  small  blemishes  hardly  diminish  the  general  value  of  the 
work.  The  illustrations  are,  as  a  rule,  very  good.  Many  of  the  old  ones 
reappear,  but  many  excellent  new  ones  have  been  added.  We  only 
regret  the  reappearance  of  Mr.  Wakeman's  inaccurate  sketch  of  the 
holed  stone  at  Manisterkieran  in  Aran  (p.  20).  The  inaccuracy  has  been 
noted,  we  believe,  more  than  once  in  the  pages  of  this  Journal. 

Though  the  Cuthite  theory  of  Keane  and  the  other  theories  of  the  late 
century  and  its  predecessor  do  little  harm  to  sound  archaeology  now,  and 
appeal  only  to  a  few  old-fashioned  or  ill-instructed  persons,  still  the 
want  of  sound  works  of  elementary  instruction  is  as  much  felt  as  ever. 
The  republication  of  such  a  book  as  O'Brien's  on  the  round  towers,  and 
the  publication  of  such  literature  as  led  to  the  disastrous  defacement  of 
the  raths  at  Tara,  show  that  only  sound  elementary  teaching  can  preserve 
our  archaeology  from  a  recrudescence  of  such  absurdities  as  once  made  it 
a  mock  to  all  sober  scholars  outside  our  island,  and  the  despair  of  those 
striving  after  better  things  within  its  shores.  Such  a  work  as  we  have 
here  reviewed  minimises  the  danger  of  the  renewal  of  that  reproach, 
which,  through  the  influence  of  our  Society,  and  the  labours  of  our  great 
archaeologists,  we  are  at  last  beginning  to  live  down. 


204         ROYAL  SOCIETY   OF  ANTIQUARIES  OF   IRELAND, 


(FIFTY-FIFTH  YEARLY  SESSION.) 

A  GENERAL  MEETING  OF  THE  SOCIETY  was  held  in  the  Society's  Rooms, 
6,  St.  Stephen's-green,  Dublin,  on  Tuesday,  28th  April,  1903,  at  8  o'clock, 
p.m.; 

JOHN  RIBTON  GARSTIN,  D.L.,  M.E.I.A.,  F.S.A.,  President, 
in  the  Chair. 

The  following  Fellows  and  Members  attended : — 

Vice- Presidents. — F.  Ellington  Ball,  M.R.I.A.  ;  Richard  Langrishe,  J.F.  ;  William 
C.  Stubbs,  M.A. 

Hon.  General  Secretary. — Robert  Cochrane,  F.S.A.,  M.R.I.A. 

Fellows.— Henry  F.  Berry,  M.R.I.A.;  George  D.  Burtchaell,  M.R.I.A.  ;  George 
Coffey,  M.R.I.A.;  Jobn  Cooke,  M.A.  ;  R.  S.  Long  worth- Dames,  M.R.I.A.;  Major 
Fielding;  Lord  Walter  Fitz  Gerald,  M.R.I.A.  ;  Arthur  Fit zmaurice ;  S.  A.  0.  Fitz- 
Patrick  ;  George  A.  P.  Kelly,  M.A.  ;  P.  J.  O'Reilly;  C.  C.  Palmer. 

Members. — Mrs.  Allen ;  Frederick  Atterbury  ;  Mrs.  Bennet ;  Henry  A.  Cosgrave, 
M.A.  ;  Major  0.  Wheeler-Cuffe;  Frederick  Franklin,  F.R.I.A.I.  ;  Rev.  Canon  Fisher, 
M.A.  ;  Major  Lawrence  Gorman ;  Joseph  Gough  ;  Patrick  J.  Griffith ;  William  F. 
Howie ;  Miss  Anna  M.  Joly  ;  Richard  J.  Kelly,  J.P.  ;  Mrs.  Long;  Rev.  Dr.  Lucas ; 
Francis  M 'Bride  ;  Joseph  H.  Moore,  M.A.  ;  John  Morton  ;  James  H.  F.  Nixon, 
F.R.G.S.  ;  Thomas  Paterson  ;  George  Peyton,  LL.D.  ;  Miss  Ida  Pirn  ;  Rev.  R.  B. 
Rankin,  B.A.  ;  W.  Johnson- Roberts ;  George  Shackleton  ;  Mrs.  E.  Weber  Smyth ; 
W.  Grove  White,  LL.B. 

The  Minutes  of  last  Meeting  were  read  and  confirmed. 
The  following  Fellow  and  Members  were  elected  : — 

As  FELLOW. 

Wyndham,  Right  Hon.  George,  M.P.,  Chief  Secretary  for  Ireland,  Chief  Secretary's 
Lodge,  Dublin:  proposed  by  John  R.  Garstin,  D.L.,  M.A.,  M.U.I. A.,  F.S.A., 
President. 

As  MEMBERS. 

Beatty,   Arthur  W.,   54,    Grosvenor-square,    Rathmines  :    proposed  by   S.   A.    0. 

Fitz  Patrick,  Fellow. 
Bennet,  Mrs.,    1,   Tobernea-terrace,     Monkstown,  Co.  Dublin:    proposed  by  Miss 

J.  Clark. 
Budds,  Mrs.  Zoe  M.,  82,  Leinster-road,  Dublin:  proposed  by  S.  A.  0.  Fitz  Patrick, 

Fellow. 
Burke,  Miss  A.,  Westport  House,  Middletown,  Co.  Armagh  :  proposed  by  D.  Carolan 

Rushe,  B.A.,  Fellow. 


PROCEEDINGS.  205 

Butler,    Mrs.  Cecil,    Milestown,    Castlebellingham :  proposed  by  John  R.  Garstin, 

D.L.,  M.A.,  M.R.I.A.,  F.s.A.,  President. 
Donnelly,  Rev.  Michael,  St.  Macarten's  Seminary,  Monaghan :  proposed  by  Denis 

Carolan  Rushe,  K.A.,  Fellow. 
Donovan,    Richard,   D.L.,    LL.B.,   J.P.,  Ballymore,   Camolin :    proposed  by  Richard 

Langrishe,  J.P.,  Vice- President. 
French,  Edward  John,  B.A.  (Dubl.),  Solicitor,  St.  Ann's,  Donnybrook,  Co.  Dublin  : 

proposed  by  Trevor  T.  L.  Overend. 
Jackson,  Charles  James,  J.P.,  F.S.A.,  Barrister-at-Law,  19, Langland  Gardens,  London, 

N.W. :  proposed  by  John  R.  Garstin,  D.L.,  M.A.,  M.R.I.A.,  F.S.A.,  President. 
Kennedy,  R.  R.,  M.A.,  Grosvenor-place,  Carlow  :  proposed  by  Colonel  P.  D.  Vigors, 

Fellow. 

Lawler,  Charles,  J.P.,  ti2,  Leinster-road,  Rathmines:  proposed  by  Francis  M'Bride. 
Librarian,  Public  Library,  Thomas -street,  Dublin:  proposed  by  Robert  Cochrane, 

F.S.A.,  Fellow. 

Librarian,  Public  Library,  Capel-street,  Dublin  :  proposed  by  Robert  Cochrane. 
Librarian,  Public  Library,  North  Strand,  Dublin :  proposed  by  Robert  Cochrane. 
Lloyd,  Miss  Annie,  16,  Pembroke  Park,  Dublin:  proposed  by  S.  A.  0.  Fitz  Patrick, 

Fellow. 
M'Glade,  Patrick,  Knockloughrim,  Co.  Derry  :  proposed  by  S.  F.  Milligan,  M.R.I. A., 

Vice -President. 
O'Conchobhair,  Domhnall,  46  and  47,  Dame-street,   Dublin:    proposed  by  Henry 

Dixon. 
Pirrie-Conerney,  Rev.  John,  M.A.,  The  Rectory,  Burnfoot,  Londonderry:  proposed 

by  the  Rev.  H.  P.  Gosselin,  B.A. 
Pirrie-Conerney,  Mrs.  E.  F.,  The  Rectory,  Burnfoot,  Londonderry:  proposed  by  the 

Rev.  H.  P.  Gosselin,  B.A. 
Tibbs,  John  Harding,  B.A.,  10,  "Windsor-road,  Rathmines:  proposed  by  John  Cooke, 

M.A.,  Fellow. 
"Walsh,  Richard  "Walter,  J.P.,  "Williams town  House,  Castlebellingham,  Co.  Louth  : 

proposed  by  John  R.  Garstin,  D.L.,  M.A.,  M.R.I. A.,  F.S.A.,  President. 
Wilson,   James   George,  8,  Cope-street ;  and   Tavistock,    Ranelagh-road,    Dublin  : 

proposed  by  E.  "W.  Smyth,  J.P. 

The  Report  of  the  Auditors  of  Hon.  Treasurer's  Accounts  for  the  year 
1902  was  read  and  adopted,  and  the  Accounts  were  ordered  to  be  printed 
in  the  Journal  (see  page  206). 

Mr.  Stubbs,  the  retiring  Hon.  Treasurer,  in  presenting  the  Accounts 
for  the  year  1902,  said: — <4  The  arrears  paid  during  the  year  amounted 
to  £59  12s.,  as  against  £117  paid  in  1901  ;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  the 
arrears  paid  during  that  year  were  unusually  large  :  only  £48  10s.  having 
been  received  under  that  head  in  1900.  The  payments  in  advance  were 
£44  10*.,  as  against  £51  6s.,  a  decrease  of  some  £6.  The  amount  realized 
by  the  sale  of  publications  was  £54  9s.  Sd.,  as  against  £47  Is.  10^.,  an 
increase  of  some  £7. 

"  The  interest  on  Consols  was  the  same,  taking  the  income  tax  into 
account.  The  interest  allowed  by  the  bank  was  £3  2*.  3d.,  as  against 
£5  16s.  3d.,  a  decrease  of  some  £2.  This  is  accounted  for  by  the  fact 
that  the  Council  made  arrangements  to  pay  their  printers  quarterly, 


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PROCEEDINGS.  207 

when  the  accounts  were  due,  and  was  allowed  by  them  a  discount,  so  that 
the  credit  balance  was  not  so  large  from  time  to  time  as  in  former  years. 

"The  letting  of  the  Hall  produced  £52  Is.  as  against  £42  8s.,  an 
increase  of  almost  £10. 

"  Coming  then  to  the  other  side  of  the  account,  we  paid  for  printing 
and  binding  the  four  quarterly  parts  of  the  Journal  £248  Us.  3d.,  which 
was  some  £33  less  than  the  preceding  year.  The  postage  of  the  Journal, 
£62  125.  Id.,  was  less  by  £16  than  the  preceding  year. 

tl  The  miscellaneous  printing,  including  illustrated  programmes,  notices 
of  meetings,  and  the  postage  of  them,  £100  2s.  7d.,  as  against  £78  for 
the  preceding  year.  The  illustrations  of  the  Journal  was  £28  9s.  6d.,  as 
against  £51  7s.  Wd.  for  the  preceding  year. 

"Postage  and  incidental  expenses  increased  from  £38  14s.  2d.  to 
£52  7s.  4d.  A.  considerable  amount  of  this  is  caused  by  the  necessity 
for  sending  several  applications  asking  for  the  subscriptions  ;  if  Fellows 
and  Members  would  pay  on  the  first  application,  or,  better  still,  before 
it,  they  would  materially  diminish  an  item  which  is  a  heavy  drain  on  the 
finances  of  the  Society. 

"  Furniture  and  fittings  cost  £20  Is.,  as  against  £7  5s.  Qd. ;  the  increase 
was  caused  by  the  cost  of  fitting  new  shelving  in  the  store  library.  The 
other  payments  were  at  about  the  same  rate  as  the  preceding  year. 

"Part  I.  of  the  Index,  1849  to  1889,  costing  £83  4s.  5d.,  was  also 
paid  for,  leaving  a  balance  of  £158  10s.  to  the  credit  of  the  year  1903, 
as  against  £39  3s.  3d.  at  the  beginning  of  1902." 

A  vote  of  thanks  was  passed  to  the  outgoing  Hon.  Treasurer  for  his 
valuable  services  to  the  Society  during  the  past  three  years. 

The  following  Papers  were  read,  and  referred  to  the  Council  for 
publication,  viz.  : — 

*'  Some  Notes  on  the  Judges  of  Ireland  in  the  year  1739,"  by  F.  Elrington  Ball, 

M.K.I.A.,  Vice- President. 
"Legal   Office-Holders   in    1739,"  by    Richard  J.   Kelly,   J.P.,  Barrister-at-Law, 

Hon.  Local  Secretary  for  North  Galway. 
*'  Some  Extracts  from  John  Wesley's  Journal — 1735  to  1790 — describing  his  Visits 

to  Ireland,  with  Notes  thereon,"  by  the  Rev.  Canon  Courtenay  Moore,  M.A., 

K.D.  ,  Hon.  Provincial  Secretary  for  Munster. 

The  President  (Mr.  Garstin)  exhibited  a  rare  engraving  from  an  early 
magazine  (kindly  lent  by  Sir  A.  Yicars,  F.S.A.,  Ulster),  which  showed 
St.  Stephen's-green  (where  the  Society  has  its  habitat),  as  seen  from  the 
west  side,  as  it  appeared  in  1745,  when  there  were  there  elaborate  fire- 
works in  celebration  of  the  Peace  of  Amiens.  The  houses  shown,  those 
on  the  eastern  side,  were  of  Dutch  type,  not  continuous.  The  engraving 
has  since  been  presented  to  the  National  Gallery,  where  it  will  find  a 
place  in  the  new  Dublin  room. 

The  Meeting  was  then  adjourned. 


208        ROYAL    SOCIETY    OF    ANTIQUARIES    OF    IRELAND. 


THE  KILKENNY  MEETING. 

An  Evening  Meeting  of  the  Society  was  held  at  Kilkenny  on 
Tuesday,  26th  May,  1903,  at  8  o'clock,  p.m.,  JOHN  RIBTOIT  GAESTIN, 
D.L.,  M.E.I.A.,  F.S.A.,  President,  in  the  Chair. 

The  following  Papers  were  read  :  — 

*'  On  the  Bourchier  Tablet  in  the  Cathedral  Church  of  St.  Canice,  Kilkenny,  with 
some  account  of  that  family,"  by  Richard  Langrishe,  Vice -President. 

"A  Notice  of  the  places  to  be  Visited  on  27th  May,  viz.  Bally  bur,  Burnchurch, 
Newtown,  Castle  Eve,  Kells,  Eilree,  Dunamaggin,  and  Callim,"  by  John 
Commins. 

The  following  Paper  was  taken  as  read  : — 

41  On  Finds  of  Chert  and  Flint  Implements  in  County  Meath,"  by  E.  Crofton 
Rotheram. 

The  foregoing  Papers  were  referred  to  the  Council  for  publication. 

The  Sword  and  Mace  of  the  city  of  Kilkenny  were  shown  to  the 
members  by  permission  of  the  Mayor  of  Kilkenny. 

On  the  motion  of  Mr.  G.  D.  Burtchael,  M.E.I. A.,  seconded  by  Colonel 
Vigors,  Mr.  Langrishe's  Paper  was  referred  to  the  Council  for  publication. 

Mr.  Commins  having  read  his  Paper,  the  Right  Rev.  Dr.  Crozier,  Lord 
Bishop  of  Ossory,  &c.,  in  moving  that  the  Paper  be  referred  to  the  Council 
of  the  Society  for  publication,  said  that  Mr.  Commins  had  given  them  a 
most  interesting  and  enjoyable  bird's-eye  view  of  the  course  some  of 
them  hoped  to  take  on  the  morrow.  He  could  not  imagine  anything 
more  interesting  than  to  have  one's  eyes  opened  before  they  went  to  a 
place,  and  to  be  told  what  they  were  likely  to  see.  Sometimes  it  came 
about,  as  in  the  case  of  the  knights  mentioned  in  Tennyson's  songj  "  Ye 
have  seen  what  ye  have  seen,  because  what  a  man  is  so  he  sees."  He 
(his  lordship)  was  a  great  believer  of  the  old  Chinese  proverb,  that  "a 
man  thinks  he  knows,  but  a  woman  knows  better."  He  did  not  know 
whether  the  ladies  present  that  evening  knew  the  places  referred  to. 
He  could  say  that  a  good  deal  of  the  Paper  was  bright,  fresh,  crisp,  and 
interesting  information  to  him,  which  he  hoped  long  to  retain.  It  was 
multum  in  parvo,  and  gave  not  only  knowledge  that  was  useful,  but  also 
opened  people's  eyes  as  to  what  they  would  expect  to  see. 

Mr.  M.  M.  Murphy,  Hon.  Local  Secretary — I  have  great  pleasure  in 
seconding  this  motion,  and  as  we  shall  have  the  pleasure  of  having  Mr. 
Commins  with  us  on  to-morrow,  I  do  not  think  I  need  say  anything 
further  about  his  Paper. 


PROCEEDINGS.  209 

Mr.  Murphy  also  said  that  the  members  would  like  to  hear  something 
from  the  President  with  regard  to  the  sword  and  mace  which  had  been 
sent  by  the  Mayor  of  Kilkenny. 

Mr.  Garstin  accordingly  proceeded  briefly  to  refer  to  the  sword  and 
mace.  He  alluded  to  Mr.  J.  A.  Prim's  Paper  published  in  the  Journal  in 
1870,  which  gave  a  graphic  and  interesting  account  of  the  grand  doings 
of  civic  society  in  Kilkenny  in  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries. 
He  also  referred  to  a  Paper  on  Irish  Maces,  &c.,  written  by  himself  for 
the  Arts  and  Crafts  Society,  and  published  in  1898,  which  had  repre- 
sentations of  most  of  them,  including  that  of  Kilkenny  and  the  civic 
sword.  Although  Kilkenny  was  incorporated  early  in  the  thirteenth 
century,  and  had  many  charters  before  1609,  it  was  not  until  then  that 
the  Chief  Magistrate  was  styled  Mayor.  The  great  charter  of  James  I. 
in  that  year  conferred  on  him  the  right  to  have  a  sword  carried  before 
him  ;  and  though  a  great  mace  was  not  mentioned,  he  ' c  shall  be  able  to 
constitute  and  have  from  time  to  time  for  ever,  3,  4,  or  5  officers  "  to 
execute  the  office  of  sergeant-at-mace.  On  the  6th  of  October  following 
the  charter  a  sword-bearer  and  sergeant-at-mace  were  appointed,  and 
they,  with  the  wife  of  the  latter,  were  "to  dyet  on  festivals  at  Mr. 
Mayor's  house."  In  1620  the  Corporation  provided  a  gown  for  the  sword- 
bearer.  In  1638  it  was  ordered  "  that  the  sword  and  4  maces  shall  be 
carried  before  the  Mayor  at  the  burial  of  aldermen  and  their  wives,  but 
at  the  burial  of  every  sheriff's  peer,  and  their  wives,  the  sword,  with 
only  two  maces."  In  a  table  of  salaries  of  civic  officials  in  1658  the 
following  appeared: — "The  sword-bearer,  £8  and  perquisites;  great 
mace-bearer,  £8  ;  city  marshal,  £5  ;  sheriff's  sergeants,  £4  each ;  city 
musicians,  £5  each."  He  (President)  did  not  know  whether  they  had  any 
of  these  now  or  not.  In  1709  the  sword-bearer  and  great  mace-bearer  had 
still  £8  each,  but,  instead  of  perquisites  for  the  former,  the  office  of 
weigh-master  was  assigned  to  the  latter,  and  £4  per  annum  was  the 
salary  paid  to  each  of  the  two  sergeants-of-mace,  two  beadles,  and  four 
scavengers !  The  latter  seemed  to  have  taken  the  place  of  the  city 
musicians.  In  1629  the  music  was  represented  by  the  common  drummer, 
who  was  allowed  £10  per  annum  ;  and,  so  lately  as  1752,  a  salary  was 
paid  to  Mr.  John  Ximenes,  organist  of  St.  Canice's  Cathedral,  "for 
playing  this  Corporation  in  and  out  of  Church."  In  1768,  when  the 
Mayor,  with  the  sheriffs,  aldermen,  common  council  men,  and  the  city 
regalia  went  in  procession,  "in  their  formalities,"  from  the  Tholsel  to 
St.  Canice's,  they  were  preceded  by  the  charter  school  boys,  "  singing 
psalms  through  the  streets  with  becoming  decency  and  regularity."  One 
of  the  sergeants  was  styled  "  Mayor  of  the  bull-ring."  It  was  his  duty 
to  slay  all  pigs  found  straying,  and  there  was  a  functionary  designated 
the  "  whip  beggar."  The  sword  was  really  one  of  exceptional  interest ; 
the  blade  had  no  inscription  on  it,  the  handle  was  very  remarkable,  it  was 
extremely  beautiful,  but  they  did  not  know  who  the  donor  of  the  sword 

T         i?  c  A  T  J  v°l'  XIII-»  Fifth  Series.        (  „ 

Jour.  R.S.A.I.  j  VoJ  XXJUU^  ConseCf  Ser    | 


210         ROYAL    SOCIETY    OF    ANTIQUARIES    OF    IRELAND. 

was,  or  how  it  was  acquired ;  it  was  quite  before  the  time  of  the  mace. 
The  scabbard  was  later,  and  the  arms  were  of  the  Stuart  period.  Besides 
the  usual  silver  clasps,  bands  with  inscriptions  were  put  on  by  two 
mayors  named  Colles.  The  great  mace  was  an  exceptionally  fine  one ; 
all  maces  have  the  Royal  arms,  and  here  they  were  in  the  head ;  round 
the  head  were  the  rose,  thistle,  fleur-de-lis,  and  harp.  The  ornamenta- 
tion was  worth  studying ;  the  inscription  recorded  that  it  was  given  by 
the  Duke  of  Ormonde.  He  thought  he  might  call  him  the  great  Duke  of 
Ormonde.  The  inscription  was  in  Latin,  and  it  related  that  it  was  pre- 
sented by  James  Duke  of  Ormonde  to  the  Mayor,  Francis  Rowlidge,  and 
the  date  was  1676.  The  case  of  this  duke  was  the  only  instance  of  a 
duke  being  a  duke  of  both  kingdoms.  Kilkenny  was  indebted  to  that 
great  duke  for  this  magnificent  ornament.  The  hall-marks  prove  that  it 
was  made  in  London,  and  -the  evidence  rooms  of  the  castle  contained  a 
letter  from  one  James  Clark,  dated  1677,  announcing  its  being  sent  over, 
and  saying,  "  I  gave  a  mighty  charge  to  furnish  it  very  well,  and  I  think 
'tis  much  finer  than  any  is  here  done  of  late."  "  Robinson  the  Carrier" 
received  4s.  Qd.  for  bringing -it  from  Dublin. 

Colonel  Yigors  exhibited  two  rubbings  from  sepulchral  slabs  of  excep- 
tional interest  and  beauty.  One  was  that  of  John  Nevil,  Sovereign  of 
New  Ross,  dated  1632,  and  lately  unearthed.  The  other  was  of  the 
fifteenth,  century  from  the  M'Sweenys'  Castle  at  Doe,  on  the  coast  of 
Donegal. 

In  connexion  with  this  Meeting,  Excursions  were  carried  out  as 
follows  : — 

At  2  o'clock,  Tuesday  afternoon,  26th  May,  members  met  at  the 
Victoria  Hotel,  where  wagonettes  were  ready  to  convey  them  to  Dunmore 
Caves,  which  were  explored. 

The  Celtic  name  is  "Dearc  Fearna,"  and  it  is  mentioned  in  an 
ancient  MS.  preserved  in  the  Library  of  Trinity  College,  Dublin,  called 
the  tl  Irish  Triads,"  as  one  of  the  three  darkest  caves  in  Ireland. 

The  Annals  of  the  Four  Masters,  under  the  year  928,  record  the 
plundering  of  Dearc  Fearna,  and  the  slaughter  of  one  thousand  persons 
therein,  by  Godfrey,  grandson  of  Imhar,  and  the  Northmen  of  Dublin. 

A  full  and  most  carefully  prepared  description  of  the  bones  found  in 
this  cave  is  given  by  Dr.  A.  Wynne  Foot  at  p.  65  of  the  Journal  for 
1870  (vol.  xi.)- 

Returning  to  Kilkenny,  the  party  drove  through  Jenkinstown  Park, 
by  invitation  of  the  Hon.  G.  L.  Bryan.  The  Hon.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bellew 
also  kindly  invited  them  to  tea. 

On  leaving  the  park,  the  members  proceeded  through  Ardaloo  to 
Castledogh,  commonly  called  Threecastles,  where  the  remains  of  three 
Norman  castles  are  still  to  be  seen, 


PROCEEDINGS. 

By  kind  permission  of  Mrs.  Clarke,  the  party  drove  through  her 
grounds,  and  close  to  a  very  fine  tumulus  near  her  house,  supposed  to 
be  the  burial-place  of  Human  Duach,  and  also  close  to  the  remains  of 
one  of  the  three  castles  which  is  situate  in  her  yard.  (See  Journal, 
vol.  xxi.,  1890,  p.  115.) 

On  the  return  to  Kilkenny  a  visit  was  paid  to  St.  Canice's  Cathedral, 
where  the  recently-erected  Dean  Hare  Memorial  Screens  were  examined 
with  great  interest.  Three  very  beautiful  screens  have  been  erected, 
forming  a  memorial  to  the  late  Dean  Hare,  so  long  and  so  well  known 
as  an  active  member  of  our  Society.  They  were  designed  by  the  architect 
of  the  cathedral,  Richard  Langrishe,  Esq.,  Vice-President,  and  were 
executed  by  wood-carvers  and  sculptors  of  Bruges,  whose  representative 
in  this  country,  Mr.  M.  J.  C.  Buckley,  of  Youghal,  Honorary  Local 
Secretary  for  County  Cork,  undertook  the  direction  and  fixing  of  the 
work.  The  screens,  or  "Parcloses,"  are  placed — two  within  the  arches  of 
the  north  and  south  chapels  of  the  chancel  of  the  cathedral ;  whilst  the 
third  screen  occupies  the  arch  immediately  behind  the  Bishop's  throne. 
These  are  made  in  the  architectural  type  of  the  fourteenth -fifteenth 
centuries,  and  are  composed  of  cusped  open  arcades  in  the  upper 
portions,  and  solid  panellings  in  the  lower  dados.  Their  "trabes."  or 
cross-beams,  are  ornamented  with  vine-leaf  crestings,  and  the  largest 
screen,  behind  the  throne,  is  buttressed  and  surmounted  by  richly 
crocketed  pinnacles  in  the  same  style  as  those  on  the  stalls.  The 
doors  in  each  of  the  screens  have  " linen-fold"  panels  in  their  lower 
halves,  all  these  doors  being  provided  with  locks,  hinges,  &c.,  in  ruddy- 
coloured  or  "rose"  metal.  Even  their  trefoil  keys  are  artistic  works, 
having  wrought  brass  handles  in  the  manner  of  the  Flemish  smiths  of 
the  school  of  Quintin  Matsys  of  Bruges.  The  upper  tracery  of  the  open 
arcades  of  the  screens  has  been  ornamented  by  shields  of  arms,  blazoned 
in  gold  and  colours  according  to  heraldic  rules.  The  armorial  bearings 
of  the  bishops  of  Ossory  from  A.D.  1775  to  A.D.  1897,  and  deans  of 
St.  Canice's  from  A.D.  1670  to  A.D.  1903,  are  placed  on  the  two  screens 
at  the  entrance  to  the  chancel;  the  shields  on  the  northern,  or  "  Gospel" 
side,  being  those  of  the  bishops  arranged  in  the  following  order  : — 

Newcome,  1775;  Hotham,  1779;  Beresford,  1782;  O'Beirne,  1795; 
Hamilton,  1799;  Kearney,  1806;  Fowler,  1813;  O'Brien,  1842  ;  Gregg, 
1875  ;  Walsh,  1878. 

On  the  screen  of  the  southern  side  are  the  armorial  bearings  of  the 
following  deans : — 

Parry,  1673;  Pooley,  1674;  Mossora,  1703;  Watt,  1747;  Lewis, 
1755;  Pack,  1784;  Bourke,  1795;  Yignoles,  1843;  Hare,  1877; 
Lyons,  1901. 


212        ROYAL    SOCIETY    OF   ANTIQUARIES    OF   IRELAND. 

All  these  arms  were  delineated  and  emblazoned  by  Mr.  Langrishe. 
On  the  upper  frame  of  the  panelling  in  the  dado  of  the  southern  screen 
two  well  engraved  and  illuminated  "rose"  metal  tablets  are  affixed 
containing  the  following  inscriptions: — "  To  the  glory  of  God,  and  in 
loving  memory  of  the  Very  Rev.  Thomas  Hare,  D.D.,  Dean  of  St.  Canice's 
Cathedral,  1877-1901." 

"This  screen,  together  with  two  others  in  this  cathedral,  has  been 
erected  by  his  widow  and  other  attached  friends,  A.D.  1903." 

On  the  larger  screen,  behind  the  present  incongruous  and  inartistic 
Bishop's  throne,  are  the  armorial  shields  of  the  present  Bishop,  Dr.  John- 
Baptist  Crozier,  A.D.  1897,  and  that  of  the  architect,  or  Magister  Operis 
Richard  Langrishe,  A.D.  1872. 

The  party  were  afterwards  most  hospitably  entertained  to  tea  by  the 
Right  Rev.  Bishop  Crozier  and  Mrs.  Crozier,  in  the  Palace. 

The  members  who  arrived  in  Kilkenny  early  on  the  26th  May 
visited  Kilkenny  Castle  (by  permission  of  Lord  Ormonde).  Other  places 
of  interest  in  the  city  which  were  visited  in  the  forenoon  are  St. 
Mary's  Cathedral,  Black  Abbey,  St.  Francis'  Abbey,  St.  Mary's  old 
Church,  St.  John's  Priory,  and  the  Society's  Museum. 

On  Wednesday,  May  27th,  the  members  drove  to  Ballybur  Castle, 
Burnchurch  Castle,  Newtown  Castle  and  Church  and  Castle  Eve,  Kells 
Priory  and  Seven  Castles,  Kilree  Round  Tower,  Cross,  and  Tomb,  and 
Callan,  where  lunch  was  served.  Mr.  John  Commins  pointed  out  and 
described  the  different  places  and  remains  visited  during  the  day, 
amplifying  the  details  in  the  Paper  read  by  him  at  the  meeting.  After 
inspecting  the  numerous  places  of  interest  at  Callan,  the  members 
returned  to  Kilkenny  in  time  for  the  trains  to  Dublin  and  Waterford. 

The  local  arrangements  for  the  meeting  and  excursions  were  in  the 
hands  of  Mr.  M.  M.  Murphy,  Solicitor,  Hon.  Local  Secretary  for  County 
Kilkenny,  and  were  admirably  carried  out,  and  afforded  great  pleasure  to 
the  large  party  of  members  and  friends  who  took  part  in  the  proceedings. 

The  Managers  of  the  Great  Northern  Railway  of  Ireland,  the  Great 
Southern  and  Western  Railway,  and  the  Midland  Great  Western  Railway 
kindly  issued  return  tickets  at  single  fares  from  various  stations  on  their 
lines  to  Dublin  on  the  25th  and  26th  of  May,  and  the  Great  Southern 
and  Western  Railway  issued  return  tickets  at  single  fares  from  Dublin 
and  other  stations  on  the  line  to  Kilkenny  to  members  attending  the 
Meeting  and  Excursions. 


(     818     ) 


KILREE  CHURCH  AND  ROUND  TOWER,  COUNTY  KILKENNY. 

BY  MISS  J.  CLARK. 
[Read  by  the  REV.  CANON  FFRENCH,  M.R.I. A..,  JANUARY  27,  1903.] 

A  FTEK  the  Society's  Meeting  at  Kilkenny,  in  October  last,  we  stayed 
"^  behind  to  visit  some  places  of  antiquarian  interest  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood. These  places  were  the  great  Priory  of  Kells  and  the  Church 
of  Kilree,  with  its  Round  Tower,  Celtic  Cross,  and  Holy  "Well. 
Kilree  is  on  a  gently  sloping  eminence — one  of  those  characterised 
by  O'Heerin  as  "  warm  "  hill-slopes — the  Round  Tower  in  the  centre, 
rising  above  trees  gorgeous  in  autumnal  colouring,  the  ruined  church 
still  hidden  in  luxuriant  foliage.  The  place  was  visited  in  connexion 
with  the  Society's  Meeting  at  Kilkenny  in  April,  1897  (see  Journal, 
for  1897,  vol.  xxvii.,  p.  204).  The  Comerford  tomb,  with  the  figure  of  a 
cock  crowing  on  the  edge  of  a  pot  carved  on  the  side,  is  therein  described, 
but  the  brief  notice  of  the  objects  seen  on  that  occasion  made  one  eager 
for  more  information.  There  is  an  illustration  of  the  place  in  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  S.  C.  Hall's  ll  Ireland,"  but  the  fine  Cross  is  sadly  caricatured.  The 
Round  Tower  of  Kilree  is  less  tapering  towards  the  summit  than  usual ; 
and  is  without  the  conical  cap  so  often  seen.  It  is  50  feet  6  inches 
in  circumference  near  the  base,  and  is  said  to  be  nearly  100  feet  high. 
The  door  faces  the  church,  and  is  about  6  feet  from  the  ground  ;  looking 
in,  one  can  just  see  the  projecting  stones  in  the  wall  for  the  supports 
of  the  first  floor ;  the  grand  old  structure  is  in  go6d  preservation.  The 
tower  stands  27  feet  from  the  church  to  the  north-west. 

The  masonry  of  the  church  is  much  inferior  to  that  of  the  tower. 
The  entrance  door  is  square-headed,  the  opening  into  the  chancel  (part 
of  which  is  a  modern  addition)  is  arched.  The  edifice  is  perfectly  plain ; 
not  a  carved  stone  is  to  be  seen,  nor  any  attempt  at  ornament. 

The  Cross  stands  at  the  farther  side  of  the  adjacent  field ;  it  is  of 
sandstone,  8  feet  in  height,  and  is  sculptured  with  interlaced  patterns  in 
relief.  The  centre  of  the  front  face  is  studded  with  bosses,  but  there  are 
neither  figures  nor  letters  of  any  kind.  According  to  Keating,  the  Ordnance 
Survey,  and  local  tradition,  Kilree  was  originally  named  Cill  Bhrighda,  the 
church  dedicated  to  Saint  Bridget,  and  the  name  was  changed  to  Cill  Righ, 
after  the  tragic  death  of  an  old  Irish  king.  In  A.D.  851  Niall  Caille,  King 
of  all  Ireland,  determined  to  establish  an  O'Foelain  on  the  throne  of 
Leinster,  and  he  arrived  at  the  river  Callan  at  the  head  of  a  great  force 
to  invade  Ossory.  The  river  was  swollen  with  a  flood,  and  his  guide  was 
carried  away  in  crossing  the  ford  near  Kells ;  the  king  plunged  in  to 
rescue  him,  but  he  also  sank  in  the  current  and  was  drowned.  He  was 


214         ROYAL   SOCIETY   OF   ANTIQUARIES    OF    IRELAND. 

buried  at  the  church  of  St.  Bridget,  to  which  a  road  led  from  the  ford. 
Ever  afterwards  the  church  was  known  as  Kill  High,  the  Church  of  the 
King;  and  the  king  as  Niall  "  Caille,"  from  the  river  Callan,  and  the 
river  itself  as  Abhan  Righ,  the  King's  River.  To  the  ordinary  tourist  no 
story  could  sound  more  satisfactory ;  however,  like  a  great  deal  of  that 
class  of  history,  it  has  been  pronounced  by  high  authority  an  invention. 
Dr.  O'Donovan,  as  reported  by  Mr.  John  Hogan,1  calls  it  a  mere  pseudo- 
tradition,  founded  on  the  word  Kilree  (which  is  only  the  Anglicised  form 
of  Kill  Eraoich).  The  chapel  of  Cill-Bhrighde  was  an  ancient  church, 
he  says,  "  the  site  of  which  is  a  place  of  great  sepulture,  known  as  Kill- 
bride,  two  miles  south  of  Callan";2  the  name  might  come  from  the 
situation  of  the  church. 

1  have  already   suggested   that   the   name   might   come   from   the 
situation  of  the  church.     The  local  pronunciation,  "Kilree,"  is  against 
that  idea,  and  seems  to  indicate  its  derivation  from  Rigti,  a  king.     I 
mentioned  the  subject  to  Dr.  Joyce,  who  pointed  this  out,  but  he  declined 
to  give  a  decided  opinion,  not  having  seen  the  place  himself.      Mr.  John 
Hogan,  in  his  Handbook  to  Kilkenny,  states  that  he  has  not  been  able 
to  obtain  li  a  single  vista  into  the  primitive  history  of  this  locality." 

When  we  enter  the  interior  of  the  church  we  find  a  record  on  stone 
connecting  it  with  comparatively  modern  civilisation.  Here  there  is 
an  altar  tomb,  with  an  inscription  cut  in  relief  along  the  edge  of  the  slab, 
to  the  memory  of  Richard  Comerford  and  his  wife.  The  inscription  is 
as  follows : — 

"  HIC  JACET  DOMINUS  RICARDUS  COMERPORD  QUONDAM  DE  DANOINMORE,  QUI 
OBIIT  [  ]  ET  DOMINA  JOANNA  ST.  LEGER,  UXOR  EJUS,  PIA  HOSPITALIS  ET 

ADMODUM   IN    OMNES   MISERICORS,    MATRONA,    Q.VJE   OBIIT    4   DIE   OCTOB.    1622." 

On  the  front  side  of  the  tomb  the  Instruments  of  the  Passion  are 
sculptured  in  the  curious  style  seen  on  many  monuments  in  Ossory  of  the 
same  period.  (Miss  Margaret  Stokes'  interesting  Paper  on  the  subject 
will  be  remembered  ;  it  was  published  in  the  Journal  £OT  1898,  vol.  xxviii.) 

The  Comerfords  were  early  Anglo-Norman  settlers  who  always  took 
a  high  position  in  the  county  of  Kilkenny,  and  were  titular  Barons  of 
Danganmore,  A  younger  son  of  the  old  Staffordshire  family  of  Comer- 
ford  came  to  Ireland  in  the  suite  of  King  John,  and  married  a  niece  of 
Hugo  de  Lacy.  In  the  ruins  of  Kells  Priory  there  was  some  years  ago 
a  shattered  slab  bearing  a  floriated  cross,  of  the  Edwardian  period,  and  an 
inscription,  without  any  date,  to  the  memory  of  Richard  Comerford, 
formerly  Prior  of  the  convent,  but  it  is  no  longer  to  be  seen. 

''Topographical  and   Historical    Illustrations  of  the   Suburbs  of  Kilkenny " 
Journal,  vol.  v.,  p.  468,  and  vol.  vi.,  p.  355). 

2  O'Donovan's  own  idea  is  that  the  patron  saint  of  the  church  of  Kilree  "was 
called  by  the  Irish  « Cruimther  Fraech,'  who,  at  his  principal  church  in  Leitrim,  is 
called  '  Criffer  Ree,'  the  /being  totally  sunk,"  whence  might  come  the  word  "  Kilree," 
the  present  name  of  his  church  near  Kells.     But  this  derivation  seems  far-fetched. 


PROCEEDINGS. 


215 


The  Richard  Comerford  who  was  interred  in  Tvilree  church  was 
honoured  with  a  second  monument  in  the  form  of  a  wayside  cross  at 
Danganmore,  the  residence  of  the  head  of  the  family.  The  shaft  of  the 
cross  has  been  missing  for  about  two  centuries  and  a-half  ;  some  say  it 
was  buried  to  preserve  it  from  destruction  by  Cromwell's  soldiers  like  the 


KlLREB    CROSS    AND    ROUND    ToWER. 

cross  at  Finglas.     Only  the  pedestal  remained  fifty  years  since,  when  the 
inscription  on  it  was  copied  by  Mr.  Prim,  as  follows  : — 

ORATE   PRO   ANIMABUS   RICHARD    COMERFORD   ET   JOANNJK   ST.    LEGER. 
RICH.  OBIT    5    OCTO.  A.   1624.       JO.    OBIT    3    OCTO.   1622. 

RICHARD — COMRF— JOANNA. 
CATHERINA   FFENNELL   ME   FIERI    FECIT   29    APRIL.      ANNO    DOMINI    1636. 

It  may  be  noticed  that  the  date  of  Richard  Comerford's  death,  which 
is  left  a  blank  on  his  tombstone,  is  here  given  as  "5  Octo.  A.  1624," 
two  years  after  the  death  of  his  wife.  He  had  evidently  erected  the 


216    ROYAL  SOCIETY  OF  ANTIQUARIES  OF  IRELAND. 

monument  himself,  putting  his  own  name  first  and  leaving  a  space  for 
the  date — a  space  never  filled  up. 

Catherine  Ff  ennell,  who  erected  the  cross,  is  supposed  to  have  been  the 
wife  of  the  son  of  Richard  Comerford,  but  it  seems  strange  that  it  was 
she,  only  connected  with  the  family  by  marriage,  who  thus  piously 
honoured  the  memory  of  her  husband's  parents  in  his  lifetime. 

Some  light,  true  or  false,  is  thrown  upon  her  character  by  local 
tradition.  She  was  spoken  of  by  the  people  of  the  neighbourhood  as 
"  Katty  Comerford,  a  tremendous  warrior,  who  ruled  her  husband  and 
her  household  with  a  rod  of  iron." 

A  document  discovered  among  the  records  in  Kilkenny  Castle  shows 
her  in  quite  a  different  light.  It  appears  that  on  her  husband's  death 
she  was  left  unexpectedly  in  arrears  to  the  Duke  of  Ormonde,  with  her 
children  unprovided  for,  and  there  is  preserved  her  petition  to  his  Grace 
11  to  commiserate  the  unableness  and  low  condition  of  his  oratrix  .  .  . 
and  to  discharge  her  from  all  arrears,  and  give  her  a  lease  of  ye  farme  of 
Danganmore,  etc."  There  is  good  reason  to  believe  that  the  prayer  was 
granted.  Of  the  ancient  hill  of  Kilree  few  vestiges  are  to  be  seen, 
though  in  bygone  days  it  was  the  centre  of  busy  life  in  the  district ; 
four  roads  met  in  what  was  formerly  the  square  in  the  middle  of  the 
baile,  where  portions  of  the  foundations  of  a  rude  castle  were  traceable  a 
few  years  since.1 

1  Kilree  Round  Tower  is  93  feet  high,  and  50  feet  8  inches  in  circumference,  with 
two  plinths  or  projecting  base  courses.  The  doorway  has  a  round  head,  cut  out  of 
one  block,  and  is  ornamented  with  a  flat,  raised  band.  It  was  conserved  as  a 
National  Monument  in  1883.  There  are  illustrations  in  Wilkinson's  "  Practical 
Geology  and  Ancient  Architecture  of  Ireland";  also  in  Miss  Stokes'  "Early 
Christian  Architecture  of  Ireland,"  Plate  xxiv.  There  is  a  good  account,  by  L.  C. 
Beaufort,  in  Trans.  E.I. A.  (1827),  vol.  xv.,  p.  219;  and  a  note  in  Proc.  JR. LA., 
Ser.  in.,  vol.  v.,  p.  304.— [ED.] 


THE    JOURNAL 

OF 

THE  ROYAL  SOCIETY    OF   ANT1QUAK1E& 

OF  IRELAND 
FOR   THE   YEAR   1903. 

PAPERS  AND  PROCEEDINGS-PART  III.,  VOL.  XXXIII. 

apers* 

THE  ANCIENT   CORPORATION    OF  BARBER-SURGEONS,    OR 
GILD  OF  ST.  MARY  MAGDALENE,  DUBLIN. 

BY  HENRY  F.  BERRY,  M.A.,  M.R.I.A.,  FELLOW. 
[Read  NOVEMBER  25,  1902.] 

THE  Fraternity  of  Barbers  in  this  city  —  the  most  ancient  medical 
corporation  in  the  United  Kingdom  —  was  incorporated  at  an 
earlier  period  than  the  corresponding  society  in  England.  The  Barbers 
here  had  a  royal  charter,  dated  18th  October,  1446,  in  the  twenty  -fifth 
year  of  the  reign  of  King  Henry  VI.,  while  the  London  Gild  had  no  grant 
until  the  year  1461,  in  the  first  year  of  King  Edward  IV.  The  Dublin 
company  ranked  fourth  among  the  city  gilds,  those  having  precedence  of 
it  being—  1.  Merchants,  or  Trinity  Gild;  2.  Tailors  ;  3.  Smiths.  The 
charter  of  Henry  VI.  is  no  longer  extant,  but  the  records  of  the  gild 
show  that  a  copy  of  it  was  in  their  possession  in  1747  ;  and  the  document 
may  have  disappeared  in  1754,  when  the  charters  of  the  fraternity  were- 
given  out  to  Daniel  Bourne,  the  clerk,  for  translation.1  No  enrolment  of 
this  charter  is  to  be  found  in  the  rolls  of  Chancery,  which  are  deficient 
for  some  years  prior  and  subsequent  to  the  date  of  the  grant. 

1  In  1720  the  clerk  was  ordered  to  construe  and  make  English  copies  of  the  charters 
of  Henry  VI.  and  Elizabeth  :  the  gild  seal  was  to  he  affixed,  and  the  copies  were  to  be 
deposited  among  the  records. 

T         v  c  A  T   f-Vol.  xiii.,  Fifth  Ser.  )  ~ 

Jour.  R.S.A.I.    Vol  xxxl»n    Consec  ger  j  Q 


[ALL    RIGHTS    RESERVED.] 


218        ROYAL   SOCIETY   OF   ANTIQUARIES   OF   IRELAND. 

On  6th  September,   1715,  a  document  embodying  the  charter  was 
brought  for  enrolment  into  Chancery  by  Thomas  Collins,  master  of  the 
gild,  and  when  duly  enrolled,  it  should  have  been  replaced  in  the  record 
chest;    it  lay,  however,   in  the  old  Rolls  Office  from  1715  until  the 
records  of  that  department  were  transferred  to  the  Public  Record  Office, 
and  it  will  be  found  noted  as  "  Charter  of  the  Gild  of  Barber-Surgeons, 
Henry  VI.,"  among  the  Miscellanea  of  the  Rolls  Office  in  the  Record 
Commissioners'  Reports,   1816-20,  p.   520.      The   document    is   to   the 
following  effect : — Be  it  remembered  that  on  Thursday  next  before  the 
feast  of  St.  Michael  the  Archangel,  in  the  26th  year  of  the  reign  of  King 
Henry  VI..  the  master  and  wardens  of  the  Fraternity  or  Gild  of  the  art  of 
Barbers  in  the  King's  city  of  Dublin  (the  Fraternity  and  Gild  of  St.  Mary 
Magdalene),1  came  here  into  the  court  of  the  said  city  before  Nicholas 
"Woder,  mayor,  Thomas  Savage  and  Henry  Fitz  Eustace,  bailiffs,  and 
brought  into  the  said  court  certain  letters  patent  of  the  lord  the  King, 
which  they  sought  to  be  enrolled  here,  &c.,  which  letters  patent  at  the 
request  of  the  said  master  and  wardens  are  enrolled  in  the  court  here  in 
these  words — Henry  by  the  grace  of  God,  King  of  England  and  France, 
and  lord  of  Ireland,  to  all  to  whom  these  present  letters  shall  come  greet- 
ing ;  know  ye  that  of  our  special  grace,  with  the  assent  of  the  venerable 
father  in  Christ,  Richard,  Archbishop  of  Dublin,  our  Justiciary  of  Ireland, 
to  the  praise  of  God,  and  in  honour  of  the  B.  V.  M.,  St.  Mary  Magdalene 
and  all  saints,  and  for  fulfilling  the  pious  proposal  and  wholesome  inten- 
tion of  our  beloved  and  faithful,  Richard,  Archbishop  of  Dublin,  Giles 
Thorndon,   esquire,  our  Treasurer  of  Ireland,   Brother  Thomas  Talbot, 
prior  of  Kilmaynham,  Brother  William,  prior  of  the  House  of  St.  John 
without  the  new  gate,  Dublin,  Christopher  Bernevall,  our  Chief  Justice  of 
Ireland,  Robert  Douedall,  Chief  Justice  of  our  Common  Bench  in  Ireland, 
Michael    Gryffyn,  Chief  Baron  of  the    Exchequer,  Edward  Somerton, 
our    serjeant    at    laws,    Stephen    Roach e,    Attorney- General,    Edward 
Bryan,  James  Cheyny,  barber,   Philip    Leghelyn,  barber,  John   Bron, 
barber,  Richard  Russell,  barber,  Stephen  Broun,  barber,  and  John  Vale, 
barber,  for  us  our  heirs  and  successors,  we  have  granted  licence  that  they 
or  the  survivors  of  them  to  the  praise  of  God  and  in  honour  of  St.  Mary 
Magdalene  and  all  saints  may  found,  of  themselves  and  other  persons, 
as  well  men  as  women,  a  fraternity  or  gild  of  the  art  of  Barbers  of  our 
city  of  Dublin,  to  be  called  the  fraternity  or  gild  of  St.  Mary  Magdalene, 
and  may  receive  as  brethren  and  sisters  any  honest  and  fitting  persons 
willing  freely  to  join  them  ;  and  that  the  brothers  of  the  said  fraternity 

1  The  Barbers  of  London  do  not  appear  to  have  placed  themselves  under  the 
patronage  of  any  saint ;  those  of  Norwich  dedicated  their  gild  to  St.  John  the  Baptist, 
while  the  Lincoln  Barhers  chose  St.  John  the  Evangelist.  The  fact  of  the  Dublin 
gild  adopting  the  chapel  of  St.  Mary  Magdalene  for  their  chantry  may  have  heen 
the  reason  for  placing  themselves  under  her  patronage;  but  it  also  seems  probable  that 
the  story  of  the  Magdalene  having  wiped  our  Lord's  feet  with  her  hair  may  have 
influenced  a  fraternity  of  barhers  in  claiming  her  special  protection. 


ANCIENT  COKPO RATION  OF  BARBER-SURGEONS.     219 

or  gild  so  founded  may  elect  each  year  a  master  and  two  wardens  belong- 
ing to  the  art  of  Barbers,  for  the  rule  and  governance  of  the  fraternity 
and  for  the  custody  of  all  lands,  tenements,  rents,  possessions,  goods  and 
chattels  which  henceforth  may  happen  to  be  acquired,  given,  or  assigned, 
or  which  may  happen  to  belong  to  the  said  fraternity  or  gild,  for  the 
rule  and  governance  of  the  art  of  Barbers  in  our  said  city  and  the 
suburbs  of  the  same. 

Furthermore,  they  were  to  have  a  common  seal,  and  a  chantry 
of  one  or  more  priests,  for  the  celebration  of  the  divine  offices  every 
day  for  ever,  in  the  church  of  St.  Mary  Magdalene,  Dublin,  for  the 
souls  of  the  King,  the  founders,  brethren  and  sisters,  &c.,  with  liberty 
to  acquire  lands  and  tenements  for  the  endowment  of  the  chantry. 
Power  was  also  granted  to  inquire  into  all  trespasses,  extortions, 
and  defaults  by  any  exercising  the  art  of  Barbers,  their  servants  and 
apprentices,  in  all  appertaining  to  the  said  art,  committed  within  the 
city  and  six  miles  round  its  precincts.  Such  as  were  convicted  before 
the  master  and  wardens  were  to  be  punished  within  the  prison  of  the 
city,  and  they  were  authorized  to  levy  and  collect  fines  imposed  for 
offences.  Apprentices  were  to  be  of  free  condition,  of  the  English  nation,  of 
good  conversation,  &c.  The  charter  was  dated  18th  October,  25  Henry  VI. 

It  will  be  observed  that  the  gild  was  to  have  its  chantry  in  the 
church  of  St.  Mary  Magdalene,  the  locality  of  which  was  not  at  first 
quite  apparent,  but  on  investigation  it  appears  to  have  been  a  chapel 
dedicated  to  St.  Mary  Magdalene,  which  stood  within  the  precincts  of  the 
Hospital  of  St.  John,  outside  the  new  gate.  In  a  volume  of  enrolments 
of  apprentices,  &c.,  the  fraternity  is  denominated  that  of  St.  Mary 
Magdalene  "  without  the  new  gate  of  the  city,"  and  in  the  year  1388 
John  Hammond,  by  his  will,1  directed  his  body  to  be  buried  in  the  cemetery 
of  St.  John,  outside  the  new  gate,  ' '  before  the  door  of  the  church  of 
St.  Mary  Magdalene,"  to  which  church  he  bequeathed  20s.  for  masses. 
In  "Pembridge's  Annals,"  under  the  year  1308,  John  leDecer,  mayor  of 
Dublin,  is  recorded  to  have  built  the  chapel  of  St.  Mary  in  St.  John's 
Hospital;  and  though  Stanihurst  has  it  that  John  le  Decer  erected 
"  another  chapel  to  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary  "  in  their  Hospital,  it  seems 
more  likely  that  the  dedication  mentioned  was  that  to  St.  Mary  Magdalene. 
If  this  were  so,  the  first  of  the  two  buildings  erected  in  her  honour  did 
not  long  survive  its  erection,  for  in  1316,  on  the  approach  of  Edward 
Bruce,  the  citizens  set  fire  to  Thorn  as- street,  when  unfortunately  both 
the  church  of  St.  John  itself  and  the  chapel  of  St.  Mary  Magdalene  were 
consumed  in  the  flames.  These  buildings  were  subsequently  re-erected, 
-and  King  Edward  II.  made  a  grant  of  all  deodands  for  a  certain  period 
as  a  contribution  towards  the  expenses.2 

Gilbert's  "Corporation  Eecords"  (iii.,  p.  55),  under  the  year  1615, 

1  Gilbert's  "  Corporation  Eecords,"  vol.  i.,  p.  129. 

2  King,  MSS.  quoted  in  Archdall's  "  Monasticon." 

Q2 


220        KOYAI,    SOCIETY    OF    ANTIQUARIES    OF    IRELAND. 

shows  that  a  grant  of  the  void  ground  in  the  east  end  of  St.  Molloye's 
chapel  was  made  to  the  inhabitants  of  St.  Thomas-street,  St.  James-street, 
and  St.  Francis-street,  for  the  purpose  of  their  erecting  on  the  premises  a 
strong  gate  of  timber,  with  a  shed  over  it,  and  providing  a  substantial 
pair  of  stocks,  at  the  cost  of  the  said  inhabitants,  for  the  punishment  of 
disordered  persons  and  night  walkers,  and  for  no  other  use  or  purpose. 
Under  the  above  alias  of  St.  Molloye,  probably  a  corruption  of  Maudlin, 
will  be  recognised  the  chapel  of  St.  Mary  Magdalene.  Once  the  premises 
in  which  they  had  met  became  secularized,  the  fraternity  of  Barbers  were 
compelled  to  seek  another  altar  for  their  chantry,  and  some  entries  in  the 
records,  together  with  a  notice  in  the  Proctor's  account  of  Christ  Church 
Cathedral  for  the  year  1595,  show  that  the  worship  of  the  gild  was 
transferred  to  Christ  Church.  This  account  mentions  the  "  barbors* 
chappell,"  without  defining  its  locality,  but  it  is  spoken  of  in  connexion 
with  "  Shelton's  holding  " — one  of  the  cellar  holdings  at  the  north  side 
of  the  nave.  Mr.  James  Mills  is  of  opinion  that  it  may  have  been  the 
eastern  half  of  the  north  aisle  of  the  nave ;  leases  of  the  seventeenth 
century  show  that  this  part  of  the  church  was  then  a  vestry.1 

In  the  oldest  extant  volume  of  the  gild  records  appears  an  entry  made 
in  1573  of  a  payment  of  5s.  contributed  at  the  command  of  the  brethren, 
towards  the  building  of  the  hall  of  Christ  Church.  A  sum  of  Ss.  6d. 
was  also  disbursed  on  St.  Mary  Magdalene's  day  (22  July)  for  rushes, 
&c.  As  in  the  case  of  other  fraternities,  the  gild  of  Barbers  attended 
service  on  the  eve  of  their  patron  saint's  day,  and  again  on  the  festival 
day  itself,  when  the  brethren  also  dined  or  supped  together,  and  the 
officers  for  the  ensuing  year  were  sworn  in  ancient  form.  The  following 
entries  throw  some  further  light  on  the  old  customs  of  this  particular 
gild:— 

1582.  "  A  Mary  Mawdline  Even  "  to  the  company  of  Christ  Church, 
2s.  6d. 

To  the  "  Querysters"  same  night,  6d. 

"  A  Mauddlyn  "  day  to  John  Brady,  9d. 

1584.  At  Christ  Church,  Mary  Maudlin  day,  Patrick  Drynane  was 
at  church  :  the  clerk,  "Walter  Dormer,  Patrick  Welsh,  John  Morphin. 
"William  Kelly,  absent.  (He  came  to  Evening  Prayer. )  "William  Naghten, 
Richard  Egerton,  Rowland  Mery,  absent. 

The  charge  that  Patrick  Drynane  paid  that  day.  To  the  clergy,  bells, 
and  choristers,  3s.  4d.  For  rushes,  one  white  grott.  For  drinking 
for  the  ringers,  4d. 

Among  the  payments  made  by  Richard  Egerton  when  Master  (1582-3) 
is  a  sum  of  I2d.  for  the  Chancellor  and  Company  of  Christ  Church.  It 
is  evident  that  great  importance  was  attached  to  attendance  at  Divine 

1  A  Paper  on  "  Sixteenth-century  Notices  of  the  Chapels  and  Crypts  of  the 
Church  of  the  Holy  Trinity,  Dublin"  (Journal,  1900,  p.  1^5). 


ANCIENT   CORPORATION    OF   BARBER-SURGEONS.          221 

Service  on  22nd  July,  from  the  fact  of  absentees'  names  being  specially 
noted,  and  William  Kelly's  getting  credit  for  putting  in  an  appearance 
at  Evening  Prayer.  There  is  further  a  special  note  to  the  effect  that 
Rowland  Merye  was  to  be  fined  20*.  for  not  waiting  on  the  master  and 
wardens  three  patron  days  last ;  William  Kelly,  Master,  on  two  of  them, 
and  third  patron  day  Richard  Egerton,  Master.  This  note  is  undated, 
but  Kelly  was  Master  1576-7  and  1577-8.  In  1569  Patrick  Byctone, 
Merye,  Drynan,  and  Byrd  were  fined  4d.  each  for  not  being  at  Even- 
song. 

Among  the  records  of  this  period  the  name  of  only  one  chaplain  or 
chantry  priest  appears,  that  of  Sir  Milles  Linche  occurring  for  the  first 
time  in  1569.  His  name  is  to  be  found  as  a  witness  in  some  of  the  Christ 
Church  Deeds  between  the  years  1572  and  1578.  The  next  mention  of 
a  chaplain  is  the  appointment  in  1750  of  Rev.  James  Fetherston,  a  free 
brother,  to  that  office. 

The  form  of  oath  taken  by  the  original  members  of  the  gild  and  their 
successors  is  found  in  the  earliest  volume  of  the  records,  engrossed  in  the 
year  1535.  in  four  parchment  leaves,  rubricated.  As  the  remaining  por- 
tion of  the  volume  is  of  paper,  and  only  dates  from  1555,  it  would  seem 
that  the  parchment  leaves  had  belonged  to  another  and  much  older  book 
of  rules  and  proceedings — one  probably  coeval  with  the  foundation  of  the 
fraternity.  The  entry  is  as  follows  : — 

"  Heer  foloweth  the  othe  of  the  master  and  wardines  also  bretherne 
of  Mary  Magdalen  is  yelde  callid  the  fraternite  of  the  Barbor  crafte  of 
the  citie  of  Dublin  from  tyme  that  ther  charter  was  purchasid,  that  every 
of  them  have  gy  wen  at  the  time  of  ther  creacon  and  ingresse  into  the 
said  yelde. 

"  Firste,  ye  shall  swere  him  by  his  name  and  riacone,  as  here  folowith, 
I  Jone  or  I  Herri  filch1  and  soforth,  by  this  holy  evangeliste  boke  do  swere 
promit  and  bynd  yoresilf e  all  dissimilacon  fraud  and  dissent  put  apart, 
To  honor  God  and  Mary  Magdalene  accordynge  to  the  dayes  and  all 
tymmes  apoynted  aftir  the  custumes  and  statutis  made  and  to  be  made 
concernynge  and  schall  concerne  (now  and  in  tyme  to  cum)  the  honestie 
and  behoif  of  this  gelde  of  God  and  Saynt  Marie  Magdalen,  and  the  saide 
statutes,  laudable  custumes,  and  lawes  to  observe  and  kepe,  with  all  your 
diligens,  and  also  with  helpe  of  yore  goodes,  and  likewise  to  humble 
yorsilfe  with  honestie  and  go  ode  maners,  and  so  to  be  obedient  to  the 
master  and  wardines  this  tyme  and  all  tymes,  and  to  their  successors 
after  them  during  the  tyme  of  yore  life,  notwithstanding  if  I  scholde 
change  the  copi  of  the  Barber's  crafte,  yet  to  gyve  and  yelde  in  with  and 
uppon  all  maner  artis,  and  to  berre  all  maner  of  chargis  with  them  like 
as  I  had  continewed  using  the  Barber's  crafte  duringe  yore  life,  and  as 
sone  as  I  are  citid  or  warn  to  cum  to  the  place  where  mastir  and  wardines 

1  Master  in  1534. 


222    ROYAL  SOCIETY  OF  ANTIQUARIES  OF  IRELAND. 

other  any  of  the  brethered  by  the  said  mastir  and  wardines  comandement 
schall  assinge  yow  to  cum,  and  ther  to  apier  personalli,  I  wille  redy  if 
God  will  giwe  yow  licens  (all  fayned  excusacons  put  apart).  No  man  is 
helpe  or  counsaile  I  schall  desire  to  resiste  the  mastir  and  wardines  of  the 
said  yelde  or  fraternite  neither  yor  silfe  to  use  rebellion  nether  to  gyw 
counsail  privey  other  apert  therto  agaynste  the  mastir  or  wardines  of 
the  saide  yelde.  Furder  more  I  promitt  by  the  vertu  of  the  same  othe 
that  if  it  so  chaunce  that  ther  scholde  rise  any  discorde  fray  other  strif 
in  worde  or  dede  between  master  wardines  and  yow  or  any  other  brother 
of  the  saide  fraternitie  and  yow  also,  then  to  abide  the  sayng  of  foure  of 
the  bretherne  within  the  said  yelde  (all  other  mastres  of  the  citie  and 
inferiors  with  other  craftis  of  the  same  to  be  excluded)  as  concerninge 
any  discencon  within  the  saide  yelde.  Allso  I  do  promit  by  this  boke 
othe  to  gyw  and  yelde  with  the  saide  fraternite  painge  quarterage  all 
dewties  multis  peynes  and  fines  put  unto  yowr  charge  by  the  saide 
mastir  and  wardines  without  any  resistens  or  else  to  deliver  a  pledge  to 
the  valu  of  yowre  offens  or  contempte  committed  by  yow,  and  I  do  not 
lo :  then  by  the  mastir  and  wardynes  comaundementis  to  take  such 
correccon  within  the  warde  of  the  newe  gate1  of  Dublin,  and  ther  to  reste 
till  they  bring  yow  owt,  and  if  I  cum  owt  presumptuusly  of  the  saide 
warde  without  licens  of  mastir  and  wardines  that  then  to  pay  twentic 
schillinges  irische  to  the  mastir  and  wardines  and  to  the  behoof  of  the 
yelde  forsaide  and  so  to  go  within  ye  new  gate  agayne  till  they  bring 
yow  forth  oute.  Moreover,  if  it  so  hap  that  I  schold  rebell  and  disobey 
mastir  and  wardines  of  the  same  yelde  persevering  in  rebellion  by  the 
space  of  a  monthe  agaynste  master  and  wardines  then  forthwith  to  be 
expulsed  by  the  saide  mastir  and  wardines  without  any  furder  grace,  and 
so  to  confesse  your  silfe  giltie,  and  so  not  to  use  secret  nethir  opinli  the 
Barbor's  crafte  within  the  citie  of  Dublin  againe,  and  to  close  the  dore 
and  wyndowes  of  your  schop,  neghir  to  use  yor  crafte  then  the  tenor  of 
the  charter  will  permitte  or  suffer  all  the  premissis  and  all  articles  within 
the  boke  or  may  depende  of  them  to  kepe  and  observe  here  I  do  swer  so 
God  yow  helpe  and  this  holy  evangeliste  as  I  schall  answer  the  day  of 
judgment  before  God  and  all  the  angelis  of  hewne." 

At  the  end  appears  a  note  in  Latin  that  this  oath  of  the  Barbers' 
gild  or  fraternity  of  St.  Mary  Magdalene  was  written  by  Barnaby  Kelly, 
scribe,  at  the  request  of  Thomas  Grace,  master,  and  of  Henry  Filch,  late 
holder  of  that  office,  in  the  year  1535. 

Any  information  regarding  the  gild  during  the  latter  half  of  the 
fifteenth  and  the  first  half  of  the  sixteenth  century  is  of  a  very  fragmentary 
character.  Among  admissions  to  the  city  franchise  appear  the  names  of 
the  following  Barbers  : — 1472-3,  Richard  Evyns  ;  1484,  John  "Wricsam 
and  Richard  More  ;  1485,  Makyne  Kelly, 

1  The  common  house  of  correction. 


ANCIENT  CORPORATION  OF  BARBER-SURGEONS.    223 

In  the  Pageant  held  on  Corpus  Christi  Day,  in  the  year  1498,  the 
fraternity  of  Barbers  were  bound  to  appear  as  Annas  and  Caiaphas  "well 
arranged  according,"  under  a  penalty  of  40s.  in  case  of  default.  In  the 
year  1557  the  city  assembly  ordained  that  no  foreign  surgeon  should  receive 
his  faculty  within  the  franchises  of  Dublin  without  license  of  the  master 
and  wardens  of  the  Barbers'  and  Surgeons'  fraternity,  so  long  as  there  were 
able  surgeons  among  the  citizens,  save  that  the  surgeon  of  any  band  of  the 
king's  army  might  cure  any  of  his  fellows  who  were  hurt  in  the  city. 

At  this  period  the  surgeons  had  not  been  incorporated,  and  it  wa& 
not  until  1577  that  they  received  their  charter,  when  they  became 
united  with  the  Barbers'  gild.  Nevertheless,  it  is  plain  from  the  testi- 
mony afforded  by  the  records  that  professors  of  the  healing  art  had 
joined  the  latter  from  very  early  times.  Barbers  anciently  acted  as 
surgeons,  notably  in  the  matter  of  blood-letting.  The  pole  over  a 
barber's  shop  is  said  to  have  reference  to  this,  as,  for  the  purpose  of 
keeping  a  patient's  arm  on  the  stretch  during  the  process,  it  was  usual 
for  him  to  grasp  a  staff  at  full  length.  Sir  Charles  Cameron,  in  his 
11  History  of  the  Koyal  College  of  Surgeons,"  remarks  on  the  probability  of 
a  large  number  of  persons  having  practised  surgery  in  the  fifteenth  century 
in  Dublin,  and  notices  that  in  King  Henry's  charter  there  is  no  reference 
to  the  Barbers'  art  being  in  any  way  distinct  from  that  of  the  chirurgeon. 
He  thinks  the  two  companies  were  united  for  purely  medical  purposes, 
and  the  original  object  in  founding  a  fraternity  of  Barbers  was  for  the 
promotion  and  exercise  of  chirurgery. 

The  record  of  proceedings  commences  in  1555,  and  from  that  date 
up  to  1577,  when  the  second  charter  was  granted,  the  principal  members 
of  the  gild,  which  at  this  period  was  small  in  point  of  numbers,  appear 
to  have  been  the  following : — Stephen  Cradocke,  John  Sampson,  Hugh 
Ingram,  Kichard  TJmfrey,  Denis  Fleming,  John  Baker,  Patrick  Byctonne, 
Rowland  Mery,  Patrick  Coyle,  John  Bird,  "Walter  Kaghten,  Patrick 
Drynan,  Thomas  Newman,  Alexander  Dermott,  William  Kelly,  Richard 
Egerton,  Richard  Luttrell.  These  all  served  as  masters  or  wardens. 

Prior  to  the  date  of  Queen  Elizabeth's  charter  there  are  few  rules  or 
regulations  for  the  guidance  of  the  gild  entered ;  the  earliest  appearing 
is  one  of  10th  June,  1569,  which  enacts  that  any  brother  enticing  or 
procuring  any  customer  from  any  other  brother,  or  calling  such  into  his 
shop,  he  knowing  him  to  be  a  customer  of  any  other  brother,  should  forfeit 
6*.  Sd.  for  his  conduct.  Also  a  brother  was  not  to  intrude  or  take  a  cure 
out  of  another  brother's  hands,  unless  he  had  his  licence  therefor.  In 
1573  a  law  was  made  that  no  brother  of  the  gild  should  henceforth  keep 
a  journeyman  without  licence  of  the  master  and  wardens,  on  pain  of 
forfeiting  a  noble  for  each  occasion  of  making  default. 

On  the  14th  September,  1577  (19th  Elizabeth)  another  charter1  was 

1  A  translation  of  this  charter  will  be  found  at  p.  60  of  Sir  Charles  Cameron's 
"History  of  the  Royal  College  of  Surgeons." 


224.        ROYAL   SOCIETY    OF    ANTIQUARIES    OF   IRELAND. 

granted  to  the  fraternity,  which,  after  reciting  that  of  King  Henry  the 
Sixth,  goes  on  to  state  that  it  is  necessary  for  the  preservation  of  health 
that  the  fraternity  of  Barbers  should  be  more  skilled  in  the  art  of  surgery, 
and  that  there  are  two  distinct  societies  exercising  that  art,  namely,  the 
Barbers  and  the  Surgeons.  The  latter  had  not  been  incorporated,  and 
accordingly  "William  Kelly,  Richard  Egerton,  Richard  Luttrell,  Stephen 
Cradock,  Rowland  Myrry,  Walter  Naghten,  John  Bride,  Thomas  Newman, 
and  Patrick  Drynan,  surgeons  of  the  city  of  Dublin,  and  all  others 
to  be  admitted,  are  constituted  for  ever  a  society  to  be  called  the  Gild  of 
the  Blessed  Mary  Magdalene  of  Dublin,  with  liberty  to  plead  and  to  possess 
land  and  to  have  a  common  seal.  Further,  on  the  petition  of  the  two 
bodies,  the  masters,  wardens,  and  fraternity  of  Barbers,  and  the  Society 
of  Surgeons  were  henceforth  to  form  one  corporation,  to  be  called  the 
master,  wardens,  and  fraternity  of  Barbers  and  Surgeons  of  the  Gild 
of  the  Blessed  Mary  Magdalene  in  the  city  of  Dublin.  They  might 
plead,  &c. ,  and  have  a  common  seal,  and  were  to  elect  annually  a  master 
and  two  wardens,  while  they  were  to  enjoy  all  other  privileges  granted 
by  King  Henry's  charter.  Any  person  exercising  either  art  in  the  city 
or  suburbs  without  being  admitted  under  their  common  seal  was  to  be 
liable  to  a  penalty  of  100s.  a  month  while  so  offending.  From  an 
endorsement  on  the  original  charter  now  in  the  Library  of  Trinity  College 
it  appears  that  the  liberties,  privileges,  and  franchises  contained  therein 
were  enrolled  in  the  office  of  the  Treasurer's  Remembrancer  and  the 
Second  Remembrancer  of  the  Exchequer  in  Hilary  Term,  1627  (3  Chas.L). 
The  following  entries  with  regard  to  the  above  charter  give  the  items  of 
expense  connected  with  obtaining  it : — 

Paid  Thomas  Dillon  and  Mr.  Dormor,  our  learned  counsellors, 
about  the  renewing  of  our  charter,  30th  April,  1577,  40s. 
,,     Mr.  Dormor's  clerk  for  engrossing  it,  .         .       5s. 

,,     Queen's   Serjeant    and   his   clerk  for   writing   the 

Fiant,          ,         , 10s. 

,,     Parchment  aboui  same  charter,       ...  5s.  4d. 

(Eight  skins  of  the  largest  sort.) 

,,     for  a  veal  skin  to  write  the  charter  on,  .  I6d. 

,,     for  a  book  of  gold  to  trim  our  charter,    .         ..          2s.  6d. 

,,     for  white  and  gold  lace  for  same,  .         *  3s. 

Great  seal  and  writing  of  same,  .         .        .-  40s. 

Privy  Signet, 6s.  8^. 

Registering  said  charter,          .....  I2d. 

Box  to  keep  our  charter  in,  .         .         .  4s.  6d. 

Hinges  and  clasps  for  same,  ....  I8d. 

Lock  and  key,        .    :     .         .         .         .         .  Sd. 

To  our  learned  counsel  for  perusing  our  charter,      «          3s.  6d. 
(Mr.  Serjeant  Fitzsimones  is  to  be  '  ensured '  for  his  learned  counsel 
for  making  and  devising  of  our  charter.) 


ANCIENT   CORPORATION   OF  BARBER-SURGEONS.         225 

AVe  have  seen  that  the  fraternity  attended  Divine  Service  on  the 
patron  saint's  eve  and  day,  but,  in  common  with  similar  bodies,  the 
members  also  celebrated  the  festival  in  a  social  manner.  In  1572  the 
expenses  amounted  to  5s. ;  and  when  William  Kelly  took  his  oath  break- 
fast cost  2s.  In  1576  and  1577  the  respective  amounts  were  5s.  Id. 
and  2ld. 

Bichard  Egerton,  when  master,  in  1582,  set  out  the  items  provided 
for  entertainment  as  follows : — 

Paid  for  a  pottle  of  "secke,"  Mary  Maudlin   Day  at  night, 
when  I  was  made  master,       .         .         .         .         .1 2d. 

Cakes,  a  Maudlin  Eve,  last  past,     .....       2s. 

Rushes  same  night,        .......       ±d. 

Two  pounds  cherries,  ......       Sd. 

White  wine  and  claret  wine,  ......     1 6^. 

"  Secke,"  1  quart,  6^.;  more  in  ale,       ....     12d. 

On  two  occasions  the  gild  was  assessed  at  a  certain  rate,  to  contribute 
towards  the  maintenance  of  soldiers — once  in  1576,  in  a  sum  of  19s.  Id., 
and  again  in  1584,  when  5s.  were  taken  out  of  the  box  to  pay  the  cess. 

That  the  clause  of  the  oath  taken  by  the  members  as  to  their  being 
prepared  to  take  correction  within  the  ward  of  the  Newgate  was  no  idle 
form  of  words  is  evident  from  a  circumstance  recorded  to  have  taken 
place  in  1577.  Thomas  Newman  (whose  offence  is  not  indicated),  who 
served  as  warden  in  1575,  and  was  a  charter  member  of  the  society 
incorporated  in  1577,  was  forcibly  and  against  his  will  carried  to  the 
Newgate,  where  he  lay  with  two  pairs  of  bolts  on  his  legs  until  he 
11  reconciled  himself  "  for  the  abuses  he  had  committed  against  the  master 
and  wardens  of  his  company.  He  acknowledged  on  his  knees  his  folly 
and  "  lewdness,"  craving  pardon  for  his  misdemeanour,  and  had  it  not 
been  for  the  suit  of  some  honest  friends,  and  his  own  pitiful  submission, 
he  would  have  been  expelled  the  gild  for  ever. 

There  are  entries  of  sums  disbursed  for  arresting  offenders ;  thus  in 
1572,  that  of  William  O'Moltollye,  cost  3d.,  and  the  taking  of  one 
Richard  Morgho  in  1573,  2d.,  while  the  fee  for  entering  an  action 
against  him  was  4d.  O'Moltollye  gave  trouble  again  in  1578,  and  on  . 
this  occasion  his  arrest  cost  the  gild  6d.,  and  entering  action  together 
with  attorney's  fees  came  to  16^.  In  1582  John  Cruse  was  paid  6d.  for 
arresting  one  Pykring,  and  Nicholas  Sedgrave  charged  6d.  for  shutting 
John  Morfee's  shop.  The  form  of  oath  bound  members,  if  contumacious, 
to  close  the  doors  and  windows  of  their  shops ;  and  sometimes  when  they 
proved  refractory,  no  doubt  it  became  necessary  for  the  gild  officers  to 
see  this  carried  out. 

Certain  entries,  which,  however,  are  undated,  throw  some  light  on 
the  reasons  for  the  arrest  of  O'Moltollye,  and  they  make  it  plain  that  he 
must  have  engaged  in  the  practice  of  the  healing  art  without  due 


226        ROYAL    SOCIETY    OF   ANTIQUARIES    OF   IRELAND. 

authority,  not  being  a  duly  qualified  member  of  the  Barber-Surgeons* 
fraternity.  The  entries  speak  for  themselves  : — 

"Item,  that  William  O'Moltollye  hath  confessed  that  he  did  let  one 
*  Sallomander '  blude." 

Said  William  did  let  one  "  Patrick  Reade  upon  Oxmonton  grene 
blude,"  as  he  confessed  himself  before  me  and  my  company. 

"  Item,  that  said  William  confessed  he  had  one  Patrick  Crosbie  in  hand 
for  which  he  had  30s.,  and  left  him  in  worse  case  than  he  found  him. 

"  Said  William  did  let  one  Pynine  blude  in  the  nose,  and  caused  all  his 
face  and  his  head  to  swell  and  impostome,  and  if  it  had  not  fortuned  my 
brother  Rowland  Mery  to  have  him  in,  he  had  died  of  some  mishap.  The 
same  man  is  a  glower,  and  dwelled  at  the  Bridge  foot. 

"  Said  William  had  one  John  Tall  on  his  wife  in  hands,  of  a  broken  leg, 
and  did  set  it  crooked,  and  spoiled  said  Tallon's  wife,  that  she  was  never 
able  to  do  herself  no  good  till  she  died." 

These  quaint  entries  serve  to  show  that  the  gild  had  something  to  da 
in  combating  the  intrusion  of  quackery  into  its  lawful  province  towards 
the  close  of  the  sixteenth  century. 

There  is  an  item  under  date  1582  which  goes  to  prove  that  the 
members  of  the  fraternity  engaged  in  the  practice  of  firearms  ;  Richard 
Egerton,  who  was  master  this  year,  was  said  to  owe  2s.  Id.  for  two  pounds 
of  powder,  which  he  had  of  the  master  of  the  tailors ;  this  powder  was 
the  property  of  the  gild,  which  obtained  it  from  the  city.  It  seems  pro- 
bable that  for  defensive  purposes  the  authorities  had  organized  bands  to 
be  trained  to  the  use  of  arms,  and  the  members  of  the  city  companies 
would  naturally  form  an  integral  portion  of  such. 

In  15661  Thomas  Smith,  apothecary  of  Dublin,  reported  to  Sir 
Henry  Sidney,  lord  deputy,  and  to  the  Privy  Council,  that  he  had  been 
"  greatly  hindered  and  in  manner  enforced  to  abandon  his  faculty,  because 
his  costly  drugs  and  other  apothecary  wares  "  had  remained  unsold,  as 
a  number  of  the  people  of  Irish  birth  preferred  to  make  use  of  the 
ministry  of  their  own  leeches  or  physicians.  Smith  was  made  a 
special  allowance  by  Government,  that  he  might  be  the  better  enabled  to 
provide  fresh  drugs,  &c.,  to  the  needful  and  good  help  of  such  persons  of 
English  birth,  and  others  of  the  "graver  and  civiller  sort,"  as  should 
desire  them  for  ready  money,  whereby  Smith  might  the  better  apply  his 
study  and  diligence  in  that  ministry,  and  the  better  to  sustain  himself 
alive."2  Thomas  Smith  was  mayor  of  Dublin  in  the  year  in  which 

1  State  Papers,  Ireland,  vol.  xviii.,  No.  36. 

2  A  place  on  the  north  of  St.  Michael's  Church,  between  Trinity-lane  and  the 
stone  walls  on  the  east,  the  priest's  chamber  on  the  west,  and  the  wall  of  St.  Michael's 
on  the  south,  was  assigned  to  Thomas  Smith,  apothecary,  on  the  12th  August,  1574. 
This  assignment  included  a  cellar  and  buttery,  furnaces,  trough,  &c.,  belonging  to  the 
premises.     On  17th  August,  1578,  the  Dean  and  Chapter  of  Holy  Trinity  leased  to 
said  Smith  two  houses  on  the  north  side  of  High- street,  one  of  which  was  commonly 
called  the  Barber's  shop  ("  Christ  Church  Deeds,"  Nos.  1340  and  1350). 


ANCFENT    CORPORATION    OF    BARBER-SURGEONS.          227 

Trinity  College  was  founded  by  Queen  Elizabeth,  and  the  corporation 
having  bestowed  the  grounds  of  All  Hallows  Monastery  as  a  site,  he 
laid  the  first  stone  of  the  buildings.  It  is  interesting  to  find  that  even 
in  Dublin  the  Celtic  inhabitants  still  clung  to  their  own  physicians.  In 
ancient  times  the  great  families  in  Ireland  always  had  their  own 
domestic  medical  attendants,  whose  office  was  hereditary,  and  who 
frequently  held  lands  in  return  for  medical  services.  The  regulations  in 
the  Brehon  Laws  regarding  them  sufficiently  attest  the  fact  that 
medicine  was  recognised  as  a  profession  from  an  early  period.  Books 
which  contained  the  symptoms  of  diseases,  with  appropriate  remedies 
and  cures,  were  treasured  and  handed  down  in  the  families  of  these  old- 
time  leeches.  The  O'Maras,  physicians  to  the  Kilkenny  Butlers,  were 
the  first  of  the  line  of  hereditary  physicians  who  wrote  medical  works 
in  Latin.  The  O'Cassidys  were  attached  to  the  Maguires  of  Fermanagh, 
the  O'Sheils  to  the  MacCoghlans  of  the  King's  County,  and  their  Book  is 
in  the  Royal  Irish  Academy.  The  Book  of  the  O'Lees,  who  were  in  the- 
household  of  the  O'Flahertys  of  West  Connaught,  is  also  preserved  there. 
In  1575  Denis  Collier  was  admitted  a  freeman  of  the  city,  in  considera- 
tion of  his  having  adventured  his  life  in  "this  contagious  time  of 
plague,"  for  attendance  on  the  mayor  and  others.  During  this  year  a 
dreadful  pestilence  prevailed  in  Dublin,  and  so  depopulated  was  the  city 
that  grass  grew  in  some  of  the  busiest  thoroughfares.  The  lord  deputy 
held  his  court  at  Drogheda,  and  the  municipality  met  at  Glassmenoge.1 
Collier  became  bound  to  reside  in  Dublin  during  his  life,  doing  duty  as 
well  in  time  of  plague  as  in  all  other  seasons,  receiving  for  fees  what 
might  be  agreed  on  between  his  patients  and  himself,  or  according  to 
what  the  mayor  might  reasonably  order  or  award. 

Nicholas  Hickey,  Doctor  of  Physic,  who  became  a  freeman  in  1580,. 
was  a  member  of  a  family  that  had  practised  medicine  for  generations, 
some  of  whom  (Sir  John  Gilbert  says)  left  manuscripts  on  medical 
subjects  written  in  the  Irish  language.  In  consideration  of  Dr. 
Hickey's  making  his  abode  in  Dublin,  he  was  to  be  paid  a  yearly  sum 
of  £10  by  the  city  treasurer.  His  fee  for  view  of  a  patient's  water 
(such  patient  being  a  citizen)  without  a  visit  was  to  be  Qd. ;  for  a  visit  and 
view,  I2d.  He  was  to  be  at  liberty,  moreover,  to  agree  to  undertake  a 
cure  for  a  stipulated  sum  of  money.  The  mayor  had  power  to  permit 
Hickey  to  journey  three  score  miles  outside  the  city,  provided  he  re- 
turned within  twelve  days,  and  he  was  at  liberty  to  go  at  any  time  a 
distance  which  would  not  prevent  his  getting  back  within  twenty -four 
hours.  Should  the  mayor  himself  send  for  him,  he  was  to  attend  at 
once,  under  a  penalty  of  losing  half  a  year's  stipend.  This  singular 
agreement  only  lasted  about  three  years,  Dr.  Hickey  being  removed  from 

1  Census  of  Ireland,  1851,  Part  v.,  Table  of  Deaths  (Report  of  Registrar- General 
and  Dr.  Wilde). 


228        ROYAL    SOCIETY    OF   ANTIQUARIES    OF    IRELAND. 

the  service  of  the  city  in  1583,  as  the  corporation  had  more  occasion 
for  the  money  expended  on  retaining  him,  as  well  for  building  as  other 
purposes. 

In  the  year  1579  another  physician,  Nicholas  Uriell,  also  obtained 
his  freedom  on  condition  of  his  dwelling  within  the  city  during  his  life. 
In  1594  Richard  Segerson,  a  barber-surgeon,  obtained  a  term  of  sixty-one 
years  in  a  little  shop  adjoining  the  great  conduit  or  high  pipe,  at  a 
rent  of  30s.  yearly,  a  way  to  said  conduit  being  reserved  for  the  purposes 
of  cleaning  and  repair. 

During  the  reign  of  Queen  Elizabeth  a  number  of  those  who  obtained 
the  franchise  of  the  city  are  described  as  apothecaries,  though  there  is 
no  mention  of  them  in  the  Queen's  charter  to  the  Barber- Surgeons. 
This  branch  of  the  profession  sprang  up  between  1577  and  1687,  and  a 
charter  of  James  II.  declares  apothecaries  to  be  an  integral  part  of  the 
latter,  and  it  was  not  until  1745  that  they  became  a  separate  body, 
being  then  incorporated  as  the  gild  of  St.  Luke. 

In  the  oldest  volume  of  the  gild  of  Barbers,  which  ends  about  1588, 
is  copied  a  document,  which,  though  addressed  to  the  master  and 
fraternity  of  the  Tailors,  would,  no  doubt,  at  times  be  directed  to  the 
other  city  gilds.  Possibly,  at  the  date  of  the  document,  the  Barber- 
Surgeons  may  have  formed  a  wing  of  the  Tailors'  Company,  which 
would  account  for  its  being  entered  here  : — 

THESE  are  to  wit  and  command  you  to  be  in  readiness  with  the 
number  of  eight  of  the  sufficient  brethren  of  your  corporation  at  6  o'clock 
on  Monday  next  in  the  morning,  decently  furnished  with  horses  and 
other  necessaries  befitting  them  with  provision  of  victuals,  to  attend  me 
in  riding  of  the  streams  and  creeks  between  this  and  Arklow  Head,  and 
from  thence  to  the  Nany  water,  "norwarde"  hereof.  You  may  not 
fail,  as  you  will  answer  the  contrary.  At  the  Tholsel,  3d  August,  1607. 
You  must  [send]  me  the  note  of  their  names  that  shall  so  attend  me  by 
Friday  night  next. 

JOHN  ARTHURS,  Mayor  of  Dublin. 
To  THE  MASTER  OF  THE  COMPANY  OF 
TAILORS  AND  THEIR  ASSOCIATION. 

King  Edward  III.,  in  1375,  had  granted  the  Mayor,  &c.,  of  Dublin, 
all  customs  between  Skerries  and  Arklow  Head.  In  July,  1561,  the 
city  assembly  noticed  that  injury  was  inflicted  on  the  community  by 
reason  that  the  creeks  and  small  roads  within  the  limits  of  the  liberties, 
i.e.  from  Arklow  Head  to  Nanny  water,  were  not  diligently  seen  to.  As 
a  remedy,  one  of  the  city  sheriffs  was  ordered  to  ride  once  in  every 
quarter  over  the  sea-coast  where  such  liberty  extended,  for  the  purpose 
of  searching  out  and  enquiring  into  any  trespass  committed.  The  sheriff 
was  to  be  accompanied  on  horseback  by  another,  who  had  been  sheriff, 
-and  two  of  the  brethren  of  the  Merchants'  Company,  the  city  bearing  all 


ANCIENT   CORPORATION   OF   BARBER-SURGEONS.          229 

charges.  If  necessary,  he  might  have  a  larger  number  in  attendance,  and 
any  refusing  to  ride  were  to  be  liable  to  a  penalty  of  40s. 

In  1581  Queen  Elizabeth  granted  the  mayor  of  Dublin  to  be  admiral 
from  Arklow  to  Nanny  water,  at  the  same  time  confirming  all  charters 
which  had  granted  the  office  of  admiralty,  wheresoever  the  city  sheriffs 
might  receive  custom  between  said  bounds. 

In  1587  the  sheriffs  were  again  ordered  to  ride  the  above  sea- 
coast,  and  set  customs,  as  had  been  wont,  where  occasion  might  arise. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  city  assembly,  held  in  July,  1607,  it  being  shown 
that  on  account  of  the  negligence  of  mayors  in  the  past,  the  streams  and 
coast  (of  which  the  mayor  of  the  city  is  admiral)  had  not  been  ridden  for 
a  long  time,  it  was  decided  that  the  ancient  custom  should  be  observed 
this  summer.  The  foregoing  summons  would  appear  to  have  been 
issued  in  pursuance  of  this  determination. 

There  is  a  gap  in  the  records  between  1588  and  1688,  when  the 
next  volume  commences,  but  some  gleanings  from  other  sources  give  us 
occasional  glimpses  of  the  gild  during  this  period  of  a  century.  In 
16271  the  commons  complained  that  the  Barber-Surgeons,  Glovers,  and 
Fishmongers,  with  several  other  tradesmen,  far  beyond  many  of  the 
other  corporations  in  ability  (i.e.  in  numbers  and  importance),  were  wont 
to  join  themselves  to  one  or  two  of  the  eight  corporations,  who  had  little 
need  of  them ;  but  by  what  authority  was  not  known.  By  this  means 
the  u  weaker  sort"  of  corporations  were  injuriously  affected  when  any 
cess  was  imposed,  or  loans  raised,  because  the  wealthy  tradesmen  bore 
little  or  none  of  the  expense,  and  so  a  heavy  burden  fell  on  the  peti- 
tioners. They  prayed  that  those  "  wings  "  and  tradesmen  might  either 
be  united  with  poor  corporations,  who  needed  their  assistance,  or  that 
they  should  be  appointed  to  "  attend  their  own  charter."  The  assembly 
ordered  that  the  mayor,  recorder,  and  sheriffs  should  call  before  them 
the  gilds  of  the  Barber-Surgeons,  Glovers,  Fishmongers,  and  Saddlers, 
with  a  view  to  ascertain  the  facts,  and  if  they  found  them  not  legally 
joined  to  any,  they  were  to  certify  the  board  of  aldermen,  who  had 
power  to  annex  them  to  such  companies  as  most  stood  in  need  of  their 
assistance. 

In  1634  a  dispute  between  the  Bakers  and  the  Barber-Surgeons,2 
concerning  their  respective  precedence  in  station  on  station  days,  which 
had  been  on  several  occasions  before  the  assembly,  was  again  brought 
forward,  on  the  petition  of  the  former.  They  alleged  that  the  Barber- 
Surgeons  were  but  a  "  wing,"  and  prayed  that  a  settled  course  might  be 
laid  down  for  the  future.  It  was  ordered  that  the  Act  already  passed, 
and  which  was  to  be  enforced  under  a  penalty  of  £10,  should  be  observed. 
What  this  ruling  was  does  not  appear,  but  in  1644  the  matter  again 
came  on,  and  this  time  on  petition  of  the  Barber-Surgeons.3  A 

1  Gilbert's  "  Corporation  Records,"  vol.  iii.,  p.  204. 

2  Ibid,  p.  300.     '  3  Ibid.,  p.  425. 


230        KOYAL   SOCIETY    OF    ANTIQUARIES    OF    IRELAND. 

reference  was  made  to  the  mayor,  recorder,  and  sheriffs,  empowering 
them  to  consider  the  charters  of  the  respective  claimants,  and  to  settle 
their  positions  according  to  the  "antiquities"  of  same.  The  decision 
was  in  favour  of  the  Barbers ;  and  the  assembly  then  ordered  that  that 
corporation  should  have  no  relation  or  dependence  on  any  other,  but 
that  it  should  bear  all  common  charges  and  cesses  in  the  city  as  a 
distinct  body. 

It  seems  strange  that  a  Dublin  barber  should  have  been  called  on  to 
give  evidence  on  the  trial  of  King  Charles  I.1  His  name  was  James 
Crosby,  and  his  evidence  was  to  the  effect  that  in  1643  he  saw  the  King 
riding  from  Newbury. 

In  the  years  1650  and  1651  the  plague  appears  to  have  been  rife  in 
Dublin  again ;  and  Dudley  Russell,  a  surgeon,  is  found  petitioning  the 
city  assembly 2  fora  grant,  under  the  following  circumstances: — The 
late  mayor,  Raphael  Hunt,  had  employed  him  to  enquire  of  all  persons 
infected  with  the  plague  in  the  city,  and  furnish  a  report  on  same,  with 
a  view  to  shutting  doors  and  the  prevention  of  further  infection.  To 
the  great  danger  of  his  life,  and  his  family's  loss,  the  petitioner  had 
discharged  his  trust  for  six  months  past,  without  remuneration,  and  in 
consideration  of  all  the  circumstances  he  was  voted  £5. 

In  July,  1666,  William  Bell  and  Thomas  Lisle,  surgeons,3  showed 
that  by  the  lord  mayor's  orders,  they  had,  since  Christmas,  been  em- 
ployed in  visiting,  and  searching  for,  any  who  had  died  suddenly,  or  of 
any  disease  suspected  to  be  infectious,  with  a  view  to  preventing  the 
further  spread  of  infection  in  the  city.  A  grant  of  £5  each  was  made 
to  them,  and  they  .were  to  continue  in  office  until  Michaelmas.  Petty's 
Bills  of  Mortality  give  the  number  of  burials  in  Dublin  during  the  year 
1666  as  1480. 

The  master  and  wardens  of  the  Barber- Surgeons'  gild  presented  a 
petition4  to  James,  Duke  of  Ormond,  lord  lieutenant,  in  1678,  setting 
forth  that  Walter  Prendergast,  an  ancient  brother,  had  been  chosen 
warden  for  the  ensuing  year,  but  being  unwilling,  as  a  Roman  Catholic, 
to  take  the  oath  of  supremacy,  owing  to  certain  rules  established  by  act 
of  State,  on  21st  September,  1672,  he  was  rendered  incapable  of  serving 
the  corporation  in  that  capacity  without  His  Grace's  dispensation. 
They  prayed  that,  as  he  was  well  known  to  be  a  sober  citizen,  he  might 
have  such  a  dispensation;  and,  on  a  certificate  of  John  Smith,  lord 
mayor,  Ormond  dispensed  Prendergast  from  this  particular  oath,  on 
condition  of  his  subscribing  the  other  declarations. 

On   10th  February,  1687,  King  James  II.  granted  a   charter5  to 

1  Trial  of  King  Charles  I.,  quoted  in  Gilbert's  "  History  of  Dublin." 

2  Gilbert's  "  Corporation  Records,"  vol.  iv.,  p.  15.  3  /^<}  p.  330. 
4  Haliday  Collection  of  Deeds  and  Documents,  Royal  Irish  Academy. 

6  Copy  of  this  charter  is  at  p.  70,  Cameron's  "  History  of  the  Royal  College  of 
Surgeons." 


ANCIENT  CORPORATION  OF  BARBER- SURGEONS.    231 

the  fraternity,  His  Majesty  being  willing  to  renew  the  corporation  of 
Barbers,  of  which  Barber-Surgeons,  ''apothecaries,  and  peri  wig-makers," 
were  members.  Patrick  Archbold  was  to  be  the  first  master,  and  Robert 
"White  and  William  Cox  the  first  wardens.  The  following  were  named 
as  the  first  brethren : — "William,  Earl  of  Limerick,  John  Barnewell, 
Robert  Barnewell,  Richard  Archbold,  Christopher  Cruce,  Thomas  Conner, 
William  Garvan,  Patrick  Fitzpatrick,  physicians  and  readers  of 
anatomy;  Charles  Thompson,  Henry  Walker,  Patrick  Bath,  John 
Seamar,  George  Byrne,  Richard  Purcell,  Morgan  Kennedy,  William 
Heydon,  Robert  Archbold,  Robert  Bellew,  Thomas  Clare,  Stephen 
Archbold,  junior,  Stephen  Clinton,  Stephen  Clayton,  Robert  Witherall, 
Kenny  Prendergast,  Dominick  Ryan,  John  Clayton,  George  Gernon, 
Francis  Dempsey,  Richard  Nugent,  Redmond  Tyrrell,  and  Maurice 
Lomergan. 

The  next  volume  of  the  gild  records,  now  extant,  commences 
22nd  July,  1688,  and  is  entitled  a  Book  of  Entry  of  Foreigners  and 
Quarterages.  It  opens  with  a  list  of  brethren — Barber-Surgeons, 
apothecaries,  and  wig-makers,  and,  in  addition  to  the  foregoing  names, 
the  following  appear  : — Josias  Paterson,  Robert  Bolton,  John  Gregson, 
Henry  Dornan,  Patrick  Halpin,  John  Dowdall,  Christopher  Hussey, 
Richard  Pasmore,  William  McEvoy,  Thomas  Savage,  Daniel  O'Mullan, 
Felix  Reilly,  Richard  Begg,  George  Pasco,  John  Shaw,  Thomas  Bath, 
John  Renton,  Redmond  Terrill,  Thomas  St.  John,  Bartholomew 
Dowdall,  Nicholas  Stephens,  William  Neile,  Morgan  Maghan,  and 
Thomas  Clare. 

In  1692,  and  for  some  time  after,  a  number  of  the  brethren  were 
classed  in  the  lists  as  Romans  or  Roman  brethren.1 

There  is  no  precise  evidence  as  to  the  meeting-places  of  the  gild 
during  the  first  two  centuries  of  its  existence.  In  1661  it  obtained  a 
lease  for  sixty-one  years  of  the  Pole-gate  (which  was  situated  at  the 
southern  extremity  of  Werburgh-street),  at  a  rent  of  £5  and  a  couple  of 
capons  to  the  mayor,  guarding  the  portcullis-room  in  seasons  of  danger 
to  the  city.  The  company  must  have  used  the  gate  before  the  date  of 
this  lease;  for  in  16642  it  is  found  affirming  that  even  prior  to  the  late 
rebellion  (1641)  £80  had  been  disbursed  on  the  premises,  which  was  lost 
by  reason  of  the  troubles,  when  the  house  became  a  prison.  The  Pole- 
gate  was  a  two-storied  tower,  46  feet  in  height,  and  the  upper  storey 
was  a  room  only  14  feet  square.  A  representation  of  the  gate  faces 
p.  29  of  Sir  Charles  Cameron's  "  History  of  the  Royal  College  of  Sur- 
geons." In  1664  the  premises  were  required  for  His  Majesty's  service, 
for  the  use  of  the  guard,  and  an  order  was  made  that  there  was  to  be  no 

1  From  the  fact  that  in  an  account  dated  1702-3,  the  entry,  "since  ye  Break  of  ye 
Boyn,"  appears  opposite  the  names  of  two  of  them,  it  seems  probable  that  these 
brethren  were  Roman  Catholics. 

2  Gilbert's  "  Corporation  Records,"  vol.  iv.,  p.  90. 


232         ROYAL    SOCIKTY    OF    ANTIQUARIES    <>F    IltKLAND. 

liability  to  rent  until  the  premises  were  restored.  Whether  the  Crown's 
occupation  was  temporary  or  not  does  not  appear,  and  the  records  afford 
no  indication  of  the  meeting-place  of  the  gild  for  a  number  of  years.  In 
July,  1692,  John  Cleevely,  a  mountebank,  paid  £2  9s.  for  leave  to  erect 
his  stage,  which  proves  that  at  this  time  a  fixed  hall  had  been  provided, 
which  the  gild  was  able  to  sublet  for  public  purposes.  In  1697  occurs 
an  entry  to  the  effect  that  Patrick  Ward  paid  rent  for  the  hall,  and 
money  for  the  dinners  of  the  corporation ;  and  a  little  later  on  their 
1 1  common  hall"  is  mentioned  as  being  in  Smock-alley.1  In  1740  and 
in  1744  the  gild  was  meeting  in  the  Tailors'  Hall  in  Back-lane.3  In 
1759,  a  resolution  was  passed  that  the  master  and  wardens  might  agree 
for  such  hall  in  the  city  as  they  should  think  proper ;  but  nothing  further 
on  the  subject  appears  in  the  books.  Between  17.50  and  1770  the 
brethren  adjourned  for  committees,  or  on  festival  occasions,  to  the  follow- 
ing taverns,  as  appears  in  the  transactions  : — Hose  and  Bottle,  Dame- 
street  ;  Eose,  Castle-street ;  Bull's  Head,  Fishamble-street ;  Flying 
Horse,  Mountrath-street ;  Elephant,  Essex-street;  Phoenix,  Werburgh- 
street ;  Three  Stags'  Heads,  Eustace-street  ;  Carteret's  Head,  Castle- 
street  ;  Hoop,  Cork  Hill ;  and  the  King's  Arms,  Fownes--street. 

A  warrant  from  the  Lord  Mayor  was  received  in  August,  1703, 
announcing  that  a  dinner  was  to  be  given  to  the  Duke  of  Ormond  on  the 
12th  of  that  month  at  St.  Stephen' s-green.  Each  brother  was  ordered 
to  pay  a  sum  of  3s.  towards  the  dinner,  for  which  sum,  in  addition  to 
dinner,  he  would  receive  a  bottle  of  wine.  It  was  also  enacted  that  any 
failing  to  appear  at  the  master's  house,  under  arms  and  in  best  apparel, 
to  march  with  him,  were  to  be  fined  10*. 

Only  two  notices  relative  to  the  old  city  custom  of  riding  the 
Franchises  appear.  In  July,  1713,  those  who  attended  the  lord  mayor 
on  the  occasion  were  to  pay  4s. ;  those  who  failed  to  do  so  were  to  incur 
a  fine  of  10s.  In  1731  the  gild  was  instructed  to  ride  in  the  same  dress, 
with  Tye  perukes  and  long  cravats,  as  usual.  Faulkner's  Journal  of 
1st  August,  1767,  states  that  the  Barbers'  gild  perambulated  the  city, 
when  its  colours  were  purple,  cherry,  and  red,  while  those  of  the 
Apothecaries'  Company  were  purple  and  orange. 

In  1701  the  Kecorder  was  paid  a  retainer  of  £1  3s.,  and  the  Solicitor- 
General  £2  8s.  6d.  as  a  fee  for  prosecuting  certain  persons  who  "  worked! 
up  horse  hair  and  other  unlawful  hair,"  and  by  the  year  1718  the 
members  of  the  gild  appear  to  have  been  aroused  to  a  pitch  of  indignation 
against  certain  nefarious  practices  in  that  line.  Now  that  wigs  have 
ceased  to  be  a  necessary  article  of  clothing,  we  can  hardly  be  expected 

1  This  lay  at  the  rere  of  Blind-quay,  and  in  the  Hall  of  the  Smiths  here  meetings 
of  clubs,  gilds,  and  Freemasons  were  held. 

2  Erected  1706,  and  being  one  of  the  largest  public  rooms  in  Dublin  prior  to  the 
building  of  Fishamble-street  Music  Hall,  it  became  the  meeting-place   of  various 
gilds.      A  representation  of  the   exterior  of  the  Hall  faces  p.   87  of   Sir  Charles- 
Cameron's  "History  of  tho  College  of  Surgeons." 


ANCIENT  CORPORATION  OF  BARBER-SURGEONS.    233 

to  sympathise  with  a  fulmiuation  like  the  following  :  —  "  "Whereas 
great  frauds  are  committed  in  Dublin  by  divers  persons  who  sell  hairs 
therein,  by  mixing  together  hairs  cut  off  several  heads,  though  of 
different  colours,  mixing  bleached  hairs,  horse  hairs,  and  live  hairs 
together,  and  by  giving  false  colours  to  hairs,  by  dipping  and  dyeing 
same,  &c.,  to  the  great  abuse  of  the  brethren  of  this  corporation  in 
particular  and  the  wearers  of  wigs  in  general.  It  is  ordered  that  all 
such  persons,  sellers,  hawkers,  and  retailers  of  hair,  acting  as  aforesaid, 
be  proceeded  against  with  the  utmost  severity."  It  is  to  be  hoped  that 
the  miscreants  here  described  met  with  condign  punishment  !  Some 
years  later  a  committee  was  appointed  to  enquire  into  abuses  committed 
by  barbers  and  periwig-makers  in  the  city,  who  made  a  practice  of  shaving 
customers  and  dressing  wigs  on  the  Lord's  Day,  with  the  result  that 
such  conduct  became  a  subject  for  fines. 

In  1713  it  was  resolved  that  no  master  was  to  hold  office  for  more 
than  two  years  successively,  but  two  years  later  this  enactment  was 
repealed.  In  1729  a  new  procedure  with  regard  to  elections  to  office  in 
the  gild  was  sought  to  be  established;  three  surgeons  were  to  be  nominated 
for  the  mastership,  one  peruke-maker  and  one  apothecary  were  to  be 
elected  wardens.  On  the  next  occasion  three  apothecaries  were  to  be 
-nominated  for  the  former  post,  while  one  peruke-maker  and  one  surgeon 
were  to  serve  as  wardens.  Tor  the  third  year,  the  master  was  to  be  elected 
'from  among  three  peruke -makers,  and  the  wardens  were  to  be  an  apothe- 
cary and  a  surgeon.  This  triennial  system  must  have  been  found 
unworkable,  as  the  order  authorizing  it  was  repealed  within  a  few 
months.  By  a  rule,  passed  in  1747,  members  of  the  fraternity  were 
permitted  to  wear  their  hats  on  all  occasions  in  Hall,  save  when  address- 
ing the  chair.  Breaches  of  good  taste  during  meetings  of  the  gild  were 
punished  severely,  as  it  appears  that  Thomas  Lawler  was  suspended 
during  a  sitting  in  August,  1715,  for  uttering  scandalous  words  and 
casting  reflections  on  His  Grace  the  Duke  of  Marlborough.  On  Lawler's 
submission,  some  months  later,  he  was  readmitted. 

The  gild  of  Merchants  appear  to  have  sought  to  invade  the  rights  of 
the  Barbers'  corporation  in  1715,  in  what  particulars  is  not  recorded, 
and  the  master,  Thomas  Collins,  had  a  special  vote  of  thanks  passed  to 
him  for  his  great  zeal  in  defending  them  against  this  powerful  body. 

In  1761  James  Grattan,  Recorder  of  Dublin,  father  of  the  illustrious 
Henry  Grattan,  was  elected  a  freeman.  A  motion  for  conferring  the 
freedom  of  the  gild  on  Sir  James  Caldwell,  baronet,  count  of  the  Holy 
Roman  Empire,  was  brought  forward  in  1764,  and  passed.  The  grounds 
adduced  for  this  distinction  were  his  patriotic  spirit  in  raising  a  troop  of 
Horse  at  his  own  expense  in  the  service  of  his  king  and  country,  during 
the  late  war.  Lieut. -Colonel  William  Howe1  had  a  similar  honour  paid 

1  Afterwards  fifth  Viscount  Howe.  He  commanded  a  battalion  in  "Wolfe's  expedi- 
tion against  Quebec. 

T_lir  T?  c  A  T     f  Vol.  xiii.,  Fifth  Series.        ) 
Jour.  R. S.A.I,  j  Vol   xxxin     Consec    Spr 


234        ROYAL    SOCIETY   OF   ANTIQUARIES    OF    IRELAND. 

him  on  account  of  the  loyalty  and  valour  of  his  illustrious  family,  and 
the  particular  exertion  of  his  extraordinary  talents  as  a  soldier  and  com- 
mander in  the  conquest  of  Canada. 

The  freedom  of  the  gild  was  conferred,  in  1768,  on  another  distin- 
guished Irishman,  James,  Duke  of  Leinster.1  The  fraternity  resolved 
that  it  was  to  be  accompanied  by  the  "  compliment  of  one  of  the  emblems 
of  the  corporation,  namely,  the  Free  Bazor  of  Liberty." 

Probably  the  most  distinguished  and  best-known  man  connected 
with  the  Barber- Surgeons  during  the  eighteenth  century  was  the  patriotic 
Charles  Lucas.  He  became  warden  in  1741-2,  and  was  master  during 
1744-5  and  1745-6,  and  again  1748-9.  In  January,  1744,  as  a  public 
acknowledgment  of  the  pure  zeal  and  great  fidelity  of  their  master,  and 
in  consideration  of  his  extraordinary  labour  and  assiduity  in  attempting 
to  revive  the  ancient  and  most  excellent  constitution  of  the  city  by  restoring 
the  just  powers  and  privileges  of  the  commons  and  citizens,  as  well  by 
his  constant,  watchful  care  and  faithful  counsels  in  the  city  as  by  his 
open  remonstrances  and  strenuous  solicitations  in  the  Courts  of  Law, 
Lucas  was  decreed  a  gold  signet  ring  or  a  silver  box  (whichever  he  should 
approve)  with  the  arms  of  the  corporation  and  a  suitable  inscription. 
The  article  for  presentation  was  to  be  manufactured  by  a  free  brother  of 
the  Goldsmiths'  Company,  and  it  was  to  be  held  by  the  recipient  as  a 
lasting  mark  of  gratitude.  Dr.  Lucas  chose  the  ring.  In  1750  a 
pamphlet  designated  "  scandalous"  in  the  proceedings  of  the  gild,  which 
pamphlet  was  entitled  "An  Examination  of  the  facts  and  a  detection  of 
the  impudent  falsehoods  and  gross  misrepresentations  contained  in  a 
pamphlet  entitled  'A  critical  review  of  the  liberties  of  British  subjects,'" 
was  published  in  Dublin,  having  been  first  printed  in  London.  In  this 
pamphlet  the  twenty- one  corporations  of  Dublin  were  said  to  be  traduced 
and  vilified,  and  the  Barber-Surgeons  resolved,  as  far  as  they  were  con- 
cerned, to  prosecute  the  writer  with  the  utmost  rigour.  Their  action  and 
motives  in  presenting  Lucas  with  a  vote  of  thanks  and  a  ring  having 
been  called  in  question,  they  placed  it  on  record  that  the  sole  reason  for 
paying  him  this  compliment  was  their  sense  of  his  services  to  all  friends 
of  liberty,  and  his  attachment  to  the  rights  of  the  city  against  the 
encroachments  of  the  Board  of  Aldermen.  When  Lucas  afterwards,  in 
1761,  became  a  candidate  for  the  representation  of  Dublin,  he  and  his 
colleague,  Colonel  James  Dunn,  specially  addressed  the  members  of  the 
gild. 

From  about  1730,  the  number  of  surgeons  in  the  fraternity  was 
rapidly  becoming  less.  In  1742,  when  each  surgical  brother  had  already 
filled  the  warden's  chair,  it  became  necessary  to  instal  therein  a  barber, 
such  chair  having  heretofore  been  always  occupied  by  a  surgeon,  when 
the  master  for  the  year  was  a  barber.  From  the  time  that  the  Company 

1  He  was  twentieth  Earl  of  Kildare,  and  was  created  Duke  of  Leinster  in  1766. 
His  Grace  was  father  of  Lord  Edward  Fitz  Gerald. 


ANCIENT   CORPORATION   OF   BARBER-SURGEONS.         235 

of  Apothecaries  was  formed/ in  1745,  the  proceedings  of  the  Barber-Sur- 
geons became  void  of  interest.  The  brethren  were  nearly  all  barbers, 
with  the  addition  of  a  few  others  who  had  political  objects  in  view  in 
becoming  members;  and  that  the  practising  surgeons  in  Dublin  felt 
keenly  their  incorporation  with  Barbers  is  evident  from  the  terms  of  a 
resolution  passed  at  a  meeting  of  the  Dublin  Society  of  Surgeons1  which 
was  formed  in  1780.  The  meeting  was  held  at  the  King's  Arms,  Smock- 
alley,  June  1, 1780,  and  the  resolution  was  as  follows  : — "Kesolved:  That 
in  the  opinion  of  this  Committee  a  royal  charter  dissolving  the  preposterous 
and  disgraceful  union  of  the  Surgeons  of  Dublin  with  the  Barbers,  and 
incorporating  them  separately  and  distinctly  upon  liberal  and  scientific 
principles,  would  highly  contribute  not  only  to  their  own  emolument,  and 
the  advancement  of  the  profession  in  Ireland,  but  to  the  good  of  society 
in  general,  by  cultivating  and  diffusing  surgical  knowledge."  In  1784 
the  bond  which  united  barbers  and  surgeons  was  finally  severed  by  the 
establishment  of  the  Royal  College  of  Surgeons  in  Ireland. 

The  records  from  which  the  greater  portion  of  the  foregoing  has  been 
derived,  together  with  the  silver  seal  of  the  gild  and  tbe  grant  of  arms 
made  by  Ulster,  are  now  deposited  in  the  manuscript-room  of  the  Library  of 
Trinity  College.  They  were  found  by  the  late  Dr.  William  D.  Moore  in 
possession  of  Mr.  Michael  Earrell,  of  Harcourt-road,  the  last  master 
appointed,  prior  to  the  dissolution  of  the  gilds.  Having  made  some  use 
of  the  volumes  of  proceedings  in  his  "  History  of  Pharmacy  in  Ireland," 
Dr.  Moore  presented  all  in  1849  to  Trinity  College.  His  action  cannot 
be  too  highly  commended,  and  the  example  set  by  him  might  well  be 
followed  by  others  who  have  custody  of  records  of  this  kind,  which  are 
liable  to  fall  into  careless  hands  and  become  lost  to  posterity.  Dr.  Abbott's 
catalogue  of  the  manuscripts  in  Trinity  College  Library  (Item  No.  1447) 
contains  the  following  list  of  contents  of  the  box  lodged  by  Dr.  Moore  : 

1.  Charter  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  1577. 

2.  Grant  of  arms  by  Ulster,  1645. 

3.  Charter  of  James  II.,  1687. 

4.  Three  Freemen' s  Bolls  (Memb.). 

5.  Silver  seal  of  the  corporation,  1673. 

6.  Book  for  enrolment  of  apprentices  and  journeymen,  1578-1588. 

(This  volume  contains  entries  and  accounts  from  1535.) 

7.  Book  of  Quarterage  and  Entry  of  Foreigners,  1688-1702. 

(This  volume  also  contains  bonds,  1692-1704.) 

8.  Minute-books,   1703-1756;  1757-1791;  1792-1826;   1826-1841. 

9.  Book  of  Bonds,  1735-1736. 

10.  Book  of  list  of  Brothers,  1758-1781. 

11.  EollBook,  1827-1840. 

1  Cameron's  "History  of  the  College  of  Surgeons,"  p.  111. 
R2 


236        ROYAL    SOCIETY    OF    ANTIQUARIES    OF    IRELAND. 

In  1874,  Mr.  Maurice  Lenihan,  of  Limerick,  at  a  meeting  of  the 
Kilkenny  Archaeological  Society,  exhibited  what  was  said  to  be  the  seal  of 
the  Barber-Surgeons'  Gild  of  Limerick,  and  this  seal  is  figured  in  the 
Journal.^  It  is  described  as  being  of  brass,  2^  inches  in  diameter,  the 
matrix  not  older  than  the  end  of  the  seventeenth  or  beginning  of  the 
eighteenth  century.  The  arms  are  the  same  as  those  granted  to  the 
Barber-Surgeons  of  Dublin,  and  the  following  legend  ran  round  the 
seal :— "  The  arms  of  the  Barber- Chimrgians  or  Gild  of  St.  Mary  Mag- 
dalene granted  by  Henry  VI."  The  Limerick  Gild,  which  had  a  master 
and  two  wardens,  was  constituted  by  the  municipal  corporation.  Cork 
also  had  a  gild  which  was  early  incorporated  by  the  city  authorities.  In 
1732 2  a  bill  was  preferred  against  the  Barbers'  Company  by  some  "  refrac- 
tory" persons,  and  the  matter  having  been  brought  before  the  corporation 
of  Cork  on  23rd  August  in  that  year,  it  was  decided  to  support  the  com- 
pany in  their  ancient  rights,  and  Mr.  Russell  Wood,  attorney,  was 
appointed  to  assist  in  endeavouring  to  preserve  them. 

1  Vol.  xiii.,  p,  243. 

z  Caulfield's  "  Council  Book  of  the  Corporation  of  Cork." 


ANCIENT   CORPORATION   OF   BARBER-SURGEONS.         237 


LIST   OF   MASTERS   AND    WARDENS,   1534-1760. 
Compiled  from  the  Records  of  the  Gild. 


YEAR. 

MASTERS. 

WARDENS. 

1534. 

Henry  Filch. 

1535. 

Thomas  Grace. 

1555. 

Stephen  Cradock. 

John  Sampson,  Hugh  Ingram. 

1557-8. 

Stephen  Cradock. 

John  Sampson,  John  Baker. 

1559. 

John  Sampson. 

John  Baker,  Patrick  Bicton. 

1563-4. 

John  Sampson. 

John  Baker,  Patrick  Bicton. 

1564-5. 

Denis  Fleming. 

John  Baker,  Patrick  Bicton. 

1565-6. 

John  Baker. 

Richard  Umpherye,  Rowland  Mery. 

1566-7. 

John  Baker. 

Richard  Umfrey,  Rowland  Mery. 

1567-8. 

Stephen  Cradock. 

Patrick  Coyle,  John  Bryd. 

1568-9. 

Patrick  Bicton. 

Patrick  Coulle,  Rowland  Merye. 

1569-70. 

Stephen  Cradock. 

Patrick  Coyll,  Roland  Merye. 

1570-1. 

Richard  Umfrey. 

John  Berd,  Walter  Naghton. 

1571-2. 

Patrick  Coyll. 

Walter  Naghten,  Patrick  Drynane. 

'  1572-3. 

Roland  Mery. 

Patrick  Drynan,  Richard  Egerton. 

1573-4. 

Stephen  Cradock. 

William  Kelly,  Patrick  Drynan. 

1574-5. 

Walter  Naughten. 

Roland  Merry,  Richard  Egerton. 

1575-6. 

Patrick  Coyll. 

Thomas  Newman,  Richard  Luttrell. 

1576-7. 

William  Kelly. 

Richard  Egerton,  Richard  Luttrell. 

1577-8. 

William  Kelly. 

Richard  Egerton,  Patrick  Drynan. 

1578-9. 

Richard  Egerton. 

1580-1. 

William  Kelly. 

1582-3. 

Richard  Egerton. 

Patrick  Drynane,  Richard  Luttrell. 

1583-4. 

Patrick  Drynane. 

John  Morphin,  Richard  Luttrell. 

1584-5. 

Walter  Naghten. 

John  Morphin. 

1588. 

John  Morphin. 

Patrick  Welsh. 

(Records 

deficient.) 

1678-9. 

Walter  Prendergast. 

1688-9. 

Patrick  Archbold. 

Robert  White,  William  Cock. 

1689-90. 

Patrick  Archbold. 

Robert  White,  Stephen  Clynton. 

1693-4. 

Robert  Witherell. 

John  Shaw,  Thomas  Johnson. 

1694-5. 

Valentine  Gill. 

John  Hecklefield,   Richard   Hughs 

(afterwards    Timothy    Edge,    in 

place  of  Hecklefield). 

1695-6. 

John  Stephens. 

Thomas  Browne,  James  St.  Lawrence. 

1696-7. 
1697-8. 

Robert  Jeaye. 
John  Shaw. 

John  Benton,  George  Johnson. 
Gabriel  Vivan,  Richard  Dobbs. 

1698-9. 

Alderman  Chas.  Thompson. 

William  Partington,  Edward  Minchin. 

1699-1700 

Richard  Hughs. 

James  Temple,  William  Fleming. 

1700-1. 

Francis  Cooke. 

John  Freeman,  Robert  Gauthropp. 

1701-2. 

Edward  Minchin. 

John  Folliott,  Richard  Eastcourt. 

1702-3. 

George  Johnson. 

Thomas  Shaw,  Walter  Peter. 

1706-7. 

Walter  Birdsome. 

John  Walker,  George  Walton. 

1707-8. 

William  Breach. 

Richard  Thompson,  Samuel  Steele. 

1708-9. 

John  Webb. 

George  Johnson,  John  Brookes. 

1711-12. 

George  Johnson. 

Hugh  Shaw. 

1712-13. 

John  Brookes. 

John  Wright,  Thomas  Lawler. 

1713-14. 

John  Brookes. 

John  Stanton,  Hugh  Colvill. 

238          ROYAL    SOCIETY   OF   ANTIQUARIES    OF    IRELAND. 


YEAR. 

MASTERS. 

WARDENS. 

1714-15. 

Thomas  Collins. 

Edward  Jesson,  John  Medcalfe. 

1715-16. 

Thomas  Collins. 

Thomas  Boulger,  James  Lindsey. 

1716-17. 

John  Wright. 

Chidly  Freeman,  Alexr  Makay. 

1717-18. 

John  Wright. 

John  Smith,  John  Galbraith. 

1718-19. 

Richard  Thompson. 

John  Conliff,  William  Lisle. 

1719-20. 

Thomas  Collins. 

John  Conliff,  William  Lisle. 

1720-1. 

Thomas  Bolger. 

Michael  Kearney,  Francis  Green. 

1721-2. 

John  Stanton. 

Peter  Butler,  Robert  Curtis. 

1722-3. 

Chidley  Freeman. 

Edward  Smith,  Thomas  Tyte. 

1723-4. 

William  Lisle. 

riatt  Phillips,  John  Murdough. 

1724-5. 

Francis  Castell. 

Thomas  Rosse,  Richard  Bell. 

1725-6. 

Michael  Kearney. 

William  Savage,  Thomas  Boulger. 

1726-7. 

Francis  Green. 

Henry  Etherington,  Richard  Kings- 

berry. 

1727-8. 

John  Conliff  e. 

Richard  Marsh. 

1728-9. 

Thomas  Tyte. 

Adam  Love,  Samuel  Stanton. 

1729-30. 

Samuel  Parks. 

Robert  Hunter,  James  Reynolds. 

1730-1. 

Samuel  Parks. 

Meager,  Hugh  Geoghegan. 

1731-2. 

Thomas  Rosse. 

William  Edwards,  Matthew  Howard. 

1732-3. 

Thomas  Rosse. 

Richard  Dobbs,  William  Husband. 

1733-4. 

Walter  Peter. 

William  Cowan,  Charles  Eaton. 

1734-5. 

William  Brownly. 

William  Cowan,  Thomas  Downes. 

1735-6. 

William  Husband. 

Joshua  Lamprey,  William  Cowan. 

1736-7. 

Edward  Smith. 

Bryan  McCabe,  Richard  Cox. 

1737-8. 

Edward  Smith. 

Bryan  McCabe,  Richard  Cox. 

1738-9. 

John  Sankey. 

Michael  Cudmore,  John  Banks. 

1739-40. 

Anthony  Chapman. 

Edward  Crilliott,  Christ'  Stockdill. 

1740-1. 

Thomas  Downes. 

Joseph  Wallis,  Hugh  Gregg. 

1741-2. 

Thomas  Downes. 

Charles  Lucas,  Hugh  Gregg. 

1742-3. 

John  Banks. 

Ebenezer  Shackleton,  Boyle  Magrath. 

1743-4. 

William  Thompson. 

John  Ban-on,  Richard  Bryan. 

1744-5. 

Charles  Lucas. 

David  Peter,  James  Montgomery. 

1745-6. 

Charles  Lucas. 

John  Roe,  James  Nicholson. 

1746-7. 

David  Peter. 

William  Crawford,  William  Kelly. 

1747-8. 

Bryan  McCabe. 

John  Miller,  John  Roe,  junior. 

1748-9. 

Charles  Lucas. 

Thomas  Wood,  Thomas  Reader. 

1749-50. 

William  Crawford. 

Daniel  Grant,  George  Callaghan, 

1750-1. 

William  Crawford. 

James  Craige,  Henry  Kirk. 

1751-2 

Hugh  Gregg. 

William  Franks,  James  Orr. 

(Franks  deposed  for  non-attend- 

ance,   and    13th    Jan.,    1752, 

William  Frazer  elected  in  his 

room.) 

1752-3. 

James  Montgomery. 

Thomas  Wallis,  Walter  Goold. 

1753-4. 

James  Montgomery. 

Thomas  Clarke,  Joseph  RavenscrofL 

1754-5. 

Henry  Kirk. 

James  Purcell,  George  Kavanagh. 

1755-6. 

John  Miller. 

Matthew  Stafford,  William  Fielding. 

1756-7. 

William  Kelly. 

Charles  Parkes,  John  Morrison. 

1757-8. 

Thomas  Wood. 

Henry  Mullin,  Richard  Jesson. 

1758-9. 

James  Craige. 

Samuel  Hope,  George  Venner. 

1759-60. 

Richard  Bryan. 

Samuel  Cox,  James  Black. 

(Richard  Bryan  removed, 

and   14th  Jan.,    1760, 

Charles   Parks   elected 

in  his  stead.) 

(  289  ) 


NOTES  ON  ASK  EATON,  COUNTY  LIMERICK. 
PART  III.— THE  "  ABBEY." 

BY  THOMAS  J.  WESTROPP,  M.A.,  M.R.I. A.,  VICE-PRESIDENT. 

(Continued  from  page  174.) 

nHHE  topography  of  Askeaton  next  calls  for  our  attention,  and  though 
the  subject,   treated  so  technically  as  in  this  Paper,   may  prove 
unattractive  to  general  readers,  I  hope  it  may  be  of  value  to  students 
of  the  monastic  antiquities  of  Ireland. 


ASKEATON  ABBEY — PLAN  OF  PRECINCT. 

Askeaton  lies  over  two  miles  from  the  mouth  of  the  little  river  Deel, 
in  the  barony  of  Lower  Connello,  and  County  of  Limerick.  It  will  be 
remembered  that  the  long  reach  of  the  County  Limerick  is  divided 
naturally  into  three  divisions  by  the  Deel  and  Maigue,  which  rising  not 
far  from  each  other,  near  Milford,  on  the  border  of  County  Cork,  flow 
northward  into  the  Shannon.  Strange  to  say  these  most  obvious 
natural  boundaries  have  not  been  used  either  in  ecclesiastical  or  civil 
divisions. 


240         ROYAL  SOCIETY    OF   ANTIQUARIES   OF   IRELAND. 

The  Deel  pours  over  a  ridge  of  rocks  into  a  rather  deep  narrow  gorge,, 
and  directly  below  the  fall  of  Eas  Geibhthine  lies  the  island  called  Inis- 
kef  ty,  or  (if  our  theory  be  true)  Inis  Geibhthine.  The  old  bridge  crosses  the 
Deel,  touching  the  northern  end  of  the  castle  island.  There  was  another 
island  near  Askeaton  covered  with  bushes  ;  possibly  it  has  been  reclaimed 
into  the  western  bank  in  the  flat  reach"  opposite  the  "  Abbey."  The 
latter  building  stands  on  sloping  ground,  the  summit  of  which  lies  to  the 
north  of  the  ruins,  which  are  about  1000  yards  to  the  north  of  the  castle. 
Opposite,  and  nearly  eastward  from  the  fortress,  on  higher  ground  stands 
the  ancient  church  of  St.  Mary  of  Iniskefty. 

THE  FRANCISCAN  CONVENT. 

The  ruins  of  the  convent  are  of  great  interest,  and  (with  the  excep- 
tion of  the  angle  of  the  transept  and  portions  of  the  sacristy  and  hospice) 
are  in  fair  preservation.  It  is  a  large  block  of  buildings  which  (with  its 
projecting  wings)  measures  179  feet  north  and  south,  and  127  feet  east 
and  west,  the  walls  being  usually  4  feet  thick.  It  stands  in  a  walled 
field  sloping  steeply  towards  the  south-west  and  the  river  Deel. 

The  BELFRY. — One  very  important  feature  has  left  no  trace  of  it& 
existence  or  destruction.  The  "Pacata  Hibernia,"  in  a  sketch  made 
before  1599,  probably  before  1584,  shows  a  massive  and  lofty  belfry.1  So 
generally  accurate  is  this  old  drawing  in  its  other  details  that  we  are 
forced  to  conclude  that  either  in  or  to  the  north  of  the  church  (opposite 
to  where  the  battlements  stop  on  the  south  wall)  stood  this  great  tower. 
No  trace  can  now  be  found  to  warrant  the  one  uncorroborated  feature 
of  the  older  artist.  Some  have  fancied  that  they  found  its  remains  in 
the  fallen  masses  of  the  transept,  but  I  have  (at  least)  satisfied  myself 
that  these  belong  to  that  part  of  the  church,  as  they  retain  parts  of 
windows  and  cornices  identical  with  those  in  the  remaining  walls,  and 
even  the  angle  of  the  transept  is  found  among  the  blocks.  I  can  only 
suggest  from  the  analogy  of  a  number  of  other  convents  that  the  belfry 
was  an  after-thought,  standing  within  but  not  bonded  into  the  walls  of 
the  church  ;  that  it  was  destroyed  for  the  safety  of  the  castle  ;  that  the 
monks  entirely  removed  its  debris  when  they  partly  restored  the  church 
(between  1643  and  1650),  when,  of  course,  it  left  no  mark  on  the  wall- 
and  that  it  possibly  stood  at  a  blank  spot  from  35  feet  to  45  feet  from 
the  east  end,  which  would  leave  a  nave  70  feet  long,  and  tally  well  with 
other  monasteries.  The  corbels  in  this  blank  wall  may  be  of  later 
insertion,  or  may  have  been  simply  embedded  in  the  belfry  piers. 

The  view  in  "Pacata  Hibemia"  shows  the  belfry  as  a  massive 
tower  rising  for  four  stories  above  the  battlements  of  the  church.  If 
the  artist  could  be  trusted,  the  proportion  compared  with  the  height 
would  be  unusually  thick.  It  has  a  south  door  opening  on  the  battle- 

1  See  p.  158,  supra. 


NOTES    ON    ASKEATON,  COUNTY    LIMERICK. 


241 


merited  gutter  of  the  church.  There  are  windows  in  the  centre  of 
each  face — two  in  line  heing  to  the  west,  and  three  to  the  south  ; 
while  in  the  top  story,  above  a  string  course,  two  windows  appear  with 
double  lights ;  above  them  are  the  battlements,  three  steps  to  each  face, 
and  a  small  turret  at  the  south-east  angle. 

The  CHUECH. — The  church  is  now  open  for  its  full  length,  118  feet 
6  inches  by  23  feet.  The  architecture  is  of  that  very  pleasing,  though 
simple,  Gothic  which  is  found  in  Adare  and  Eathkeale,  in  its  neighbour- 
hood, and  not  a  few  others  of  our  western  convents.  Most  of  it  seems 
rather  late  for  the  date  1389  to  1420,  but,  perhaps,  this  merely  implies 


ASKEATON  ABBEY. 
i,  5.  Carvings  on  North  Door  of  Cloister.   .2.  Carved  fragment;  3,  4,  on  Sacristy  Window. 

the  existence  of  more  conservative  masons  in  other  monasteries.  The 
styles  in  western  Ireland  are  frequently  found  to  have  been  maintained 
for  fifty  or  one  hundred  years  later  than  in  other  parts  of  the  British 
Isles.  Perhaps  Askeaton  may  be  exceptional. 

The  eastern  end  is  lighted  by  a  large  window  with  four  shafts,  simply 
interlacing  without  cusps  or  heading-pieces.1  The  splay  is  large, 
pointed,  and  simply  moulded.  Above  it  is  a  plain  small  oblong  light, 
which  evidently  lit  a  loft  above  the  ceiling,  and  outside  which  is  a 
narrow  passage  crossing  the  gable  inside  the  battlements.  The  gable  and 
the  side  wall  to  the  south  are  decorated  with  bold  three-stepped  battle- 
ments, with  excellent  effect.  The  altar  remains  and  is  devoid  of 


1  See  view,  p.  32,  supra. 


242         ROYAL    SOCIETY    OF    ANTIQUARIES    OF    IRELAND. 


ornament.  Tradition  doubtfully  says  that  the  Stephensons  removed  the 
older  altar,  and  made  a  burial-place  beneath  it.  They  do  not  appear  as 
anti-monastic  devastators  in  the  records. 

There  were  numerous  curious  fragments  upon  it  when  I  examined 
the  ruins  in  1886-1887,  but  they  have  been  removed,  and  some  were  not 
forthcoming  in  1902.  One  figure  in  a  pleated  robe  and  a  prim  cap  was 
interesting  for  its  apparently  late  date.  Another  tablet  had  the  letters 
"  HIC  .  .  .  s.  GEN  .  .  .  DOR.  TJT  .  .  .  1642,"  and  belonged  to  the 
Stephenson  inscription  given  below,  in  which  we  include  it. 

Examining  the  north  wall  from  the  east,  we  note  the  following 
features : — A  plain  pointed  door  leading  into  the  sacristy.  A  round 
arch,  forming  a  high  shallow  recess,  probably  once  adorned  with  frescoes, 
lies  to  either  side  of  the  door.  Near  the  corner  is  a  little  figure  of  a 
bishop  with  a  rich  mitre,  and  his  right  hand 
raised  in  blessing,  his  left  hand  holds  a  crosier 
with  the  crook  turned  outwards.  It  was  tra- 
ditionally "St.  Patrick,"  in  1875  ;  the  hem  of 
the  vestments,  being  in  folds,  was  supposed  to 
represent  the  serpents.  A  slab  ornamented 
with  a  quatrefoil  diaper  lies  before  the  sacristy 
door.  Westward  we  find  a  handsome  window 
with  a  single  shaft  and  decorated  tracery  (the 
heads  being  cinquefoil  and  the  opes  quatrefoil) 
of  the  same  period  as  that  in  the  Banqueting 
Hall  of  the  castle.  To  the  west  of  this  a 
pointed  door  opens  into  a  curious  little  skew 
passage  lit  by  an  oblong  slit,  and  roofed  with 
large  slabs ;  it  leads  into  the  transept,  and  was 
closed  when  I  first  planned  the  ruin.  In  the 
wall  before  it  is  a  sedile  of  the  usual  low 
broad-arched  type  (with  an  ogee-hood,  crockets, 
and  finals)  so  often  seen  in  Munster  convents 
of  the  fifteenth  century.  The  two  arches  of 
the  transept  stand  next  to  this ;  they  are  pointed,  with  a  chamfered  rib 
resting  on  corbels  at  the  side  piers,  which  are  square.  The  central  pier 
is  circular  with  a  plainly  moulded  capital  and  a  small  engaged  shaft  at 
the  back.  Inside  we  find  neatly  corbelled  blind  arches  to  the  side  of 
the  open  arches.  A  window,  with  two  interlacing  shafts,  lies  near  the 
west  gable,  which  has  a  similar  window,  but  with  one  shaft  broken. 
Tradition  said  in  1875  that  the  west  wing  had  been  wrecked  by  one  of 
"Cromwell's"  cannon  from  across  the  Deel.  Outside  and  below  the 
window  is  the  peaked  weather-ledge  of  a  porch ;  some  trace  of  a  door 
(but  probably  closed  and  plastered  over  even  in  monastic  times)  is  seen 
inside.  The  vault  of  the  Dwyer  family,  dated  1789,  lies  in  the  north- 
west corner  of  the  church.  It  bears  their  arms,  a  lion  rampant,  and  the 
motto,  "Pass  me,  for  I  am  strength." 


ASKEATON  ABBEY. 
CARVING  IN  CHANCEL. 


NOTES    ON   ASKEATON,  COUNTY    LIMERICK. 


243 


O'Donovan  copies  the  Briscoll  tablet  on  the  west  wall,  and  translates 
the  Irish  verses  upon  it.1  "  This  monument  was  erected  by  John 
O'Driscoll,  in  memory  of  his  father  Edmund  Driscoll,  who  departed 
Jan.  3rd,  1780,  aged  45  years;  and  also  Edmond  Driscoll,  who  departed 


3*7 
ASKEATON  ABBEY  CHURCH — WINDOW  IN  NORTH  WALL. 

Nov.    15th,    1798.     Eequiescat   in  pace.   Amen.     Cut  by  Pat  Nunan." 
Then  he  translates  the  Irish  as : — 

"  Alas,  0  flag  !  good  is  thy  treasured -up  companion, 
Though  strong  is  man,  he  must  be  one  day  weak  in  the  clay. 
There  is  no  lord  or  chief  in  [the  enjoyment  of]  action,  leap,  or  agility, 
And  the  Shannon  is  barren  since  Edmond  was  laid  under  thee. ' ' 

He  finds  fault  with  the  poetry  and  grammar,  and  quotes  appositely 
enough  :  — 

"  With  uncouth  rhymes  and  shapeless  sculpture  decked, 
Implores  the  passing  tribute  of  a  sigh." 

The  south  wall,  beginning  at  the  eastern  end,  displays  the  following 
features :  — An  elaborate  range  of  sedilia,  some  of  a  rather  late  appearance. 
1  Ordnance  Survey  Letters,  Limerick,  MSS.  R.I. A.,  14.  E.  9. 


244         ROYAL  SOCIETY   OF    ANTIQUARIES  OF  IRELAND. 

The  first  three  arches  have  semicircular  heads  and  spiral  shafts,  with 
an  unusual  straight  moulding,  with  spiral  fluting  to  the  sides  and 
top.  The  arches  have  been  partly  filled  up.  Above  them  is  an  epigram  in 
raised  letters  strangely  varied,  and  reading: — "  D.O.[M.]  |  JSVbiliissiMo 
D.  RICHARDO  StepheisrsoN  ems  FILIO  D.  OlivE  |  no  Stephenson  ac  posteris 


1886 


ASKEATON  ABBEY—  STEPHENSON  MONUMENT  AND  SEDILIA. 


suis  HOC  Bustum  rieri  recer  |  unt  D.  MAiiGAritA  ni  Brien  et  D:  ElinorA 
Browne  Ano  d5i  1646."  Above  this  are  a  plain  half  -fallen  plinth  and 
a  low-moulded  arch,  the  space  under  it  relieved  by  two  ornamental 
plaques.  A  decorated  side  buttress  with  a  finial  remains,  also  a  plain 


NOTES  ON  ASKEATON,  COUNTY;  LIMERICK.       245 

and  fluted  cornice  and  the  words  (supplying  in  italics  the  portions  on 
a  missing  block)  : — "  Epitaphium1  ch(rono(/rap)hicum  |  hie  Oliverus  ine 
(st  gemtu)s  genitorque  Bichar(dws)  |  Stephenson  Cl(eri  can)dor  Ut  |  erque 
choro  est  (Ano)l642."  Half  of  the  upper  portion  has  fallen,  having  been 
built  but  not  bonded  into  a  gap  broken  into  the  window  pier.  The  three 
next  arches  are  plain,  with  simple  effective  capitals  and  bases.  Above 
them  is  a  window  with  two  interlacing  shafts  and  trefoil-headed  main 
lights.  Three  more  arches,  forming  in  all  nine  sedilia,  and  two  more 
windows,  each  with  two  shafts  simply  interlacing,  bring  us  to  the 
nearly  blank  space  already  noted.  Not  far  away  lies  a  tomb  with  a  late 
Calvary  cross,  with  fine  foliage  budding  from  its  shaft. 

We  then  find  a  plain  pointed  door  leading  by  a  skew  passage  into  the 
north-east  angle  of  the  cloister.  Then  three  sedilia,  similar  to  the 
northern  one,  which  is  opposite  to  them.  The  first  is  set  in  a  high  closed 
arch,  evidently  older  than  the  present  cloister,  being  much  higher  than 
its  vault ;  the  middle  one  has  been  defaced  and  built  up,  while  the  third 
has  a  strangely  distorted  arch.  On  the  site  of  the  eastern  sedile  are 
heaped  many  fragments  probably  of  a  canopied  tomb  along  with  the 
bosses  and  ribs  of  a  small  groined  roof,  and  two  seated  figures,  one, 
St.  Catherine,  holds  a  sword  and  wheel.  Parts  of  the  panelling  have 
trefoil  borders  ending  in  foliage,  and  are,  perhaps,  the  sides  of  an 
altar-tomb ;  others  have  crockets  with  conventional  foliage  dating  from 
about  1460  to  1480.  There  is  no  slight  resemblance  in  some  of  these 
to  the  tomb  of  More  ni  Brien,  of  the  same  date,  in  Ennis  Abbey.  As 
MacMahon,  her  husband,  put  up  a  tomb  in  Askeaton  Convent,  we  may 
suggest  that  these  belonged  to  it,  or  (from  their  manifestly  more  than 
accidental  dilapidation)  to  the  monument  of  James  Earl  of  Desmond, 
deliberately  wrecked  by  the  iconoclastic  English  soldiers.  Another 
pointed  door  opens  back  into  the  church  from  the  cloister.  The  carvings 
on  its  base  are  figured  ;  near  it  lies  a  table  slab  with  the  date  1634.2  A 
shapeless  gap.  now  closed,  opened  into  the  Chapter  Room  so-called. 

The  SACEISTY. — This  lies  to  the  north  of  the  chancel ;  it  measures  24 
feet  by  11  feet  5  inches  wide.  The  lower  story  is  covered  by  a  broken 
semi- vault  turned  over  wicker.  At  the  east  end  is  a  two -light  pointed 
window.  The  shaft  and  part  of  the  heads  have  been  removed.  There 
are  knots  and  leaves  carved  on  the  base  of  the  splay,  which  has  a  seg- 
mental  pointed  arch.  There  is  an  ambry  in  the  north  wall,  and  next 
to  it  a  perfect  fireplace  and  chimney-shaft.  The  upper  story  has  a 
perfect  east  window  with  two  ogee-headed  lights  and  a  flat  splay.  The 
west  wall  has  fallen. 

The  TRANSEPT. — This  consists  of  a  main  wing  and  western  side  aisle, 
separated  by  a  colonnade  of  two  arches  and  a  half  one  which  brings  the 
whole  thrust  against  the  wall  over  the  western  arch  into  the  church — a 
very  weak  and  clumsy  feature.  The  interior  is  59  feet  long;  the 

1  The  letters  in  italics  are  supplied  from  Rev.  J.  Dowd's  "  Round  About  Countv 
Limerick." 

2  Called  "the  side  altar." 


246        ROYAL   SOCIETY    OF    ANTIQUARIES    OF    IRELAND. 

divisions  are  respectively  20  feet  10  inches  and  9  feet  9  inches  wide. 
The  north  windows  are  destroyed ;  only  the  left  splay  of  the  main 
window  remains.  Three  double-light  windows  with  ogee  heads  remain 
in  the  west  wall.  In  the  north  wall  near  the  door  of  the  skew  passage 
is  a  window  of  the  late  and  ugly  type  which  occurs  in  Kilmallock  and 
elsewhere,  the  lower  part  having  two  round-headed  lights,  with  a  flat 
top  to  the  head  pieces,  through  which  rise  expanding  ribs.  The  shaft 
and  central  block  are  now  lost.  An  almost  shapeless  recess  opens  under 


ASK.EATON  ABBEY  CHURCH — WEST  END  AT  TRANSEPT. 
(From  a  Photograph  by  Mr.  T.  F.  Geoghegan.) 

the  sill,  near  which,  in  the  face  of  the  wall  stones,  are  square  slots,  which, 
with  other  slots  in  the  north-west  corner  and  in  the  upper  rooms,  suggest 
a  studding  to  bear  a  timber  lining.  A  rude  ambry  in  the  splay  further 
disfigures  the  window.  The  more  northern  window  has  nearly  vanished, 
along  with  23  feet  of  wall,  and  half  the  north  gable  and  window.  The 
huge  fragments  lie  heaped  in  the  field,  thrown  out  by  some  severe 
explosion,  and  masses  of  the  missing  windows  and  the  cornice  are  found 
almost  entire.  Near  the  transept  arches  lies  a  tombstone,  with  a  black- 
letter  inscription  on  its  edge. 


ASKEATON  ABBEY — NORTH-EAST  ANGLE  or  THE  CLOISTER. 
(From  a  Photograph  by  Dr.  George  Fogerty.) 


248        ROYAL    SOCIETY    OF    ANTIQUARIES    OF    IRELAND. 


The  CLOISTER. — This  beautiful  quadrangle  is,  perhaps,  the  most 
pleasing  feature  in  the  building,  and,  though  excelled  in  design  by  the 
cloisters  of  Q,uin,  Moyne,  and  Sligo,  is,  in  the  main,  a  most  excellent 
specimen  of  our  native  architecture.  Two  chamfered  arches  in  the 
roof  near  the  east  ends  of  the  north  and  south  arcades,  the  different 
character  of  the  east  arcade  and  a  joining  in  the  outer  wall,  suggest  that 
the  whole  is  an  after-thought,  and  perhaps  of  two  periods.  Each  side 
has  twelve  arches,  divided  in  triplets  by  broader  piers,  each  angle 
with  a  round  shaft,  but  the  outer  faces  continuous.  The  inside  face  of 
each  of  these  piers  has  between  its  angle  shafts — a  feature  more  curious 
than  pleasing — a  shaft  bending  round  the  cornice  like  a  modern  "  down- 
pipe."  The  cloister  measures  over  all  51  feet  2  inches  north  and  south, 

and  5 1  feet  6  inches  east  and  west.  The 
walks  are  about  6  feet  8  inches  wide ; 
the  sills  of  the  arcade  23  inches  wide ; 
the  pillars  are  3  feet  4£  inches  high ; 
the  arches  16  feet  high  from  the  capitals, 
or  4  feet  9  inches  over  the  sill.  The 
capitals  display  a  wonderful  variety  of 
filleting,  in  places  relieved  by  "nail 
heads."  In  the  north-east  pier  is  a  rude 
little  figure  of  St.  Francis,  distinguished 
by  drilled  stigmata  in  the  hands  and 
feet,  and  pointing  to  the  gash  in  his  side 
through  an  oval  opening  in  his  gown. 
He  has  a  circular  tonsure,  and  stands 
in  a  shallow  recess,  ogee-headed,  with 
pillars  to  each  side,  and  an  angular  hood 
adorned  with  crockets  and  finials,  con- 
ventional oak-leaves  and  acorns.1  The 
face  is  nearly  worn  away  by  (it  was  said 
in  1875)  the  kisses  of  the  faithful  seeking 
the  infallible  cure  for  toothache  there  to  be  found.  The  figure  is  far 
inferior  to  the  quaint  St.  Francis  in  Ennis  "  Abbey,"  and  the  admirable 
little  Dominican  Monk  recovered  from  the  ruined  cloister  at  Athenry. 
Two  of  the  pillars  of  the  southern  triplet  of  the  west  walk  had  been 
removed  to  enable  coffins  to  be  buried  in  the  garth,  as  at  Adare  Franciscan 
Convent.  They  were  traditionally  said  (in  1840)  to  have  been  removed 
by  a  French  antiquary  fifty  years  before  (1790).2  The  robber  had  changed 
his^nationality  and  become  an  Italian  by  1875.  They  are  now  replaced 
by  roughly  dressed  blocks.  On  the  sill  of  the  fourth  arch  from  the  west 
in  the  northern  walk,  on  a  highly  polished  edge  of  the  sill,  is  engraved 

1  This  pretty  ornament  also  is  found  in  the  sedilia  in  the  small  chapels  of  the 
Franciscan  Friary  at  Adare. 

2  Ordnance  Survey  Letters,  Limerick,  MSS.  E.I. A.,  14.  E.  9,  p.  454. 


ASKEATON  ABBEY. 
CARVING  OP  ST.  FRANCIS. 


NOTES  ON   ASKEATON,  COUNTY   LIMERICK.  249 

an  epitaph  :  "Beneath  lies  the  pilgrim's  Body,  who  Died  Jan.  (20  ££( 
1814)  17th,-  1784."  The  divergent  date  possibly  represents  a  later 
addition.  A  compass  (or  sun-dial),  probably  also  of  late  date,  is  found 
on  the  sill  of  the  next  recess  to  the  west.  All  the  vaulting  of  the  walks 
was  turned  over  wicker-work,  and  then  smooth-plastered.  There  are 
cornices  or  weather  ledges  over  the  north,  west,  and  south  arcades.  In 
1834  "  an  ancient  thorn  of  stately  growth"  occupied  the  garth.1  In  the 
east  wall  is  a  small  tablet,  with  a  hand  holding  a  sword,  and  having 
"  Domini  Cornelii  Shanahan,"  and  the  date  1783. 

DOMESTIC  BUILDINGS. — The  rooms  to  the  east  and  west 'of  the  cloister 
are  also  vaulted.  The  eastern  is  a  long  narrow  room,  across  which  a  wall 
was  built  in  later  times,  but  before  the  destruction  of  the  convent, 
partitioning  off  a  sort  of  porch  at  the  north.  This  has  a  pointed  and 
chamfered  door  outside,  and  another  leading  to  the  "  kitchen."  It  was 
built  up  in  1887,  but  has  been  opened  in  recent  restorations.  In  the 
main  room  going  southward  we  find  a  slit  window,  a  plain  fireplace  with 
a  semicircular  projection  or  "  oven,"  and  a  stepped  chimney  projection 
behind  it,  appearing  outside  the  wall ;  two  other  flat-topped  slits  and  a 
door  to  the  staircase  and  porch.  The  vault  was  as  usual  turned  over 
wicker,  but  has  a  raised  rib  along  the  crown,  as  if  the  wicker-work  had 
not  met  over  the  centering  timbers  when  the  vault  was  being  turned. 

A  barrel  stair,  partly  broken,  stands  in  the  south-east  corner  of  this 
wing.  It  has  a  newel,  seven  perfect  and  nine  broken  steps,  some  entirely 
removed,  three  more  broken  steps,  and  one  retaining  the  rounded  end. 
The  stair  is  in  the  chief  porch  of  the  convent.  Over  its  pointed  door  (to 
which  several  steps  lead  up  from  the  field)  are  a  weather  ledge  and  five 
corbels,  showing  that  a  pent -house  ran  along  the  outer  wall  to  a  door  in 
the  later  refectory.  The  joining  already  noted  is  found  running  up  the 
wall  four  feet  west  of  the  porch  door  to  the  level  of  the  window-sills  in 
the  upper  room.  The  original  narrow  kitchen  wing  was  evidently 
widened  by  the  vaulted  cloister  as  far  as  the  dressed  roof  arches,  and  the 
upper  room  partly  rebuilt. 

The  "  CHAPTER-ROOM." — I  adopt  this  name  from  the  Naish  tradition, 
though  it  is  more  probably  a  day-room.  It  is  a  long  vaulted  apartment  to 
the  west  of  the  cloister,  and  measures  39  feet  by  14  feet.  In  the  west  wall, 
looking  out  on  the  river,  are  three  lights,  one  flat-headed,  another  double, 
and  the  third  and  northern  having  a  curious  but  ugly  angular  adaptation 
of  a  trefoil  head.  The  greater  part  of  this  room  is  taken  up  by  the  vault 
of  the  Naishes  of  Bally cullen.  It  bears  a  long  inscription  commencing — 
"In  this  ruined  chapter-room,  the  ancient  and  exclusive  burial-place  of 
his  family,  this  tomb  was  erected  by  Carrol  Naish  of  Ballycullen,  Esqre.," 
&c.  It  commemorates  his  wife  (the  daughter  of  Denis  Sampson),  who 
died  Dec.,  1836.  The  older  family  monument  is  a  dark  limestone  tablet 

1  Lewis'  "  Topographical  Dictionary  of  Ireland,"  vol.  i.,  p.  81. 

T         t>  c  A  T  J  Vol.  xiii.,  Fifth  Series.        ) 
Jour.  R.S.A.I.  j  VoJ<          ' 


FRAGMENTS 

or 


ORIGINAL 
ADDITIONS 

B    MODERN 

D    FOUNDATIONS 


a.  Carving  of  Bishop. 

b.  Stephenson  Monument. 

c.  Sedilia. 

d.  Passage. 


ASK.EATON  ABBEY — PLAN. 

e.  Dwyer  Vault. 

f.  Carving  of  St.  Francis. 
g;  Naish  Vault. 

h.  Garderobes. 


*.  Dial. 

/.  Pilgrim's  epitaph. 
k.  Cross-shaped  light. 
/.  Reader's  recess. 


NOTES  ON  ASKEATON,  COUNTY  LIMERICK.      251 

set  in  the  wall.  It  has  an  armorial  carving  ;  crest,  a  dog(?)  sejant ;  arms 
(Naish),  a  chevron  between  three  birds  holding  twigs  ;  impaling  (Carrol),1 
a  sword  between  two  lions  counter-rampant ;  with  crude  mantlings. 
Below  are  three  lines  :  "  Marito  suo  Domino  Patricio  Naish  Acq  |  psteris 
hoc  bustum  fieri  fecit  Domina  Su  |  zana  Naish  Alias  Carrol  Anno  Domini 
1741."  At  each  top  corner  is  an  I.H.S.  interlaced. 

The  "  PRISON." — This  little  room  suggests  (even  if  does  not  actually 
deserve)  its  name.  It  was  very  possibly  (like  the  undoubted  prison  in 
the  garderobe  tower  at  Ennis  Abbey)  a  cell  for  punishing  offenders.  It 
lies  at  the  south  end  of  the  "  chapter-room,"  and  was  entered  from  the 
outside  of  the  building  which,  owing  to  the  steep  slope  towards  the  river, 
is  10  feet  lower  than  the  cloister  wall.  The  "prison"  has  the  usual 
wicker-marked  pointed  roof,  and  seems  to  have  at  one  time  been  entered 
only  by  a  door  some  height  above  the  ground,  near  the  staircase  in  the 
wall  from  the  upper  west  room.  It  was  only  lighted  by  a  little  slit- 
window,  un glazed,  and  placed  in  a  recess  roofed  with  flags,  which 
forms  a  garderobe  with  a  stone  seat. 

UPPER  ROOMS. — Before  dealing  with  what  are  evidently  later  additions 
to  the  convent  on  the  ground-level,  we  may  examine  the  upper  story. 
These  rooms,  we  may  notice,  in  all  cases  bear  no  signs  of  having  had 
glazed  windows.  The  slots  for  tongues  of  metal  frames,  so  usual  in  other 
monasteries  and  even  in  the  castles,  are  here  absent.  It  may  be  suggested 
that  glazed  wooden  frames  fitted  inside  the  opes,  but  no  trace  is  left. 
Before  the  conservation  of  the  building  access  was  difficult,  as,  except  by 
the  dangerous  and  broken  barrel  stair,  the  higher  floors  could  only  be 
reached  by  a  difficult  scramble  to  the  door  of  the  "  prison."  A  flight  of 
modern  steps  now  leads  up  to  this  opening ;  thence  (passing  the  main 
garderobe}  we  ascend  an  ancient  flight  of  eighteen  steps  in  the  thickness 
of  the  south  wall,  and  reach  the  western  room  above  the  "  chapter-room." 
It  commands  a  pleasing  outlook  over  the  outbuildings  of  the  Friary  up 
to  the  picturesque  bridge  and  the  towering  ruins  of  the  Desmond's  Castle, 
the  shattered  Club  House,  and  the  dancing  tidal  stream,  muddy  from  its 
plunge  over  "  Gephthine's  Cascade"  and  the  rush  over  the  shallows  near 
the  castle.2 

The  room  has  in  its  southern  gable,  first  (to  the  east)  the  staircase 
door,  there  being  an  oblong  light  inside  the  recess  ;  a  large  window  with 
two  pointed  lights  (the  shaft  removed),  its  splay  is  turned  over  wicker, 
and  it  has  stone  seats  of  unequal  size  in  the  recess ;  to  the  west  are 
another  oblong  slit  and  a  square  ambry.  The  side  walls  have  each  four 
chamfered  windows  unevenly  spaced,  with  lintels  over  the  splays  and 
pointed  lights.  Two  doorways,  pointed  and  chamfered,  open  at  each 

1  These  arms  of  the  Carrols  appear  well  engraved  on  the  brass  face  of  a  fine  old 
clock  made  in  Birr,  1749,  and  now  in  Ballycullen,  the  residence  of  the  Naish  family. 
The  latter,  it  may  be  recalled,  were  among  the  residents  of  Iniskifty  so  far  back  as 
1346,  and  have  resided  near  Askeaton  to  the  present  day. 

2  See  p.  23,  supra. 

S2 


252          ROYAL    SOCIETY    OF    ANTIQUARIES    OF    IRELAND. 

extremity  of  the  eastern  wall  to  passages  above  the  cloister.  The 
northern  door  opened  back  into  the  room,  the  southern  into  the  passage. 
The  northern  end  against  the  main  south  wall  of  the  church  is  pierced  by 
a  small  slit  looking  into  that  structure.  There  are  also  two  curious 
recesses,  one  straight  and  one  curved,  as  if  long  beams  had  been  embedded 
in  the  face  of  the  wall.  The  gutters  have  flat  stone  slabs  and  blocks 
covering  their  joints. 

The  northern  passage  is  spanned  by  two  semicircular  arches,  or  rather 
chamfered  ribs,  for  the  support  of  water-channels  from  the  south  gutters 
of  the  church.  They  were  in  a  very  insecure  state,  with  spandrels  only 
next  the  church ;  but  masonry  has  been  built  on  the  outer  flanks  which, 
though  it  obscures  the  original  design,  preserves  this  interesting  feature. 
A  projecting  corbel  in  the  north  wall  enabled  one  to  reach  the  church- 
gutters  through  a  break  which  is  now  closed.  Some  plain  ambries  remain 
in  the  wall.  Former  exploration  was  both  difficult  and  dangerous  from 
the  thick  ivy.  The  passage  was  lit  by  two  windows,  now  defaced,  and 
had  a  doorway  at  the  east  end,  over  which  ran  another  water-channel, 
now  broken  down  ;  the  gargoyles  are  large  and  plain,  projecting  diago- 
nally from  the  corners  of  the  garth. 

The  eastern  room  is  greatly  defaced,  but  retains  its  large  southern 
window,  with  a  (partly  restored)  shaft  and  a  transom ;  the  upper  heads 
are  ogee.  The  four  windows  towards  the  cloister  are  all  defaced ;  the 
third  has  been  restored — it  lias  double  ogee  lights.  The  east  wall  is 
intact ;  the  flue  of  the  kitchen  fireplace  opens  into  the  upper  fireplace 
in  this  room,  and  seems  to  have  been  an  after-thought ;  between  it 
and  the  stair  are  two  ogee  lights.  To  the  north  of  the  fireplace  is 
a  cinquefoil-headed  light,  while  an  oblong  slit  and  a  sink  on  the 
floor-level  (with  a  projecting  gargoyle)  are  at  the  head  of  the  barrel 
stair. 

The  south  passage  above  the  cloister  had  a  door  (now  nearly  removed, 
save  one  springing  block)  at  its  east  end,  opening  back  into  the  room. 
The  sills  of  two  windows  remain  next  the  cloister,  and  of  one  (and 
there  was  probably  a  second)  corresponding  light  in  the  broken  outer 
wall. 

The  REFECTOHY. — This  is  a  two-storied  building,  50  feet  2  inches  by 
20  feet  9  inches  internally,  almost  exactly  the  size  of  the  main  chapel  of 
the  transept.  Two  doorways  open  into  the  upper  floor  from  the  south 
cloister.  Their  object  is  not  clear,  unless  one  was  partitioned  off  for 
a  wooden  staircase  to  the  main  room,  or  as  a  passage  to  the  garderobe. 
The  east  wall  was  in  a  very  insecure  condition  when  this  survey  was 
made  (in  1886,  1887),  as  four  great  gaps  had  been  broken  through  it, 
the  southern  at  least  breaking  an  older  window ;  two  upper  windows 
remain  in  it.  It  has  been  judiciously  repaired. 

The  upper  room  has  a  fine  pointed  window,  with  a  splay  and  double 
light,  having  lesser  lights  on  either  side,  that  to  the  left  having  an  ogee 


NOTES    ON    ASKEATON,    COUNTY    LIMERICK. 


253 


head,   that  to  the  right  having  a  stepped  head.     The  type  of  the  last 
occurs  elsewhere  in  the  convent  and  also  in  the  castle.1 

There  are  six  ohlong  and  chamfered  slits  in  the  west  wall,  an  ambry 
and  a  door  into  the  large  garderobe,  and,  as  we  have  said,  two  into  the 
cloister.  The  lower  room  was  evidently  the  refectory.  It  has  no 
southern  window ;  but  we  find  in  the  west  wall  (going  northward),  first 
a  neat  double  ogee-headed  window,  then  the  reader's  recess  in  a  projec- 
tion of  the  main  wall.  It  had  three  arches  with  detached  and  lofty 


ASKEATON  ABBEY — THE  REFECTORY. 
(From  a  Photograph  by  Mr.  T.  F.  Geoghegan.) 

pillars  ;  the  southern  had  fallen  with  the  adjoining  half  arches,  and  the 
recess  was  called  "  the  confessional"  in  1875.  Another  light,  a  broken 
ope,  and  a  skew  passage  leading  into  the  side  vault  remain. 

GARDEROBE  and  VAULTED  ROOM. — Another  room  runs  westward  along 
the  southern  wall  of  the  domicile,  projecting  at  an  acute  angle  at  its 
western  end  for  14  feet.  It  is  heavily  vaulted  over  wicker  centres. 

1  This  form  of  window  is  the  subject  of  an  interesting  section  of  the  article  by 
Mr.  J.  H.  Parker,  in  the  Gentleman  s  Magazine,  vol.  xvii.,  Part  n.,  p.  544,  when 
describing  the  ruins  at  Askeaton. 


254        ROYAL   SOCIETY    OF    ANTIQUARIES    OF   IRELAND. 

There  are  two  large  ambries  and  a  small  one  in  the  western  end.  In  the 
south  wall  (going  westward)  are  a  flat-topped  window,  a  large  ambry,  a 
low  window  with  a  cross -slit,  a  pointed  window,  and  a  recess.  Above 
this  room  we  reach  (by  the  new  steps  in  the  "  prison  ")  the  great  garde- 
robe.  It  had  a  low  lean-to  roof,  under  which  was  an  attic  lit  by  a  small 
slit  to  the  east.  The  room  is  38  feet  6  inches  long,  and  has  doorways  to 
the  east  and  north ;  its  ceiling  was  supported  along  the  north  wall  by 
beams  resting  on  hooked  corbels.  It  has  low,  oblong  lights  to  the  south 
(one  broken).  The  gutters  have  flags  projecting  under  slight  battle- 
ments ;  their  joints  were  covered  with  stones,  rounded  or  gabled  with 
angular  "  side  throws"  ;  their  outer  edge  rests  on  a  cornice  and  corbels. 
The  pit  extends  across  the  west  end  of  the  room,  and  has  an  oblong  slit 
behind  it. 

The  convent  stands  in  a  field  enclosed  by  ancient  walls  8  feet  to  12 
feet  high  and  4  feet  thick.  There  is  a  closed  arch,  of  no  great  apparent 
age,  near  the  refectory. 

"  HOSPICE." — A  detached  building,  probably  the  hospice  or  infirmary, 
lies  to  the  east,  and  measures  96  feet  4  inches  by  22  feet  2  inches  inter- 
nally. There  is  a  small  slit  in  the  middle  of  the  east  wall.  The  south 
end  is  alone  entire,  being  two  stories  high,  each  having  a  window  with 
an  oblong  splay ;  the  upper  light  is  oblong,  the  lower  pointed ;  in  the 
summit  of  the  gable  is  a  small  semicircular  ope.  Only  18  feet  of  the 
west  wall  remains  ;  this  fragment  has  only  a  plain  ambry. 

Down  to  1886  the  place  was  in  a  ghastly  state  of  neglect,  heaped  with 
skulls,  bones,  and  coffin-planks.  Cattle  were  able  to  invade  the  cloister, 
and  a  bull  had  "  horned  up  "  the  graves  in  every  direction,  disinterring 
more  than  one  coffin  from  its  shallow  recess.  Fortunately  such  abuses 
are  now  at  an  end,  and  as  a  "National  Monument "  we  may  hope  that 
the  convent  may  remain,  secure  from  further  demolition  and  desecration, 
to  give  to  future  generations  a  memento  of  the  skill  of  the  nameless 
builders  and  of  the  power  and  piety  of  that  great  and  historic  but  most 
hapless  race — the  Fitzgeralds  of  Desmond. 


CORRIGENDA  AND  ADDENDA. 

Page  164.— Add  to  list  of  Members  of  Parliament : — 1634.  Sir  Hardress  Waller, 
Knight,  and  Maurice  Williams,  Esq. 

Page  167,  note  1. — The  entry  "  Mr.  Purcell,  alias  Barkeley,"  is  given  in  other 
places  as  "Mrs.,"  which  removes  the  difficulty.  There  is,  however,  another  later 
Francis  Berkeley  living  in  1657,  near  Loughnaguirra  and  Knockdrowm  Asill,  or  Tory 
Hill,  who  cannot  he  located  in  the  family  pedigree. 

Page  35. — Lewis  ("Top.  Diet.,"  vol.  i.,  p.  392)  alleges  that  Morgan's  Church 
(Dysert  Merogari)  was  huilt  hy  the  Franciscans  of  Askeaton  in  1498.  The  remains 
bear  out  the  statement  as  to  the  date  (see  O'Donovan's  Ordnance  Survey  Letters  on 
Limerick,  R.I.A.,  14.  E.  9,  p.  446). 

Page  163,  line  7. — However,  as  to  foundation  of  the  College  Library,  see  to  the 
contrary  Rev.  J.  Pentland  Mahaffy,  F.T.C.D.,  in  Hermathena,  1902. 


(     255     ) 


DIARY  OF  WILLIAM  KING,  D.D.,  ARCHBISHOP  OF  DUBLIN, 
DURING  HIS   IMPRISONMENT   IN   DUBLIN   CASTLE. 

EDITED  (WITH  INTRODUCTION,  NOTES,  AND  APPENDIX) 
BY  HUGH  JACKSON  LAWLOR,  D.D. 

(Continued  from  page  152.) 

[*]— Aug.  16."      ....     thecomm 

told  a -ford  we [endeav-] 

our  to  get house 

.  .  but  had could  not 

about sent  to 

-etory  of he  said  he  was  [g]otten        .... 

his  estate  but  yl  the  woud       .     .     of  ye  militia -wh  he 

-cept  said  he  let  ym  fight  .  .  estates  under  ye  King  as  .... 
yet  recd  any  profits  on  .  .  .  ly  in  Jail  rather  yn  engage  .... 
reflected  on  this  discourse  &  .  .  not  ye  only  man  of  this  hum[our] 
MrFitz:  heard  that  Lord  M: 47  ha[d]  *  .  .  .  Eniskillen  to  ye  K:  to 
be  favou[rable]  ....  [pro]testants  were  assuring  him  that  ye  .  .  .  . 
R:  C:  in  Ulster  depended  on  it  .  .  .  [resoljved  to  grant  no  quar- 
ters if  ....  used  here  &  that  ye  people  of  ....  to  ye 
same  purpose  and  like[wise]  .  .  written  from  derry 

[*]—[Auff.l7]    .    .     .    only  in  the   ....    as  y*    ....     .    d 
prisoners]  .     rd  .     .     .     .     only  that  .     er  son     .     .     . 

invaders were  2000 [C]ork 

[v]oluntiers       ...     landed    ...     on  ...       account     .     .     . 
a    ...     was  put  on   ...     likewise  that  all  protes[tants]     .     .     . 

-ed  by  special   license en  to  bru- 

ers  horses48  y*   Judge  Keatings   horses49     .... 

(46)  This  leaf  is  torn,  so  that  only  the  beginnings  of  the  lines  on  the  recto  and  the 
ends  of  the  lines  on  the  verso  remain. 

(47)  LordMelfort(P). 

(48)  There  is  evidently  a  reference  here  to  the  seizure,  by  "  several  officers  of  the 
army,"  of  "  the  horses  made  use  of  by  the  common  brewers  of  Dublin  for  carrying  on 
their  trade,"  which  was  regarded  by  the  Commissioners  of  Revenue  as  "  much  to  the 
prejudice  of  his  majesties  revenue  of  excise,"   and   was  in  consequence  protested 
against  by  them,  26th  July,  1689.     A  proclamation  was  issued  by  Tyrconnell  on  the 
4th  September,  determining  the  number  of  horses  which  might  be  retained  by  the 
several  brewers  of  the  city  and  its  neighbourhood  (A.  K.,  p.  615).     For  references  to 
authorities  quoted,  see  p.  139. 

(49)  John  Keating,  Chief  Justice  of  Common  Pleas,  younger  son  of  Edmund  or 
Edward  Keating,  of  Narraghmore,  in  the  county  Kildare,  who  died  in  1683.     Chief 
Justice  Keating  was  a  Protestant,  and  was  named  a  burgess  of  Swords  in  the  new 


256          ROYAL    SOCIETY    OF   ANTIQUARIES    OF    IRELAND. 

\_Aug.  18.  I  pre]ached  twice  on  2  Cor.  5. 50  .  .  .  sacrament  on 
Sunday 51  .  .  .  .  er  &c.  were  permitted  to  [come  up.  In  the 
mor]ning  Mr  S e52  came  up  [&  told  me  y*]  Maxwell53  had  de- 
serted [and  gone  over  to  y]e  rebels  and  y*  Sr  Thomas  [Newcomen  had] 
gotten  a  great  party  in  the  [county  of  Long]ford  &  had  seised  the  fort 
[of  Lanesborough  &]  made  himself  master — [39] — of  y1  country  [lead- 
in]ge  into  Connaught.54  In  the  afternoon  Mr  .  .  r  came  up  and 
discoursed  several  things.  He  told  me  y*  J:  K 55  told  him  y*  he 

charter  granted  by  King  James.  He  was  appointed  Chief  Justice  in  1679,  and  held 
office  till  1691,  when  he  was  dismissed  by  William  III.  He  endeavoured  to  mediate 
between  the  opposing  parties  with  regard  to  the  repeal  of  the  Act  of  Settlement 
(S.P.I.,  chap,  in.,  §3,  and  App. '22,  pp.  64,  377  (recte  385);  D' Alton,  p.  829). 
The  statement  in  the  text,  of  which  only  a  few  words  remain,  was  probably  to  the 
effect  that  Judge  Heating's  horses  were  among  those  which  had  been  seized  by  the 
government. 

(50)  2  Cor.  iii.  4  is  the  first  verse  of  the  Epistle  for  the  day  (12th  Sunday  after 
Trinity) :    5  is  probably  a  slip  for  3. 

(51)  These  words  must  in  some  way  refer  to  the  celebration  of  the  Holy  Com- 
munion which  took  place  on  the  following  Sunday  (25th  August). 

(52)  Apparently  Mr.  Spike  (see  3rd  October) .% 

(53)  Thomas  Maxwell,  Brigadier,  and  Colonel  of  the  seventh  Eegiment  of  Dragoons. 
His  retreat  to  Newry  (Introduction,  p.  133)  may  have  given  rise  to  the  report  which 
King  here  chronicles.     It  was  certainly  false,  for  Maxwell  continued  to  fight  under  the 
Jacobite  colours  till  the  end  of  the  war,  taking  part  in  all  the  greater  engagements. 
At  the  same  time  a  mysterious  statement  in  a  despatch  of  Schomberg's  must  not  be 
forgotten.     "Writing  to  King  "William  under  the  date  16th  August,  he  says:  "  From 
what  can  be  learnt  by  the  discourse  of  Brigadier  Maxuel  the  enemy  will  muster  towards 
Charlemont,  and  King  James  is  resolved  to  give  battle.    They  expect  aid  from  France 
in  a  few  days,  and  will  encamp  within  four  miles  of  Dublin  "  (S.  P.  D.,  p.  222).    The 
information  was  certainly  not  very  accurate.    "Was  it  merely  the  report  of  an  eaves- 
dropper ?     Or  did  Maxwell  hold  clandestine  communication  with  the  enemy  ?    At  any 
rate,  for  some  reason  he  was  constantly  suspected  by  a  section  of  the  followers  of 
James  II.     Thus  O'Kelly  calls  him  a  "  pretended  "   Eoman  Catholic.     Purcell  and 
Henry  Luttrell  on  one  occasion,  it  is  said,  were  on  the  point  of  throwing  him  into  the 
sea  ;  it  is  stated  that  the  capture  of  Athlone,  30th  June,  1690,  was  due  to  his  incom- 
petence or  treachery  ;  and  carelessness  is  also  ascribed  to  him  in  connexion  with  the 
defence  of  Limerick.     Maxwell  was  a  Scotchman.    He  had  the  command  of  a  regiment 
of  dragoons  in  England,  and  followed  James  in  his  flight  thence  to  St.  Germain. 
After  the  capitulation  of  Limerick  he  again  went  to  France,  and  fought  bravely  on  the 
Continent.      His   wife  was   Jane,   widow  of  the  sixth  Duke  of  Norfolk  (Macariae 
Excidium,  p.  122,  sq. ;  D'Alton,  p.  408). 

(54)  Sir  Thomas  Newcomen  of  Sutton,  County  Dublin,  knighted  about  1666-7, 
was  an  illegitimate  son  of  Sir  Beverley  Newcomen,    Bart.,   Admiral   of   the  Irish 
Seas.     He  had  been  a  colonel  in  James's  Army,  but  he  deprived  him  of  his  commund, 
"  though  he  could  object  nothing  against  [him]  but  [his!  Eeligion."    A  Short  View  of 
the  Methods  made  use  of  in  Ireland  for  the  Subversion  and  Destruction  of  Protestant 
Eeligion  and  Interest  in  that  Kingdom.     By  a  Clergy  Man  lately  escaped  from  thence, 
London,   1689,  p.   29.     The  first  overt  act  of  rebellion  on  the  part  of  the  men  of 
Enniskillen  was  the  refusal  to  quarter  two  companies  of  his  regiment  sent  thither  by 
Tyrconnell.     His  name  is  frequently  written  "  Newford"  in  contemporary  pamphlets. 
He  died  1694-5.    His  first  wife  was  Frances,  widow  of  James  Cusack  of  Cushenstown, 
County  Meath,  and  daughter  of  Sir  William  Talbot  of  Carton,  County  Kildare.     He 
was  thus  Tyrconnell's  brother-in-law. 

It  seems  likely  that  the  fort  was  the  castle  of  Lanesborough,  reported  two  days 
later  to  be  "  in  the  hands  of  Sir  Thomas  Newcomen."  Situated  on  the  Shannon  at 
the  north  end  of  Lough  Kee,  its  bridge  connects  Leinster  with  Connaught.  Lanes- 
borough  is  only  six  or  seven  miles  from  Keenagh,  Newcomen's  residence  in  the  county 
Longford.  See  further  below  at  9th  November. 

(55)  Judge  Keating  ?    Perhaps  referring  to  his  horses  being  seized.     See  above, 
note  49. 


DIARY  OF  WILLIAM  KING,  D.D.,  ARCHBISHOP  OF  DUBLIN.     257 

wished  for  his  own  part  y*  he  were  in  some  jail,  reckoning  y*  more 
secure  [than]  being  abroad,  y*  it  was  confidently]  reported  Coll. 
Sarcefield  was  in  [Athlone]  and  y*  he  was  under  some  disgrace  .... 
led  by  a  party  about  Foxford  and  [had]  lost  by  surprise  near  600. 5& 
I  coud  not  [give]  credit  to  any  of  these  story  (sic)  because  [I  did] 
not  find  y*  they  were  confirmed  [by  any]  other  yn  vulgar  surmises. 

About Mrs  Fanning57  came   up  to  see  us  &  two    [gentle]- 

women  one  of  which  was   called tother  was  a  daughter  of 

Mr  Odall  [who  is]  in  Jail  at   Limerick.58      Our  discourse 

common.     Mrs  Fanning  was  a  R:  C:  [but  she]  said  y*  she  had  a  brother 

come   ov[er   with]    ye   invaders.      We   observed    off 59   ye 

some  tents  towards  Glassnevin  [which  we]  concluded  to  be  designed 
for  ye  K. 

Aug.   19. — Nothing  remarkable  only   L*  Cu[mber:    came]  in   the 

morning  &  told  [me]  y*  Coll.  Bark[er] as  y1  morning,  but  he 

did  not.60  We  were  [told] — [40] — y*  one  Cap*  Lavallin  was  to  ... 
ye  camp, 6l  &  a  sergeant  at  ye  artillery  yard  [was  c]ondemned  by  a 

(56)  Compare  Introduction,  p.  132.     I  have  not  found  elsewhere  any  reference  to 
the  affair  of  Foxford.     It  is  difficult  to  understand  why  Sarsfield  should  have  passed 
that  place  on  his  way  to  Athlone.     On  his  career,  see  D.  N.  B.,  1.,  p.  305. 

(57)  Fanning  is  a  Limerick  name   (D'Alton,  p.  828  ;    Dowd,   Hound  about   the 
County  of  Limerick,  1896,  p.   312).     Baron  Rice's  mother  was  Phillis  Fanning,  of 
Limerick  (D'Alton,  p.  183). 

(58)  John  Odell  was  High  Sheriff  of  Limerick  in  1678  and  1679,  and  John  Odell 
(the  same?)  was  M.P.  for  Askeaton,  1692-1695.     Lieut.-Col.  W.  Odell  was  one  of  the 
members  for  the  county  of  Limerick,  1797-1818  (Dowd,  pp.  320,  327,  330).    "  Charles 
Odle,  of  Castlemackeniry,  Gent.,"  was  among  the  attainted  of  1689  (S.  P.  I.,  p.  248). 

(59)  Possibly  "  all  "  or  "  att." 

(60)  William  Maunsell   (or    Mansfield)    Barker,    Lieut. -Colonel    of    the  King's 
Eegiment  of  Foot,  Lieutenant  of  the  Ordnance  and  afterwards   Brigadier.     He  was 
killed  at  Aughrim,  when  in  command  of  the  Infantry  (D'Alton,  pp.  414,  420  ;   J.  N., 
pp.  142,  787  ;  Stuart  Papers,  p.  42).     He  was  Constable  of  the  Castle,  as  we  learn  from 
Paraphrase,  p.  80. 

(61)  Captain  Peter  Lavallin,  of  Carroll's  Dragoons,  whose  estates  were  forfeited  in 
1691  (D'Alton,  p.  380).     The  story  is  thus  told  in  J.  N.,  p.  81  :  Mountcashel,  return- 
ing from  his  unsuccessful  attack  on  Crum  Castle,  "  sent  before  him  most  of  his  horse 
and  dragoons  under  brigadier  Anthony  Hamilton.   .  .  .  Hamilton  was  met  by  the 
enemy  unexpectedly  near  Newtown- Butler  and  attacked,  while  the  Lord  of  Mount- 
cashel was  approaching  with  the  main  body.     But  after  a  short  dispute,  brigadier 
Hamilton  sent  the  word  by  captain  Lavallin  to  his  men  to  wheel  to  the  left,  as  if  it 
were  to  rejoin  Mountcashel.     Lavallin  delivered  it  '  to  the  left  about,'  as  he  thought 
it  was,  though  Hamilton  maintained  it  afterwards  that  it  was  as  aforesaid  ;  whereupon 
the  men  marched  off  the  field  and  flew  away,  as  did  the  brigadier."     Thus  was  the 
Battle  of  Newtown  Butler  lost.     "But  how  this  mistake  in  delivering  the  abovesaid 
word  happened  (which  gave  the  occasion  of  that  retreating)  it  hath  been  disputed.     In 
three  weeks  after  the  action,  brigadier  Anthony  Hamilton  and  captain  Lavallin  were 
brought  to  a  trial  before  a  court-martial  in  Dublin,  wherein  general  de  Rosen  sate 

President.  The  brigadier  was  acquitted,  and  the  captain  condemned  to  a  military 
eath,  though  at  his  execution  he  protested  that  he  delivered  the  word  as  he  had 
received  it ;  and  many  believed  his  protestation.  He  was  a  gentleman  of  a  good  estate 
in  the  county  of  Cork,  within  twelve  miles  of  that  city,  [viz.,  Walterstown,  or 
"Waterstown  in  the  Parish  of  Templerobin,  near  Queenstown,  granted  to  Patrick 
Lavallin  in  1686  :  see  Records  of  the  forfeitures  of  1691  in  the  Public  Record  Office, 
Dublin,  and  Abstract  of  Grants  .  .  .  under  the  Commission  of  Grace,  1839,  p.  45], 


258        ROYAL    SOCIETY    OF   ANTIQUARIES    OF   IRELAND. 

council  of  war  for  some  misbehaviour.     We  were  told  also  y*  Mr  T r 

had  declared  to  Mr3  L n62  y*  ye  King  woud  give  ye  enemy  [battle 

ajbout  Dundalk  &  if  he  was  beaten  he  [woud  th]en  order  to  lay  Dublin 
in  ashes :  but  we  [heard  f]rom  another  hand  y*  ye  King  was  [very 
a]ngry  at  this  report.  We  had  likewise  [heard]  y*  Colrain  & 
Carrigfergus  were  both  [deserted]  by  the  King's  party ; 63  y1  some 

forces  were Munster,   but  we  coud  learn  no  cer[tainty  of] 

any  of  these.     I  heard  that  Mr  K.'s  brother64 s:   being   as 

said  sent  by  Ld  M  : 65  but  his  [brother]  was  very  angry  with  him  & 
woud  not  see  [him.  Mr]  Crow  was  visited  by  a  fryer  who  did  [intreat]e 

him  to  come  out  of  prison.     Coll: 66  wrote  to  Mr  Fitz:  y1  he 

endea[voured'to  co]me  &  give  him  a  visite  but  was  [hindered  by]  ye 
Cap1  of  ye  guard  by  name  Cap1  [Roch. 67  It]  was  sd  y1  Lord  Milford 

was   petitioned the   officers   of   ye   army  and   y1  he  was   to 

and  y1  yre  were  some  dissentions about  ye  miscarriage 

of  some  affaires.68  [We  saw]  likewise  several  chairs  &  other  .... 
stuff  removing  out  of  the  Castle. 

\±\}—Aug.  19.—  Mr  Ors:69  was  informed  y1  Coll,  Blunt70  had 
declared  y1  they  had  only  one  chance  for  their  whole  affair  which  was 
the  success  of  a  battel,  for  he  was  afraid  y1  ye  french  fleet  had  ye  worst 
in  a  fight  at  sea. 

Aug.  20. — Lieut.  Cum:  came  up  to  breakfast  with  us  he  told  us  y1 
Sligo,  Eoyle  &  Roscommon  were  burnt  by  Coll.  Sarcefield  in  his 
retreat71  &  y1  Lanesborough  was  in  the  hands  of  Sir  Thomas 
Newcomen.72  Mr  C.  came  up  &  told  us  y1  Sir  Rich.  Nagle  was  to 

and  was  much  regretted  by  his  friends."  Evidently  the  writer  shared  the  view  of 
many  (see  21st  August),  and  had  little  confidence  in  the  justice  of  de  Rosen's 
sentence. 

(62)  Perhaps  <  L h.' 

(63)  This  was  true  of  Coleraine,  and  had  some  foundation  in  fact  in  the  case  of 
Carrickfergus.     (See  Introduction,  p.  133,  and  compare  note  53  ahove). 

(64)  This  is  almost  certainly  Thomas   King,   who  is  called   by  Mason  (App., 
p.  Ixxvii.),    on  the   authority  of  a   contemporary  pamphlet,  the   title  of   which  he 
does  not  give,  Archhishop  King's  nephew.      He  was  sixth  son  of  James  King,  of 
Corrard,  and  therefore  a  younger  brother  of  Robert  King,  of  Swords.     (Lotigh  Erne, 
p.  56).     He  graduated   in  Trinity  College,  Dublin,  in  1684  (Catalogue  of  Graduates), 
and  was  made  Prebendary  of  Swords  in  1703-4.       He  is  mentioned  again  under  the 
date  13th  October. 

(65)  Lord  Melfort(P). 

(66)  1'erhaps  Col.  Clifford,  who  visited  Fitzgerald  two  days  later. 

(67)  The  name 'of  Roch  is  suggested  by  the  mention  of  an  officer  of  that  name 
under  the  dates  10th,  llth  September;  but  perhaps  Cumberford  is  meant. 

(68)  Milford,  I  suppose,  is  merely  a  various  spelling  of  Melfort.     The  reference 
must  be  to  one  of  the  many  quarrels  between  the  unpopular  Secretary  of  State  and  the 
officers  of  the  army. 

(69)  Mr.  Ormsby,  on  whom  see  above,  note  6. 

(70)  This  may  be  George  Blount  who  served  under  Lord  Dover  in  the  4th  Troop  of 
Horse  Guards  (Charles  Dalton's  English  Army  Lists,  vol.  ii.,  p.  75). 

(71)  See  Introduction,  p.  132. 

(72)  See  above,  note  54. 


DIARY  OF  WILLIAM  KING,  D.D.,  ARCHBISHOP  OF  DUBLIN.    259 

be  secretary  of  state.73  There  were  two  very  lying  Gentries  told 
many  lying  stories  of  Deny.  I  desired  them  not  to  ly,  for  what  they 
said  was  impossible  to  be  true.  They  told  us  y*  they  had  killed  10m  & 
60  men  at  Derry  &  left  only  600  alive. 

Mem.  that  on  the  19th  we  heard  y*  several  persons  refrained  bringing 
butter,  cheese  &c.  to  ye  markets  because  they  woud  not  be  obliged  to 
take  brass  monies  &  y*  such  money  began  to  be  scrupled. 

I  saw  a  piece  of  ye  Prince  of  O.'s  money.  Twas  a  half  crown  with 
two  faces  on  one  side  anno  Regni  primo  Deus  et  tutamen,  about  it  Gul: 
et  Maria.  M.  Brettanniae  Franciae  et  Hib:  Rex  et  llegina  on  the  sides 
with  ye  arms  of  England  &  a  lion  in  ye  midst. 

About  6  in  ye  afternoon  L*  Baker74  came  up  and  intimated  to  us  y1 
yre  was  a  generall  order  to  Bail  us,  which  we  received  with  some 
surprise.  "We  resolved  not  to  pay  the  constable's75  unreasonable 
demands. 

[*] — Aug.  21. — We  heard  nothing  further  of  our  being  bail  only 
Mr  Weaver76  came  up  &  reasoned  the  case  whether  it  were  better  to 
be  bailed  or  remain  confined.  It  was  resolved  y*  it  was  safer  to  remain, 
only  y*  it  must  be  done  without  disobling  (sic) "  if  therefore  liberty 
were  offered  we  were  not  to  refuse  it  except  we  coud  find  some  reason- 
able pretence  which  might  not  exasperate.  As  to  ye  matter  of  fees 
twas  resolved  yl  we  woud  call  for  ye  table  of  fees  before  we  went  out 
&  offer  him  according  to  our  quality  &  ye  table  if  he  demanded  any 
more  we  woud  offer  security  to  answer  his  action,  if  he  woud  not  accept 
of  this  we  woud  refuse  to  leave  ye  Castle  till  this  were  adjusted.  This 
we  resolved  to  condescend  to  lest  it  shoud  be  said  y*  we  lay  in  for  our 
fees. 

It  was  reported  y*  Canigfergus  was  not  deserted  as  had  bin  sup- 
posed, y'.Athlone  was  judged  untenable,78  y1  some  horse  were  landed 
out  of  England,  y4  his  majesty  was  to  leave  Dublin  to-morrow  &  go  to 
fight  the  rebels  in  ye  north,  y1  Ld  Tir.  was  to  be  governour  in 

(73)  Sir  Richard  Nagle  was  descended  from  an  old  Cork  family,  and  is  said  to  have 
been  educated  by  Jesuits  with  a  view  to  being  admitted  to  Holy  Orders.     He  was 
called  to  the  Bar,  and  in  1686  became  Attorney -General.     He  was  Speaker  of  the 
Irish  Parliament  in  1689,  and  in  the  September  of  that  year  was  appointed  principal 
Secretary  of  State.     He  left  Ireland  with  James,  but  returned  in  January,  1690-1. 
The  date  of  his  death  is  uncertain.     Throughout  his  career  he  supported  the  policy  of 
Tyrconnell,  being  the  first  to  propose  the  repeal  of  the  Act  of  Settlement,  and  after- 
wards very  active  in  the  matter  of  the  writs  of  Quo  "Warranto  by  which  the  corporations 
of  Ireland  were  deprived  of  their  charters  (D.  N.  B.,  xl.,  p.  22).     The  remark  made  in 
the  text  seems  to  prove  that  it  was  already  anticipated  that  Melfort  would  be  dismissed 
from  office,  if  Macaulay  is  right  in  saying  that  Nagle  succeeded  him  (M.,  p.  420). 

(74)  Was  this  Captain  Francis  Baker,  of  Lord  Bophin's  Foot  (D'Alton,  p.  764)  ? 

(75)  The  Constable  of  the  Castle. 

(76)  Possibly  Mr.  John  Weaver,  one  of  the  twelve  imprisoned  in  Newgate.     See 
above,  note  2. 

(77)  Possibly  « disabling.' 

(78)  I  do  not  know  what  truth  there  may  have  been  in  this  rumour.     At  the  time 
the  town  was  held  by  D'Anglour  with  some  foot  (Life,  p.  372). 


260         ROYAL    SOCIETY   OF    ANTIQUARIES    OF    IRELAND. 

his  absence.79     E:  Moor  who  had  been  bailed    some   days  before  was 
brought  into  ye  Castle  with  two  files  of  men.80 

About  6  in  ye  afternoon  Coll.  Clifford81  visited  Mr  Fitz:  and  told 
him  y*  ye  King  intended  to  go  down  to  ye  North  &  stay  two  or  three 
days  at  Drogheda,  &  yn  go  forward  to  meet  Schomberg  &  the  invaders 
who  were  all  new  raised  men ;  y*  ye  King's  army  woud  be  above 
40m,82  y*  he  feared  yre  were  a  great  many  bad  officers— [43]— y*  he 
found  ye  private  [soldiers  much]  dissatisfied  concerning  ye  death  of 
Lavallin  *3  who  did  not  deserve  to  dy  so  well  as  some  of  his  accusers, 
y*  he  dyed  very  bravely.  He  sd  further  to  M18  Fitz: 8i  who  ex  [pressed 
her]  fear  of  some  mischief  to  ye  prpsoners  in]  case  the  army  &  his  Majy 
went  from  [Dublin]  &  y*  she  had  no  reason  to  apprehend  [any]  danger 
to  ym  herself,  house,  or  family  [as]  the  King  had  bin  pleased  to  leave 

(79)  This  is,  of  course,  .Richard  Talbot,  Duke  of  Tyrconnell,  the  viceroy.     He  was 
unwell  at  this  time,  and  had  for  some  time  been  living  in  retirement  at  Chapelizod 
(Life,  p.  374  ;  Macariae  Excidium,  p.  337).     A  letter  from  Chester,  2nd  September, 
1689,  states  that  James  "  hath  vested  Tyrconnell  again  with  the  Government."     (A  full 
and  true  Account  of  his  Grace  Luke  Schomberg' s  marching  toivards  Dublin,  London, 
1689).     This  may  explain  the  statement,  not  otherwise  easy  to  understand,  that  he  was. 
"  to  be  governour." 

(80)  This  seems  to    be  the   same  as   "Coll.    [Moor]e,"   mentioned  below    and 
frequently  afterwards.     "Because  the  Clerk  of  the  First  Fruits,  Lieutenant  Colonel 
Roger  Moore,  being  a   Protestant  himself,  would  not  be   severe   with  the   Clergy, 
and  seize  their  Livings  and  Persons,  to  force  them  to  pay  what  he  knew  they  were 
not  in  a  capacity  to  do,  they  found  pretence  to  seize  his  Person,  and  sent  him  with 
Three  Files  of  Musquetiers  Prisoner  to  the  Castle  of  Dublin,  where  he  and  two  Gentle- 
men more   lay  in   a  cold  nasty  Garret  for  some  months"  (S.P.I.,  chap,  iii.,  §  16, 
p.  202).     Elsewhere  (S.  P.  I.,  chap,  in.,  §  3,  p.  71  sq.)  we  read  of  a  Col.  Roger  Moor 
who  had  inherited  from  Sir  John  Knox,  Lord  Mayor  of  Dublin  in  1685,  a  patent  for 
coining  copper  money  for  Ireland.     His  patent  was  disregarded,  and  his  coining  tools 
seized  by  the  government,  when  James  began  to  supply  his  needs  by  establishing  a 
mint  and  issuing  brass  coinage.     Probably  this  was  the  same  person.     Supposing 
these  statements  to  be  true,  it  is  scarcely  surprising  to  find  that  in  March,  1689-90,  a 
message  was  sent  from  Dublin  to  Schomberg's  camp  by  Col.   Roger  Moor,  a  Pro- 
testant (S.  P.  D.,  p.   532).      Moore  lived    at  Johnstown   and   Lower  Blind   Quay, 
Dublin  (Hughes,    Church  of  St.   John,  Dublin,  Dublin,  1889,    p.   57).     In   1691  he 
commanded  the  Dublin  City  Militia  (A.  R.,  pp.  521,  536). 

(81)  Colonel  Robert  Clifford,  described  in  his  attainder  in  1691  as  Robert  Clifford, 
of  Dublin,  Esq.,  commanded  the  5th  Regiment  of  Dragoons  in  the  Jacobite  Army. 
He  was  a  Roman  Catholic,  but  apparently  not  a  whole-hearted  supporter  of  James  II. 
He   is   accused  by  several  writers  of  treachery  or  gross  carelessness,   which  led   to 
the  capitulation  of  Limerick.      The  writer  of  J.  N.  does  not  defend  him,  but  hints 
that  he  was  not  the  only  officer  in  Limerick  who  had  accepted  a  bribe  from  the 
enemy  (D' Alton,  p.  356;  J.  N.,  pp.  161,  171-3). 

(82)  This    estimate    was   pretty   accurate.     Schomberg  informed  King    William 
(14th  March,   1689-90)    that    "  they  had  40,000   men   altogether,  when  they  were 
encamped  at  Ardee,  and  they  had,  moreover,  15,000  or  16,000  in  Dublin,  Drogheda, 
Cork,  Kinsale,  and  on  the  River  Shannon  "  (S.  P.  D.,  p.  510).    Elsewhere  the  numbers 
are  stated  as  3150  Horse,  4500  Dragoons  and  46,800  Foot — which  give  a  total  of 
54,450  (Ib.,  p.  386).      Story  (p.  40)  reports  that  the  general  opinion  was  that  there 
were  '«  sigh  forty  thousand  "  at  Dundalk  ;  but  admits  that  "  Lieut. -General  Hamilton 
denied  that  they  were  ever  so  many  in  the  field."     And  the  figures  given  in  the  French 
Army  List  printed  by  Gilbert  (J.  N.,  p.  201  sqq.}  yield  a  total  of  34,296  men,  four 
regiments  being  omitted  from  the  numeration. 

(83)  See  above,  note  61. 

(84)  Mary,  daughter  and  heiress  of  James  Clotworthy,  Esq.,  Moneymore,  Co.  Deny 
(Lodge,  vol.i.,  p.  108). 


DIARY  OF  WILLIAM  KING,  D.D.,  AKCHBISHOP  OF  DUBLIN.    261 

commands  y*  none  of  tlie  people  in  town  who  lived  quietly  shoud  meet 
with  any  disturbance,  y*  my  Lord  Tire,  was  left  chief  in  ye  [govern]ment 
to  act  witli  ye  advice  of  2  or  [3]  who  were  moderate  gentlemen :  y1 
[Mons.]  Boysleau  late  govern  our  of  Cork  was  [one]  of  them  ; 65  yi  ye 
thoughts  of  burning  ye  city  was  (sic)  quite  laid  aside,  &  y1  ye  King  had 
given  special  direction  about  ye  prisoners  &  expresst  a  great  abhorrence 
against  using  any  v[iolence]  against  them,  he  said  likewise  y*  he  heard 
Cap*  Boyle  was  landed  in  Munster, 86  &  y1  he  thought  he  had  more 
reason  yn  many  other  being  made  a  rebel  by  act  of  parlement,  y*  he  had 
something  to  maintain  himself  if  the  King's  affairs  shoud  miscarry,  & 

he  promised  Mrs   Fitz: — [44] if   any  disturbance  shoud 

[arise]  he  woud  send  a  file  of  men  to  secure  her  house,  &  if  bail  woud 
be  accepted  for  Mr  Fitz:  he  offered  to  be  bound  for  him. 

.  .  .  &  Mr   Sp r87   came  to  visite  [us] [se]nt  me  an 

account  in  writing  from concerning  his  brother  whom  he  had 

Lord  C.  J.  N.  order.88     he  told  me  likewise  y1  4  troopers  & 

five  horses  were  quartered  on  him  &  y*  ye  officer  obliged  him  to  furnish 
ym  with  meat  drink  lodging  &c  for  ym  &  yre  horses  [Que]re  whether 

the  like  is  not  done   everywhere.     Coll was  comitted  to  ye 

Castle  &  came  [in  a]s  a  fellow  prisoner  about  six  in  ye  [afternoo]n.89 
He  had  bin  before  Baron  Rice  &  Ch:  [J.  K".]  they  expected  ready  mony 
from  him  .  .  .  .  ye  Balance  of  an  account  before  they  had  agreed  on  ye 
stating  it  &  Ld  C.  J.  expected  he  should  do  some  service  for  ye 
government  to  which  he  replyed  y*  he  coud  not  fight  for  a  government  y1 

had  not  left  him   or  children  a  groat.     Mr  S e 90  came  up  and  told 

me  y*  the  K.  woud  go  from  here  Friday  or  Saturday  next  &  I  heard 
from  him  y*  some  R:  C:  were  thinking  of  putting  some  goods  in  ye  hands 
of  protestants  this  was  further  confirmed  by  others.  He  wd  not  tell 
where  ye  King  would  go.  He  was  not  to  [sen]d  his  tent  till  further 
orders. 

[45]—  Aug.   22,  1689.— Mrs  white  (?)  came  up  to  visite  Mr  Fitz: 
she  told  us  y1  this  morning  Mr  Billing  sent  4lb  to  Lord  Chancellour,91 

(85)  A  captain  of  the  French  Guards,  who  came  over  with  King  James  to  Ireland. 
Boiseleau  was  left   in  command  of  the  troops  which    remained  at   Drogheda  when 
James  broke  up  his  camp  at  Ardee.     In  August,    1690,   Tyrconnell  appointed  him 
Governour   of  Limerick,    but  immediately    alter  William    raised    the   siege   he  was 
succeeded  hy  Dorrington    "because  monsieur  Boisseleau   was  to  go   into  France" 
(D'Alton,  p.  747;  J.  N.,  pp.  46,  91,  113,  117,  261-6). 

(86)  This  was,  perhaps,  Captain  Henry  Boyle,  mentioned  in  S.  P.  I.,  chap,  m.,  §  13, 
p.  170.      He  had  put  himself  under  the  protection  of  Mountcashel,  but,  in  spite  of  this, 
Castle -martyr,  which  was  his  property,  was  destroyed,  and  he  fled  into  England.     He 
was  attainted  in  1689  (Ib.,  p.  249),  which  explains  the  statement  that  he  was  "  made  a 
rebel  by  Act  of  Parliament." 

(87)  Mr.  Spranger?     See  12th  August. 

(88)  Possibly  a  reference  to  the  incident  about  Mr.  K.'s  brother  recorded  1 9th  August. 

(89)  This  seens  to  be  a  repetition  of  what  is  said  above  about  '  R.  Moor.'     See 
note  80. 

(90)  Probably  Mr.  Spike.     See  below,  3rd  October. 

(91)  Alexander  Fitton,  great-grandson  of  Sir  Edward  Fitton,  Knight,  of  Gawsworth, 


262         ROYAL    SOCIETY    OF   ANTIQUARIES    OF    IRELAND. 

being  rent  due  to  him  in  Brass  mony,  which  Ld  Chancellor  sent  back 
refusing  to  receive  it  in  y*  mony.  We  were  informed  y'  a  French  ship 
supposed  an  Admiral,  came  in  to  Kinsale  much  shattered  which  gave 
ground  to  believe  ye  fleets  had  met.  We  further  were  informed  y1 
5.000  horse  &  dragoons  were  landed,  y*  his  Majesty  designed  to  go  no 
further  yn  Tredath.92  My  man  came  &  informed  me  y*  a  popish 
priest  came  &  demanded  ye  protestants  Tith  in  my  Deanry  to  which  I 
sent  answer  y*  it  shoud  be  at  yr  peril  if  they  paid  any  &  y*  I  woud 
defend  ym  if  they  refused.93  I  resolved  to  write  to  this  purpose  to 
ym.  Mr  Sp:  94  told  me  y*  the  King  talked  with  great  horror  of  ye 
burning  of  Dublin  &  y*  he  was  not  pleased  with  ye  Irish  nation  in 
general  as  not  having  performed  according  to  yre  promise  to  him.  Coll. 
Tuit95  came  to  Coll:  Moor  and  told  him  y1  the  Lord  Chief  Justice  woud 
bail  him  if  he  woud  perform  ye  conditions  he  offered  ye  day  before,  but 
he  seemed  indifferent  &  looked  upon  himself  to  be  injured  so  highly  by 
his — [46] — committall  y*  he  would  do  nothing  but  w*  ye  Law  will 
oblige  him  to  do.  Coll:  Bouchier  visited  Mr  Fitz:  he  complained  much 
of  ye  Irish  &c.96  Mr  Brandcourt  visited  me  but  I  entertained  no 
private  discourse  with  him.  He  came  lately  out  of  ye  North. 

Aug.  23. — We  had  an  account  of  ye  invaders  coming  near  Newry 
where  some  small  engagement  happened 97  one  of  the  wounded 
troopers  came  to  Town.  Coll.  N:  Fitz:  "  came  to  visite  Mr  (sic]  &  told 

Cheshire,  Lord  President  of  Connaught  and  Thomond,  and  Treasurer  of  Ireland,  who 
died  3rd  July,  1579,  and  was  buried  beside  his  wife  in  St.  Patrick's  Cathedral, 
Dublin.  Fitton  was  brought  over  to  Ireland  by  Tyrconnell,  and  was  made  Lord 
Chancellor,  12th  February,  1686-7.  He  was  raised  to  the  peerage  as  Baron  Gawsworth, 
April,  1689.  He  was  attainted  in  1691,  and  died  in  1698.  He  was  originally  a 
Protestant,  but  became  a  Roman  Catholic.  King  states  that  he  had  been  imprisoned 
for  forgery  in  England  (D'Alton,  p.  869;  S.  P.  I.,  chap,  n.,  §  6",  p.  26  ;  chap,  in., 
§  3,  p.  58  ;  Mason,  p.  Hi.  ;  D.  N.  B.,  xix.,  p.  80). 

(92)  Drogheda  is  frequently  called  by  this  name  by  English  writers  of  the  period, 
as,  for  instance,  among  our  authorities,  by  Nibell.     This  report  modified  the  statement 
of  Col.  Clifford  the  day  before. 

(93)  The  parliament  of  1689  had  passed  an  Act  which  released  Roman  Catholics 
from  the  obligation  to  pay  tithes  to  the  Protestant  Clergy,  and  made  tithes  of  Roman 
Catholics  payable  to  their  own  Clergy,  a  Roman  Catholic  incumbent  of  any  benefice, 
however,  being  allowed  to  recover  tithes  from  both  Protestants  and  Roman  Catholics. 
King  states  that  in  practice  the  provisions  of  this  Act  were  disregarded,  the  tithes 
being  in  many  cases  taken  from  Protestants,  in  parishes  where  their  own  clergy  still 
remained,  by  '  Popish  Priests '  (S.  P.  I.,  chap,  in.,  §  16,  p.  198  sq.}. 

(94)  Mr.  Spike  (?).     See  below,  3rd  October. 

(95)  Probably  Brigadier- General  William  Tuite,   who  was  wounded  and  taken 
prisoner  at  Aughrim,  and  attainted  in  1691.     His  name  does  not  occur,  apparently,  in 
the  Irish  Army  List  (D'Alton,  pp.  957,  961)  ;  but  see  Charles  Dalton's  English  Army 
Lists,  vol.  ii.,  p.  9. 

(96)  The  name  of  Bouchier,  or  Bourchier,  does  not  appear  to  occur  in  the  Jacobite 
Irish  Army  List.     There  are  several  officers  of  that  name  in  Dalton's  English  Army 
Lists  (vol.  ii.,  pp.  5,  12,  35, 121, 144),  one  of  whom  may  be  the  person  here  referred  to. 
He  is  called  '  Captain  '  below,  23rd  August. 

(97)  This  rumour  was  false.      Schomberg's  army  did  not  reach  Newry  till  5th 
September  (S.  P.  D.,  p.  251). 

(98)  Col.  Nicholas  Fitzgerald  was  Governor  of  Athlone  when  it  was  attacked  by 


DIARY  OF  WILLIAM  KING,  D.D.,  ARCHBISHOP  OF  DUBLIN.    263 

him  y*  he  came  from  Newry  Monday  last  y*  ye  invaders  did  not  bring 
above  140  Horse  &  eleven  or  12m  foot,  that  they  besieged  ye  town  of 
Carrigfergus  &  woud  carry  it  but  not  ye  Castle,"  yl  yre  were  6  or  7m 
of  ye  King's  army  to  oppose  ym  about  Dundalk  &  Newry  &  ye  rest  woud 
march  down  next  week. 

There  happened  a  scuffle  in  Town  between  some  frenchmen  &  some 
Irish  soldiers  two  of  ye  Irish  were  killed  as  reported.  We  observed 
some  shuffling  &  change  in  ye  Castle  but  coud  not  understand  ye  meaning 

of  it.    Coll.  T 10°  came  to  visite  Coll.  M.  they  parted  in  some  anger 

their  discourse  I  did  not  hear.  Cap*  Bouchier101  visited  Mr  F.  and 
took  his  leave,  being  to  go  this  afternoon  to  Tredath.102 

[47] — Aug.  2!f. — Nothing  remarkable  ye  day  being  spent  as  seriously 
as  we  coud  in  order  to  preparation  for  ye  sacrament. 

Aug.  25.— I  preached  2ce  on  Luke  10.  25,103  and  administered  ye  holy 
sacrament  to  nine  or  ten  of  the  prisoners. 104  I  observe  they  were  very 
busy  in  ye  Castle  all  day,  sending  away  some  &  loading  other  carriages. 

Aug.  26. — The  King  went  away  about  11  of  the  clock,  his  guards 
appeared  to  us  to  be  very  ill  mounted.105  We  heard  from  several 
hands  y*  some  horse  were  landed  in  ye  north  some  said  3.000,  some  five 
thousands,  others  only  three  regiments.  Mr  B 1106  visited  me  & 

Ginkel,  19th  June,  1691  (J.  N.,  p.  133).  There  was  also  a  Lieut. -Col.  Nicholas  Fitz- 
gerald in  Lord  Bellew's  Regiment  of  Infantry  (probably  the  same),  who,  with  Col. 
Laurence  Dempsey,  took  part  in  a  skirmish  near  Newry  a  week  before  the  Battle 
of  the  Boyne  (D'Alton,  p.  630  ;  J.  N.,  pp.  96,  205). 

(99)  See  Introduction,  p.   133,  and  compare  Story,  p.  9,  where  we  learn  that  one 
Mr.    Spring,  who  escaped  from  Carrickfergus  on  23rd"  August,  reported  to  Schomberg 
<;  that  they  resolved,  if  we  stormed  the  Town,  to  retire  all  to  the  Castle,  in  order  to 
which   they  had  laid  in  great  store  of  Corn,  Beef,  Salt,  and  other  Provisions  pro- 
portionable." 

(100)  Col.  Tuite  ?     See  above,  note  95. 

(101)  See  above,  note  96. 

(102)  See  above,  note  92. 

(103)  From  the  Gospel  for  the  13th  Sunday  after  Trinity. 

(104)  King  celebrated  the  Holy  Communion  on  the  last  Sunday  of  each  month  for 
the  prisoners.     (See  29th  Sept.,  27th  Oct.) 

(105)  The  escort  consisted  of  100  of  the  King's  Horse  Guards  and  200  of  Parker's 
Horse  (Life,  p.  373).    King  James  reached  Drogheda  on  the  same  day  (Nibell,  p.  221). 

(106)  The  pious  and  accomplished  James  Bonnell,  who  seems  to  be  referred  to  here, 
was  one  of  the  most  attractive  personalities  of  a  not  very  attractive  period.     His  life, 
by  William  Hamilton,  Archdeacon  of  Armagh  (The  Exemplary  Life  and  Character 
of  James  Bonnell,  Esq.,  Late  Accomptant- General  of  Ireland,  3rd  Ed.,  London,  1707  ; 
reprinted,  London,    1852),   is  largely  taken   up   with   meditations,  which  it  was  his 
constant  practice  to  commit  to   writing.      His  father,  Samuel  Bonnell,   a  Norwich 
merchant,  wasted  his  fortune  by  advancing  money  to  the  Stewarts,  and  in  return 
received  from  Charles  II.  a  patent  for  the  office  of  Accountant- General  for  Ireland. 
He  died  in  1664,  before  his  son  James,  who,  according  to  the  terms'  of  the  patent,  was 
to  succeed  him,  had  completed  his  ninth  year.     In  consequence  the  post  was  held  for 
some  years  by  a  deputy.    James  graduated  at  Cambridge,  and  immediately  afterwards  he 
became  tutor  to  the  son  of  Mr.  Ralph  Freeman,  of  Aspeden  Hall,  Herts,  with  whom 
he  travelled  on  the  Continent.     In  1684  he  came  to  Ireland  and  took  up  his  work  as 
Accountant-General.     He  married  in  1693  a  daughter  of  Sir  Albert  Cunningham,  by 
whom  he  had  three  children.   As  regards  his  religious  persuasion,  Bonnell  was  an  Anglican 


264         ROYAL    SOCIETY    OF    ANTIQUARIES    OF    IRELAND. 

told  me  y1  he  had  an  account  of  some  ships  seen  at  Baltimore  who  took 
away  a  ship  out  of  harbour  loaded  with  wine  &  brandy  belonging  to  Md" 
Dermor,  y*  in  ye  severall  ports  of  Ireland  yre  were  brought  in  near  ten 
English  &  Dutch  prizes. 

Mr  T h  &  C:  W: 10?  visited  me,  we  discoursed  of  ye  affaires  of 

ye  parish.  I  was  told  y1  with  a  little  pains  I  might  get  out,  which  I  did  not 
believe,  that  L:  M:  had  bin  shot — [48] — if  the  King  had  not  turned  him 
out, l08  y1  they  had  taken  a  resolution  to  fight  &  were  getting  together 
a  great  army  in  order  to  it,  that  ye  Clergy  of  Dublin  were  all  to  be 
put  up,  y1  Duke  Tyr:  was  to  be  our  Governour  to  thursday  next,  y*  yn 
Boysleau  was  to  be  Governour  of  this  place  &  to  have  two  regiments  to 
defend  it ; 109  that  a  frenchman  was  put  in  y1  ye  odium  of  what  was 
to  be  don  might  fall  on  them. 

At  8  in  the  morning  I  heard  ye  chimes  of  C:  Church  from  wnce  I  con- 
cluded y*  ye  Church  was  restored,  which  I  found  to  be  true,  but  much  out 
of  order.110  I  desired  an  account  which  was  promised  by  ye  V:  of 
S*  patrick's  Mr  Rouse  U1  who  came  to  me  on  ye  27  112  in  the  morning. 
»  I  gave  7d  received  in  charity  at  the  communion  to  be  distributed  by 
Churchwardens,  and  ordered  y*  distribution  of  three  barels  of  beef  given 
by  C.  A'.  S. 

of  the  High  Church  school.  He  had  a  great  desire  to  resign  his  secular  employment  and 
take  Holy  Orders,  but  was  hindered  from  doing  so  hy  the  difficulty  of  securing  a 
successor  who  would  worthily  fill  his  post  of  responsibility.  He  was  a  promoter  of 
the  Societies  for  the  Reformation  of  Manners,  which  were  a  striking  feature  of  the 
religious  life  of  the  closing  years  of  the  seventeenth  century.  His  most  intimate 
friends  were  King,  Foley,  Dopping,  and  Wettenhall  (Bishop  of  Kilmore).  The  first  of 
these  composed  his  epitaph,  and  the  last  preached  the  sermon  at  his  funeral.  He  died  of 
fever,  28th  April,  1699,  and  was  buried  the  next  day  in  St.  John's  Church.  Compare 
the  article  on  him  by  the  late  Dr.  J.  A.  Carr  in  the  Churchman  for  October,  1899  ; 
Hughes,  Church  of  St.  John,  p.  Ill  ;  D.  N.  B.,  vol.  v.,  p.  355. 

(107)  Perhaps  Mr.  Trench,  a  clergyman,  and  Mr.  Wingfield,  a  lawyer,  who,  with 
Capt.  King,  escaped  from  Dublin  in  an  open  boat,   May,  1690  (Story,  p.  64).     For 
Mr.  Wingfield  see  also  above,  note  2. 

(108)  Lord  Melfort  ?     It  seems  to  have  been  on  the  previous  day  (25th  August)  that 
he  was  'turned  out' — in  other  words,  sent  to  France  (Stuart  Papers,  p.  46).      See 
below,  note  381. 

(109)  Tyrconnell   was   left  in   Dublin  for  the  purpose   of  collecting  troops  and 
despatching  them  to  Drogheda  as  quickly  as  possible.     He  was  just  recovering  from  an 
illness  (Life,  p.    374).     What  exactly  is  meant  by  his  being  Governor,  and  being 
succeeded  in  that  office  by  Boiseleau,  is  not  clear.     Simon  Luttrell  was  Governor  of 
Dublin  (Life,  p.  378). 

(110)  This  is  explained  by  the  following  entry  in  the  Chapter  minutes  of  Christ 
Church:  "  On  Wednesday  the  7th  of  Aug.,  1689,  Christ  Church  was  searched  and 

seized. On  Sunday  the  25th  Aug.,  1689,  the  keys  were  again  restored."     It  is 

curious  that  this  is  not  mentioned  in  S.  P.  I.,  chap,  in.,  §  18,  pp.  209,  215. 

(111)  I  have  noted  only  one  reference  to  Rouse  in  the  Chapter  minutes  of  St. 
Patrick's.     It  is  under  the  date  6th  December,  1688,  and  runs  thus  :   "  Then  Mr.  John 
Rouse  ordered  for  to  allow  to  Mrs.  Brady,  widow  of  Mr.  Robert  Brady,  three  pounds  ster. 
which  must  be  deducted  out  of  Mr.  Rouse's  Sallary."     The  letter  'V.'  in  the  text 
may  stand  for  <  Verger.'     Rouse  does  not  appear  to  have  been  on  the  clerical  staff  of 
the  Cathedral. 

(112)  If  this  figure  is  correct,  this  part  of  the  Diary  cannot  have  been  written  on 
the  day  (26th  August),  the  events  of  which  it  describes.    Compare  below,  note  148.    But 
see  next  note. 


DIARY  OF  WILLIAM  KING,  D.D.,  ARCHBISHOP  OF  DUBLIN.    265 

[49] — Aug.  27. — Mr  K.  came  &  gave  me  a  visite.  We  discoursed  of 
severall  things  of  importance,  he  informed  me  from  Mr  Jones  of  Mr  Rouses 
having  taken  ye  Deanry  of  S1  Patrick's  from  ye  p:  Dean  for  (?0. m  Mr 
€umberford  told  me  y*  my  bed  &  ye  other  beds  must  go  to  ye  camp. 
Some  goods  were  brought  into  ye  Castle  sd  to  be  D.  T.'s:  a  black  trunk 
was  carried  out  of  Mr  Crows  room  which  Mr  Cumber:  sa  contained 
papers  left  by  Mr  Alaway.  Mr  Weaver  came  up  in  ye  afternoon  &  yre 
was  some  talk  of  Cum:  saying  y1  we  shoud  go  with  ym  when  they  went 
to  ye  field.  In  ye  afternoon  it  was  told  us  y*  ye  french  &  English  fleets 
hud  ingaged  &  y1  ye  first  had  ye  worst  &  y1  Carrigfergus  was  possessed  by 
the  invaders.  I  learnt  that  Walker  late  governour  of  Berry  was  sent  for 
byye  P:  0: 1U  y1  Euiskilling  people  were  in  great  Disorder  till  Wolsely 
•came  to  them, 115  y*  near  10m  dyed  in  Derry  with  hunger  &  sickness,  & 
many  other  particulars.  I  sent  to  provide  a  bed  in  case  ye  bed  I  lay  on 
shoud  be  taken  away.  Ld  May:  steward,  and  one  bragstone  came  up  from 
— [50] — the  guardroom,  who  were  prisoners  yre  because  a  court  marshal 
as  said  was  kept  yre,  I  spoke  to  neither. 

,  Aug.  28. — A  great  Court  or  meeting  of  the  officers  was  held  in  the 
€astle.  D.  T:  was  there,  it  was  said  D.  T:  must  go  to  the  camp  for  y* 
soldiers  woud  not  fight  with  him  : 116  brass  mony  was  3  shill8  in  the 

(113)  This  entry  is  enigmatical.     If  Eouse  came  to  visit  the  Dean  "on  the  27  in 
the  morning,"  why  did  he  not  get  the  particulars  of  the  transaction — whatever  it  may 
have  heen — from  himself,  instead  of  indirectly  through  Mr.  Eobert  King  ?    Mr.  Jones 
is  Richard  Jones,  Notary  Puhlic  and  Eegistrar  of  St.  Patrick's.     He  was  also  on  the 
25th  June,  1689,  appointed  Registrar  of  the  Liberty  of  St.  Patrick's,  and  Registrar, 
Clerk,  and  Proctor  of  St.  Sepulchre's  Liberty.     (Chapter  Minutes.)     But  what  is  the 
nature  of  the  transaction  referred  to  ?     With  much  hesitation  1  suggest  that  «  p  :  Dean ' 
is  to  be  read  '  pro-Dean,'  and  that  Mr.  Henry  Price,  who  was  nominated  as  Sub- Dean 
by  King  shortly  after  his  imprisonment,  is  the  person  indicated.     The  rest  I  must  leave 
to  the  ingenuity  of  my  readers. 

(1 14)  "Walker  was  commissioned  by  the  inhabitants  of  Derry,  after  the  raising  of  the 
siege,  to  bear  a  loyal  address  to  King  William.    He  left  Derry  on  the  9th  August,  and 
after  a  triumphal  progress  through  Scotland   and    England   reached   London   about 
the  20th.      He  was  received  by  the  king,  apparently  on  the  24th,    or   some  later 
day  in  August.      William  gave  him  £5000.     There  is  no  record,  so  far  as  I  am 
aware,  that  he  was  <  sent  for  '  by  the  king :  but  William  addressed  a  letter  to  him  and 
Mitchelbourne,  his  colleague  as  Governor  of  Derry,  on  the  16th,  of  which  King  may 
have  heard.     It  is  printed  in  A  Concise  View  of  the  Origin,  $c.,   of  the  Honorable 
Society  of  the  Governor  and  Assistants  of  London  of  the  New  Plantation  in  Ulster,  com- 
monly called  the  Irish  Society,  London,  1832,  p.  189,  and  elsewhere.    See  also  Walker's 
Vindication  of  the  True  Account  of  the  Siege  of  Derry,  London,   1689,  p.  28  :    Ulster 
Journal  of  Archceology,  vol.  ii.  (1854),  p.  269  ;  LuttreU,  pp.  373,  575  ;  J.  N.,  p.  87  ; 
Dl.N.  B.,  lix.,p.  55. 

(115)  William  Wolseley  accompanied  Kirk  to  Ireland  as  Lieutenant- Colonel  of 
Hanmer's  regiment.     A  deputation  from  the  Enniskillen  men  having  waited  on  Kirk 
on  the  12th  July,  1689,  he  appointed  officers  for  their  regiments.     Among  the  rest  he 
made  Wolseley  Commander-in- Chief,  and  Colonel  of  Horse.     The  deputation  took 
leave  of  Kirk  on  Sunday,  the  20th  July,  and  having  landed  near  Ballyshannon  on  the 
26th,  they  proceeded  at  once  to  Enniskillen,  which  they  reached  on  the  28th.     Two 
days  later  Wolseley  led  his  troops  to  the  victory  of  Newtown  Butler.   He  distinguished 
himself  at  the  battles  of  the  Boyne  and  Aughrim,  and  succeeded  Mountjoy  as  Master- 
General  of  Ordnance  in  August,  1692.     He  died  in  December,   1697  (Hamilton,  pp. 
31-33  ;  D.  N.  B.,  Ixii.,  p.  323.     See  also  Lough  Erne,  p.  19). 

(116)  A  slip  for  '  without'  ? 

Tmir  R  <i  A  T    f  Vo1-  XIII->  Fifth  Series.        )  „, 

Jour.  R.S.A.I.  j  Vt)1  XXXI'H ^  Consec>  Ser>  j 


266        ROYAL    SOCIETY    OF   ANTIQUARIES    OF    IRELAND. 

pound  for  exchange.  There  was  much  discourse  of  some  ships  seen  about 
Skerrys.117  In  the  afternoon  Mr  Pole118  came  up  &  told  us  y4  only  2£ 
were  excepted  in  Schomberg's  declaration  from  pardon ; 119  he  had  some 
hopes  of  getting  a  copy  of  it. 

Aug.  29, — D.  T:  went  to  S*  Stephen's  green  to  view  some  regiment, 
they  were  not  full  nor  well  armed  he  was  angry  at  it  &  checked  ye 
officers  as  was  told  us  he  reduced  also  one  regiment  to  3  companys. 
Coll.  Clifford  came  to  visite  us  in  the  morning.  Mrs  Fitz:  told  him  yfr 
ye  King  had  made  her  an  ill  housewife  by  confining  her  husband  &  she 
hoped  woud  allow  her  a  pension  for  spoiling  her ;  to  which  he  replyed 
that  perhaps  he  woud  during  his  short  reign.  He  was  asked  wn  his 
majesty  woud  come  back,  he  replyed  not  till  he  was  beaten  back;  and 
added — [*"] — after  a  while  that  this  was  his  Majesty's  last  stake,  y'he 
must  either  conquer  now  or  lose  all,  A  (?)  Mrs  P.  went  to  wait  on  ye  I).  T. 
in  the  afternoon  with  ye  B.  L.  who  dined  with  us.120  He  told  her  upon 
her  delivering  a  petition  about  her  husband  that  he  knew  nothing  of  his 
confinement  till  a  day  or  two  ago,  and  seemed  to  wonder  at  it. 

Mrs  C:  came  to  us  in  the  afternoon  &  told  us  y*  L.  T.121  owed  her  12lb, 
6lb  for  rent,  &  6lb  for  malt  she  had  bestowed  in  charity  on  ye  nunry.m 
She  had  frequently  petitioned  &  spoke  to  her  about  y*,  yesterday  she  had 
promised  her  positively  her  mony  &  to  give  her  steward  order  about  it, 
&  had  bidden  her  come  for  it  to  day  wch  she  did  she  met  my  Lady's 
steward  who  told  her  y1  he  had  by  order  from  L.  T:  sent  four  men  to 
bring  away  her  copper  which  cost  60lb.  This  startled  Mrs  C.  who  told 

(117)  Skerries  is  the  name  of  a  fishing  village  in  the  County  Dublin,  about  three 
miles  from  Balbriggan,  so  called  from  some  islands  off  the  coast.     I  have  not  found 
elsewhere  a  notice  of  any  ships  passing  it  during  the  month  of  August,  1689. 

(118)  Mr.  Perrian  Poole  ?     See  above,  note  2. 

(119)  Compare  Luttrell,  p.  571  :  '« The  Committee  of  Irish  gentlemen  mett  the 
19th  [August],  by  order  of  the  committee  of  the  council  for  Irish  affairs,  and  had 
before  them  the  matter  about  a  pardon  to  be  sent  over  into  Ireland,  and  debated  what 
number  of  persons  to  except  in  the  same,  and  by  the  majority  agreed  to  except  54." 

(120)  Apparently  the  Bishop  of  Limerick  (Simon  Digby),  one  of  the  few  prelates 
of  the  Established  Church  remaining  in  Ireland  (S.  P.  L,  chap,  in.,  §  12,  p.  150). 

(121)  Lady  Tyrconnell.    Fanny  Jennings,  Tyrconnell's  second  wife,  was  a  sister  of 
Sarah  Duchess  of  Marlborougb.     Her  first  husband  was  Sir  George  Hainilton. 

(122)  King  (S.  P.  L,  chap,  in.,  §  9,  p.    123)   states  that  two  nunneries  were 
established  under  James  II.  in  Dublin.    One  of  these  was  that  called  '  Gratia  Dei,'  in 
Ship-street,  the  charter  of  which  is  printed  in  Harris's  King  William,  App.,  p.  Ix.   It  is 
dated  5  June,  1690,  and  therefore  the  monastery  of  Gratia  Dei  cannot  be  referred  to  here. 
The  other  was  in  Channel-row  (now  North  Brunswick -street).     The  Chapel  was  con- 
secrated by  Archbishop  Patrick  Russell,  in  the  presence  of  King  James,  not  three  months 
before  the  incident  related  in  the  text  occurred,  6  June,  1689.     Collections  on  Irish 
Church  History  from  the  MSS.  of  the  late  V.  Rev.  Laurence  F.  Renehan,  edited  by  D. 
McCarthy,  vol.  i.,  p.  232.    My  friend  the  Bishop  of  Canea  informs  me  that  this  Chapel 
still  exists  in  the  Richmond  Surgical  Hospital,  and  is  known  as  '  the  Chapel  "Ward/ 
The  statement  that  Lady  Tyrconnell's  debt  was  of  two  years'  standing  seems  to  imply 
that  the  nunnery  was  founded  a  considerable  time  before  the  consecration  of  the  Chapel. 
Harris  confuses  this  establishment  with  the  Royal  Nunnery  of  '  Gratia  Dei,'  when  he 
gives  the  date  of  the  foundation  of  the  latter  as  6th  June,  1689  (Ware's  Works,  1745,. 
yol.  ii.,  p.  274). 


DIARY  OF  WILLIAM  KING,  D.D.,  ARCHBISHOP  OF  DUBLIN.     267 

him  that  she  coud  not  believe  it,  that  she  came  for  12lb  which  being  a 
debt  of  2  years  standing  her  Grace  had  positively  promised  it  y*  morning* 
He  assured  her  it  was  tru  &  desired  her  to  make  application  to  his  Lady 
which  she — [52] — did,  &  with  much  ado  obtained  of  her  Grace  an  order 
to  stop  ye  bringing  away  ye  copper  on  condition  y*  she  shoud  not  call  for 
ye  12ibe 

Mem.  Coll.  Cliff,  told  us  y*  Boysleau  was  to  be  governour  of 
Dublin  &  y*  it  was  very  like  y1  he  woud  burn  ye  town, 

Mrs  Bolt  (?)  came  to  visite  Mr  0.  and  told  him  y*  ye  cafe  (?)  men 
offered  to  bring  her  daughter  Smith  from  Galway.  She  asked  how  the 
expected  to  get  there,  to  which  they  answered  that  they  were  to  carry 
down  the  King's  good  yre  but  under  other  names ;  &  y*  they  woud  be 
allowed  to  bring  up  whom  they  pleased. 

Aug.  30. — Nothing  memorable. 

Aug.  31. — There  came  up  Mr  Smith  who  told  y*  Carigfergus  was. 
certainly  taken,  &  the  Duke  of  B:  had  gotten  a  ruffle  near  Kewry. 
Mr  E:  told  us  yl  y*e  came  an  order  from  Schomberg  to  Eniskilling  people  to 
march  down  to  Ardmagh  which  they  did  to  ye  number  of  6m.  We  heard 
also  that  Athlone  was  invested  with  men  sd  to  be  landed  at  Sligo.123  M* 
Sp.m  told  me  y*  ye  D.  T:  told  him  y'  the  expected  the  K.  back  within 
3  or  4  days  at  farthest.125  We  had  troublesome  centrys  who  denyed  our 
friends— [53] — only  one  at  a  time,  upon  which  we  had  some  dispute 
with  ym.  In  the  afternoon  yre  came  up  a  ser*  of  Mr  F:  who  told  him  that 
his  coachman's  brother  had  written  up  y*  ye  Irish  army  did  not  stand 
before  ye  English,  that  many  had  thrown  down  yre  arms  &  Schomberg 
intended  to  be  in  a  little  time  at  Drogheda  &  y*  y°  K.  intended  for 
Minister.  We  heard  also  y*  Chief  J.  N.  was  gone  with  all  his  furniture 
&  many  other  incredible  things.126 

Sep.  1. — I  preacht  2  on  Gal.  5.  17.127  Yre  came  up  y9  people  below 
that  came  up  the  last  Sunday  &  likewise  Cap*  Anderson,  one  Smith  128 
&  Blackstone. 

(123)  These  reports,  except  with  regard  to  Carrickfergus,  seem  to  have  been  un-* 
founded.     Berwick  was  probably  by  this  time  at  Newry,  though  the  date  of  his  arrival 
there  is  unknown ;  but  it  is  not  likely  that  there  were  any  of  the  opposing  forces 
there  to  give  him  a  '  ruffle.'     Some  of  the  Enniskilleners  had  joined  Schomberg  at 
Carricki'ergus  (see  Introduction,  p.  133  sq.),  and  marched  with  him  to  Dundalk.    Thfr 
rest  appear  to  have  remained  near  Enniskillen.     There  is  no  mention  of  Athlone  being 
invested  in  the  Life,  where  such  a  fact  could  scarcely  have  been  passed  over. 

(124)  Mr.  Spike? 

(125)  We  can  scarcely  believe  that  Tyrconnell  really  expected  this.    James  was  most 
anxious  to  fight  Schomberg,  and  had  given  orders  to  Tyrconnell  to  hasten  the  troops- 
from  Dublin.     He  would  hardly  have  left  his  army  at  'this  juncture  in  the  hands  of 
generals  who  approved  a  quite  different  policy  (Life,  p.  373  sq.). 

(126)  King  justly  describes  these  rumours  as  incredible.     They  were  absolutely 
false.     So  far  from  retreating  to  Munster  (or  to  Athlone,  as  de  Rosen  wished),  James 
would  have  pressed  on  at  once  to  Dundalk  if  he  had  had  sufficient  cavalry  (Life,  p.  375). 

(127)  From  the  Epistle  for  the  day — the  14th  Sunday  after  Trinity. 

(128)  Perhaps  the  Mr.  Smith  mentioned  under  31st  August  and  2nd  September. 

T2 


§68        ROYAL   SOCIETY    OF   ANTIQUARIES    OF   IRELAND. 

Sep.  2. — My  bed,  Mr  Crows  &  Mr  Ormsby's  were  taken  away  &  some 
other  furniture  of  the  room.  ye  Cap1  of  ye  guard  was  very  troublesome 
to  us  &  hindered  our  friends  from  coming  to  us.  "We  heard  a  noise  of 
mens  landing  in  Munster  but  did  not  believe.  Mr  Smith  came  up  and 
told  us  Ld  T:  had  chid  Sir  John  Davis  for  being  without  his  sword,  & 
bestowed  a  sword  on  him.129  He  further  intimated  that  ye  fleet  had 
not  yet  fought. 

[54] — Mr  C.  came  up  &  told  me  y1  it  was  resolved  Dublin  shoud  not 
t>e  injured  &  it  was  contrived  so  yl  L.  C:  13°  shoud  be  left  at  his  house, 
that  Ld  C.  J.  "N.  was  not  gone  as  reported  but  was  going.  Mr  Fr: m 
came  to  me  &  told  me  y*  an  excommunication  came  to  him  from  ye  Bi:  of 
Gal  way  a  pretended  Vicar  General  of  ye  Diocese,132  this  I  had  seen  before 
with-  ye  Sexton,  I  ordered  y*  it  shoud  not  be  read,  nor  any  submission 
paid  to  his  citations  or  notice  taken  of  ym,  other  yn  declining  or  protesting 

against  ym.  There  came  likewise  Mrs  D r  to  se  me  &  told  me  y*  she 

had  bin  at  a  place  where  I  was  spoken  of,  &  a  B.  C.  said  y*  ye  reason  of  my 
confinement  was  my  writting  against  M.  M. 133  upon  which  it  was  by 
way  of  reply  asked,  whether  this  was  ye  liberty  of  conscience  meant  by 
the  K.  m 

Sep.  3. — Mr  Crow  was  preparing  to  go  out  his  liberty  being  promised 
him  upon  condition  he  woud  give  a  note  to  pay  such  fees  as  ye  law 
woud  adjudge.  We  were  told  also  y1  my  Ld  Kinsale135  had  in  his 

(129)  Sir  John  Davis,  youngest  son  of  Sir  Paul  Davis,  was  a  prominent  citizen  of 
Dublin  at  this  period.     He  had  been  Principal  Secretary  of  State  under  Charles  II. 
{•A.  R.,  pp.   302,  313,   328,   334,    341),  having   been   knighted   about   1673.      He 
was   imprisoned  in  Newgate  in  July   (see    above,   note   2),   and    subsequently  in 
Trinity  College  (An  Exact  Account  of  the  Royal  Army  under  the   Command  of  His 
Grace  the  Duke  of  Schomberg,  London,  1689),  and,  after  his  release,   complained  to 
Luttrell  of  the  treatment  the  prisoners  received  (S.  P.  I.,  chap,  m.,  §  7,  p.  93).     See 
further  below,  28th  October.     Tyrconnell's  reproach  of  Sir  John  Davis  for  not  having 
&  sword  is  difficult  to  understand,  for  by  Proclamation  of  20th  July,  1689,  Protestants 
were  forbidden  to  wear  swords  (S.  P.  I.,  chap,  m.,  §  8,  p.  113). 

(130)  See  below,  note  136. 

(131)  Mr.  Fr:  (or,  as  it  may  perhaps  be  read,  Tr:)  I  cannot  identify.     For  the 
Sexton,  see  below,  note  141. 

(132)  John  Gordon,  Bishop  of  Galloway.     See  Introduction,  p.  124. 

(133)  Mr.   Manby.       Peter  Manby,   admitted  a  Minor  Canon  of  St.  Patrick's, 
23rd  November,  1660,  was  appointed  Chancellor  of  the  same  cathedral  in  1666,  and 
Dean  of  Derry  in  1672.    He  subsequently  became  a  Roman  Catholic,  still  retain- 
ing his  Deanery  by  dispensation.     On  the  controversy  between  him  and  King,  see 
Worthies,  pp.  181  sq.,  185-90. 

(134)  The  allusion  is  to  the  Act  for  Liberty  of  Conscience  passed  by  Parliament, 
June,  168.9,  and  to  Proclamations  to  the  same  effect.     Compare  S.  P.  I.,  chap,  in., 
'§  14,  p.  181  (recte,  189). 

(135)  Almericiis  de  Courcey,  23rd  Baron  Kinsale.     He  was  born  in   1664,  and 
succeeded  to  the  title  in  1669,  when  he  was  only  five  years  of  age.     Like  his  cousin, 
Clancarty  (cf.  below,  note  231),  he  was  at  an  early  age  placed  under  the  tuition  of 
Dr.  Fell,  who  gives  a  not  altogether  attractive  description  of  his  character,  quoted 
by  D' Alton.     If  the  statement  in  the  text  may  be  credited,    Fell  was  not  very 
successful  in  imbuing  his  pupils   with   the  principles  of   Protestantism.     However, 
so  far  as  I  'am  aware,  it  lacks  confirmation.     Lord  Kinsale  was  Lieutenant- Colonel 


DIARY  OF  WILLIAM  KING,  D.D.,  ARCHBISHOP  OF  DUBLIN.      269 

sickness  declared  himself  a  papist,  that  Ld  C:  136  had  other  thoughts. 
Mr  del 137  came  to  se — [55] — me  &  told  me  y*  Charlemount  was 
yielded 138  &  y1  Gordon  O'Neil  had  gone  over  to  ye  invaders.139 

Aug.  (Sept.)  ^.14°— Mr  Bulkley  brought  me  a  citation  from  ye  Bishop 
of  Galway  against  one  of  my  parishioners.  I  took  it  from  him  &  hid 
him  send  ye  apparitor  to  me.  I  sent  to  ye  Bis:  of  M.  an  account  of 
that  matter.  Mr  D.  brought  me  his  answer  y1  he  advised  ye  Clergy  to 
meet  about  it.341  Mr  B.  came  to  see  me.  We  discoursed  of  Many, 


of  Sarsfield's  Horse  (Lodge,  vol.  vi.,  p.  155 ;  D'Alton,  p.  144).  A  genealogical 
table  will  show  the  relationship  of  this  nobleman  to  other  persons  mentioned  in  the 
Diary. 

CORMAC  OGE  MAC  CARTHY,  ist  Viscount  Musketry. 
ob,  1640 

I 


Charles  MacCarth 
(Reagh). 

John  de  Courcy,  = 
aist  Baron  Kin- 
sale,  06.  1667. 

y  =  Eleanor. 

Donogh,  2nd  Viscount  Muskerry,  =  Lady  Butler,  sister 
ist  Earl  of  Clancarty,  ob.  Aug.,          of  James,  ist  Duke 
1665.                                                        of  Ormonde. 

Ellen.                   Charles, 
Lord 
Muskerry, 
ob.  June, 
1665. 

Callaghan,  = 
2nd  Earl, 
ob.  1676. 

=Lady    Elizabeth  Fitz-      Justin,  =  Lady  Arabella 
Gerald,  daughter  of     Viscount        Went  wort  h, 
the  16th  Earl  of  Kil-       Mount-        daughter      of 
dare,  and    sister   of       cashel.         the     Earl    of 
Captain  Robert  Fitz-                            Strafford. 
Gerald. 

Patrick,           Almericus,           Four  daughters. 
22nd                    23rd 
Baron  ,                Baron 
ob.  i66g.             Kinsale, 

Donogh,  3rd  =  Lady  Elizabeth  Spencer, 
Earl  of               daughter  of  the  Earl  of 
Clancarty.            Sunderland. 

(136)  Lord  Clancarty  (?). 
in  the  ii 


This  guess  is  borne  out  by  the  mention  of  his  cousin 
immediate  context. 

(137)  Mr.  Delany.     He  was  the  bearer  of  the  letter  to  Bishop  Dopping,  dated 
7th  September  (Appendix,  No.  iv.),  and  probably  also  of  that  which  was  written  on  the 
day  of  his  visit  (Appendix,  No.  ii.). 

(138)  Charlemont,   on  the  River  Blackwater,    6   miles  north   of    Armagh,   was 
regarded  as  a  most  important  post.     It  was  garrisoned  by  a  regiment  of  foot  under 
Buchan  when  Schomberg  landed  (Life,  p.  372).     The  report  that  it  had  surrendered, 
recorded  in  the  text,  was  false.     The  capitulation  did  not  take  place  till  12th  May, 
1690,   and  an   amusing  story  is  told  of  the  interview  on  that  day  between  the 
governour,    '  Old  Teague'  O'Regan,  and  Schomberg  (Story,   p.  60).      On  the  many 
futile  attempts  made  by  the  Williamite  Army  to  subdue  it  see  S.  P.  D.,  pp.  36  (a  letter 
from  Schomberg,  which  should  have  been  at  p.  519),  252,  287,  336,  368,  374,  413, 
458,  498,   561,   563  :  cf.  also  An  Account  of  the  Town  and  Castle  of  Charlemont  in 
Ireland,  Besieged  by  a  Detached  Body  .  .  .  under  the  Command  of  Lieutenant  General 
Douglas,  London,  1689.     On  12th  September  King  James  had  a  force  of  400  men  there 
(S.  P.  D.,p.  252). 

(139)  Another  false  report.     Gordon  O'Neill  was  a  son  of  Sir  Phelim  O'Neill  by 
his  third  wife.     He  was  a  captain  of  Grenadiers  in  Mountjoy's  Regiment,  and  after- 
wards raised  a  regiment  of  infantry  for  King  James.     He  was  wounded  at  the  siege 
of  Derry,   served  at  the  battles  of  the  Boyne   and  Aughrim,   and   died  in   1704. 
(D.N.B.,xlii.,p.207;  S.  P.D.,  p.  386  ;  Story,p.  98;  D'Alton,  p.  833  ;  J.N.,pp.  Ill, 
141,  148,  188,  228,  277  ;  S.  P.  I.,  pp.  327,  331,  344,  375  (recte,  383). 

(140)  '  Sept.'  is  a  correction,  written  above  the  line. 

(141)  The  Bishop  of  Galway  is  John  Gordon,  Bishop  of  Galloway  in  Scotland 
(Introduction,  p.  124).     In  his  letter  of  the  3rd  September  (App.  No.  ii.),  King  says 
that  he  had  seen  an  excommunication  directed  by  him  against  one  Clinton,  a  surgeon 


270        ROYAL  SOCIETY    OF  ANTIQUARIES  OF  IRELAND. 

particularly  how  he  was  to  behave  himself  in  his  imployment.142  He 
had  no  account  from  ye  country. 

Aug.  (Sept.)  5.— Mrs  Moor  came  &  gave  us  a  visite  with  her  two 
daughters.1*3  There  came  up  a  lieut.  with  her.  We  went  to  cards. 
He  sate  by  all  the  while  &  said  his  orders  were  not  to  suffer  M"  Moor 
to  discourse  her  husband  but  in  his  hearing.  We  ralleyd  him  on  this 
subject  but  he  was  so  dull  y1  he  coud  not  understand  it.144  , 

[56] — My  Ld  T:  went  away  about  noon.  Ye  old  woman  came  in  in  the 
morning  &  told  us  y1  we  were  all  to  be  blown  up.  Mr  Doyle  145  told  us  y1 
Coll.  Barker  did  not  intend  to  go  away  till  Saturday  &  y1  he  would  treat 
us  better,  y*  it  was  with  difficulty  ye  guards  woud  let  him  up,  tho  deputy 
constable  &  our  proper  keeper.  One  Cap*  Bagget  was  ye  cause  of  this 
strickness.146  He  came  up  to  Coll.  Moor  &  suffered  him  to  discourse  with 
his  wife,  but  sd  he  woud  not  suffer  any  other  to  discourse  with  ye  prisoners 
only  yre  wives,  children  &  serts  for  he  knew  how  prisoners  were  treated  in 
ye  plot  time  in  England.147 

Sep.  6.— Cornelius  came  up  and  told  us  y1  ye  King  was  to  come  back 
in  a  day  or  two  which  proved  false.148  Cumberford  sd  y*  he  must  take 

of  St.  Wei-burgh's  parish.  It  was  addressed  to  the  minister  of  the  parish,  who  at  this 
time  was  Samuel  Foiey.  But  Foley  had  fled  from  Dublin  (Introduction,  p.  120).  Now 
a  Mr.  Buckley  was  appointed  sexton  of  St.  "Werburgh's  in  1687,  during  King's 
incumbency,  and  held  office  till  1715  (Hughes,  The  Church  of  St.  Werburgh, 
Dublin,  Dublin,  1889,  p.  155).  <  He  is  therefore,  probably,  the  Mr.  Bulkley  of  the 
text  (cf .  2nd  September) ;  and  the  '  account  of  that  matter '  is  the  letter  printed  in  the 
Appendix  (No.  ii.),  sent  the  previous  day  to  Anthony  Dopping,  Bishop  of  Meath,  by 
the  hands  of  Delany  (see  note  137).  The  mention  of  it  here  is  merely  introductory 
to  the  statement  that  the  answer  was  brought  by  Mr.  D.  (Delany).  The  apparitor 
whom  King  directed  Bulkley  to  send  to  him — and  who  doubtless  disregarded  his 
message — was  probably  "William  Budworth.  (See  Introduction,  p.  125.)  Compare 
note  7  to  letter  vi.  in  the  Appendix.  The  answer  of  the  Bishop  of  Meath  is  not  now 
forthcoming. 

(142)  I  have  no  doubt  that  Mr.  B.  is  James  Bonnell,  on  whom  see  above,  note  106. 
The  difficulties  of  the  office  of  Accountant- General  under  the  government  of  1689 
must  have  been,  to  a  sincerely  religious  Protestant,  very  many,  and  we  can  easily 
understand  that  he  would  wish  to  consult  his  friend  about  them. 

(143)  Mrs.   Moor's   'two  daughters'   were  probably  Mrs,    Foley,    wife   of  the 
Chancellor  of  St.  Patrick's,  and  Mrs.  Scroggs,  wife  of  Benedict  Scroggs,  D.D.,  then  a 
Fellow  of  Trinity  College,  and  subsequently  (1695-6)  Prebendary  of  St.  John  the 
Evangelist  in  Christ  Church  (Hughes,  The  Church  of  St.  Werburgh,  Dublin,  p.  57). 

(144)  King  possibly  had  this  visit  in  memory  when  he  wrote,  "  During  their  Con- 
finement, the  Prisoners  were  kept  very  strictly,  their  Servants,  Children,  and  Wives, 
were  often  debarred  from  seeing  them ;  or  when  admitted,  not  suffered  to  speak  to 
them,  but  in  presence  of  the  Soldiers  "  (S.  P.  I.,  chap,  in.,  §  7,  p.  93). 

(145)  Apparently  identical  with  Lieut.  Doyle,  who  is  several  times  mentioned. 
There  are  two  Lieutenants  of  this  name  in  King  James'  Army  List,  one  in  the  Earl  of 
Westmeath's,  the   other  in  Oliver  O'Gara's  Regiment  of   Foot  (D'Alton,  pp.  734, 

(146)  Capt.  Mark  Baggot  of  Grace's  Infantry  (D'Alton,   p.  800)  is  perhaps  the 
person  referred  to.     He  was  afterwards  executed  as  a  spy  (J.  N.,  p.  129).     A  Lieut.- 
Col.  Baggot  was  taken  prisoner  at  Aughrim  (D'Alton,  p.  801). 

(147)  The  reference  is,  of  course,  to  the  supposed  plot  of  1678. 

;  (148)  This  sentence  cannot  have  been  written  till  a  few  days  after  6th  September. 
Compare  above,  note  112. 


DIARY  OF  WILLIAM  KING,  D.D.,  ARCHBISHOP  OF  DUBLIN.     271 

away  ye  furniture  of  ye  room.  I  bid  him  do  as  he  pleased.  We  heard 
that  an  English  gazet  was  in  town,  which  gave  an  account  of  ye  beat- 
ing ye  French  fleet.  We  heard  from  Mr  S h  that  Newry  was  deserted 

&  partly  burnt  but  y*ye  invaders  came  in  &  saved  some  part.149  At  night 
Mr  J).  F:150  Lieut.  Doyle  &  another  visited  us  and  talkt  impertinently 
— [57] — being  half  drunk.  Cap.  Fitz:  told  us  how  he  had  rifled  long 
ago  near  80  arms  from  ye  Marshalse  &  y*  it  was  little  less  yn  high  treason 
to  conceal  any  arms  when  the  King  commanded  ym  to  be  brought  in.151 
Doyle  said  y1  yre  was  satisfaction  given  where  arms  were  taken  away. 
I  told  him  y1  I  knew  ye  contrary  &  gave  instances  to  which  he  made  a 
saucy  and  impertinent  answer.  He  owned  Newry  was  taken  &  said 
€oll.  B: 15a  bid  him  ly  in  our  room  when  he  went  away  Cap1  Fitz:  told 
us  y1  Cumb:  had  signified  to  him  his  intention  of  stripping  us,  so  he 
expressed  ye  taking  away  ye  furniture  of  ye  room  &  y1  he  had  made 
JVTrs  Fitz:  sneak  away  when  he  threatened  her  with  it.  I  told  ym 

y*  ye  lattor  part  was  false  &  y*  I  woud  rather  endure  anything  y11  be 
beholden  to  him  for  any  favour  he  coud  shew  me. 

Sep.  7. — We  heard  y1  ye  Newry  was  taken  the  duke  of  Berwick 153 
having  left  it,  but  y1  yre  was  not  time  allowed  ym  to  burn  it  all,  y*  Schom- 
berg  was  come  as  far  as  Dundalk,154  &  some  sd  as  far  as  Lergon  race165 


(149)  See  Introduction,  p.  133  sq.     Story  (p.  13)  says  that  when  Schomberg  entered 
Newry  the  flames  were  "  not  quite  extinguished,"  which  leaves  a  different  impression 
from  that  given  by  the  statement  in  the  text. 

(150)  Mr.  D.  F.  seems  to  be  the  same  person  who  is  called  « Capt.  Fitz.'  in  the 
next  sentence,  and  '  Capt.  F.'  under  the  date  9th  September.     He  was,  perhaps,  Capt. 
David  Fitzgerald,  of  McEllicott's  Foot  (D'Alton,  p.  913). 

(151)  Compare  S.  P.  I.,  chap,  in.,  §  3,  p.  67,  where  it  is  stated  that  Wolf,  the  sub- 
verger  of  Christ  Church,  who  was  arrested  this  very  day  (6th  September),  was  declared 
by  Nugent  to  have  been  guilty  of  treason  for  concealing  arms.     The  Churches  had 
been  seized  for  the  purpose  of  searching  them  for  arms.     (Ib.  chap,  in.,  §  18,  p.  209). 

(152)  Col.  Barker  (?).     See  above,  5th  September,  and  note  60. 

(153)  James  Fitzjames,  eldest  son  of  James  II.,  by  Arabella  Churchill,  sister  of 
the  first  Duke  of  Marlborough.     He  was  born  at  Moulins  21st  August,  1670,  and  in 
1686,  when  he  was  only  sixteen  years  of  age,  acquired  some  distinction  as  a  soldier. 
He  was  created  Duke  of  Berwick  by  his  father  in  1687,  and  followed  him  in  his 
^flight  to  France  the  next  year.     He  served  at  the  siege  of  Deny  and  at  the  chief 
battles  of  the  war  which  followed.     In  February,  1690-1,  he  was  appointed  Com- 
mander-in-Chief  in  the  absence  of  Tyrconnell,  but  does  not  appear  to  have  shown 
much  ability  while  he  held  that  post.     Later  on,  however,  he  won  many  laurels  on 
the   Continent,  and   was  killed  at  the  siege  of  Phipsburg  in  1734  (D.  N.  B.,  xix., 
p.  178,  where  references  are  given  to  the  authorities). 

(154)  This  report  was  a  little  in  advance  of  the  facts.    Schomberg  only  left  Newry 
on  the  7th,  arriving  at  Dundalk  the  same  day.     But  an  advance  party  under  Lord 
Lisburn  preceded  the  main  army  (Story,  p.  14  ;   S.P.  D..  p.  251). 

(155)  Probably  the  River  Fane,  three  miles  south  of  Dundalk — "the  river  that 
goes  down  to  Largon"    (Life,  p.  379).     It  is   called  apparently  'the  Lurgan'   in 
S.  P.  D.,  p.  278,  and  « the  River  of  Largan '  is  the  name  given  to  it  in  Relation,  p.  7. 
The    village    at  the  mouth  of  the  Fane  is  now  called  Lurgangreen.      The  name 
*  Lurgan  race '  occurs  in  A  Journal  of  what  has  past  in  the  North  of  Ireland  Since 
the  Landing  of  the  Luke  of  Schomberg, to  the  Surrender  of  Car  rick -Fergus,  London,  1689 
(a  letter  dated  Belfast,  25th  August,  1689). 


272      ;ROYAL  SOCIETY  OF  ANTIQUARIES  OF  IRELAND. 

&  Germanstown.156     I  had  an  answer   from  the  B:  M.  to  which  I  sent 
an  answer  by  Mr  D.157 


—  Sep.  8.  —  I  preached  twice  on  M:  6.  25.158  There  was  Mr 
Bragston  at  Sermon  in  the  morning.  We  talk  of  several  things.  He  told 
M  Carty  More  was  come  to  town159  &  y*  he  had  seen  several  Munster 
gentlemen  in  yc  invaders  camp.  Mr  L:  came  in  ye  afternoon  &  told  us 
yl  Mr  Lincoln160  had  declared  y1  the  town  shoud  be  burnt  if  the  King 
chanced  to  be  beaten  &  was  very  positive  in  it. 

Sep.  9.  —  We  had  a  venison  pasty  &  Mr  Harold  a  fryer  dined  with 
us.161  In  ye  afternoon  Mr  F  -  h  162  came  to  se  me  &  gave  me  an 
account  of  Mr  K  -  g  being  made  a  prisoner  at  ye  Wheat  Sheaf  of  which 
I  had  ye  account  anext  from  my  man.  Mr  Delany  came  up  with  an  ac- 
count of  my  business.  163  All  this  time  two  officers  of  ye  guard  were  by 
•  &  very  rudely  intruded  on  our  privacy  which  we  indured.  Yre  came  up 
likewise  an  officer  with  a  man  &  a  letter  to  Coll.  Moor  while  We  were  at 
diner.  He  brought  likewise  a  bill  of  exchange  of  twenty  from  Sir  Thomas 
Southwell,  but  Coll.  Moor  refused  to  open  the  letter  or  accept  ye  bill 
because  it  came  from  a  person  with  whom  correspondence  was  not  safe.164 

(156)  Gernonstown,  now  Castle  Bellingham,  in  the  County  Louth,  which  is  on  the 
River  Glyde,  about  8  miles  from  Dundalk. 

(157)  "What  seems  to  be  a  rough  draught  of  this  answer  from  the  Bishop  of  Meath 
is  printed  in  the  Appendix  (No.  iii.).     The  letter  in  reply  to  which  it  \vas  written  is 
lost.     King's  answer,  sent  by  Mr.  Delany,  is  No.  iv.  in  the  Appendix. 

(158)  St.  Matt.  vi.  24  sqq.  was  the  Gospel  for  the  day  (15th  Sunday  after  Trinity). 

(159)  McCarthy  More  was  tlie  Governor  of  Carrickfergus,  and  on  the  surrender 
of  that  town  was  allowed  to  march  with  the  garrison  to  Newry  (Story,  p.  10  ;  Life, 
p.  374). 

(160)  Nicholas  and  Michael  Lincoln  were  Aldermen  of  Dublin  under  the  charter  of 
1687  (A.R.,  p.  473). 

(161)  In  Mrs.  Lyons'  collection  are  two  letters  which  hear  no  date,  hut  apparently 
belong  to  the  year  1690,  signed  by  Francis  Anthony  Harold.    It  is  highly  probable  that 
he  is  the  friar  mentioned  in  the  text.     His  letters  are  directed  '  '  to  the  very  Rd  father 
in  god,  Deane  King,  Dr.  of  Divinity,  &c.,"  and  beg  his  aid  in  recovering  two  trunks 
full  of  hooks.      One  had  been  'taken  from  Mr.  Coale's  house  '  the  previous  day,  the 
other  ('  a  great  trunk  ')  he  had  '  lost  in  ye  convent.'       Harold  was  himself  powerless 
in  the  matter,  for  he  '  durst  not  he  seen  to  appear  for  fear  of  ye  Rahell.'     It  is 
interesting  to  find  friendship  maintained  between  the  Protestant  Dean,  and  the  Roman 
Catholic   Friar,  at  a  time  when  religious  feeling   was  so  hitter.     Francis  Anthony 
Harold  was,  I  suppose,  a  kinsman  of  a  more  famous  Francis  Harold,  of  Limerick, 
Chronographer  of  the  Order   of  St.  Francis,  who  died  at  Rome,   18th  March,    1685 
(D.N.B.,  xxiv.,p.  426). 

(162)  Perhaps  this  should  he  read  '  T  -  h.'     See  note  131. 

(163)  The  business  of  the  Bishop  of  Galloway.     Delany  probably  brought  a  letter 
from  Bishop  Dopping  in  answer  to  that  written  by  King  on  7th  September,  and  was  the 
bearer  of  the  reply  to  it  (App.,  No.  v.).     He  seems  to  have  been  the  clergyman  who 
was  "  assaulted  and  pusht  at  with  a  naked  Sword  several  times,  and  carried,  after  they 
had  sufficiently  ahus'd  him,  to  Jail  "  (S.  P.  L,  chap,  in.,  §  19,  p.  219). 

(164)  On  Sir  Thomas  Southwell,  seeD.  N.  B.,  liii,  p.  303.     He  was  at  this  time  a 
prisoner  at  Galway.     The  story  of  his  attempt  to  proceed  at  the  end  of  February,  1689, 
from  Kinsale  to  Lord  Kingston  at  Sligo,  with  over  a  hundred  Protestants,  his  capture 
by  Power,  High  Sheriff  of  Galway,  and  the  incarceration  of  himself  and  his  follower^ 


DIARY  OF  WILLIAM  KING,  D.D.,  ARCHBISHOP  OF  DUBLIN.     273 

At  night  Cap*  F:  &  L1  Doyle  came  up  and — [59] — told  us  y*  Cap*  Flower,165 
Cap*  Long,  &  some  others  were  killed  at  a  fight  at  Carrigfergus  and 
about  1.100  more.  It  was  sd  also  y*  Schomherg  had  sent  to  ye  King  to 
tell  him  y*  if  his  army  did  not  give  over  ye  barbarous  custom  of  burning 
the  countrey  he  must  torture  all  ye  prisoners  he  had  or  coud  catch,  to 
death. 1(56  It  was  said  likewise  y*  Kirk  had  gained  ye  bridge  of  Slane. 167 
My  Sexton  told  me  that  R.  C:  were  generally  removing  yre  goods. 

Sep.  10. — Mr  Eorridge  came  to  se  us.168  there  came  up  an  officer 
with  him  y1  as  soon  as  he  came  in  bid  him  say  what  he  had  to  pay 
quickly  for  he  woud  not  stay  or  wait  on  him.  He  said  several  other  insolent 
things.  I  checkt  him  for  ym  One  bid  Mr  Bor.  speak  latine  he  said 
he  shoud  not  speak  latine,  with  several  other  impertinencys.  Upon 
which  Mr  Fitz:  began  to  speak  latine.  Ye  officer  laid  hands  on  Mr  B. 
&  woud  have  pulled  him  away  by  violence  but  coud  not  &  finding 
we  laught  at  him  he  went  away  in  a  fury  &  after  a  while  brought  his  Cap* 
one  Roch169  who  was  a  little  civiller  but  yet  took  away  Mr.  Bor:  after 
this.  My  Churchwarders  came  to  me  with  a  letter  from  Sir  ~W.  Ellis  to 
get  my  books  for  minister — [60] — mony.  no  I  put  it  of  till  at  liberty. 


in  violation  of  the  articles  of  surrender,  is  told  by  several  pamphleteers  of  the  time. 
See  especially  Indictment,  p.  28  sq.,  where  the  narrative  is  from  the  pen  of  one  of  the 
prisoners  who  escaped — Thomas  Warner  ;  An  account  of  the  Transactions  of  the  late 
King  James  in  Ireland,  London,  1690,  p.  20  ;  S.  P.  L,  chap,  in.,  §  12,  pp.  157-159, 
§  13,  p.  170  sq.,  p.  356  ;  J.  N.,  p.  42.  After  their  capture  the  prisoners  were  tried  for 
treason,  and  sentenced  to  be  hanged  and  quartered.  James,  who  had  just  landed  at 
Kinsale,  granted  a  reprieve,  but  a  pardon  could  not  be  obtained,  and  the  sentence  was 
kept  hanging  over  them  for  more  than  a  year.  Southwell  himself  escaped  to  Scotland. 
The  rest  obtained  their  release  by  the  victory  of  the  Boyne.  In  refusing  to  accept  the 
bill  Colonel  Moor  did  wisely  :  see  below,  note  342. 

(165)  Perhaps  the  Captain  Flower  mentioned  in  connexion  with  Mr.  Thomas  Crow 
A.  E,.,  p.  429,  vol.  vi.,  p.  27.     If  so  this  report  was  untrue. 

(166)  The  message,  according  to  Story,  p.   13,  was  that  if  James  did  not  cease 
to  burn  the  towns,  iSchomberg  would  give  no  quarter.      Compare  Luttrell,  p.  583  ; 
S.  P.  D.,   p.  251;    Relation,  p.  5.      The  Jacobite  answer,  in  a  letter  from  Thomas 
English  at  the  camp  at  Drogheda,    "  by  command  of  the  late  commander-in-chief  at 
Dundalk,"  to  "the  officer  commanding-in-chief  the  enemy's  army,"  taunts  Schomberg 
with  his  alleged  violation  of  the  articles  of  capitulation  at  Carrickfergus,  and  proceeds 
to  declare  that  "  the  king  will  retaliate  the  same  usage  towards  his  rebellious  subjects, 
which  he  already  has,  or  may  have,  and  more  especially  towards  those  of  the  first 
quality"  (S.  P.  D.,  p.  247). 

(167)  Untrue.     Kirk  was  with  Schomberg  at  Dundalk. 

(168)  Ezekiel  Burridge,  Scholar  of  Trinity  College,  1683,  B.A.  1684,  M.A.  1687.     He 
had  been  King's  curate  at  Finglas  (Cotton,  vol.  v.,  p.  122),  and  was  one  of  the  clergy 
of  Dublin  who  suffered  severe  usage  in  1689  (S.  P.  I.,  chap,  in.,  §  19,  p.  219.     See  hi& 
affidavit,   ib.,  p.  317).      In  1694  Burridge  was  Vicar-General  of  Down  and  Connor 
(Cotton,  vol.  ii.,  p.  154) ;  in  1702  he  took  the  degree  of  LL.D.  ;  in  1705,  as  Vicar-Generul 
of  Dublin,  he  successfully  resisted  an  attempt  of  the  Crown  to  appoint  a  Dean  to  St. 
Patrick's  Cathedral  (Cotton,  vol.  v.,  p.  107),  and,  in  1706,  he  became  Prebendary  of 
Malahiddert   in   that   cathedral  (Mason,  p.  Ixxix).      He  died   before  1708.      Harris 
Ware's  Works,  vol.  iii.,  p.  263)  states  that  Burridge  was  the  author  of  three  treatises, 
one  of  which  was  in  the  Latin  language.     He  also  published,  in  1701,  a  Latin  trans- 
lation of  Locke's  Essay. 

(169)  See  above,  note  24. 

(170)  On  the  career  of  Sir  William  Ellis,  see  D.  N.  B.,  xvii.,  p.  295.     He  was  at 


274        ROYAL    SOCIETY   OF  ANTIQUARIES   OF  IRELAND. 

They  brought  6  bottles  of  wine  we  drank  3.  The  centry  staid 
with  ns  till  I  gave  him  a  bottle  all  which  he  drank  with  ye  other 
centries.  Mr  Cope 171  was  with  me  &  brought  2  excommunication.  Mr 
Pinglasse  likewise  in  the  morning. m  I  gave  him  direction  about  our 
chapter. 

Sep*  y*  11. — We  heard  of  near  80  persons  clapt  up  in  ye  Queen's 
hospital.173  M'P^sei^W;  had  bin  confined  all  night  for  carrying  letters 
to  ye  post  office,174  which  ye  guard  broke  open  but  returned  in  ye  morning. 
^Before  noon  ye  Cap1  of  ye  guard  came  up  &  was  very  troublesome  hinder- 
ing Mr  Delany  who  had  business  with  me  to  speak  with  me.  I  told  him 
y1 1  firmly  believed  he  had  no  such  orders  y*  we  were  only  used  thus  by 
impertinent  persons  &  I  endeavoured  to  show  him  the  unreasonableness 
of  it,  but  Cap*  Eoch  for  y1  was  his  name  seemed  not  to  have  sense  or 
good  manners  to  apprehend  it.  "We  heard  at  night  that  ye  shops  on 
ye  comb175  &  ye  clothiers  hall  were  robbed  of  several  pieces  of  cloth  ; 
that  some  who  were  dismissed  on  bail  were  clapt  up  again,  par- 
ticularly one  gentleman  who  had  bin  at  12lb  charges  in  getting  him- 
self bailed ;  and  yl  Schomberg  with  his  army  were  retreated  towards 
Dundalk.176 

[§l~]—Sep.  ye  13. — Many  were  clapt  up  in  y6  Old  hospital177  &  in  ye 

-this  time  one  of  the  Commissioners  of  Revenue,  an  Assessor  for  the  City  of  Dublin, 
,and  a  member  of  the  Privy  Council  (S.  P.  I.,  p.  336 ;  D'Alton,  pp.  30,  869  ;  A.  R., 
,pp.  xlvii,  458,  460). 

(171)  I  have  failed  to  identify  this  person. 

(172)  John  Finglass,  Prebendary  of  St.  Audoen's  in  St.  Patrick's  Cathedral. 

(173)  Strangely  enough  this  is  an  alias  for  the  King's  Hospital,  which  in  A.  R., 
-vol.  vi.,  p.  294  (5th  October,  1703),  is  called  «  The  queens  Blew  Coate  Hospital  in 
Oxmondtovvne.'      This  reference  I  owe  to  the  kindness  of  Sir  Frederick  R.  Falkiner, 
Recorder  of  Dublin.      The  original  buildings  of  King's  Hospital  stood  a  little  to  the 
«ast  of  the  present  structure  (erected  in  1773),  and  were  on  the  west  side  of  Queen' s- 
-  street.      It  was  possibly  for  this  not  very  sufficient  reason  that  the  name  '  Queen's 
Hospital '  was  occasionally  given  to  them.     It  was  in  no  other  way  appropriate  ;  and 
no  hospital  in  Dublin  seems  to  have  had  any  right  to  the  title. 

(174)  Then  in  Fishamble- street  (Gilbert,  vol.  i.,  p.  61). 

(175)  The  long  street  running  westwards  from  St.  Patrick's  Cathedral  known  as 
>the  Coombe. 

(176)  There  was,  of  course,  no  retreat.     Plainly  King  thought  that  the  Williamite 
army  had  advanced  beyond  Dundalk.     Compare  Sept.  7,  9.     O'Kelly,  in  like  manner, 
represents  Schomberg  to  have  come  to  Drogheda,  and  finding  it  in  James's  hands,  to 
have  retired  to  Dundalk  (Macariae  Excidium,  p.  39). 

(177)  There  seem  to  have  been  only  three  hospitals  in  Dublin  at  this  time.     Since 
neither  the  Military  Hospital  at  Kilmairiham  (see  note  224)  nor  the  King's  Hospital 
(note  295)  could  be  described  as  «  old,'  the  one  here  intended  must  be  « The  great  house 
commonly  called  the  Hospitall  situate  in  Back-lane'  (A.  R.,  vol.  iv.,  p.  543,  under 
the  date  23rd  August,  1671).      This  '  Mass  House'  originally  belonged  to  the  Jesuits, 
but  in  the  early  part  of  the  seventeenth  century  was  taken  from  them  and  became  a 
College  united  to  Trinity  College.      Having  been  for  a  short  time  again  in  the  hands 
-of  the  Jesuits,  it  was  made  a  Government  hospital  under  Charles  II.,  and  finally  in  1672 
a  charter  was  issued  for  re- opening  in  it  the  old  City  Free  School.      (See  Gilbert, 
vol.  i.,  p.  240  sqq.}.      It  will  be  observed  that  Back-lane  is  mentioned  in  the  imme- 
•diate  context. 


DIARY  OF  WILLIAM  KING,  D.D.,  ARCHBISHOP  OF  DUBLIN.     275 

College  which  was  made  a  garison.178     It  was  sd  several  houses  in  back 
lane179  were  pulled  down  to  clear  ye  City  wall. 

Sep.  14- — We  had  a  great  alarm  in  town  of  ships  seen  about  Scirrys 
and  it  was  sd  some  forces  were  landed.180  Ll  Doyle  came  up  &  told  us 
this.  We  coud  not  get  drink  &  things  convenient  because  of  ye  hurry.  The 
great  gun  in  ye  Castle  yard  was  loaded.  He  told  also  of  one  Daniel 181 
who  by  his  own  authority  had  clapt  up  many,  but  sd  he,  he  is  got  intoy6 
army,  &  is  protected  by  y*  means. 

Sep.  15. — Word  was  sent  me  yl  the  bells  were  forbidden  to  be  rung 
&  service  prohibited  in  all  Churches  by  ye  government.  I  preached 
twice  on  Eph.  3.  14. 182  The  report  of  ships  seen  at  ye  Skerrys183 
proved  to  be  only  a  few  y*  seemed  to  be  driven  in  yre  by  stress  of  weather, 
who  went  off  again.  The  number  we  coud  not  learn.  Mr  Crow  got  leave 
to  go  out  with  a  sergeant  to  see  his  man  Mr  Beck  who  died.184  He 
came  back  to  evening  service. 

Sep.  16. — Some  barels  of  powder  were  put  under  the  prisoners  y* 
were  in  Lord  Longford's  house,  &  it  was  told  ym  y*  they  shoud  be  blown 
up  if  they  stirred. 

The  scholars  were  turned  out  of  ye  College  &  not  suffered  to  carry 
yre  beds  or  books  with  them.185— [62]— Coll.Warren  &  Mr  Clark  came 
to  ye  room  next  us. 

(178)  This  had  happened  a  week  before,  on  the  6th  (Stubbs5  History  of  the  University 
of  Dublin,  1889,  p.  129  «?.).     It  is  curious  that  King  should  not  have  heard  of  it 
sooner.     On  Wednesday,  llth  September,  the  College    "  was  made  a  prison  for  the 
Protestants  of  the  City,  of  whom  a  great  number  were  confined  to  the  upper  part  of  the 
Hall"  (College  Register,  quoted  by  Stubbs,  ib.). 

(179)  The  street  running  at  the  back  of  High-street,  just  inside  the  City  "Wall, 
from  St.  Nicholas -street  to  the  New  Gate. 

(180)  At  Ardee,  on  the  14th,  James  "  met  with  intelligence,  that  about  twelve  sail 
of  the  enemy's  fleet  were  the  day  before  up  with  the  Skerries  and  fired  many  guns, 
which  drew  the  militia  and  such  numbers  down  to  the  shore,  that  they  durst  not 
venture  upon  it,  but  bore  away  large  to  the  southward,  where  they  ply'd  too  and 
again,  betwixt  Hoath  and  Bullock,  ^with  a  design,  as  it  is  thought,  to  animate  the 
malignant  party  (if  any  such  were  in  Dublin)  to  rise."     After  a  time  "  they  vainly 
stood  off  to  sea  and  were  soon  out  of  sight"  (Nibell,  p.  221).     This  is  in  substantial 
agreement  with  the  account  given  in  a  letter  of  30th  September  (S.  P.  D.,  p.  279).     But 
the  ships  were  only  five  in  number — frigates  which  left  Carrickfergus  13th  (qy.  12th) 
September,  under  the  command  of  Eooke.     They  landed  200  men  at  Skerries,  and 
entered  Dublin  Bay,  on  their  way  to  Cork,  which  was  reached  on  the  18th  (S.  P.  D., 
pp.  257,  271  sq.}.     The  incident  was  made  the  pretext  for  prohibiting  Protestants  from 
assembling  for  worship  (S.  P.  I.,  chap,  in.,  §  18,  p.  215). 

(181)  The  name  does  not  occur  in  D' Alton's  index.     But  it  is  possibly  the 
anglicized  form  of  O'Donnell. 

(182)  From  the  Epistle  for  the  16th  Sunday  after  Trinity. 

(183)  See  note  180. 

(184)  "Anthony  Beck,  gentleman,  of  the  City  of  Dublin,"  had  sufficient  property 
to  render  desirable  the  making  of  a  will,  in  which  he  provided  for  his  wife  and  child. 
It  was  signed  15th  September,  1689,  and  proved  in  August,  1690.     In  it  he  named  his 
"  loving  and  deaf  friend,  Thomas  Crow,  Esqr.,"  .one  of  the  "overseers  in  trust  of" 
his  will. 

(185)  Not  quite  accurate :   "  The  scholars  were  all  turned  out  by  souldiers,  and 
ordered  to  carry  nothing  with   'em  but  their  books.     But  Mr.  Thewles  [one  of  the 


276    ROYAL  SOCIETY  OF  ANTIQUARIES  OF  IRELAND. 

Sep.  y*  17. — The  ships  that  lay  at  Skerrys  came  to  ye  harbour  of 
Dublin.  One  came  in  &  obliged  a  ship  or  two  which  was  yre  to  run 
aground.  They  went  off  from  thence  towards  Wicklow.186  Several 
pieces  of  ordnance  were  placed  on  Bermingham's  tower.187 

Sep.  18. — It  was  said  a  wood  boat  from  Wicklow  was  come  in  which 
met  the  ships  &  y*  they  had  taken  off  an  Englishman  who  was  on  board 
&  given  several  letters  to  ye  seamen  to  be  delivered  to  yre  friends  in 
Dublin,  intimating  y*  ye  French  fleet  needed  not  be  feared  &  y*  another 
army  was  to  be  landed. 

Sept.  19. — Tom  W.  came  to  see  me  &  told  me  y*  the  K.  camp  &  ye 
invaders  were  near  one  another  &  a  fight  was  expected  every  day.  He 
told  me  also  y1  at  Kilkeny  about  a  fortnight  ago  there  come  (sic]  a 
granadier  into  church  in  time  of  service  &  committed  several  rude- 
nesses &  when  he  was  turned  out  by  force  he  went  &  raised  ye  people 
upon  them  cryed  out  y  *  ye  Protestants  had  murthered  a  granadier  in  Church 
&  buryed  him  in  a  vault.  Upon  which  there  was  an  assault  made  upon  ye 
Church,  ye  seats  pulled  up  &  ye  people  abused  &  worse  had  followed  had 
not  ye  governour  come  in  &  prevented  it.  He  told  me  also  y*  a  Lieut.  & 
a  soldier  were  hanged  in  Thomas  street  for  pressing  horses  &  selling  ym 
afterwards.  The  great  gun  wh  lay  in  ye  Castle  yard  was  taken  away  in 
order  to  be  melted  &  coined.  We  observed  more  yn  ordinary  crowding 
&  hufy  in  the  Castle  yard. 

[63] — Sep.  20. — Mr  F:  came  to  us  in  the  morning  &  told  us  y1  some- 
thing or  other  was  amiss  with  ye  K.  forces  for  they  were  out  of  humor. 
About  night  9  coachs  were  brought  in  with  prisoners  from  a  ship  y*  had 
license  to  go  out  but  was  brought  back  again.  L*  Doyle  came  up  &  brought 
Mr  Welsh  with  him  who  served  Alderman  Ram.188  He  turned  me 

fellows]  and  some  others  were  not  permitted  to  take  their  boots  with  'em"  (Stuhbs,. 
ut  sup.}. 

(186)  See  above,  note  180. 

(187)  This  is  not  what  is  now  known  as  the  Birmingham  Tower,  and  which  is  the  only 
one  of  the  four  original  towers  of  the  Castle  still  standing.     This  Tower  was  formerly 
called  the  Wardrobe  Tower,   and    marks   the   south-east   corner  of  the  quadrangle. 
Birmingham's  Tower   stood  at  the   south-west   corner,  and  in   it  the  Records  were 
preserved  from  1579.     They  were  transferred  to  the  "Wardrobe  Tower  early  in  the  last 
century,  and  apparently  the  name  of  the  tower  went  with   them.     The  original 
Birmingham's  Tower  was  taken  down  and  rebuilt  in  1775  (W.  J.  Bayly,  Historical 
Sketch  and  Description  of  Dublin  Castle,  pp.  27,  28). 

(188)  Alderman  Abel  Ram,  son  of  Abel  Ram,  of  Ramsfort,   Co.   Wexford,  and 
grandson  of  Thomas  Ram,  Bishop  of  Ferns  and  Leighlin  (1605-1634),  was  a  gold- 
smith.    He  took  a  leading  part  in  the  affairs  of  the  city  of  Dublin  for  many  years. 
He  was  elected  alderman  in   1675-6  (A.  R.,  p.  100),  and  served  on  the  Water  Com- 
mittee in  1676  and  1685  (Ib.,  pp.  Ill,  369).     He  was  one  of  the  Auditors  of  the  City 
Accounts   from  1676  to   1687  (Ib.,  pp.  126,  147,  162,  182,  197,  224,  259,  292,  368, 
409,  449),  and  again  in  1690  and  1691  (Ib.t  pp.  506,  525),  treasurer  of  the  fund  lor 
building  the  new  Tholselin  1678  (Ib.,  pp.  157,  192),  a  member  of  the  committee  which 
in  1683  and  the  following  years  investigated  the  finances  of  the  city,  which  had  been 
impoverished  by  this  work  (Ib.,  pp.  269,  378),  of  a  committee  to  consider  a  message 
from  Clarendon  relative  to  the  admission  of  Roman  Catholics  to  the  freedom  of  the 


DIARY  OF  WILLIAM  KING,  D.D.,  ARCHBISHOP  OF  DUBLIN.     277 

out  of  my  closet  &  shut  in  Mr  Welsh  with  wm  the  governor  had  ordered 
none  shoud  speak.  His  crime  was  sending  a  bill  of  exchange  to  England. 
He  was  not  allowed  a  bed  &  yrefore  I  lent  him  my  quilt  off  my  bed. 
Mr  Short  was  confined  after  ye  same  manner  in  Mr  Ormsby's  closet  &  he 
turned  out.  The  constable  of  ye  Castle  allowed  ym  no  beds. 

Sep.  21. — Mr  Welsh  &  Short  were  continued  in  yre  several  apart- 
ments as  formerly  a  mortar  was  placed  in  ye  Castle  yard  instead  of  a 
great  gun. 

Sep.  22.— I  preached  2ce  on  Luke  14.  I.189  In  ye  afternoon  yre  came 
up  to  service  Mr  Bragstone  &  two  R.  C: 

Sep.  23.—  Dr  F:190  came  up  &  told  us  y1  his  Church  windows  had 
bin  broken,  y1  his  people  were  disturbed  by  rude  fellows  at  service,  that 
his  mony  had  all  been  seized  at  Alderman  Earns,  and  only  22d  left 
him. — [64] — Some  39  persons  had  bin  taken  up  from  ye  3  tuns  in 
Michael's  Lane,191  who  were  in  several  rooms  yre  &  hurry ed  to  several 
prisons. 

Sep.  2Jj.. — We  heard  y1  Schomberg   kept   his   trenches  and  y*  the 

K was  very  earnest  to   have  him   fight,192  and  that  500  barrels 

of  ale  were  imposed  on  the  bruers  of  Dublin  to  be  sent  down  to  ye  camp 
every  week,  that  the  camp  was  in  some  want. 

..Sep.  #5.— Dr  P.  came  again  but  brought  us  no  news,  only  y*  ye 
protestants  coud  not  meet  two  or  three  in  a  house  to  eat  or  drink  but 
they  were  clapt  up ;  that  two  coud  not  walk  in  the  street  but  any  rogue 
that  pleased  woud  seize  on  ym  as  the  K.  prisoners.  We  found  that  ye 
persons  brought  into  prison  munday  &  tuesday  were  kept  without  meat, 
Drink,  candle,  fire,  bed,  or  so  much  as  a  stool  to  sit  on. 

city  in  1686  (7i.,  pp.  391,  401),  and  of  a  committee  to  consider  a  proposal  for  build- 
ing a  workhouse  in  1686-7  (#.,  p.  419).  He  was  Lord  Mayor  for  1684-5  (Ib.,  p.  321), 
and  was  knighted  during  his  Mayoralty,  13th  Novemher,  1684.  He  fled  from  Dublin 
in  1688  or  1689,  and  was  attainted.  He  died  before  January,  1693-4  (A.  K,.,  vol.  vi., 
p.  51).  See  also  A.  R.,  pp.  223,  247,  249  sg.,  286  *q.,  332,  382,  385,  397,  428,  443, 
526. 

(189)  Gospel  for  the  17th  Sunday  after  Trinity. 

(190)  Doubtless  Nathaniel  Foy,  Scholar  of  Trinity  College  in  1663,  Fellow  of  the 
College  in  1671,  D.D.  16S4  (Cat.  of  Grads.).     He  was  ordained  Deacon,  20th  October, 
1669,  and  Priest,  29th  May,  1670,  both  by  the  Bishop  of  Kildare,  and  was  installed  in 
Kildare  Cathedral  as  second  Canou,  5th  October,  1670  (Cotton,  vol.  ii.,  p.  250,  vol.  v., 
p.  19).     He  was  minister  of  St.  Bride's  Church,  Dublin,  and  suffered  violence  and 
imprisonment  in  1689  and  1690  (S.  P.  I.,  chap,  in.,  §  19,  p.  218).     He  was  appointed 
Bishop  of  Waterford  in  1691,  and  died  in  Dublin,  31st  December,  1707.     See  Carroll's 
St.  Zride's,  p.  15  ;  Cotton,  vol.  i.,  p.  130. 

(191)  Michael's-lane  runs  to  the  north  from   High-street,   at  the  back   of  the 
Synod  Hall.      The  incident  here  referred  to  is  more  fully    related    under    27th 
September.  „ 

(192)  Schomberg  began  to  entrench  himself  on  the  16th  (Story,  p.  19).    See  further 
Introduction,  p.  16. 


278         ROYAL  SOCIETY   OF   ANTIQUARIES   OF    IRELAND. 

Sept.  26. — It  was  said  that  the  K.  had  endeavoured  to  draw  ym 
enemys  (sic]  to  a  fight  on  Saturday  before  y*  they  woud  not  be 
engaged193  y*  the  K.  camp  was  not  well  provided:  y1  a  recruit  of 
4000  men  came  to  Schomberg  Sunday  last  &  40  ships194  y1  the  like 
was  expected  every  month  if  he  had  occasion:  y*  Mcay195  was  either 
landed  or  to  land  with  8000  foot  and  22  troops  of  horse  :  y*  Sir  Albert 
Connyngham 195  or  some  persons  from  Sligo  had  fallen  heavily  on  Coll. 
Kelly,197  Sir  TJlick  Burk198  &  his  brother  &  their  regiments  near 
boyle. 

[65] — Sep.  27. — Mr  Bragston  came  up  in  the  afternoon  &  told  us  y* 
he  &  a  great  many  more  to  ye  number  of  30  had  been  driven  from  the 
three  tun  tavern  on  this  account — one  Fitzgerald  came  in  &  enquired 
for  a  room,  they  told  him  that  all  ye  rooms  were  full,  he  swore  they  were 
full  with  whiggs  &  that  he  woud  empty  them  immediately,  and  he  came 
with  L*  Doyle  &  some  musquetiers  &  drove  ym  all  through  the  street, 
some  to  ye  Castle  some  to  ye  marshalsea199  y*  he  with  above  twenty 
more  were  put  into  one  room  &  there  kept  all  night  without  bed  fire  or 
other  conveniency.  the  next  morning  some  made  yre  application  to  ye 
governour  Luttrell200  some  he  released  without  fees  &  some  paid  2lb 
10"  or  thereabout  others  were  kept  still  yre  was  no  crime  or  pretence 
of  crime  laid  to  yre  charge.  We  likewise  learnt  that  it  was  ye 
common  practice  for  Doyle  &  others  to  get  fees  or  affront  protestants, 

(193)  This  attempt  was  made  on  Saturday,  21st.  September.     See  Introduction, 
p.  134. 

(194)  On  Sunday,  22nd  September,  Hewitt's  Horse  and  Ingoldsby's  Foot  reached  the 
camp  (Story,  p.  24).     "  This  afternoon  [i.e.  20th  September]  came  the  first  of  our 
Ships  up  to  Dundalk  from  Carlingford  with  Ammunition  and  Provisions  "  (ib.}  p.  22). 

(195)  Mackay,  the  "Williamite  general  in  Scotland  (?). 

(196)  Sir  Albert  Cunningham,  or  Conyngham,  was  the  second  son  of  Alexander 
Cunningham,  Dean  of  Raphoe  (1630-1660),  who  settled  at  Mount  Charles,  Co.  Donegal, 
He  was  appointed  Lieutenant  of  Ordnance  in  Ireland  in  1660,  and  knighted  (not,  how- 
ever, by  Charles  IT.,  as  Lodge  states)  about  1666.      He  was  dismissed  by  James  II. 
in   1686,   attainted  in   1689,  and  killed  by  Rapparees  5th  Sept.,  1691.     By  his  wife 
Mary,  daughter  of    Robert  Leslie,    Bishop  successively  of  Dromore,  Raphoe  and 
Clogher,  he  had  six  sons  and  three  daughters,  one  of  whom  was  married  to  James 
Bonnell  (see  above,  note  106).     The  Marquess  Conyngham  is  his  descendant  in  the 
female  line  (Lodge,  vol.  vii.,  p.   180;  S.  P.  I.,  p.  244).     For  the  incident  here  men- 
tioned see  Introduction  p.  17.     The  substance  of  this  note  and  much  else  I  owe  to 
G.  D.  Burtchaell,  Esq. 

(197)  Colonel  Charles  0' Kelly,   of  Screen,   County  Gal  way,  author  of  Macariae 
Excidium.     See  O'Callaghan's  Memoir  in  his  edition  of  that  work,   pp.  xi-xix  ; 
D' Alton,  p.  118. 

(198)  Sir  TJlick  Burke,  Baronet,  was  one  of  the  members  for  the  County  Galway 
in  the  Parliament  of  1689.     See  below,  note  216. 

(199)  "  An  apartment  in  the  Black  Dog  Prison  [Newgate -street]  was  used  as  the 
Sheriff's  Prison  or  Marshalsea  until  the  '  City  Marshalsea  '  was  established  in  1704,  on 
the  Merchants'  Quay,  between  Skipper's-alley  and  Swan-alley,  where  it  continued  tiU 
1805  "  (Irish  Builder,  vol.  xxix.,  p.  42). 

(200)  Simon  Luttrell,   eldest  son   of  Thomas  Luttrell,  of  Luttrellstown,  County 
Dublin,  was  a  son-in-law  of  Sir  Thomas  Newcomen,  and  had  been  Lieutenant- Colonel 
in  his  regiment.      He  was  appointed  Governor  of  Dublin  by  James.     He  died  in 
1698  (D.  N.  B.,  xxxiv.,  p.  301 ;  D' Alton,  p.  345). 


DIARY  OF  WILLIAM  KING,  D.D.,  ARCHBISHOP  OF  DUBLIN.     279 

to  run  about  to  eating  houses   &   taverns  or   wherever  they  think  ta- 
meet  gentlemen  together  &  to  drive  ym  to  jail. 


[*] — 201  Sep.  21. — Mr  Pierson  came  up  &  gave  us  account  of  his  con- 
finement in  the  College,  y*  he  had  bin  clapt  up  before  &  bailed  but  yet 
was  taken  again.  Twenty  of  ym  were  put  into  ye  same  room  without 
fire  or  beds  &  y*  powder  was  laid  in  the  room  under  ym  &  they  were 
told  y*  if  the  stirred  they  shoud  be  blown  up.202  Y*  on  Sunday,  Mr8 
"Whiteside  came  wth  her  children  to  see  her  husband  &  y*  the  officer 
came  &  turned  her  out.203  A  tenant  of  Mr  Crows  who  lives  on  the 
Comb  came  to  him  &  told  y*  as  he  came  up  he  was  questioned  by  the 
centry  and  y*  he  told  him  he  went  up  to  Mr  Crow  who  was  in  prison 
with  Cpt  P.  &  Dean  K.  Cap*  F.  sd  an  officer  named  Ruth,  I  wonder 
what  keep  him  there,  for  why  do  they  not  put  y*  rogue  out  of  pain. 

Mem:  Y*  on  ye  26  Mrs  L.  came  to  se  me  &  told  me  y*  one  came  into  ye 
extange204  to  buy  a  purse  to  put  gold  in,  which  he  had  robbed  from 
one  Mrs  Taylor  &  y*  Mr  P.  was  robbed  of  3  cards  of  silver  or  gold  lace, 
openly  in  his  shop,  y*  some  who  had  robbed  Mr  Longfield  a  papist205 
were  put  in  prison  but  they  secretly  let  such  escape  not  daring  to- 
punish  a  vice  so  universall. 


[66] — The  guards  &  centrys  were  very  strict  &  woud  not  suffer 

(201)  These  two  paragraphs  are  written  on  a  loose  sheet  of  paper  slipped  in  between 
pp.  65,  66. 

(202)  King  repeats  this  statement,  on  the  authority  of  Sir  John  Davis,  S.  P.  I.,, 
chap,  in.,  §  7,  p.  93.     Compare  16th  September. 

(203)  Whiteside  was  a  prisoner  in  the  Castle,  but  clearly  not  in  the  same  part  of 
it  as  King.   See  below,  30th  October.   And  for  the  present  incident,  compare  5th 
September,  5th  October. 

(204)  TheTholselof  Dublin  was  at  the  corner  of  Skinners' -row  (now  Christ  Church- 
place)  and  Nicholas -street.     It  was  rebuilt  in  1683.     In  the  upper  storey  was  the 
Exchange,  a  room  sixty  feet  in  length,  the  windows  of  which  were  on  the  west  side  of  the 
building,  looking  out  on  Nicholas -street  (Gilbert,  vol.  i.,  p.  165,  sqq. ;  A.  R.,  pp.  xxxiii, 
46,  96,  101,  111,  153,  156,  157,  170, 192, 197,  254-257,  267,  269,  271,  291,  319,  348). 

(205)  Perhaps  the  same  as  "Mr.  Robert  Longfield,  a  Cpnvert,  and  Clerk  of  the 
Quit-rents  and  Absentees  Goods"  (S.  P.  L,  chap,  in.,  §  12,  p.  157,  and  p.  336).     A 
letter  from  Mr.  Robert  Longfield  to  King,  of  the  date  8th  July,  1690,  is  preserved  in. 
Mrs.  Lyons'  collection.     From  it,  it  appears  that  Lougfield  was  a  Roman  Catholic, 


280        ROYAL   SOCIETY    OF    ANTIQUARIES    OF    IRELAND. 

people  to  come  to  us.  Twas  whispered  yl  ye  K.  was  expected  back  very 
soon  &  yl  men  were  landed  near  Cork,206  but  we  supposed  it  might 
be  only  such  an  alarm  as  had  bin  at  Dublin. 

Sept.  29. — I  preached  twice  on  1  Cor.  14.207  &  administered  the 
holy  sacrament.  13  of  us  received.  Mrs  L:  came  to  see  her  brother  & 
told  us  y*  last  week  Mrs  Frank  Sarcfield  told  her  that  it  was  resolved  in 
Council  6  weeks  ago  that  Dublin  shoud  be  burnt  if  ye  K:  were  worsted 
•&  how, — but  we  lookt  on  this  only  as  designed  to  make  the  citizens 
more  zealous  for  ye  K:s  service  when  they  thought  yre  own  preservation 
depended  on  it  it  was  told  us  y*  a  tallow  chandler  in  fish  shamble 
street  had  all  his  goods  to  ye  value  of  an  100lb  seized  &  taken  away 
because  he  asked  more  yn  ye  proclamation  allowed  for  a  pound  of  candles. 
Twas  observed  in  the  order  by  ye  deputy  mayor  for  ye  rate208  goods  such 
as  were  known  to  be  most  in  ye  hands  of  protestants  were  underrated ; 
such  as  butter,  beer,  &c. 

[67.] — Mr  Weaver  told  us  his  wool  &  the  wool  of  some  other 
gentlemen  to  ye  valu  of  700lb  was  seized  on  by  ye  comissioners.209 
Yre  came  up  Cap*  Mcgrah210  &  another  &  dined  with  us  the  discourse  was 
about  the  Raperys  who  they  said  had  ruined  the  country  &  the  K. 
It  was  sd  ye  K.  had  commanded  ye  country  between  Drogheda  &  Dundalk 
to  be  burnt.211  Coll.  "Worrens  room  was  all  floting  with  water.  We 
offered  him  a  place  for  his  bed  in  one  of  our  rooms  but  he  did  not  accept 
it.  We  shewed  Mr  Doyle  his  room  &  desired  him  to  procure  him 
another  he  sd  he  coud  procure  him  one  below  but  not  above. 


{.  30. — Mrs  Shaw  came  up  to  se  me  &  told  me  that  Alderman 
Bams  books  were  taken  &  all  his  mony  &  goods  discovered  that  his  ser*8 

well  thought  of  by  King  and  Bonnell,  who  befriended  absentee  Protestants  under 
James  II.  He  asks  to  be  informed  "why  a  warr1  is  issued  ag* "  him.  From  an 
enclosed  paper,  in  which  his  good  deeds  to  the  Protestants  are  enlarged  upon,  we  learn 
that  "  Mr.  Longfield  is  reflected  on  about  seizing  Absentees  goods  in  this  Citty" — the 
charges  made  against  him  being,  of  course,  according  to  his  contention,  entirely  un- 
founded. A  List  of  the  several  Persons  in  Civil  Offices  under  the  late  King  in  Ireland, 
printed  in  London,  1689,  however,  significantly  informs  us  that  he  "  manages  all  matters 
about  Absentees  Goods,  &  Estates,  &  all  that  People  are  robbed  of."  On  the  seizing 
of  the  property  of  absentees,  see  S.  P.  I.,  chap,  in.,  §  11,  p.  128  sq.,  p.  390  (recte,  408). 

(206)  Rooke's  frigates  had  arrived  there  18th  September.     See  note  180.    They 
landed  and  took  possession  of  "  the  Great  Island,"  on  the  20th  (S.  P.  D.,  p.  272). 

(207)  No  doubt  this  means  1  Cor.  i.  4,  a  verse  from  the  Epistle  for  the  18th  Sunday 
after  Trinity. 

(208)  The  words  '  ye  rate '  are  added  above  the  line.     This  sentence  is  expanded  in 
S.P.I.,  chap,  in.,  §  11,  p.  140  ;  from  which  we  learn  that  Alderman  Edmund  Reilly  was 
the  deputy-mayor,  and  that  his  order  regulating  prices  of  goods  sold  in  Dublin  was 
issued  27th  September,  1689.     See  also  A.  R.,  pp.  618-622,  where  the  order  is  given 
at  full  length. 

(209)  Compare  S.P.  I.,  chap,  m.,  §  11,  p.  140. 

(210)  There  were  three  captains  of  this  name  in  King  James's  Army  (D' Alton, 
p.  327).     Any  one  of  these  may  be  the  person  here  mentioned. 

(211)  On  23rd  September  the  Jacobite  Army  burnt  the  forage  between  the  two 
<;amps  (Story,  p.  24). 


DIARY  OF  WILLIAM  KING,  D.D.,  ARCHBISHOP  OF  DUBLIN.     281 

were  turned  out  of  ye  house,  y*  severall  persons  were  disturbed  for  con- 
cealing some  of  his  goods  y*  mony  belonging  to  severall  persons  were 

(sic)  taken  with  him  y*  his  two  old  aunts  were  in  danger  of — [68] 

starving   yre  money   being   seized   amongst   ye  rest.212      Mr  Short   was 
ill  &  I  spoke  to  Dardis  about  him.     Dr  Mercer  was  buryed.213 

October  1. — Mr  Ormsby,  upon  his  petition  to  Coll:  Lutterel,214 
procured  an  order,  to  visite  his  wife  and  waite  on  My  Lord  Chief  B. 
about  some  business.  We  heard  from  ye  camp  y*  the  K:  had  thoughts 
of  returning.  Y*  24  troops  of  Enniskilling  horse  and  8  troops  of 
Dragoons  with  3,000  foot  had  joined  Schomberg.  We  hear  y*  about 
600  men,  horse  and  foot,  from  Sligo,  commanded  by  Lloyd  and 
Gore215  had  surprised  4  regiments  at  Eoyle  and  driven  the  country  y* 
Sr  Albert  Cuningham  had  ye  Government  of  ye  county  and  y*  ye  E,.  C. 
come  under  his  protection  &  were  in  perfite  peace,  plowing  and  sowing 
ye  lands ;  but  we  coud  not  believe  such  storys.216  Twas  sd  Dr  Fitz- 
Maurice  had  pd  his  fees  and  gotten  out.  We  heard  y*  severall  frenchmen 
made  it  yr  business  to  go  from  house  to  house  and  pull  Ldys  out  of 
yr  beds. 

October  2. — I  heard  y*  one  of  my  parishioners  had  broken  his  neck 
out  of  a  window,  being  distracted  by  a — [69] — feavour,  as  suposed. 
But  I  heard  likewise  y*  ye  crowners  inquest  had  found  him  felo  de  se — 
some  sd  to  get  his  goods,  being  left  by  his  son-in-law  Mr  Topless  in  his 
house. 

Mr  Ormsby  went  out  in  the  morning  with  2  soldiers  for  keepers, 
he  returned  at  night.  I  heard  y*  Friday,  Saturday  and  Sunday  last,  the 
corn  between  Dundalk  and  Drogheda,  was  burnt217;  y*  Murray  was 
landed  with  some  men,  y1  ye  King  was  about  to  decamp,  y*  ye  business 

(212)  Compare  23rd  September. 

(213)  Probably  George  Mercer,   M.D.,  father  of  Mary  Mercer,  the  foundress  of 
Mercer's  Hospital  and  Mercer's  School,  in  Dublin.     He  was  a  Scholar  (1664)  and 
Fellow  (1670)  of  Trinity  College.   When  Vice-Provost  he  was  removed  by  Archbishop 
Francis  Marsh  for  being  married,  in  1687  (Catalogue  of  Graduates ;  University  Calendar 
for  1901,  vol.  ii.,  p.  433). 

(214)  Simon  Luttrell,  Governor  of  Dublin. 

(215)  Thomas  Lloyd,  the  "  little  Cromwell,"  was  the  leader  of  the  Enniskilleners  in 
many  conflicts,  though  not  himself  an  Enniskillen  man.  When  the  force  was  organised 
by  Kirk  he  was  made  a  Lieutenant- Colonel  of  Foot.      On  his  exploits,  see  Hamilton 
passim,  Lough  Erne,  p.  28  ;  Dalton's  English  Army  List,  vol.  iii.,  p.  121.     He  seems 
to  have  died  before  1st  March,  1690  (S.  P.  D.,  p.  489).     For  Francis  Gore,  who  was 
Lieut. -Col.   of  Tiffin's  Regiment  of  Enniskilleners,  see  Dalton,  op.  cit.,  vol.  ii., 
p.  122. 

(216)  Compare  above  under  26th  September.    Story  (p.  25)  gives  an  exaggerated  and 
otherwise  inaccurate  account  of  this  victory,  the  news  of  which,   he  says,  reached 
Dundalk  on  27th  September.     There  is  a  more  trustworthy  reference  to  it  in  S.  P.  D., 
p.  277  ;  but  the  primary  authority  is  Lloyd's  despatch,  from  which  the  account  in 
the  Introduction  (p.  135)  is  taken.     Lloyd  makes  no  mention  of  Gore  or  the  Burkes 
taking  part  in  the  battle,  nor  of   Sir  Albert   Cunningham  being   made   Governor. 
King  might  well  be  sceptical  about  the  truth  of  a  report  that  the  Roman  Catholics 
were  "  sowing  the  lands"  in  September! 

(217)  Compare  above,  note  211.     This  second  burning  is  not  mentioned  by  Story. 

o  <z  A  T    S  Vo1-  xm->  Fifth  Series.        I  T, 

Jour.  R.S.A.I.  |  Vo]  XXX1II<)  Consec.  Ser.  j 


282          ROYAL    SOCIETY  OF  ANTIQUARIES   OF  IRELAND. 

of  Boyle  was  tru.  Ye  Guards  were  crosse  to  us.  some  furniture  was 
"brought  back  to  ye  Castle.  We  heard  Cp1  Nicolas  had  his  doors  broken 
open  by  ye  patrol.218  Ye  people  in  Wexford  had  10  days  allowed  ym 
to  sow  yre  seed  &  yn  ye  protestants  were  comanded  to  surrender  ymselves 
to  Jail.  Lord  Clare219  went  to  Munster  on  Sunday,  tho'  a  rainy 
day. 

October  3. — Mr  Spike220  came  up  and  shewed  me  2  letters  from  ye 
camp,  intimating  y1  the  King  woud  not  return  so  soon  as  was  expected. 
Some  Regiments  marched  to  ye  county  of  Longford  to  reduce,  as 
supposed  Sr  Th:  Newcomen's  party.221  Ye  bridge  of  Lanesborough 
was  said  to  be  broken.  Mrs  Ormsby,  about  a  week  ago,  when  her 
child  was  sick  and  coud  not  suck — [*] — lest  she  shoud  lose  her  milk, 
had  taken  a  poor  woman's  child  named  to  suck  her 

brest  for  a  night,  she  returned  the  child  in  ye  morning  with  a  coat  and 
shilling.  This  day,  ye  woman  was  sent  with  a  guard  by  Cap1  Reilly  (a 
militia  Cap1  of  new  row,222  who  had  bin  I  hear  a  porter)  to  seize  Mrs 
Orsmby  (sic}  for  murthering  ye  woman's  child,  and  to  bring  her  before 
ye  Cap1  ye  woman  had  told  her  y1  sjie  woud  prove  this,  if  she  woud  not 
give  her  mony  &  it  seems  had  don  it  and  also  y1  MrsOrinsby  had  offered 
her  40s  to  conceal  it.  Mrs  0.  who  had  lain  in  about  a  fortnight  ago, 
got  out  of  the  way,  &  Cap1  Holcroft  satisfied  ye  guard ;  after  search  ye 
child  was  found  at  .  There  was  a  order  proclaimed 

"by  beat  of  Drum,  y1  every  housekeeper  shoud  bring  in  an  account  of 
what  officers  lodged  in  yre  house,  they  came  accordingly  in  the  afternoon 
to  give  yre  account,  but  yre  was  no  body  appointed  to  receive  it. 

Oct.  y*  4- — Mr  Short  and  Mr  "Welsh  were  caryed  to  ye  commissioners 
and  brought  back  again.  We  heard  from  severall  hands  y1  forces  were 
landed  in  Munster,  but  nothing  certain  an  express  came  in  very  early. 
It  was  said  y1  the  King's  camp  was  much  destressed  for — [71] — drink  & 
was  very  sickly.  Mr  -Bardel(?)2123  came  up  &  told  us  Captain  McGragh 

(218)  Perhaps  Captain  John  Nicholas,  of  Lazy  Hill,   a  prominent  parishioner  of 
St.  Andrew's  ( Worthies,  pp.  27,  28  ;  A.R.,  pp.  246,  279).     His  signature  appears  in  the 
Vestry  Book  of  the  parish  as  late  as  25th  March,  1695. 

(219)  Daniel  O'Bryan,  Lord  Clare,  a  member  of  the  Privy  Council,  and  Colonel  of 
a  Dragoon  Regiment.  He  fought  at  the  Boyne  and  died  shortly  afterwards.  (D'Alton, 
p.  315.) 

(220)  A  story  is  told  in  S.P.I.,  chap,  in.,  §  13,  p.  167,  ahout  a  Mr.  William  Spike, 
-a  Protestant,  who  held  "  a  small  employment "  "in  the  Castle."       We  are  told  more 
definitely  in  Full  and  True  Account,  p.  3,  that  he  "had  the  keeping  of  the  Keys  of  that 
Place,"  while  a  contemporary  pamphlet  entitled  An  Account  of  the  present  State  Ire- 
land is  in,  under  King  James  :  And  the  deplorable  Condition  of  the  Protestants  ("  Licensed, 
Feb.  21,    1690"),    describes   him  as  "an  English  Man"  who  was   "Surveyor   of 
the  King's  Buildings."     See  also  S.  P.  I.,  Appendix  35,  p.  401  (recte  419). 

(221)  Story  (p.  28)  mentions  a  report  that  the  Duke  of  Berwick  was  sent  about  this  time 
towards  Enniskillen  "  with  a  considerable  body  of  horse,"  "  to  rescue  Major-General 
Maccarty,"  probably  the  same  expedition  as  that  mentioned  in  the  text. 

(222)  New  Row  was  just  outside  the  walls  to  the  west,  running  from  New  Gate  to 
Ormond  Gate. 

(223)  The  name  may  perhaps  be  Burdet. 


DIARY  OF  WILLIAM  KING,  D.D.,  ARCHBISHOP  OF  DUBLIN.    283 


lodged  in  Mr  Turner's  house  was  cashiered  for  being  civil  to  y* 
protestants  in  prison,  in  the  new  hospitall.  224  Dr  Foy  came  up,  and 
told  me  yHhe  town  was  very  miserable,  by  sickness,  want  of  fire  and 
great  poverty  ;  yl  the  Lord  Mayor  225  had  instead  of  making  turf  cheap 
by  setting  a  rate  on  it,  quit  hindered  ye  coming  of  it  to  town,  ye  country 
people  having  resolved  not  to  sell  it,  at  ye  rate  prescribed.  Coll:  Warren, 
did  not  get  his  room  as  promised.  Ye  munster  mail  brought  no  letters 
from  Kinsale,  Cork,  or  the  towns  yre  about,  so  we  were  told. 

(224)  The  Royal  Hospital,  Kilmainham,  built  in  1684.     It  was  still  called  the 
'New  Hospital'  some  years  after  the  date  of  the  Diary.     (R.  A.,  vol.  vi.,  p.  19  ;  cf. 
•S.P.  D.,  p.  95). 

(225)  Terence  Dennott,  or  MacDermott  (A.  R.,  p.  lii). 


(To  be  continued.) 


U2 


(     284     ) 


OCCUPATION  OF  CONNAUGHT  BY  THE  ANGLO-NORMANS 
AFTER  A.D.  1237. 

BY  H.  T.  KNOX,  M.R.I.A.,  FELLOW. 

(Continued  from  -page  189.) 

PART  V. 

THE  KING'S  CANTREDS. 

HHHE  King  of  England  seems  to  ti"ave  had  no  land  in  Connaught, 
except  perhaps  a  small  tract  near  Athlone,  until  after  the  attack 
which  Cathal  Crovderg  made  on  the  English  of  Athlone  in  1199.  It 
is  not  certain  that  the  Athlone  of  that  time  extended  west  of  the 
Shannon.  The  king  then  took  up  so  much  as  enabled  him  to  make 
grants. 

In  1200  Geoffrey  de  Costentin  was  given  in  fee  the  cantred  of 
Tirierachbothe  by  the  service  of  five  knights.1  It  was  the  country  about 
the  parish  of  Drum,  and  took  this  name  Tir  Fhiachrach  bhfeadha  from 
the  O'Naghtens,  the  Ui  Fiachrach  Finn,  formerly  of  Moenmoy,  but  now 
of  the  Feadha,  The  Woods,  a  name  of  the  country  near  Athlone. 

Richard  Tirel  got  Dungalue,2  which  looks  most  like  Dungaillve, 
Galway,  but  I  think  must  be  Gaille,  Galley,  on  Lough  Ree.  No  more  is 
known  of  Tirels  in  these  parts  except  that  Gerald  Tirel  was  sheriff 
from  1303  to  1306. 

To  this  period  is  referred  the  grant  of  the  "  vill  of  Adlon,  the  mills 
and  one  carucate  of  land  near  that  vill,"  which  the  king  had  in  his  hand, 
in  1225,  for  which  he  ordered  15  librates  of  land  to  be  given  to  Richard 
de  Twit.3  In  1234  Richard  was  given  an  annuity  of  £15  until  pro- 
vided with  other  lands.4 

By  a  settlement  made  with  Cathal  Crovderg  in  1204  the  king  was 
to  have  two  cantreds  of  land  in  Connaught.  A  fresh  set  of  grants  now 
appears. 

In  1207  King  John  pardoned  Gilbert  de  Angulo  and  his  brother  Philip. 
The  former,  as  I  have  already  noted,  had  a  grant  in  fee  of  "  a  cantred 
of  land  in  Estyre,  Wintelmolman,  Ul'unan  and  Nyaki,"  by  the  service 
of  four  knights.5  Of  these  names,  Muinter  Mailfhinnain  and  O'Loman 
are  about  Finnure,  in  Abbeygorniican  parish.  I  cannot  make  out  Estyre 
and  Nyaki.  Estyre  seems  to  represent  some  name  such  as  Aes  Tire,. 

1  D.  I.  i.,  137.     For  explanation  of  references,  see  p.  294.  2  D.  I.  i.,  153. 

3  D.I.  i.,  1261.  *  D.I.  i.,  2173,  2176.  &  D.I.  i.,  354. 


OCCUPATION    OF    CONNAUGHT    BY   ANGLO-NORMANS.       285 

People  of  Land .     This  fee  was  afterwards  in  the  de  Burgo  part  of 

Connaught,  but  not  held  under  the  general  grant  (Inq.  A).     Richard  de 
Burgo  appears  therefore  to  have  taken  it  over  separately  from  de  Angulo. 

In  the  same  year  John  Marshall  had  a  grant  in  fee  "  of  the  cantred  in 
which  the  vill  of  Kilmie  is  situated  "  for  the  service  of  five  knights.1 
It  is  afterwards  called  Kilman,  and  is  Kilmeane,  near  Roscommon.  To 
this  period  should  be  assigned  the  grant  to  Philip  de  Angulo  of  the 
cantred  of  Roscommon. 

In  1210  the  Castle  of  Athlone  was  built,  and  new  arrangements 
were  made  to  provide  a  demesne  for  it.  In  1213  the  king  ordered 
Geoffrey  de  Costentin  to  be  given  land  in  exchange  for  what  he  had  near 
Athlone.  In  1215  he  was  given  the  cantred  of  Trituatha  for  the  service 
of  four  knights.  In  1229  it  was  ordered  that  this  cantred  be  taken  up, 
and  that  thirty  knights'  fees  outside  the  twenty  knights'  fees  next  the 
Castle  of  Athlone  be  given  to  him  instead.2  These  fees  may  have  been 
given  inMaghfinn,  the  parish  of  Taghmaconnell,  which  does  not  appear 
in  the  records,  though  it  was  in  the  middle  of  the  king's  lands. 

In  1215  new  arrangements  were  made  with  Cathal  Crovderg.  They 
account  for  taking  up  Trituatha,  and  for  the  grant  of  annuities  of  twenty- 
five  marks  and  of  ten  marks  to  John  Marshall  and  Philip  de  Angulo,  until 
the  king  give  them  lands  instead  of  the  cantreds  of  Kilman  and 
Roscommon,  in  possession  of  the  King  of  Connaught.3 

These  facts  show  that  the  king's  two  cantreds  were  Tirmany  and 
Omany,  and  that  the  king  left  the  northern  part  in  Cathal's  hands, 
dealing  himself  only  with  the  Woods  and  Omany,  which  seem  to  have 
been  treated  as  a  cantred,  and  as  to  that  only  with  the  part  close  to 
Athlone.  Thus  things  remained  for  many  years,  so  far  as  occupation  by 
the  English  is  concerned,  the  rest  of  the  king's  cantreds  always  being  in 
actual  possession  of  the  Irish. 

From  1252  the  king  had  effective  direct  possession  of  all  Omany.  Sir 
Richard  de  la  Rochelle's  grant  has  been  mentioned  before,  but  without 
details.  In  that  year  Oliver  de  Asprevijle  had  a  grant,  for  the  service  of 
one  knight,  of  the  vills  of  Glinehelchy,  Deredeglatha,  Haghdrum, 
Hakedriny,  and  Clankinhyniscan.  These  he  sold  to  Sir  Richard,  who 
himself  had  a  grant  on  the  5th  July,  1253,  of  20  librates  of  land  next 
to  Oliver  de  Aspreville's  lands,  to  hold  in  fee  for  the  service  of  one-half 
a  knight's  fee,  and  on  the  same  day  licence  to  erect  a  gallows,  etc.,  and 
to  have  assizes,  etc.,  and  free  warren  in  his  demesne  lands  in  Haghedrinn' 
and  Clonkin,  in  Hunesclan,  Glinehelchi,  and  Dereglatha,  which  are  the 
Aspreville  lands,  with  varied  spelling.  On  the  following  day  he  got  a 
confirmation  of  the  grant  in  fee,  in  which  they  are  called  four  vills, 
namely,  Clinehelchi,  Deredeglatha,  Hakedriny,  and  Clonkin,  Hinesclan. 
But  Haghdrum  is  omitted.  It  may  be  included  in  another  denomination. 

1D.I.  i.,  353.         2  D.I.  i.,  508,  590,  1719.        3  D.  I.  i.,  537,  909,  630,  1989. 


286   ROYAL  SOCIETY  OF  ANTIQUARIES  OF  IRELAND. 


It  is  Aughrim,  which  was  part  of  the  Kochelle  estate.  The  other 
places  I  cannot  make  out.1  There  is  no  description  of  the  20  librates. 
In  1270  Sir  Richard  gave  a  manor  in  England  to  John  of  Arderne  in 
exchange  for  land  "in  the  fee  of  Crohone,  in  the  cantred  of  Tirmany, 
Connaught,  of  the  gift  of  Edward,  the  K.'s  eldest  son."2  This  is  the 
only  reference  to  John  of  Arderne's  grant.  Crohone  was  a  denomination 
of  land  in  Killian  barony,3  and  seems  to  he  a  form  of  Cremhthann, 
Cruffon.  Sir  Richard  died  soon  after  this,  and  was  succeeded  by  his  son 
Philip,  a  minor.  Philip's  petition  in  1282  gives  interesting  information 
regarding  the  management  of  such  estates  by  absentee  owners,  and  by 
the  king  during  wardship.4  It  recites  that  Sir  Richard  was  enfeoffed  of 
the  cantred  of  Omany  by  the  service  of  seven  knights,  and  a  yearly  rent 
of  £125  for  a  portion  of  the  land.  It  is  evident  that  Sir  Richard  had 
acquired  other  grants  ;  he  had  taken  another  direct  grant  of  25  villatae 
at  £5  each.  In  1267  there  was  a  "  confirmation  of  grants  made  by 
Edward,  the  king's  son,  to  Richard  de  la  Rochelle,  of  the  cantred  of 
Omany,  and  to  Richard  de  Thoythe  of  that  of  Tyrmany,  called  Clon- 
nodath.6  Clan  Uadach  is  the  tribe  name  and  land  of  the  0'  Fallen  s  in 
Cam  and  Dysert  parishes.  Sir  Richard  was  a  minister  of  Prince 
Edward,  and  appears  to  have  speculated  in  land,  making  up  a  great 
estate  to  be  developed  hereafter,  for  it  is  said  that  he  did  not  make  the 
rent  which  was  deducted  from  his  salary.6  The  petition  goes  on  to  say 
that  the  escheator  took  possession  after  Sir  Richard's  death.  "  As  it  was 
all  waste  and  no  man  inhabited  it,"  the  escheator  pressed  the  Irish  who 
had  before  held  the  land  to  come  back  and  take  it.  They  refused  unless 
they  had  it  for  a  term.  He  let  it  for  a  term.  "When  Philip  came  of  age, 
the  escheator  demanded  the  rent  rendered  by  Sir  Richard  when  it  was 
in  herbage  and  in  good  peace.  Philip  could  in  that  year  take  no  more 
than  the  escheator  had  assessed.  Robert  de  Ufford  came  afterwards  as 
justiciary,  and  demanded  full  rent.  Philip  said  he  could  not  raise  the 
rent  except  by  help  of  justice,  which  he  prayed.  The  justiciary  ordered 
bailiffs  to  distrain.  The  Irish  heard  of  this,  and  made  peace  with  him 
for  a  fine.  Jordan  de  Exeter  came  and  seized  chattels  worth  £200  and 
more.  Jordan  de  Exeter  must  have  acted  in  this  as  sheriff. 

It  was  ordered  that  Philip  should  have  relief. 

Philip  sold  the  manors  of  Aththrym  and  Suthkyn  to  Theobald  Butler 
before  1293.  When  Philip's  widow  claimed  dower  out  of  them,  one- 
third  was  valued  at  £40  4s.  4£^.7 

Edmund  Butler  applied  for  a  reduction  of  rent  in  1305.8  The  jurors 
reported  that  his  father  and  brother  could  never  levy  the  full  rent  of  the 
25  villatae  which  Sir  R.  de  la  Rochelle  held  at  £5  per  villata.  The 


1D.I.ii.,  35,  223,  224,  226. 

3H.  W.C.  319. 

5  D.I.  ii.,  823. 

7  D.I.  iv.,  765,  766,  814;  v.,  198. 


2  D.  I.  ii.,  878. 
4  D.  I.  ii.,  198. 
6  D.I.  v.,  198. 
8  D.  I.  v.,  198. 


OCCUPATION   OF  CONNAUGHT   BY    ANGLO-NORMANS.        287 

part  of  the  Inquisition  relating  to  value  is  mutilated,  but  it  shows  that 
they  put  a  veiy  low  value  owing  to  the  difficulty  of  defence  against  the 
Irish.  Edmund  apparently  got  no  relief  then ;  but  he  got  a  remission 
for  life  of  all  rent  and  arrears  on  22nd  September,  1309. 

Nothing  indicates  the  situation  of  the  25  villatae,  but  it  is  at  least 
probable  that  Lord  Ormond's  24  qrs.  of  Toahbreny,  in  1585,  represent 
them.1  The  Butlers  established  a  colony  at  Aughrim,  and  the  place  was 
burnt  by  Ui  Maine  in  1308  ( L.C.).  The  entry  is  not  very  intelligible,  but 
I  understand  it  to  mean  that  the  O'Kellys  burnt  Aughrim,  and  took  a 
number  of  prisoners  at  Ahascragh,  and  that  they  let  them  go,  and  gave 
Edmund  Butler  satisfaction  for  burning  Aughrim. 

The  town  was  burnt  again,  and  its  castle  thrown  down,  in  1315  (L.C.). 
Suthkyn  and  Suthyn  is  the  Irish  Suicin,  which  is  at  Ballinasloe.  The 
parish  of  Sukyn  in  the  Taxation  of  1306  is  that  now  called  Creagh. 
This  estate  extended  to  the  east  of  the  Suck. 

It  was  made  up  of — 

1.  The  Aspreville  grant  about  Aughrim,  by  service  of  1  knight's  fee. 

2.  20  librates  of  land  adjoining,  by  service  of  ^  knight's  fee. 

3.  25  villatae,  at  £5  each. 

4.  Other  lands,  how  acquired  does  not  appear,  but  they  probably 

included  the  Arderne   property  in   Crohone   in  Tirmany,   by 
service  of  5^  knight's  fee. 

The  king  took  Tirmany  also  into  his  own  hands  after  Aedh  O'Conor's 
outbreak  in  1249,  for  a  short  time  only.  He  made  a  grant  to  Eoger 
de  Lokinton  in  1253.  I  find  no  trace  of  any  other  grant.  It  is  mentioned 
in  1253  that  Pelim  held  four  cantreds  at  the  king's  pleasure.  The  calendar 
shows  no  further  dealings  with  Tirmany  until  the  castle  of  Roscommon 
was  built.  I  infer,  therefore,  that  it  was  restored  to  Eelim  at  once,2  the 
king  retaining  only  his  castles  and  their  demesnes.  Felim  paid  £300 
yearly  for  the  three  cantreds  he  held  in  fee-farm. 

In  1275  Teige  O'Conor,  who  was  king  from  1274  to  1278,  applied  for 
a  lease  of  Connaught.3 

Sir  Robert  Ufford  came  again  as  justiciary  in  1276.  It  appears  from 
the  Inquisition  of  1305,4  reporting  upon  Earl  Richard's  application  for  a 
grant  or  sale  to  him  of  Silmurray,  that  from  the  time  of  the  death  of 
Felim  O'Conor  until  Robert  d'TJfford  came  again  as  justiciary  .... 
nothing  was  taken  from  that  land  except  from  one  cantred  called  Omany ; 
and  that  "  the  said  Robert,  at  his  second  arrival,  demised  to  O'Conor 
two  and  a-half  cantreds  ...  to  wit,  the  cantred  of  Moylurg  Tirelele, 
and  the  cantred  .  .  .  of  land  which  is  called  Clonmacganenaa,*  which 
belonged  to  Richard  de  Calne,  and  is  now  in  the  hands  of  the  K.  ...  of 

1H.W.C.  319.  2  D.I.  ii.,  237,  713.  3  D.I.  ii.,  1135. 

4  D.  I.  v.,  437.  5  Trituatha. 


288        ROYAL   SOCIETY    OF    ANTIQUARIES    OF    IRELAND. 

Richard,  and  the  half-cantred  of  Moyhe,  rendering  yearly  to  the  king 
100  .  .  .  ,"  and  that  the  two  and  a-half  cantreds  would  be  worth  100 
marks  in  time  of  peace. 

The  arrangement  by  Sir  Robert  must  have  been  with  Aedh  Muimh- 
nech  or  his  successor  Cathal.  The  latter  gave  a  bond  for  1000  marks  of 
silver  to  have  his  portion.  This  is  recorded  in  1285, l  but  may  have  been 
much  earlier,  as  it  is  quoted  from  the  Roll  of  Stephen,  Bishop  of  Water- 
ford,  who  succeeded  Sir  Robert  at  the  close  of  1281.  Maghnus  0' Conor, 
who  succeeded  Cathal,  paid  £15  13s.  Qd.  of  rent  in  1292.2  It  does  not 
appear  what  became  of  the  other  half-cantred  of  Moyhe.  I  think  that 
there  was  no  other  half-cantred — that  it  is  the  same  as  "the  cantred," 
and  that  it  was  given  by  Stephen  to  the  head  of  the  clan  of  Cathal 
Crovderg  when  displaced  in  the  sovereignty  by  Cathal  of  Clan  Murtough 
Mweenagh,  and  that  the  three  cantreds  became  one  tenure  again  when 
Aedh,  head  of  the  former  clan,  gained  the  sovereignty  in  1293. 

The  Inquisition  speaks  of  two  and  a-half  cantreds  as  then  in  question, 
which  suggests,  considering  that  Earl  Richard  desired  to  take  up  all  the 
king's  land  which  was  not  in  Tirmany  and  Omany,  but  in  the  hands  of 
the  Irish,  that  the  cantred  of  Moy  Ai  was  sometimes  called  the  half- 
cantred,  because  about  half  of  the  ancient  Moy  Ai  was  in  the  de  Burgo 
grant  and  in  the  north  of  Tirmany,  near  Roscommon.  Moreover,  there 
seems  to  be  evidence  that  King  Aedh  held  the  <:  three  cantreds  of  Felim  " 
in  1299,  and  that  Cathal  held  two  cantreds.3  There  is  no  other  reference 
to  the  grant  to  Richard  de  Calne,  which  seems  to  have  been  immediately 
surrendered  to  the  king,  and  to  have  been  one  of  those  made  during  war, 
which  were  annulled  by  peace. 

When  Henry  III.  made  his  eldest  son  Lord  of  Ireland,  a  grant  of 
land  worth  £500  a  year  to  Godfrey  de  Lezignan  was  to  be  satisfied  out 
of  the  king's  waste  lands  in  Connaught.  In  1254  Godfrey  was  given  a 
grant  in  fee  of  four  and  a-half  cantreds ;  but  he  said  that  the  land  was 
not  worth  so  much,  and  refused  it.  In  1255,  in  order  to  settle  the 
question  between  Godfrey  and  Edward,  Godfrey  agreed  to  an  order  made 
by  the  king  that  Edward  should  take  the  cantred  in  which  the  king's 
castles  are  and  the  castles,  i.e.  Tirmany,  and  one  other  cantred ;  that  there 
should  be  no  question  regarding  the  land  which  Eelim  O'Conor  held  on 
lease ;  that  Godfrey  should  have  the  other  two  cantreds,  be  they  worth 
more  or  less.  This  effected  a  settlement;  for  on  the  9th  December, 
1255,  Godfrey  executed  a  deed-poll  to  this  effect.  Edward  "having 
granted  to  him.  in  fee  the  cantred  of  Tyrmany  in  Connaught  (where  the 
Oscalli  dwell),  Maillourg  and  Tyrelele,  with  a  cantred,  and  the  homage 
and  services  of  Richard  de  la  Rochelle,  Jordan  of  Exeter,  and  others 
holding  there,  in  place  of  500  librates  given  to  him  by  the  K.,  his 

1  D.  I.  iii.,  172.  2D.  I.  iii.,  1148. 

3  O'Conor,  "The  O'Conors  of  Connaught,"  p.  127,  quoting  Pipe  Eolls,  1292- 
1299. 


OCCUPATION    OF    CONNAUGHT    BY    ANGLO-NORMANS.       289 

rother ;  Godfrey  wills  and  grants  that  if  he  shall  sell,  mortgage,  or 
exchange  these  lands,  the  Lord  Edward  [shall  be  entitled]  to  the  said 
omage  and  services  against  all  men."  On  8th  November,  1256,  Edward 
ncelled  this  by  giving  Godfrey  the  manor  of  Lonth  and  Castle  Frank, 
in  Ireland,  for  £140  £  year,  with  £160  a  year  of  land  in  England,  and 
an  annuity  of  £200,  until  he  supplies  200  librates  in  Ireland.1  These 
proceedings  are  instructive  in  showing  what  was  considered  to  be  the 
fair  profit  to  be  got  by  the  lord  of  such  lands. 

There  are  notices  of  some  other  grants  in  Tirmany.  John  de  Sandford, 
afterwards  Archbishop  of  Dublin,  had  a  grant  from  Sir  Richard  Fitz  John, 
who  was  Edward's  seneschal  from  1254,  and  the  King's  Justiciary  from 
1261,  until  Sir  R.  de  TJJffiord  came  in  1268,2  of  5  villatae,  namely, 
uiiochogenath,  Rathmolony,  Corbally,  Fiegkilbride,  and  Clony.3  Eieg- 
bride  is  part  of  Kilbride  parish,  also  called  Eidhmonach.  He  had  also, 
fore  he  became  archbishop,  the  grant,  already  mentioned,4  of  Clancon- 
ay  and  some  other  lands,  amounting  to  20  vills  in  the  theodum  of 
lanconway  and  10  vills  without  it.5  William  Fitzwarin  had  been 
reviously  enfeoffed  of  one  carucate  therein,  a  portion  most  likely  of 
0  librates  of  land  given  him  in  1270  by  service  of  half  a  knight's  fee.6 
etween  1280  and  1285  John  Huse  was  given  10  librates  of  land  and  £20 
fortify  it.7 

John  Mape  had  a  grant  of  100s.  worth  of  lands;  but  in  1284  had 
given  only  one  and  a-half  carucate,  leaving  one  carucate  still  due.8 
He  was  given  15  marks  "to  make  the  causeway  of  Tawyrfin  in  Con- 
naught."9     He  was  constable  of  Eandown  in  1275  and  1276,  arid  Henry 
Fitz  Leo  was  constable  of  Roscomnion  at  same  time.10 

Moyvannan  was  let  to  "William  de  Prene  at  100s.  a  year  ;  but  he 
could  not  raise  the  money  in  consequence  of  the  wars  in  a.r.  I5i  16,  17. u 
t  seems  to  have  been  surrendered  by  him.    Afterwards  Richard  de  Exeter 
it.     It  lies  near  Kiltoom. 

In  1299  Sir  R.  de  Aston,  an  absentee,  was  allowed  to  enfeoff  William 
e  Irish  of  Kiltek  and  Castelmetegan,  and  Peter  Sprot  of  Ardlekyn  and 
Tholyogenedy,  for  a  fine  of  £5  in  each  case.    These  men  are  described  as 
idents.12     Kiltek  and  Castelmetegan  are  Coolteige  and  Cashelmeehan 
ownlands  in  Kilbride  parish.     Ardlekyn  is  Ardlagheen  in  Cloonygor- 
ican.    Tholyogenedy  might  be  Tully  in  Kilbride.    Sir  Richard  Fitz  John 
imself  held  as  tenant-at-will,  until  grants  in  fee  were  made,  Moyvannan, 
cranan,  Behach,  and  Carnach,  and  several  other  townlands.13     Carnach 
now  Carnagh,  a  large  tract  to  north  of  Moyvannan.     I  do  not  identify 
ranan  and  Behach. 


I  D.  I.  ii.,  321,  365,  447,  448,  478,  524.  2  D.  I.  ii.,  358,  715. 

3  "  Liber  Niger  Alani,"  No.  602,  in  Journal,  vol.  xxvii.,  p.  169. 

4  Journal,  vol.  xxxi.,  p.  370.  5  D.  I.  ii.,  2115. 
6  D.I.  iv.,  108,  1293.  7  D.  I.  iii.,  79. 

8  D.I.  ii.,  2364.  9  D.  I.  ii.,  1890.  10  D.  I.  ii.,  237,  337. 

II  D.  I.  iii.,  528.  12D.I.  iv.,  604,  655,  691.          13  D.  I.  ii.,  1613. 


290        KOYAL    SOCIETY    OF    ANTIQUARIES    OF   IRELAND. 

The  Richard  de  Exeter  estate,  of  which  but  a  part  was  in  Galway, 
has  been  mentioned.  The  detailed  history  is  of  some  interest. 

Sir  Richard  the  elder  was  a  Government  servant  of  high  rank  and 
importance;  was  the  justiciary's  lieutenant  when  Robert  de  Ufford  left 
in  1270,  and  then  spent  £90  in  fortifying  Roscommon  Castle;  Chief 
Justice  of  the  Common  Pleas  in  1273;  constable  of  the  Castles  of  Ros- 
common and  Randown  in  1282,  3,  4 ;  and  was  killed  in  battle  in  Thomond 
in  1287.1  Though  so  considerable  a  person,  very  little  more  is  known 
about  him,  and  that  little  is  in  the  Annals  of  Multifarnham,  which 
really  belong  to  the  Dominican  House  of  Strade  or  Athlethan,  and  cease 
abruptly  after  1274,  the  year  of  the  foundation  of  the  House  of  Rath- 
fran.  They  particularly  record  events  connected  with  Sir  Richard's 
family,  and  are  supposed  to  have  been  written  by  brother  Stephen  de 
Exeter.  The  death  of  John  is  noted  in  1260.  Him  I  suspect  to  have 
been  Sir  Richard's  father,  for  Lord  Richard  then  comes  into  view.  The 
death  of  his  first  and  his  second  wife,  and  his  marriage  to  Lady  Ysemain, 
daughter  of  Lord  David  de  Prendergast,  and  the  birth  of  their  son  John  in 
1270,  are  noted.  His  son  Richard,  who  succeeded  him,  was  an  elder  son.2 

I  take  him  to  be  a  relation  of  the  de  Exeter  lords  of  Athlethan.  His 
line  decayed  in  the  fourteenth  century,  and  dropped  out  of  sight.  The 
Annals  of  Multifarnham  ignore  the  Clan  Jordan.  The  Irish  Annals, 
except  those  of  Innisfallen,  which  record  Sir  Richard's  death  in  1287, 
ignore  this  branch  of  the  family. 

Sir  Richard  is  likely  to  have  been  the  founder  of  Rathfran  Monastery, 
regarding  which  various  traditions  have  been  recorded,  and  which  is  with 
most  probability  assigned  to  a  de  Exeter.  A  lord  of  Athlethan  is  not  likely 
to  have  founded  it.  Sir  Richard  had  become  eminent  at  that  time,  and  was 
in  a  position  to  take  up  land  there.  Mac  Eirbis  gives  a  pedigree,  quoted 
in  Ordnance  Survey  Letters,  of  de  Exeter  of  Rathfran  up  to  Sir  Richard. 
Though  it  is  certainly  inaccurate  in  some  respects,  it  is  quite  likely  that 
descendants  of  Sir  Richard  continued  there  in  obscurity.3  Mac  Eirbis 
and  O'Clery  are  certainly  in  error  in  their  de  Exeter  pedigrees  in  the 
thirteenth  century.  Sir  Richard  did  not  come  with  Strongbow,  and  was 
not  father  of  Jordan  Mor  and  Jordan  Og,  ancestors  of  Clan  Jordan  of 
Gallen.  But  another  Richard  may  have  been  father  of  Sir  Richard,  or 
of  his  father  John,  and  of  Jordan  of  Gallen,  and  have  been  a  companion 
of  Maurice  Eitz Gerald  at  the  conquest  of  Connaught.  The  Irish  his- 
torians were  not  accurately  acquainted  with  the  Anglo-Norman  families 
until  the  fourteenth  century. 

To  the  period  of  the  building  of  Roscommon  Castle  I  refer  Sir  Richard's 
acquisition  of  the  de  Lokinton  grant  of  1253,  10  librates  of  land  in 
Tirmany,  called  Slef  and  Muinassan,  named  in  full  in  other  references  as 

1  D.  I.  ii.,  p.  151,  Nos.  947,  1907,  2034,  2310. 

2  Irish  Archaeological  Society's  Tracts,  vol.  ii. 

3  A  de  Exeter  was  there  in  1585  (15  D.K.  4731,  ««  Tho.  Delirytor  of  Raurcany"). 


OCCUPATION   OF   CONNAUGHT    BY   ANGLO-NORMANS.       291 


Slefschenechoch  and  Monecassan.  Slef  appears  in  the  sixteenth  century  as 
"  the  Slewe."1  It  is  the  Slieveshancough  which  gave  a  name  to  Abbey 
Grey,  in  the  parish  of  Athleague,  and  seems  to  be  the  same  as  the  tract 
called  Slievenmrry,  in  early  times  Sliabh  Furri,  in  the  parish  of  Killeroran, 
a  name  once  evidently  covering  a  very  large  area,  and  known  shortly  as. 
"the  Mountain."  Monecassan  is  the  name  Muinecasain,  in  the  parish  of 
Ballymacward;2  but  considering  the  distance  between  the  localities,  it  is, 
I  think,  unsafe  to  take  identity  of  name  as  marking  the  place.  It  is  more 
likely  to  be  a  place  nearer  Slievemurry.  Casan  enters  into  several  town- 
land  names  not  very  far  off. 

The  castle  of  Athleague  was  broken  down  in  127 1.3  It  must  be  taken 
to  have  been  built  about  the  same  time  as  Roscommon  Castle,  not  earlier. 
A  period  of  warfare  ensued,  until  Sir  Eobert  de  TJfford  restored  Ros- 
common Castle,  when  Athleague  Castle  seems  to  have  been  restored. 

Robert  de  TJfford  gave  Sir  Richard  20  librates  of  land  in  Connaught 
to  hold  in  fee-farm  by  the  service  of  half  a  knight's  fee.  The  king  con- 
firmed the  grant  in  June,  1280,  remitted  rent  due  and  for  a  year  in 
advance.4  These  lands  were  8  villatae,  which  appear  in  4  lists,  with 
variations  of  spelling,  out  of  which  I  adopt  the  following  forms  : — 


VILLATAE. 

Tobyrnechalpye, 
Rathf  aret, 
Lystefchy, 
Conyllesty, 
Naracheyn, 
Corkylbraugyle, 
Corcreppan, 
Dengynmacossan, 
(D.  I.  iv.,  806.) 


IDENTIFIED  WITH 

Sahara,  townland  in  Eahara  Parish. 
Liscoffy,  townland  in  Athleague  Parish. 
Coullusty,        „  „  „ 

Araghty(P),      „ 
Cartronkilly,  townland  in  Dysart  Parish. 

Knockadangan,  townland  in  Athleague. 


At  about  the  same  time  he  had  a  grant  of  30  librates  in  fee-farm,  for 
which  the  following,  called  seven  townlands,  were  assigned  : — 


VILLATAE. 

Kylcoyssch,  |  villata, 
Stregachcrynyn,  J  villata, 

Behach, 
Screnan, 


IDENTIFED  WITH 

Kilcash,  townland  in  Ealmeane  Parish. 
Scregg,  townland  in  Killinvoy  Parish. 

!  These  were  in  Eichard  Fitz  John's  holding, 
and  seem  to  have  been  in  this  neighbour- 
hood. 
Ardmullen,  townland  in  Cam  Parish. 


Ardmolan,        . . 

Drumcloghry,  . . 

Lysmorechethan  and  Cownach,     Richard  Fitz  John's  holding. 

(Funchinagh  townland,  in  Tisrara  Parish 
Funchinagh  Lake,  in  Cam  Parish. 
Duthaidh  Lochlainn  in  Irish  (?). 


*H.W.  C.  319. 

3  L.  C.,  Clonmacnoise,  Multifarnaam. 


2  H.  M.  72. 
4  D.  L  ii.,  1704. 


292        ROYAL   SOCIETY   OF   ANTIQUARIES    OF    IRELAND. 

These  contain  15  carucates  of  arable  land  and  meadow,  valued  at  40s.  a 
carucate,  the  value  of  waste  lands  of  Tirmany  in  the  king's  hands.1 

Sir  Richard  left  the  constableship  in  1284.  A  period  of  warfare 
followed,  in  which  his  castle  of  Athleague  was  levelled,  and  his  lands 
were  worth  nothing,  nor  were  those  of  the  king,  until  1299.2 

After  Christmas,  1289,  his  son  Richard  petitioned  the  king  in 
Parliament  to  retake  the  seven  townlands,  because  they  were  too 
heavily  rented ;  but  failed  to  secure  a  reduction  of  rent,  and  sur- 
rendered them.3 

In  1301,  things  being  more  settled  in  Connaught,  John  Fitz  Thomas 
having  been  expelled  for  five  years,  Richard  desired  to  take  the  land  up 
again,  and  was  given  the  seven  townlands,  together  with  those  of 
Moyvannan  and  Torpan,  to  hold  in  fee-farm  for  ever,  at  £18  a  year.4 
Torpan  and  Moyvannan  are  still  townlands  in  Taghboy  and  Kiltoom 
parishes.  Regarding  identification,  it  is  to  be  noted  that  these  old 
townlands,  or  villatae,  were  very  large  denominations,  and  that  the 
modern  townland  of  the  name  is  usually  but  a  fragment  to  which  the 
name  has  adhered,  or  is  the  place  which  gave  a  name  to  the  estate. 
Skregtreynyn  and  Screg  appear  as  well  as  Streg.  Corkyle  Braugyle  I, 
take  to  represent  Corcaille,  or  Round  "Wood,  of  Bruigeol,  now  Briole,  in 
Dysert  parish,  of  which  the  Caille  perhaps  remains  in  Cartronkilly. 
Knockadangan  is  the  only  townland  in  the  neighbourhood  which  gives 
Dangan. 

A  sufficient  number  of  places  are  identified  to  show  that  Sir  Richard, 
the  elder  and  younger,  acquired  a  very  large  estate  between  Slievemurry 
and  Loughree. 

Sir  Richard,  junior,  became  Chief  Justice  of  the  Common  Pleas  in 
1302,  and  was  Keeper  of  the  Castles  of  Roscommon  and  Randown  in 
1303  and  1304.5  In  1304  he  contracted  to  repair  Roscommon  Castle 
for  £194*.  Sd. 

Money  was  coined  at  Roscommon  before  1285.6  The  county  of 
Connaught  was  divided  into  the  counties  of  Roscommon  and  Connaught 
in  or  before  1292  ;  Richard  is  described  as  Sheriff  of  Roseommon  early 
in  that  year.  He  was  Sheriff  again  in  130L7 

The  county  of  Roscommon  seems  to  have  comprised  only  the  king's 
Five  Cantreds. 

The  king's  power  grew  steadily,  on  the  whole,  through  the  reign  of 
Edward  I.,  and  declined  with  the  accession  of  Edward  II.  Brace's 
invasion  affected  Connaught  only  by  causing  the  one  general  rising  of 
the  Irish,  who  were  thoroughly  beaten  down  at  Athenry  in  1316.  Sir 
"William  de  Burgo  followed  up  the  victory  by  entering  Moy  Ai,  where- 
upon the  O'Conors  submitted.  Mac  Dermot  did  not,  and  his  territory 

1  D.  I.  iv.,  802.  2D.  I.  iv.,  806.  3  D.  I.  iii.,  558. 

1  D.  I.  iv.,  802,  806  ;  v.,  208,  209,  316,  317.  6  D.  I.  v.,  139,  281. 

6  D.  I.  iii.,  7.  7  D.  I.  iii.,  520  ;  iv.,  367. 


OCCUPATION    OF    CONNAUGHT    BY    ANGLO-NORMANS.        293 

was  plundered.  This  fight  seems  to  have  been  between  the  English  of 
Connanght  on  one  side,  and  on  the  other  the  Irish  of  Connaught, 
reinforced  by  the  King  of  Thomond  and  some  O'Briens,  and  by  some 
men  of  Meath  and  Brefne.  In  1317,  Koger  Mortimer,  with  the  assent 
of  the  Council,  let  to  0' Conor  all  the  land  in  the  king's  cantreds  which 
was  not  already  let  to  Englishmen,  or  on  burgage  tenure.1  The 
de  Burgo  power  had  been  much  enhanced  in  respect  of  the  Irish,  and 
it  was  thus  enhanced  also  in  respect  of  the  royal  power,  which  now 
practically  withdrew  from  Connaught,  except  so  far  as  the  king  could 
rely  on  the  Earl  of  Ulster.  This,  perhaps,  was  a  reason  for  withdrawal. 
The  King  of  Connaught  was  now  of  small  importance  compared  with 
Sir  William  de  Eurgo,  and  his  son  Walter,  who  was  suspected  by  the 
Irish  of  a  design  to  proclaim  himself  King  of  Connaught.2  The  fact  is 
improbable,  but  the  record  of  the  suspicion  shows  that  he  was  con- 
sidered by  the  Irish  to  be  in  a  position  to  attempt  it. 


NOTES  ADDED  IN  THE  PKESS. 

1.  Clantayg  (vol.  xxxii.,  p.  399). — Clantayg  included  Athenry.3 

2.  KilmorenetogJier  and  Kilbrenan  (vol.  xxxii.,  p.  401). — Kilbrenan 
was  a  house  of  mendicant  friars  in  the  parish  of  Clonbern,  whose  parish 
church  is  called  Kilbrenan.     The  friary  church  is  Kilmurry,  by  which 
name  the  friary  also  appears.4 

Kilmorenetogher  may  be  a  name  of  this  small  friary,  but  is  more 
likely  to  be  Abbey  Grey,  alias  Sleushancough,  in  parish  of  Killeroran, 
which  is  close  to  Kilmore  townland.  I  am  told  that  a  togher  is 
close  by. 

3.  Settlement  between  the  Earl  and  John  Fitz  Thomas. — The  following 
seems  to  explain  and  agree  with  all  the  facts: — "A.  1298.  The  two 
Earls  of  Ulster  and  of  Kildare  became  reconciled  by  the  Earl  of  Kildare 
awarding  3000  marks  to  the  Earl  of  Ulster,   and  for  a  thousand  marks 
to  give  him  the  lordship  of  Sligo,  and  all  his  plate  for  another  thousand, 
and  his  son  Thomas  to  get  married  to  his  daughter  for  the  third  thousand  " 
(MacFirbis,  "  Great  Book  of  Genealogies,"  Clann  William  Burc). 

4.  William  of  Owyll  was  a  son  of  Sir  William  Liath  according  to 
Mac  Firbis's  account   of   Clann   William    Burc,    and  the   Kegistry   of 
Athenry  Dominican  Friary.      For  reasons   too   long  for   this  note,   I 
believe  him  to  be  Ulick,  son  of  Richard,  son  of  William  Liath,  who  died 

1  Pat.  11  Edw.  II.,  No.  103,  in  Rot.  Pat.  et  Claus.  Cancell.  Hib.  Calendarium. 
3L.  C.  1330.  SH.W.C.  196. 

*  12  D.  K.  2374  ;  16  D.  K.  5306  ;  Valor  Beneficiorum,  1585. 


294        ROYAL    SOCIETY    OF    ANTIQUARIES    OF    IRELAND. 

in  1343  L.  C.,  who  is  usually  taken  to  be  Ulick  of  Annaghkeen,  whose 
death,  in  1353,  is  recorded  in  that  Registry,  whom  I  take  to  be  Sir 
"William's  son. 

5.  McKaageloy  or  M'Cawoke.— M'Firbis's  "Genealogy  of  Clan  gibbon" 
shows  the  name  to  have  been   Mac  Daibhog   Buidhe,  descended  from 
Daibhog  Buidhe,  son  of  Gibbon,  from  whom  came  Clangibbon. 

6.  Transfer  of  Estates  ly  Absentees. — In  the    seventeenth    century 
claims  to  certain  lands  in  the  barony  of  Carra  were  supported  by  deeds 
of  Clan  Mac  Evillies,    "  and   by  virtue  of  an   auncyent  Deed  of  the 
Stauntons,  bearing  date  20th  May,  in  the  Raigne  of  King  Edward  the 
Third — the  whole  Lordship  and  Barony  of  Carra."1     Walter  de  Cogan's 
lands  in  Connaught  were  held  by  Walter  de  Birmingham,  of  Athenry, 
at  close  of  fourteenth  century.2 

According  to  "  Historia  et  Genealogia  Familise  de  Burgo,"  MS. 
No.  1440,  T.  C.  D.,  Mac  William  was  entitled  to  rent  and  services  from 
Mac  Jordan,  Mac  Costello,  and  0' Conor  Roe,  but,  from  their  form,  I 
think  these  claims  did  not  arise  from  the  ancient  tenures  of  those 
lords. 


The  following  abbreviations  are  used  in  references : — 

H.  F.         =  0' Donovan,  "  Tribes  and  Customs  of  Hy  Fiachrach." 

H.  M.        =-  „          "  Tribes  and  Customs  of  Hy  Many." 

H.  W.  C.  =  Hardiman's  edition  of  O'Flaberty's  "  West  Connaught." 

D.  I.          =  Sweetman,  "  Calendar  of  Documents  relating  to  Ireland,"    1172- 

1307. 
D.  K.         =  "  Annual  Report  of  Deputy  Keeper  of  the  Public  Records,  Ireland," 

Calendar  of  Fiants. 
R.B.         =  "Red  Book  of  Earl  of  Kildare,"  in  Hist.  MSS.  Commission,  9th 

Report,  Appendix. 

L.  C.          =  "Annals  of  Loch  Ce  "  (Rolls  Series). 
F.M.         =          „  the  Four  Masters"  (O'Donovan's  edition). 

0.  S.  L.     =  Ordnance  Survey  Letters. 

1  Rolls  Office,  Inq.  Mayo,  llth  January,  1610,  in  Public  Record  Office,  Dublin. 

2  Rot.  Pat.  et  Claus.  Cancell.  Hib.  Calendarium ;  Pat.  10  Ric.  II.,  No.  34. 


(     295     ) 


Silver  Presentation  Cup  recording  Cambrian  Hospitality. — I  desire 
to  call  attention  to  the  following  short  account  of  a  remarkable  silver 
cup,  presented  to  Dudley  Ackland,  Esq.,  of  Boulston,  Haverford  West, 
Pembrokeshire.  The  cup  was  presented  by  four  gentlemen,  whose  wives 
and  children  found  refuge  in  Mr,  Ackland's  house,  when  they  fled  from 
Ireland  in  1798.  Unfortunately  the  cup  cannot  now  be  discovered,  a 
matter  much  to  be  regretted,  as  it  was  an  article  of  historical  value. 

Bound  the  cover  are  the  words  : — 


And  on  a  medallion,  on  one  side,  was  the  following  : — 

1  'TO  DUDLEY  ACKLAND  ESQ.:  OF  BOULSTON,  FOR  THE  ASYLUM  AFFORDED 
TO  THEIR  WIVES  AND  CHILDREN  FROM  THE  HORRORS  OF  REBELLION. 
JUNE  1798.  FROM  -f  SIE  JOHN  NEWPORT,  BART:  SAMUEL  BOYSE. 
ROBERT  S.  CAREW.  WILLIAM  MORRIS,  ESQUIRES,  OF  THE  CITY  OF  WATER- 


A  letter  which  I  have  received  from  Arthur  Boyse,  Esq.,  of  Bannow, 
Wexford,  gives  some  information  about  the  gentlemen  who  presented 
the  cup :  — 

"  Sir  John  Newport,  Bart.,  lived  at  Newpark  (now  occupied  by  Mr.  Bloomfield), 
just  outside  the  town  of  Waterford. 

"  Samuel  Boyse  was  my  great-great-grandfather.  He  lived  at  Bishop's  Hall, 
County  Kilkenny  (now  a  ruin),  and  also  at  Bannow.  He  bought  in  some  of  the  estates 
from  a  cousin,  Frances  Carr,  to  whom  they  had  descended  through  a  female  line, 

"William  Morris,  of  Waterford,  lived  where  the  present  Adelphi  Hotel  is. 

"  These  three  all  married  sisters  of  the  Robert  Shapland  Carew  (of  Castleborough) 
whose  name  is  also  mentioned  on  the  cup.  He  (R.  S.  Carew)  was  father  of  the  first 
Lord  Carew  of  Castleborough,  County  Wexford.  The  names  of  the  first  two  are  on 
the  wooden  bridge  at  Waterford." 

I  may  add  that  Sir  John  Newport,  Bart.,  was  the  son  of  a  Waterford 
banker,  in  which  city  he  was  born  on  October  24,  1756.  He  was  created 
<'t  baronet  in  1789.  In  1802  he  entered  the  Imperial  Parliament  as 
member  for  Waterford,  and  continued  to  represent  it  until  1832. 
After  the  passage  of  the  Eeform  Bill,  he  was  appointed  Comptroller 
of  the  Exchequer,  from  which  office  he  retired  in  1839,  with  a  pension 
of  £1000  per  annum.  He  died  at  Newpark,  near  Waterford,  on 
February  9,  1843,  aged  87  years. — COURTENAY  MOORE  (Canon),  M.A.,  R.D., 
Hon.  Provincial  Secretary  for  Munster. 


296         ROYAL   SOCIETY    OP   ANTIQUARIES    OF   IRELAND. 

Kiltevenan,  County  Roscommon  (Journal,  vol.  xxxii.,pp.  194,  408  ; 
vol.  xxxiii.,  p.  190). — I  think  I  can  satisfactorily  settle  the  question  as 
to  the  locale  of  Kiltevenan,  regarding  which  the  Eev.  "W.  D.  Macray — 
the  oldest  member  of  the  Royal  Society  of  Antiquaries  of  Ireland — has 
made  some  queries. 

"Kiltevenan"  is  in  County  Tipperary,  and  is  variously  written 
"  Kilteynan  "  and  "  Kiltinan."  Mr.  H.  T.  Knox  is  right  as  to  its  being 
"in  the  neighbourhood  of  Fethard."  From  the  Patent  Rolls  (17  John) 
it  appears  that  on  July  6,  1215,  King  John  granted  to  Philip  of 
Worcester,  during  pleasure,  various  lands  in  County  Tipperary,  includ- 
ing the  castles  of  Knockgraffon,  Kiltennan,  and  Ardmayle.  The  manor 
and  castle  of  Kiltennan  reverted  to  King  Henry  III.  in  1218,  who,  on 
March  11,  1223,  committed  them  to  Nicholas  Fitz  Leo  ;  but,  a  few 
months  later,  on  July  18,  1223,  they  were  given  to  William  of  Worcester, 
nephew  to  Philip,  the  original  grantee.  The  first  deed,  quoted  by 
Mr.  Macray  as  "  circa  1190-1200,"  must  be  dated  as  circa  1210,  and 
the  acquisition  of  Kiltinan  Church,  with  appurtenances,  by  the  Abbot 
and  Canons  of  Oseney,  must  have  been  in  1218.  As  Henry,  Archbishop 
of  Dublin,  was  superseded  in  his  office  of  Papal  Legate  in  1218,  the 
second  deed  may  fairly  be  given  as  of  that  year.  In  1233  letters  of 
protection  were  granted  by  the  king,  for  the  Abbot  of  Oseney,  in 
Ireland. 

In  1234,  and  again  in  1238,  William  of  Worcester  was  summoned  to 
show  what  title  he  had  to  the  manors  of  Knockgraffon  and  Kiltenanach. 
Apparently  he  succeeded,  as  on  June  4, 1244,  his  son,  Ralph  of  Worcester, 
was  confirmed  in  said  lands.  The  property  was  then  acquired  by  the 
de  Burgos. 

In  1302,  the  church  of  Kiltenan  (written  "Kiltenenan''),  in  the 
Deanery  of  Fethard,  Diocese  of  Cashel,  was  valued  at  ten  marks,  the 
tenth  being  13s.  4d. ;  and,  in  1316,  it  was  confirmed  to  the  Abbot  and 
convent  of  Oseney. 

On  November  9,  1328,  as  appears  from  the  printed  Calendar  of 
Patent  Rolls,  James  Butler,  Earl  of  Ormonde,  was  given  the  regality 
and  other  liberties  in  the  County  of  Tipperary.  This  James  Butler, 
first  Earl  of  Ormonde,  married  Eleanor  de  Bohun,  kinswoman  of  King 
Edward  III. 

In  quoting  the  Computus  of  the  Bailiff  of  Kiltinan  for  the  year 
1331,  wherein  it  is  mentioned  that  "the  Countess"  extorted  £14, 
Mr.  Macray  asks,  "  Who  was  the  Countess  ? "  The  answer  is  : 
The  Countess  of  Ulster,  as  Richard  de  Burgo,  Earl  of  Ulster,  died 
July  29,  1326. 

On  April  9,  1542,  a.  return  was  made  by  William  Brabazon  in 
regard  to  the  revenues  of  the  lands  and  premises  held  by  the  Abbey  of 
Oseney,  in  Ireland;  and,  in  1545,  these  lands  were  leased  to  James 
Butler,  Earl  of  Ormonde  and  Ossory.  The  Fiants  of  Henry  VIII.  give 


MISCELLANEA.  297 

the  name  as  "  Kylteyham,"  but  it  is  described  as  (l  parcel  of  the  posses- 
sions of  the  late  Abbey  of  Oseney,  in  England." 

The  Palatinate  jurisdiction  of  County  Tipperary  by  the  Earls  of 
Ormonde  continued  until  seized  by  the  Crown,  by  process  of  Quo 
Warranto  in  1621.  However,  it  was  restored  in  1662  (April  22, 
1662) — confirmed  by  the  Statute  14  Charles  II. — and  finally  devolved 
to  the  Crown  in  1715,  by  the  attainder  of  James,  Duke  of  Ormonde. — 
WILLIAM  H.  GRATTAN  FLOOD. 

Temple  -na- Cattle  and  the  Churches  near  Kilkeedy,  County 
Limerick. — Mr.  Grene  Barry  collects  a  very  valuable  mass  of  notes 
on  the  "Keeley"  settlement  near  the  mouth  of  the  Maigue,  and 
speculates  whether  Kiltemplan  may  be  the  Tempulkillie  or  Keilnacailly 
of  the  earlier  records  ("  Journal,"  supra,  p.  198).  May  I  supplement 
his  notes  with  an  extract  from  the  Civil  Survey  of  Pubblebrian  (1655), 
preserved  in  the  Public  Record  Office,  Dublin  ? 

This  book  (p.  19)  gives,  under  the  heading  of  Kilkeedy  parish, 
"  Killnakallye,  one  quarter  &  a  halfe  with  one  tach  [?  thatched]  house 
thereunto  belonginge.  Mearinge  weast  to  Craigbegg,  south  to  Broskagh, 
east  to  Cnockrounge,  north  to  Doone.  Daniell  McMahonie  of  Keill- 
nakally,  Irish  papist  [owner].  Shrubby  wood,  4  ac.  Arable,  18  ac. 
Meddow,  3  ac.  Pasture,  3  ac. — Total,  28  ac."  The  other  places 
beginning  with  "Kill,"  in  the  same  Survey,  are — "Kilcolman  (p.  16), 
mearing  with  Kiltemplan  &  Cloonana,  held  by  Margaret  ny  Bryne,  alias 
Stephenson:  Kilboy  &  Gortskraghone  (p.  21),  held  in  1640  by  same,  & 
the  Lady  Dowager  of  Castleconnell,  under  lease,  having  '  the  ford  of 
Clare  =  inis  on  the  northe.'  " 

As  Killnakallye  is  treated  as  a  separate  townland  from  Kiltemplan, 
we  must  look  elsewhere  for  its  history.  It  is  evident  that  the  "  Kill- 
na-challichi  "  given  after  "  Killmacgoban  "  (Kilgobbin)  in  Meyler  Fitz 
Henry's  Inquisition,  1200,  and  given  as  near  Claireen  Bridge  in  1410, 
the  "Killygelly  "  of  the  "  Taxatio  Procuration™. "  (1418,  1422),  is  the 
unknown  church  site  to  the  east  of  Cragbeg,  called  Killnakallye  in  the 
Civil  Survey.  Thus  within  the  bounds  of  the  united  parishes  of 
Kilkeedy  and  Escluen  we  find  St.  Margaret's,  at  Kewtown  ;  Kilkeedy, 
Killeen,  with  a  well,  dedicated  to  St.  James,  in  Newtown ;  Kiltemplan, 
Kilcolman,  Killnakallye,  Kilboy,  and  Kilcornan  (or  Kilcoran),  "  kyle," 
in  Ballyanrihan,  near  Patrick's  Well. — T.  J.  WESTROPP. 


Escloon. — Mr.  T.  J.  Westropp,  in  his  account  of  Esclon,  does  not  give 
any  mention  of  "  the  Manor  after  1243."  In  the  Close  Rolls,  18  Edw.  I., 
there  is  mention  of  the  Manor  of  Esclon,  on  June  13th,  1290,  and  it  then 
belonged  to  Richard  de  Burgh,  Earl  of  Ulster,  whose  tenant  was  John 
Serle  of  Esclon. — "W.  H.  GRATTAN  FLOOD. 

!«„,.  T?  «  A  T    f  Vol.  xiii.,  Fifth  Series.        )  „ 

Jour.  R.S.A.I.  j  Vol  j^^j    ConseCt  Ser>  \ 


298         ROYAL    SOCIETY    OF    ANTIQUARIES    OF    IRELAND. 

Inscription  on  Monument  of  Lord  Wyndham  of  Finglass,  in 
Salisbury  Cathedral. — The  accompanying  inscription,  copied  by  Mrs. 
Long,  Dublin,  is  an  addition  to  the  epitaphs  of  persons  connected  with 
Ireland,  buried  in  England,  already  published  in  the  Journal. — P.  D. 
VIGORS  (Col.}: — 

Large  Monument  in  Salisbury  Cathedral.  Figure  leaning  on  a  harp, 
large  urn  and  coat  of  arms. — Here  lyeth  the  body  of  Thomas  Lord 
Wyndham  Baron  Wyndham  of  Finglass  in  the  Kingdom  of  Ireland, 
youngest  son  of  John  Wyndham  of  Norrington  in  this  County,  Esqre.  He 
was  educated  in  the  school  of  the  Canons  of  this  Close  from  whence  He 
went  in  1698  to  Wadham  College — in  the  University  of  Oxford.  He 
removed  from  thence  to  Lincoln's  Inn  in  1701  and  was  there  called  to- 
the  degree  of  Barrister-at-Law  in  1705.  In  the  year  1724  His  Majesty 
King  George  the  First  was  pleased  to  appoint  him  Chief  Justice  of  the 
Court  of  Common  Pleas  in  Ireland,  where  he  was  two  years.  In  Decem- 
ber 1726  He  was  advanced  to  the  office  of  Lord  High  Chancellor  of 
Ireland,  and  constituted  one  of  the  Lords  Justices  of  that  Kingdom ;  into 
which  last  office  He  was  sworn  eight  several  times.  On  the  demise  of 
King  George  the  First,  his  Majesty  King  George  the  Second  renewed  his 
commission  of  Lord  High  Chancellor;  and  in  September  1731  in  con- 
sideration of  his  diligent  and  faithful  service  Was  pleased  to  create  him 
a  Baron  of  the  Kingdom  of  Ireland.  He  presided  in  six  sessions  of 
Parliament  as  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Lords  of  Ireland  where  there  is 
a  session  but  once  in  two  years.  In  April  1739  He  sat  as  Lord  High 
Steward  of  Ireland  on  the  trial  of  Lord  Barry  of  Santry  being  the  first 
Lord  High  Steward  that  ever  was  appointed  in  that  Kingdom.  In 
September  1739  he  resigned  his  offices  at  his  own  request,  on  account  of 
an  ill  state  of  health  contracted  by  a  too  intent  and  too  long  application 
to  the  great  variety  of  Businesses  He  had  been  engaged  in.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  established  Church,  a  strenuous  promoter  of  Justice,  a 
faithful  subject  and  a  kind  relation.  He  was  born  on  the  27th  day  of 
December,  1681.  He  died  on  the  24th  day  of  November,  1745. 


NOTE.— On  his  death  this  title  became  extinct.  Two  other  Wyndham  peerages— 
the  Earldom  of  Egremont,  and  the  Irish  Earldom  of  Thomond,  with  the  Barony  of 
Ibrackan — became  extinct  in  1845  and  1774  respectively.  Percy,  second  son  of 
Sir  William  Wyndham,  succeeded  his  uncle  Henry,  Earl  of  Thomond,  and  bore  the 
surname  and  arms  of  O'Brien,  and  died  in  1740.  (See  "  Extinct  Peerage.")  Of  this 
family  were  the  Wyndhams  of  Dunraven  Castle,  in  Glamorganshire,  a  name  apparently 
transferred  to  Ireland,  and  giving  a  title  to  the  family  of  Wyndham-Quin.  For 
notices  of  Lord  Chancellor  Wyndham,  refer  to  Smyth's  "  Law  Officers  of  Ireland," 
and  the  Paper  lately  read  before  the  Society,  on  "  Irish  Law  Officers  in  the  Eighteenth 
Century,"  by  Mr.  F.  Elrington  Ball."— ED. 


(     299     ) 


of 


[NOTE. — The  works  marked  thus  (*)  are  by  Members  of  the  Society.'] 

The  History  of  Ireland.  By  Geoffrey  Keating,  D.D.  Yol.  i.  Edited, 
with  Translation  and  Notes,  by  David  Comyn,  M.E.I. A.  (London : 
Published  for  the  Irish  Texts  Society,  by  David  Nutt.  1902.) 

FBOM  a  variety  of  causes,  political  and  social,  the  Irish  language  and 
literature  derived  very  little  advantage  from  the  invention  of  printing, 
which  in  other  countries  led  to  so  great  diffusion  of  knowledge,  activity 
of  thought,  and  literary  work.  While  literature  in  other  lands  was 
rapidly  spread,  the  appearance  of  an  Irish  printed  book  was  of  great 
rarity.  In  Ireland,  once  renowned  for  scholarship,  original  literary 
work,  discouraged  and  unfashionable,  ceased  to  be  known  to  the  learned, 
and  Irish  as  a  literary  language  was  saved  from  extinction  only  by 
scribes  and  teachers  of  the  humblest  condition. 

The  Irish  Texts  Society,  in  conjunction  with  others,  is  making  a  strong 
effort  to  remedy  this  state  of  things  and  give  the  language  a  new 
impetus.  Many  of  the  celebrated  Irish  historical  and  literary  MSS.,  now 
lost  for  ever,  would  be  available  to-day  if  they  had  been  preserved  and 
multiplied  in  print.  .  A  great  part  of  the  MSS.  of  the  last  four  centuries 
exists  in  single  transcripts  easily  destroyed.  The  writer  of  the  history 
of  the  Irish  people  will  have  to  glean  much  of  the  history  and  inner  life 
of  the  people  from  these  frail  sources.  Printing  alone  can  preserve  such 
of  them  as  are  really  valuable,  and  furnish  the  student  of  Irish  language, 
literature,  and  history  with  reliable  standard  text-books. 

The  Society  has  now  issued  its  fourth  volume,  the  first  part  of  the 
"  History  of  Ireland,"  by  Geoffrey  Keating  :  it  is^  edited  and  translated 
by  Mr.  David  Comyn. 

Fortunately,  there  are  several  MS.  copies  of  this  History  in  existence, 
some  good,  others  indifferent ;  and  it  will  be  an  important  day  for  Irish 
students  when  the  complete  edition  shall  be  in  their  hands.  An 
important  MS.  will  be  preserved  in  print,  and  a  valuable  text-book  made 
available.  Portions  of  this  work  were  published  by  Wm.  Halliday  in 
1811,  and  by  Dr.  Joyce  in  1881  ;  but  the  present  edition  will  be  the 
first  complete  one. 

It  should  prove  very  valuable  as  a  text-book.  Keating  was  a  well- 
read  man  for  his  time,  and  reached  a  high  literary  level.  Intensely  Irish 

X2 


300        ROYAL    SOCIETY    OF    ANTIQUARIES    OF    IRELAND. 

in  sympathy,  thought,  and  expression,  and  a  poet  of  no  mean  order,  his 
History  will  be  extremely  useful  in  illustrating  the  grammar,  idiom,  and 
vocabulary  of  the  language.  Dr.  Atkinson  says  that  Keating' s  works 
are  "veritably  Irish, uncontaminated  by  English  phrases,  and  written  by 
a  master  of  the  language  while  it  was  yet  a  power."  His  vocabulary 
is  copious  and  varied,  his  style  natural  and  pleasing,  and  his  illustrations, 
owing,  perhaps,  to  his  poetical  nature,  are  singularly  happy ;  and 
although  the  most  critical  student  may  take  him  as  a  model,  yet, 
according  to  Dr.  Atkinson,  there  is  scarcely  a  line  he  has  written  which 
an  Irish-speaking  person  at  the  present  day  may  not  grasp,  except 
where  archaic  documents  are  quoted. 

Perhaps  it  is  premature,  until  a  complete  edition  has-been  published, 
to  discuss  the  historical  value  of  this  work,  or  contrast  Keating  with  the 
great  classical  historians. 

In  the  opinion  of  very  competent  judges  he  was  the  first  historian 
of  the  Irish  people,  and  he  has  furnished  a  very  fair  outline  of  our 
ancient  history,  and  has  drawn  from  the  most  genuine  sources  of  Irish 
history,  some  of  which  have  been  lost  since  his  time. 

Although  he  may  not  be  so  rigidly  accurate  as  the  great  annalists, 
and  may  have  given  too  easy  entrance  to  some  ancient  tales,  yet  he  drew 
the  vast  bulk  of  his  narrative  from  pretty  much  the  same  sources  as  they, 
aud  his  History  will  remain  as  a  great  and  co-ordinate  authority. 

The  editor  states  that  Keating  is  believed  to  have  made  several 
transcripts  of  his  works,  and  in  consequence  has  noted  various  readings 
or  discrepancies  existing  in  the  best  MSS.  He  has  very  properly  adhered 
closely  to  the  text  of  his  MSS.,  not  modernizing  to  any  extent,  and  only 
excluding  what  he  regards  as  certain  mannerisms  of  the  copyists.  The 
translation  is  literal  without  being  unreadable. 

As  the  footnotes  to  the  translation  are  very  brief,  it  is  to  be  hoped 
that,  by  a  descriptive  index  or  otherwise,  Mi\  Comyn  will  give  more 
information  concerning  persons,  places,  and  events,  and  so  enhance  the 
value  of  the  History. 

The  volume  is  well  printed,  and  the  Society  must  be  congratulated  on 
the  work  selected,  and  on  the  way  in  which  the  editor  has  performed  his 


*A  History  of  the  County  Dublin.     Part  II.     By  Francis  Elrington  Ball. 
(Dublin  :  A.  Thorn  &  Co.     1903.)     5,9. 

WE  are  glad  to  welcome  a  second  section  of  this  work,  which  promises  to 
form  so  valuable  an  addition  to  our  Irish  County  Histories.  Part  I. 
prepared  us  to  expect  much  from  the  labours  of  Mr.  Ball.  No  writer  of 
Irish  history  has  more  faithfully  and  untiringly  searched  for  material, 
or  more  carefully  combined  the  facts  which  his  industry  has  brought 


NOTICES   OF   BOOKS.  301 

together ;  nor  has  any  heen  more  successful  in  presenting  the  resulting 
narrative  in  an  attractive  and  interesting  style. 

Part  II.  amply  maintains  the  high  character  of  its  predecessor.  The 
district  covered  hy  it  includes  the  ancient  parishes  and  manors  of  Donny- 
brook,  Herri  on,  Booterstown,  Taney,  Dundrum,  and  Eathfarnham,  and 
the  now  suburban  districts  of  Eathmines  and  Baggotrath.  Though 
possessing  few  surviving  relics  of  an  early  past,  this  district  has  been 
the  home  of  several  of  the  leading  county  families.  The  history  of  each 
is  traced  with  the  careful  research  which  has  characterized  Mr.  Ball's 
previous  work. 

The  family  of  Fitzwilliam,  of  Merrion,  is  traced  with  special  care 
from  its  first  appearance  in  the  fourteenth  century  until  its  extinction 
nearly  five  centuries  later.  During  the  whole  of  this  time  it  played  a 
leading  part  in  the  history  of  the  county,  and  for  a  time  in  that  of  the 
country  at  large.  Mr.  Ball's  researches,  carried  on  in  the  family  archives, 
in  every  available  source  here,  as  well  as  at  Cambridge  and  London,  have 
produced  a  history  of  this  family  which  forms  a  valuable  contribution  to 
the  stoiy  of  our  country.  It  is  illustrated  with  excellent  reproductions 
of  a  complete  series  of  family  portraits,  extending  over  a  period  of  two 
centuries. 

Other  families  connected  with  the  districts,  whose  history  is  given  in 
the  same  way,  are  Ussher  of  Donny brook,  and  Loftus  of  Bathfarnham. 
There  are  also  shorter  accounts  of  the  families  of  Bagod,  De  Eideleford, 
Jocelyn,  Le  Bret,  and  others. 

An  excellent  feature  of  Mr.  Ball's  work  is  the  collection  of  admirable 
illustrations,  which  all  really  illustrate  their  subjects.  Portraits,  rare 
plates,  and  old  paintings  have  been  carefully  sought  for,  and  are  very 
well  reproduced. 

Mr.  Ball's  interest  has  been  attracted  somewhat  more  by  the  personal 
than  the  social  side  of  his  work,  though  the  latter  is  by  no  means 
neglected.  We  should  have  expected  to  find  more,  for  example,  of  such 
subjects  as  Donnybrook  Fair,  and  Yauxhall  and  Eanelagh  Gardens,  than 
the  short  notices  given  of  them.  He  might,  too,  with  advantage,  have 
used  more  freely  and  fully  the  language  of  his  authorities  than  he  some- 
times does.  But  if  we  are  thus  found  fault-finding,  our  complaints  only 
show  that  we  so  much  appreciate  what  is  written  for  us  that  we  crave 
more. 

The  illustrations  include  a  very  good  reproduction  from  the  Down 
Survey,  and  a  very  clear  modern  map.  In  the  latter,  however,  we  think 
we  notice  a  few  sites  not  quite  correctly  placed ;  the  plan,  too,  of  repre- 
senting the  foreshore  in  the  same  way  as  the  land  is  misleading. 

We  look  forward  with  great  interest  to  the  future  parts  of  the 
History. 


302        ROYAL    SOCIETY    OF   ANTIQUARIES    OF   IRELAND. 


(FIFTY-FIFTH  YEARLY  SESSION.) 

MUNSTER   MEETING— YOUGHAL. 

A  GENERAL  MEETING  OF  THE  SOCIETY  was  held  at  Youghal,  County 
Cork,  in  the  Town  Hall  (by  permission  of  the  Chairman,  Urban  Council), 
on  Tuesday,  4th  August,  1903,  at  8  o'clock  p.m. ; 

JOHN  RIBTON  GARSTIN,  D.L.,  M.A.,  M.R.I.A.,  F.S.A.,  President, 
in  the  Chair. 

The  following  also  attended  : — 

Vice -Presidents. — Seaton  F.  Milligan,  M.R.I. A.,  Vice -President  for  Ulster. 
Major- General  Stubbs,  J.P.,  Vice -President  for  Munster. 

Hon.  General  Secretary. — Robert  Gochrane,  F.S.A.,  M.R.I. A. 

Fellows. — Arthur  Fitzmaurice,  J.P.,  Carlow  ;  Edward  Martyn,  Tillyra  Castle, 
County  Gal  way  ;  J.  J.  Perceval,  J.P.,  Wexf  ord ;  William  N.  Strangeways,  London. 

Members. — Rev.  Chancellor  Abbott,  M.A.,  Tullow ;  Rev.  W.  F.  Alment,  B.D., 
Navan;  Montgomery  F.  Barnes,  Mullingar  ;  John  Barrett,  B.A.,  Macroom ;  James 
Buckley,  Solicitor,  London;  M.  J.  C.  Buckley,  Youghal  ;  Lieut. -Colonel  Biddulph, 
Tullamore;  James  Grene  Barry,  D.L.,  Ballyneety,  County  Limerick;  George  0. 
Carolin,  J.P.,  Dublin;  Henry  A.  Cosgrave,  M.A.,  Dublin  ;  Thomas  B.  Costello,  M.D., 
Tuam;  Jobn  J.  Cranny,  M.D.,  Dublin  ;  Matthew  Dorey,  Dublin;  Rev.  Canon  Fisher, 
M.A.,  Mountrath;  P.  J.  Griffith,  Dublin;  Miss  Rosa  F.  Grubb,  Cahir;  Francis  Guil- 
bride,  J.P.,  Newtownbarry  ;  Bryan Hennessy,  New  Ross;  Rev.  P.  Hurley,  P.P.,  Inchi- 
geela  ;  Miss  Frances  Keane,  Glenshelane,  Cappoquin ;  Lady  Keane,  Cappoquin  House  ; 
Owen  J.  Kelly,  J.P.,  Dundalk;  Mrs.  Owen  J.  Kelly,  Dundalk  ;  T.  J.  Mac  Inemey, 
Drumcondra;  D.  T.  M'Enery,  M.A.,  I.N.S.,  Clonmel  ;  Rev.  R.  M.  Miller,  M. A., 
Roscrea  ;  Rev.  Canon  Moore,  M.A.,  Rural  Dean,  Mitchelstown  ;  Rev.  Thomas 
Mulvany,  c.c.,  Killucan  ;  Goddard  H.  Orpen,  H.A.,  Enniscorthy ;  Miss  L.  J.  Orpen, 
Enniscorthy ;  Lieut.-Colonel  Orpen,  Killiney ;  Miss  Parkinson,  Ennis  ;  William 
H.  Patterson,  M.R.I. A.,  Belfast  ;  George  Shackleton,  Lucan  ;  Mrs.  Shackleton, 
Lucan  ;  Mrs.  Simpson,  Ballymena  ;  James  Tuite,  M.P.,  Mullingar;  Richard  J.  Ussher, 
D.L.,  Cappagh ;  Joseph  Vaughan,  J.P.,  Athlone ;  W.  J.  Verlin,  Solicitor,  Youghal; 
William  Webster,  Solicitor,  St.  Helens,  Lancashire;  W.  J.  Wilkinson,  B.A.,  Trim. 

Associates. — Mrs.  M.  F.  Barnes,  Mullingar  ;  Rev.  S.  R.  S.  Carolin  ;  Miss  Davys  ; 
Albany  Fetherstonhaugh,  B.A.,  Dublin;  Miss  Hurley,  Inchigeela  ;  James  Milling, 
Bangor,  County  Down  ;  Miss  Neville,  Ennis  ;  Edward  R.  Orpen,  Enniscorthy ; 
Mrs.  Orpen,  Enniscorthy ;  Miss  G.  Stacpoole,  Ennis ;  Miss  C.  E.  Stubbs,  Cork. 

The  Minutes  of  last  Meeting  were  read  and  confirmed. 
The  following  Fellows  and  Members  were  elected  : — 
As  FELLOWS. 

Ashbourne,  Right  Hon.  Lord,  LL.D.,  Lord  Chancellor  of  Ireland  (Member,   1863), 
12,   Merrion-square,  Dublin  :    proposed   by   John   R.  Garstin,    D.L.,    M.R.I. A., 

President. 


PROCEEDINGS.  303 

•Glencross,  J.  Reginald  M.,  M.A.  (Cantab.),  10,  St.  Mary's-road,  Dublin:  proposed  by 

George  D.  Burtchaell,  M.A.,  Fellow. 
Stapley,   Sir  Harry,  Bart.,  Egypt  Cottage,  Cowes,  Isle  of  Wight :  proposed  by  Sir 

Thomas  Drew,  Fellow. 

As  MEMBERS. 

Boothman,    Charles   T.,   Barrister-at-Law,    14,    Clarinda   Park,  West,  Kingstown  : 

proposed  by  the  Rev.  William  W.  Campbell. 
Bootbman,  Mrs.  Charles  T.,  14,  Clarinda  Park,  West,  Kingstown:  proposed  by  the 

Rev.  William  W.  Campbell. 
Boyle,  Rev.  Henry,  P.P.,  Mount  St.  Michael,  Randalstown :  proposed  by  the  Very 

Rev.  Alexander  Mac  Mullan,  P.P. 
Comerford,   William,    Urlingford  National  School,   County  Kilkenny :    proposed  by 

John  Commins. 

Dolan,  Joseph  F.,  M.A.,  Ardee  :  proposed  by  J.  Ribton  Garstin,  D.L.r  President. 
Doyle,  the  Very  Rev.  Canon  James,  P.P.,  St.  Canice's,  Kilkenny  :  proposed  by  M. 

M.  Murphy,  Fellow. 
Gallagher,  Miss  Jane,  Eglish,  Dungarvan,  County  Tyrone:  proposed  by  the  Rev. 

W.  T.  Latimer,  B.A.,  Fellow,  Vice- President. 
Goddard,  Norris,  Solicitor,  52,  Merrion-square,  Dublin  :  proposed  by  John  R.  Garstin, 

D.L.,  M.A.,  M.R.I.  A.,  F.s.A.,  President. 
Kennedy,  Thomas  Patrick,  12;  Alwyne  Mansions,  Wimbledon,  Surrey:  proposed  by 

Thomas  F.  Nooney. 

Leslie,  the  Rev.  J.  Blennerhassett,  M.A.,  Kilsaran  Rectory,  Castlebellingham :  pro- 
posed by  John  R.  Garstin,  D.L.,  M.A.,  M.R.I. A.,  P.S.A.,  President. 
Lyons,  the  Very  Rev.  James,  Dean  of  Ossory,  The  Deanery,  Kilkenny :  proposed  by 

M.  M.  Murphy,  Fellow. 

Martin,  William,  Solicitor,  Monaghan :  proposed  by  D.  Carolan  Rushe,  Fellow. 
O'Leary,  the  Very  Rev.  Canon  David,  P.P.,  The  Presbytery,  Dingle  :  proposed  by 

P.  J.  Lynch,  Fellow. 
Orpen,    Miss    Lilian   Iris,    Monksgrange,    Enniscortby  :    proposed   by   Goddard   H. 

Orpen,  B.A. 
Orpen,   Lieut. -Colonel   (R.  E.)   Richard   Theodore,    St.  Leonard's,   Killiney,    County 

Dublin:  proposed  by  Goddard  H.  Orpen,  B.A. 
Reeves,  Jonathan  Townley,  Assistant  Secretary,  Bank  of  Ireland,  Dublin  :  proposed 

by  The  O'Morchoe. 

Robinson,  James,  Solicitor,  47,  Up.  Mount-st.,  Dublin:  proposed  by  The  O'Morchoe. 
Slevin,  Felix,  Manager,  Hibernian  Bank,  Londonderry:  proposed  by  Mrs.  Sheridan. 
Stevenson,  James,  Fort  James,  Londonderry  :  proposed  by  the  Rev.  William  O'Neill 

Lindesay,  M.A. 
Stevenson,   Mrs.  James,  Fort  James,  Londonderry :  proposed  by  the  Rev.  William 

O'Neill  Lindesay,  M.A. 
Verlin,  W.  J.,  Solicitor,  Youghal :  proposed  by  M.  J.  C.  Buckley,  Hon.  Local  Sec., 

East  Cork. 

The  following  Papers  were  read,  and  referred  to  the  Council  for 
publication  : — 

"  The  Ancient  Highway  of  the  Decies,"  by  the  Rev.  Patrick  Power. 
"  The  Town  Walls  of  Youghal,"  by  M.  J.  C.  Buckley,  Hon.  Local  Sec.,  East  Cork. 
"  Notes  on  Sir  Walter  Ralegh's  House  at  Youghal,"  by  Goddard  H.  Orpen,  B.A. 

The  following  Papers  were  taken  as  read,  and  referred  to  the  Council 
1  for  publication  :— 

41  The  Antiquities  of  Ardmore,  County  Waterford,"   by  T.  J.  Westropp,    M.R.I.A., 

rice -President. 
4t  Antiquarian  Notes  on  Youghal,"  by  Robert  Day,  J.P.,  P.S.A.,  Vice- President. 


304        ROYAL    SOCIETY   OF   ANTIQUARIES    OF    IRELAND. 


EXCURSIONS. 

TUESDAY,  AUGUST  4th,  1903. 
EXCURSION  IN  YOUGHAL  AND  VICINITY  AND  EVENING  MEETING. 

THE  members  assembled  at  the  Town  Hall  at  11.30  a.m.,  where  they 
were  received  and  welcomed  to  Youghal  by  Eichard  Carey,  Esq.,  J.P., 
Chairman  of  the  Urban  Council.  The  ancient  muniments  of  the  town 
were  exhibited  ;  and  afterwards  the  party  proceeded  to  visit  several 
places  of  antiquarian  interest  in  the  ancient  town  of  Youghal,  under  the 
guidance  of  Mr.  M.  J.  C.  Buckley,  Hon.  Local  Secretary  for  East  Cork. 
An  interval  was  allowed  to  members  from  1.30  to  2.30  for  lunch  at 
their  respective  hotels,  and  they  assembled  again  at  2.30  p.m.  at  the 
Collegiate  Church  of  St.  Mary  (by  permission  of  the  Eector,  Rev.  J.  Re 
H.  Becher),  and  after  devoting  an  hour  and  a  half  to  this  most  interest- 
ing church,  the  grounds  of  Sir  Walter  Raleigh's  House  were  visited  (by 
permission  of  His  Excellency  Sir  Henry  Blake  and  Lady  Blake,  the 
present  owners,  who  unfortunately  were  absent).  Through  the  kindness- 
of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Sealy  Allin,  the  College  and  its  grounds  were  visited. 
Proceeding  thence,  the  ancient  town  walls  were  examined,  and  they 
were  described  by  Mr.  Buckley.  Another  interval  was  allowed  from 
6  to  8  p.m.  ;  and  at  the  latter  hour  the  Evening  Meeting  was  held  in 
the  Town  Hall,  for  the  reading  of  Papers,  and  examination  of  the 
following  exhibits  :  — 

BY  ROBERT  DAY,  Esq.  —  Dated  specimens  of  Youghal  Delph,  viz.  three 
plates,  a  puzzle-jug,  and  a  blue  decorated  jar;  also  the  seal  of  John 
Thynghul  (vide  Hayman's  Memorials,  p.  36,  1863.  Lindsay,  Youghal). 

BY  THE  REV.  J.  R.  H.  BECHER.—  Plate  of  St.  Mary's,  Youghal,  with 
the  Youghal  town-mark.  Made  by  Edward  Gillett. 

BY  THE  REV.  "W.  T.  C.  DAY,  Rector  of  Killeagh.—  The  Chalice  of 
Killeagh,  with  the  Youghal  town-mark.  Made  by  Edward  Gillett. 

BY  THE  REV.  L.  M.  BEATTY,  Rector  of  Corkbeg.  —  The  Chalice  of  Iter 
Murragh.  By  the  same  maker. 


.  J.  C.  BUCKLEY,  Esq.—  Case  of  "  Relics"  of  Early  Celtic  Art;  also 
specimens  of  "  greybeard"  jugs,  similar  to  some  found  in  the  Dock  at 
Youghal  ;  Celtic  bronze  rings  ;  brass  candelabra  (sixteenth  and  seven- 
teenth centuries)  from  County  Kilkenny,  &c. 


PROCEEDINGS.  305 

The    ancient    Charters    of    Youghal    and  other    muniments    were 

exhibited  by  the  Chairman  and  Secretary  of  the  Urban  Council  in  the 
Town  Hall  on  Tuesday  morning  at  11.30,  as  there  was  then  a  better 
opportunity  in  daylight  of  examining  them. 

The  President  delivered  a  short  address  to  the  meeting,  which  was 
adjourned  to  the  following  evening. 


WEDNESDAY,  AUGUST  5th,  1903. 

The  members  assembled  at  the  Devonshire  Arms  at  10  a.m.,  and 
proceeded  to  several  places  of  antiquarian  interest  in  Youghal  not  visited 
the  previous  day.  At  2  p.m.,  after  lunch,  the  party  again  met  at  the 
"Devonshire  Arms,  and  drove  to  Bincrew  Preceptory,  Temple  Michael, 
and  the  Abbey  of  Molana,  the  latter  on  an  island  on  the  Eiver  Black- 
water  at  Eallinatray,  the  seat  of  Lady  Harriet  and  Colonel  (Holroyd) 
Smyth,  who  kindly  received  them. 

An  adjourned  meeting  was  held  at  8.30  in  the  evening,  in  the  Town 
Hall,  the  President  in  the  Chair. 

The  President  described  the  several  exhibits  of  silver,  referring 
especially  to  the  subject  of  hall-marks  on  Irish  plate,  and  supplementing 
Mr.  Day's  notices  of  the  work  of  Youghal  and  Cork  silversmiths. 

Additional  exhibits  were  examined  and  discussed,  including  the 
following  by  Dr.  Charles  Ronayne  : — Ancient  Deed  of  the  Provost  of 
Youghal,  Richard  II.,  1394  ;  original  Warrant  of  Q,ueen  Elizabeth,  with 
the  Queen's  Autograph  and  Seal,  granting  a  pension  to  Eleanor,  Countess 
of  Desmond,  widow  of  the  last  and  great  Earl ;  ancient  Map  of  Youghal, 
temp.  Elizabeth ;  Youghal  Pipes,  smoked  by  Raleigh ;  Key  of  Fran- 
ciscan or  South  Abbey ;  Key  of  the  College,  temp.  Richard  Boyle,  Earl 
of  Cork  ;  Youghal  Tokens. 

A  vote  of  thanks  was  passed  to  Mr.  M.  J.  C.  Buckley,  Hon.  Local 
Secretary,  for  his  valuable  services  in  connexion  with  the  Excursions. 


THURSDAY,  A  UGUST  6th,  1903. 

On  Thursday  morning  the  party,  under  the  guidance  of  Mr.  Buckley, 
completed  the  survey  of  places  of  interest  in  Youghal,  assembling  at 
the  same  hour  and  place  as  on  the  previous  day,  and  adjourning  for  lunch 
at  12.30  p.m.  Members  re-assembled  at  the  Devonshire  Arms  at  1.45 
p.m.,  where  cars  were  in  readiness  to  convey  them  to  Ardmore  to  see  the 
Round  Tower  and  the  ruins  of  Ardmore  Cathedral,  under  the  guidance 
of  Mr.  R.  J.  Ussher,  D.L.,  Hon.  Local  Secretary,  County  Waterford. 

The  party  returned  by  road  to  Youghal,  crossing  the  new  bridge  over 
the  River  Black  water  at  Youghal  Harbour. 


306        ROYAL    SOCIETY    OF   ANTIQUARIES    OF    IRELAND. 


FRIDAY,  AUGUST  7th,  1903. 

On  this  day  Lismore  was  visited,  and  the  Castle  seen  (by  permission 
of  His  Grace  the  Duke  of  Devonshire,  Fellow,  and  late  Hon.  President 
of  the  Society) ;  also  Lismore  Cathedral,  under  the  guidance  of  the  Very 
Rev.  Dr.  Brougham,  Dean,  who  read  a  paper  on  the  Cathedral.  The 
party  lunched  at  the  Hotel,  and  afternoon  tea  was  kindly  provided  for 
them  in  the  banqueting-hall  of  the  Castle  by  the  Duke  of  Devonshire. 
Mr.  Penrose  showed  the  party  the, 'MS.;"  Book  of  Lismore,"  the  famous 
crozier,  and  the  silver  maces>  &c.  The  carriages  left  the  Devonshire 
Arms  at  9  a.m.,  arriving  at  Lismore  at  12  noon.  The  return  Journey 
was  made  by  road  to  Cappoquin,  where  the  steamer  was  taken,  at 
6  p.m.,  for  Youghal,  down  the  River  Blackwater. 


PROCEEDINGS. 


307 


The  following  notes  on  the  places  visited  have  been  contributed  : — 
YOUGHAL.1 

HPHE  very  ancient  town  of  Youghal  derives  its  name  from  the  two  Celtic 
words,  eo,  "a  yew-tree,"  and  kyle,  or  caille,  "  a  wood  "—that  isj  the 
yew- wood.  This  name  is  the  same  as  Okyle,  which  is  a  small  place  on 
the  banks  of  the  River  Bride,  near  Tallow,  County  "Waterford.  There  is 
there  the  ruin  of  a  very  remarkable  old  church  of  the  fourteenth  century, 
in  a  dilapidated  and  unprotected  state,  attached  to  which  is  a  most  curious 


THE  OLD  TOWN  WALLS  OF  YOUGHAL. 

little  edifice  of  very  small  dimensions,  roofed  in  stone,  of  similar  form  and 
construction  to  the  bee-hive  huts  on  the  A  ran  Islands.  It  seems  to  have 
been  the  cell  of  a  hermit,  or  anchorite,  and,  with  the  exception  of  the 
traces  of  a  similar  cell  in  the  north-east  wall  of  the  chancel  of  St.  Canice's 
Cathedral  in  Kilkenny,  is,  perhaps,  the  only  example  of  such  an  abode  in 
Ireland.  A  townland  named  Ballyanchor  lies  in  the  same  district — no 

1  By  Mr.  M.  J.  C.  Buckley. 


THE  CLOCK  TOWER  AND  GATEWAY,  YOUGHAL. 
(From  a  Photograph  by  W.  Lawrence,  Dublin.) 


^  PROCEEDINGS.  309 

doubt,  this  place  was  the  endowment  or  "  termon"  land  of  the  hermit. 
The  town  of  Youghal  is  situated  on  the  west  side  of  the  harbour,  where 
the  Biver  "Avonmore"  or  "  Broad  water,"  now  called  the  "Black- 
water" — as  Spenser  the  poet  writes,  "  the  Awny-dubh,"  by  English- 
men called  "  Blackwater" — discharges  itself  into  the  Atlantic  Ocean. 

The  geological  formation  on  both  sides  of  the  river  is  the  same,  coih- 
sisting  of  Upper  Old  Red  Sandstone,  Carboniferous  slate,  and  Carboniferous 
limestone.  An  immense  submerged  forest  lies  underneath  the  strand, 
which  extends  from  "  Clay  Castle  "  towards  Knocadoon.  A  bar  of  sand, 
and  large  masses  of  gravel,  cemented  together  by  carbonate  of  lime 
(which  is  held  in  solution  by  the  waters  of  the  river),  render  the 
entrance  of  the  harbour  very  dangerous,  and  prevent  large  modern 
ships  from  entering.  The  Danes,  or  rather  the  "  Vikings,"  were  the 
first  to  establish  a  small  "  burgh"  or  trading-fort  here  in  the  course  of 
the  ninth  century.  Doubtless,  an  early  Irish  fortified  enclosure  or 
"  rath"  existed  here,  ages  before  the  arrival  of  the  Scandinavian  sea- 
rovers.  This  "rath"  they  seem  to  have  jncorporated  within  the  circuit 
of  their  palisaded  burgh  or  "  ton."  The  name  is  still  preserved  in 
"  Raheen-lane,"  near  the  present  town  walls.  The  town  grew  and  pros- 
pered under  the  rule  of  the  Northmen  for  a  long  period,  until  the  arrival 
of  King  Henry  II.  in  1172,  when  the  Northmen,  who  had  then  become 
Christians,  were  granted  many  privileges,  amongst  which  "  murage," 
the  right  of  taking  toll  to  erect  or  repair  the  fortified  walls,  is  included. 
The  chequered  history  of  the  town,  like  that  of  many  other  places  in 
Ireland,  is  full  of  interest,  and  its  details  are  too  voluminous  to  be  told 
briefly  ;  but  that  very  interesting  volume  called  the  "  Council  Book  of 
the  Corporation  of  Youghal,"  recording  Urban  transactions  from  1610 
to  1800,  gives  us  a  very  clear  idea  of  the  social  manners  and  customs 
of  this  corporate  town  during  the  seventeenth,  eighteenth,  and  early 
nineteenth  centuries. 


310        ROYAL    SOCIETY    OF    ANTIQUARIES    OF    IRELAND, 


RALEGH'S  HOUSE,  YOUGHAL.1 

rPnE  building  known  as  Sir  Walter  Ralegh's  house  at  Youghal  looks 
to-day  from  the  outside  much  the  same  as  it  must  have  looked 
more  than  three  hundred  years  ago,  when  the  famous  soldier,  sea-captain, 
colonizer,  poet,  historian,  statesman,  and  courtier  (to  give  him  a  few  of 
his  titles  to  fame)  of  Queen  Elizabeth's  reign  is  believed  to  have  some 
time  sojourned  there.  Slates,  indeed,  replace  the  original  thatch  on  the 
roof,  and  modern  glass  the  ancient  leaded  panes  in  the  windows ;  but  the 
pleasantly  broken  front,  with  its  tbree  gablets,  projecting  porch,  and  bay- 


Siu  WALTER  KALEGH'S  HOUSE,  YOUGHAL. 
(From  a  Photograph  by  W.  Lawrence,  Dublin.) 

window  ;  the  south  end  with  its  sunny  oriel ;  the  back  with  its  towering 
chimneys ;  the  massive  wall,  five  feet  thick ;  the  high-pitched  gables,  all 
remain,  perhaps  almost  unchanged.  Entering  the  house,  we  pass  through 
the  hall  and  visit  the  low  dining-room  on  the  ground-floor,  from  which  a 
subterranean  passage  is  said  to  have  connected  the  house  with  St.  Mary's 
Church.  Upstairs  there  are  handsome  rooms  wainscoted  with  dark  oak. 
One  of  these  retains  in  its  fire-place  the  old  blue  Dutch  tiles  with  scrip- 
tural subjects  enclosed  in  a  circular  border.  In  a  recess  in  this  room 

1  Ey  Goddard  H.  Orpen,  B.A.,  Bairister-at-Law. 


PROCEEDINGS.  311 

behind  the  wainscoting  was  discovered  about  the  middle  of  the  last 
century  "a  part  of  the  old  monkish  library  hidden  at  the  period  of  the 
Reformation."  One  volume  contained  a  black-letter  compendium  of 
scriptural  events  from  the  Creation  to  the  days  of  the  Apostles,  printed 
at  Mantua  in  1479,  together  with  Peter  Comestor's  "Historia  Scolastica," 
printed  at  Strasburg  in  1483.  It  is  a  pity  we  have  not  a  complete  list  of 
the  library,  as  it  might  help  to  throw  light  on  the  date  of  the  house. 
The  principal  room,  that  with  the  sunny  oriel  window,  still  preserves  its 
beautiful  mantelpiece  of  elaborately  carved  oak  rising  up  to  the  panelled 
ceiling.  Three  figures,  representing  Faith,  Hope,  and  Charity,  support 
the  cornice,  above  which  is  an  open-work  parapet  by  an  apparently  later 
and  inferior  hand.  The  panels  between  the  figures  are  ornamented  with 
fantastic  shields,  while  an  exquisite  design  runs  over  the  lintel  of  the 
fireplace,  itself  supported  by  grotesque  figures.  Unfortunately  the 
original  tiles  of  the  fireplace  have  in  this  instance  been  removed. 

In  the  garden  four  old  yew-trees,  said  to  have  been  planted  by  Ealegh 
himself,  are  still  flourishing,  and  look  very  young  lor  their  age.  The 
myrtle-trees,  however,  which  were  also  supposed  to  date  from  his  time, 
and  which  at  one  period  gave  their  name  to  the  house,  were  destroyed  in 
a  storm  some  years  ago.  Here  Ralegh  is  believed  to  have  planted  the 
first  potatoes  ever  grown  in  Ireland,  and  to  have  smoked,  if  not  even 
planted,  the  first  tobacco,  and,  no  doubt,  "found  many  rare  and  woonder- 
full  experiments  of  the  vertues  thereof."  At  any  rate,  we  know  that  in 
these  and  in  many  other  directions,  such  as  mining  enterprises,  fruit 
culture,  making  pipestaves,  exporting  wool,  &c.,  he  was  busily  engaged 
at  the  Irish  industrial  revival  just  three  centuries  before  the  time. 

The  house  is  believed  to  have  been  originally  intended  for  the 
residence  of  the  Warden  of  the  College  of  Youghal,  and  to  have  been 
built  soon  after  the  year  1464,  when  the  College  was  founded  by  Thomas, 
the  eighth  Earl  of  Desmond.  (See  the  article  contributed  by  the  Rev. 
Samuel  Hayman  to  the  Society's  Journal  for  the  year  1856,  pp.  16-28.) 
The  house  can  be  plainly  identified  in  the  map  of  "Youghal  as  in 
Elizabeth's  reign  when  sacked  by  the  Earl  of  Desmond,"  reproduced, 
from  a  MS.  in  Trinity  College,  Dublin,  in  the  Society's  Journal,  1868-9, 
p.  469,  more  doubtfully  in  the  Map  of  Youghal  in  "Pacata  Hibernia." 
For  Sir  Walter  Ralegh's  connexion  with  it  we  have  to  rely  on  tradition, 
in  this  case  probably  well  founded.  He  probably  obtained  possession  of 
it  about  the  year  1587,  in  connexion  with  his  Crown  Grant  of  42,000 
acres  on  the  rivers  Blackwater  and  Bride.  His  visits  to  Ireland,  however, 
at  this  time  were  fitful  and  only  for  short  periods,  confined  probably  to 
the  years  1587  to  1589.  He  managed  his  huge  estates  by  deputy,  and 
they  went  from  bad  to  worse;  and  in  December,  1602,  he  sold  them  all, 
including  the  College  of  Youghal,  to  Sir  Richard  Boyle,  afterwards  first 
Earl  of  Cork.  Since  then  the  house  has  changed  hands  many  times. 
Not  many  years  ago  it  was  occupied  by  Sir  John  Pope  Hennessy,  who  in 


312         ROYAL   SOCIETY    OF   ANTIQUARIES   OF   IRELAND. 

1883  wrote  a  bitter  monograph  on  Sir  Walter  Ealegh  in  Ireland.  The 
house  has  been  known  in  legal  documents  as  Sir  Lawrence  Parsons' 
House,  and  in  recent  times  as  Myrtle  Grove,  &c. ;  but,  in  a  truer  historical 
perspective,  it  is  now  indissolubly  linked  with  the  memory  of  one  of  the 
most  remarkable  personalities  of  his  own  or  indeed  of  any  age,  Sir  Walter 
Ralegh. 


BINCBEW  PBECEPTOBr.' 

N  the  summit  of  the  hill,  at  the  confluence  of  the  Blackwater,  or  "  Avon- 
more,"  with  the  lliver  Toorigh  ("  The  King's  Bleach-green"),  are 
the  ruins  of  a  Preceptory  of  Knights  Templars,  said  to  have  been  founded 
in  1183  A.D.,  by  Baymond  le  Gros.  These  ruins  are  very  extensive, 
covering  almost  the  whole  of  the  top  of  the  hill.  The  foundations  of 
the  chapel,  cloisters,  refectory,  and  kitchen  may  still  be  traced,  but  with 
difficulty.  The  chapel  is  about  66  feet  long  by  27  feet  wide  ;  and  the 
walls  are  nearly  5  feet  in  thickness  ;  the  sills  of  the  opes  of  the  eastern 
window  are  still  visible.  There  is  a  long  vaulted  "  undercroft,"  or 
cellar,  under  the  apartments  which  existed  on  the  eastern  side  of  the 
cloister.  This  chamber,  which  is  about  51  feet  by  17  feet,  is  covered  by 
early  pointed  vaulting  of  stone  about  1 1  feet  high,  roughly  grouted  and 
undressed.  There  are  no  traces  whatever  now  left  of  any  carved  stone- 
work ;  doubtless,  in  the  construction  of  this  semi-monastic,  semi-military 
establishment,  very  little  ornamental  sculpture  was  to  be  found.  The 
walls  in  parts  are  exceedingly  thick,  being  upwards  of  6  feet  in  width. 
All  the  stones  used  in  the  construction  are  of  small  size,  and  seem  to 
have  been  quarried  on  the  top  of  the  hill.  Seven  deeply- splayed  spike- 
opes  light  this  "  undercroft,"  four  of  these  being  in  the .  eastern  wall, 
two  in  the  southern,  and  one  at  the  north-east  corner.  Traces  are  still 
remaining  above  the  vaulted  chamber  of  small  apartments.  The  dormi- 
tory, supported  on  thick  oaken  beams,  and  divided  into  cubicles  or  cells 
(of  which  we  see  the  vestiges  in  the  Abbey  of  Molana,  near  Ballinatra), 
must  have  once  existed  over  the  refectory,  and  in  proximity  to  the 
chapel.  Local  tradition  says  that  some  carved  effigies  of  the  Knights 
(such  as  may  still  be  seen  in  the  ruined  and  dismantled  chapel  of  the 
Knights  Hospitallers,  at  Hospital,  County  Limerick)  were  to  be  seen  in 
the  ruins  at  the  beginning  of  the  last  century,  but  all  traces  of  such 
statues  are  now  lost.  The  Preceptory  was  granted,  after  the  dissolution 
of  the  monasteries,  to  Sir  Walter  Baleigh,  A.D.  1585,  and  was  after- 

1  By  Mr.  M.  J.  C.  Buckley. 


PROCEEDINGS.  313 

wards  assigned,  A.D.  1602,  to  Robert  Boyle,  the  "  Great"  Earl  of 
Cork.  Tew,  if  any,  historical  details  are  left  concerning  this  monastic 
fortress. 

TEMPLE  MICHAEL  CASTLE. 

This  castle,  one  of  the  Geraldine  fortresses,  stands  in  a  most  picturesque 
position  by  the  side  of  the  Blackwater.  It  is  very  likely  that  its  name 
of  "  Teampul  Mihil,"  or  Michael's  Church,  owes  its  origin  to  the 
Templars  of  Rincrew  having  possession  of  the  crossing  or  ferry  at  this 
point.  This  stronghold  has  been  very  much  battered  and  maltreated 
by  the  cannon,  which  the  Lord  Protector  brought  to  bear  upon  it,  from 
a  hill  near  Eallinatra,  leaving  only  the  southern  and  eastern  walls  of  the 
keep  still  standing,  with  a  portion  of  the  spiral  stone  stairs  inside.  There 
still  remains  part  of  one  of  the  small,  circular,  curtain  towers  of  the  walls 
of  the  "bawn"  or  castleyard.  The  castle  was  erected  in  the  course  of 
the  fourteenth  century  by  one  of  the  Fitz  Gerald  family,  the  last  of 
whom  when  in  possession,  in  the  year  1645,  assisted  Lord  Castlehaven  to 
cross  the  Blackwater  at  this  point,  in  order  that  he  might  bombard 
Youghal  from  the  ferry-point.  The  architectural  features  of  this  keep 
were  similar  in  type  to  those  in  the  fortalice  of  Kilnatoora,  of  which  a 
short  description  will  be  found  below. 

THE  ABBEY  OP  MOLANA. 

This  ruin  is  situate  on  what  was  formerly  an  island  called  Dar-Inis, 
and  was  founded,  in  the  sixth  century,  by  St.  Molanfidhe.  Within 
recent  times  (in  1806)  this  island  was  united  to  the  mainland  by  a 
causeway.  Probably  it  derived  its  name  of  "  Oak  Island"  from  having 
been  a  "crannog"  or  island  habitation  surrounded  by  oaken  stakes, 
.such  as  we  still  see  round  an  islet  in  one  of  the  lakes  of  Inchigeela, 
County  Cork.  Such  an  islet  would  have  formed  a  secure  and  com- 
modious site  for  the  primitive  "  Laura,"  or  monastic  settlement,  of  the 
early  Christian  missionaries,  in  the  midst  of  a  densely-wooded  and 
trackless  land,  as  all  this  country  was  then,  and  even  down  to  the  time 
of  Ralegh.  There  are  still  extensive  remains  of  the  church,  with  its 
tower,  the  chapter-room,  or  "  scriptorium,"  the  refectory,  and  its 
adjacent  kitchen  and  draw-well,  as  well  as  the  cloister- garth,  or 
^'paradise."  The  church  was  divided  into  nave  and  choir  by  an  arch, 
of  which  the  bases  of  the  piers  are  still  to  be  seen.  The  choir  was 
lighted  by  six  lancet-headed  windows  on  the  south,  four  on  the  north, 
and  a  two-light  window  in  the  eastern  wall.  The  church  is  about 
120  feet  in  length,  and  24  feet  wide ;  and  the  walls,  up  to  the  springing 
of  the  roof,  are  27  feet  in  height,  and  about  3  feet  in  thickness.  The 
type  of  the  architectural  remains,  still  to  be  found,  seems  to  be  in  Early 
English  style.  In  the  refectory  is  a  fine,  round-arched,  moulded  and 

Tm,r    tt  9  A  T  $  VoL  XIU-'  Fifth  Series,        )  v 

Jour.  K.b.A.I.  j  Vol  XXXIIK)  Consec.  Ser.  J 


314         ROYAL    SOCIETY    OF    ANTIQUARIES    OF    IRELAND. 

ornamented  window,  which  appears  to  be  of  an  earlier  date,  and  more 
"  Romanesque "  in  treatment.  This  window  is  now  filled  up  with  a 
modern  wall  and  slab,  surmounted  by  a  sham  Greek  cinerary  urn  (surely 
the  Norman  knight  was  not  cremated !),  dedicated  to  the  memory  of 
Raymond  le  Gros,  who  is  said,  on  the  authority  of  a  Carew  MS.,  to  have 
been  buried  here  in  1186  A.D.  The  cloisters  had  no  arcaded  opes  or 
arches,  such  as  we  see  at  Ardfert,  in  County  Kerry,  and  in  so  many 
other  abbeys  in  Ireland  and  elsewhere.  The  ''ambulatory"  of  this 
humble  cloister  was  roofed,  most  probably  with  oaken  planks,  covered  by 
slates,  quarried  (as  they  have  been  down  to  recent  times)  on  the  banks 
of  the  Finisk,  a  few  miles  away  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  Blackwater. 
This  oaken  roof  rested  on  wooden  posts,  and  the  floor  was  composed,  most 
likely,  of  local  stone  slabs.  There  are  some  traces  still  remaining  of 
mural  decoration,  in  the  shape  of  white  "  ashlar "  lines,  traced  on  a 
light  rose-red  ground,  on  the  walls  of  the  apartment,  near  the  chapter- 
room,  which  was  most  probably  used  as  the  "scriptorium,"  or  writing 
room.  This  room  commands  a  most  delightful  prospect  over  the  broad 
waters  of  the  "  Avonmore,"  and  it  must  have  formed,  in  days  gone  by, 
an  ideal  retreat  for  the  skilled  penmen  of  the  Middle  Ages,  whose 
labours  have  left  us  such  magnificent  memorials  of  their  learning,  skill, 
and  industry.  This  abbey,  originally  under  the  ancient  Celtic  monastic 
rule,  became  a  monastery  of  Canons  Eegular  of  St.  Augustine,  after  the 
Norman  Conquest.  .yv 


PROCEEDINGS. 


KILtfATOORA  CASTLE,  YOUGHAL.1 

rpnis  fortalice  is  a  fair  type  of  the  fortified  houses  or  "  keeps,"  which 
were  erected  in  great  numbers  by  the  Hiberno-Normans,  all  along 
the  limits  of  the  Pale  (in  the  same  manner  as  they  did  in  Wales  and 
Scotland) ;  these  castles  served  similar  defensive  purposes  as  the 
blockhouses  which  were  built  during  the  recent  South  African  war, 
all  along  the  border  lines.  The  keep  at  Kilnatoora,  as  well  as  that  at 
Cornaveigh  (which  is  now  utterly  ruined),  was  a  Geraldine  strong- 
hold ;  after  the  attainder  of  the  Earl  of  Desmond,  in  Elizabeth's 
reign,  these  castles  passed  into  the  possession  of  Sir  Walter  Raleigh,  and 
afterwards  of  the  Earls  of  Cork.  In  Kilnatoora  we  see  the  expedients 
adopted  by  the  military  engineers  of  those  days,  in  order  to  make  use 
of  the  new  weapons  (such  as  small  cannon  called  "  culverins,"  and  guns  or 
"  arquebuses,"  either  of  brass  or  iron),  which  the  general  employment  of 
gunpowder,  both  for  offensive  and  defensive  operations,  was  then  intro- 
ducing all  over  Europe.  In  looking  at  the  destructive  havoc  wrought  on 
the  solidly-built  limestone  walls  of  such  fortresses  of  the  Middle  Ages, 
an  intelligent  observer  of  these  "  signs  of  the  times"  may  well  say  that 
gunpowder,  the  invention  of  a  peaceful  German  monk,  was  one  of  the 
most  powerful  agents  for  the  overthrow  of  the  whole  Feudal  system, 
both  here  and  in  every  other  European  country.  Kilnatoora  was 
besieged,  in  1645,  by  Lord  Castlehaven,  the  commander  of  the  Irish 
Royalist  forces,  which  were  fighting  for  the  king.  The  garrison  having 
been  called  upon  to  surrender,  they  refused  to  do  so,  and  Castlehaven 
bombarded  the  fortress  and  made  a  breach  in  the  walls.  The  place  being 
taken  "  upon  mercy,"  as  it  was  called,  the  commandant,  who  was 
Lieutenant  Smyth,  was  thereupon  shot  dead;  such  summary  methods 
seem  to  have  been  carried  out  by  the  commanders  on  both  sides.  We 
have  several  letters  from  Castlehaven  addressed  to  the  Republican  com- 
manders of  various  fortresses  in  this  part  of  the  country,  ordering  them 
to  surrender  their  "  strong  places"  into  his  hands.  We  shall  quote  two 
or  three  of  these  peremptory  epistles.  Eor  instance,  "  To  the  Commander 
of  the  Castle  of  Mogeely,"  he  writes,  "  I  summon  you  therefore  to  yield 
that  hold  of  Mogeely  instantly,  into  my  hands,  and  to  become  yourself  of 
our  party,  which  if  you  do,  you  shall  have  quarter ;  otherwise,  I  will 
make  you  and  your  warden,  such  an  example,  as  I  did  last  night,  to 
your  neighbours  at  Conna  Castle,  by  putting  to  the  sword  some, 

1  By  Mr.  M.  J.  C.  Buckley. 
Y2 


316         ROYAL   SOCIETY    OF    ANTIQUARIES    OF    IRELAND. 

and  hanging  the  rest."  June  19th,  1645.  This  summons  not  being 
obeyed,  next  day  the  following  missive  was  sent  to  the  Governor  of 
Mogelly  :  — 

"  SIR, — I  have  now  showed  you  my  artillery,  against  the  effect  of 
which  you  can  make  no  resistance,  wherefore,  come  forth  instantly,  and 
submit  yourselves,  otherwise,  you,  the  Governor,  shall  be  infallibly 
hanged,  and  your  company  hanged,  or  put  to  the  sword,  by  your  friend, 
CASTLEHAVEN." 

This  summons  was  obeyed. 

Another  letter  was  addressed  to  the  commander  of  Templemichael, 
to  this  effect : — 

"  SIR  GOVERNOR, — You  may  remember  that  when  I  sent  for  you 
yesterday,  you  not  only  refused  to  come,  but  in  my  defiance,  nourished  a 
sword  on  the  top  of  your  castle.  If  you  do  not  instantly  come  forth,  and 
submit  yourself  unto  me,  I  will  put  to  death  you  and  all  the  men  within 
your  place.  And  as  I  was  so  favourable  as  only  to  hang  the  Governor 
and  Warden  of  Strangally,  because  they  made  me  stay  some  hours  there, 
I  will  shoot  you  out  of  the  cannon's  mouth,  and  give  my  soldiers  the 
massacring  of  all  under  your  warders."  June  29th,  1645. 

This  shows  the  power  which  artillery  was  gaining  in  the  warlike 
operations  of  those  times. 

Kilnatoora  Tower,  as  far  as  the  edifice  is  concerned,  is  still  fairly 
perfect.  As  is  usual  in  such  fortified  dwellings,  all  the  apertures,  for 
light  and  air,  on  the  ground-floor,  as  well  as  of  the  story  above  it,  are 
merely  narrow  slits,  so  as  to  prevent  all  ingress  ;  the  entrance  doorway 
in  the  south-east  angle  of  the  southern  face  of  the  castle,  was  defended 
by  a  small  cannon,  for  which  a  circular  aperture  was  provided  outside  the 
oaken  and  iron-bound  door.  The  stone  stairs,  circular  in  form,  winds 
upwards,  on  the  Archimedean  screw  principle,  to  the  floors  above.  The 
entrance  corridor  is  most  ingeniously  fortified  against  sudden  intrusion  of 
enemies,  by  means  of  an  opening  in  the  ceiling,  through  which  molten 
lead,  red-hot  sand,  cauldrons  of  boiling  water,  and  other  disagreeable 
"missiles"  were  showered  on  the  heads  of  unwelcome  intruders;  for 
in  such  military  dwellings  every  part  of  the  building  was  prepared  for 
hand-to-haud  defence,  in  case  of  necessity.  The  vaulted  lower  apart- 
ment was  used  for  the  storage  of  salted  meats,  and  barrels  of  beer  (or 
"  cervoise")  and  wine,  as  well  as  cheeses,  etc.  There  was  also  a  wooden 
floor  resting  on  the  stone  corbels  which  divided  the  room  in  two ; 
this  loft  was  the  store  or  grenier  for  corn,  hard-baked  bread  or  biscuits, 
oatmeal,  and  other  perishable  provisions.  The  vaulting  of  rough  stone- 
work was  evidently  ''turned"  or  built  on  wattles  of  willow  twigs, 
which  have  left  their  indents  on  the  bed  of  concrete,  on  which  the 


PROCEEDINGS.  317 

"  keying"  stones  were  set.  The  first  floor  chamber,  a  spacious  one,  was 
the  living-room  of  the  Warden  and  his  family  ;  the  windows  of  this 
apartment,  being  above  the  reach  of  besiegers,  are  larger  than  the  lower 
ones  ;  they  are  provided  with  seats  on  both  sides  of  their  reveals.  These 
seats,  when  cushioned  (as  we  see  them  in  many  illuminations  of  MSS.), 
formed  comfortable  and  safe  lounges,  no  doubt,  for  the  ladies  and 
gentlemen  of  that  troubled  period.  This  living-room,  as  well  as  the 
upper  ones  above  it,  communicates  by  means  of  long  narrow  passages 
with  (l  garde-robes"  or  cabinets,  having  doors  cutting  off  communication 
with  the  rooms  to  which  they  belonged,  thus  showing  that,  rude  and 
uncomfortable  as  we  may  esteem  them  nowadays,  these  mediaeval  dwell- 
ings were  provided  with  most  practical  sanitary  arrangements,  which 
arrangements  have  been,  in  most  cases,  ignorantly  called  "murdering- 
holes." 

Ascending  by  the  stone  stairs,  we  reach  a  chamber  which  was  evidently 
the  dormitory  ;  the  shallow  alcoves  next  the  windows  were  for  the  recep- 
tion of  "pallets"  or  beds,  with  movable  wooden  bedsteads;  curtains 
hanging  from  rods  separated  these  sleeping-places  from  the  rest  of  the 
room.  A  lofty  garret  was  formed  under  the  planked  and  slated  roof ; 
this  garret  was  generally  used  for  the  storage  of  clothes  and  armour, 
along  with  woollen  coverings,  coffers,  and  boxes.  A  narrow  stairs  led  up 
to  the  broad  stone  walk  inside  the  parapets.  A  small  turret  stood  on  the 
north-eastern  angle  of  the  castle;  this  turret  was  provided  with  a 
"  cresset,"  or  iron  basket,  which  held  the  signal  fire,  that  was  lit  in  case 
of  necessity,  for  signalling  to  the  other  castles  for  many  miles  around 
the  approach  of  an  enemy  or  of  any  other  imminent  danger ;  a  small 
"  boudoir,"  used  most  likely  as  an  Oratory,  with  wide  window  opes,  of 
cusped  arcades,  existed  in  the  south-east  angle,  and  it  is  evident  that  all 
this  ornamental  arcading  was  ruined  and  brought  down  from  the  effects 
of  cannon  shot.  Lofty  chimneys,  built  up  from  the  parapets,  surmount 
the  roof-gables ;  the  fire-places  communicating  with  these  chimney- 
shafts,  were  large  ogee-arched  hearths,  in  which  blocks  of  wood  and 
peat  were  burned,  as  sea-borne  coal  was  then  unknown  in  this  part  of 
Ireland.  "  Aumbries,"  or  cupboards,  made  in  the  thickness  of  the  wall, 
are  to  be  found  in  the  different  rooms ;  and  there  can  be  no  doubt  that 
these  cupboards,  as  well  as  the  walls  themselves,  were  lined  with  wooden 
panellings,  such  as  are  still  to  be  seen  in  the  fortified  manor-house  of  the 
Earls  of  Ormond  at  Carrick-on-Suir,  and  in  the  "  Warden's  House " 
(now  called  Sir  Walter  Raleigh's)  in  Youghal.  The  keep  of  Kilnatoora, 
like  many  other  fortalices,  was  occupied  solely  by  the  Governor  and  his 
family  ;  the  men-at-arms  of  the  garrison  lived  in  the  outhouses  or  in  the 
small  towers  attached  to  the  "  ballium"  or  "  bawn  "  of  the  castle.  A  few 
traces  of  this  "  bawn  "  are  still  remaining  here,  amongst  them  being  one 
of  the  ruined  angle-turrets  or  bastions.  We  can  find  no  signs  of  the 
gate  of  the  castle-yard,  nor  of  any  other  outward  defensive  works.  Of 


318        ROYAL    SOCIETY    OF    ANTIQUARIES    OF    IRELAND. 

the  small  "  kill  "  or  primitive  church,  from  whence  the  locality  derives 
its  name,  a  few  foundations  can  still  be  traced  a  short  distance  from  the 
castle  walls ;  but  no  other  architectural  remnants  are  now  to  be  found. 
As  this  Tower  of  Kilnatoora  is  a  most  interesting  type  of  its  kind,  and 
is  well  worthy  of  preservation,  I  think  some  measures  should  be  taken 
by  the  County  Council  to  prevent  quarrying  being  carried  further  into 
the  limestone  rock  on  which  the  keep  stands,  for  we  can  ill  afford  to 
lose  this,  now  silent,  witness  of  so  many  of  the  fierce  struggles  for 
supremacy  which  occurred  during  ages  past  along  the  historic  banks  of 
the  fair,  broad  A  von  more. 


PROCEEDINGS.  ,'U9 


NOTES  ON  YOUGHAL.1 

fT%E  ancient  and  important  town  of  Youghal  has  been  most  fortunate 
in  the  number  and  ability  of  its  historians,  commencing  in 
Elizabeth's  reign  with  the  great  Earl  of  Cork,  and  ending  with  the 
learned  antiquary,  Richard  Caulfield.  the  interval  having  been  filled  by 
Alderman  Thomas  Cooke,  who  wrote  in  1749 ;  Thomas  Lord,  who 
issued  from  his  printing  press  in  Youghal,  anno  1784,  "  The  Ancient 
and  Present  State  of  Youghal,"  and  the  Rev.  Samuel  Hayman,  who 
published  in  his  native  town  its  Historical,  Ecclesiastical,  and 
Antiquarian  Records,  &c. 

Of  these  published  works,  the  first-named,  containing  the  re- 
membrances and  diaries  of  Sir  Richard  Boyle,  first  and  great  Earl  of 
Cork,  was  issued  in  ten  volumes  for  private  circulation,  and  edited 
by  the  Rev.  Alexander  Grosart.8  It  abounds  in  references  to 
Youghal,  and  contains  abundant  evidence  of  the  interest  taken  by  the 
Earl  of  Cork  in  its  trade,  industries  and  manufactures,  and  the  exports 
and  imports  of  its  harbour.  Who  would  now  suppose  that  in  the  reign 
of  Charles  I.,  instead  of  importing  manufactured  iron  from  Wales,  it 
was  mined,  smelted,  converted  into  bars,  and  exported  to  the  Continent 
and  England,  in  cargoes  from  Lord  Cork's  ironworks  at  Lismore, 
Lisfinny  Castle,  and  Cappoquin,  on  the  banks  of  the  Blackwater,  where 
the  barges  were  loaded,  and  floated  down  the  river  to  his  stores  at 
Youghal,  and  from  thence  abroad  ?  This  important  trade  continued  for 
years,  until  at  last  the  supply  of  forest  timber  was  exhausted  ;  no  more 
charcoal  could  be  produced,  and  the  cost  of  imported  coal  was  pro- 
hibitive, making  it  too  expensive  a  substitute  to  work  with  profit. 
Another  department  of  his  export  trade  was  the  manufacture  of  pipe  and 
hogshead  staves.  In  one  of  his  entries,  under  anno  1619,  he  writes: 
"  I  paid  John  Brothers  for  the  making  of  52,000  pipe  staves,  last  made 
in  M'Donagh's  woods  at  32s.  the  thousand,  delivered  free  in  my  yard  at 
Youghall  at  £3  a  thousand.  I  have  also  agreed  with  him  to  make  me 
100,000  hogshead  staves  delivered  free  in  my  yard  at  Yoghill,"  &c. 

In  1749,  Alderman  Thomas  Cooke,  of  Youghal,  presented  to  the 
Right  Hon.  Henry  Boyle,  afterwards  first  Earl  of  Shannon,  a  memoir  of 
the  town,  giving  an  account  of  its  laws  and  customs,  its  offices,  gates, 
walls,  church  immunities  and  privileges,  with  a  list  of  its  mayors, 
bailiffs,  burgesses,  and  freemen  from  1542  to  1749.  This  has  been 

1  By  Robert  Day,  F.S.A.,  Vice -President.         .          2  Privately  printed  in  1878. 


320         ROYAL    SOCIETY    OF   ANTIQUARIES    OF    IRELAND. 

edited  by  the  writer  from  the  original  MS.  in  his  possession,  and  will  be- 
found  in  the  Journal  of  the  Cork  Historical  and  Archaeological  Society, 
vol  ix.,  2nd  Ser.  Hitherto  it  had  been  unpublished,  except  the 
proemium,  which  appeared  for  the  first  time  in  Hayman's  "Handbook 
for  Youghal."1 

Thomas  Cooke,  the  author,  was  Bailiff  in  1744,  and  Mayor  in  1746, 
and  again  in  1747.  His  family  was  of  good  repute,  as  members  of  it 
were  elected  to  the  office  of  Chief  Magistrate  during  a  period  of  six 
successive  years.  This  MS.  antedates  the  "  Council  Book  "  by  sixty-eight 
years,  and  carries  the  town  records  back  to  the  reign  of  Henry  VIII. , 
anno  1542. 

In  1784,  Thomas  Lord,  a  printer  in  Youghal,  published  there  a  little 
Tolume  of  130  pp.,  dedicated  to  the  Corporation,  entitled  "The  Ancient 
and  Present  State  of  Youghal,  containing  a  natural,  civil,  ecclesiastical, 
and  topographical  history  thereof." 

This  was  followed  by  the  Rev.  Samuel  Hayman  in  his  "  Notes  and 
Records  of  the  religious  foundations  at  Youghal,"  and  a  Guide  to  Youghal, 
Ardmore,  and  the  Blackwater,  editions  of  which  were  printed  by  John 
Lindsay  at  the  "Old  Lindsay  Press,"  Youghal,  in  1855-1858,2  I860,, 
fee. 

Lastly,  we  owe  a  deep  debt  of  gratitude  to  Richard  Caulfield,  the 
cultured  and  learned  antiquary,  profound  scholar,  and  indefatigable 
worker,  who,  when  in  failing  health,  edited,  as  it  were  a  lasting  legacy, 
"The  Council  Book  of  the  Corporation  of  Youghal,"  with  added  notes 
made  during  his  summer  vacations  in  the  Public  Record  Office,  British 
Museum,  Bodleian  Library,  and  from  other  original  sources,  both  public 
and  private. 

The  Cork  Corporation  Records,  published  also  by  Dr.  Caulfield, 
although  useful  to  the  local  antiquary  and  illustrative  of  contemporary 
manners,  are,  in  comparison  \vith  those  of  Youghal,  singularly  devoid  of 
historical  value.  The  latter  are  of  much  importance  as  illustrative  of  the 
condition  of  Munster  during  a  period  of  which  detailed  information  is 
unfortunately  scanty.  They  form  a  complete  record  of  the  town  during 
the  Rebellion  of  1641  and  the  Commonwealth,  inclusive  of  the  orders 
and  requisitions  of  Lord  Inchiquin  relative  to  the  large  garrisons  then 
stationed  in  the  town. 

Concerning  the  industries  of  the  town,  neither  Jordan  nor  Hayman 

1  Lindsay,  Youghal,  1858. 

2  Lindsay  has  only  recently  died.     His  father,  John  "Wesley  Lindsay,  commenced 
business  as  a  printer  here  in   1824,  having  served  his  apprenticeship  in  Cork,  and 
purchased  there  an  old  wooden  press,  which  had  formerly  belonged  to  James  Blow,  a 
well-known  printer  in  Belfast  in  1696.     It  is  believed  to  have  been  the  very  press  at 
which  the  first  Bible  printed  in  Ireland  (8vo,  Belfast,  1704)  was  struck  off.     Blow 
sold  it  to  a  Cork  printer,  who  used  it  in  publishing  a  small  newspaper,  and  with  him 
it  remained  until   Lindsay   purchased  it   in    1824.      (Vide  Cotton's    Typographical 
Gazetteer  (Macmillan,  1866),  and  Ulster  Journal  of  Archeology,  vol.ii.,  p.  76,  2nd  Ser. ; 
also  Madden's  Irish  Periodical  Literature,  and  Anderson's  Belfast-printed  Books.} 


PROCEEDINGS.  321 

makes  any  mention  of  the  manufacture  of  delf  in  Youghal.  Notices 
of  the  earthenware  works,  which  were  owned  and  for  many  years  success- 
fully worked  by  the  Drury  family,  occur  by  both  ;  but  of  the  higher  class 
glazed  and  decorated  delf,  which  was  made  there  during  the  first  half  of 
the  eighteenth  century,  there  is  no  notice.  That  this  manufacture  existed 
there  can  be  no  doubt,  as  well-authenticated  examples  are  preserved  by  the 
descendants  of  Youghal  families  ;  one  of  these,  the  late  Robert  J.  Leeky, 
writing  in  1889  from  London,  informed  me  that  "  the  tradition 
concerning  the  delf  is,  that  a  vein  of  white  clay  was  discovered  in  the 
neighbourhood,  and  some  trials  were  made  with  it,  but  only  in  a  very 
small  way  ;  that  the  place  was  covered  up,  and  the  locality  entirely 
forgotten.  I  have  a  doll's  cup  and  saucer  made  of  it,  diameter  If  inches 
and  2-1^6  inches,  a  thick  white  glaze,  the  clay  a  light  grey  straw  colour. 

The  cup  has   the  initials     1751'    and  a  mock   Chinese  ornamentation 

outside,  colour  light  blue.  These  were  part  of  a  set  given  to  my  grandaunt, 
Hannah  Poole,  nee  Lecky  (born  in  1  74  1  ),  when  ten  years  old,  (She  died  in 
Cork  in  1820.)  I  have  the  tradition  from  my  father,  who  was  bom  in 
Cork  in  1764.  I  don't  know  whether  there  is  still  there  any  manufacture 
of  the  coarse  brown  ware  once  carried  on  rather  extensively  by  Eisners  and 
Drurys.  There  were  some  fairly  successful  experiments  made  by  grinding 
up  the  wasters,  of  which  there  must  be  large  quantities  buried,  and 
mixing  with  fresh  clay,  so  that,  with  modern  machinery  and  more  careful 
manipulation,  I  fancy  a  much-improved  class  of  earthenware  could  be 
made." 

Miss  Baker,  of  Carrigbeg,  Cork,  has  four  fully  authenticated  specimens, 
one  of  which  was  presented  to  me.  The  body  of  the  clay  composing 
these  is  a  light  grey,  the  glaze  a  very  pale  bluey-  white,  the  decoration  a 
full  deep  blue,  the  ornamentation  Chinese  in  character.  One  of  these  is 
a  14-inch  circular  dish,  painted  in  a  willow  pattern,  with  pagoda,  bridge, 
water,  and  landscape,  also  a  plate  9  inches  diameter,  with  flower  and  leaf 
pattern  of  the  same  colour.  And  two  plates,  7t  inches  wide,  of  the  same 
body  and  same  glaze,  plain  borders,  and  within  three  concentric  rings 
the  initials  E.  H.,  for  E.  Highnet,  an  ancestor  of  Miss  Baker's,  for  whom 
the  set  of  ware  was  made. 

In  my  own  very  small  collection  are  the  following  examples  of  this 
rare  and  little  known  delf  :  — 

-p     TT 

1.  The  plate  of  E.  Highnet,  1738,  before  described,  marked 


2.  An   armorial   plate.      Arg.    three  fleur-de-lys,    az.,    between   six 
cross   crosslets  for  Hillary,  County  Warwick,  with  the  initials  K.  H., 
and  date  1747. 

3.  A   puzzle  jug  of  the  same  colours,  similar  to  one  exhibited  in  the 

1  Smith's  "  Cork,"  vol.  i.,  p.  70.     (Guy,  1893.) 


322         ROYAL    SOCIETY    OF   ANTIQUARIES   OF   IRELAND. 

Agricultural  and  Technical  Loan  Department  of  the  Cork  Exhibition, 
1902,  and  with  the  same  inscription  : — 

"  Here,  Gentlemen,  come  try  your  skill, 
I'le  hould  a  wager  if  you  will, 
That  you  don't  drink  this  liquor  all 
Without  you  spill,  or  lett  some  fall." 

4.  An  8-inch  fluted  oviform  jar  without  cover,  with  a  dark  blue 
decoration  composed  of  birds,  flowers,  ferns  and  rushes.  It  was  given  to 
me  some  years  ago  by  a  lady  member  of  an  old  Youghal  family,  who, 
because  it  was  made  in  her  native  town,  prized  it  greatly,  and  treasured 
it  for  the  family  associations  that  clustered  round  it. 

Lord,  writing  of  the  manufactures  of  Youghal  in  1784,  places  that 
of  earthenware  at  the  head  of  the  list,  "a  considerable  quantity  of 
which  is  made  in  Youghal,"  and  goes  onto  say,  "it  is  far  from  being 
brought  to  the  perfection  the  manufacture  requires.  A  considerable 
branch  of  this  trade,  and  which  we  continue  to  import  in  vast  quantities 
from  Holland,  is  the  article  of  tiles  for  roofing  and  flooring,  as  also 
chimney  tiles,  in  many  of  which  one  meets  with  no  unelegant  designs 
done  by  children  in  that  industrious  country,  and  sold  extremely  cheap." 

Lord  also  mentions  the  "  exceeding  good  brick  made  in  Youghal, 
very  little  inferior  to  that  which  comes  from  England."  Although  a 
century  and  a  half  has  elapsed  since  he  wrote,  the  industry  continues  to 
flourish,  and  to  retain  the  high  reputation  which  it  then  so  justly  bore. 

Hayman1  figures  and  describes  a  bronze  seal  which  was  found  near 
the  precincts  of  the  Franciscan  Friary  on  Dec.  31,  1853,  in  the  garden  of 
R.  H.  Eogers,  Esq.,  from  whom  I  purchased  it  in  1898.  The  matrix  of 
this  seal  is  circular,  £  -inch  diameter ;  the  handle  is  hexagonal,  tapering 
until  it  expands  into  a  trefoil  head  of  yellowish  bronze.  The  central 
device  of  the  seal  is  surrounded  at  the  edge  by  a  pearl  border,  and  may 
be  described  as  an  almond-shaped  vesica  [emblem  of  the  Blessed  Yirgin], 
intersected  by  a  square,  having  in  the  middle  of  the  field  a  heart  proper 
in  high  relief,  pierced  in  the  centre  by  a  sword  pointing  downwards. 
The  heart  rests  on  an  open  calix  of  a  flower-de-luce,  or  Mary  Lily,  the 
position  of  the  sword  being  symbolic  of  Simeon's  prophetic  words  to  Mary. 
The  inscription  surrounds  the  vesica,  and  reads,  in  black-letter : — 

"  2JI    S.    FRIS.    JOH.    THYNGHUL." 

Our  Local  Secretary,  Mr.  Buckley,  has  suggested  that  the  legend  is 
composite  in  character  through  an  error  of  the  engraver  in  omitting  a 
stop  between  the  letters  "  th  "  and  "  yughul,"  the  first  being  an  abbre- 
viation for  "  Thesaurarius,"  treasurer  of  the  convent.  Yughul  is  one  of  the 
varieties  of  mediaeval  spelling  for  Youghal,  and  this  seal  would,  if  his 
conjecture  be  well  founded,  be  that  of 

"  FRIAR  JOHN,  THE  TREASURER  [OF  ST.  MARY*S  FRIARY],   YOUGHAL." 
1  Page  30.     John  Lindsay,  Youghal,  1858. 


PROCEEDINGS.  323 


YOIJGHAL  SILVERSMITHS'  WORK. 

It  is  to  Cooke's  MS.  we  are  indebted  for  a  list  of  the  various  trades, 
of  which  the  four  guilds  of  the  town  were  composed  ;  they  are  not  men- 
tioned by  Hayman,  and  only  referred  to  by  Caulfield  as  the  Clothiers, 
Leathermen,  Victuallers,  and  Hammermen. 

It  is  with  the  last-named  that  the  Goldsmiths  were  incorporated,  viz. 
Goldsmyths,  Black  Smyths,  Peuterers,  Shipwrights,  House  Carpenters, 
Joyners,  Coopers,  Tilers,  Masons,  Cutlers,  Brasiers,  and  Glaziers.1 

Messrs.  Egan  &  Son,  of  Cork,  had  recently  for  repairs  a  dated  chalice 
with  the  Youghal  marks.  It  was  9^  inches  high,  the  cup  plain,  and 
measuring  4  inches  deep  by  3£  inches  wide  at  the  mouth,  resting  on  a 
baluster  stem,  with  pear-shaped  knop,  on  which  were  three  cherubs' 
heads,  winged,  of  applied  chased  work.  The  foot  was  splayed,  forming 
a  rose  of  ten  petals,  the  raised  dividing  lines  of -which  had  each  &fleur- 
de-lys,  and  in  one  of  the  open  spaces  a  representation  of  the  Crucifixion, 
and  the  date  1644,  the  whole  resting  on  a  gadrooned  edge  all  engraved. 
On  the  cup  were  four  marks,  viz.,  the  galley,  and  maker's  stamp  twice 

repeated  |  I.  G.  I,  which  corresponds  with  John  Green,  Goldsmyth,  whose 
name  is  mentioned  in  the  Council  Book  of  the  Corporation  of  Youghal, 
anno  1652.  This  is  the  earliest  example  of  Youghal  marked  plate  that 
has  so  far  been  recorded,  dating  from  the  reign  of  Charles  I. 

The  chalice  and  paten  which  are  now  used  in  the  parish  church  of 
Killeagh  formerly  belonged  to  the  adjoining  parish  of  Clonpriest.  I  am 
indebted  to  my  kinsman,  the  Rev.  W.  T.  C.  Day,  Rector,  for  entrusting 
these  valuable  pieces  of  Communion  plate  to  my  care,  by  which  I  was 
enabled  to  more  carefully  examine  them  and  take  impressions  from  their 
makers'  stamps. 

Both  chalice  and  paten  are  remarkably  fine  examples  of  Youghal 
silversmiths'  work.  The  chalice  is  Scinches  high,  supported  on  a  circular 
foot  4f  inches  diameter  ;  the  cup  is  straight- sided,  4  inches  in  depth, 
and  4f  inches  wide  at  the  lip,  embossed  with  a  spiral  fluting  3  inches 
deep  round  the  lower  part,  the  base  resting  on  an  applied  rose  of  five 
petals,  the  stem  with  fluted  baluster  knop  and  similarly  decorated. 

The  paten  corresponds  in  ornamentation  with  the  chalice,  which  it  fits 
as  a  cover.  On  both  are  eight  makers'  marks  all  alike,  namely,  the  letter 
E  below  a  lymphad  in  one  stamp. 

The  following  inscription  is  underneath  the  lip  of  the  cup  : — 

"THE  PARISH  OF  CLOYNE  PRIEST,  APR  4,  1702." 

Extending  beyond  it  was  a  continuation  of  the  legend  which  has  for 
some  cause  been  designedly  erased.  The  paten  is  a  very  choice  specimen 

1  "Proceedings,*'  Society  of  Antiquaries,  London,  2nd  Ser.,  vol.  xi.,  p.  388. 


324        KOYAL    SOCIETY    OF   ANTIQUARIES    OF    IRELAND. 

of  Queen  Anne  silver.  It  stands  on  a  spirally  fluted  foot,  and  has  a 
similar  border  on  its  upper  rim.  The  combined  weight  is  20  ounces 
10  dwt.  So  far  the  maker's  name  has  not  been  identified. 

After  the  disestablishment  of  the  Church  of  Ireland,  it  was  found 
necessary  to  group  certain  parishes  in  some  of  the  sparsely  populated 
districts.  One  of  these  unions  was  formed  in  the  diocese  of  Cloyne, 
where  Castlemartyr,  Igtermurragh,  and  Kilcredan  were  united,  and  now 
form  the  combined  parish  of  Castlemartyr.  Igtermurragh  was  in  the 
centre  of  the  three,  flanked  upon  the  west  and  south  by  Castlemartyr, 
and  bordered  on  the  north  and  east  by  Kilcredan.  It  was  soon  apparent 
that  the  convenience  of  the  parishioners  would  be  best  consulted  by 
holding  Divine  Service  in  the  two  last-named,  and  to  save  the  church  of 
Ightermurragh  from  falling  into  ruin  and  from  possible  desecration,  it 
was  taken  down,  and  its  church  plate  handed  over  to  the  Rev,  Canon 
Bolster,  Rector  of  Castlemartyr,  after  which  it  was  transferred  to  the 
parish  church  of  Corkbeg.  In  1886,  through  the  kindness  of  Colonel 
Sir  R.  U.  P.  FitzGerald,  Bart.,  I  had  an  opportunity  of  examining  the 
chalice  and  paten,  and  seeing  for  the  first  time  an  example  of  silver,  with 
marks  hitherto  unpublished  and  unknown,  which  I  was  able  to  identify 
as  Youghal  local  stamps.  The  cup  is  straight-sided,  8^  inches  high,  and 
4  inches  wide  at  the  lip ;  underneath  the  bowl,  and  springing  from  a 
baluster-shaped  stem,  is  an  open  rose  resting  on  a  circular  foot  4£  inches 
diameter  ;  it  has  in  a  scroll  the  inscription  : — 

"  The  legacy  of  Mrs  Mary 
Brelsford,  who  died  ye  3rd  of 
Feby  1712,  to  the  Church 
Of  Ightermurrough." 

[=        ••". 

Under  the  rim  are  four  marks,  two  are  those  of  the  maker  |  E.  G.  | ,  and 

two  the  arms  of  Youghal,  a  lymphad  in  a  shaped  stamp.  The  initials 
are  those  of  Edward  Gillett,  Goldsmith,  who  on  the  23rd  of  February, 
1711,  was  admitted  free  at  large,  on  May  '20,  1712,  was  sworn  as  such, 
and  in  1721  was  Mayor.  The  paten  forms  a  cover  for  the  chalice,  and 
bears  an  inscription  to  the  same  effect ;  both  weigh  19  oz.  11  dwt. 

We  have  here  an  example  of  the  Town  Arms  having  been  adopted 
by  the  Goldsmiths'  Guild  of  Youghal  as  their  authorised  stamp  on  silver 
plate,  just  as  in  Cork  during  the  seventeenth  century,  where  its  arms, 
the  ship  and  castles,  were  used  in  the  same  way  for  a  like  purpose. 

The  only  other  examples  of  Youghal  marked  silver  so  far  known  are 
the  flagon  and  patens  (two)  of  St.  Mary's  Church,  Youghal,  and  the 
chalice  of  the  parish  church  of  Killeagh,  diocese  of  Cloyne.  These  and 
the  Igtermurragh  chalice  the  Rectors  have  most  kindly  premised  to 
bring  for  your  inspection,  so  that  an  opportunity  may  be  thus  afforded  of 
examining  the  town  marks  and  makers'  stamps  upon  them.  As  it  often 
happened,  the  local  silversmiths  omitted  to  stamp  their  work,  and  in  this 


PROCEEDINGS.  325 

respect  the  Youghal  Guild  were  not  an  exception,  as  the  chalice  and 
paten  of  Ardmore  parish  church1  are  unmarked,  so  also  is  the  Youghal 
inscribed  chalice  of  the  Franciscan2  Order  in  Cork,  and  the  Mace  of 
Castlemartyr,3all  of  which,  in  all  probability,  were  made  in  Youghal. 

In  this  short  Paper  I  have  only  been  able  to  glance  at  some  of  the 
industries  of  this  ancient  town,  without  touching  upon  any  of  its  historical 
memories  and  associations.  It  is  unfortunate  for  the  members  of  our 
Society  that  they  have  come  in  the  absence  of  H.  E.  Sir  Henry  and  Lady 
Blake,  who  would  have  given  them  a  hearty  welcome,  and  made  their 
visit  to  the  hospitable  shelter  of  Myrtle  Grove  a  long  and  happy  memory. 
Those  who  will  follow  the  course  of  the  Blackwater  to  Lismore  will  find 
in  the  beauties  of  that  romantic  river  the  probable  reasons  why  the 
poetical  but  thoroughly  practical  Ealeigh  settled  at  Youghal,  where  his 
memory  is  still  green.  He  was  Mayor  of  the  town  in  the  years  1588  and 
1589  successively,  William  Magner  being  his  Deputy.  Cooke,  under  these 
dates,  has  the  following  note  : — "  Sir  Walter  Ilawleigh,  K1,  a  person  of 
rare  endowments,  take  him  as  a  Statesman,  Seaman,  Soldier,  or  learned 
writer,  being  attainted  of  High  Treason,  and  the  sentence  lay  dormant 
16  years,  and  he  sent  to  Guinea  13  years  after  his  Conviction.  Yet  he 
was  beheaded  in  the  great  Court  at  Westminster  the  29th  October,  1618, 
his  motto — 

"TAM  MAJRTI,  QTTAM  MERCUEIO." 

Among  the  benefits  that  Youghal,  and  indeed  the  kingdom,  inherited 
from  llaleigh's  connexion  with  it  was  the  introduction  of  the  potato, 
which  he  first  planted  in  its  congenial  soil.  Here  also,  under  the  yew- 
trees  at  Myrtle  Grove,  he  smoked  the  pipe  of  peace,  and  linked  his  name 
with  the  introduction  of  tobacco. 

Here  the  poet  Spenser,  and  afterwards  his  widow,  Elizabeth  Seeker- 
stone  (nee  Boyle),  lived  in  the  old  castle  of  Kilcoran,  which  overlooks 
the  bay;  and  here,  in  the  "  Amoretti,"  sonnet  75,  Spenser  writes : — 
"  One  day  I  wrote  her  name  upon  the  strand"4 — possibly  on  what  has 
continued  to  be  known  as  the  "name  rock"  upon  the  beach,  so  called 
because  of  the  custom  of  cutting  lovers'  names  and  "  poeseys  "  upon  it. 

1  "  Journal "  of  the  Cork  Hist,  and  Arch.  Assoc.,  vol.  v.,  p.  61. 
*  Ibid.,  p.  46,  1897. 

3  Smith's  "  Cork,"  vol.  i.,  p.  197.     (Guy  &  Co.) 

4  "  Lismore  Papers,"  vol.  i.,  p.  18. 


326 


ROYAL    SOCIETY    OF    ANTIQUARIES    OF    IRELAND. 


THE  EUEGH  OE  "VILLE"  OE  YOUGHAL.1 

T^ARLY  in  the  thirteenth  century  Youghal  was  already  a  walled  town ; 
but,  doubtless,  long  previous  to  that  period  this  burgh  was 
enclosed  by  defensive  bulwarks,  such  as  a  fosse  or  ditch,  with  palisading 
of  pointed  stakes  or  "  chevaux-de-Erise,"  with  some  sort  of  a  stone  wall 
behind  them.  Such  defensive  works  were  usually  constructed  when 
places  on  the  coast  were  occupied  by  the  original  Norse  invaders,  as 
well  as  by  the  Normans. 


THE  TOWN  WALL,  YOUGHAL. 

If  the  lower  courses  of  the  masonry  in  the  Youghal  walls  be  closely 
examined,  it  will  be  seen  that  they  are  built  in  a  different  manner  from 
the  upper  parts  of  the  same  wall.  I  consider  that  all  this  lower  portion 
dates  from  the  Scandinavian  period ;  in  their  configuration  these  walls 
closely  follow  the  "  demi-lune"  entrenchments  of  the  Viking  settlement. 
We  have  no  documentary  evidence  as  to  the  "  murage  "  or  walling  of  the 
town  earlier  than  the  thirteenth  century,  when  a  grant  was  given  in  the 

1  By  Mr.  M.  J.  C.  Buckley,  Hon.  Local  Secretary  for  East  Cork. 


PROCEEDINGS. 

third  year  of  the  reign  of  Edward  I.,  A.D.  1275,  to  the  burghers  of  Youghal, 
for  the  levying  of  "  customs  "  or  taxes  on  various  articles  of  merchandise, 
in  order  to  enable  them  to  surround  their  "  ville  "  or  town  (Celtic  "dun  ") 
with  defensive  walls ;  it  is  of  interest  to  note  that  amongst  the  articles 
enumerated  as  subject  to  these  customs,  are  wine,  salt,  tanned  and  un- 
tanned  hides,  fleeces,  badger,  rabbit,  squirrel,  or  goat  skins,  Cordovan 
leather,  millstones,  tar  and  pitch,  lead,  bundles  of  cloth,  linen  and  canvas, 
woods  for  dyeing  same,  &c.,  &c.  In  1358  we  find  that  Edward  III. 
granted  another  permit  to  levy  the  same  taxes  for  the  repair  of  the  walls  • 
also  in  the  times  of  Eichard  II.,  1380-1394;  Henry  IV.,  1404 ;  Henry 
V.,  1414-15,  and  in  all  the  succeeding  reigns  up  to  the  period  of 
James  I. 

THE  GATES. 

On  the  southern  side  of  the  walls,  extending  from  the  present  Clock 
Gate  to  Windmill-lane,  was  an  enclosure,  which  surrounded  what 
was  called  the  "base  town,"  which  was  ordered,  by  the  charter  of 
Edward  IY.,  in  1462,  to  be  allotted  to  the  native  Irish  inhabitants;  this 
wall  was  pierced  by  the  south  gate,  and  all  ingress  was  jealously  guarded 
after  a  certain  fixed  hour  in  the  evening.  There  were  originally  five 
gates  in  these  walls,  which  were  the  North  Gate,  the  South  Gate,  the 
Trinity  Castle,  or  the  Iron  Gate  (now  called  the  Clock  Gate),  the  Quay 
Gate,  and  the  Water  Gate.  Until  the  year  1592  the  room  over  the  North 
Gate  was  the  Hall  of  the  Guilds.  This  old  gate  was  entirely  removed  in 
1777,  and  the  South  Gate  was  also  removed  in  the  same  year. 

The  Water  Gate,  which  still  exists  at  the  lower  end  of  Quay-lane, 
was  preserved  and  restored  in  the  early  years  of  the  last  century,  thanks 
to  the  intelligent  zeal  of  Mr.  Thomas  Harvey,  a  merchant  of  Youghal. 
A  desperate  struggle  took  place  inside  this  gate,  after  the  sack  of 
the  town  in  1595,  by  the  insurgent  Earl  of  Desmond,  of  which  a  very 
graphic  account  is  given  in  a  contemporaneous  letter  now  in  the  State 
Paper  Office,  London,  as  well  as  a  notice  in  the  "Annals  of  the  Four 
Masters."1  The  Iron  Gate,  now  the  "  Clock  Gate,"  was  replaced 
by  the  present  structure  in  1777,  and  was  built  under  the  direction 
of  Wm.  Mead,  architect;  it  is  in  the  "Palladian"  style  of  architec- 
ture, its  total  height,  to  the  top  of  the  cupola,  being  90  feet.  This 
gate  was  used  as  a  town  prison  until  1837.2  The  ancient  Commercial 

1  Tradition  assigns  this  spot  as  the  place  of  embarkment  of  Cromwell  when  he  left 
Ireland  for  ever,  on  the  26th  May,  1650. 

2  There  is  a  wood-hlock  engraving  of  the  ancient  iron  gate  in  the  quaintly -written 
account  of  Youghal  by  Thomas  Dineley,  in  the  year  1681.     This  shows  a  castellated 
edifice,  square  in  plan,  with  angle- turrets,  pierced  by  narrow  opes.     The  archway  is 
pointed,  and  a  small  niche  appears  ahove  it,  exactly  as  we  see  in  the  ancient  gate- 
ways of  Bruges,  Mechlin,  and  elsewhere  on  the  Continent.     On  either  side  of  this  arch 
are  large  grated  openings,  evidently  the  windows  of  the  town  gaol.     In  the  upper 
storey  is  the  dial  of  the  public  clock,  and  immediately  over  this  is  a  domed  turret, 
surmounted  by  a  wrought-iron  girouette.     This  turret  occupies  the  same  position  as 
the  modern  bell-cupola.     A  small  circular  turret,  with  a  conical  roof,  and  a  square- 
headed  doorway,  stands  at  the  left-hand  side,  just  by  the  present  gaol  steps. 


328        ROYAL    SOCIETY   OF   ANTIQUARIES    OF    IRELAND. 

Exchange a  stood  on  the  quay,  outside  the  Quay  gate,  but  of  it  not  a 
trace  remains. 

THE  TOWEKS. 

Along  the  walls  at  intervals  were  thirteen  castles  or  towers  ;  of  these 
towers  there  are  still  remaining,  a  "half -moon"  tower,  fairly  well 
preserved,  on  the  western  wall  of  the  present  College  Park  (this  edifice 
is  shown  in  the  two  illustrations,  pp.  307,  326);  another  " lunette"  of 
a  similar  type  (occupied  formerly  as  an  Astronomical  Observatory  by  the 
late  Dr.  Harvey,  who  composed  therein  for  many  years  an  almanac 
called  "The  Youghal  Nautical  Almanack,"  now  obsolete)  has  been 
restored  by  me  when  repairing  the  walls  round  Montmorenci ;  and  at  the 
south-west  angle  are  the  remains  of  the  legendary  "  Banshee"  tower,  about 
which  many  stories  used  to  be  told.  All  traces  of  Nott's  and  Bath's 
Castles  have  disappeared.  Doorways  led  from  all  these  towers  to  the 
"chemin  de  ronde,"  or  "Archer's  Walk,"  as  it  is  called,  by  which  the 
Town  Guard,  in  troublous  times,  patrolled,  in  their  various  companies,2 
the  precincts  of  the  stout  old  burgh. 

HEMAEKABLE  HOUSES. 

Of  several  fortified  castellated  houses  inside  the  town  we  have  but  one 
specimen  still  existing,  which  is  called  Tynte's  Castle ;  it  is  very  similar 
in  structure  to  the  towers  still  remaining  at  Thurles,  Cashel,  Drogheda, 
Kilmallock,  and  elsewhere.  It  was  erected  in  the  fifteenth  century  by 
the  Anglo-Norman  family  of  Walshe,  by  whose  name  it  was  called,  until 
the  forfeiture  of  their  estates  in  1 584.  It  was  then  leased  for  ever  by  the 
Corporation  to  Sir  Robert  Tynte  (of  Somerset  origin),  of  Kilcredan.  It 
shows  a  striking  example  of  the  care  bestowed  by  its  old  Norman 

1  There  are  two  very  interesting  views  of  the  Exchange,  as  well  as  of  the  Pier  and 
its  fort,  along  with  the  walled  town,  given  by  Thomas  Dineley  in  his  account  of 
Youghal  in  1681.     In  these  views  the  Exchange  is  shown  as  a  building  of  the  same 
type  as  the  "  Bourses  "  in  several  of  the  Flemish  and  Hanseatic  towns.     The  Youghal 
edifice  is  represented  as  having  four  circular  arcades,  with  wide  mullioned  windows 
over  them,  and  dormer  windows  in  the  roof.     A  tower,  terminated  by  a  domed  cupola 
(which  appears  to  be  covered  with  copper  scales),  stands  in  the  centre  of  the  fa9ade. 
The  gables  are  very  lofty,  and  are  surmounted,  as  well  as  the  cupola,  by  wrought- 
iron  vanes.      On  the  south  side  of  the  Exchange  is  seen  the  fortified  water-gate, 
immediately  over  which,  in  the  distance,  is    shown  the  windmill,  which  formerly 
stood  at  the  top  of  Windmill-lane. 

2  These  companies  of  "  Town  Guards  "  were  formed  in  almost  the  same  manner  as 
the  "  commandoes"  were  brought  together  in  the  South  African  war,  each  townsman 
or  "burgher"  being  obliged  to  turn   out,  with  his  arms  (consisting  of  a  sword,  an 
"  arquebus  "  or  gun,  and  some  rounds  of  ammunition  in  a  bandolier ;  or  a  pike  or 
"  halbard,"  and  a  sword  only),  on  the  alarm  being  given  by  the  "  Town  Drummer." 
The  companies   were  drilled   and  inspected   in   the  presence  of  the   Mayor  or  his 
adjutants.     Absence  from  these  quarterly  inspections  and  drillings  was  punishable  by 
fines  and  admonitions.     At  various  distances  along  the  walls  are  small  redoubts  or 
'"bastilles,"  projecting   slightly  (five  or  six  inches)  beyond  the  face  of  the  wall. 
These  redoubts  were  intended  as  resting-places  for  the  men  off  guard ;  they  were 
roofed,  and  provided  with  wooden  forms  or  settles,  for  the  accommodation  of  the 
watchers  of  the  town. 


PROCEEDINGS.  329 

possessors  to  hold  their  own  dwelling-places,  "  par  la  main  forte  «t 
dure,"  even  in  the  midst  of  a  walled  town.  Its  total  height  is  about  fifty 
feet.  The  ancient  entrance  was  on  the  south  side,  as  we  can  see  by  the 
projecting  hood  of  the  machicolation  in  the  upper  storey,  which  was  used 
for  giving  a  "  warm  reception"  to  unwelcome  visitors,  in  the  shape  of  red- 
hot  sand,  molten  lead,  heavy  stones,  arrows,  and  such -like  "douceurs." 
The  first  floor,  which  is  approached  by  a  steeply  inclined  plane,  was  of 
timber,  the  oaken  joists  resting  on  stone  corbels,  as  in  the  church  tower 
of  St.  Mary's  (as  we  also  see  in  the  castles  of  Kilnatoora,  Templemichael, 
and  others).  The  principal  apartment  is  vaulted  in  stone,  and  must  have 
been  comfortably  and  even  handsomely  furnished,  as  we  see  traces  of 
stuccoed  cornices  still  remaining.  Doubtless  this  room  was  lined  with  oak 
panelling  similar  to  what  we  have  found  round  the  principal  apartments 
of  Roth's  House  in  Kilkenny,  and  which  still  exists  in  the  rooms  of  the 
Manor  Castle  of  Carrick-on-Suir,  Co.  Waterford.  The  windows  to  the 
street  are  modern.  The  ancient  apertures,  however,  seem  to  have  occupied 
the  same  place,  and,  from  the  outside  of  the  castle,  must  have  been  wide 
and  open,  with  stone  mullions  and  heavy  labels  of  the  fifteenth  century. 
In  the  south  wall  are  the  original  windows,  now  built  up.  Continuing 
the  ascent,  the  stairs  are  lighted  by  two  lancet-windows,  at  different 
heights,  which  lead  us  to  the  upper  floor,  which  was  fire-proof,  being  the 
stone-arched  covering  of  the  dining-room.  The  sleeping  rooms  and 
"  garde-robe  "  are  in  the  east  side  of  the  castle,  with  a  circular  staircase 
leading  to  them,  constructed  in  the  thickness  of  the  wall.  Prom  its  position 
on  the  waterside,  this  castellated  house  served  as  a  defensive  outwork  to 
the  weak  and  rather  unprotected  sea-wall,  of  which  some  traces  still  exist 
behind  the  houses  abutting  on  the  present  Grattan-street,  which,  as  well 
as  the  store-houses  and  quays,  are  all  built  on  reclaimed  slob-land.  In 
the  records  of  the  town  during  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries 
we  find  many  urban  enactments  were  made  regarding  such  reclamations. 
Nearly  opposite  this  antique  fortified  mansion,  which  was  so  strongly 
guarded  against  sudden  attacks  in  wild  and  lawless  times,  we  see 
a  very  quaint  and  interesting  specimen  of  the  domestic  architecture 
of  the  early  eighteenth  century.  This  is  the  .large  and  substantially- 
built  dwelling,  known  as  "  The  Eed  House,"  which  was  built  by  one  of 
the  "  TJniacke"  family,  between  the  years  1706-15,  from  the  plans  and 
under  the  superintendence  of  a  Dutch  builder  named  Leuventhen.  It  is 
a  fine  example  of  the  domestic  architecture  of  the  Netherlands  at  that 
period;  with  its  Dutch  Renaissance  details,  its  wide  doorway  and  portico 
approached  by  a  flight  of  steps,  and  its  tall  windows,  it  forms  a  striking 
contrast  to  the  gloomy,  semi-fortress  house  on  the  other  side  of  the 
street.  The  whole  of  this  edifice  is  built  of  red  bricks,  which  are,  most 
probably,  of  Dutch  origin,  as  it  is  doubtful  whether  brick  kilns  had 
been  established  in  Youghal  at  this  period.  I  may  here  remark  that 
similar  brickwork  in  houses  of  this  date  can  still  be  seen  in  some  of  the 

T         v  <  A  T  J  Vo1-  XIII-»  Fifth  Ser.  » 

Jour.R.S.A.I.  j  Vol  js^  Consec.  Ser.  } 


330        ROYAL   SOCIETY    OF   ANTIQUARIES    OF    IRELAND. 

older  parts  of  towns  and  cities  in  the  New  England  States,  in  the  narrow 
streets  of  Manhattan  Island,  New  York,  formerly  called  New  Amsterdam. 
The  interior  of  this  antique  Dutch  residence  is  panelled  in  memel  pine- 
wood,  which  is  still  in  good  preservation.  The  old  bridge  across  the 
Blackwater  was  built  of  the  same  wood. 

Beyond  the  Red  House  in  the  North  Main-street  is  a  very 
picturesque  group  of  old  alms-houses,  which,  with  their  gables  and 
low-arched  doorways,  add  an  interest  to  the  street,  that  is  entirely 
wanting  in  our  modern  thoroughfares.  These  alms-houses,  as  well  as 
the  grammar-school,  were  founded  by  the  Earl  of  Cork  about  1620.  A 
very  fine  roof,  of  hammer-beam  construction,  still  exists  in  the  ancient 
school-house  close  by.  This  roof  is  well  worthy  of  careful  cleaning 
and  preservation.  Unfortunately  all  the  windows,  doorways,  and  the 
interior  arrangements  have  been  entirely  altered  and  spoiled  by  successive 
changes,  introduced  by  its  various  inhabitants.  The  greater  number  of 
the  houses  in  the  Main- street  are  old,  dating  mostly  from  the  sixteenth 
and  seventeenth  centuries.  Many  of  them  still  retain  their  ancient 
chimney- shafts  of  stone,  of  large  size;  but  the  fronts  have  all  been 
modernised.  One  may  still  observe,  however,  that  a  large  number  of 
these  old  houses  are  built  on  a  "  skew"  plan  to  the  street  (as  was  very 
often  the  case  in  medieval  towns),  so  as  to  allow  of  small  "  espions,"  or 
spy-windows,  being  made  in  their  projecting  angles,  which  are  mostly 
towards  the  south-east.  Tip  to  the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth 
century  the  timber  used  in  these  dwellings,  for  joists,  floorings,  doors, 
etc.,  was  oak,  of  which  there  was  an  abundance  to  be  got  in  the  great 
woods  that  extended  from  Youghal,  along  the  banks  of  the  Blackwater, 
up  to  the  valley  of  Lismore  and  beyond.  Even  in  the  days  of  Sir 
Walter  Raleigh  we  learn  that  there  were  some  thousands  of  oak-trees  to- 
be  found  in  the  woods  around  Youghal,  which  he  mentions  as  being  fit 
and  suitable  for  the  service  of  the  Royal  Navy,  in  Elizabethan  days. 

THE  FRANCISCAN  FRIARY,  YOUGHAL. 

This  was  the  earliest  foundation  in  Ireland  of  the  Order  of  St.  Francis. 
Thomas,  the  second  son  of  the  founder,  completed  the  building  at 
his  own  expense,  and  dying  26th  May,  1260,  was  here  interred.  Several 
other  noblemen  of  the  house  of  Desmond  were  also  buried  here,  viz. 
John,  3rd  Earl  of  Desmond,  in  1369  ;  John,  5th  Earl,  in  1399  ;  James, 
7th  Earl,  in  1462 ;  James,  9th  Earl,  in  1487 ;  Maurice,  only  son  of 
Thomas,  12th  Earl,  in  1529  ;  Thomas,  12th  Earl,  in  1534;  James,  14th 
Earl,  in  1540;  and  Sir  Thomas  Ruadh  Fitzgerald,  in  1595.  Wadding 
informs  us  that  many  religious  men  were  interred  within  the  walls.  Pro- 
vincial chapters  of  the  Order  were  held  here  in  1300,  1312,  and  1331. 

The  Franciscan  Friary,  as  we  have  seen,  derived  its  name  of  "The 
South  Abbey  "  from  its  local  position.  At  the  opposite  end  of  the  town,. 


PROCEEDINGS.  331 

a   little   outside  the   walls,    was  founded  by  another  member  of  the 
Geraldine  Family  : — 


THE  DOMINICAN  FRIARY,  COMMONLT  CALLED  THE  NORTH  ABBEY. 

1268. — Thomas  Fitzmaurice  Fitzgerald,  surnamed  n'appagh,  "  Simi- 
aeus,"  or  "  the  Ape,"  founded  a  Friary  for  Dominicans,  or  Friars  Preachers, 
at  Youghal.  This  House  was  at  first  placed  under  the  Invocation  of  the 
Holy  Cross  (S.  Crux),  perhaps  on  account  of  the  Family  Arms  of  the 
Founder;  but  it  was  subsequently  dedicated  to  St.  Mary  of  Thanks 
(S.  Maria  Gratiarum),  on  account  of  a  miraculous  image  of  the  B.  Virgin 
preserved  here  (Bourke's  "Hib.  Dom.,"  p.  272).  This  ivory  image  is 
now  in  .the  Dominican  Priory  in  Cork.  A  copy  of  it,  in  marble,  is  in  the 
"  Frontale  "  of  the  altar  of  the  Catholic  Church  in  Youghal. 
1281-1304. — General  Chapters  of  the  Order  were  held. 
1296. — The  Founder  was  here  interred  in  the  middle  of  the  Choir 
(Grace). 

1303. — 22nd  Oct.  Robert  de  Percival,  an  eminent  benefactor  to  this 
house,  having  been  slain  in  a  battle  with  the  Irish,  was  interred  here 
(Lodge). 

1493a — This  Friary  was  reformed  by  Bartholomew  Comatius  (Bononi- 
ensis),  33rd  Master  of  the  Order  ("Hib.  Dom."  pp.  76,  273,  518). 

1581. — 28th  April.  This  Friary,  with  six  gardens  within  the  liberties 
of  Youghal  (the  tithes  excepted),  was'  granted  for  ever,  in  capite,  to 
William  Walsh,  at  the  yearly  rent  of  22  pence  sterling.  From  him 
it  passed,  after  a  term  of  years,  to  John  Thickpenny,  gent.  ("Hib.  Dom.," 
p.  273). 

1585-86. — 3rd  February.  The  Friary  was  granted  to  Sir  Walter 
Kaleigh,  at  an  annual  rent  of  £12  19*.  6d. 

1602.— 7th  December.  Sir  Walter  Raleigh  conveyed  all  his  Irish 
grants,  including  this  Friary,  to  Mr.  E.  Boyle. 

1604. — 31st  March.  By  an  Inquisition  taken  this  day  at  Cork  it  was 
found  that  Sir  Walter  Raleigh,  lately  attainted  of  high  treason,  was 
seized  in  fee  (among  others)  of  the  Priory,  or  House  of  Friars  Observant, 
near  Youghall,  called  "  the  Black  ffireers,  neere  Tough  all,  with  appur- 
tenances, together  with  its  scite,  circuit,  ambite,  and  precinct,  etc.,  and 
its  other  possessions  and  hereditaments,  spiritual  and  temporal." 

1604. — 10th  May.  The  Priory,  or  late  House  of  Observant  Friars, 
near  Yoghall,  called  the  "Black  Friars,"  of  Yoghall,  with  all  their 
possessions,  spiritual  and  temporal,  was  granted  by  the  King  to  Sir 
Richard  Boyle.  (Calendar  of  Patent  Rolls.) 

1617. — The  Lady  Honor  Fitzgerald,  of  the  Geraldine  family,  pre- 
sented the  Dominicans  of  Youghal  with  a  silver-gilt  shrine  for  the  image 
of  the  Madonna  in  their  possession.  This  reliquary  is  about  4  inches  in 

Z2 


332         ROYAL    SOCIKTY    OF    ANTIQUARIES    OF    1KKLAN1-). 

height,  by  about  2  inches  in  width.  Its  sides  are  richly  chased  with 
floriated  ornaments,  and  its  summit  is  surmounted  by  a  cross.  It  opens 
with  two  folding-doors  (as  a  "  triptych"),  which,  thrown  back,  display 
the  statue  within.  The  reverses  of  these  doors  bear  the  Crucifixion,  and  a 
figure  of  a  saint  in  prayer,  respectively.  On  the  outside  is  this  inscrip- 
tion in  Roman  letter: — "Orate  .  pro  .  anima  .  onoriae  .  filiae  .  Jacobi  . 
de  .  Geraldinis  .  quse  .  me  .  fieri  .  fecit.  Anno  Dni  .  1617." 

1632. — The  tenants  of  the  Friary  were  exempted  from  taxes  or 
quartering  soldiers. 

1632. — In  the  Dominican  House  of  St.  Mary's  of  the  Isle,  Cork,  is 
preserved  a  handsome  silver  chalice,  as  well  as  a  Monstrance,  which  for- 
merly belonging  to  this  Friary.  The  chalice  bears  this  inscription  : — 
'Pertinet  ad  conventum  Deiparae  Gratiarum  de  Yeoghall,  1632." 

1698. — 1st  May.  An  Act  having  been  passed  which  commanded  the 
departure  of  all  monastic  orders  out  of  Ireland,  never  to  return  "  on  pain  of 
death"  the  Dominicans  of  Youghal  were  constrained  to  leave  ;  and  they 
deposited  their  Madonna  Shrine  with  Sir  John  Hare,  of  Shandon  Castle, 
County  "Waterfowl.1 

Several  remains  of  stone  coffin-lids  of  the  usual  tapered  form,  covered 
with  "  fleur-de-luce "  crosses,  and  bearing  traces  of  Norman-French 
inscriptions,  were  found  here  from  time  to  time  during  the  last  century, 
as  well  as  two  full-length  freestone  effigies  of  knights  in  armour.  One 
of  these  effigies  was  found  in  1857,  and  a  description  of  it  by  the  late 
Mr.  Edward  Fitzgerald  is  given  at  page  287,  vol.  iv.,  of  the  Kilkenny 
Archaeological  Society's  Journal.  There  is  a  legend  amongst  the  people, 
that  the  bell  of  this  antique  Friary  is  buried  in  the  angle  of  the  ruined 
thirteenth-century  chancel-pier  ;  the  same  story  is  told  of  the  five  bells 
formerly  in  the  tower  of  St.  Mary's,  which  are  said  to  be  buried  either 
in  the  churchyard,  or  in  the  garden  of  Myrtle  Grove.  A  similar  tradition 
was  proved  to  be  true,  in  a  most  remarkable  manner,  to  the  writer's 
own  knowledge,  in  the  case  of  the  discovery  of  two  splendid  "  silver- 
metal  "  bells  within  the  ruined  church  of  Boulick,  near  Thurles, 
County  Tipperary  (a  sort  of  Irish  Baalbec),  a  few  years  ago.  These 
bells,  one  belonging  to  the  ninth-century  period,  and  the  other  to  the 
fourteenth,  are  now  deposited  in  the  Archbishop's  residence  at  Thurles, 
County  Tipperary. 

1  Many  further  notices  of  this  Abbey  and  its  miraculous  statue  will  be  found 
in  the  Rev.  Ambrose  Coleman's  Notes  (p.  51) ,  to  his  reprint  of  O'Heyn's  Irish 
Dominicans,  1902. 


PROCEEDINGS.  33ft 


NOTES  ON  ST.  MARY'S  CHURCH.  YOUGHAL.1 

HPHE  Church  of  St.  Mary,  of  Youghal,  although  much  injured  and  badly 
restored,  can  still  be  classed  amongst  the  most  interesting  and  beau- 
tiful edifices  of  its  kind  remaining  in  Ireland.  The  present  edifice, 
built  at  various  periods,  occupies  a  site  devoted  to  religious  worship 
during  many  centuries,  even  before  the  advent  of  the  Normans  in  this 
land.  The  first  missionary  of  Christianity  here  was  St.  Declan,  of 
Ardmore,  who,  with  St.  Carthagh  of  Lismore,  St.  Cainech  of  Kilkenny, 
St.  Ailbe  of  Emly,  and  others,  were  predecessors  of  St.  Patrick. 

Doubtless  a  small  "  Daimh-liag,"  or  stone-built  oratory,  such  as  we 
still  see  at  Ardmore  (now  called  "  St.  Declan's  grave"),  was  erected  on 
the  spot  where  St.  Mary's  Church  stands.  In  those  early  days  a  sombre 
green  yew-wood2  covered  the  side  of  the  hill  on  which  the  town  is  built, 
and  surrounded  the  precincts  of  this  primitive  oratory.  It  is  very  likely 
that  early  Pagan  rites  were  previously  celebrated  in  the  same  place,  for 
in  many  instances  the  Christian  missionaries  chose  such  spots  as  had  been 
"  consecrated  "  in  the  minds  of  the  people  for  countless  ages  before  their 
arrival,  and  dedicated  them  to  Christian  worship,  just  as  they  consecrated 
so  many  of  the  " Dolmen"  and  "Gallaun"  raised  stones,  by  blessing, 
and  incising  the  Sign  of  the  Cross  on  their  sides. 

As  population  increased,  and  the  Celto-Danish  town  began  gradually 
to  acquire  the  rights  and  privileges  of  a  trading  burgh,  this  church  had 
to  be  rebuilt  and  increased  in  size  about  the  middle  of  the  eleventh 
century.  Many  interesting  fragments  of  this  Hiberno-Romanesque 
edifice  are  still  remaining,  incorporated  with  the  walls  of  the  later 
building. 

There  is  a  very  delicately-moulded  semicircular  arch,  resting  on  two 
low  columns,  with  "turned"  capitals  and  bases,  existing  in  the  wall  of 
the  aisle  of  the  northern  transept;  this  arch  evidently  surmounted  a 
sepulchral  slab.  High  above  the  present  chancel-arch,  on  either  side  of 
the  gable  through  which  this  arch  was  pierced  (early  in  the  thirteenth 
century),  are  still  seen  two  open  round-headed  windows,  which  belong  to 
the  earlier  church,  as  the  wall  itself  was  the  eastern  end  of  the  same 
building.  These  windows  must  have  been  immediately  over  the  roof  of 
the  earlier  chancel,  just  as  similar  apertures  are  placed  over  the  chancel 
roof  of  Cormac's  Chapel  in  Cashel,  for  the  earlier  chancel  stood  on  the 

1  By  Mr.  M.  J.  C.  Buckley. 

2  "Eo-Caille,  or  Youghal,  means  "the  yew-wood." 


334         ROYAL  SOCIETY  OF  ANTIQUARIES  OF   IRELAND. 

same  site  as  the  present  choir,  although  it  was  most  probably  much 
shorter.  The  circular  ope,  with  its  decorated  tracery,  which  is  between 
these  two  windows,  is  of  later  date,  as  far  as  the  tracery  is  concerned. 
The  key-stones  of  semicircular  arches  still  exist  in  the  walls  of  the  west 
gable,  as  well  as  in  that  of  the  north  transept  aisle.  This  latter  arch 
belonged  to  the  northern  porch  of  the  earlier  church,  which  portal  was 
rebuilt  and  enlarged  in  the  course  of  the  fourteenth  century,  as  can  be 
seen  by  the  fragments  of  well-wrought  door-mouldings,  and  polished 
limestone  colonnettes,  lately  found  in  digging  inside,  under  the  founda- 
tion of  the  south  wall  of  the  tower ;  this  wall  traverses  the  site  of  the 
northern  porch,  thus  proving  that  the  thickening  of  the  walls  of  the 
tower  was  carried  out  at  a  much  later  date,  probably  about  1450,  so  as 
to  adapt  the  tower  to  the  purposes  of  military  defence,  as  is  shown  by  its 
deeply  recessed  narrow  "slit"  windows  (on  the  ground-floor),  splayed 
widely  outwards,  so  as  to  afford  an  extensive  range  for  shooting.  There 
are  also  remaining  several  of  the  tapered  stone  cross-slabs,  which  were 
formerly  placed  over  sepultures  in  the  earlier  church;  many  of  these 
incised  slabs,  with  chamfered  edges,  bearing  "Lombardic"  lettering, 
•were  found,  during  excavations,  to  have  been  used  by  the  builders  of  the 
thirteenth  century  as  foundations  for  the  piers  of  the  nave  and  other 
parts. 

The  present  edifice  of  St.  Mary's  was  largely  re-built  about  the  year 
1220,  in  what  is  called  the  Early  English  style.  The  form  of  the  church 
is  that  of  a  Latin  cross,  and  consists  of  a  nave  with  aisles,  a  north 
transept,  with  aisle  at  the  west  side,  a  south  transept,  formerly  called 
the  "  Chauntry  of  our  Blessed  Saviour"  (now  the  Cork  chapel),  the  choir 
or  chancel,  and  the  tower  in  the  angle  of  the  north  aisle  and  transept.1 
There  formerly  existed  the  following  portions  of  this  building,  which 
have  been  ruthlessly  demolished,  namely,  the  vestry  or  "  sacristy,"  two 
chantries,  a  circular  stair  tower  in  the  west  gable,  and  the  north  and 
south  porches  to  the  aisles.  This  fine  edifice  replaced  the  earlier  church, 
which,  having  been  dismantled  in  the  great  tempest  of  1192,  became 
ruinous  and  decayed.  According  to  ancient  tradition,  the  founders  of  the 
new  church  were  Richard  Benet,  a  knight  of  Glamorgan,  in  Wales,  who 
accompanied  Strongbow  in  his  expedition,  and  his  wife,  Ellice  Barry,  who 
most  probably  belonged  to  the  family  of  that  name  at  Buttevant,  County 
Cork.  The  building  of  such  a  large  place  of  worship  at  that  period 
shows  that  the  population  of  the  town  must  have  increased  very  much 
during  the  preceding  centuries.  The  south  transept  was  chosen  by  the 
founders  as  their  burial-place.  Their  tomb  existed  on  the  right-hand 
side  of  the  altar,  which  stood  in  this  transept  or  "  chauntry,"  until  the 
year  1579,  when  it  was  destroyed  by  the  insurgent  Earl  of  Desmond. 

*  Total  length  of  nave  and  chancel,  189  feet ;  breadth  across  the  transepts,  110  feet 
3  inches ;  width  of  nave  and  aisles,  60  feet  3  inches. 


PKOCEEDINGS.  335 

From  a  fragment  found  some  years  ago,  the  monument  must  have  been 
similar  to  the  sepulchral  arch  and  effigy  of  Thomas  Paris  in  the  northern 
aisle,  and  that  of  Mathew  the  Mercer  in  the  southern,  which  are  both  of 
the  same  period  (circa  1200).  From  this  date  on  to  the  year  1350  no 
great  structural  changes  seem  to  have  been  made  in  the  church. 

About  the  middle  of  the  fourteenth  century  extensive  additions  were 
made  to  St.  Mary's.  A  new  chancel  was  built ;  the  gables  of  the  aisles 
as  well  as  their  side-walls  were  raised  up,  and  pierced  with  new  windows, 
rendering  them  loftier.  The  new  buildings  were  designed  in  the  style 
which  is  called  "  Decorated."  A  finely-moulded  pointed  doorway,  with 
polished  marble  shafts  (of  the  same  type  as  the  fragments  of  stonework 
recently  found  under  the  tower),  was  inserted  into  the  western  gable  wall 
(or  facade) ;  the  three-light  window,  in  the  same  gable,  as., well  as  the 
pointed  windows  of  the  aisles,  were  inserted  at  this  time.  Several  in- 
teresting monuments  also  were  erected  inside  the  church  during  this 
century ;  amongst  them  are  two  effigies  of  burghers  of  the  town,  resting 
on  their  coffin-slabs.  These  effigies  are  each  covered  by  a  recessed  arch, 
richly  moulded  in  both  cases,  and  resting  on  two  columns  with  capitals 
and  bases:  the  labels,  or  hood-moulds,  ending  in  carved  "head"  bosses. 
One  of  these  effigies  lies  near  the  junction  of  the  north  aisle  and  transept, 
close  by  the  quaint  "  flying  buttress  "  arch,  which  spans  the  aisle  diago- 
nally;  a  very  clever  and  uncommon  treatment  of  a  "  waterway,"  as  well 
as  a  support  to  the  upper  portion  of  the  nave  wall.  The  effigy  which  is 
in  this  recess  represents  the  recumbent  figure  of  a  man,  who  is  clad  in  a 
loose  tunic  (a  "  gabardine")  or  "  surcoat "  of  cloth,  quite  plain,  and  un- 
ornamented ;  his  feet,  ishod  with  pointed  shoes,  rest  on  avdog  of  the  kind 
called  a  "  Talbot."  He-holds  a  bird,  a  ger-falcon,  in  one  hand,  thus 
denoting  his  belonging  to  the  class  of  the  gentry  having  the  rights  of 
chase,  &c.,  according  to  the  Norman  code  of  "Forest  Laws."  We  are 
informed  by  the  chronicler,  Dineley,  in  his  "tour"  of  1681,  that  this  is 
the  effigy  of  Thomas  Paris,  an  inhabitant  of  Youghal,  who  gained  great 
privileges  for  the  town,  and  thus  obtained  the  honour  of  such  an  inter- 
ment in  his  parish  church.  No  memorials  exist  concerning  this  family  of 
"Paris,"  except  a  short  rescript  in  the  Memoranda  Rolls  of  Edward  II. 
in  1333,  directing  payment  to  be  made  to  a  certain  "  Edith  Parys,  of  le 
Youghall,  for  two  crannocks  of  salt."  The  other  effigy,  also  placed 
under  a  recessed  arch,  is  at  the  west  end  of  the  south  aisle.  The  costume 
of  the  figure  closely  resembles  that  of  the  "Paris"  effigy,  as  he  wears  the 
"gabardine,"  which  was  the  usual  "civil"  dress  of  the  period  (circt 
1300),  as  distinct  from  the  military  "undress"  costume.  The  heads  of 
both  the  figures  rest  upon  cushions,  one  of  which  is  placed  transversely 
over  the  other  in  this  carving.  The  feet  of  this  figure  rest  upon  the  back 
of  a  lion,  which  was  an  ordinary  adjunct  of  such  tombs  in  numberless 
instances  for  many  centuries.  The  "  coiffure  "  of  the  hair  is  like  a  curled 
peruke — a  fashion  which  prevailed  during  the  reigns  of  Edward  II.  and 


336        ROYAL   SOCIETY   OF   ANTIQUARIES   OF   IRELAND. 

Edward  III.  ;  as  an  emblem  of  his  trade,  for  he  belonged  to  the  Guild 
of  "Gantiers"  or  "  Glovers"  (these  trades  were  included  under  the 
general  name  of  "mercerie"),  he  holds  a  glove,  or  "  gauntlet,"  in  his 
left  hand  ;  thus  showing  that  being  a  Freeman  of  a  Guild  in  Youghal,  he 
had  a  certain  social  status  of  petty  nobility,  entitling  him  to  certain- 
privileges.  On  the  chamfered  edge  of  the  tomb-slab  on  which  the  effigy 
lies,  the  following  inscription,  in  Norman-French  or  Lombardic  letters, 
is  still  discernible  :  — 


"  (Ma)tbCU  :  1C  :  mCtCCC   :    0tt   :    fCf   :    CClf   :    fcC   :    pttC  :  P0t  :  1C  : 

alme  :  .....  jours  :  &e  :  perfco(n). 

"Mathew  the  Mercer  lies  here;  he  who  prays  for  the  soul  (shall 
have)  .....  days  of  pardon." 

This  effigy  has  been  erroneously  described  as  being  that  of  the 
famous  old  Countess  Catherine,  of  Desmond,  who  died  in  the  reign  of 
James  L,  about  1620.  Several  early  Norman-French  stone  coffin-lids 
have  been  deposited  within  the  Cork  chapel  ;  some  are  quite  plain,  whilst 
others  have  u  fleur-de-lys  "  crosses  carved  along  their  roof-ridges  ;  a  few 
bear  inscriptions  cut  on  their  chamfered  edges.  One  stone  is  carved  on 
its  upper  surface  with  a  human  head  in  high  relief,  surmounting  a  cross 
fleury.  The  following  inscription  still  exists  on  three  sides  of  its  slab  :  — 
"2UUU  :  0tt  :  iCi  :  2>CU  :  &Cl  :  alme  :  elt  :  met-"  "'Alun  lies  here; 
God  on  his  soul  have  mercy."  Another  slab  bears  these  words  :  — 

•k  IRoger  :  2>eivil  ••  (5  .  .  • 

"  Roger  Deivil  (lies  here)."     He  was  one  of  Strongbow's  companions. 

The  nave  of  St.  Mary's,  as  it  is  at  present,  appears  to  have  been 
erected  about  the  middle  of  the  thirteenth  century,  judging  from  the 
form  of  the  six  pointed  arches  on  each  side;  these  arches,  which  are 
simply  chamfered  on  their  edges,  without  any  mouldings  whatever,  rest 
upon  plain  square  piers,  and  are  very  massive  and  severe  in  effect. 

At  the  eastern  end  of  the  nave  there  stood  a  magnificent  "  Rood- 
screen,"  to  which  access  was  gained,  by  two  newel-stairs,  on  the  north 
and  south  sides,  of  which  stairs  one  only  (that  on  the  south  side)  still 
remains  open,  its  lower  steps  having  been  taken  away,  and  the  entrance 
to  the  northern  stairway  closed  up,  during  the  "  vandalic  "  restorations 
of  recent  years.  We  know  from  the  curt  remarks  of  the  tourist 
Dineley  in  1681  that  this  screen  was  richly  gilt  and  painted  in  its 
panels  and  carved  work.  Similar  Rood-lofts  exist  in  a  great  many 
English  churches,  especially  in  Devon,  Somerset,  Norfolk,  and  Cornwall; 
many  of  these  beautiful  screens  have  been  most  carefully  and  artistically 
restored  during  the  past  few  years.  On  this  screen  stood  the  Rood  or 
"floriated"  Crucifix. 


PROCEEDINGS.  337 

"We  are  told  in  the  records  of  St.  Mary's  that  the  upper  panels  of 
the  Rood  screen,  which  bore  "  subject "  paintings  on  their  surfaces,  were 
ordered  to  be  daubed  over,  and  the  "arms"  of  the  twelve  tribes  of 
Israel  to  be  inscribed  thereon !  The  ancient  font,  carved  in  freestone 
of  the  "Decorated"  style  of  the  end  of  the  fourteenth  century,  was 
moved  from  its  ancient  position  at  the  western  end  of  the  nave  to  the 
place  it  now  occupies  near  the  old  "  Eood  "  stairs  at  the  south  side  of 
the  chancel-arch,  during  the  "  restorations  "  of  recent  years,  thus 
destroying  altogether  the  symbolical  meaning  attached  to  all  baptismal 
fonts  throughout  Christendom,  in  being  placed  near  the.  western  porch 
or  entrance  to  parish  churches.  This  font  is  octagonal  in  shape,  and  is 
supported  on  four  moulded  columns  terminating  in  depressed  "ogee" 
arches,  their  spandrils  being  carved  with  vine-leaves ;  a  central  pillar 
of  larger  size  upholds  the  ribbing  of  pointed  arches,  thus  forming  an 
elaborate  groining  on  a  small  scale ;  this  central  pillar  is  pierced  by  an 
"  aqueduct "  aperture  to  allow  the  baptismal  water  to  flow  into  the 
earth  beneath,  as  we  find  in  all  such  mediaeval  fonts.  There  is  a  font, 
precisely  similar  to  this  one,  but  without  the  supporting  pillars  (which 
are  now  missing),  standing  in  the  centre  of  the  nave  of  the  present 
Protestant  Church  at  Ardmore.  Over  the  font,  in  St.  Mary's,  is  an 
"  ogee  "-shaped  cover  of  oak,  with  rudely  crocketed  ribs,  forming  a 
dome-like  canopy,  surmounted  by  the  gilt  figure  of  a  dove,  the  emblem 
of  the  Paraclete ;  this  cover  appears  to  be  of  the  Charles  II.  period. 
The  floor,  now  existing,  round  the  font,  in  its  present  position,  i& 
formed,  in  great  part,  of  antique  tiles  of  the  thirteenth  and  fourteenth 
centuries,  of  which  a  large  number  were  found  when  the  ruined  chancel 
was  cleared  of  trees,  weeds,  graves,  and  their  attendant  headstones  and 
monuments. 

At  the  left-hand  side  of  the  western  doorway,  on  entering  the  nave, 
is  seen  the  low-pointed  arched  door,  which  gave  access  to  the  stairs  that 
existed  in  the  circular  turret,  which  formerly  stood  against  the  wall  of 
the  western  fagade,  and  which  led  up  to  the  narrow  stone-paved  passage 
which  was  all  round  the  nave  roof  along  the  drip-table  or  stone  "  wall- 
plate"  of  its  clerestory  on  either  side.  This  turret  was  roofed  with  a 
conical  stone  cap,  and  the  doorway  opened  on  the  level  of  the  drip-table. 
A  similar  turret  existed  at  the  junction  of  the  north  transept  with  the 
chancel.  This  turret  not  only  gave  access  to  the  roof,  but  was  used  for 
the  ringing  of  the  "  Sanctus "  bell.  These  turrets  were  ruthlessly 
swept  away,  and  all  traces  of  them  obliterated,  during  the  miscalled 
"  restorations  "  of  1853  and  1858,  thus  depriving  the  edifice  of  some  of 
its  most  interesting  and  essential  features.  At  the  same  time  that  these 
modern  changes  were  effected  the  ancient  divisions  of  the  nave  and 
aisle  roofs  were  obliterated,  and  a  vast  ugly  expanse  of  blue  "Welsh 
slating,  without  a  single  trace  of  golden  lichen  or  grey  moss  to  tone 
down  its  crudeness,  was  substituted  by  the  "  restorers  "  in  1853,  giving  a 


338         ROYAL   SOCIETY    OF    ANTIQUARIES    OP   IRELAND. 

barn-like  air  to  the  nave  and  its  two  aisles  thus  hidden  beneath  this 
very  monotonous  covering.  The  levels  of  the  ancient  lean-to  roofs  of  the 
aisles,  as  well  as  the  faint  outlines  of  the  circular  stair  turret,  are  still 
visible  in  the  masonry  of  the  western  wall  of  the  nave.  The  two 
western  doorways  of  the  aisles  were  built  up  and  windows  inserted  in 
their  places ;  and  the  picturesque  north  and  south  porches  were  also 
pulled  down,  by  Act  of  the  Vestry,  in  the  year  1791. 

But  it  is  the  chancel  or  choir  of  St.  Mary's  which  is  the  most 
deserving  of  attention  by  all  lovers  of  beautiful  buildings  and  amateurs 
of  refined  architecture  of  mediaeval  type.  This  chancel  is  the  latest 
portion  of  the  church,  having  been  built  about  1468  by  Thomas 
Fitzgerald,  eighth  Earl  of  Desmond,  aided  by  a  donation,  given  for  this 
purpose,  by  Pope  Paul  II.  Both  externally  and  inside  this  choir  is  a 
very  fine  specimen  of  the  skill  of  the  builders  of  the  fourteenth  and 
fifteenth  centuries ;  the  mouldings  of  its  base,  which  run  round  the 
buttresses,  the  lofty  gable,  with  boldly  carved  foliage  crockets,  formerly 
surmounted  by  a  floriated  finial  cross  (now  broken),  with  the  two  spirelet 
pinnacles  at  the  angles,  and  the  grandly  designed  eastern  window,  with 
its  flamboyant  tracery,  which  has  survived  all  the  attacks  of  wars  and 
bad  taste  for  many  centuries,  render  this  chancel  one  of  the  most  re- 
markable in  Ireland.  This  beautiful  structure,  although  raised  and 
adorned  through  the  pious  zeal  of  one  Earl  of  Desmond,  was  utterly 
ruined  and  despoiled  during  the  rebellion  of  Gerald,  sixteenth  Earl  of 
Desmond,  in  December,  1579. 

During  the  occupation  of  Youghal,  after  having  made  several 
breaches  in  the  walls,  the  soldiers  of  the  rebellious  Earl  plundered  and 
sacked  the  town  for  five  days.  According  to  "  the  Annals  of  the  Four 
Masters,"  they  desecrated  St.  Mary's  Church,  robbed  all  the  vestments 
and  plate,  which  they  found  in  the  north  sacristy  (now  demolished), 
injured  the  south  transept,  and  defaced  the  tomb  of  the  founders. 
The  choir,  with  the  vestry  attached  to  it,  and  the  two  chantry  chapels 
(of  our  Blessed  Saviour  and  of  the  Portingall  family)  were  unroofed  and 
made  desolate ;  horses  and  cows  were  stabled  (it  is  said)  within  the 
chancel,  and  the  two  chapels,  both  by  the  insurgent  soldiery  of  Desmond 
(who,  we  are  told  by  an  ancient  author,  were  rebuked  for  their 
sacrilegious  conduct  by  some  Spaniards  who  accompanied  them),  but 
also  by  some  of  thp  townspeople  in  revolt.  The  noble  chancel,  roofless 
and  ruined,  remained  for  upwards  of  270  years  uncared  for,  a  miser- 
able wilderness  of  weeds,  bushes,  and  trees,  which  grew  up  inside 
this  once  beautiful  sanctuaiy.  However,  thanks  to  the  intelligent 
interest  shown  by  the  Rector,  the  Rev.  Pierce  William  Drew,  in  1852, 
aided  by  generous  contributions,  the  chancel  was  roofed  in,  the  windows 
glazed,  and  the  floor  re-laid  and  re-tiled,  thus  rescuing  this  archi- 
tectural "  bijou  "  from  total  destruction.  Before  concluding  these  notes, 
attention  must  be  called  to  the  following  objects  in  the  choir.  The 


THE  EARL  OF  CORK'S  MONUMENT,  ST.  MARY'S  CHURCH,  YOUGHAL. 

(See  the  Journal  of  the  Society,  vol.  vii.,  p.  328,  1862-63.) 


340        KOYAL  SOCIETY    OF    ANTIQUARIES    OF    IRELAND. 

great  eastern  window,  in  its  tracery,  is  decidedly  of  the  flamboyant 
type,  and  shows  foreign  (most  probably  Flemish)  influence,  which  may 
be  due,  perhaps,  to  the  commercial  relations  existing  in  the  fifteenth 
century  between  Youghal  and  Bruges  (Flanders).  With  the  exception 
of  the  magnificent  east  window  in  Kilcooley  Abbey,  County  Tipperaiy, 
this  window  ranks  as  the  finest  specimen  of  "tracery"  in  Ireland. 
Judging  from  the  traces  of  designs  etched  and  stained  upon  numerous 
fragments  of  antique  glass,  which  were  found  buried  in  the  soil  outside 
the  walls  of  the  chancel  during  the  "  restoration  "  of  1851-1858,  the 
stained  glass  which  formerly  filled  the  opes  of  this  window  must  have 
been  of  much  artistic  merit,  and  quite  unlike  the  present  hideous 
jumble  of  heraldic  devices,  more  resembling  a  huge  kaleidoscope  in 
effect  than  the  window  of  the  most  sacred  part  of  a  Christian  sanctuary. 

A  remarkable  altar-tomb,  in  the  northern  wall  of  the  choir,  is 
worthy  of  attention.  It  is  in  the  perpendicular  style  of  the  fifteenth 
century;  a  richly  moulded  "ogee"  arch,  crocketed  to  the  top,  and 
terminating  in  a  finial,  rests  upon  two  light  buttresses,  with  spire 
pinnacles.  The  base  and  recess  of  the  "  mensa  "  are  panelled  with  trefoil 
arches,  their  spandrels  being  delicately  carved  with  foliage.  On  a  small 
shield,  in  the  apex  of  the  curved  gable,  are  the  words  "  hie  jacet  Thomas 
Fleming,"  with  a  small  engraved  "  knot"  beneath ;  it  is  supposed  to  be 
the  tomb  of  Thomas  Fleming,  seventh  Lord  Slane.  This  recessed  altar-tomb, 
as  well  as  a  similar  one,  in  the  roofless  chancel  of  the  Church  of  New  Ross 
(like  many  others  in  this  country,  in  England,  and  on  the  Continent), 
served  as  the  "  Sepulchre  "  during  Holy  Week.  (See  Bloxam's  "  Gothic 
Ecclesiastical  Architecture,"  vol.  ii.,  pp.  98,  etc.)  The  tombs  of 
founders  and  generous  donors  were  very  often  allowed  to  be  erected 
inside  the  choir,  in  close  proximity  to  the  high  altar,  so  that  they  could 
be  used  for  this  "laudable  custom,"  as  it  was  called  in  the  Articles  of 
Convocation  in  1536.  The  whole  of  this  structure  appears  to  have  been 
gilt  and  decorated  in  colours  in  former  days :  traces  of  painted  figures 
can  be  discerned  on  the  arcaded  panels ;  for  stone  carvings  in  such  a 
position  were  never  left  plain  and  bare-looking,  as  they  now  are. 

On  the  opposite  side  of  the  chancel  are  four  very  elaborately  moulded 
arched  niches,  grouped  in  one  design ;  three  of  these  recesses  formed  the 
seats  for  Priest,  Deacon,  and  Sub-Deacon  during  the  Divine  Office. 
The  gradation  in  height  of  these  seats  shows  the  relative  ecclesiastical 
rank  of  the  clerics  who  occupied  them.  The  fourth  arcade  was  the 
"  Piscina,"  used  for  the  ablutions  of  the  chalice,  etc.  A  small  aper- 
ture, as  in  the  central  pillar  of  the  font,  conducted  the  water  of  the 
ablutions  into  the  earth  beneath.  A  stone  shelf  across  the  back  of  this 
recess  served  for  resting  the  sacred  vessels  on  it  before  they  were 
placed  on  the  altar.  The  present  hideous  u  canopy-work  "  surmounting 
the  four  niches,  as  well  as  the  rudely  sculptured  arcading  on  the 
eastern  wall,  under  the  great  Window,  were  all  put  up  during  the 


PROCEEDINGS.  341 

4 'restorations"  of  1851-1858.  Two  boldly-moulded  stone  corbels 
project  on  either  side  of  the  east  window  at  about  12  feet  from  the 
pavement;  these  two  corbels  supported  statues,  most  probably  those 
of  St.  Patrick  and  St.  Declan,  the  patron  saints  of  the  district.  There  are 
no  traces  whatsoever  now  remaining  of  the  high  altar ;  but,  doubtless, 
this  altar  must  have  been  of  stone,  backed  by  an  arcaded  reredos.  A 
remarkable  acoustic  contrivance  exists  in  this  chancel,  namely,  several 
jugs  of  Youghal  pottery  ware  (such  as  are  used  nowadays),  embedded  up  to 
their  mouths,  at  various  heights  in  the  walls.  These  jugs  caused  a 
re-percussion  of  sound,  so  as  to  add  considerably  to  the  effect  of  the 
voices  of  the  Collegiate  Canons  when  chanting  the  "  Offices  "  which  were 
daily  recited  in  the  choir.  Specimens  of  such  "  sound-bearers  "  are  to  be 
found  in  other  churches  and  public  buildings.  The  recessed  and  arched 
"Piscinas''  in  the  eastern  wall  of  the  north  transept  indicate  the 
positions  of  the  two  altars  of  the  Guild  Chapels.  There  were  five  altars 
in  St.  Mary's  at  the  close  of  the  fifteenth  century,  namely,  the  high 
altar  in  the  choir,  the  altar  in  the  chapel  of  "  Our  Blessed  Saviour  "  on 
the  south  side  (now  the  "Cork  Chapel"),  the  altar  at  the  western  end  of 
the  south  aisle  (called  the  Portingall  Chapel),  and  the  two  altars  of  the 
Guild  chapels  in  the  northern  transept.  The  "College"  of  Canons  which 
served  in  this  church  was  composed  of  five  "Chauntry"  chaplains, 
one  of  whom  was  Warden,  and  resided  in  the  old  house  (the  Warden's 
Lodge),  now  known  as  "  Sir  Walter  Raleigh's." 

The  chancel  still  retains  its  "embattled"  parapets,  such  as  formerly 
stood  outside  the  eaves  of  the  nave  roof  before  the  ignorant  "restorer" 
had  covered  it  in  (as  well  as  the  lean-to  roofs  of  the  two  aisles)  with  the 
present  hideous  expanse  of  slating.  Quaint  rough  "  spout"  gargoyles  of 
limestone  served  to  discharge  the  rain-water,  melted  snow,  etc.,  from  off 
the  stone  flagging  or  "wall  plate,"  the  access  to  which  was  gained  by 
the  choir  turret  now  demolished.  A  most  delightfully  designed  "  Priest's 
Door  "  opened  in  the  sturdy  buttress  of  the  southern  wall  of  the  chancel ; 
a  richly  moulded  pointed  doorway,  with  drip-hood,  resting  on  two  bosses 
(one  of  which  represents  a  Tudor  rose),  leads  into  the  choir ;  a  much- 
defaced  stoup  (for  holy  water),  terminating  in  a  seraph's  head  beneath, 
still  exists  in  the  east  side  of  its  deeply-recessed  wall.  Immediately 
opposite  to  this  choir  doorway  is  seen  a  low-arched  narrow  entrance, 
now  closed  up,  in  the  old  College  wall.  This  was  evidently  the  entrance 
to  the  College,  and  was  used  by  the  Canons  for  ingress  and  egress  to  the 
-church. 


no  no.  rtrr. 


PLAN  OF  ST.  MARY'S  CHTJKCH,  YOUGHAL. 
(See  the  Society's  Journal,  vol.  Hi.,  p.  103,  1854-55. 


PROCEEDINGS.  34$ 


ST.  MARY'S  CHURCH,  YOTJGHAL. 


REFEBENCES  TO  THE  DETAILS  OF  PLAN. 

Hiberno-Norman,  ....  Cross-hatched. 

Thirteenth  century,  or  Early  English,     .  Black. 

Decorated,     .         .         .         .         .         .  Diagonal  Hatching. 

Modern, In  Outline. 

Destroyed  portions,         .         ,         .         .  Dotted. 

A.  Destroyed  Bell-Tower,  Hiberno-Norman. 

B.  Remnant  of  Moulded  Hiberno-Norman.     Entrance  built  up 

in  the  door  to  Tower. 

C.  Double  Piscina :  thirteenth  century. 

D.  Stoup  :  thirteenth  century. 

E.  Sedilia  and  Single  Piscina  :  fifteenth  century. 

F.  Font,  Decorated ;  original  site. 

G.  Rood  Stairs. 

H.  ,,  ,, 

I.  and  K.  North  and  South  Porches  (destroyed). 

REFERENCES  TO  THE  ANCIENT  MONUMENTS. 

i.  Founder's  Effigies  and  Tomb.     Restored  in  1619  by  Earl 

of  Cork. 

ii.  Sepulchral  Arch,  Hiber  no -Norman, 
iii.  Monumental  Stone,  Coffin-lid  :  twelfth  century, 
ifr  ,,  ,,       to  a  female  :  thirteenth  century. 

fr.  ,,  ,,  Roger  Deivil:  thirteenth  century. 

bl  „  ,,  Alun:  „  „ 

Mi.  ,,  Effigy  of  Matthew  Le  Mercer. 

Jfrm.  Sepulchral  Arch  and  Effigy  (unknown) :  thirteenth  century. 
i$.  Altar- tomb  of  Thomas  Fleming  :  fifteenth  century. 

X.  Cross-slab  to  Uniacke,  Mayor,  1557. 
*i.       „         „       Nagle,  1605. 
m.       ,,         ,,        Ronane,  1621. 
mi.  Tomb  of  Yilliers,  President  of  Munster,  1626. 
sifr.  Mausoleum  of  First  Earl  of  Cork,  1643. 
$fr.  Monument  of  Earl  of  Orrery,  1679. 


344        ROYAL    SOCIETY    OF    ANTIQUARIES    OF    IRELAND. 


A  LIST  OF  PAPERS  ON  THE  ANTIQUITIES  OF  YOUGHAL  WHICH  HAVE 

APPEARED   IN  THE    u JOURNAL  "    OF   THE    SOCIETY. 

Tradesmen's  Tokens,  vols.  v.,  p.  222,  399  ;  vi.,  139,  262 ;  vii.,  149,  237. 

The  ecclesiastical  antiquities  of,  iii.,  96,  326  ;  iv.,  14. 

St.  Mary's  Collegiate  Church,  iii.,  96  ;  Dineley's  sketch  and  description  of,  vii.,  324  ; 
plan  of,  iii.,  103  ;  the  Boyle  monument  in,  iii.,  108  ;  altar-tomb  of  Thomas 
Fleming  in,  iii.,  118. 

The  Nunnery,  or  Chapel  of  St.*  Anne's,  iii.,  326  pthe  light  tower  of  St.  Anne's,  iii., 
328  ;  the  Franciscan  Friary,  or  South  Abhey,  iii.,  329 ;  the  Dominican  Friary, 
or  North  Abbey,  iii.,  333  ;'iv.,  287  ;  St.  John's  House  of  Benedictines,  iv.,  14 ; 
Our  Lady's  College,  iv.,  16 ;  the  Warden's  House,  iv.,  25. 

Sir  Walter  Raleigh's  House,  w.,  25;  town  plundered  by  Gerald,  sixteenth  Earl  of 
Desmond,  iv.,  16,;  x.,469  ;  hand-mill  found  near,  iv.,  16  ;  Rhincrew  Preceptory, 
iv.,  289  ;  St.  Coran  of,  iv.,  289;  ancient  mason  marks  at,  v.,  67,  384;  the  local 
tioinage  of,  v.,  195,  222,  399 ;  xv.,  35  ;  mayor's  seal  of,  vi.,  140  ;  Youghal  and 
Dungarvan  connected,  vi.,  262;  longevity  of  inhabitants,  vii.,  338w ;  derivation 
of  name,  vii.,  323w;  blockhouse,  vii.,  338» ;  seamen,  vii.,  322w  ;  the  ferry  of, 
vii.,  320  ;  library  of  the  Franciscan  friars,  transcript  of  catalogue  made  in  1491 
(exhibited),  xv.,  0  ;  Youghal  money  of  necessity,  xv.,  35 ;  flag  of  the  Youghal 
Volunteers,  xv.,  263  ;  cross-legged  effigy  in  the  Dominican  Abbey,  xv.,  342. 

Edward  Gillet,  goldsmith  and  Mayor  of,  xix.,  303  ;  acoustic  vases  in  St.  Mary's 
Church,  iii.,  303  ;  tobacco  introduced  into,  iii.,  308. 


A  LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS  OF  THE  ANTIQUITIES  OF  YOUGHAL  WHICH 

HAVE   APPEARED    IN   THE    "  JOURNAL  "    OF   THE    SOCIETY. 

| 

Acoustic  Vases  in  St.  Mary's  Church,  vol.  iii.,  p.  304. 

Altar-tomb  of  Thomas  Fleming,  iii.,  118. 

Cup-marked  stone  found  near,  xvii.,  604. 

Dineley's  Tour,  general  view,  vii.,  322. 

Dominican  Friary  (North  Abbey),  iii.,  335  ;  x.,  469. 

Doorway  of  St.  John's  House,  iv.,  14. 

Earl  of  Cork's  monument,  vii.,  328. 

Franciscan  Friary  (South  Abbey),  iii.,  331  ;  x.,  469. 

General  prospect  from  Cork  road,  vii.,  325. 

House  of  Sir  Walter  Raleigh,  iv.,  26. 

Map  of,  in  Elizabethan  times,  x.,  469. 

Money  of  necessity,  coined  there,  v.,  197,  198;  xv.,  35. 

Ogam -stone,  built  into  a  wall,  xv.,  39. 

Seal  of  Job.  de  Yughul,  iii.,  330. 

Seal  of  Mayor,  vi.,  140. 

Short  pipes  (dudeens)  found  here,  iii.,  304. 

St.  Anne's  light-tower,  iii.,  328. 

St.  Mary's  Collegiate  Church,  vii.,  324  ;  exterior  of  choir,  iii.,  99  ;  interior  of  choir, 

iii.,  117  ;  plan  of  church,  iii.,  102. 
The  College,  vii.,  323. 
The  Exchange  and  quay,  vii.,  321. 
The  iron  gate,  vii.,  324. 
Tradesmen's  tokens,  vi.,  262,  263  ;  vii.,  237,  238;  coined  here,  v.,  223-231,  399  ;  vii. 

151. 


DA 
920 
R68 
v.33 


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