{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_62488/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_62488","id":"gutenberg_62488","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/62488","summary":null,"tags":["Castles -- Ireland","Category: Archaeology & Anthropology","Category: History - European","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Legends -- Ireland"],"text":"CASTLES OF IRELAND\n\n [Illustration:\n\n _Frontispiece._\n\n ADARE CASTLE.]\n\n\n\n\n Castles of Ireland\n\n Some Fortress Histories and\n Legends\n\n BY\n\n C. L. ADAMS\n\n\n ILLUSTRATED BY REV. CANON LUCIUS O\u2019BRIEN\n\n [Illustration]\n\n\n LONDON\n ELLIOT STOCK, 62, PATERNOSTER ROW, E.C.\n 1904\n\n\n\n\nINTRODUCTION\n\n\nThe Castles of Ireland are far too numerous for any single volume\nto contain their separate histories, and all that I claim for the\npresent work is that it includes epitomised accounts of those of chief\ninterest, as well as some regarding which I had special facilities for\ncollecting information. It is, I also believe, the first collection\nof such records, and therefore I hope but the forerunner of similar\nworks which may be issued in the future, so that the time will yet come\nwhen all these interesting relics of a troubled and stormy past may\nbe classified and chronicled, and the present obscurity in which the\nhistory of so many of them is shrouded be entirely cleared away.\n\nThe number of ruined castles in Ireland is always a matter of surprise\nto visitors from the Sister Isle, and perhaps they help us, of less\nstirring days, to realise more fully the continual state of warfare in\nwhich our ancestors must have lived than printed records can ever do.\n\nThese castles range in dimensions from the few blocks of protruding\nmasonry on the green sward, which mark the foundation of a ruined\npeel tower, or the scarcely traceable line of wall which was once a\nfortified bawn, to the majestic ruins of castles like Adare with its\nthree distinct and separate fortifications one within the other, or\nroyal Trim, deemed strong enough to be a prison for English princes.\n\nYet in the majority of cases little or nothing is known locally about\nthe builders, owners or destroyers who have left us these picturesque,\nif somewhat sad, mementoes of their warfaring existence. Three items of\ninformation will in all probability be supplied to the enquirer--that\nthey were built by King John, occupied by the Geraldines, and\ndemolished by Cromwell in person, and indeed if the hill from which\nthe bombardment was carried out is not shown to the stranger his\ninformant is lacking in the general art of story-telling. In some cases\nthe origin of the castles is boldly attributed by tradition to the\nDanes, thereby unconsciously introducing the much wider controversy\nas to whether such stone fortresses were known in Ireland before the\nlanding of the Normans at Wexford in 1169. Be this as it may, it was\nonly subsequent to this date that they were built in any number. Both\ninvaders and invaded relied chiefly on these strongholds for obtaining\nsupremacy in their constant struggles. Grants of land were generally\ngiven with the condition of erecting a fortified residence. It was only\nwhen the introduction of gunpowder rendered such buildings untenable\nin war, that they were very generally deserted for more comfortable\ndwellings, and jackdaws alone keep watch to-day from many a crumbling\nbattlement that once echoed a sentinel\u2019s tread, and bovine heads\nprotrude from the doorways from which mailed knights rode forth to\nbattle.\n\nI regret to say that space forbids my mentioning by name all those\nowners of castles and others who have so generously assisted me in\ncompiling the following accounts, but perhaps I may be allowed to\nspecially acknowledge the valuable help I received from the Librarian\nand Assistant Librarians of the National Library, Dublin, Lord Walter\nFitzgerald, and Mr. Herbert Wood, of the Public Record Office.\n\n\n C. L. ADAMS.\n\nLONDON, 1904.\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS\n\n\n PAGE\n\nINTRODUCTION v\n\nLEGEND OF KILKEA CASTLE xi\n\nADARE CASTLE 1\n\nANTRIM CASTLE 9\n\nARKLOW CASTLE 15\n\nARTANE CASTLE 18\n\nATHLONE CASTLE 22\n\nBALLYMOTE CASTLE 27\n\nBALLYSHANNON CASTLE 31\n\nBALLYTEIGUE CASTLE 37\n\nBARBERSTOWN CASTLE 39\n\nBARGY CASTLE 42\n\nBARRYSCOURT CASTLE 45\n\nBIRR CASTLE 48\n\nBLACK CASTLE, WICKLOW 54\n\nBLARNEY CASTLE 57\n\nBUNRATTY CASTLE 65\n\nCARLOW CASTLE 71\n\nCARRICKFERGUS CASTLE 77\n\nCARRICK-ON-SUIR CASTLE 85\n\nCARRIGOGUNNEL CASTLE 90\n\nCASTLE BARNARD 97\n\nCASTLE BORO 101\n\nCASTLE DONOVAN 104\n\nCASTLE KEVIN, COUNTY CORK 107\n\nCASTLE KEVIN, COUNTY WICKLOW 109\n\nCASTLE SALEM 114\n\nCLOGHAN CASTLE 116\n\nCROM CASTLE 121\n\nDOE CASTLE 126\n\nDRIMNAGH CASTLE 133\n\nDUBLIN CASTLE 137\n\nDUNDANIEL CASTLE 142\n\nDUNDRUM CASTLE, COUNTY DOWN 148\n\nDUNDRUM CASTLE, COUNTY DUBLIN 152\n\nDUNLUCE CASTLE 157\n\nDUNSOGHLY CASTLE 165\n\nENNISCORTHY CASTLE 168\n\nENNISKILLEN CASTLE 172\n\nFERNS CASTLE 177\n\nFERRYCARRIG AND SHANA COURT CASTLES 182\n\nGEASHILL CASTLE 185\n\nGLENARM CASTLE 191\n\nGLIN CASTLE 193\n\nGREENCASTLE, COUNTY DONEGAL 198\n\nGREENCASTLE, COUNTY DOWN 202\n\nHOWTH CASTLE 209\n\nKILBARRON CASTLE 214\n\nKILBRITTAIN CASTLE 217\n\nKILKEA CASTLE 220\n\nKILKENNY CASTLE 228\n\nKILLIANE CASTLE 235\n\nKILLYLEAGH CASTLE 239\n\nKING JOHN\u2019S CASTLE, CARLINGFORD 244\n\nKING JOHN\u2019S CASTLE, LIMERICK 250\n\nLEA CASTLE 257\n\nLEAP CASTLE 264\n\nLEIXLIP CASTLE 272\n\nLISMORE CASTLE 280\n\nLOHORT CASTLE 285\n\nLOUGH CUTRA CASTLE 287\n\nMACROOM CASTLE 289\n\nMALAHIDE CASTLE 292\n\nMALLOW CASTLE 297\n\nMAYNOOTH CASTLE 305\n\nMONGEVLIN CASTLE 311\n\nMONKSTOWN CASTLE, COUNTY CORK 313\n\nPORTUMNA CASTLE 316\n\nROSCOMMON CASTLE 318\n\nROSS CASTLE 325\n\nROSSCLOGHER CASTLE 330\n\nSHANE\u2019S CASTLE 336\n\nSWORDS CASTLE 344\n\nTILLYRA CASTLE 350\n\nTIMON CASTLE 351\n\nTRALEE CASTLE 353\n\nTRIM CASTLE 359\n\n\n\n\nLIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS\n\n\n PAGE\n\nADARE CASTLE _Frontispiece_\n\nANTRIM CASTLE 8\n\nBIRR CASTLE 49\n\nBLACK CASTLE, WICKLOW 55\n\nBLARNEY CASTLE 59\n\nBUNRATTY CASTLE 64\n\nCARLOW CASTLE 72\n\nCARRICKFERGUS CASTLE 79\n\nCARRICK-ON-SUIR CASTLE 84\n\nCARRIGOGUNNEL CASTLE 91\n\nCASTLE DONOVAN 105\n\nCROM CASTLE 120\n\nDRIMNAGH CASTLE 132\n\nDUBLIN CASTLE 136\n\nDUNDRUM CASTLE, COUNTY DOWN 149\n\nDUNLUCE CASTLE 156\n\nDUNSOGHLY CASTLE 164\n\nENNISKILLEN CASTLE 173\n\nGLENARM CASTLE 190\n\nGREENCASTLE, COUNTY DONEGAL 199\n\nGREENCASTLE, COUNTY DOWN 203\n\nHOWTH CASTLE 208\n\nKILBARRON CASTLE 215\n\nKILKEA CASTLE 221\n\nKILKENNY CASTLE 229\n\nKILLYLEAGH CASTLE 238\n\nKING JOHN\u2019S CASTLE, CARLINGFORD 245\n\nKING JOHN\u2019S CASTLE, LIMERICK 251\n\nLEA CASTLE (INTERIOR) 258\n\nLEA CASTLE (EXTERIOR) 262\n\nLEAP CASTLE 265\n\nLEIXLIP CASTLE 273\n\nLISMORE CASTLE 282\n\nMALLOW CASTLE 298\n\nMAYNOOTH CASTLE 304\n\nROSS CASTLE 324\n\nSHANE\u2019S CASTLE 337\n\nSWORDS CASTLE 345\n\nTRIM CASTLE 361\n\n\n\n\nTHE LEGEND OF KILKEA CASTLE.\n\n\n It is seven years since they last awoke\n From their death-like sleep in Mullaghmast,\n And the ghostly troop, with its snow-white horse,\n On the Curragh plain to Kilkea rode past.\n For the Lord of Kildare goes forth to-night,\n And has left his rest in the lonely rath.\n Oh, roughen the road for the silver shoes,\n That they wear full soon on his homeward path.\n\n So thus to his own he may come again,\n With a trumpet blast and his warriors bold,\n And the spell that was by his lady cast\n Will pass away as a tale once told.\n For dearly she loved her noble lord,\n And she wished that no secret from her he kept,\n So she longed to know why in chamber small\n He watched and toiled while the household slept.\n\n But the Wizard Earl would not tell to her\n The secret dark of his vaulted cell,\n \u201cFor fear,\u201d he said, \u201cin the human frame,\n Lets loose the power of furthest hell.\u201d\n But she feared for naught save his waning love,\n And at length to her wish he bent an ear,\n So flood, and serpent, and ghost gave place,\n For the lady\u2019s heart had shown no fear.\n\n Then her lord to a bird was soon transformed,\n That rested its wing on her shoulder fair;\n But the lady screamed and swooned away\n When a cat sprang forth from the empty air.\n For a woman must fear for the one she loves,\n And a woman\u2019s heart will break in twain,\n When she knows that her hand has struck the blow\n To the man she had died to save from pain.\n\n And thus the Earl must sleep as dead\n Till the silver shoes of his steed are worn,\n By which every seven years, they say,\n To Kilkea and back to the rath he\u2019s born.\n And swiftly they pass, that phantom band,\n With the Earl on his charger gleaming white,\n So we think \u2019tis the shade of a cloud goes by,\n With a shifting beam of the moon\u2019s pale light.\n PEERS HERVEY.\n\n\n\n\n_ADARE CASTLE_\n\n \u201cPeaceful it stands, the mighty pile\n By many a heart\u2019s blood once defended,\n Yet silent now as cloistered aisle,\n Where rung the sounds of banquet splendid.\u201d\n\n GERALD GRIFFIN.\n\n\nThis name is a corruption of Athdare, or Ath-daar, signifying \u201cThe ford\nof oaks.\u201d The present village is situated on the west bank of the River\nMaig, nine miles south-south-west of Limerick.\n\nDesmond Castle, on the east bank, commands the river pass, and near the\nnorthern entrance to the castle were formerly the remains of a gateway\nand wall, traditionally supposed to have belonged to the ancient town\nof Adare.\n\nThe ruins of the fortress are extensive. They consist of an outer and\ninner ward, separated by a moat, which in former times was crossed by a\ndrawbridge.\n\nThere are three entrances to the outer ward, the chief being a square\ngate tower in the west wall which was defended by a portcullis. There\nis another entrance on the north, as well as a doorway opening on the\nriver.\n\nThe chief buildings are situated near the water\u2019s edge. They consist\nof the great hall which is 75 feet long by 37 feet in breadth. It is\nlighted by three windows of rough masonry in its south wall and by one\non the west, with fifteenth-century \u201cogee\u201d heads inserted in the older\nworkmanship.\n\nThe doorway on the east opens to the river. The chief entrance and\nporch were on the north side. The base of one of the sandstone jambs\nremains, showing it to have been of thirteenth century date. The walls\nare 3 feet thick, and the roof, which had a very high gable, was\nsupported by four pillars.\n\nAt the eastern end are the buttery and smaller offices, while separated\nfrom them by a passage is the ruined kitchen (45 feet by 19 feet),\nwhich contains the remains of an oven and also a small well of river\nwater. A curtain wall running west, connects these building with a fine\noblong, two-storey structure, 56 feet by 31 feet, which is remarkable,\ninasmuch as the walls of the top storey are thicker than those below,\nthe extra width being supported by projecting stones. The top room,\nwhich has loops splayed for archery, was reached by an exterior stone\nstair. The floor was supported on beams, and the lower room seems to\nhave been used as a stable.\n\nAdjoining the building is a small square tower, which projects into the\nriver that flows under it through an archway in the basement. A wall\nconnects this tower with the gateway.\n\nThe inner ward is now reached by a small wooden bridge. The gate tower\nis connected with the S.E. angle of the keep by a thick curved curtain\nwith an embrasured and looped parapet. A turret protected the juncture\nof the outer and inner walls. A semicircular tower also projects from\nthe boundary wall on the left of the inner court. It was loopholed, and\ndivided into two storeys.\n\nThe keep, which is in the inner court, is about 40 feet square and 67\nfeet high. Only the north wall and the portions adjoining it remain at\ntheir original height. The side next the river is entirely broken down,\ntradition saying it was destroyed with cannon in Cromwell\u2019s time from\nthe opposite hill. The angles of the remaining wall are crowned with\nturrets.\n\nThe doorway leading to the vaults being of later date than the rest\nit is supposed they were of more recent insertion. One of the dungeons\nseems to have been used as a prison. It is lighted by a loop of\npeculiar construction.\n\nA staircase leads to the chief apartments, and a well of river water\nis within the walls. The height of the keep seems to have had a\nthird added to it after its original construction as is shown by the\nold weather-tabling of the roof. The present building was divided\ninto three storeys above the ground floor, which was vaulted. The\nstairway was in the thickness of the west wall. Small cells occupy the\nprojecting portions at the angles.\n\nFrom the objects that have been found in the moat which surrounds the\nkeep, it has been thought likely that it occupies the site of a rath,\nas some of the relics are of much anterior date to the Norman Conquest.\nThe fortress is supposed to have been formerly a stronghold of the\nO\u2019Donovans until they were dispossessed by the invaders.\n\nThe architecture of one of the windows seems to be that in vogue during\nthe close of the twelfth century.\n\nLenihan states that Adare was famous for its castle and church in the\nreign of Henry II.\n\nGeoffrey de Mariscis, Justiciary of Ireland, was granted permission\nto hold a fair in his manor of Adare in 1226, but according to the\nSpanish historian, Lopez, it had passed into the hands of the \u201cEarls\u201d\nof Kildare in 1227, when (still according to him) the Earl of March\ncame from Scotland to Adare on shipping business, and the \u201cEarls\u201d of\nKildare, not deeming the accommodation at the inn fit for his rank,\ninsisted that he should come to their castle. During the visit he spoke\nin such praise of the Trinitarian order that the Earl\u2019s father said he\nwould found a priory at Adare. The story is probably inaccurate. In\nthe first place the Earldom of Kildare was not created until 1316, and\nLopez speaks of \u201cEarls\u201d in the plural. It is also hard to imagine what\nshipping business could have been transacted in an inland town. Yet no\ndoubt there is some foundation for the record, as in 1279, 1315, and\n1464 other abbeys were founded at Adare by the Kildare Geraldines.\n\nIn 1290 the manor of Adare was in the possession of Maurice FitzGerald,\n5th Baron of Offaly, and his wife, Lady Agnes de Valence, cousin of\nthe King. Their claim being disputed, a charter was issued in 1299\nconfirming the grant.\n\nThe castle was rebuilt in 1326 by the 2nd Earl of Kildare.\n\nEdward III. granted the lands of Adare to the Earl\u2019s stepfather, Sir\nJohn Darcy, during the Earl\u2019s minority in 1329, and it was probably\nat this time that the inquisition was held in the report of which we\nfind the first authenticated mention of the castle. It is described as\nhaving a hall, a chapel with stone walls and covered with thatch, a\ntower covered with planks, a kitchen covered with slates, and a chamber\nnear the stone part covered with thatch.\n\nTurlough O\u2019Brien burned it sometime during the fifteenth century.\n\nThe estate was forfeited by Gerald, 8th Earl of Kildare, for his\nadherence to the cause of Perkin Warbeck, but it was shortly afterwards\nrestored.\n\nWhen the 9th Earl of Kildare was summoned to London to answer the\ncharge of allowing the Earl of Desmond to evade arrest, it is likely\nthat he set out from Adare, as he was in that part of the country. It\nwas during this trial in 1526 that Cardinal Wolsey cried out, \u201cThe\nEarl, nay, the King of Kildare--for, when you are disposed, you reign\nmore like than rule the land.\u201d\n\nUpon the confiscation of the estate after the rebellion of \u201cThe Silken\nThomas,\u201d in 1536, the Earl of Desmond became possessed of Adare, which\nhe leased the following year from the Crown. He seems to have done so\nwith the intention of restoring the lands to his kinsman, the young\nGerald, then in hiding from the Government.\n\nThe castle remained in the Earl of Desmond\u2019s possession (with\nintermissions) until his death in 1583, when it reverted to the Kildare\nbranch of the Geraldines. His name still clings to the ruins, no doubt\nbecause of the stormy scenes that occurred at Adare during his short\nownership.\n\nHere in 1570 the celebrated Leverus, Bishop of Kildare, sought shelter\nwith the Earl of Desmond. He had been tutor to the young heir to the\nEarldom of Kildare, when a price was set upon his head after the\nrebellion of the Lord Thomas. Leverus had saved his pupil, who was ill\nwith smallpox, by putting him in a basket, wrapped in blankets, and\ntaking him from Kildare to Thomond.\n\nIn 1578 the castle was taken by Sir Nicholas Malby after a siege of\neleven days, and garrisoned by English under Captain Carew.\n\nSir John Desmond, the Earl\u2019s brother, shortly afterwards assaulted it\nin vain. The following year saw continual warfare round the town of\nAdare between the two parties, and a garrison of English was placed\nthere by the Lord Deputy, who was accompanied by the Earl of Kildare.\n\nDesmond made every effort to recover the castle in 1580. He resorted to\nseveral stratagems, one of which was to send a beautiful young woman to\nthe constable, by whose means he hoped the castle might be betrayed.\nBut upon hearing from whence she came, the officer tied a stone round\nher neck and threw her into the river.\n\nThe following year, however, Colonel Zouch, having disbanded part of\nhis forces, the Earl gained possession of the castle, and put the\ngarrison to the sword. Fresh forces arriving from Cork, Zouch marched\non Adare, only to find it deserted; but he pursued the Irish to\nLisconnel, where he defeated them in an engagement.\n\nCaptain Mynce was recommended as custodian in 1585, and in 1598 Mr.\nMarshal\u2019s castles of Bruff and Adare were reported to have been taken.\n\nIn 1600 the Sugan Earl of Desmond occupied Adare, but upon the\napproach of Sir George Carew, in July, the Irish burnt the castle\nand fled. He reports it as \u201ca manor-house belonging to the Earls of\nKildare, wholly ruined by Pierce Lacy.\u201d\n\nThis Lacy was one of the Earl of Desmond\u2019s supporters.\n\nInsurgents seized the stronghold in 1641, but were driven out by the\nEarl of Castlehaven, and the castle is said to have been dismantled in\n1657 by Cromwell\u2019s orders.\n\nThe lands remained in the possession of the Earls of Kildare until\n1721, when they were purchased by the Quin family, now represented by\nthe Earl of Dunraven.\n\n\n AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.\n\n J. Dowd, \u201cThe County of Limerick.\u201d\n The Countess and Earl of Dunraven, \u201cMemorials of Adare.\u201d\n Marquis of Kildare, \u201cThe Earls of Kildare.\u201d\n M. Lenihan, \u201cLimerick: Its History and Antiquities.\u201d\n J. Ferrar, \u201cHistory of Limerick.\u201d\n Parliamentary Gazetteer.\n Calendar of State Documents.\n Calendar of Carew MSS.\n\n[Illustration: ANTRIM CASTLE.]\n\n\n\n\n_ANTRIM CASTLE_\n\n \u201cBrown in the rust of time--it stands sublime\n With overhanging battlements and towers,\n And works of old defence--a massy pile,\n And the broad river winds around its base\n In bright, unruffled course.\u201d\n\n\nAntrim town is situated in the county of the same name, on the right\nbank of Six-Mile-Water just before it enters Lough Neagh, a little more\nthan thirteen miles north-west of Belfast.\n\nThe castle, sometimes erroneously called Massereene Castle, was erected\nin the reign of James I. by Sir Hugh Clotworthy, a gentleman of\nSomersetshire.\n\nHugh and Lewis Clotworthy were amongst those who accompanied the Earl\nof Essex in his expedition to Ulster in 1573, and in 1603 Captain Hugh\nClotworthy was doing garrison duty at Carrickfergus under Sir Arthur\nChichester. In 1605 he received a grant of the confiscated lands\nof \u201cMassarine,\u201d and erected a residence on the site of the present\nbuilding. This consisted of a moated courtyard flanked by towers.\n\nShortly afterwards he was knighted, and married the beautiful Marion\nLangford \u201cof the flowing tresses.\u201d\n\nIn 1610 Sir Hugh Clotworthy commenced to erect a castle according to\nthe undertaking of the grant, and it was completed in three years.\nIt consisted of a quadrangular pile, three storeys in height, which\nenclosed a small courtyard, and was flanked at the angles by square\ntowers. The walls measured 6 feet in thickness. A short flight of\ngranite steps led to the entrance hall, which contained a great open\nfireplace. On the right of the hall was the \u201cbuttery,\u201d where at about\n3 feet from the floor was a small square door through which food was\ndistributed to the poor. The townspeople had the privilege of passing\nthrough the hall by the buttery to a pathway leading to the lake.\n\nThe river protected the castle on the west, while on the other sides\nit was surrounded by a moat. The \u201cMount\u201d to the east of the castle was\nfurnished with ordnance. Two bastions commanded respectively the town\non the south and the lake on the north. The whole fortress covered more\nthan five acres of ground.\n\nExtensive alterations were made in the castle in 1813 by Chichester,\nfourth Earl of Massereene. At present it consists of a square embattled\nbuilding of three storeys with a long wing at the same elevation\nrunning northward, flanked by two castellated towers near the end. At\nits extremity rises a very high tower in Italian style, which gives a\nmost picturesque appearance to the stables when viewed from the lough.\n\nThe grand entrance hall is square, and the wall which once divided it\nfrom the centre courtyard has been replaced by oak pillars leading\nto an inner vestibule and staircase which occupies the site of the\nformer open space. From this a passage extends the whole length of the\ncastle to the Italian tower. The oak room is a magnificent apartment,\nwainscotted in dark Irish oak, relieved with lighter shades and\nexquisitely carved. The panels are painted with armorial bearings.\nThere is a beautiful carved chimney-piece at the lower end of the\napartment set with the grate in one frame. Upon touching a secret\nspring this all swings out and discloses a recess large enough to hide\nin. The furniture of the room is also Irish oak. Here is preserved the\n\u201cSpeaker\u2019s Chair\u201d of the Irish House of Commons.\n\nThe drawing-room and library are both very handsome rooms, and with the\noak room, breakfast-room, parlour, and dining-room, form a splendid\nsuite of rooms, opening one off the other. There is a very valuable\ncollection of family portraits in the castle.\n\nThe Italian tower contains the chapel, record-room, and a small study.\nThe first of these is in Gothic style and beautifully proportioned.\nAmong the treasures to be seen here are Cranmer\u2019s New Testament and\nQueen Mary\u2019s Bible.\n\nOver the front entrance is a stone screen slightly raised from the\nwall and ending in a pointed arch under the parapet wall. It is about\n8 feet in width, and is handsomely sculptured with arms, mottoes, and\nevents connected with the castle and its owners. At the top is a carved\nhead representing Charles I., supposed to have been placed there by\nthe first Viscount when he added to the fortress in 1662. Lower down\nare the arms of the founder and his wife, with the date of erection\n(1613), &c. Immediately over the hall door is a carved shell supported\nby mermaids, which represents the Skeffyngton crest.\n\nThe two ancient bastions have been formed into terrace gardens, and the\ngrounds of the whole castle are most beautifully laid out. A splendid\nview is obtained from the old \u201cMount,\u201d the summit of which is reached\nby a winding path.\n\nThe demesne is entered from the town through a castellated entrance,\nsurmounted by a turretted warder\u2019s lodge, which upon state occasions\nin modern times has been sentinelled with warders garbed in antique\ncostume, battle-axe in hand.\n\nNear the gatehouse upon the angle of the southern bastion is the carved\nstone figure of \u201cLady Marion\u2019s Wolfdog,\u201d representing that splendid\nIrish breed now extinct. At one time this statue surmounted a turret\nof the castle, where the great animal appeared to be keeping a \u201clook\nout\u201d over the lough. Local superstition said that it had appeared there\nwithout human agency on the night after the incident occurred with\nwhich the legend connects it, and that as long as it keeps watch over\nthe castle and grounds so long will the race of Lady Marion Clotworthy\ncontinue to live and thrive.\n\nThe story is as follows:--The lovely bride of Sir Hugh Clotworthy\nwandered one day in his absence outside the bawn walls along the shores\nof Lough Neagh. Hearing behind her a low growl, she turned round to\nfind a wolf preparing to spring. In her terror she fell to the ground,\nand with the force of the animal\u2019s leap he passed beyond her. Before he\nhad time to return to his victim a large wolf-hound had seized him in\nmortal combat. The lady fainted at the sight, and when she recovered\nconsciousness the dog was licking her hands, while the wolf lay dead.\nShe bound up the noble animal\u2019s wounds, and he followed her home, being\nher constant companion for many a day, until he suddenly disappeared\nand no trace of him could be found.\n\nShortly after this the castle was built, and one wild, stormy night\nthe deep baying of a wolf-hound was heard passing round and round\nthe walls of the fortress. The warders, scared by the unusual sound,\nkindled the beacon on the mount, and by its light discovered a band of\nnatives making preparation for an attack. A few shots dispersed them,\nbut before they left a howl of pain was heard near the entrance gate,\nwhere a few flattened bullets were found the next morning. Then upon\nthe castle tower the affrighted warders perceived the stone figure of\nthe dog.\n\nIt is probable that Sir Hugh had the figure carved to please his lady,\nand after the attack considered its mysterious appearance on the\nfortress the best protection against a superstitious enemy, who had\nmost likely destroyed the beautiful original, which had come from the\nAbbey of Massarine to warn its former kind friend of danger.\n\nSir Hugh Clotworthy was succeeded by his son, Sir John, afterwards\nfirst Viscount Massereene. He sat in both the Irish and English Houses\nof Commons, and was one of Stafford\u2019s chief accusers. He was in London\nwhen the rebellion of 1641 broke out. The insurrection was in part\nprevented by a retainer of his, one Owen O\u2019Conally, called \u201cthe great\ninformer.\u201d\n\nSir John\u2019s brother, James, secured the castle in his absence from\nattack, and the owner returned to it at the end of the year, and took\ncommand of the forces in the district. He was imprisoned in 1647 for\nthree years for censuring (with other Members of Parliament) the\nseizing of the King. During this time his mother, the Lady Marion,\noccupied the castle. O\u2019Conally commanded Sir John\u2019s regiment in his\nabsence, and in 1649 it was joined to General Monk\u2019s forces. Oliver\nCromwell made O\u2019Conally commander of the regiment then at Antrim\nCastle, and Monro marched against it and killed its leader, but the\ncastle still remained in possession of the troops.\n\nSir John was raised to the peerage by Charles II. in 1660 as Viscount\nMassereene. He had no son, and was succeeded in the title and estates\nby his son-in-law, Sir John Skeffyngton, and henceforward his surname\nwas added to the family name of Clotworthy.\n\nJames II. conferred several honourable appointments on him,\nnevertheless the \u201cAntrim Association\u201d was formed in the castle upon the\nbeginning of the revolution, and the Viscount\u2019s eldest son, Colonel\nClotworthy Skeffyngton, was appointed Commander-in-Chief.\n\nThe Jacobite General, Hamilton, pushed on to Antrim after his success\nat Dromore, and Lord Massereene fled from the castle at his approach.\nThe family plate, valued at \u00a33,000, which was hidden before the family\nleft, was shown to the newcomers by a servant, and was seized by them.\n\nColonel Gordon O\u2019Neill, son of the great Sir Phelim, occupied the\nfortress in 1688-89, but Lord Massereene recovered his property when\nWilliam came to the throne.\n\nHis grandson was created an earl in 1756, but this title expired in\n1816, when Harriet Viscountess of Massereene succeeded to the estates,\nand through her they passed to the present Viscount.\n\nThe last time that the castle figured in history was during the battle\nof Antrim in 1798. The yeomanry bravely held the castle gardens against\nall comers, while the great gun of the mount, \u201cRoaring Tatty,\u201d was\ndrawn from its position and fired on the town. One, Ezekiel Vance, gave\nthe signal to the military outside the town to advance by waving a\nwoman\u2019s red cloak from one of the towers of the fortress.\n\nThe present Lord Massereene is the 11th Viscount.\n\n\n AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.\n\n C. O\u2019Neill, \u201cAntrim Castle.\u201d\n O\u2019Laverty, \u201cDiocese of Down and Connor.\u201d\n Smith, \u201cMemoirs of \u201998,\u201d in _Ulster Journal of Arch\u00e6ology_.\n Parliamentary Gazetteer.\n\n\n\n\n_ARKLOW CASTLE_\n\n\nThe town of Arklow is thirty-nine miles and a half south by east of\nDublin, in the County Wicklow.\n\nJoyce thinks the name may have a Danish origin, but others believe it\ncomes from the Irish word _Ardchoch_.\n\nThe ruins of the castle are situated on high ground on the south side\nof the Ovoca River, and consist of a ruined and now ivy-clad round\ntower, which protected the northern angle. This building is broken on\nthe riverside to about 12 feet in height, but on the south side it\nmeasures some 46 feet.\n\nAbout 10 feet from the ground is a pointed doorway, which leads to a\nstone floor formed by the arch of the lower chamber. Thirty-four stone\nsteps in the thickness of the wall give access to the top of the tower\nfrom this platform.\n\nThis building is one of similar flanking towers which defended the\nwalls still running south and west, the remains of some of the other\nturrets having only disappeared during the last century.\n\nA barrack for two companies of soldiers was built near the former site\nof the castle, and the walls of the latter were incorporated with those\nenclosing the yard of the new building.\n\nA monastery was founded at Arklow by Theobald FitzWalter, hereditary\nLord Butler of Ireland, who also built the castle.\n\nLord Theobald Walter le Botiller died in the castle in 1285, and was\nburied in the convent of the Friars Preachers in Arklow, beneath a tomb\nornamented with his effigy.\n\nIn 1331 the castle was attacked by the O\u2019Tooles, but Lord de Bermingham\ncame to its relief with a small party, and drove the enemy off with\nconsiderable loss. The same year, however, the Irish got possession of\nit by treachery.\n\nThe Lord Chief Justice again re-captured it in 1332, with the help of\nDublin citizens and the English settlers in Wicklow, so that it was\nonce more in the King\u2019s hands, and at this time it was partly rebuilt.\n\nIn 1522-24 Sir Piers Butler was accused of being in league with the\nO\u2019Mores, and of using the castle of Arklow to rob both by land and sea.\n\nThe following year the Earl of Kildare made a series of charges against\nthe Earl of Ormond through Lord Leonard Grey, amongst which was that of\nkeeping a ward of evil persons in Arklow Castle to rob the surrounding\nneighbourhood.\n\nA few years later (1532) the Earl of Ossory and Ormond complained to\nThomas Cromwell that the Earl of Kildare was trying to get some of his\ncastles into his possession (amongst which he mentioned Arklow), under\nthe plea of holding them by lease from the Earl of Wiltshire. He states\nthese fortresses \u201cbee the veray keyes of the cuntrey,\u201d and that the\nKing ought to prevent Kildare becoming too powerful. Sir Thomas Bullen\nhad then been created Earl of Ormond and Wiltshire by Henry VIII.\n\nDuring the rebellion of \u201cthe Silken Thomas\u201d in 1536 the King had to\nsend \u201can army royal\u201d to get the castle of Arklow and others into his\npossession.\n\nThe following year the manor was re-granted to Peter Butler, Earl of\nOssory and Ormond.\n\nIn 1578, when forming the county of \u201cWicklo or Arcklo,\u201d the castle of\nthe latter is mentioned as the chief place, and belonging to the Earl\nof Ormond, who was also Lord of Arklow.\n\nThe Lord Deputy placed a garrison there in 1581.\n\nIn March, 1589, Feagh M\u2019Hugh O\u2019Byrne seized the wife of Hugh Duff\nO\u2019Donnell, uncle to Sir Hugh O\u2019Donnell, who was a tenant of the Earl of\nOrmond in Arklow Castle. In the autumn of the same year O\u2019Byrne tried\nto force an entrance into the castle \u201cto execute his malice\u201d upon Hugh\nO\u2019Donnell.\n\nThe land was laid waste round the fortress in 1600, but the castle was\nheld for the Queen by the Earl of Ormond at his own expense.\n\nIn the rebellion of 1641 the Irish surprised the fortress and killed\nthe garrison. It remained in their possession until 1649, when it was\ncaptured by Cromwell\u2019s forces, of which the following is the account:--\n\n\u201cThe army marched through almost a desolate country until it came to\na passage of the River Doro, about a mile above the Castle of Arklow,\nwhich was the first seat and honour of the Marquis of Ormond\u2019s family,\nwhich he had strongly fortified; but it was upon the approach of the\narmy quitted, wherein he (Cromwell) left another company of foot.\u201d\n\n\n AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.\n\n MS. Ordnance Survey.\n Brewer, \u201cBeauties of Ireland.\u201d\n Grose, \u201cAntiquities of Ireland.\u201d\n Bagwell, \u201cIreland Under the Tudors.\u201d\n Joyce, \u201cIrish Names of Places.\u201d\n Carew MSS.\n State Papers.\n Marquis of Kildare, \u201cEarls of Kildare.\u201d\n Griffiths, \u201cChronicles of County Wexford.\u201d\n Murphy, \u201cCromwell in Ireland.\u201d\n Parliamentary Gazetteer.\n\n\n\n\n_ARTANE CASTLE_\n\n\nThe name was originally Tartain, and is probably derived from Tortan,\nmeaning a diminutive _tor_, being a small knoll or high turf-bank. The\nsite of the former castle is situated on the southern border of the\nBarony of Coolock, in the County of Dublin, about three miles from the\ncity.\n\nThe Artane Industrial School now occupies the castle grounds, and the\nmanor house is used as the residence of the Christian Brothers. Lewis\nstates that this house was built of stones from the old castle, but, at\nany rate, the present dining-room is supported by beams taken from the\nfortress.\n\nA hen-run belonging to the school is now on the site of the former\nstronghold not far from the present house.\n\nThe manor of Artane was acquired by the family of Hollywood, or \u201cde\nSacro Bosco,\u201d in the fourteenth century, by Robert de Hollywood, one of\nthe Remembrancers, and afterwards Baron of the Exchequer.\n\nIn 1416 and 1420 the King committed the custody of the lands to\nPhilip Charles and Richard FitzEustace during the minority of Robert\nHollywood, the King\u2019s ward, son of the late Christopher Hollywood.\n\nOn the 27th of July, 1534, the rash Lord Offaly rose in rebellion,\nand threw the Sword of State on the Council table in Dublin, upon the\nrumour of his father, the Earl of Kildare, having been murdered in\nLondon. He left the presence of the assembly with armed men to muster\nfresh forces for the rising, and Dublin was at once seized with panic.\n\nJohn Allen, Archbishop of Dublin, was then in Dublin Castle, and having\nbeen as bitter and relentless a foe of the Geraldines as his patron\nWolsey, he decided to fly when news of the outbreak reached him. He had\nwith him a trusted servant named Bartholomew FitzGerald, who urged him\nto sail to England, and offered to pilot him across. The Archbishop\nseems to have had implicit faith in his follower, although a Geraldine,\nand it has never been actually proved that it was misplaced.\n\nThe Prelate and his attendants embarked in the evening at Dames Gate,\nbut owing, some say to adverse winds, and others to the design of the\npilot, the little vessel stranded at Clontarf.\n\nThe Archbishop at once made his way to the house of his late friend,\nThomas Hollywood, at Artane, whose hospitality he had commemorated in\nhis \u201cRepertorium Viride.\u201d\n\nAt this time the wardship of the heir, Nicholas Hollywood, was in the\nhands of Richard Delahide and Thomas Howth.\n\nIt seems hardly possible that the Lord Thomas FitzGerald could have\nheard of the mishap so quickly unless treachery had been employed. Be\nthat as it may, he and a band of armed followers arrived at Artane in\nthe early morning, being the 28th of July, and surrounded the castle\nwhile the Archbishop still slept.\n\nAmong the party were the young Vice-Deputy\u2019s uncles, Sir James and\nOliver FitzGerald, James Delahide, and about forty men.\n\nHe sent two Dublin yeomen, John Teeling and Nicholas Wafer, into the\nhouse to bring out the Archbishop. They dragged him out of bed, and\nbrought him before the Lord Thomas \u201cfeeble for age and sickness,\nkneeling in his shirt and mantle, bequeathing his soul to God, his\nbody to the traitor\u2019s mercy.\u201d He \u201cbesought him not to remember former\ninjuries, but to consider his present calamity, and whatever malice he\nmight bear to his person to respect his calling.\u201d\n\nIt seems that the \u201cSilken Thomas\u201d was touched by the appeal of his\nhelpless foe, and turning his head aside, he said, \u201c_Beir naim an\nbodach_,\u201d meaning, \u201cTake the churl away from me,\u201d and, no doubt, as he\nafterwards said, he only intended them to imprison him. His followers,\nhowever, put a different interpretation upon his order, and immediately\nmurdered the Archbishop, who was in the fifty-eighth year of his age.\n\nSome say he was dragged within the castle hall, and there put to death,\nwhile others say that the spot on which he was slain was hedged in and\nshunned as an unholy place for many years.\n\nLord Thomas could not have been ignorant of what had occurred, as he\nsent Robert Reilly the same day to Maynooth with a casket which had\nbelonged to the murdered prelate.\n\nLord Offaly was excommunicated for the crime in St. Patrick\u2019s Cathedral\nwith great solemnity.\n\nShortly after this Thomas Howth, _alias_ St. Laurence, one of young\nHollywood\u2019s guardians, went to live at Artane.\n\nThis Nicholas Hollywood also died while his son Christopher was a\nminor, and in 1570 the wardship and marriage of the boy was granted to\nJohn Bathe, of Drumcondra. In 1585 a Charles Hollywood is referred to\nas being of Tartaine.\n\nNicholas Hollywood possessed the manor and lands of Artane in 1587.\nThey contained one castle, six messuages, and one hundred and ninety\nacres of land held of the King, _in capite_ by knight\u2019s service. He\ndied in 1629.\n\nDuring the rebellion of 1641 Lord Netterville\u2019s son, Luke, possessed\nhimself of the castle, and established a body of Royalist troops in\nthe stronghold. He met with no opposition, as one of the Hollywood\nfamily named Christopher was a partisan, who afterwards sat in the\nCouncil of Confederate Catholics at Kilkenny.\n\nNicholas Hollywood forfeited the estate at this time, and John\nHollywood, one of the signers of the Roman Catholic Remonstrance, came\ninto possession.\n\nIn 1680 the King granted the estate for one thousand years to Sir\nArthur Forbes, one of the Commissioners of the Court of Claims.\n\nLewis says the old Castle was pulled down in 1825 by Mathew Boyle,\nEsq., who erected the present manor house with the material. He also\nsays it belonged to the Callaghan family in 1837, while D\u2019Alton states\nLord Maryborough owned it in 1838. The Butler family resided there at a\nlater date.\n\nA tomb of Elizabeth, daughter of John Talbot of Malahide, and wife of\nChristopher Hollywood, is in the old churchyard adjacent. She died in\n1711, and her husband in 1718.\n\n\n AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.\n\n Marquis of Kildare, \u201cThe Earls of Kildare.\u201d\n J. D\u2019Alton, \u201cHistory of County Dublin.\u201d\n J. D\u2019Alton, \u201cMemoirs of the Archbishops of Dublin.\u201d\n S. Lewis, \u201cTopographical Dictionary of Ireland.\u201d\n Parliamentary Gazetteer.\n Fiants of Elizabeth.\n\n\n\n\n_ATHLONE CASTLE_\n\n\nThe castle of Athlone is situated on the Connaught side of the river\nShannon in the Barony of Athlone, County Roscommon, sixty miles\nwest-by-north of Dublin.\n\nThe name is derived from _ath_, \u201ca ford,\u201d and _luain_, \u201cthe moon,\u201d and\nsignifies \u201cthe ford of the moon,\u201d to which it is supposed to have been\ndedicated in pagan times. Some gold lunettes and crescents found in a\nneighbouring bog seem to bear out the statement.\n\nThe castle commands the bridge, and is built upon a spur of the hill\nupon which the town on the Connaught side is built. It is overlooked by\nthe houses of the town, while on the river side it is supported by a\ngreat buttress of masonry.\n\nThe entrance is on the road which leads from the bridge up to the town,\nand is by a modern drawbridge.\n\nThe fortress consists of a strong curtain wall having circular towers\nmounted with cannon at irregular intervals. Most of them have been\nrestored with fresh blue limestone.\n\nThe Connaught tower, which stands isolated in the courtyard, is\nconsidered the oldest part of the fortress, and usually supposed to\nhave formed the keep of the first Norman castle built in King John\u2019s\nreign. It is decagonal in form, but owing to having been pebble-dashed\nand whitened of late years, it does not retain an appearance of\nantiquity.\n\nThe English stronghold was erected on the site of an old Celtic\nfortress of the O\u2019Connors. It is recorded that the castle and bridge of\nAthlone were built in 1129 by Turloch O\u2019Connor, \u201cin the summer of the\ndrought.\u201d\n\nThe following year they were demolished by Murogh O\u2019Mleghlin and\nFeirnan O\u2019Rorke, and in 1153 the castle was burned.\n\nBetween 1210 and 1213 the Norman fortress was erected by John de Grey,\nBishop of Norwich, in his capacity of Lord Justiciary of Ireland.\nDuring its building a tower fell and killed Lord Richard Tuit, who\nfounded the Cistercian Abbey of Granard, County Longford.\n\nAthlone Castle was built on abbey land, and in 1214 King John commanded\nHenry, Archbishop of Dublin, to give the monks a tenth of the expenses\nof the castle in lieu of the land used, in accordance with the\nconditions agreed to by the Bishop of Norwich when he was fortifying\nit. After this there are several references in the State Documents to\nthe tithes and other compensation due to the monks.\n\nIn 1221 the King instituted a fair to be held at the castle.\n\nThe fortress being situated on the border of Irish territory, its early\nhistory has an exceedingly stormy record. In 1226 Geoffrey de Marisco,\nwho was then Justiciary of Ireland, complained that as the King of\nConnaught refused to come to Dublin, he had appointed to meet him at\nAthlone, although the castle was fortified against the Crown.\n\nIn 1232 an order was issued to Hubert de Burgh to deliver the castle to\nPeter de Rivall, and the next year one to Richard de Burgh, who was to\nsurrender it to Maurice FitzGerald, Justiciary of Ireland.\n\nWalter de Lacy received twenty marks for the custody of the fortress in\n1240, and eleven years later a tax was levied for its repair.\n\nIt was granted to Prince Edward, the King\u2019s son, in 1254; and during\nthe years 1276-77 it was repaired.\n\nRichard de Verdon was besieged in the castle in 1288 by Richard de\nBurgo, and the same year John, Archbishop of Dublin, took up residence\nthere to oversee its better fortification, and to try and make terms\nwith the Irish.\n\nIn 1305 Richard de Burgh, Earl of Ulster, was constable.\n\nThe castle was \u201cobtained\u201d for the King in 1537, having been in the\nhands of the Irish for many years. It contained only one piece of\nbroken ordnance, and there is a request that another piece should be\nsent.\n\nDuring Queen Elizabeth\u2019s reign it was the residence of the President\nof Connaught, and also the Chief Justice and Attorney-General for\nConnaught.\n\nTradition states that the Earl of Essex frequently stayed in the\ncastle, and some of his letters to the Queen are dated from Athlone.\n\nThe O\u2019Conor Don was imprisoned in the fortress in 1570 while Sir E.\nFitton was constable, as a hostage for the good behaviour of his sept.\nSome of his followers, however, brought a \u201ccot\u201d under the castle walls,\ninto which the captive stepped, and so escaped.\n\nIn 1585-86 it is described as being a fitter residence for the Chief\nCommissioner of Connaught than the Lord Deputy in the following\nwords:--\u201cThat the castle is conveniently furnished with buildings and\nother necessaries fit for the said Commissioner, but far too mean for\nthe Lord Deputy and the train that must follow the state.\u201d\n\nIt was ordered to be garrisoned in 1599, and the following year it\nwas to be entrusted to none but a \u201csound Englishman.\u201d In 1606 it was\nrepaired and added to.\n\nTwo years later it was seized by the Earls Tyrone and Tyrconnell. It\npassed again to the Crown, and the Earl of Clanricard was constable in\n1610.\n\nThirteen years later it was repaired, and a curious tax is mentioned\nwith regard to the operations, which is, that the sept of Kellyes was\nbound to supply three hundred labourers yearly for work in the fortress.\n\nThe Court of Claims sat in the castle during the Commonwealth.\n\nIn 1682 Sir H. Piers writes of it:--\u201cIn the centre of the castle is\na high raised tower which overlooketh the walls and country round\nabout. On the side that faceth the river are rooms and apartments which\nserved always for the habitation of the Lord President of Connaught\nand Governor of the castle, the middle castle being the storehouse for\nammunition and warlike provisions of all sorts.\u201d\n\nAfter the battle of the Boyne in 1690, Lieut.-General Douglas, with\nten regiments of infantry, three of horse, two of dragoons, twelve\nfield-pieces, and two small mortars, endeavoured to take possession of\nAthlone. The bridge across the Shannon was broken, and he erected his\nbatteries on the Leinster side of the river.\n\nHe continued the cannonading for eight days, but his powder running\nshort he was obliged to retire. In his despatch he stated he had done\nhis best, and that it was his opinion Athlone Castle was \u201cof the\ngreatest importance of any in Ireland.\u201d\n\nColonel Richard Grace held the fortress for King James.\n\nThe following year the main division of William\u2019s army, under de\nGenckell, laid siege to the town. At once seizing that portion of it\nthat is in Leinster, he began to play his batteries on the north-east\nside of the castle on June 22nd. By seven in the evening he had made a\nlarge breach in the walls.\n\nFiring continued all night, and by five in the morning the side of the\ncastle next the river was completely broken down, and the garrison was\nobliged to go in and out by a hole made in the wall on the western side.\n\nThe following evening the castle garrison raised two batteries above\nthe castle, and some others, but the firing had little effect. The\nbridge was slowly and surely gained by the besieging troops, and their\nguns played constantly on the fortress, wrecking the Connaught tower\nand walls.\n\nTwo officers deserting from the town informed William\u2019s troops that\nthe best regiments had been withdrawn by St. Ruth, and thereupon a\nconcerted and sudden attack was made on the 30th of June, which carried\nthe bridge, castle, and town by storm.\n\nRepairs were at once begun by the victors on July 3rd, and in 1697 the\ncastle was the chief dep\u00f4t of military stores in the west.\n\nIt is now used as a barrack, and officers\u2019 quarters and other buildings\nhave been erected inside the walls.\n\n\n AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.\n\n Weld, \u201cStatistical Survey of Co. Roscommon.\u201d\n Joly, \u201cOld Bridge of Athlone.\u201d\n Parliamentary Gazetteer.\n State Documents.\n State Papers.\n Carew MSS.\n O\u2019Donovan, \u201cAnnals of the Four Masters.\u201d\n D\u2019Alton, \u201cHistory of Drogheda.\u201d\n Proceedings of Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland.\n In Journal of same, Langrishe,\n \u201cWalls of Athlone,\u201d and \u201cSieges of Athlone.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n_BALLYMOTE CASTLE_\n\n\nThis fine old ruin is situated in the Barony of Corran, County Sligo,\nabout twelve miles north-west of Boyle.\n\nThe name signifies the \u201ctown of the moat,\u201d and was not used before the\nbuilding of the Norman fortress. Some think \u201cmote\u201d is derived from\n\u201cmound,\u201d but it is more likely to refer to the ditch which surrounded\nthe castle until the close of the seventeenth century. The place was\nformerly called Athcliath-in-Chorainn, or \u201cthe hurdleford of Corran.\u201d\n\nThe castle fell to ruin after the rebellion of 1688. The curtain walls,\nwhich are 9 feet thick, were flanked by six round towers, one of them\nstill being about 60 feet in height. The courtyard which was thus\nenclosed contained 150 square feet.\n\nA passage about 3 feet wide ran round in the thickness of the walls,\nand communicated with the towers and defences. The state-rooms were on\nthe north side of the courtyard, and some of them were fine apartments.\nThe Survey of 1633 calls this part \u201cthe Court.\u201d A few traces of\noutworks remain.\n\nAbout twenty years ago the present Rector of Ballymote was told by an\nold man that an underground passage was locally supposed to lead from\nthe castle to the abbey, a distance of about 200 yards. Upon further\ninvestigation Canon Walker discovered two arches, one in the vestry of\nthe abbey and the other within the castle, apparently leading in the\nsame direction. Both are now choked with rubbish. The entrance in the\ncastle is exceedingly narrow, and was reached from the castle yard by\ndescending steps.\n\nBallymote was erected by Richard de Burgo, \u201cthe Red Earl,\u201d in 1300.\nIt was dismantled in 1318, and twenty-two years later it was in the\npossession of Turlough O\u2019Conor, King of Connaught, who was besieged in\nit by MacDermot. Peace was afterwards concluded.\n\nIn 1346 it was restored and garrisoned by John de Kerrew.\n\nTwo years later it is referred to as belonging to Rory O\u2019Conor, and it\nwas by that family entrusted to the MacDonoughs to hold against the\nBurkes. These MacDonoughs seized the castle of Ballylahan in 1381, and\ntaking its gate to Ballymote, there erected it.\n\nIn 1470 Brian MacDonough, who was lord of Ballymote, was slain by\nTeige MacDonough, who took possession of the castle. It was still in\nthis family\u2019s possession in 1522 when the famous parchment \u201cBook of\nBallimote\u201d was sold by the MacDonough of the time to Hugh Oge O\u2019Donnell\nfor the large price of 140 milch cows, he having first obtained the\nconsent of his family to the transaction.\n\nThe MacDermots laid siege to the castle in 1561, and Cathal and Owen\nMacDermot were both slain before the walls. Five years later the castle\nwas taken by the English and Hugh and Comac MacDonough imprisoned.\nAlmost immediately, however, the fortress was surprised by Tomaltach\nand Duagal MacDonough.\n\nSir Richard Bingham recovered Ballymote in 1584 and placed his brother\nGeorge in charge with seven warders, while he also carried off\nMacDonough as hostage. At this time sixteen quarters of the best land\nwere set aside for the castle\u2019s maintenance, which seems to have given\nrise to a great deal of jealousy regarding its custody. The year after\nits capture Sir Richard applied to be made constable, with a lease of\nthe fortress for sixty years.\n\nIn 1587, writing to Mr. Treasurer Wallop, he states he is willing to\ngive up Ballymote if he is refunded the money he has laid out upon it.\nThe following year George Goodman and Thomas Wood seem to have been\nconstables.\n\nThe Irish burnt the town and drove the garrison back to the castle\nin 1593, and two years later O\u2019Conor Sligo petitioned the Government\nfor the fortress. The next year there was an unsuccessful attempt to\nsurprise it, and this year O\u2019Conor Sligo occupied it upon his return\nfrom England.\n\nBingham managed to victual the castle across the Curlew mountains in\n1595, but with the loss of many of his best soldiers, and in 1598 it\nwas betrayed to the MacDonoughs by two men the constable trusted. The\ncaptors immediately put the fortress up to auction. There seems to have\nbeen sharp bidding between Sir Conyers Clifford and Red Hugh O\u2019Donnell,\nbut it was finally purchased by the latter for \u00a3400 and 300 cows.\n\nO\u2019Donnell remained in it until Christmas, and he continued to occupy\nit at different times until 1601, being six months in residence after\nhis victory of the Yellow Ford. It was from here he set out for his\ndisastrous march to Kinsale.\n\nHe left Owen O\u2019Gallagher as Governor, who handed the keys to Roderick\nO\u2019Donnell in 1602.\n\nTwo years after it was granted to Sir James Fullerton by James I., and\nwhen he left Ireland to be tutor to Duke Charles (afterwards Charles\nI.), the castle passed to Sir William Taaffe.\n\nIt was surrendered to Sir Charles Coote upon articles in 1652, which\nare still preserved.\n\nThe chief conditions were that the garrison was to march away with\nbag and baggage, and twenty days were to be allowed for the removal\nof goods, during which time Major-General Taaffe and his family might\nremain at the castle. After this he was to have a free pass to the\nContinent, and Lady Taaffe was to be allowed to live at Ballymote,\non condition she did not use it against the State, and that the\nParliamentary forces might garrison it at any time.\n\nIn 1689 the castle was held for King James by Captain M\u2019Donough. A\nparty under Captain Cooper was sent to reconnoitre the district, and\npursued M\u2019Donough\u2019s men to the drawbridge of the fortress.\n\nTwo years later Lord Granard summoned the castle, but the governor,\nnamed O\u2019Conor, refused to surrender. Thereupon he despatched Baldearg\nO\u2019Donnell and a thousand men to lay siege to the place. They brought\nwith them one 12-pounder and two small field-pieces, and as soon as\nO\u2019Conor saw the guns he surrendered, upon condition the garrison might\nmarch out with their belongings and proceed to Sligo.\n\nAfter this period the castle was dismantled, and the land subsequently\npassed to the Gore Booths. Of late there has been some talk of erecting\na modern institution within the old walls.\n\n\n AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.\n\n Wood-Martin, \u201cHistory of Sligo.\u201d\n O\u2019Rorke, \u201cHistory of Sligo.\u201d\n State Papers.\n Atkinson, \u201cBook of Ballimote.\u201d\n Parliamentary Gazetteer.\n Bagwell, \u201cIreland under the Tudors.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n_BALLYSHANNON CASTLE_\n\n\nThe name used by the early annalists to denote Ballyshannon, was\nAthseanaigh, which signified the \u201cFord of Seanach,\u201d who was ancestor\nof the Princes of Tirconnell. \u201cBel\u201d stands for mouth, and the modern\ndesignation is a corruption of the Celtic name meaning \u201cthe entrance to\nSeanach\u2019s ford.\u201d\n\nThe town is situated on both sides of the river Erne, about eleven\nmiles south-south-west of the town of Donegal, to the extreme south of\nthe county.\n\nThe castle was on the north bank of the river, and commanded the\nprincipal ford. For this reason its possession was of immense\nstrategical importance, it being the key to the province of Tirconnell.\nOf the great fortress of the O\u2019Donnells only a small portion of one of\nthe walls remains. This is on the north side of the market yard, part\nof it being incorporated with a grain store and part with a butter\nshed. It is 10 feet high and 5 feet thick.\n\nThe fortress originally occupied the whole of the market square, and it\nis most likely that its stones were used in the erection of a cavalry\nbarracks, which subsequently occupied the present market enclosure, but\nwhich has now been removed.\n\nRound the castle stretched a beautiful park, the name being still\npreserved in some old leases. This extended almost to the summit of the\nhill on the north. Quantities of human bones have been found in the\nneighbourhood.\n\nThe castle was erected in 1423 by Niall, son of Turlough O\u2019Donnell. In\n1435 Naghtan O\u2019Donnell gave it to Brian Oge O\u2019Neill for promising him\nassistance against the O\u2019Neill. Brian, however, went treacherously to\nhis chief without O\u2019Donnell\u2019s knowledge, leaving his warders in the\ncastle. O\u2019Neill, not approving of such double dealing, took him and\nhis two sons prisoners, cutting off a hand and a foot from each, under\nwhich treatment one of the sons died.\n\nThe fortress was taken from O\u2019Donnell\u2019s warders in 1496 by his son\nHugh. His brother Con, with the assistance of Maguire, laid siege\nto the castle and dislodged him. O\u2019Neill possessed himself of the\nstronghold in 1522, and slew the warders. It seems to have remained in\nhis possession until Sir Henry Sidney came north in 1566 and had it\ndelivered to him, as well as the castles of Donegal, Beleek, Bundrowes,\nand Castle Sligo. All these fortresses he placed in the hands of\nO\u2019Donnell and his allies, who were at this time in high favour with\nEngland.\n\nThe next year Shane O\u2019Neill liberated Con O\u2019Donnell and his brother,\nwho were at the time his prisoners, and the castles of Ballyshannon and\nBeleek were delivered to Con.\n\nAbout this time the Government began to look with alarm on the growing\npower and popularity of the O\u2019Donnells, and the State Papers of\nthe period contain notes regarding the advisability of garrisoning\nBallyshannon and the other fortresses of Tirconnell.\n\nThe regular military force under O\u2019Donnell consisted of 1,500 foot and\n300 horse, out of which the garrison of Ballyshannon numbered 200 foot\nsoldiers and 40 mounted men.\n\nIn 1584, Lord Deputy Perrot recommended the erection of a castle\nand bridge at Ballyshannon, no doubt to counteract the power of\nthe O\u2019Donnells\u2019 fortress, which could hold the main ford against\nall comers. Four years later the Lord Deputy dates a letter from\nBallyshannon, and about this time young Hugh O\u2019Donnell was kidnapped\nand imprisoned in Dublin Castle.\n\nIn 1592, Mr. Ralph Lane applied to Burghley, asking for the\ncustodianship and fee-farm of the castle and lands of Ballyshannon,\n&c. The successful escape of Red Hugh, however, from Dublin Castle\nseems to have placed the possibility of the Government\u2019s disposing of\nhis ancestral home quite out of the question, and in 1592 the greatest\nof the O\u2019Donnells received a most royal welcome from his father\u2019s\ndependents in the north.\n\nArriving at Ballyshannon, where the O\u2019Donnell warders still guarded\nthe fortress, the whole country flocked to meet him and offer their\ncongratulations on his escape.\n\nThe neighbourhood was in the most fearful state, being entirely overrun\nby freebooters, against whom even the English were powerless--the\ncastles of Ballyshannon and Donegal alone remaining in the hands of the\nO\u2019Donnells.\n\nAfter a most successful campaign against the marauders, Hugh O\u2019Donnell\nreturned to Ballyshannon to undergo medical treatment for his feet,\nwhich had been fearfully injured by travelling from Dublin to\nGlenmalure in his house-shoes over the mountains and in bitter cold. He\ndid not recover entirely until the end of the year, as both his great\ntoes had to be amputated.\n\nIn 1594 Sir Ralph Lane, writing to Burghley, mentions that Hugh Roe\nO\u2019Donnell would have broken down Ballyshannon but that his mother\ndissuaded him from it, assuring him that it might be defended with his\nown forces. Yet this very year it was evidently in the hands of the\nO\u2019Donnells, and remained so until its capture in 1602.\n\nThe State Papers of this period are full of letters requesting money\nand forces sufficient to take it, alleging that the fortress was the\n\u201ckey of the province,\u201d and no peace could be hoped for in the north\nuntil it was garrisoned by English.\n\nIn the meantime the O\u2019Donnells lived in royal state, and with lavish\nhospitality entertained the surrounding chiefs, while their flag\nfloated from the battlements.\n\nSir George Carew observes of the Prince of Tirconnell: \u201cO\u2019Donnell is\nthe best lorde of fishe in Ireland, and exchangeth fishe allwayes with\nforeign merchants for wyne, by which his call in other countryes is the\nkinge of fishe.\u201d\n\nIt was during a great assemblage of chiefs at Ballyshannon to organise\na raid on the English border, that the great Shane O\u2019Neill became madly\nenamoured of O\u2019Donnell\u2019s lovely daughter, Helen. He went to her father\nand demanded her hand, but was informed that the lady was already\nbetrothed to Maguire, the young chieftain of Fermanagh, who held his\nlands under suzerainty of O\u2019Donnell. This young man had been educated\nat the Spanish court, and was all that a maiden could wish in a suitor.\n\nOne evening the lovers left the castle together, for a stroll by the\nriver side, towards Belleek. Here, while Helen was singing to her harp,\nO\u2019Neill, who had followed them, broke in upon their happiness. Maguire\ndrew his sword to defend the lady, but he was no match for the great\nchief from whom he quickly received his death wound. O\u2019Neill placed the\nfainting form of the fair Helen before him on his horse, and, with a\nfew followers, rode to Dungannon Castle. Her father at once called his\nforces together, and followed to revenge the injury. The end of the\nstory has several variations, but the most probable seems to be that\nO\u2019Neill, finding the beautiful girl irreconcilable to the loss of her\nhandsome lover, returned her to her father. The world had, however,\nlost its charm for her, and the rest of her short life was spent in\nseclusion.\n\nIn 1597 the first determined attack was made on Ballyshannon. Sir\nConyers Clifford, Governor of Connaught, with four thousand men, foot\nand horse, marched on the stronghold, accompanied by Donough, the\nson of Connor, Murragh, Baron of Inchiquin, and other Irish nobles.\nO\u2019Donnell having all the fords guarded, they were obliged to cross the\nriver about half a mile west of Belleek. Here the Baron of Inchiquin\nwas shot through his armour, while his horse was standing in the deep\nwater below the ford, where he was encouraging the soldiers and saving\nthem from drowning.\n\nThe ordnance was landed by water and planted against the castle. The\nsiege lasted three days, but when the little garrison were thinking of\nsurrendering, help arrived from Tyrone, and the English were driven off\nwith great loss. The defenders of the castle numbered only eighty men,\nand were commanded by a Scotchman named Owen Crawford.\n\nDuring Red Hugh\u2019s absence in Spain in 1602 the English took the\nopportunity to again attack the fortress. The warders, seeing no hope\nof relief, fled, after the walls had been battered by a big gun, and\nCaptain Digges took \u201cthat long desired place.\u201d\n\nBallyshannon, with 1,000 acres, was reserved to the King in 1603, and\nfive years later Sir Henry Folliot was appointed Governor. In this year\nthe plot to seize the King\u2019s castle of Ballyshannon was one of the\ncharges in the indictment against the Earls of Tyrone and Tirconnell.\nIn 1610 the castle, lands, and fishings were granted to Sir H. Folliot\nfor twenty-one years. He was raised to the peerage under the title of\nBaron Folliot of Ballyshannon, 1619.\n\nDuring the Jacobite troubles the castle was still used as a military\nheadquarters, and the town was for a time in the hands of the Royalists.\n\nThe land on which the ancient fortress stood is now part of the\nConnolly estate, and was acquired by purchase from the Folliots.\n\n\n AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.\n\n Allingham, \u201cBallyshannon, its History and Antiquities.\u201d\n Donovan, \u201cAnnals of the Four Masters.\u201d\n Calendar of State Papers.\n \u201cThe Donegal Highlands.\u201d\n Parliamentary Gazetteer.\n\n\n\n\n_BALLYTEIGUE CASTLE_\n\n\nThis castle is situated in the townland of the same name upon the\nshore of Ballyteigue Lough, in the County Wexford. The name signifies\n\u201cO\u2019Teige\u2019s town.\u201d\n\nThe old fortress forms part of a modern dwelling-house, and the keep\nhas always been kept roofed and in good repair.\n\nIt was erected by Sir Walter de Whitty, one of the Norman settlers, the\nname being spelt variously--Whythay, Whythey, Wytteye, Whittey, Wythay,\nin old documents.\n\nSir Richard Whitty was summoned to Parliament as a baron by Edward\nIII., and his son Richard held three carucates of land in Ballyteigue\nin 1335.\n\nIn 1408, as we learn from a MS. in the British Museum, the Castle\nof Ballyteigue was burnt by Art M\u2019Murrough Kavanagh on Tuesday, the\nmorning after the Feast of St. Barnabas.\n\nRichard Whitty, of Ballyteigue, died in 1539, and his son Robert being\nonly fourteen at his father\u2019s death, the custody of Ballyteigue was\ngranted to John Devereux during his minority. The estate contained 3\nmanors, 3 carucates, and 523 acres.\n\nThe manor and castle of Ballyteigue were in the possession of Richard\nWhittie in 1624 and 1634.\n\nThe estate was forfeited in the time of the Commonwealth, and was\ngranted to Colonel Brett. It afterwards passed into the hands of the\nSweenys, and subsequently to the Colcloughs, a branch of the family of\nTintern Abbey.\n\nIn 1798 the castle was the residence of John Colclough, one of the\nleaders of the Wexford insurgents. He was only twenty-nine when the\nrebellion broke out.\n\nAs soon as Bagnal Harvey heard that Lord Kingsborough\u2019s terms for the\nsurrender of Wexford would not be ratified, he hastened to Ballyteigue,\nbut Colclough and his wife and child had already fled to one of the\nSaltee Islands, about ten leagues from Wexford. He followed them, but\nthe island was searched, and the fugitives taken in a cave. They were\nconveyed to Wexford, and Harvey and Colclough were immediately tried\nand hanged. Colclough\u2019s head is buried in St. Patrick\u2019s Cemetery,\nWexford.\n\nHis little daughter and only child inherited Ballyteigue. She\nafterwards married Captain Young, and both lived in the castle until\ntheir death. Their only daughter sold the house to Mr. Edward Meadows,\nfrom whom it passed to Mr. Thomas Grant.\n\nA legendary tale of \u201cSir Walter Whitty and his cat,\u201d published some\nyears ago by the late M. J. Whitty, editor of the _Liverpool Post_, may\nhave originated from the lion which is represented in the Whitty arms.\n\n\n AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.\n\n MS. Ordnance Survey.\n Parliamentary Gazetteer.\n Book of Inquisitions of Leinster.\n R. Madden, \u201cUnited Irishmen.\u201d\n \u201cBalliteigue Castle,\u201d in _The People_.\n Joyce, \u201cIrish Place Names.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n_BARBERSTOWN CASTLE_\n\n\nThis castle is situated in the parish of Straffan, County Kildare, in\nthe barony of North Salt, about a mile north of the village of Straffan.\n\nThe name is spelt variously Barberstowne, Barbeston, Barbieston,\nBarbiestowne, Barbiston, Barbitstowne, Barbyeston.\n\nThe present building consists of a battlemented rectangular keep\nconsidered by experts to be of thirteenth-century construction, and\nmeasuring at its greatest height 52 feet. It is divided into three\nfloors. The lower room, which is vaulted to the height of 17 feet, is\n18 feet long by 15\u00bd feet wide, and the walls are 4\u00bd feet in thickness.\n\nThe entrance is situated at the north-west angle, above which are two\ngrooves of sufficient width to stand in, and evidently intended for the\nprotection of the doorway.\n\nThe room above the vault is of slightly greater proportions than that\nbelow, owing to the walls being of less thickness.\n\nTwo small rectangular towers are joined to the main building on\nthe south side\u2019s western angle, and west side\u2019s northern angle\nrespectively. The latter contains a winding stone stair of fifty-three\nsteps leading to the now slated roof. The original crenelated loops for\nmusketry have here and there been enlarged to admit more light. The\nsummit of the watch tower is reached from the roof by a short flight of\nnine steps.\n\nA man is said to be interred between the top of the main stair and the\nroof of the tower. His family having held the castle by a lease which\nexpired when he was put underground, determined to evade relinquishing\ntheir hold on the property by keeping him always above the earth.\n\nThe southern tower consists of three storeys corresponding with those\nin the keep, and had formerly doors opening from the main rooms. Next\nthe southern wall is a curious slit in each floor just wide enough to\npermit of a ladder giving access to the apartment above or below. The\nground floor in this tower is of very small dimensions, being about 3\nfeet square.\n\nThe walls of the keep slope considerably at the outside base so as\nto prevent an enemy getting out of gun shot by closing up to the\nbuilding. Large modern windows now light each floor, and the whole is\nin excellent preservation.\n\nA flue runs in the thickness of the wall on the north side, which\nis crowned by a handsome brick chimney, evidently added when the\nElizabethan dwelling-house which adjoins the castle was erected. A\nstill more modern house has been added to the north of this building,\nso that at present three distinct periods are represented by the castle\nand houses, which are all joined together.\n\nThe remains of an old wall near the fortress points to its having once\nbeen of larger dimensions. Tradition states that an underground passage\nleads from the castle to a lodge near the roadway. Some fine old yews\nof great age adorn the lawn, similar to those which are to be seen near\nMaynooth Castle.\n\nLocally it is believed that Barberstown was once the residence of the\nKing of Leinster, but its architecture does not bear out the tradition.\n\nIn 1622 William Sutton, of Barberstown, is mentioned in an inquisition,\nand in 1630 it is stated that he held it as tenant of the Earl of\nKildare.\n\nNicholas Sutton was in possession of the castle in 1641, and at a\nsubsequent date it must have passed to the Crown, who granted it in\n1666 to John King, first Lord Kingston.\n\nHis son Robert, the second Baron, was exempted from mercy by\nTyrconnell\u2019s proclamation, and his estate sequestered in 1689.\n\nRichard, Earl of Tyrconnell, then became possessed of the fortress,\nand, strange to say, that although he could only have retained it until\nhe was attainted in 1692, yet it was known for many years as Tyrconnell\nCastle. Lady Tyrconnell retained some of her husband\u2019s lands in the\nneighbourhood to a much later date.\n\nBartholomew Vanhomrigh, Esq., of Dublin, father of the famous Vanessa,\nbought Barberstown from the Crown in 1703 for \u00a31,300. James Young was\nthe tenant at the time, and the property is thus described: \u201cIn the\nparish of Straffan, distant from Dublin ten miles, Naas 5, and Manooth\n3; is Arable Medow and Pasture, on it 1 Castle in repair, with a large\nstone House adjoyning, and Orchard, also 8 Cabbins, with Gardens.\u201d\n\nAt the beginning of the next century it was occupied by a family named\nDouglas, and it was purchased by the Bartons, of Straffan, in 1826.\nThey restored and re-castellated it, and it still remains in their\npossession.\n\nSubsequently it was occupied by Admiral Robinson, and the present\ntenant is S. F. Symes, Esq.\n\nA most extensive view is obtained from the summit.\n\n\n AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.\n\n A Book of Postings and Sale of the Forfeited and other Estates, &c.\n Book of Survey and Distributions.\n Book of Inquisitions, Province of Leinster.\n S. Lee, \u201cDictionary of National Biography.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n_BARGY CASTLE_\n\n\nThis castle takes its name from the Barony of Bargy, County Wexford, on\nthe borders of which it is situated, about eight miles south-west of\nthe town of Wexford, on the margin of Lake Tucumshane.\n\nThe fortress is in excellent preservation, having been several times\nrestored. It consists of a square keep, to which two wings have been\nadded at more recent dates, probably in the fifteenth and seventeenth\ncenturies.\n\nThe chief entrance to the Castle was formerly by the central tower,\nwhere a stained-glass window bearing the Harvey Arms is now to be seen.\nOn the outside of the embrasure is a stone carved with figures supposed\nto represent Queen Elizabeth and her court, and far above this slab may\nbe seen a large machicolation, once used for hurling missiles for the\ndefence of the door. The tower is ascended by a winding stone stair,\noff which are openings commonly known as \u201cmurdering holes.\u201d The keep,\nin which are several rooms, is separated from the rest of the mansion\nby a large door at the foot of the stairway. A beautiful view can be\nhad from the battlements.\n\nIn the north wing of the castle is a small panelled room, and not far\nfrom it a carved oak partition bears with a cross and shamrock the\nfollowing on the reverse side: \u201cI.H.S. 1591. R.R. M.S.\u201d\n\nA beautiful oak staircase leads from the chief apartments.\n\nThe castle grounds were formerly entered from the south, where the old\npiers and gateway still remain. At the back of the castle is part of\nthe old moat or fosse, which now contains large cellars.\n\nThe fortress is usually supposed to have been erected by the Rossiter\nfamily at the beginning of the fifteenth century, though some\nauthorities state it owes its origin to Hervey de Montmorency, one of\nthe first Norman invaders.\n\nWilliam Rowcester, of Bridge of Bargie (Bargie Castle), was pardoned\nfor felony in 1540. He is described as a \u201chorseman,\u201d which, according\nto Hollinshead was a position next to that of captain or lord. About\n1553 Nicholas Roche was granted the wardship and marriage of his son\nRichard.\n\nThe Most Rev. Michael Rossiter, Bishop of Ferns, is supposed by some to\nhave been born in Bargy Castle, in 1648, but the Down Survey maps of\n1657 describe the castle as being in ruins.\n\nThe last Rossiter to own Bargy was William Rossiter, who took part in\nthe defence of Wexford against Cromwell. His lands were confiscated in\n1667, and Bargy Castle was granted to William Ivory, Esq.\n\nAfter this it passed to the Harvey family, and here Beauchamp Bagnal\nHarvey was born, who commanded the Wexford insurgents in 1798.\n\nBargy was confiscated to the Crown, after the suppression of the\nrebellion; and Bagnal Harvey, who owned the castle, and Colclough were\ncaptured on the Saltee Islands and executed at Wexford.\n\nTroops were quartered at Bargy from 1798 to 1808, when the property was\nrestored to James Harvey, brother of the late owner.\n\nIt is said that when a detachment of soldiers was sent to take\npossession of the fortress in 1798 they indulged so freely in the\ncontents of the great wine cellars, that some of them injudiciously\ndisturbed the hives in the garden, whereupon the bees attacked their\ntormentors with such force that some of the soldiers died from the\neffects, and others were pursued by the irate insects to the very town\nof Wexford.\n\nMr. Harvey lived in London, and the castle gradually fell into\ndilapidation until his death, when it passed to Councillor John Harvey,\nwho restored it. Major Harvey, who died in 1880, is entombed in a\nmausoleum before the hall door. The castle was afterwards let to Mr.\nLeared, who re-roofed and improved it.\n\nGhostly tappings are reported to be heard on the castle windows between\n10 and 11 p.m., while a phantom carriage is said to be sometimes\naudible driving up the disused avenue, when the horses\u2019 hoofs cease\nbefore the old entrance in the keep, and a minute or two later the\ncoach is again heard returning by the old drive.\n\n\n AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.\n\n Act of Settlement.\n Down Survey Maps.\n Fiants of Edward VI.\n Doyle, \u201cNotes and Gleanings of Co. Wexford.\u201d\n Madden, \u201cThe United Irishmen.\u201d\n Article and letter in _The People_.\n\n\n\n\n_BARRYSCOURT CASTLE_\n\n\nThe fine ruins of this fortress are situated about half a mile south of\nCarrigtohill, in the County Cork.\n\nIt consists of a rectangular structure about 70 feet in height, flanked\nby three towers, which open into the main building at each storey.\n\nA small oblong shaft in the south-east angle of the keep runs from\nthe upper to the lower rooms. A passage in the main north wall is now\nfilled up.\n\nThe arches are of good workmanship and well preserved. In some of the\nsmaller apartments the marks of the wattle frames used in the building\nare still easily traced on the ceilings, which show an early date of\nconstruction.\n\nIn the chamber above the chapel appears the date 1588, as well as an\ninscription stating the castle was erected by \u201cD.B.\u201d and \u201cE.R.,\u201d which\ninitials stand for David Barry and his wife, Eliza Roche. In another\nroom the date 1596 is inscribed.\n\nThe lands of the Barrys in Cork were confirmed to Philip Barry by King\nJohn in 1206, and he later became possessed of Barry\u2019s Court. The\npresent castle is, however, supposed to have been built during the\nfourteenth century.\n\nTradition states it was erected upon the site of an older fortress\nbelonging to the Lyons or Lehanes of Castle Lyons, and that during the\nexcavations for the present foundations an inscribed stone was found\nstating that \u201cO\u2019Lehan hoc fecit MCIII.,\u201d but O\u2019Donovan does not think\nthe story probable.\n\nGeraldus Cambrensis is credited with having written part of his history\nof the conquest in the earlier castle.\n\nIn 1490 the head of the Barry family was summoned to Parliament as Lord\nBarry of Barry\u2019s Court, and 1588 \u201cJames Barry of Barrescourt, Viscount\nBarrymore, otherwise James, called Barrymore and Barryroo,\u201d was in\npossession.\n\nThe Commissioners who were appointed to govern Munster while the Earl\nof Desmond was in prison, wrote, after arriving in Cork, in 1568: \u201cWood\nKerne, under Gerot Bracke, one of the Earl of Desmond\u2019s near kinsmen,\nintercepted our letters, certain Kerne lay in ambush for us, but Lord\nBarrymore and John FitzEdmund, Dean of Cloyne, met us, and led us to\nBarry\u2019s Court.\u201d\n\nIn 1580 Sir Walter Raleigh started from Cork to make complaint to Lord\nGrey in Dublin that the Barrys and Condons were in league with the\nrebels. He received orders to besiege Barry\u2019s Court, but Lord Barry,\nhearing of his intention, set the castle on fire, while he and his\nfriend, Fitzgerald, the seneschal of Imokilly, lay in wait for Sir\nWalter at the ford near the old abbey of Midleton.\n\nIn the encounter so little expected, Raleigh only saved his life by his\nsomewhat foolhardy daring.\n\nIn the account of his doings in Ireland in 1583, Sir Henry Sydney\nwrites: \u201cI was well entertained at the Viscount Barrie\u2019s house, called\nBarrie\u2019s Court.\u201d\n\nDuring the Desmond rebellion of 1585, David Lord Barry, whose initials\nare carved over the mantelpiece of the castle, was associated with the\ndisaffected. He afterwards submitted and sat on the Council of Munster\nunder Sir George Carew. He was present at the relief of Kinsale in\n1602, and died at Barry\u2019s Court in 1617. He was the second son of James\nBarry, and his wife, Ellen Roche, was a daughter of Lord Fermoy.\n\nWriting of him in 1606, Sir John Davys says: \u201cFrom Youghall we went\nto Cork, and dined by the way with the Viscount Barrie, who, at his\ncastle at Barriecourt, gave us civil and plentiful entertainment.\u201d\n\nBarryscourt was regranted by James I. to his grandson David, who\nsucceeded him.\n\nThe castle seems to have again been consumed by fire after James II.\u2019s\nvisit to Ireland, as it is stated that the velvet bed hung with gold\nbrocade in which he slept at Sir James Cotter\u2019s, of Ballinsperrig, was\nthen at Barryscourt, and so destroyed by the conflagration.\n\nThe castle was in possession of the Coppinger family for many years,\nWilliam Coppinger being the owner in 1861.\n\nIt now belongs to Lord Barrymore.\n\nA member of the Wakeham family informs me that it was in possession\nof her ancestors several centuries ago, and that the Lord Barrymore\nof that day gave the owners, John and William Wakeham, the estates of\nSpringhill and Water-rock instead of it, which their descendants still\npossess.\n\n\n AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.\n\n Gibson\u2019s \u201cHistory of Cork.\u201d\n Carew MSS.\n Patent and Close Rolls, Chancery, Ireland.\n State Papers.\n \u201cLocal Names\u201d and \u201cNotes and Queries\u201d in _Journal\n of Cork Arch\u00e6ological Society_.\n\n\n\n\n_BIRR CASTLE_\n\n \u201cLords to whom great men submit,\n Are the O\u2019Carrolls of the plain of Birr.\u201d\n O\u2019HEERIN.\n\n\nThis fortress was one of the numerous strongholds of the O\u2019Carrolls\nof Ely O\u2019Carroll. The derivation of the name, formerly Biorra, is\ndoubtful. _Bir_ signifies \u201cwater,\u201d _birra_ = \u201cabounding in wells,\u201d\nor \u201cfountains of water,\u201d _bir_ = \u201ca spit,\u201d _bior_ = \u201cthe brink of a\nriver,\u201d and the name may have originated from any of these words.\n\nThe town is situated on the right bank of the Little Brosna River at\nits juncture with the Birr rivulet. It is in the barony of Ballybrit,\nKing\u2019s County, sixty-two and a half miles west-south-west of Dublin.\n\nThe O\u2019Carroll\u2019s stronghold, called the \u201cBlack Castle,\u201d stood some sixty\nyards north-west of the present building on the high bank of the river.\nThe principal tower was raised on an artificial mound, and in 1627 Sir\nLaurence Parsons added a watch tower, which stood on thirteen corbels,\nprojecting on the outside, and was higher than all the other buildings.\nThe dungeon of the stronghold was situated in the Black Castle, but\nthis older fortress has long since been demolished.\n\nIn 1620-21 Sir Laurence Parsons made a great many additions to the\ncastle. He erected a tower 46 feet long and 25 feet broad, at each\nend of which an arch of hewn stone gave entrance to the fortress. The\npresent hall, which is reached by a flight of stone steps under a\nvaulted vestibule, is the centre part of this tower, as it is also\nthat of the present mansion.\n\nIn the following two years Sir Laurence also built a porter\u2019s lodge,\nknown as the \u201cGarden House,\u201d fitted up a drawing-room and made a garden\nand orchard.\n\nIn 1624 he built a new line of offices, which formed one side of\nthe courtyard, and in which was a kitchen, &c. Another side of the\nenclosure was occupied by the stables, which extended along the river,\nsouth of the Black Castle.\n\n[Illustration: BIRR CASTLE.]\n\nOn the north was a double wall filled up with earth, and having a\ngateway in the centre.\n\nSir William Parsons threw all these buildings down in 1778.\n\nThe castle was enlarged and remodelled under the direction of Mr. J.\nJohnstone, architect, who altered the entrance to the back of the\nbuilding, away from the town.\n\nSir Laurence Parsons had also added a \u201cFrench Flanker\u201d in 1627, but on\nwhat site is not known.\n\nThe Annals of Clonmacmoise record that Byrre Castle was besieged in\n1207 by \u201cMoriertagh Mac Bryen an Sleyve,\u201d who burnt the whole town.\n\nEly O\u2019Carroll was granted to FitzWalter by Henry II., nevertheless King\nJohn re-granted it to William de Braosa in 1200, and FitzWalter had to\nbuy it back to regain possession.\n\nIt shortly afterwards passed into the hands of Hugh de Hose or Hussey.\n\nThe English rebuilt and enlarged the stronghold in 1213.\n\nIn 1432 the Earl of Ormond went to war with O\u2019Carroll of Ely, and\ndemolished his two chief castles, which most likely were Birr and Leap,\nfor in spite of Royal grants the stronghold remained in the possession\nof the O\u2019Carrolls.\n\nA dispute arose about the chieftainship of the sept in 1532, the senior\nbranch of the family holding Birr Castle.\n\nFerganainm O\u2019Carroll, the son of the late chief, enlisted the aid of\nthe Earl of Kildare, whose daughter he had married, and together they\nlaid siege to Birr. The Earl received a bullet in his side from the\ngarrison. It is said that a soldier, hearing him cry out in agony,\nremonstrated with him, remarking he himself had been wounded three\ntimes and was none the worse, to which the Earl replied he was sorry he\nhad not received the fourth bullet in his stead. The ball was extracted\nthe following spring, but it is said to have hastened his end.\n\nIn 1537 Lord Leonard Grey took Birr Castle, and is reported to have\nreceived submission from O\u2019Carroll, who was created Baron of Ely in\n1552.\n\nAt the time of the plantation of Ely, Birr and its castle were granted\nto Sir Laurence Parsons in 1620, and the same year his steward arrived\nto make preparations. Shortly afterwards O\u2019Carroll appealed in vain.\n\nIn 1641 Sir William Parsons was made Governor of Ely O\u2019Carroll and the\nCastle of Birr, which latter he garrisoned with his tenants.\n\nHe put the place at once in a state of defence. He raised a flanker\nbehind the stables, and erected scaffolds inside the castle for the\ngarrison to fight from.\n\nAfter some skirmishing the fortress was closely besieged in 1642, and\nof the nine hundred people in town and castle many died of starvation,\nwhile others were reduced to eating dogs and cats.\n\nAt length the Earl of Ormond sent a detachment to its relief, but early\nthe next year General Preston approached the stronghold with artillery\nand troops.\n\nHe reconnoitred the town from Drumbawn Hill, and after firing a few\nshots encamped in the neighbouring woods. On the second day of the\nsiege he sent a messenger to the Governor to inquire if he held the\ncastle for the King or the Parliament, and asking to be allowed to\ngarrison it for his Majesty\u2019s use.\n\nSir William replied that he had not heard of any difference from his\nMajesty or from the Parliament, and that he held his commission as\nGovernor of Ely O\u2019Carroll.\n\nAt this reply Preston entrenched, and next day began to bombard the\nfortress in earnest. The following night a mine was commenced under the\ndirection of a mason who had been employed in the castle. The garrison,\nhearing the noise, fired on the sappers, but the darkness prevented the\nshot taking effect, and in the morning they were underground.\n\nPreston continued firing, and destroyed much of the wall and one of the\nflankers. He said he would break down the fortress about the Governor\u2019s\nears. Some of the balls found in the masonry weighed 9 lbs. each.\n\nUnder cover of a parley the defenders of the mill were withdrawn, and\nthe garrison held out for two days after they had been undermined. A\nconference was held and the besieged were granted honourable terms.\n\nLord Castlehaven conducted them to Athy. They numbered about eight\nhundred men, women, and children.\n\nPreston seems to have retained possession of Birr until 1645, when for\nfive years it was held by the Confederate Catholic forces.\n\nIt was taken from the Irish in 1650 by General Ireton, the enemy having\nburnt it before retreating. The Marquis of Clanrickarde tried to retake\nit in vain.\n\nIn 1688 Birr was so infested with robbers that Sir Laurence Parsons\ntook some of his neighbours and tenants inside the castle and closed\nthe gates. This act was magnified to the Government by his enemy,\nColonel Oxburgh, who obtained an order from the Lord Lieutenant to put\na garrison in the castle.\n\nOxburgh demanded admittance, and Sir Laurence refused until he should\nhear from Lord Tyrconnel. A siege then began, and when they attempted\nto undermine the fortress terms of capitulation were agreed upon.\n\nBoth terms of surrender (1643-1688) are preserved in the castle and\nhave been published in the Report of the Historical MSS. Commission.\n\nSir Laurence and some of his tenants were imprisoned in the fortress.\nHe was tried for high treason and several times reprieved. He was\nliberated after the Boyne, and appointed High Sheriff for the King\u2019s\nCounty.\n\nIn 1690 the castle garrison, being English, was summoned, but after a\nparley the enemy retired.\n\nLater the same year it was attacked by Sarsfield, who fired all day\non the stronghold. The marks of the shot are still to be seen upon\nthe castle walls. The besieged, under Captain Curry, held out until\nreinforcements arrived.\n\nThe English army, passing through Birr in 1691, left four hundred\nwounded men in the castle for two months.\n\nSir Laurence Parsons died in 1698.\n\nThe second Earl of Rosse succeeded to the estates in 1841. His\nexperiments towards improving the reflecting telescope had been begun\nin 1827 at Birr Castle. He employed local workmen, and the tools,\nmachinery, furnaces, ovens, &c., were all constructed on the spot, many\nof which are still to be seen.\n\nAt length, after many failures, two specula were cast in 1842-43. They\neach measured 6 feet in diameter, weighed 4 tons, and were of 54 feet\nfocus.\n\nThe tube in which one was mounted is 58 feet long and 7 feet in\ndiameter. It is slung on chains between two piers of masonry, and the\ntelescope is moved and supported by a complex system of cast-iron\nplatforms, triangles, and levers.\n\nIt is the largest telescope in the world, and cost about \u00a320,000 to\nconstruct. Observations were commenced in February, 1845. There are\nseveral smaller telescopes at the castle as well.\n\nThe present Earl of Rosse is the third Earl, and, like his father, is\nan eminent scientist.\n\n\n AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.\n\n T. Cooke, \u201cHistory of Birr,\u201d &c.\n Cooke, \u201cPicture of Parsonstown.\u201d\n Brewer, \u201cBeauties of Ireland.\u201d\n Donovan, \u201cAnnals of the Four Masters.\u201d\n S. Lee, \u201cDictionary of National Biography.\u201d\n Parliamentary Gazetteer.\n Report of Historical MSS. Commission.\n\n\n\n\n_BLACK CASTLE, WICKLOW_\n\n\nWicklow is situated about twenty-five miles south-south-east of Dublin,\nand the ruins of the Black Castle occupy an isolated rocky promontory\neast of the town, and on the south side of the Leitrim river. The name\nWicklow is likely to have been of Norwegian origin, but the meaning\nis uncertain. The Irish name Kilmantan signified S. Mantan\u2019s Church.\nThe castle followed the natural shape of the dark rock on which it was\nbuilt, and from which, no doubt, the designation \u201cBlack\u201d is taken. It\nwas divided from the mainland by a chasm, which was probably bridged in\nformer times. A few fragments of walls, with window openings, are all\nthat remain.\n\nThe fortress can never have been of large dimensions if it was confined\nto the rock on which the ruins now stand.\n\nIn 1176, after Maurice FitzGerald had been recalled by Strongbow, he\nreceived a grant of the Castle of Wicklow, among other possessions, in\nlieu of his lands in Wexford, which King Henry wished to retain. From\nthis it would appear to have been the site of an older fortification.\n\nMaurice FitzGerald began to erect a Norman stronghold on the\npromontory, but he died before it was completed.\n\nSoon after his death William FitzAdelm managed by falsehood to get\npossession of the Black Castle from his son Gerald, first Baron of\nOffaly, and surrendered him instead the unprotected Castle of Ferns.\n\nThe Earl of Ormond being arraigned for treason in 1422, one of the\ncharges against him was that he had retained William Edward, Constable\nof Arklow, in his service after he had assisted the O\u2019Byrnes in\nseizing the King\u2019s Castle of Wicklow. They killed John Liverpoole, the\nconstable, and sent his head to the O\u2019Byrne. They also imprisoned a\npriest, whom they found in the fortress, to hold for ransom.\n\n[Illustration: BLACK CASTLE, WICKLOW.]\n\nThe O\u2019Byrnes seem to have been in possession of the castle in the\nearly part of the sixteenth century, but in 1534 it had again passed\nto the Crown, and Thomas Stevyns was appointed constable. In 1567 Sir\nThomas Fytzwylliams began his suit for the fortress, which, in 1575, he\noffered to re-edify, though his doing so does not seem altogether to\nhave worked in his favour.\n\nIt seems generally believed that the present ruins represent the\nstronghold he built, but in 1580 it was reported that Wicklow Castle\nwas razed by the enemy.\n\nNineteen years later the terrible disaster took place in June, 1599,\nin which the English troops were utterly routed between Rathdrum and\nGlenmalure by the combined Irish septs of the district. It was this\nthat caused Essex such a sharp reprimand from Oueen Elizabeth.\n\nSir Henry Harrington was in command, and his troops fell back upon\nWicklow Castle in the wildest disorder, chased by the Irish within half\na mile of the town.\n\nCaptain Adam Loftus seems to have been the only one who endeavoured to\nredeem the day. He was wounded in the leg and conveyed to the castle. A\nsurgeon was sent for, though the wound was not considered dangerous at\nfirst; but he shortly afterwards succumbed to the effects.\n\nIn 1610 Sir William Usher, Knight, was made constable of the fortress,\nand in 1641 Luke O\u2019Toole and a band of insurgents laid siege to the\ntown and castle, but retreated upon the approach of Sir Charles Coote\nwith some English troops.\n\n\n AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.\n\n Gilbert, \u201cHistory of Viceroys of Ireland.\u201d\n Marquis of Kildare, \u201cEarls of Kildare.\u201d\n O\u2019Toole, \u201cHistory of the Clan O\u2019Toole.\u201d\n Brewer, \u201cBeauties of Ireland.\u201d\n Joyce, \u201cIrish Names of Places.\u201d\n Parliamentary Gazetteer.\n State Papers.\n Book of Howth, Carew MSS.\n\n\n\n\n_BLARNEY CASTLE_\n\n \u201cThere is a stone there whoever kisses,\n Oh, he never misses to grow eloquent,\n \u2019Tis he may clamber to a lady\u2019s chamber\n Or become a member of Parliament.\n A clever spouter, he\u2019ll sure turn out, or\n An \u2018out an\u2019 outer\u2019 to be let alone,\n Don\u2019t hope to hinder him or bewilder him,\n Sure he\u2019s a pilgrim to the Blarney Stone!\u201d\n FATHER PROUT.\n\n\nAppropriately built on an isolated limestone rock, the castle of the\nBlarney (Blarna meaning \u201clittle field\u201d) was the chief stronghold of the\nchiefs of the sept Carty, from Cartheigh, \u201can inhabitant of the rock.\u201d\nIt is situated some three and a half miles north-west of Cork, near the\njunction of the Comane (_i.e._ crooked stream) and the Awmartin River.\nThe present ruins show three distinct periods of construction, of which\nthe oldest is a slender tower, or peel, situated at the north-west\ncorner of the larger block of masonry that was built to it, the whole\nbeing the great keep of the fortress.\n\nA stone bearing the inscription \u201cCormac M\u2019Carthy, Fortis\nMe Fieri Facit, A.D. 1446,\u201d forms the sill of one of the\nmachicolations on the south side of the tower, and being damaged during\nthe siege in Cromwell\u2019s time, has been supported with iron.\n\nThe keep is gnomon in shape, the later rectangular tower being 60 feet\nby 36 feet, while the peel, which is half built into the north-west\ncorner, forms a projection of 18 feet by 12 feet. The tower is about\n120 feet high. The original entrance to the peel, which was 10 feet\nabove the ground, is now built up, and access is gained by the large\nnewel stair in the later building. What are called \u201cthe back stairs,\u201d\nwere the original flight belonging to the first tower. Here is situated\nthe \u201cEarl\u2019s bedroom,\u201d with a more modern bay window, and remnants of\nthe tapestry which once covered the walls may still be seen. In the\nvery top storey is situated a kitchen with two great fireplaces, and\none of the now floorless rooms in this tower was probably the chapel.\n\nIn the later portion of the keep is the store-room and guard chamber\nnear the entrance, which is a low-pointed doorway once defended from\nabove. The apartment in the third floor was most likely used as a\nreception room, above which the great banqueting hall is situated, with\nan elaborately-worked chimney, and a fireplace 12 feet wide. The tower\non the south and east is finished by machicolated parapets, resting\non fourteen corbels, and having a corresponding number of opens or\ncrenelles above.\n\nThe keep represents the fifteenth-century masonry, except where it is\nsurmounted by the ogee parapet of brick work, which was seemingly added\nat the time the now ruined mansion to the east of the tower was built.\nThis dwelling, erected by the Jeffreys family, was unroofed and its\ntimber sold in 1821.\n\nWhat are locally called \u201cthe dungeons\u201d are merely divisions in the well\ncavern, which was at one time connected with the castle by a covered\npassage now filled up.\n\nThere seems to be great uncertainty as to the identity of the famous\nkissing stone, said to give a persuasive tongue to whoever touches it\nwith his lips. The power of conferring this accomplishment appears to\nhave been unknown in the early part of the nineteenth century.\n\nThe inscribed stone already mentioned is generally supposed to be the\ntrue \u201cBlarney stone,\u201d chiefly, it seems because it has been carefully\npropped, and most likely had the mystic reputation conferred upon it\nwhen a slightly water-worn hollow stone situated on the parapet of the\neast side of the turret disappeared more than a quarter of a century\nago.\n\nAgain a stone bearing the date 1703, on the highest part of the\nnorth-east angle, and another engraved with a shamrock in relief have\neach been asserted to be the original stone.\n\n[Illustration: BLARNEY CASTLE.]\n\nThe origin of \u201cBlarney,\u201d meaning flattery, is said to have been from an\nexclamation of Queen Elizabeth upon receiving a very plausible letter\nfrom M\u2019Carthy, to the effect that it was all \u201cBlarney\u201d and he did not\nintend to carry out his promises.\n\nThe castle at one time covered eight acres. In a quarry near a large\nnumber of human bones have been found.\n\nCormac MacCarty, surnamed Laider, or the Strong, came into the\nlordship of Muskerry three years after he had built Blarney Castle,\nand such was his power that English settlers paid him a yearly tribute\nof \u00a340 to protect them against the attacks of the Irish. He was fourth\nlord, and direct descendant of the former Kings of Desmond and Cork. He\ndied in 1494.\n\nTeige MacCormac Carty signed an indenture of allegiance to the English\nlaws in 1542, and this was faithfully adhered to by his descendants,\nwho, unlike the other great Irish septs, never went eagerly into\nrebellion. At this time the clan could raise three thousand fighting\nmen. His son Dermod was knighted in 1558.\n\nThe Manor of Blarney, Twhoneblarney, the entire country of Muskerry,\nwith all its lordships and possessions, were granted to M\u2018Dermod to\nhold by military service in 1589.\n\nHis cousin Charles, however, was page to Sir Walter Raleigh, and\nthrough his interest procured from the Privy Council a sequestration of\nthe rents.\n\nIn 1596 Cormack M\u2018Dermot M\u2018Carthy asked for a new grant of the Manor of\nBlarney with a release of all conditions.\n\nWhen war broke out, although Lord Muskerry remained with the English\nforces, he was seized as a traitor (1600) because his brother had\njoined the rebels, and a relative informed the Council that he himself\nwas plotting against them.\n\nTyrone at this time encamped with all his forces near Blarney, which is\ndescribed as one of the strongest castles in the province of Munster,\n\u201cfor it is four piles joined in one, seated upon a main rock, so as it\nis free from mining, the wall 18 feet thick, and flanked at each corner\nto the best advantage.\u201d\n\nSir Charles Wilmot and Captain Roger Harvey endeavoured to surprise the\ngarrison after the arrest of Lord Muskerry, but the warders, suspecting\ntheir motive, made them partake of the food they asked for, outside the\ncastle walls.\n\nWhen Lord Muskerry was put upon his trial he indignantly denied the\ncharges made against him. The President replied that he had better\neither confess his guilt and ask pardon, or deliver up Blarney Castle\nuntil the accusations were proved false. This Lord Muskerry hesitated\nto do, and so was committed to prison. At length he consented to give\nup Blarney to Captain Taafe, on condition that it would be restored to\nhim unaltered.\n\nShortly after this he escaped, in 1602, but seeing the struggle against\nthe Crown was hopeless, he asked leave to make submission to Sir George\nCarew, which was granted.\n\nIn 1628 he was created Baron of Blarney and Viscount Cartie of\nMuskerie, and as such went to Parliament.\n\nCharles I. appointed him President of Munster, but in 1646 Lord\nBroghill, afterwards Earl of Orrery, took the castle of Blarney and\nmade it his headquarters. Lord Muskerry was the last Royalist in\nIreland to lay down arms, and he was tried for his life by Ludlow and\nothers. He was permitted to pass to Spain, while his wife was allowed\nto receive his income from the estate, except \u00a31,000 a year granted to\nLord Broghill for his services (1656).\n\nTwo years later Lord Muskerry was recalled, after the Restoration, and\ncreated Viscount Muskerry and Earl of Clancarty. His property was given\nback to him, except the portion allowed to Lord Broghill, who was now a\nsupporter of the King.\n\nWhen James landed at Kinsale, Blarney Castle was used as one of the\nprisons for the Protestants of Cork, the fourth Earl of Clancarty being\none of the King\u2019s chief supporters.\n\nUpon the succession of King William the Clancarty estate, worth about\n\u00a3150,000, was confiscated and sold, a pension of \u00a3300 being allowed to\nthe Earl, who died at Hamburg, 1734.\n\nThe Rev. Dean Davies, of Cork, was tenant of the castle for some years\nafter the Hollow-Sword-Blade Company of London bought it. Upon leaving\nhe took away many of the oak beams of the castle for his new residence\nat Dawstown.\n\nChief Justice Pyne then purchased it, and held it for a short time, but\nin 1703 Sir James Jeffreys bought the castle and lands, and from him\nthe present owner, Sir George Colthurst, is descended.\n\nThere is in the possession of The O\u2019Donovan, at Liss Ard, Skibbereen,\na dadagh, or Irish skean, with which an O\u2019Donovan killed M\u2018Carty Reagh\nabout the middle of the sixteenth century. The dispute arose about some\nplundered cattle which M\u2018Carty wished to drive into the bawn of Blarney\nwithout division. Being opposed by O\u2019Donovan, he attacked him and threw\nhim down, but O\u2019Donovan, although on the ground, snatched the dadagh\nfrom him, and slew him with his own weapon.\n\nAbout a quarter of a mile south-west of the castle, in the park is\nthe lake, where it is supposed the plate chest of the last Earl of\nClancarty was thrown before the castle was surrendered to William\u2019s\nforces, and a legend says that the Earl rises from the lake every seven\nyears, and walks two or three miles in the hope that some one will\nspeak to him, so that he may tell them where it lies. Another version\nsays that as soon as the estate is restored to the MacCartys the chest\nwill be discovered. A little silver ring has been found in the lake.\n\n\n AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.\n\n Calendar of State Papers.\n Carew MSS.\n Parliamentary Gazetteer.\n Joyce, \u201cIrish Names of Places.\u201d\n Croker, \u201cFairy Legends,\u201d and \u201cResearches in the South of Ireland.\u201d\n Savage, \u201cPicturesque Ireland.\u201d\n Windele, \u201cNotices of the City of Cork and Vicinity.\u201d\n Smith, \u201cHistory of Cork.\u201d\n C. C. Woods, \u201cBlarney Castle\u201d (_Journal of the Cork\n Arch\u00e6ological Society_).\n Proceedings of Arch\u00e6ological Association of Ireland.\n\n[Illustration: BUNRATTY CASTLE.]\n\n\n\n\n_BUNRATTY CASTLE_\n\n\nThe village of Bunratty is situated in the Barony of Lower Bunratty,\nCounty Clare, and the castle stands on the banks of the Ougarnee River,\na little above its juncture with the Shannon on its northern bank,\nabout six miles below Limerick.\n\nThe former name of the river was Ratty, and the name, therefore,\nsignifies the end or mouth of the Ratty.\n\nThe fortress is still in a very fair state of preservation and shows\nmany signs of alterations during its existence.\n\nIt consists of an oblong structure, flanked by four square towers built\ninto the angles, which are joined at the head by depressed arches.\n\nThe north-east tower contains an oratory. It has a piscina, and the\nceiling is a handsome specimen of richly moulded seventeenth-century\nstucco work, probably executed when the \u201cgreat Earl\u201d of Thomond\nrestored the castle in 1610. Out-offices and servants\u2019 quarters\nformerly surrounded the main building, but were removed by the late Mr.\nStuddert to supply material for the modern manor house.\n\nAn inscribed stone at the summit of the castle states that the present\nbuilding was erected by O\u2019Brien in 1397. There are marks of shot still\nvisible on the walls.\n\nThe cantred of Tradee was granted in fee farm to the Norman Robert de\nMuscegros, at a yearly rent of \u00a330.\n\nHenry III. remitted him two years\u2019 rent in 1251 to enable him to\nfortify Bunratty Castle, which he had built. Shortly after he\nsurrendered it to the King on condition he was allowed for the\nrepairing, provisioning, and defending of it. It was taken by the Irish\nin 1257.\n\nDe Muscegros exchanged his lands of Tradee, in Thomond, with Sir\nRichard de Clare in 1275 for property in England, and the following\nyear Bunratty Castle was taken for the King by Geoffry de Gyamul, Lord\nJustice.\n\nThe same year King Brian the Red granted to de Clare the district he\nhad acquired by exchange, and he at once began to repair the castle.\nIt is recorded he built \u201ca defensive thick-walled castle of lime\nand stone, which was a sheltered, impregnable fortress, and a wide\nwhite-washed mansion which he founded in the clear-harboured Bunratty,\u201d\nand that he resided here with English retainers whom he purchased \u201cfor\nlove or money.\u201d\n\nTorlough O\u2019Brien invaded Thomond, and its King, Brian, fled to\nBunratty. Among those who opposed the invaders was de Clare\u2019s\nbrother-in-law, Patrick Fitz-Maurice, who was slain in the conflict.\nWhen news of his death reached Bunratty there was great lamentation,\nand his sister, de Clare\u2019s wife, denounced King Brien, who was then at\ndinner, as the cause of the disaster.\n\nHe was thereupon dragged from the table, bound to wild horses, and\nliteraly torn to pieces. This act of treachery was rendered even more\nhorrible from the fact that he and de Clare had sworn friendship with\nthe most solemn rites.\n\nAmong the State Documents of 1298 is an entry for expenses and wages\nof horse and foot soldiers in an expedition to relieve Bunratty, which\nwas besieged by Turlough O\u2019Brien. This attack probably took place at an\nearlier date.\n\nThe castle was besieged again in 1305 by Coveha MacConmara and the\noutworks burnt, which is thus picturesquely described: \u201cYea, at this\nbout, the open-spaced Bunratty, when it was gutted, fed the flames;\nand by the Wolf-dog\u2019s pertinacity, not once, but twice, were many of\nthe lime-white towers burnt.\u201d\n\nThe fortress was not taken, and Lord Burke persuaded MacConmara to\nraise the siege.\n\nAt this time Maurice de Rochford was custodian.\n\nThe Earl of Ulster marched into Clare with a great army in 1311 to\nbesiege Bunratty. Richard de Clare sallied out to meet him on the hill\nbehind the fortress, but was obliged to retreat. William de Burgo,\npressing too far in pursuit, was taken prisoner, as well as John, son\nof Walter de Lacy.\n\nIn 1313, de Clare was about to hang O\u2019Brien\u2019s son, who was hostage\nfor the tribe of Coileau, but his wife, with the clergy and nobility,\ninterceded for him.\n\nDe Clare and his son Thomas were killed in 1318 in the battle of Dysert\nO\u2019Dea, and upon his wife, Lady Johan de Clare, hearing of the disaster,\nshe set fire to the castle and sailed for England.\n\nThe following year it was spoiled by King Mortogh.\n\nIt was immediately repaired, and the Government assigned it to\nMatilda, wife of Robert de Wills, and Margaret, wife of Bartholomew de\nBadlesmere, sisters to Richard de Clare, and appointed Robert Sutton\nconstable.\n\nIn 1326 it was held for the Crown by James de bello Fago, and in 1332\nit was besieged and taken by the Macnamaras.\n\nThere is an order dated 1356 to liberate Thomas, the son of John\nFitzMaurice, who had been imprisoned as accessory to the loss of the\ncastle.\n\nThe Lord Deputy recovered the fortress in 1558 by firing across the\nriver until the garrison of Donnell O\u2019Brien surrendered it.\n\nThe Earl of Thomond was proclaimed rebel in 1570, and fled to sea; the\nEarl of Ormond meantime garrisoned Bunratty with his own men, but in\n1585 the castle was confirmed to the Earl of Thomond.\n\nThe \u201cGreat Earl\u201d of Thomond restored it in 1617.\n\nSome authorities say Lord Forbes seized the castle in 1642 in a\nbuccaneering expedition.\n\nWhen the rebellion broke out in 1641 the Earl of Thomond of the time\nfound himself in a difficult position, for by religion he might have\nbeen supposed to side with the Government, while at the same time\nhe was closely related to many of the prominent Confederates, being\nuncle to Lord Muskerry who commanded their troops in the south. He,\ntherefore, remained quietly at Bunratty taking neither side, but he was\ntoo powerful to be allowed to presevere in neutrality.\n\nThe Supreme Council of the Confederates entrusted the seizure of\nboth the castle and Earl to his relatives, the O\u2019Briens, but in the\nmeantime the Earl of Ormond had entered into a treaty with the Earl of\nThomond whereby the latter was to surrender the castle of Bunratty to a\ngovernor they mutually agreed upon.\n\nThe choice fell upon Colonel Adams, \u201ca stout officer,\u201d who, with\nupwards of six hundred men, took possession of the stronghold in 1645.\nThe governor was a Scotchman whose family name was Adam, but upon\nsettling in Ireland he seems to have been called Adams, and sometimes\nMacAdam. He was married to the Hon. Catherine Magennis, granddaughter\nof Hugh, Earl of Tyrone, therefore his wife was first cousin to Owen\nRoe O\u2019Neill, which, no doubt, guided his selection as commander of\nBunratty garrison.\n\nBefore the castle was surrendered the Earl of Thomond built all his\nplate and money into the walls to the amount of \u00a32,000, and had the\nplace plastered and rough cast. Some of the servants betrayed the fact\nto the soldiers, and they seized the Earl and threatened to kill him\nunless he showed them the treasure, whereupon they took it before his\nface. He afterwards tried to recover it as a debt from the Government\nin vain.\n\nThe castle was provisioned at the cost of \u00a31,200 by John Davies.\n\nThe Earl of Thomond left his fortress in the hands of the soldiers and\nsailed for England. Colonel Adams at once set to work to put the place\nin a state of defence by raising earthworks and fortifying outlying\npositions, as well as mounting cannon in the garden, his was much\nhelped in his operations by the marshy character of the surrounding\ncountry.\n\nThe Confederates sent an army to besiege the castle, which encamped in\nthe park. They were shortly afterwards joined by Lord Muskerry, who\nseems to have been only half-hearted in attacking his uncle\u2019s property,\nand it required the persuasion and presence of the Nuncio to push the\nsiege to a victorious issue.\n\nCardinal Rinuncini must have been much impressed by the beauty of the\nspot, as later he had scenes of the siege painted on the walls of his\nItalian palace.\n\nAfter some weeks a dam about half a mile from the castle was captured,\nbut only held a few hours when deserted by its guards, who were hanged\nfor the offence.\n\nTwo pieces of cannon were then directed upon a small outlying castle,\nand at the end of two days\u2019 firing Colonel Adams repaired to the place\nto see if it could be held any longer. A chance shot at the upper\nwindow mortally wounded him, and being carried out he died that night.\n\nWhen Muskerry heard this he decided to attack in force, \u201cknowing how\nmuch discouraged they were at the loss of so valiant a person.\u201d\n\nThe Irish gradually gained position, and at length the garrison\ncapitulated for their lives, and the officers their swords, and\nreturned to Cork by water. This was in 1646.\n\nIn 1712 Henry, 8th Earl of Thomond, disposed of his estate, and the\ncastle passed to the Studdert family, who lived there until the\nneighbouring mansion was built.\n\nFor some years afterwards it was partly used for a police barrack, and\nnow it is in the hands of a caretaker.\n\n\n AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.\n\n MS. Ordnance Survey.\n Frost, \u201cHistory of the County Clare.\u201d\n White, \u201cHistory of Clare.\u201d\n O\u2019Donoghue, \u201cMemoirs of the O\u2019Briens.\u201d\n B. Adams and M. Adams, \u201cHistory of the Adams Family.\u201d\n Murphy, \u201cCromwell in Ireland.\u201d\n Dwyer, \u201cDiocese of Killaloe.\u201d\n Joyce, \u201cIrish Names of Places.\u201d\n Gilbert, \u201cAffairs in Ireland, 1641-52\u201d (Apporismical\n Discovery of Treasonable Faction).\n Gilbert, \u201cHistory of the Irish Confederation by Richard Bellings.\u201d\n Parliamentary Gazetteer.\n State Documents.\n State Papers.\n Proceedings of Royal Society of Antiquaries, Ireland.\n Westropp, \u201cNormans in Thomond;\u201d Macnamara, \u201cInchiquin,\n Co. Clare;\u201d Shirley and O\u2019Brien, \u201cExtracts\n from the Journal of Thomas Dineley,\u201d\n all in _Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries, Ireland_.\n Westropp, \u201cOn the Churches of County Clare,\u201d in Proceedings of R.I.A.\n \u201cBunratty,\u201d _Dublin Saturday Magazine_.\n\n\n\n\n_CARLOW CASTLE_\n\n\nThe town of Carlow, Catherlough or Catherlogh, is situated on the banks\nof the Barrow, five and a half miles south-by-west of Castledermot near\nthe junction of the above river with the Burren. The name signifies\n\u201cthe city on the lake,\u201d but the sheet of water from which it derived\nits name has disappeared.\n\nThe castle stands on a slight eminence to the west of the town on the\neast bank of the river, where it commanded the ford.\n\nThe present ruins consist of two round towers, and the western wall,\nwhich measures about 105 feet in length and some 70 feet in height. One\nof the towers is joined to this structure, and a small portion of the\nnorth and south walls adhere to both turrets respectively.\n\nThe doors were remarkably low and narrow, and light was admitted almost\nentirely by loopholes.\n\nIn Thomas Dineley\u2019s quaint diary he states that the fortress was built\nof freestone, and a picture in the same work represents it with gables\nand a high-pitched roof. It is flanked by round towers and has many\ntall chimneys. It appears to be surrounded by a low battlemented wall,\nand to have numerous little out-houses.\n\nLike so many castles in Ireland, local tradition ascribes its erection\nto King John, but Eva, Strongbow\u2019s wife, Isabel, their daughter, Hugh\nle Bigod, 4th Earl of Norfolk, and Bellingham, Lord Deputy of Ireland,\nhave been mentioned by other authorities. Ryan, in his history of\nCarlow, deals with the likelihood of each claim, and thinks that it\nwas most probably built by Hugh de Lacy. He is said to have erected it\nabout 1180, but the architecture is rather that of the beginning of the\nthirteenth century.\n\nThe castle is mentioned in the charter of William, Earl Marshal.\n\nIn 1283 we find the repairing of the old hall, kitchen, and tower among\nthe accounts of Roger le Bigod, Earl of Norfolk, in whose possession\nit then was. Among the items of expenditure are 700 nails and canvas,\nwhich were probably for the roofing of the great hall, which was\ncovered with wooden shingles, and seems to have been difficult to keep\nin repair.\n\n[Illustration: CARLOW CASTLE.]\n\nCarlow Castle was at this time the centre of government. The courts\nwere held in the hall mentioned, and the Exchequer House was probably\nsituated in one of the towers. The income of the lordship was \u00a3750 a\nyear.\n\nAfter all this expenditure, however, when the Earl\u2019s possessions\npassed to the Crown in 1306, the castle and hall were so ruined that no\nvalue was placed upon them.\n\nJ. de Bonevill, of his Majesty\u2019s Castle of Carlow, was appointed\nseneschal of Carlow and Kildare in 1310 to put down the robberies and\noutrages in the country.\n\nIt is stated that the castle was seized in 1397 by Donald MacArt\nKavanagh, the MacMorrough, but the authority is not considered very\nreliable.\n\nIn 1494 James Fitzgerald, brother to the Earl of Kildare, having gone\ninto rebellion, seized the castle and hoisted his standard on its\nbattlements. Sir Edward Poynings marched to Carlow, and after a siege\nof ten days recovered the fortress.\n\nCarlow Castle was in the hands of Thomas, 10th Earl of Kildare, better\nknown as the \u201cSilken Thomas,\u201d during his rebellion in 1535. After his\nimprisonment in 1537 Lord (James) Butler, eldest son of the Earl of\nOssory, appealed to the Crown for compensation for having defended the\nCastles of Carlow and Kilkea, \u201cstanding on the marches,\u201d close to Irish\nterritory. He was granted his expenses, and appointed constable of both\ncastles.\n\nAt the same time the Deputy wrote to the Lord Privy Seal advising him\nto let the King keep the \u201cmanors of Carlagh, Kylea, and Castledermont\u201d\nin his hands to prevent Lord Ossory and his son from becoming too\npowerful.\n\nSir Robert Hartpole applied for the custodianship of the fortress in\n1567, it being at that time in possession of Frances Randall, widow of\nits late keeper.\n\nRory Oge O\u2019More, Chieftain of Leix, burned the town and Sir Robert\nHartpole made a sally from the castle with fifty men and released\nHarrington and Cosby, who were his prisoners, but O\u2019More escaped in the\ndark.\n\nOueen Elizabeth desired the Lord Deputy to exchange some of the crown\nlands with Henry, Earl of Kildare, for the castle and lands of Carlow\nin 1589. During the unfortunate Essex\u2019s rule in Ireland, in 1598 to\n1600 the Queen\u2019s warders held the fortress, but the Kavanaghs laid the\nsurrounding country waste.\n\nBy the State Papers of 1604 the manor of Carlow was granted to Donagh,\nEarl of Thomond, with the exception of the castle, of which, however,\nhe and his son were made constables. The following is taken from a\ndocument setting forth the conditions of the grant:--\n\n\u201cIn all works made within the castle, the inhabitants of Carlow are to\nfind six workmen or labourers daily, during the said work, at their\nown expense; also each tenant and cottager to weed the demesne corn\nyearly for three days, and a woman out of every house in Carlow to bind\nthe sheaves for one day; each tenant and cottager to cut wood for the\nuse of the castle for three days in summer, and each of them having\na draught horse to draw the wood to the castle for three days, also\nto draw the corn out of the fields to the area of the said castle for\nthree days; to give one cartload of wood, and one truss of straw at\nChristmas and Easter.\u201d\n\nShortly after this the castle and bawn was granted to Sir Charles\nWilmot.\n\nFive hundred English were besieged in the castle in 1642, and were in\na starving condition when relieved by Sir Patrick Wemys, who had been\ndespatched to their relief by the Earl of Ormond. The rebels burned the\ntown and fled at his approach.\n\nIn 1647 the King\u2019s garrison was so hard pressed that the Earl of Ormond\nborrowed \u00a360 for its relief, and forwarded it by Major Harman, but the\nfifty men who came to reinforce the garrison could not get in, as the\nstronghold was closely invested. The siege lasted about a month, and\nthen the castle surrendered.\n\nIn Dr. Jones\u2019 diary he states that the Cromwellian army arrived before\nthe castle on the 18th of March, 1649. That the garrison of two hundred\nmen refused to surrender it until the battery played on the place, and\npreparations were made for storming.\n\nThe next day the castle was surrendered, and two companies left to\ngarrison it. The officers in command being Colonel Hewson, Sir T.\nJones, and Colonel Shelburn.\n\nAgain we learn that Ireton arrived to take the castle on July 2, 1650,\nand that he spent the whole day in preparing for the attack. The troops\nencamped on the Queen\u2019s County side of the river, the field still being\npointed out. They had to erect a temporary bridge of ropes, hurdles and\nstraw to cross the river, and the soldiers passed over one by one.\n\nIn Edmund Ludlow\u2019s \u201cMemoirs\u201d he describes the place as \u201ca small castle,\nwith a river running under its walls,\u201d and ascribes its importance to\nthe fact of the neighbourhood being in sympathy with the garrison.\n\nJust before sunset Ireton sent a letter to the governor offering terms\nto the defenders if they surrendered. The officer he sent returned to\nsay Ireton should have an answer the next morning.\n\nAccordingly, Captain Bellew sent a courteous reply to him asking for a\ntruce of three days, so that he might communicate with the Bishop of\nDromore. This was granted, and Ireton went on to Waterford, leaving Sir\nHardress Waller in command.\n\nAfter a short cannonade he took the town, and the castle surrendered\nupon articles. The garrison received a safe convoy to Lea Castle, and a\npass of ten days to reach Athlone.\n\nIn Carte\u2019s \u201cLife of Ormond,\u201d he attributes the castle\u2019s loss to\ntreachery, but except in a local tradition this does not appear.\n\nIt is said that the garrison running short of water sent an old woman\nto the river to fetch some, but that she was taken prisoner by some of\nthe soldiers, and brought to the hostile camp. She was promised her\nlife and a reward if on the following night she would show by a torch\non the battlements the position of the stairway where the walls were\nthinnest. The legend runs she fulfilled the conditions and that, the\ncannonade at once beginning, she was the first to lose her life through\nher own treachery.\n\nThe manor passed from the Earl of Thomond\u2019s family, on account of an\nunredeemed mortgage, to a Mr. Hamilton, M.P., who, in 1729, brought\nhis case before Parliament for having been deprived of the castle yard\nduring the time of privilege.\n\nThe castle was leased in 1814 to a Dr. Middleton. This gentleman\nintended to convert it into a lunatic asylum, and endeavoured to\nenlarge the windows and lessen the thickness of the walls by the then\nlittle known process of blasting. The results were disastrous. One\nmorning, at about nine o\u2019clock, while the workmen were fortunately at\nbreakfast, the huge pile began slowly to totter to its fall.\n\nAn eye-witness who had time to escape from the threatened destruction\nsaid: \u201cAfter viewing the portentous and amazing nodding of the towers,\nthe immense pile gradually disparted into vast masses, which broke with\ndifficulty into fragments less mighty.\u201d\n\n\n AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.\n\n J. Ryan, \u201cHistory of County Carlow.\u201d\n Brewer, \u201cBeauties of Ireland.\u201d\n State Documents.\n State Papers.\n Book of Howth, Carew MSS.\n Parliamentary Gazetteer.\n Lord Walter Fitzgerald, \u201cKilkea Castle,\u201d\n in _Journal of Kildare Arch\u00e6ological Society_.\n R. Malcomson, \u201cCromwell at Carlow\u201d; J. O\u2019Meagher,\n \u201cDiary of Dr. Jones\u201d; E. Shirley, \u201cExtracts\n from Journal of Thomas Dineley\u201d; and J. Mills,\n \u201cAccounts of the Earl of Norfolk\u2019s Estates\n in Ireland\u201d: all in _Journal of\n Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland_.\n MS. Ordnance Survey of Ireland.\n\n\n\n\n_CARRICKFERGUS CASTLE_\n\n\nIt is popularly believed that Carrickfergus derived its name from\na king called Fergus having been lost there in a storm about\n320 B.C., whose body was washed up on the rocky peninsular\nwhere the castle stands. The name is, however, more likely to be a\ncorruption of _Carraig na Fairge_, signifying \u201crock of the sea.\u201d It is\noften erroneously called Knockfergus in ancient documents. The town\nis situated on the northern shore of Belfast Lough, about ten miles\ndistant from that city.\n\nThe castle occupies the whole of a tongue of rock at the south end of\nthe town, which was at one time surrounded on three sides by water.\n\nThe entrance to the fortress on the north, or landward direction,\nwas by a drawbridge across a dry moat. This was protected by two\nsemicircular towers, and a portcullis which still exists. Above the\nentrance is an aperture, from which missiles and lead could be poured\nupon besiegers.\n\nFrom the gate towers a high curtain follows the formation of the rock\nthat gradually rises to about 30 feet in height towards the south.\nThe wall is at present mounted with ordnance used by the militia. The\nenclosed space is divided into two yards. The outer one, which is\nentered immediately from the gateway, contains a number of buildings\nand offices erected in 1802, at which time the castle was used as a\nbarrack. There are also vaults, which were supposed to be bomb proof.\nIn the line of wall is situated a small projecting tower known as the\n\u201cLion\u2019s Den.\u201d The inner yard is approached through a round arched\ngateway, and contains storehouses and keep. This latter is 90 feet\nhigh, and divided into five storeys. Its western side forms part of the\nouter wall. It was formerly entered by a doorway on the second floor,\nand a winding stone staircase in the wall of the west angle led to\nthe top. Loopholes admitted light and air, and there was a small door\nat each storey. At present the ascent is made partly by wooden stairs\ninside. There are two towers at the summit of the keep, one on the\nsouth-east corner covering the top of the stairway, and the other at\nthe south-west corner, which was intended for a sentry-box.\n\nOn the third storey is the large room known as \u201cFergus\u2019s Dining-room,\u201d\nbeing 40 feet long by 38 feet broad and over 25 feet high. It was made\ninto a barrack in 1793, but is now employed as an armoury. Over the\nchimneypiece was once a stone inscribed in Irish, which was removed in\n1793.\n\nThe former draw-well of the castle, 37 feet deep, was situated in the\nkeep. It was famous for medicinal qualities. The lower portion of the\nbuilding is now used as a magazine. The walls of the tower are 9 feet\nthick, and the corner stones, or quoins, are of yellowish limestone,\nwhich was probably quarried in the County Down on the opposite shore of\nthe Lough.\n\nThe building of the castle is generally ascribed to John de Courcy,\nand, although there is no direct proof that this was the case, many\nfacts tend to support the supposition. In the first place, as De\nCourcy settled a colony in Carrickfergus shortly after his conquest\nof Ulster, it is most likely that he would provide some means for its\nprotection. Again, it was for a long time the hereditary property of\nthe Earls of Ulster, who were descended from De Courcy. The ancient\nseal of the mayor of the town bears a spread-eagle, which was the De\nCourcy crest, and several coins of Henry II.\u2019s time have been found\nnear the building. In a preface to State Papers the editors say that\n\u201cthe oldest fort in Ulster is Carrickfergus, built in the days of De\nCourcy, and never out of the possession of the English.\u201d\n\nIn 1605, the Lord Deputy applying for means to have it restored,\nremarks it was \u201cfounded by his Majesty\u2019s ancestors, and much needing\nrepair.\u201d\n\n[Illustration: CARRICKFERGUS CASTLE\n\n(From an Engraving made in 1838.)]\n\nIt is likely King John stayed in the castle during his visit to\nCarrickfergus in 1210, and an order is preserved to the Bishop of\nNorwich to buy supplies for it that year. It appears to have passed\ninto the hands of Hugh de Lacy when King John granted him Ulster, but\nin 1223 a garrison was to be placed in the castle lest it should be\nattacked by De Lacy, who was then plotting against the King.\n\nThe following year a band of knights and soldiers were despatched by\nthe Earl of Pembroke for its further defence. Although it was being\nbesieged by Hugh they managed to get into the fortress safely, and the\nsiege was then raised.\n\nTwo years afterwards the custody of the castle was granted to Hugh de\nLacy\u2019s brother Walter.\n\nIn 1245 an order was issued for its repair, and later (1253) it was\nassigned by the King as part of the dowry of Eleanor, Queen Consort.\n\nIn 1315 the castle was besieged by Edward Bruce, and Lord Mandeville,\nwho endeavoured to relieve it, failed to do so. The gallant little\ngarrison held out for more than a year, and it is said they were\nreduced to eating eight Scotch prisoners who had died within the walls.\nUpon the arrival of King Robert Bruce to aid his brother, the fortress\nwas surrendered. After the death of Edward Bruce the castle passed\nagain into the hands of the English, and it appears to have been the\nonly place in Antrim not in the possession of the O\u2019Neills after the\nassassination of the Earl of Ulster, 1333.\n\nIn 1337 the King appointed a constable to the castle under the belief\nthat he was the owner of the stronghold, instead of holding it only\nduring the minority of the Earl of Ulster, and as there was a constable\nalready in office, compensation had to be found for the disappointed\ncustodian. From this time there was a long list of constables, the\nlast being Stewart Banks, Esq., of Belfast, who used merely to attend\nannually to see the Mayor sworn in the outer yard of the castle. In\n1461 an Act of Parliament decreed that none but Englishmen should hold\nthe office of Governor. The position is now a mere sinecure.\n\nIn 1390, in an order for repair, the castle is described as being\n\u201ctotally destitute and desolate of defence,\u201d and sixteen years later\nits state does not seem to have been much improved.\n\nFor the next two years it was kept for nothing by Sir James Whyte, who\nthen (1408) petitioned the Crown to give him aid against the threatened\nattack of O\u2019Donnell and his Scots.\n\nAfter the order for English custodians, James, Earl of Douglas, was\nappointed Governor of Carrickfergus Castle in 1463.\n\nAt the beginning of the next century Clannaboy Niall, son of Con of\nBelfast, was prisoner in the castle on account of a row between his\nservants and some soldiers (1507). He exchanged his freedom for sixteen\nhostages, but no sooner was he liberated than he returned with his\nfollowers and took the castle and the Mayor, and rescued his pledges.\nIn 1552 Sorley Boy MacDonnell surprised Carrickfergus and carried off\nWalter Floody, the constable of the castle. In consequence of these\ndisturbances the Earl of Sussex marched to relieve the town in 1555.\nTwo years later Hugh O\u2019Neill Oge and some other prisoners in the castle\nescaped to join James M\u2019Donnell. In 1559 the fortress was walled in and\nrepaired. The building seems to have been much dilapidated in 1567, and\nupon Sir Henry Sidney coming north the following year, he had the keep\nroofed and restored. When the Earl of Essex arrived by sea in 1573,\nhe reports that he discharged the ward of the castle, for it \u201cdoth\nnot serve of any use, having in it very few rooms, and none of those\ncovered, so as I have no apt place to employ her Majesty\u2019s munition and\nother store but in wet vaults.\u201d\n\nFrom 1583 to 1598 Carrickfergus was the only town held by the Queen\nin the district, and in the latter year the castle was but poorly\nprovisioned.\n\nGeneral Monroe, with four thousand Scotch auxiliaries, landed and took\nthe castle in 1642, but four years later he was surprised by General\nMonk, who occupied the stronghold for the Parliament, being made\nGovernor of it shortly afterwards.\n\nThe next year, but small resistance was offered to Lord Inchiquin, who\nthen held it for the King for a few months, and it was retaken by Sir\nCharles Coote, who appointed a Governor for the Commonwealth.\n\nIn 1666, while the Duke of Ormond was at the head of affairs, so\ngreat was the dissatisfaction that the castle was seized by mutinous\nsoldiers, and a strong force was required to quell the disturbance.\n\nEight years later the fortress was ordered to be furnished with twenty\ncannon.\n\nThe adherents of James II. sustained here a siege for six days from the\ntroops of the Duke of Schomberg in 1689, after which they surrendered.\nIt was on the 14th of June in this year that King William III. landed\nat Carrickfergus from the yacht _Mary_.\n\nIn 1711 50 feet of the outer wall fell down, and the tower was roofed\nwith lead.\n\nThe castle was taken by the French Commodore Thur\u00f4t with three ships\nof war in 1760, but his squadron was captured a few days later by the\nEnglish fleet.\n\nIn 1797 the United Irishmen laid a plot to seize the castle, which was\ndiscovered by one of the garrison turning informer.\n\nThe year after the rebellion State prisoners were confined at\nCarrickfergus, having been sent from Belfast. At one time the fortress\nwas used as a prison for all Antrim.\n\nIn 1814 a small square tower on the south side was taken down and\nrebuilt.\n\nThe castle is now in the possession of the Crown.\n\n\n AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.\n\n State Papers.\n Russell and Prendergast, Preface to State Papers.\n Parliamentary Gazetteer.\n M. Haverty, \u201cHistory of Ireland.\u201d\n Belfast Naturalists\u2019 Field Club Guide.\n S. M\u2019Skimin, \u201cHistory of Carrickfergus.\u201d\n Calendar of Patent Rolls.\n Sweetman, Calendar of Documents.\n Carew MSS.\n \u201cNotes on a Plan of Carrickfergus.\u201d\n J. Bell, \u201cOrigin of the Name of Carrickfergus\u201d\n (_Ulster Journal of Arch\u00e6ology_).\n\n[Illustration: CARRICK-ON-SUIR CASTLE.]\n\n\n\n\n_CARRICK-ON-SUIR CASTLE_\n\n \u201cThe court of Carrick is a court well fortified.\n A court to which numbers of the noble resort,\n A court noted for politeness--a court replete with pleasures,\n A court thronged with heroes,\n A court without torchlight, yet a court illumed;\n A court of the light of wax tapers!\n A plentiful mansion--so artistically stuccoed\n With sun-lit gables and embroidery-covered walls.\u201d\n Translated from Irish by J. O\u2019DALY.\n\n\nNineteen miles south-by-west of Kilkenny, in the Barony of East Iffa\nand Offa, County Tipperary, stands the old town of Carrick on the left\nbank of the Suir. The name Carrick is derived from a rock in the Suir\nat the point where the town is built. The castle was erected by Edmond\nle Bottiller in 1309, he being created Earl of Carrick six years later.\nUpon his son receiving the title of Earl of Ormond the old title fell\ninto disuse.\n\nThe present remains consist of two great towers of the Plantagenet\ncastle, rising behind the Tudor mansion which was erected by Thomas,\n10th Earl of Ormond, in the reign of Elizabeth. Although not now\ninhabited it is preserved from further decay.\n\nThe two quadrangular towers of the older fortress stand on the river\nbank, and are separated by a courtyard which was entered on the north\nby an arched gateway from the river front. In one of these towers is\nsituated the chapel, which is connected with the banqueting hall by a\nnarrow passage. A strong light from a double window falls upon the\naltar, round which is the remains of a carved stone canopy supported by\nthe figures of angels.\n\nThe Tudor house which connects the older buildings is a many-gabled\nmansion, and said by O\u2019Donovan to be the most perfect specimen of that\nperiod\u2019s architecture in Ireland.\n\nThe ceiling of the Great Hall is a beautiful example of stucco work.\nIt is divided by richly-moulded ribs enclosing Tudor emblems, and arms\nand mottoes relating to the Ormond family. This apartment is 63 feet in\nlength by 15 feet in breadth, and is lighted by mullioned windows, that\non the north side being large and deeply recessed. It also contains\nseveral handsome chimney-pieces.\n\nThe walls were richly hung with tapestry, which was removed at the\nbeginning of the nineteenth century, some of it being transferred to\nKilkenny Castle.\n\nLittle is known of the history of the early feudal fortress. Several\ncharters granted by the Ormonds as Lords Palatine of Tipperary are\ndated from Carrick, showing that the family were occasionally in\nresidence.\n\nThere is a tradition that Anne Boleyn was born in the castle. Thomas,\nEarl of Carrick and Ormond, who died in 1515, had two daughters, one\nof whom married Sir William Boleyn, a London merchant, and she was\ngrandmother to the future Oueen. History is uncertain where Anne\nBoleyn was born, as several places are mentioned; it is, therefore,\nnot impossible that at Carrick Elizabeth\u2019s mother first saw the light.\nHenry VIII. created Anne\u2019s father Earl of Ormond and Wiltshire, but the\nformer title afterwards reverted to the Butlers.\n\nIn 1571 Perrott visited Carrick Castle during his campaign in Munster,\nand it was plundered by the seneschal in the Desmond rebellion of 1582.\n\nIn the time of Thomas, 10th Earl of Ormond, it became the chief\nresidence of the family. Thomas Dubh, or the Black Earl, was the\nfavourite of Queen Elizabeth, who used to call him her \u201cblack\nhusband,\u201d to the annoyance of his rival the Earl of Leicester. He\nwas a great statesman and chivalrous nobleman, and enjoyed the full\nconfidence of his Sovereign during her long reign.\n\nIn the latter years of his life he lived almost entirely at Carrick. A\nglimpse of his loyal love for England is given by Sir John Davys in the\nfollowing observations of his on a journey in Munster in 1606:--\n\n\u201cAnd because I was to pass by the Carricke, a house of my Lord of\nOrmond, where his lordship hath lain ever since his last weakness, I\nwent thither to visit his lordship and to rest there upon Easter Day;\nbut because the feast of St. George fell out in the Easter holidays, I\nwas not suffered in any wise to depart until I had seen him do honour\nto that day. I found the Earl in his bed, for he was weaker at this\ntime than he had been for many months before; so that upon the day of\nSt. George he was not able to sit up, but had his robes laid upon his\nbed, as the manner is. From thence I returned to Dublin at the end of\nEaster week.\u201d\n\nTowards the end of his life, Earl Thomas was quite blind, and a quaint\nold MS., discovered at Brussels in 1822, gives a graphic account of a\nprophecy supposed to have been delivered by him at a Christmas family\ngathering in Carrick Castle shortly before his death, which took place\nin 1614.\n\nAmong those present at the feast were Sir Walter Butler, of Kilcash,\nbrother to the Earl, and also his son and grandson, James. The latter\nwas only four years old, and there being no room at the table, he\nwas let play about, and \u201cbeing a sprightly boy, entertained himself\nwith a whipping of his gigg\u201d (a kind of top) behind his great-uncle\u2019s\nchair. Black Thomas asked what the noise was, and being told, he took\nthe child (afterwards the great Duke of Ormond) between his knees and\nsaid:--\n\n\u201cMy family shall be much oppressed and brought very low; but by this\nboy it shall be restored again, and in his time be in greater splendour\nthan ever it has been.\u201d\n\nViscount Tullogh, who was the Earl\u2019s son-in-law and heir, pushed back\nhis chair angrily from the table, and again the blind Earl asked who\nmade the noise. Upon hearing, he said--\n\n\u201cAh! he is a flower that will soon fade.\u201d\n\nShortly afterwards the Viscount died without children, and later events\nproved the strange truth of the prophecy. A long law suit, manipulated\nfor political purposes, impoverished the earldom, but it was brought\nto a satisfactory termination by James Butler of Kilcash marrying\nLady Elizabeth Preston, the other claimant to the estates through her\nmother\u2019s rights.\n\nThe young couple began their married life at Carrick, where Walter,\nEarl of Ormond, joined them, and died in the castle in 1632.\n\nWhen civil war broke out in 1646, James, then Marquis of Ormond, was\nappointed Chief Governor and hastened from France. He landed at Cork,\nand proceeded to Carrick. Here a deputation from the Confederate\nAssembly of Kilkenny waited on him.\n\nThree years later Cromwell\u2019s troops, under Colonel Reynolds, took\nthe town of Carrick, and about a hundred of the garrison fled to the\ncastle, but surrendered the following day. It was well provisioned with\nstores, and Cromwell, it is said, intended to winter there. Ormond,\nhearing of its capture, despatched Lord Inchiquin to retake it. He was,\nhowever, repulsed with great loss.\n\nIn the time of the Commonwealth Carrick Castle, with its demesne,\ndeer park, and 16,000 acres, were granted to Sir John Reynolds,\nbrother-in-law to Lord Henry Cromwell. Upon the Restoration it reverted\nto its former owner, who was created Duke of Ormond. He spent much time\nat Carrick, and did a great deal to improve the trade of the town.\n\nIn 1816 Mr. Wogan was the tenant of the castle, and he carried out\nsome restoration. After he left the place was dismantled, and for many\nyears was allowed to go entirely to decay. It is now, however, better\npreserved.\n\nIn 1876, when the present Marquis married Lady Elizabeth Grosvenor,\ndaughter of the Duke of Westminster, a great feast for the Ormond\ntenantry was held in the castle.\n\nThe fairy \u201cLeather Apron\u201d is said formerly to have haunted the kitchen\ndepartment and chastised servants who did not do their work.\n\nA local legend foretells the fall of the fortress upon the wisest man.\nAn underground passage is said to connect the building with Edenderry\nCastle.\n\n\n AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.\n\n Mason, \u201cParochial Survey of Ireland.\u201d\n Murphy, \u201cCromwell in Ireland.\u201d\n Bagwell, \u201cIreland Under the Tudors.\u201d\n State Papers.\n Parliamentary Gazetteer.\n In Journal of _Kilkenny Arch\u00e6ological Society_,\n \u201cPanegyric on Thomas Butler, 10th Earl of Ormond.\u201d\n Graves, \u201cAncient Tapestry of Kilkenny Castle.\u201d\n Graves, \u201cAnonymous account of the early life\n and marriage of James, 1st Duke of Ormond.\u201d\n In _Journal of Waterford and South-East of Ireland\n Arch\u00e6ological Society_, Hurley,\n \u201cWas Anna Boleyn born in the Castle of Carrick-on-Suir?\u201d\n In _Clonmel Chronicle_, \u201cCarrick-on-Suir and its Ancient Castle.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nCARRIGOGUNNEL CASTLE\n\n \u201cA sort of strength, a strong and stately hold\n It was at first, though now it is full old.\n On rock alone full farre from other mount\n It stands, which shews it was of great account.\u201d\n THOMAS CHURCHYARD.\n\n\nThis fortress, sometimes called Carrickaquicy, is situated five miles\nwest-south-west of Limerick City, in the same county, in the barony of\nPubble Brien. It stands on an abrupt basaltic rock which has forced\nitself through the limestone, and is surrounded by low marshy ground\ncalled Corkass land which stretches away to the Shannon.\n\nO\u2019Donovan states that the name signifies \u201crock of the O\u2019Connolls,\u201d\nbut it is more popularly believed to mean \u201crock of the candle,\u201d and\nseveral versions of the following legend are related to account for the\ndesignation:--\n\nThe site of the castle was formerly supposed to be inhabited by a hag\nof gigantic form called Grana, and every evening she lighted a candle\nin her habitation, which from its elevated position was visible for\nmiles round, and every one who saw its light died before morning.\n\nThe great Finn hearing of this scourge ordered a man called Ryan to\ngo and extinguish the light, and presented him with a charmed cap to\naccomplish the mission. This covered his eyes until he had scaled the\nrock, seized the candle, and thrown it into the Shannon.\n\nThe witch in a fury was about to grasp him when he took a jump of two\nmiles westward, and she was only able\n\n[Illustration: CARRIGOGUNNEL CASTLE.]\n\nto vent her rage by hurling a rock after him, which is still pointed\nout with the marks of her fingers on it to indicate the \u201cHag\u2019s Throw.\u201d\n\nThe castle ruins comprise one or two towers and part of the ramparts.\nIt was finally destroyed by gunpowder, and huge masses of masonry lie\nabout in all directions, indicating its once extensive proportions.\n\nA great ash-tree adorns the centre of the pile.\n\nWilliam de Braose had large estates in Ireland when he was driven into\nexile in 1210, his wife and son starved to death, and his Castle of\nCarrigogunnel granted to Donogh Cairbreach O\u2019Brien for a yearly rent of\n60 marks.\n\nThis O\u2019Brien had done homage to King John at Waterford, but he seems to\nhave been shortly afterwards deprived of his land.\n\nIn 1535 Lord Leonard Grey marched to Limerick and Mathew O\u2019Brien\nsurrendered him the Castle of Carrigogunnel on condition it should only\nbe garrisoned by Englishmen. It was said at this time to have been in\nundisturbed possession of the O\u2019Briens for over two hundred years.\n\nThe Deputy garrisoned it under the command of George Woodward, \u201can\nhonest and a hardy man.\u201d\n\nIn the meantime the fortress was given by indenture to Donough O\u2019Brien\nto hold for the King. He was son-in-law to the Earl of Ossory, and had\nlong been fawning on the Government with offers to besiege the castle\nfor them, if provided with a hundred men and a piece of ordnance.\n\nThe governor of the castle, no doubt regarding this arrangement as a\nviolation of the conditions on which the castle had been obtained,\nhanded it back to its former owner, Mathew O\u2019Brien, which the State\nPapers describe as losing it \u201cby treachery.\u201d\n\nThis was in 1536, and the same year Lord Butler appeared before it to\nregain it for his relative, Donough O\u2019Brien.\n\nIt was garrisoned partly by followers of Desmond and partly by those of\nMathew O\u2019Brien.\n\nA messenger was sent to them offering them their lives, but otherwise\nno quarter. They returned no answer, but imprisoned the bearer.\n\nA breach was soon made with a battering piece, and after several\nattempts, the castle was carried by storm.\n\nThe besiegers lost thirty killed and wounded, while seventeen of the\ndefenders were killed in the attack, and forty-six were afterwards put\nto death.\n\nA few of the principal O\u2019Briens were conveyed to Limerick, tried for\nhigh treason, and executed. Large ransoms were offered for these men\nbut were refused.\n\nThe fortress was then committed to Lord Butler, and he transferred\nit to Donough O\u2019Brien, who, it is stated, \u201cbecame a scourge to the\ncitizens of Limerick.\u201d\n\nJames of Desmond besieged Carrigogunnel in 1538, and the following year\ngreat complaints were lodged about the plundering of the neighbouring\ncountry by the castle garrison.\n\nTowards the close of the year these charges became so serious that\nDonough O\u2019Brien was deprived of his possession.\n\nThe castle was in the hands of Brien Duff O\u2019Brien, chieftain of\nPobblebrien, in 1590, and is described as being very strong and \u201ca most\ndangerous place if the enemy were seized thereof.\u201d\n\nDonough O\u2019Brien is mentioned as of Carrigogunnel in 1607, yet Brien\nDuff O\u2019Brien surrendered his possessions and the castle to the Queen\nand received a patent for the same. He was knighted, and died in 1615.\n\nDaniel O\u2019Brien forfeited the castle and lands for taking part in the\nrebellion of 1641. Charles II. granted Carrigogunnel and four plowlands\nto Michael Boyle, Lord Archbishop of Dublin.\n\nIn Thomas Dineley\u2019s Journal he states that it belonged to His Royal\nHighness, and was at the time rented by the Primate and Chancellor of\nIreland.\n\nArchdale says that it at one time belonged to the Knights Templars.\n\nIn 1691, during the second siege of Limerick, after the battle of\nAughrim, it was garrisoned by a Jacobite ward of a hundred and\nfifty men. Baron Ginle sent a strong party and four guns, under the\ncommand of Major-General Scravemore, to summon the castle, which was\nrelinquished without a blow. An historian of the time, commenting upon\nthis, says: \u201cWhich seems to have been rather from want of instructions\nwhat to do than courage to defend it; for, to give the Irish their due,\nthey can defend stone walls very handsomely.\u201d\n\nThe garrison were marched as prisoners of war to Clonmel, and the\nfollowing month both the Castle of Carrigogunnel and Castle Connell\nwere blown up. Dean Story received \u00a3160 to purchase gunpowder for their\ndemolition.\n\nDuring the Whiteboy disturbances frequent meetings were held amid the\nruins.\n\nMr. and Mrs. Hall relate at length a sad tradition about the daughter\nof a Palatine who was in love with one of the conspirators, and whose\nfather, having tracked her to the ruins, was only saved from being put\nto death by her lover, whom she shortly afterwards married against her\nparents\u2019 wish.\n\nUpon returning to bid farewell to them before going into exile with her\nhusband, who was obliged to fly for his life, her father detained her.\nHer husband was unable to come openly to the house, and so she never\nsaw him again, but gradually pined away, and died under the ash-tree\ngrowing among the castle ruins, where she used to meet him before their\nmarriage. Since then her ghost is said to frequent the spot after\nnightfall.\n\n\n AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.\n\n J. Frost, \u201cThe County of Clare.\u201d\n Croker, \u201cResearches in the South of Ireland.\u201d\n Croker, \u201cFairy Legends.\u201d\n Ferrar, \u201cHistory of Limerick.\u201d\n Lenihan, \u201cHistory of Limerick.\u201d\n Bagwell, \u201cIreland under the Tudors.\u201d\n Hall, \u201cIreland.\u201d\n State Papers.\n Parliamentary Gazetteer.\n Shirley (with note by O\u2019Brien), \u201cExtracts\n from the Journal of Thomas Dineley,\u201d\n in _Journal of Kilkenny Arch\u00e6ological Society_.\n\n\n\n\n_CASTLE BARNARD_\n\n \u201cWhere Castle Bernard sees with glad surprise,\n At every wish successive beauties rise.\u201d\n\n\nThe former name for this stronghold was Castle Mahon. It is situated\non the River Bandon not far from the town. The present castle is said\nto occupy the site of the former royal rath of the O\u2019Mahonys, Kings\nof Munster. It was called Rathleann, and the great Saint Fin Barr was\nborn there. This was much anterior to the English invasion, although an\ninquisition held in 1584 states that the O\u2019Mahonys came from Carbery in\n1460, and seized the Crown lands, which had been forfeited by the Barry\nOges in 1399.\n\nThey were, however, only returning to the country over which they had\nformerly ruled. The fortress is supposed to have been built by an\nO\u2019Mahony.\n\nFrancis Bernard, who succeeded to the estate in 1660, threw down the\nancient bawn walls, and enlarged the windows. His son, Judge Bernard,\nrebuilt the castle after it came into his possession in 1690.\n\nA new brick front was added on the river side, the bricks having been\nmade in the neighbourhood.\n\nHe was succeeded by his son Francis (usually known as Squire Bernard)\nin 1731, who added an eastern front to the fortress, and planted the\ngreat beech avenue. Smith, who collected his information in 1749,\ndescribes the castle as having two regular fronts of brick, with\nCorinthian pilasters and coignes and beltings of Portland stone.\n\nIn 1788 Francis Bernard, afterwards the 1st Earl of Bandon, pulled down\nthe two fronts which had been added by his predecessors, and connected\nthe old castle by a corridor (some 90 feet in length) with a mansion he\nerected a little to the east of the stronghold. This new part has large\nrooms, the library being a very handsome oval apartment.\n\nThis forms the present beautiful country seat of the Earl of Bandon. It\nis situated in a park about four miles in circumference, through which\nthe Bandon River flows.\n\nThe O\u2019Mahonys were not a powerful sept: their regular field force only\nnumbered twenty-six horse, no gallow-glasses, and a hundred and twenty\nkern.\n\nIn 1575 the O\u2019Mahony paid his respects to Sir Henry Sidney during his\nvisit to Cork, of whom Sir Henry writes that he was \u201ca man of small\nforce although a proper countrie.\u201d\n\nConoher O\u2019Mahony, of Castle Mahon, threw in his lot with the Earl of\nDesmond during his rebellion, in which rising he was killed at the age\nof twenty-three.\n\nIn 1587, an inquisition held at Cork found that Conohor O\u2019Mahownye,\nlate of Castle Mahown, entered into rebellion with Gerald, late Earl of\nDesmond, and was slain therein and that he was seized of Castle Mahown\nand of the barony or cantred of Kineallineaky.\n\nThe following year the castle and lands were conferred by patent on\nPhane Beecher, son of Alderman Henry Beecher, of London.\n\nMr. William Weever, in his \u201cdiscourse\u201d on the Munster rebellion of\n1598, records that Mr. Beecher deserted Castle Mahon during the rising.\n\nIn 1611 it seems the grant to Phane Beecher was confirmed.\n\nThe first Bernard to settle in Ireland during Elizabeth\u2019s reign had\na son Francis, who was lord of the manor of Castle Mahon, where he\nlived before the rebellion in 1641. He had one son, Francis, who was in\npossession of the castle in 1690 when Bandon was surprised and taken by\nColonel M\u2019Carthy\u2019s men. After the town had fallen into their hands they\nproceeded to Castle Mahon and demanded the fortress and its stores to\nbe given up to King James, and the garrison to surrender as prisoners.\n\nMr. Bernard had served many years with the Bandon Militia, and had\nbeen rewarded with a grant of land from Cromwell for military service,\nso that he was not likely to surrender without a struggle when the\ntrumpeter appeared on the esplanade in front of the castle.\n\nHe had gathered his retainers and the neighbouring farmers into the\nstronghold, and flew the red flag from King John\u2019s Tower.\n\nHaving received a negative to their demand, the besiegers attempted to\nbatter in the great gate, but a discharge of musketry killing some of\ntheir number they desisted. They shook the windows and doors to try and\neffect an entrance.\n\nA line of sentries were posted in front of the castle with orders to\nshoot any one who appeared at the windows, but the deadly fire of the\nbesieged killed them nearly all.\n\nSeeing that their numbers were rapidly thinning they sought cover\nfrom the out-houses in the rear, and from there they carried on an\nineffectual fusilade for some time.\n\nFinding, however, this was of no avail they retreated to the river,\ncrossing by the ford. A pike blade and some swords of this date were\nrecently found in a pond which lay in their route.\n\nThe brave garrison had many killed and wounded, Mr. Bernard being among\nthose who lost their lives.\n\nThe dead Irish were collected and covered with straw in a stable\nuntil the next day, when they were buried in a disused graveyard at\nKillountain.\n\nJudge Bernard succeeded his father, having been born in the castle in\n1663. He changed the name from Castle Mahon to Castle Barnard.\n\nHis son, \u201cSquire Bernard,\u201d did much for the neighbourhood until a\ndispute with the townspeople about trees caused him to go and live in\nEngland.\n\nIn 1760 a sad accident took place which led to the death of little\nRobert Bernard, one of the sons of the house. He had climbed to the top\nof King John\u2019s Tower, and as the bats and swallows flew in and out he\ntried to strike them with his battledore, but overbalancing, he stepped\nback to recover himself and fell through the trapdoor which gives\negress to the summit. He died of the injuries received.\n\nFrancis Bernard was created Earl of Bandon in 1800, and Castle Barnard\nis still the principal residence of the Earls of Bandon.\n\n\n AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.\n\n G. Bennett, \u201cHistory of Bandon.\u201d\n C. Smith, \u201cCounty and City of Cork.\u201d\n Calendar of State Papers.\n Calendar of Carew MSS.\n\n\n\n\n_CASTLE BORO_\n\n\nLord Carew\u2019s demesne of about a thousand acres is situated in the\ntownland of Ballyboro, six miles west-south-west of Enniscorthy, and\nis bisected by the River Boro. The ancient name for this stream was\nBel-atha-Borumha, and was derived from the Borumha, or cow tribute,\nwhich the Kings of Leinster had to pay to the High Kings of Ireland.\n\nTo the south-east of Castle Boro mansion, on the other side of the\nriver, is the ivy-clad ruin, formerly known as Ballyboro Castle. It\nnow stands in the farmyard, and is 42 feet long by 27 feet wide when\nmeasured from the outside. Two gables are still to be seen, and the\nwindows are built of brick.\n\nLocal tradition states that it was formerly the residence of Brien\nBoroimhe, but the site is all that could possibly have belonged to a\ndwelling of his.\n\nAbout the year 1628 Robert Carew, younger son of Carew of Haccombe in\nDevonshire, obtained through his kinsman, Sir George Carew, afterwards\nEarl of Totnes, a grant of lands in the County Wexford, which had\nformerly belonged to the Desmonds. Charles II. confirmed the grant in\n1663 to his son. This Carew is generally supposed to have built the now\nruined castle, which was occupied by the family until near the close of\nthe eighteenth century. By others, however, the date of architecture\nis considered to be that of the beginning of the seventeenth century,\nand the castle believed to have been the residence of \u201cJames Hoar\nof Bellaborow, constable of the Barony of Bantry\u201d in 1608, who is\nmentioned thus in the Carew MSS.\n\nWhen James II. was fleeing to Duncannon, after the battle of the Boyne,\nhe stopped to water and rest his horses at the ford of Aughnacopple,\nnear the castle. The Carew of that time sent provisions to the\nfugitives, and the pair of gold sleeve links given by the fallen\nmonarch as a mark of his gratitude are still preserved as an heirloom\nat Castle Boro. There is some doubt as to whether they were presented\nat the river bank or sent later from Duncannon.\n\nTowards the close of the eighteenth century the head of the family\nwished to have a more modern house than the old fortress, but not\ndeeming it worth while to go to the expense unless he had a son to\nsucceed him, he delayed the commencement of the work until the very day\nwhen his son and heir was born.\n\nThe insurgents of 1798 attacked the residence, and a picture hangs in\nthe hall of Castle Boro which has holes in it that were made by the\nrebels\u2019 pikes.\n\nMr. Robert Carew was raised to the peerage in 1834, and in 1840, during\nthe absence of the family, the newly-erected house was burned down,\nthe fire having originated in a chimney. The west wing containing the\nlibrary was the only portion saved.\n\nBuilding operations were at once commenced under the direction of Mr.\nRobertson. The present mansion is in Classic style, having a centre\nblock four storeys in height with wings at either side of a storey\nless. The drawing-rooms are especially handsome apartments, and are\nbeing decorated by the present Lady Carew with embroidered panels of\nEarly English design.\n\nIn the gardens are a number of trees which have been planted by\ndistinguished visitors, amongst whom were the late Duke of Clarence,\nthe present Prince of Wales, the Duke of Aosta, the Count of Turin,\nthe Earl of Halsbury and the late Sir H. M. Stanley.\n\nA very handsome granite gateway gives access to the grounds.\n\nThe present Lord Carew is the 3rd Baron.\n\n\n AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.\n\n W. Flood, \u201cHistory of Enniscorthy.\u201d\n MS. Ordnance Survey of Ireland.\n Parliamentary Gazetteer.\n Joyce, \u201cIrish Place Names.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n_CASTLE DONOVAN_\n\n\nThis stronghold is situated in a wild romantic district among the\nmountains, to the north of the village of Drimoleague in the eastern\ndivision of West Carbery, about seven miles east of Bantry, County Cork.\n\nAbove it rises the hill of Mulraugh-Nesha. The country round is\ndestitute of trees, and from its elevated position the castle is\nvisible from a wide area.\n\nThe fortress consists of a tall, square keep with crenelated\nbattlements and defences projecting from the angles. It is built on a\nrock, the rough surface of which forms the floor of the lower room in\nthe castle.\n\nThere seems to have been no attempt to make the ground even, as great\nindentations, nearly two feet in depth, extend the whole length of the\napartment.\n\nThe first floor is supported by a vault, and this state apartment\nmeasures about 26 feet by 20. The windows and loops are exceedingly\nsmall, the former being surrounded by label mouldings well cut in the\ndark freestone.\n\nA spiral stair leads to the hall above the vault, and this is open to\nthe heavens, but the high-pitched gables of the roof still remain.\nGreat cracks in the masonry run down the centre and through the\nsouth-west angle.\n\nIt belongs to the earliest type of castle which succeeded the peel\ntower. The outworks, of which little remain but the foundations, are\nsituated close to the keep.\n\nThe O\u2019Donovans were descended from a long line of Munster kings.\nCahill, the son of Donovan, was killed in 1254, and from him the\ndistrict round the stronghold took its name, and also the clan of which\nhe was chief.\n\nIt is likely that he erected the fortress.\n\n[Illustration: CASTLE DONOVAN.]\n\nJames I. granted the castle (then called Sowagh) to Donell O\u2019Donovan,\nof Castle Donovan, Gent., and with it a large tract of country, part\nof which was created the manor of Castle Donovan, with 500 acres of\ndemesne.\n\nDonell O\u2019Donovan died in 1639, and his son forfeited the estate in the\nrebellion of 1641.\n\nTradition states that the castle was reduced by Ireton during the\nParliamentary wars.\n\nCharles II. bestowed the lands of Castle Donovan by letters patent on\nLieutenant Nathaniel Evanson in 1679.\n\nThere is a legend regarding a mysterious drip of water which apparently\ncomes from the upper masonry of the tower, and which it is said will\ncontinue as long as there is an heir to the chieftainship of O\u2019Donovan.\n\n\n AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.\n\n J. Windele, \u201cNotices of City of Cork.\u201d\n Parliamentary Gazetteer.\n \u201cRides through the County Cork\u201d (_Dublin Penny Journal_), 1828.\n\n\n\n\n_CASTLE KEVIN, COUNTY CORK_\n\n\nThis name was formerly written Castle Kiffin, and the fortress is\nsituated between Doneraile and the Blackwater in the County Cork.\n\nThe castle has been much altered and modernised since its first\nerection. It contains thirty-two rooms, though some of them are\nexceedingly small. There are 365 windows, one, therefore, for every day\nin the year. The hall of black and white marble is L shaped and much\nworn by age. From this a very handsome oak staircase leads to the first\nlanding, which is lighted by a beautiful old stained-glass window upon\nwhich the Thornhill arms are emblazoned.\n\nDuring repairs in 1810 a number of skeletons were discovered under the\nsteps. They were supposed to be those of soldiers, and beside one a\ngold piece of James II. and a number of copper coins of various dates\nwere found. These are now in the possession of Colonel Badham-Thornhill.\n\nDuring a siege, of which the fortress stood many, the water supply\nwas a serious inconvenience. Not only was the well some distance from\nthe castle, but it was apt to run dry when largely drawn upon. It is\nsituated in the limestone rock at a great depth, and when being cleaned\nin 1825 the key of the portcullis was found at the bottom and carefully\npreserved by E. Badham-Thornhill, who was then owner.\n\nThe castle originally belonged to the O\u2019Keeffs, from which, no doubt,\nthe name is derived. Their territory being seized, was given to the\nAnglo-Norman family of de Rupe, or Roche, and in 1583 David and Maurice\nFitz John Roch are mentioned as of Castlekevin.\n\nCromwell\u2019s troops besieged and took the castle for the Commonwealth,\ntradition stating that the soldiers placed the late owner\u2019s head on a\nlance over the \u201cBell Gate,\u201d near the present stables.\n\nThe castle was then granted to Sir Richard Thornhill, who also\npossessed considerable property in the neighbourhood by purchase, so\nthat the estate was about 10,000 acres in extent in the counties of\nCork and Limerick.\n\nThe Thornhills occupied the castle until 1853, when it was sold in the\nEncumbered Estates Court, and the building was purchased by Mr. E.\nReeves.\n\n\n AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.\n\n C. Smith, \u201cCounty and City of Cork.\u201d\n Fiants of Elizabeth.\n Colonel Badham-Thornhill MS.\n\n\n\n\n_CASTLE KEVIN, COUNTY WICKLOW_\n\n \u201cThe halls where mirth and minstrelsy\n Than Fertire\u2019s winds rose louder,\n Were flung in masses lonely,\n And black with English powder.\u201d\n\n\nIn 1216 King Henry III. granted the manor of Swords with increased\nprivileges to Henry de Loundres, Archbishop of Dublin, on condition\nthat he should build and maintain a castle on his manor of Castle\nKevin. Nearly two centuries later, Swords was seized by the\nCommissioner of Forfeitures on the plea that this had not been done,\nbut it was afterwards returned to the Archbishop of the time as having\nbeen unjustly taken.\n\nThe fortress was intended for protection in this direction against the\ninvasions of the O\u2019Byrnes and O\u2019Tooles. The site was some three and\na half miles north-east of Glendalough, the ancient cathedral city\nof that diocese. Its natural defences were the bog, on the edge of\nwhich it stood, and thick woods that stretched almost from Dublin to\nGlendalough. Quite close to it ran a stream, which joined the Avonmore\nabout a quarter of a mile lower down, near the present village of\nAnnamoe.\n\nIt appears to have been a square building, flanked by towers at each\ncorner. The foundations, which still remain, measure some 120 feet each\nway. They are elevated about 20 feet, and are now covered with grass.\n\nThe castle was built of rubble stone and excellent mortar, which\nis shown by the huge blocks of the walls which still lie round the\nfoundations.\n\nThe Archbishops held courts and exercised jurisdiction here through\ntheir officers, and had their own gallows.\n\nIn 1277-78 the Treasurer\u2019s account for the year contains \u00a360 to John\nde Saunford for the custody of the new castle of Mackinegan and\nCastle Keyvin. The stronghold was often used by the Archbishops as a\nhunting-lodge, the woods around being well stocked with deer. It was\nalso strongly garrisoned.\n\nAt the beginning of the next century (1308) the Viceroy Wogan marched\nagainst the O\u2019Tooles, but was defeated with the loss of several\nknights. Castle Kevin was captured and the garrison killed, while the\ntowns near were sacked and plundered.\n\nLater Piers de Gaveston successfully subdued the rising, and made\na thanksgiving offering at the Church of St. Kevin, Glendalough.\nThe following year he built New Castle in the O\u2019Byrnes\u2019 country and\nrepaired Castle Kevin, at the same time cutting a pass through the\nwoods, from it to Glendalough.\n\nThirty years later Alexander de Bickner received royal orders to repair\nhis fortifications at Castle Kevin, so that at this time it was still\nconnected with the See of Dublin, but it subsequently passed into royal\nkeeping.\n\nIt appears that Henry VIII. by letters patent \u201cmade grants to Arte\nO\u2019Toole and heirs the manor of Castle Kevin and the Farrtree\u201d (hence\nVartry) \u201con conditions they used the English habit, language,\neducation, hostings, aidings, and the like, and that he should keep\nCastle Kevin in repair as a bulwark against the rebels.\u201d\n\nPhelim O\u2019Toole was the representative of the family in 1591 when Hugh\nRoe O\u2019Donnell escaped from one of the gate towers of Dublin Castle,\nwhere he had been confined as a hostage for over three years.\n\nO\u2019Toole having visited him in prison, as a friend, during this time,\nhe naturally thought he was safe in seeking shelter at Castle Kevin.\n\nPhelim\u2019s loyalty was not, however, above suspicion, and he was divided\nbetween his wish to help the young fugitive and fear for his own head.\nIn this difficulty a woman\u2019s wit apparently solved the problem. His\nsister Rose, wife to the great O\u2019Byrne of Ballinacor, was at Castle\nKevin at the time, and she advised him to send a slow messenger\nto Dublin advising the Lord Deputy of O\u2019Donnell\u2019s arrival, and a\nfast messenger to her husband in Glenmalure (who was in a state of\nopen rebellion), telling him to come and carry off Hugh before the\nGovernment officials arrived.\n\nPhelim followed the advice given, but the \u201cwine-dark\u201d Avonmore becoming\nflooded the party of rescuers, at once despatched by O\u2019Byrne, could\nnot cross the river, and the King\u2019s men arrived first upon the scene.\nWhereupon Hugh O\u2019Donnell was escorted back to Dublin, and was confined\nin the Wardrobe Tower in irons, from which, however, he escaped the\nfollowing year.\n\nCaptain Charles Montague, writing to the Lord Deputy in 1596, states\nthat Feagh M\u2019Hugh O\u2019Byrne had threatened to besiege the castle with\nthree hundred men, and that he had provisioned it for a month. The\nsame year a ward was placed in it during the rebellion, while in 1599\na commander was appointed to the forts of Rathdrome, Castlekeavyn, and\nWicklowe, at ten shillings a day.\n\nNo doubt the O\u2019Tooles were implicated in the rebellion referred to, for\nin 1609 we find John Wakeman, who had received the confiscated estate\nof the O\u2019Tooles, selling Castle Kevin back to Luke (or Feogh) O\u2019Toole.\nIn the deed recording the transaction it is remarked that the castle\nfor some years past \u201chath been waste and in utter decay.\u201d\n\nAn inquisition of 1636 found that the son of Arte O\u2019Toole, to whom the\nlands were first granted, had gone into rebellion and died, and that\nhis son Feogh O\u2019Toole who represented the family at the time of the\ninquiry, had bought back Castle Kevin from the man to whom it had been\ngranted after the confiscation of the O\u2019Toole property. Castle Kevin\nhad at this time been uncovered for thirty years, and this was deemed\nsufficient for forfeiture, as it had been granted on condition that it\nshould be kept in repair.\n\nAccordingly in July of the same year an ordinance was issued by the\nKing taking possession. The castle and lands were then granted to Sir\nJohn Coke, Knight, Secretary of State. Dr. Alane Cooke, writing to\nhim from Dublin in August describing his new property, says:--\u201cCastle\nKevin, the town where the castle doth stand; this hath a goodly wood,\nbut no great timber and very fine young oaks;\u201d and again:--\u201cCastle\nKevin is the fittest place to build the manor, because of the strength.\nThe bawn is very good, very near 20 feet high. All the castle is down\nand the bounds are very nearly 50 yards square, a fine small river\nrunning at the foot of the castle.\u201d\n\nThe grant of land consisted of 15,441 acres of all sorts, English\nmeasure, 12 miles from Dublin, with a castle called Kevin, and a fine\nriver full of salmon and trout.\n\nIt does not appear, however, that Luke O\u2019Toole was easily dislodged,\nand when Oliver Cromwell left Dublin to march to Wexford in 1649 he\nproved a source of constant annoyance to the troops. At this time he\nwas encamped at Glenmalure with his four sons, one of whom managed to\nseize Cromwell\u2019s favourite steed. Its owner offered \u00a3100 to Luke for\nits return, \u201cbut for gold or silver he would not give him back, but\npreferred to keep him as a monument.\u201d\n\nIt is said that in revenge for this Cromwell ordered his cannon to\nlevel Castle Kevin. Local tradition supports this statement by pointing\nout a furze-covered rath from which the castle is supposed to have\nbeen shelled by Ludlow, while the blocks of adhering masonry round the\nfoundations are unlike the crumbling of age alone.\n\nAgainst this it is remarked that Castle Kevin does not appear in the\nlist of Leinster castles reduced by Cromwell. This, however, might be\naccounted for from the fact that (as it appears) only a part of the\ncastle walls were standing at the time, and that its final destruction\nhad no strategical value, but was merely private revenge for the theft\nof a horse, and so was not recorded.\n\nLuke O\u2019Toole was afterwards captured and executed.\n\nThe land upon which the remains of the castle stand is now in the\npossession of the Rev. Charles Frizell, who also owns the modern manor\nhouse of Castle Kevin, some quarter of a mile distant, on a hill above\nthe ancient building.\n\n\n AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.\n\n D\u2019Alton, \u201cArchbishops of Dublin.\u201d\n O\u2019Toole, \u201cClan of O\u2019Toole.\u201d\n State Papers.\n Carew MSS.\n Murphy, \u201cCromwell in Ireland.\u201d\n O\u2019Clery, \u201cHugh Roe O\u2019Donnell.\u201d Introduction by Murphy.\n Gilbert, \u201cHistory of the Viceroys.\u201d\n Stokes, \u201cAnglo-Norman Church.\u201d\n Reeves, Pamphlet on Swords.\n Rev. W. Stokes, Pamphlet on Derrylossory.\n\n\n\n\n_CASTLE SALEM_\n\n\nBenduff, signifying the black peak or gable, was the former name of\nthis fortress, which was built on a rock in the centre of a small\nvalley about a mile north-west of Ross, in East Carbery, Co. Cork.\n\nThe present ruins consist of the castle and a more modern\ndwelling-house, which was added to the back of the fortress and\ncommunicated with it by the ancient doorway of the keep, about 12 feet\nfrom the ground, and which gave access to the first landing of the more\nmodern staircase. The castle had three arches, the walls being 11 feet\nthick, and containing passages and recesses. A stone stair led to the\nsummit, which originally was reached at about 70 feet from the ground.\n\nWhen in possession of the Morris family the old covering was replaced\nby a slated roof, the material for which was, no doubt, procured at the\nneighbouring slate quarry.\n\nThe situation is so enclosed by the surrounding hills that figs grew\nplentifully here in former days. The pleasure grounds were at one time\nlaid out in the Dutch style; yew, beech, and laurel grew to great\nperfection, and in a grove of the latter a rookery was established. The\nremains of a deer-park wall are still to be seen.\n\nThe fortress is generally supposed to have been erected by the\nO\u2019Donovans, but it is also ascribed to the Lady Catherine Fitzgerald,\ndaughter of Thomas, 8th Earl of Desmond, and sister-in-law to the\nlong-lived Countess. This would place its building at the later end\nof the fifteenth century. There are various legends told about \u201cthe\nblack lady\u201d in connection with Benduff, and they may refer to the above\nGeraldine.\n\nLater the castle belonged to the M\u2019Carthys, and at the time of the\nCommonwealth confiscation it was in the possession of one Florence\nM\u2019Carty.\n\nThe estate was granted to Major Apollo Morris, an officer in Cromwell\u2019s\narmy, during the seventeenth century, and upon the restoration of\nCharles II. he retained his lands through the interest of the King\u2019s\nsecretary, to whom he was related.\n\nThe grant was preserved in the castle until the middle of the\nnineteenth century, when Mr. William Morris sent it to a Cork\nbookseller for publication, and it was lost through the failure of the\nfirm.\n\nMajor Morris was succeeded by William Morris, who was an intimate\nfriend of the great William Penn.\n\nOn the right-hand side of the avenue is an old Quaker burial-ground,\nwhich was established by him, and to which \u201cFriends\u2019\u201d funerals came\nfrom all parts of Cork. He was himself interred there, but against all\nthe rules of the order a tomb was erected to his memory, which may\nstill be seen, and after that the Quakers ceased to bring their dead to\nBenduff for interment.\n\nThe property passed from the possession of the Morris family into that\nof the Fitzgibbons.\n\n\n AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.\n\n D. Donovan, \u201cSketches in Carbery.\u201d\n Smith, \u201cCounty and City of Cork.\u201d\n Townsend, \u201cStatistical Survey of the County of Cork.\u201d\n Book of Survey and Distribution.\n\n\n\n\n_CLOGHAN CASTLE_\n\n\nThis fortress is situated between the Shannon and Little Brosna River,\non the banks of the latter, about three miles south of Banagher, in the\nKing\u2019s County. This part of the country was formerly joined to Galway.\n\nJoyce gives the meaning of the name Cloghan as \u201cstepping stones,\u201d but\nCooke states that the full appellation is Cloghan-na-geaorach, or \u201cthe\nstony place of the sheep,\u201d Cloghan Hill being still famous for rearing\nthese animals.\n\nWhen a tennis-court was being made some years back a number of human\nbones and cannon shot were found, while inside the castle a hand was\ndiscovered in the wall covered by the plaster.\n\nThe castle is supposed to have been built in the reign of King John and\nto be one of the oldest inhabited castles in Ireland.\n\nIn 1249 we have a mention of \u201cMacCoghlan of the castles\u201d of which\nCloghan was one, but it subsequently passed to the O\u2019Maddens. The\nfortress was usually called \u201cCloghan O\u2019Madden,\u201d but on Sir William\nPetty\u2019s map it is marked \u201cPoghan.\u201d\n\nIt was destroyed in 1548 for fear it might fall into the hands of the\nEnglish, but it must have been afterwards restored, as in 1595 Sir\nWilliam Russell, Lord Deputy, laid siege to it. A quaint account of the\ntaking of the castle is given in a journal of the time which is, no\ndoubt, accurate in the main.\n\nIt appears O\u2019Madden was absent \u201cin rebellion,\u201d but he had garrisoned\nthe castle with his chief men.\n\nThe Lord Deputy arrived on Thursday, 11th of March, and upon his\napproach the garrison set alight three of their houses near the castle,\nand opened fire on the troops, wounding two soldiers and a boy.\n\nWhen surrender was demanded they replied to Captain Lea that even if\nevery soldier was a Deputy they would hold out.\n\nCaptain Izod was detailed to see none of them escaped by the bog. Sir\nWilliam visited the watch at midnight, and hearing there were women in\nthe castle sent the garrison word that he would begin the attack next\nmorning with fire and sword, and told them to send the women away, but\nthey refused.\n\nIn the morning one of the soldiers threw a fire brand on the thatched\nroof of the castle, which set it alight, and at the same time a bonfire\nwas lighted at the door, which smothered many of the inmates. A breach\nwas soon made in the walls, and those who had not been suffocated were\nhurled over the battlements.\n\nForty-six persons were killed, two women and a boy being alone saved\nby the Deputy\u2019s command. Most of the garrison were O\u2019Maddens, but a\nCaptain M\u2019Coleghan and his two sons were also amongst the slain.\n\nSome accounts give the number executed as 140.\n\nThe O\u2019Madden\u2019s territory was forfeited after the rebellion of 1641,\nand in 1683 Cloghan was granted to Garrett Moore, who claimed to be\ndescended from Rory Oge O\u2019Moore, Chief of Leix.\n\nHis almanac, or diary, was found in the castle, dated 1699. It contains\nentries of lead got for repairing the fortress. It also records methods\nof making expanding bullets and noiseless powder, as well as other\nstrange information.\n\nAfter the battle of Aughrim troops from Birr took possession of the\ncastle, and it was garrisoned under the command of Lieutenant Archibald\nArmstrong.\n\nIn the middle of last century it was purchased by Dr. Graves, and is\nat present in the possession of his descendant, Robert Kennedy Crogan\nGraves, Esq.\n\n\n AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.\n\n Donovan, \u201cAnnals of the Four Masters.\u201d\n Cooke, \u201cHistory of Birr.\u201d\n J. Wright, \u201cKing\u2019s County Directory.\u201d\n Joyce, \u201cIrish Names of Places.\u201d\n Proceedings of Kilkenny Arch\u00e6ological Society.\n\n[Illustration: OLD CROM CASTLE.]\n\n\n\n\n_CROM CASTLE_\n\n\nThis castle is situated in the parish of Galloon, Barony of Coole,\nCounty Fermanagh. It stands on the east bank of Lough Erne, about\nsixteen miles from Enniskillen.\n\nThe name Crom, or Crum, signifies \u201csloping\u201d or \u201ccrooked.\u201d\n\nThe remains of the chief walls form a square of about 50 feet, which\ndoes not coincide with the measurements given in several inquisitions.\nSome of the stones have evidently been carried off for building\npurposes since the building was burnt in 1764.\n\nThe position of the castle was commanded by wooded hills, and it is\nbuilt so near the shore that the waves dash against it in winter time.\nIt seems to have had no outer ring of defences, and it is therefore\neven more wonderful how it should have been successfully defended in\ntwo sieges.\n\nThe marks of the cannonading are now covered by a heavy growth of ivy.\n\nMichael Balfour, laird of Mountwhany in Fifeshire, began to erect the\nfortress in 1611, when granted the manor of Crum, under the plantation\nscheme of Ulster.\n\nIn 1616 he sold the property to Sir Stephen Butler, and in 1619\nNicholas Pynnar describes Crum as follows: \u201cUpon this proportion there\nis a bawne of lime and stone, being 60 feet square, 12 feet high with\ntwo flankers. Within the bawne there is a house of lime and stone.\u201d\n\nThe Rev. George Hill states that the castle was built by Butler and\nBalfour at great expense, so it is likely to have been added to after\nit changed hands.\n\nIn 1629 another inquisition describes it as \u201cOne bawne of stone and\nlime, containing 61 feet every way and 15 feet in height; and within\nthe same is one castle, or capital messuage, built in like manner of\nlime and stone containing 22 feet each way.\u201d\n\nCrum was leased to Dr. James Spottiswood, Bishop of Clogher, in 1624.\n\nIt must for a short time after this have been possessed by the\nM\u2019Manuses, who offered it for sale at \u00a3100 and 100 cows. Among the\nState Papers of 1646 is preserved Sir William Cole\u2019s petition to\nthe Commissioners to be advanced \u00a3160, so that he might become the\npurchaser. He promises to return the money if unsuccessful, and says it\nis the only hold the rebels have in the country and \u201ca place of good\nstrength.\u201d The money appears to have been sent.\n\nWe find, however, in 1645, that it is mentioned in Bishop Spottiswood\u2019s\nwill, and through his daughter marrying Colonel Abraham Creichton the\nleasehold passed to that family.\n\nIt was afterwards converted into a perpetuity, subject to a small head\nrent, which was bought out by the Earl of Erne in 1810 from Brinsley,\n4th Earl of Lanesborough, a descendant of Francis Butler.\n\nIn the struggle for the Crown between James and William, Crum was twice\nunsuccessfully besieged.\n\nIt was a place of considerable importance, as it commanded the waterway\nbetween Enniskillen and Belturbet.\n\nThe first attempt was made in March, 1689.\n\nColonel Abraham Creichton, although an old man, had fortified the\ncastle and garrisoned it with his tenants and retainers. Lord Galmoy\narrived at Belturbet with a considerable force belonging to King\nJames\u2019s army, but found the roads so boggy as to be impassable for\ncannon. He therefore decided to make some mock guns by which to\nfrighten the garrison into submission.\n\nThey were manufactured out of tin, measured about a yard long and 8\ninches in the bore. They were bound together with fine cord twisted\nround them, and the whole covered with a kind of buckram to represent\nthe colour of a real cannon.\n\nTo this sham artillery sixteen horses were harnessed and they were\nbrought to Crum with a great show of difficulty and much apparent\nurging of the animals.\n\nAs soon as they were within ordinary range of the fortress Lord Galmoy\ndemanded its surrender, and upon being refused he tried to fire one\nof his fraudulent guns with a wooden bullet, but it burst and nearly\nkilled the gunner.\n\nHe then began a systematic siege and sent messengers to Enniskillen to\ndemand that garrison\u2019s surrender too.\n\nThe governor of the town at once despatched two hundred firelocks to\nrelieve the castle of Crum. Some were sent by water and some by land\nduring the night, but daylight had arrived before they reached their\ndestination.\n\nThe besiegers opposed their landing, but nevertheless they forced their\nway into the castle with the loss of only one boatman, while Lord\nGalmoy\u2019s party lost several.\n\nA sally was at once made from the fortress, and the besiegers were\ndriven from their trenches with a loss of thirty or forty men, and\nthe garrison captured the mock guns and took two suits of armour and\nseveral other valuable things.\n\nLord Galmoy then retreated to Belturbet.\n\nColonel Creichton\u2019s son David, then a lad of eighteen, greatly\ndistinguished himself during the conflict.\n\nAlthough the castle was unprovided with cannon, great execution was\ndone by the long fowling-pieces generally used for wild fowl on the\nlake.\n\nLord Galmoy was standing on a hill about an English mile distant from\nthe castle, with a glass of wine in his hand, which he was about to\ndrink to the confusion of the garrison, when a fowler from the fortress\nshattered the glass he was raising and killed the man beside him.\n\nAt this time a Captain MacGuire was prisoner at Crum, and Lord Galmoy\nproposed to Colonel Creichton to exchange Captain Dixey for him. This\nwas agreed to, but when MacGuire was sent, Lord Galmoy, instead of\nreturning Dixey, had him hanged with a cornet named Charleton.\n\nCaptain MacGuire was so disgusted with the treachery that he returned\nto Crum and threw up his commission in James\u2019s army.\n\nLord Galmoy also enticed Colonel Creichton to a parley, and would have\nput him to death, too, had not Lord Mountcashel rescued the old man and\nconducted him safely back to his castle.\n\nThe following year Crum was again besieged, and Colonel Creichton sent\nan urgent message to Enniskillen to say that the besiegers had brought\ncannon with them. The next day he sent another message saying that\nLieutenant-General MacCarthy had begun to batter the fortress.\n\nThis was Monday, and Colonel Wolseley returned answer that they should\nbe relieved on Wednesday, and in the meantime he despatched orders for\nreinforcements to Ballyshannon.\n\nA strong detachment set out, therefore, from Enniskillen to the\ncastle\u2019s relief, but upon their approach the enemy withdrew to\nNewtownbutler, where a great engagement was fought that shattered the\ncause of James II. in the north of Ireland. The garrison of Crum Castle\ngreatly distinguished themselves in this engagement.\n\nThe David Creichton, who was eighteen at the time of the siege,\nfinally succeeded his nephew in the estate. He left an only son, who\nwas created Lord Erne, and it was in his lifetime that the castle was\nburnt.\n\nA letter from Lord Shannon, dated September 1, 1764, is still in the\nfamily\u2019s possession, in which he condoles with his kinsman for the\ndestruction of his castle. \u201cUnhappy indeed to be consumed by a few\naccidental sparks of fire when it had so bravely withstood the firing\nof 6,000 men so many years ago.\u201d\n\nTo the south of the fortress along the side of the lake lay the castle\ngardens, in the centre of which still grows a magnificent yew-tree,\nunder which tradition records an O\u2019Neill and his lady-love parted in\nthe reign of Oueen Elizabeth upon the former being attainted for high\ntreason.\n\nHenry, however, writing in 1739, says it was only planted about seventy\nyears previously. It is 25 feet in height, while the trunk is 12 feet\nin girth. The circumference of the branches is 120 feet.\n\nIt was the custom for many years for sportsmen on the lake to fire\na salute when passing the ruined fortress, which produced a most\nwonderful echo, as if the shot had been answered by a volley.\n\n\n AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.\n\n The Earl of Erne, \u201cCrom Castle\u201d in _Ulster Journal of Arch\u00e6ology_.\n King, \u201cHenry\u2019s Upper Lough Erne in 1739.\u201d\n Latimer, \u201cActions of the Enniskillen Men.\u201d\n Joyce, \u201cIrish Names of Places.\u201d\n State Papers.\n Proceedings of Royal Society of Antiquaries.\n\n\n\n\n_DOE CASTLE_\n\n\nThis fortress is situated at the extremity of a small Donegal bay\ncalled Sheephaven, in the Barony of Kilmacrenan, about a mile east of\nCreeslough. It was the chief stronghold of the MacSweenys, and derives\nits name from MacSweeny Doe or MacSweeny \u201cof the districts.\u201d\n\nThe castle is built on a projecting rock, surrounded by the waters\nof the inlet upon the north, east, and south, while on the west its\nentrance was guarded by drawbridge and portcullis, as well as a fosse\nfilled with sea-water.\n\nA modern house is attached to the old fortress, which has a rectangular\ntower, and a circular donjon used as a dairy in modern times.\n\nM\u2019Parland, writing in 1802, in his statistical survey, records that the\ncastle was fortified with a strong tower by the grandfather of the then\nMacSweeny of Dunfanaghy.\n\nThere seems to be no record of the erection of the fortress, and\ndifferent authorities ascribe its building to various persons. Manus\nOge says Doe was erected by Nachton O\u2019Donnell for one of his seven sons\nat the same time that the castles of Burt, Inch, and Ramelton were\nbuilt, while M\u2019Parland accredits a lady named Quinn with its erection,\nwho married a M\u2019Swine, shortly before Elizabeth came to the throne.\n\nDr. Allman believes it dates from about the beginning of Henry VIII.\u2019s\nreign, and tradition states that Doe passed to the MacSweenys in the\nfifteenth century, when a peace was concluded between O\u2019Neill and\nO\u2019Donnell in 1440.\n\nRed Hugh O\u2019Donnell lived at Doe Castle with his foster father, Owen\nOge MacSweeny, and it was while in his care that he was kidnapped at\nRathmullen by Sir John Perrott in 1588.\n\nSir Hugh MacSwine na Oge, surnamed the Red, was one of Queen\nElizabeth\u2019s chief favourites, and a polished courtier. Very different,\nhowever, was the last of the MacSwines who occupied Doe Castle.\nThis was Sir Miles MacSweeny of the Club, who was knighted by Oueen\nElizabeth, and about whom tales of great brutality are recorded.\n\nHe was called \u201cof the club\u201d from his bludgeoning the better classes of\nhis clan to death with his own hand if they offended him, while the\npoorer ones he consigned to a retainer called Furey and his satellites\nto hang from the castle walls.\n\nA legend is told of how his beautiful daughter, Eileen, fell in love\nwith Turlogh Oge, son of The O\u2019Boyle, against her father\u2019s wish. The\nlovers used to meet on the beach and in the woods near the castle.\nHer father discovered their trysts and confined her to the fortress\nunder the care of a worthy matron. The young people were thus reduced\nto signalling to each other--the maiden from the battlements, and her\nlover from his canoe in the bay. This became known to The MacSweeny,\nand with two boats of armed men he waylaid the young man and a few\nretainers on their way back from Lackagh, and brought them prisoners to\nthe castle.\n\nHere he starved them to death, and as the bodies were being carried to\nthe graveyard the fair Eileen saw and recognised her lover. She never\nrecovered the shock and grief, and not long afterwards she was found\ndead on the top of one of the castle towers.\n\nFishermen say that the spirits of the ill-fated pair haunt the bay, and\nby moonlight a phantom skiff may sometimes be seen skimming the waters\ncontaining the two ghostly lovers.\n\nThe castle was included in a grant of lands made by James I. to the\nEarl of Tyrconnell.\n\nIn 1607 it was seized by Caffer O\u2019Donnell and Neale M\u2019Swine with some\nfollowers. These young discontents alleged as their reason an old\ngrievance against the Earl, who was given authority by the Lord Deputy\nand Council to march against them.\n\nAccordingly Sir Richard Handson, the Earl, and Sir Neale O\u2019Donnell\narrived before the stronghold, when some of the offenders submitted,\nand some were taken and hanged. Sir Neale O\u2019Donnell was badly hurt in\nthe fray.\n\nIn the State Papers Sir Arthur Chichester advises that the troublesome\nyouths should be given grants of lands as the best way of making them\npeaceful subjects. It is also recommended that the castle should be\ngarrisoned by the King\u2019s men.\n\nThe latter was evidently done, as shortly afterwards the Earl of\nTyrconnell lodged a complaint against Captain Brook and his men being\nquartered in the castle with privileges, after he (the Earl) had in\nperson expelled the discontents.\n\nThe following year (1608) Doe was again lost to the English in the\nrebellion of Sir Cahir O\u2019Doherty. It was in charge of a man named\nVaughan and six warders, when a cowherd and a friar arriving with the\ntale that a body of wolves had set upon the cattle, they easily managed\nto draw six of them from the stronghold, who were at once killed, and\nthe castle seized and garrisoned for the enemy.\n\nA party was organised to retake it, and in the encounter with the\nrebels Sir Cahir was killed.\n\nThe castle was captured by Sir Oliver Lambert, and it was said to be\n\u201cthe strongest hold in all the province, which endured a hundred blows\nof the demi-cannon before it yielded.\u201d\n\nCaptain Elling was then appointed constable, and \u00a376 13s. 4d. was\ngranted him towards repairing the damage done by the cannon in the\nsiege.\n\nAt this time it had a garrison of fifty men.\n\nSir Richard Bingley was appointed constable in 1610, and at the same\ntime received a grant of land in the county. After this there seems to\nhave been a succession of constables until it was captured by the Irish\nin 1641. Owen Roe O\u2019Neill landed here the following year from Dunkirk,\nand, being met by Sir Phelim O\u2019Neill with other chiefs and one thousand\nfive hundred men, proceeded to Ballyshannon.\n\nIn 1646 Quartermaster Harrison asked for the possession of the castle,\nwhich the enemy had deserted, and offered to garrison and maintain it\nwith thirty warders.\n\nSir Charles Coot captured it in 1650, and Colonel Miles M\u2019Sweeny tried\nto retake it the same year.\n\nThe Harrisons sold it to the Harte family during the eighteenth century.\n\nGeneral Harte was present at the battle of Seringapatam, and the\ncapture of Tippoo Sahib, whose servant was also taken prisoner at the\nsame time, and afterwards came to Ireland with General Harte.\n\nHe lived at Doe Castle, and was devotedly attached to his new master.\nHe always wore his native dress, and is reported to have slept fully\narmed on a mat at the General\u2019s door.\n\nHe did not long survive his master, the General meeting with a sad\ndeath by falling down the stairway leading to the tower.\n\nCannon captured at Seringapatam were mounted on the lawn of the castle.\n\nThe Hartes subsequently let Doe to a Mr. Maddison, but it remained in\nthe possession of the family until 1866, when it was purchased by Mr.\nArds.\n\nThe history of Doe Castle is not altogether as clear on many points as\ncould be wished, for the authorities seem to be greatly confused over\nmany important points.\n\n\n AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.\n\n State Papers.\n Harkin, \u201cScenery and Antiquities of North-West Donegal.\u201d\n Joyce, \u201cIrish Names of Places.\u201d\n M\u2019Devitt, \u201cDonegal Highlands.\u201d\n Parliamentary Gazetteer.\n\n[Illustration: DRIMNAGH CASTLE.]\n\n\n\n\n_DRIMNAGH CASTLE_\n\n\nAbout three miles from Dublin, between Crumlin and Clondalkin, is\nsituated the old fortress of Drimnagh or Druimneach, which signifies\nthe \u201cridged lands,\u201d so called from the proximity of the sand ridges\ncalled the Green Hills.\n\nThe castle is an oblong building with pointed battlements at the\ncorners. A passage with an arched entrance high enough for a loaded\ncart to enter is visible from the road, above which rises three\nstoreys, with a modern window in each.\n\nA turret stairway also projects on this side and rises above the\nbattlements. An ancient chimney flue is to be seen crowned by a modern\naddition.\n\nA small turret rises above the battlements on the north side as well,\nat which side a strong, modern house has been added.\n\nThe castle is covered by a modern slated roof. Some outhouses bear\nmarks of antiquity, and a little distance from the main building is\na small, square tower, which, no doubt, formed an outpost for the\ngarrison. The fortress was surrounded by a moat at the beginning of the\nnineteenth century, and its position can still be traced.\n\nIn 1215 the lands of Drimnagh were granted by King John to Hugh de\nBernivall, and he is supposed to have built the castle early in this\nreign.\n\nThe lands were confirmed to his brother in 1221, and they remained in\nhis descendants\u2019 possession for four hundred years.\n\nIn 1435 Wolfran Barnewall had licence to entail his estates, and in\n1613 the family leased the castle to Sir Adam Loftus, a nephew of the\nArchbishop, with the reservation that no timber was to be cut.\n\nSome time later a Peter Barnewall succeeded to the property, and he\nwas unwilling to renew Sir Adam\u2019s lease, whereupon that gentleman\nendeavoured with some members of the Barnewall family to prevent his\ninheriting the estate, and proceeded at the same time to cut down the\ngreat trees which surrounded the fortress. After much litigation the\nKing at length intervened on behalf of Barnewall, and Sir Adam was\nrestrained from doing any more damage.\n\nIn 1649, after the battle of Rathmines, the Duke of Ormond seriously\ncontemplated fortifying Drimnagh and making it his headquarters, but he\nwas dissuaded by General Purcell.\n\nColonel Nicholas Walker, a Cromwellian officer, lived in the castle\nafter the Restoration. It was said that he was present on the scaffold\nat the execution of Charles I. with his face covered by a vizor. The\nHearth Money Returns of 1664 state that Drimnagh was occupied by\n\u201cLt.-Col. -----,\u201d and had three \u201csmooks\u201d or chimneys.\n\nIn 1841 the fortress was the property of the Marquis of Lansdowne. It\nwas one of the castles of the Pale, and the scene of Mr. R. D. Joyce\u2019s\nromance entitled \u201cThe Rose of Drimnagh\u201d is laid there.\n\nUntil lately it was inhabited by Mrs. Mylott, but it is now empty.\n\n\n AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.\n\n D\u2019Alton, \u201cHistory of County Dublin.\u201d\n P., \u201cDrimnagh Castle,\u201d in _Irish Penny Journal_.\n E. Ball, \u201cDescriptive Sketch of Clondalkin, Tallaght,\u201d\n &c., in _Journal of Royal Society of Antiquaries_, Ireland.\n Dix, \u201cLesser Castles in the County Dublin,\u201d in _Irish Builder_.\n Joyce, \u201cRambles Round Dublin,\u201d in _Evening Telegraph_ Reprints.\n\n[Illustration: DUBLIN CASTLE.]\n\n\n\n\n_DUBLIN CASTLE_\n\n\nThe situation chosen by the Norsemen for the first fortress of\n\u201cDuibhlinn\u201d (A.D. 840) was naturally strong, being on a\nhill at the junction of the Liffey and the Poddle. After this date we\nread of several raids upon the dun, or castle of Dublin, including the\ntreacherous entry into the city of Milun DeCogan and Meyler Fitz-Henri\nduring a truce, when all the defenders of the stronghold were put to\nthe sword. This was shortly after the landing of Strongbow. The present\narea covered by Government buildings includes the ancient site.\n\nWhen Henry II. came to Dublin a large wooden hall, covered with\nwattles, was erected in Dame Street, that he might entertain the Irish\nchiefs who came to pay homage. Upon his return to England he committed\n\u201cDublin with its castle and donjon to Hugh de Laci, Fitz-Stephen, and\nMorice Fitz-Gerald.\u201d Hugh de Lacy became the first Viceroy. It was\nwhile he was in England that Meyler Fitz-Henry, who had been appointed\nLord Justice in his absence, wrote to King John complaining that he had\nno safe place to store the King\u2019s treasure, and asking for leave to\nerect a proper fortress. This he received in the form of a patent dated\n1204, which says:--\n\n\u201cBut you are first to finish one tower, unless afterwards a castle and\npalace, and other works that may require greater leisure, may be more\nconveniently raised, and that we should command you so to do.\u201d\n\nThe grant consisted of 300 marks, which was owed to the King by\nG. Fitz-Robert, and there are no records to show whether FitzHenry\never collected the debt, or even began the castle in the three years\nafterwards for which he held office. It seems to be a very general\nopinion that the castle was built about 1220 by Henry Loundres,\nArchbishop of Dublin, either at his own expense, or that he advanced\nthe money as a loan. A State paper, however, dated 1217, grants the\nArchbishop two cantreds without Dublin for damage done to his churches\nin fortifying the castle, and later there are many entries regarding\ncompensation to be paid in money to Henry Loundres in lieu of land\nwhich had been encroached upon when extending the fortifications.\n\nIn 1242 an entry records that the windows of St. Edward\u2019s Chapel\nbelonging to the castle were to be glazed, and divine service held.\nThis building seems to have been outside the fortress walls, on the\nsite of the present Chapel Royal which was erected in 1814. In 1243 a\nhall was to be built 120 feet long and 80 feet wide. It was to have\nglazed windows, with a round one at the gable end 30 feet in diameter.\n\nThe entrance to the castle was by a drawbridge on the north side, the\nsite now being occupied by the gate to the Upper Castle Yard. This\nbridge was flanked by two towers, and defended by a portcullis, and\nlater by ordnance as well. From the gate towers, often used as State\nprisons, a high curtain or wall extended east and west. In the westward\ndirection it joined what in later years was known as Cork Tower,\nbecause it was rebuilt by the great Earl of Cork in 1629, it having\nfallen in 1624, and been only partly restored. He spent \u00a3408 on it.\n\nFrom this the wall was continued south to the Birmingham Tower, which\nis said to have derived its name from its having been erected either\nby John Birmingham, Earl of Louth, Lord Justice 1321, or Walter\nBirmingham, who held office in 1348. It is more likely, however, that\nthis tower is identical with that known as the high tower, and that\nit received the name Birmingham after William Birmingham and his son\nWalter had been imprisoned there in 1331, otherwise the fortress would\nhave been incomplete prior to 1321, and the side with least natural\ndefence unprotected. From Birmingham Tower the curtain extended\neastward (intersected by two smaller towers) to Wardrobe Tower. From\nthis the wall was continued northward to the Store Tower near Dame\u2019s\nGate, which was in its turn connected with the eastern gate tower.\nThere were two sallyports in the wall.\n\nOf the eight towers which once protected the fortress only the Wardrobe\nTower now remains, often erroneously called Birmingham Tower. This,\nas its name implies, is where the royal robe, cap of maintenance,\nand other furniture of state were kept. The sword of state is still\npreserved there, and also the records which were removed from\nBirmingham Tower. The lower portion is the original masonry, but an\nupper storey was added when the Chapel Royal was built. The Birmingham\nTower was rendered unsafe by an explosion of gunpowder in Ship Street\nand had to be taken down. A lighter structure was erected on the site,\nwhich contains the present kitchen and viceregal supper-room. The other\ntowers were gradually removed to make room for new buildings.\n\nThe Anglo-Irish used to decorate the gate and walls of the castle with\nthe heads of the slain, and in 1316 some four hundred heads were sent\nfrom Wicklow for this purpose.\n\nThe castle did not become a permanent residence of the Viceroy until\n1560 by order of Elizabeth, and in 1565 Henry Sydney took up his abode\nin it. He also enlarged and beautified it, and placed the State papers\nthere in safe keeping.\n\nThe castle has stood several successful sieges. In 1478 Gerald, 8th\nEarl of Kildare, was superseded as Lord Deputy by Lord Grey of Codnor.\nHe refused to resign, and Keating, Prior of Kilmainham, and Constable\nof the Castle, sided with him, and fortified the stronghold against\nthe new Deputy. He destroyed the drawbridge, and Lord Grey, finding\nhis numbers too small to force an entrance, returned to England, and\nKildare was shortly afterwards reinstated.\n\nAgain, in 1534, young Lord Offaly, known as \u201cSilken Thomas\u201d from\nthe splendour of his horses\u2019 trappings, hearing a false report that\nhis father had been treacherously executed in England, returned the\nSword of State to the Council, which he held as Deputy in the Earl of\nKildare\u2019s absence, and commenced hostilities against the castle.\n\nIt is said the citizens readily admitted him within the walls of\nDublin. His chief attack was from Ship Street, but the Constable of the\ncastle getting the thatched houses there set on fire, the besiegers\nfell back into Thomas Street.\n\nLord Offaly having been obliged to commence hostilities against Ossary,\nthe siege was not carried on with much heart. Many of the arrows sent\ninto the castle were headless, and others bore letters saying some of\nthe besiegers were really in sympathy with the King\u2019s party.\n\nUpon the rumour of help from England, the citizens closed the gates and\nmade prisoners of the attackers.\n\nLord Thomas hurried back, and at once laid siege to the city itself,\nbut his force was too small to have any effect.\n\nAs he had seized the Dublin children who had been sent to outlying\nvillages on account of the plague, the citizens agreed to liberate his\nparty if the little ones were restored. This was done, and shortly\nafterwards aid from England quelled the rebellion.\n\nSeveral exciting escapes have been made by prisoners from the castle.\nIn 1587 Hugh O\u2019Donnell was confined in one of the gate towers for three\nyears, when he and a companion managed to escape on to the drawbridge\nby a rope. He was, however, treacherously sent back to Dublin by\nO\u2019Toole of Castlekevin, upon whose hospitality he had thrown himself.\nAt this time a partly dry and partly wet moat surrounded Dublin Castle,\nand O\u2019Donnell was now imprisoned in the Wardrobe Tower round which the\nPoddle flowed. He, however, escaped again the next year through the\nwater, and, arriving after much hardship at Glenmalure, eventually\nreached the North in safety.\n\nIn 1697 Lord Delvin was imprisoned in one of the gate towers for taking\npart in a conspiracy against the King. The Lord Deputy hearing that he\nmeditated escape, desired Tristram Ecclesten, Constable of the Castle,\nto remove his prisoner from the upper to a lower storey. Not only\ndid Ecclesten neglect to do this, but he allowed Lord Delvin to have\nvisitors, who managed to convey him a rope, by which he escaped. Next\nyear he surrendered himself and was pardoned.\n\nLaw Courts and Parliaments have at different times been held in the\ncastle.\n\nIn 1689 King James made a State entry, and stayed one night there after\nthe battle of the Boyne.\n\nIn 1783 St. Patrick\u2019s Hall was built. In 1784 the Viceregal Lodge was\nbought, and since then the State apartments of the castle have only\nbeen used during the Dublin season.\n\n\n AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.\n\n O\u2019Donovan, \u201cAnnals of the Four Masters.\u201d\n Calendar of Irish State Papers in England.\n Wright, \u201cHistorical Guide to Dublin.\u201d\n Harris, \u201cHistory of Dublin.\u201d\n Marquis of Kildare, \u201cEarls of Kildare.\u201d\n Brewer, \u201cBeauties of Ireland.\u201d\n M\u2019Gee, \u201cHistory of Ireland.\u201d\n Joyce, \u201cHistory of Ireland.\u201d\n Gilbert, \u201cCastle of Dublin\u201d (_University Magazine_).\n Haverty, \u201cIreland.\u201d\n Collins, \u201cSydney State Letters.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n_DUNDANIEL CASTLE_\n\n\nThis castle is situated on the western margin of the Barony of\nKinnelea, in the townland of Skevanish, County Cork. It stands on the\nleft bank of the Bandon River, in the angle formed by the influx of\nthe Brinny. It is half a mile above Innishannon, and three miles below\nBandon.\n\nThe present name seems, from ancient documents, to be a corruption of\nDundanier, or a word of the same phonetic sound. Different suggestions\nhave been put forward as to the probable meaning of the original\nname, including \u201cDane\u2019s Fort,\u201d or \u201cthe fort of the foreigner,\u201d and\n\u201cthe fort of the two rivers.\u201d This latter would be a very appropriate\nappellation, its south and west sides being protected by the converging\nstreams.\n\nNothing now remains of the castle save the keep, which measures 32 feet\neast and west, and 44 feet north and south.\n\nThe entrance is in a ruined state on the east side, and between it\nand the river on the south the masonry has almost wholly disappeared.\nThe walls on the north and west are 6 feet thick, while on the south\nand east they measure 8 feet, although these sides have otherwise\napparently less provision for defence.\n\nMr. Herbert Gillman gives a most interesting suggestion regarding this\nfact. He says that in all probability a winding stair was situated\nin the thickness of the walls at the south-east angle, the building\nof which has now disappeared, and that this stairway terminated at\nthe hall or chief apartment of the castle usually occupied by the\ncastellan. Upon the north-east angle of the tower is now the remains\nof a ruined turret, and Mr. Gillman thinks this is most likely to have\nbeen the protection for the egress to the _allur_ or battlemented walk,\nwhich was reached from the main chamber by a second stairway in this\npart of the wall. By such an arrangement no watchman could leave his\npost of duty without passing through the room in question, and thus a\ngreater protection would be secured.\n\nWe learn from the Lismore papers that the top of the fortress was\nreached by a very narrow \u201cpair of stairs.\u201d\n\nThe tower is about 55 or 60 feet high. The stone arch which is usual\nin such buildings covering the internal space, is in this instance\nsituated singularly high up, being immediately beneath the top storey,\nand there is no mark on the lower walls to show that a second ever\nexisted. The ground floor was used for defence as well as for the usual\nstore, and above it beams, on stone corbels, supported two oak floors\nbetween the basement and the arch. Light and air were chiefly admitted\nby long openings splayed for archery. It is interesting to note also\nthe later apertures introduced after musketry superseded the bow and\narrow.\n\nOf the former outworks of the fortress little trace remains. On the\neast of the tower, at about a hundred yards distant, is what an old\ninhabitant stated to be a disused channel of the River Manghane or\nBrinny. This fact is borne out, and contradicted, respectively by\nseveral maps. The fact that the field lying west of the river is still\ncalled \u201cCastle Garden\u201d seems to point out that the channel of the\nBrinny has been changed. Also the north and west walls of the fortress\nhave the greater number of crenellated openings, which show that they\nwere considered the most vulnerable sides.\n\nThe Down Survey map of 1656 shows a dwelling-house to the east of the\ncastle.\n\nIn the mortar on the inside surface of the arch, the marks of the twigs\nare still visible which formed part of the temporary support used when\nbuilding. The mortar has much less lime than is usual in such work, no\ndoubt from the distance it would have had to be brought.\n\nThese markings, as well as the general architecture, indicate that the\ndate 1476, which is usually stated as the time of its erection, is\nlikely to be accurate.\n\nIt is supposed to have been built by Barry Oge, or Barry the Younger,\nwhose family displaced the O\u2019Mahons in this district, being a\ndescendant of Philip de Barry, the Anglo-Norman invader.\n\nThe lands of Innishannon were granted to the Barry Oge family either in\nHenry III.\u2019s or Henry IV.\u2019s reign.\n\nIn 1449 Barry Oge forfeited the confidence of the Crown, and his lands\nwere seized for the King. But a letter of the time states that he was\nthere \u201cupon the King\u2019s portion, paying his Grace never a penny of\nrent.\u201d At this time wars at home and abroad had weakened the English\npower in Ireland, and it is most likely that Barry Oge built Dundaniel\nCastle to protect the lands he was holding in spite of the forfeiture.\n\nIn 1548 mention is made of a pirate called Colle coming to Kinsale in\na pinnace and marrying Barry Oge\u2019s aunt, living in his castle, and not\nallowing any one to enter Kinsale. Probably this castle was Dundaniel,\nwhere the honeymoon was being spent, but the Barry Oge himself does not\nseem to have shared the odium in which his uncle-in-law was held.\n\nPirates were a very grave trouble to the south coast for many years\nfollowing.\n\nAfter the Desmond rebellion Barry Oge\u2019s land was again forfeited in\n1588, and bestowed upon MacCarthy Reagh, and in 1599 \u201cDowndandier\u201d is\nreferred to as being in his possession.\n\nAfter the siege of Dunboy Castle, in 1602, Sir George Carew relates\nhaving sent some companies of foot soldiers to MacCarthy\u2019s Castle of\nDundaniel, to remain there until the army was leaving Munster.\n\nEight years later the estate was purchased by the East India Company\nfor the sum of \u00a37,000. They constructed a dock, where they built two\nships, and colonised three villages with some three hundred English\nsettlers.\n\nThey garrisoned the castle with \u201cfour light horse, six corslets, and\nten muskets, trained at the Company\u2019s charge.\u201d\n\nBut this form of industrious innovation was not at all to the liking of\nthe native inhabitants, and they so harassed the company\u2019s workers that\nthey were obliged to appeal to the Government for protection in 1613.\nThis does not appear to have been accorded, as a second petition in the\nsame year asks for leave to place three or four pieces of ordnance in\nthe castle for defence against the \u201cwylde Irish.\u201d\n\nThe Company, still receiving no Government aid, relinquished their\nenterprise. In the \u201cCastle Garden\u201d slag, like the refuse of ironworks\nis still found, which is most likely the remains of the East India\nCompany\u2019s industry.\n\nAfter this the MacCarthys seem to have again taken possession of the\ncastle, and a scion of the old house, named Teige O\u2019Connor, occupied\nDundaniel upon the breaking out of hostilities in 1642.\n\nThis O\u2019Connor seems to have been a man of unqualified barbarity. A MS.\nin Trinity College records a most unwarrantable attack by him on five\npeaceful fishermen who were whipping the rivers near the stronghold. By\nhis orders they were seized by some of the garrison and carried within\nthe castle. Four of them were hanged at once, and the fifth offered\n\u00a310 for his life. This was accepted, and some of them accompanied\nhim to his house to receive it. Upon finding where he kept his money,\nthey seized the whole of it, amounting to \u00a335, and then hanged the\nunfortunate owner.\n\nJohn Langton, writing to the Earl of Cork, gives a most graphic\ndescription of the assault upon Dundaniel Castle on the 20th of April,\n1642, when the English forces marched from Bandon under the command of\nLord Kinalmeaky and Captain Aderly of Innishannon.\n\nIt appears a party of rebels had seized some cattle and brutally killed\nfour children and wounded a fifth, who were minding them near the town.\nThe distracted parents traced the crime to the garrison of Dundaniel\nCastle, \u201cneere the ould iron worke.\u201d So horse and foot marched out,\nrecovered the cattle save one animal, and attacked the castle.\n\nThree of the besiegers were killed and six wounded by shot and stone\nfrom the fortress, but the musketeers posted themselves round the\ncastle and on the neighbouring hill, and kept up a fire of small shot\nso that each of the defenders who looked out was killed.\n\nThey next tried to drive in the door with sledges, and these failing\nthey set it on fire, but they had to undermine the wall in the\nneighbourhood before the fire became sufficient to make the door yield.\n\nThey rushed into the lower room, and the enemy fled to the top of the\ncastle above the vault.\n\nThe attacking party then loaded themselves with corn and oatmeal which\nwas stored in the lower chambers, and having provided themselves with\nplunder they set fire to the wooden floors of the lower rooms. Night\ncame on, and they returned to Bandon with their booty.\n\nNext morning they came back to view the scene, and found that the\nrebels (who had escaped the fire which did not penetrate the vault),\nhad let themselves down from the battlements in the night time by means\nof ropes and other contrivances. Many lay dead on the top of the\ncastle, and round about it.\n\nThe victors found four or five muskets and fowling pieces, some brass\nand iron pots and pans, and some money hidden in the oatmeal bins.\n\nAbout forty of the enemy escaped and joined the Roches. They were\npursued, and an encounter took place where over a hundred were killed,\nbut the chiefs escaped.\n\nAfter this the MacCarthy property was confiscated, and Dundaniel\nCastle was granted to Richard Earl of Cork, by whom it was leased to\nvarious tenants, and through whom it descended to the present Duke of\nDevonshire.\n\n\n AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.\n\n H. Gillman, \u201cThe Castle of Dundanier,\n miscalled Dundaniel\u201d\n (_Cork Arch\u00e6ological Society\u2019s Journal_).\n Parliamentary Gazetteer.\n Calendar of State Papers.\n G. Bennett, \u201cHistory of Bandon.\u201d\n Grosart, \u201cLismore Papers.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n_DUNDRUM CASTLE, COUNTY DOWN_\n\n\nSituated three and a half miles north by east of Newcastle, County\nDown, this donjon fortress commands an extensive view of Dundrum Bay\nand the surrounding district of Lecale. The castle was built on the\nsite of an older fortification known as _Dun Rudhraidhe_, or Rury\u2019s\nFort, which is said to have been the scene of the great feast given by\nBricrin of the Poisoned Tongue, to King Connor MacNessa and the Red\nBranch Knights at which he induced them to make war on one another,\nas is chronicled in \u201cThe Book of the Dun Cow.\u201d The present village of\nDundrum (Dundroma, signifying the fort on the ridge) lies between the\ncastle and the shore, while to the east of the fortress are the ruins\nof an Elizabethan mansion erected by a former owner of the castle.\n\nThe circular keep or donjon is built upon a rock, and has an external\ndiameter of some 45 feet, the walls of which are 8 feet thick above the\nprojecting base. The tower at present stands about 50 feet in height.\nThe cellar below is hewn out of the rock on which the building was\nerected, and is said at one time to have contained 200 tuns of Spanish\nwine belonging to O\u2019Neill.\n\nTo the east of the entrance is a circular newel stair 3 feet 3 inches\nin diameter, constructed in the thickness of the wall and leading to\nthe parapet. From this there are openings at each storey, and it is\nmost likely from the position of the offsets in the wall that the\nfloors were of wood supported on beams, the holes for the latter being\nstill visible at different levels.\n\nRound this tower was the courtyard or bawn, encircled by a high wall 4\nand 5 feet thick, which was again protected by a fosse or moat, still\nto be seen on the north and west sides. The bawn was occupied by the\nbuildings for the retainers, and perhaps the family in times of peace,\nand is of a roughly circular form about 150 feet across.\n\n[Illustration: DUNDRUM CASTLE, CO. DOWN.]\n\nSouth-east of the donjon, in the line of wall, are the two ruined\ntowers which protected the barbican gate, the corbel blocks of which\nstill remain over the archway, and originally supported the defences of\nthe gateway. From these, numerous rebels were hanged in the rebellion\nof 1798.\n\nThe castle was built of stone quarried to form the fosse, mixed with\nland stones of the district. Little has been done to alter the twelfth\nor thirteenth century architecture, except the opening out of windows.\nOn the side of the ruined manor the outer fortifications would seem to\nhave been levelled to make terraced gardens to the later dwelling.\n\nIt is generally supposed that Dundrum Castle was built by John de\nCourcy at the end of the twelfth century for the Knights Templars,\nafter his daring conquest of Ulster in 1177 with only a force of about\na thousand men. The stronghold remained in the possession of the order\n(which was bound by vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience) until\nthe suppression of the Knights Templars in 1313. It then passed into\nthe hands of the Prior of Down, and is mentioned by Archdall in his\n\u201cMonasticon Hibernicum\u201d as a religious house. Upon the abolition of\nthe monasteries the reversion of the castle and manor, with a yearly\nrent of \u00a36 13s. 4d. reserved out of it, was granted to Gerald, Earl of\nKildare.\n\nIn 1516, however, it appears to have been in the possession of O\u2019Neill,\nwho fortified it, with a boast he would hold it against the Earl of\nKildare, at the same time sending to the King of France to come and\nhelp him to drive the English out.\n\nThe following year Gerald, 9th Earl of Kildare, and Lord Deputy,\nmarched into Lecale and took Dundrum by storm, but it seems almost\nimmediately to have reverted to the Magennises, who repaired it. In\n1538 it was retaken along with seven other castles by the English,\ncommanded by Lord Deputy Grey, who says: \u201cI took another castell,\nbeing in M\u2019Geeon\u2019s countrie called Dundrome, which, I assure your\nlordship, as it standeth is one of the strongest holds that ever I saw\nin Ireland, and most commodious for defence of the whole countrey of\nLecayll, both by sea and land, for the said Lecayll is invironed round\nabout with sea, and no way to go by land into the said countrey but\nonly bye the said Castle of Dundrome.\u201d\n\nAfter this the castle appears to have remained in the hands of the\nCrown for a few years. In 1551, we learn from the records of the Privy\nCouncil that Prior Magennis was seized and imprisoned in Dundrum\nCastle by Roger Broke without order of law. Six years later Lord Deputy\nSussex asked that Lecale with the Castle of Dundrum might be granted to\nhim in fee-farm for ever.\n\nBut again in 1565 it was occupied by the great Shane O\u2019Neill, who\nplaced his own ward in it for defence, and the Magennises (with whom\nO\u2019Neill was intimately connected) were in possession of the stronghold\nin 1601, when Phelim Magennis surrendered it to Lord Mountjoy.\n\nO\u2019Neill is said to have been a constant visitor at the castle while it\nwas possessed by the Magennises, Lords of Iveagh, and after a night of\nrevelry would indulge in a strange kind of bath, by being buried to his\nneck in the sands on the shore of the bay.\n\nFour years subsequently to the stronghold passing into the hands of the\nCrown, Lord Cromwell was commissioned to be governor and commander of\nLecale and the tower and castle of Dundrum.\n\nIn 1636, Lord Cromwell\u2019s grandson, Thomas, Lord Lecale and 1st Earl of\nArdglass, sold it to Sir Francis Blundell, from whom it descended by\nmarriage to its present owner, the Marquis of Downshire.\n\nSir James Montgomery fought the Irish on the shore at the foot of the\ncastle hill 1642, and placed a garrison in the fortress to protect\nthe district. At this time Dundrum belonged to the Blundells, who\nafterwards built the now ruined mansion adjoining, and the ancient\nstronghold was finally dismantled in 1652 by the order of Oliver\nCromwell.\n\n\n AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.\n\n Phillips, \u201cDundrum Castle.\u201d\n Praeger, \u201cGuide to County Down.\u201d\n Joyce, \u201cIrish Names of Places.\u201d\n Grose, \u201cAntiquities of Ireland.\u201d\n Harris, \u201cHistory of County Down.\u201d\n Calendar of State Papers.\n \u201cNotes to Sir Henry Sidney\u2019s Memoir,\u201d and\n \u201cFacsimiles of Signatures of\n Irish Chieftains\u201d in _Ulster\n Journal of Arch\u00e6ology_.\n\n\n\n\n_DUNDRUM CASTLE, COUNTY DUBLIN_\n\n\nThis fortress was one of the long chain of the Pale castles which\ndefended the metropolis, but having been inhabited until the beginning\nof the nineteenth century it is in a much better state of preservation\nthan most of these old buildings.\n\nIt is situated about three miles south of Dublin on a rise of ground\nabove the Dundrum River, a tributary of the Dodder, at the junction of\nthe Ballinteer and Enniskerry roads.\n\nIt is probable that the castle was built on the site of a more ancient\nstronghold, as Dundrum signifies \u201cthe fort on the ridge.\u201d\n\nThe principal ruin of the present castle is a keep which is\nbattlemented in a slightly projecting form on the south-east, while the\nsouth-west wall rises in rather a high gable. The building is oblong\nin shape, and the entrance, which is on the south side, is evidently\nof more modern construction. A gate now gives egress to the interior,\nwhich is occupied by a flower bed.\n\nTwo large windows on the ground floor also point to later alterations,\nespecially as they occur simultaneously with the remains of earlier\nopenings.\n\nThe stairs are likely to have been situated in the south-west side.\nThere are numerous small chambers and passages in the thickness of the\nwalls.\n\nOf the three fireplaces in the north-west wall that on the ground\nfloor is the largest, measuring 9 feet long by 5 feet high, and as\nthe flagstones of the hearth are covered by some inches of gravel its\nheight was once greater. At the back of the fireplace and slightly to\none side is an aperture about two feet square, which is framed in cut\nstone, and was probably used as an oven.\n\nOn the south-west end of the keep are the ruins of a smaller building\nseveral storeys high, which is connected with the main building by a\nsquare topped doorway. The dividing wall is nearly 6 feet in thickness.\n\nBoth buildings are largely covered with plaster, and on the south-east\nthe keep has been partly rough cast.\n\nThe situation of a third building can be seen adjoining the tower on\nthe north-east side, where the pitch of its roof may be traced about\nthree-fourths of the way up, but very little of the walls remain.\n\nThe castle is partly covered with ivy.\n\nThe fortress seems to have been built soon after the Norman invasion,\nand as the lands of Dundrum were held by Hugh de Clahull, it was\nprobably erected for their defence. It subsequently passed to the\nFitzwilliams of Merrion, from whom it descended to the Earls of\nPembroke, and it forms at present part of the Pembroke estate.\n\nRobert le Bagod, ancestor of the Fitzwilliams, had license to convey\nthe manor of Dundrum to his son William, and in 1332 Thomas Fitzwilliam\nwas found seized of the lands round.\n\nFrom this time on it is likely the fortress was occupied by cadets of\nthe Fitzwilliam family.\n\nIn 1542 Sir Thomas Fitzwilliam was in possession of the manor, and\nin 1616 his grandson Thomas, afterwards first Viscount Fitzwilliam,\nrecovered the lands of Dundrum and Ballinteer, with the castle and\nwater mill.\n\nHis brother William, who had married Archbishop Ussher\u2019s widow, lived\nat Dundrum Castle about this time.\n\nThe building was slated and in good repair during the Commonwealth. It\nis stated to have had three hearths and a barn, with a garden.\n\nIt was tenanted by a Mr. Isaac Dobson during the reign of Charles II.\nHe was a Nonconformist, and probably a trader in Dublin. When James II.\ncame to the throne he left the country, and was attainted by Parliament\nin 1689.\n\nHis son, who was a bookseller, succeeded him at the castle. He greatly\nimproved the grounds, and when he died in 1720 he left the use of the\ncastle to his wife for her life, after which it went to his sons.\n\nThe last Dobson who lived in it died in 1762, and when Mr. Cooper\nvisited it in 1780 it was most likely inhabited by a farmer, who was\nthen cutting down the grove of ash which grew between it and the river.\n\nHe speaks of the inhabited part as a modern addition to which older\nremains were adjoining. He states that the principal entrance was from\nthe courtyard by stone steps.\n\nIt soon afterwards fell into ruin, and at the beginning of the\nnineteenth century the present modern dwelling-house was erected. This\nwas at first inhabited by the Walsh family, and later Dr. Reichel,\nBishop of Meath, lived in it. Miss Hume is the present occupier.\n\n\n AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.\n\n E. Dix, \u201cDundrum Castle,\u201d in \u201cThe Lesser Castles in the\n County Dublin\u201d; F. Ball,\n \u201cDundrum Castle,\u201d both _Irish Builder_.\n Ball and Hamilton, \u201cThe Parish of Taney.\u201d\n\n[Illustration: DUNLUCE CASTLE.]\n\n\n\n\n_DUNLUCE CASTLE_\n\n\nThe ruins of this stronghold are picturesquely situated upon a rocky\npromontory about three miles east of Portrush, in the County Antrim,\nwhich is divided from the mainland by a chasm 20 feet wide and 100 feet\ndeep.\n\nThe name Dunluce, or _lis_, signifies \u201cstrong fort,\u201d and in all\nprobability the castle is built on the site of an ancient _lis_.\n\nThe walls of the fortress are constructed of local basalt, and as the\ncolumnar structure has been taken advantage of in the dressings of\nwindows and doors, it makes it a difficult matter to compare the date\nof its erection with other castles by the style of architecture.\n\nIt seems likely that the fortress was built in the sixteenth century by\nthe M\u2019Quillans (formerly M\u2019Willies), who derived their title from De\nBurgo, one of De Courcy\u2019s followers. Experts think that no part of the\nbuilding is of fifteenth-century workmanship.\n\nThe castle was originally confined to the isolated rock, which was\nconnected with the mainland by a drawbridge. Now this part is reached\nby a footway about 18 inches wide and 20 feet long, supported by an\narch.\n\nThe strongest walls are on the south and east sides. The drawbridge\nformerly led into a small enclosed courtyard, at the lower end of\nwhich stands the barbican, containing the main entrance, and with\nan embrasure at one side commanding the bridge. This has corbelled\nbartizans at the angles of the south gable, which are a Scotch type of\narchitecture.\n\nA strong wall, following the cliff, connects the barbican with a\ncircular tower at the south-east angle called M\u2019Quillan\u2019s Tower. The\nwalls of this building are 8 feet thick, and a small staircase in them\nleads to the top of both tower and wall.\n\nFormerly another curtain extended from M\u2019Quillan\u2019s Tower along the edge\nof the rock northward to Queen Maud\u2019s Tower, which is also circular but\nof smaller dimensions.\n\nOn the west and north the castle walls are not so thick as elsewhere,\nand here the principal domestic offices are situated.\n\nOn the north side, over the mouth of the cave which penetrates below,\nare the remains of the kitchen, where a terrible accident happened\nduring a storm. The date is placed at 1639. The young Duchess of\nBuckingham, who had married the 2nd Earl of Antrim, was giving a great\nentertainment, when suddenly the kitchen gave way, and eight servants,\nincluding the cook, sank into the waters of the cave below, and were\ndrowned. It is said a tinker, who was sitting in a window mending pots\nand pans, was the only survivor of those present, and \u201cthe tinker\u2019s\nwindow\u201d is still pointed out.\n\nThe state rooms of the castle are situated behind the towers at the\neastern side. The great hall measures 70 feet by 23 feet, and has\na large fireplace and three bay windows, which were probably later\nimprovements made by Sorley Boy M\u2019Donnell for his son Sir James, when\nhe took up his abode at Dunluce.\n\nThe castle yard is situated between the hall and the parapet wall, and\nmeasures 120 feet by 25 feet.\n\nA small vaulted room at the east side of the castle called the Banshee\nTower, is pointed out as a haunted chamber.\n\nThe oak roof of the chapel, which had been restored in the Duchess of\nBuckingham\u2019s time (1637-40), was afterwards used to cover a barn in the\ndistrict.\n\nThe buildings on the mainland are of much later date than those on the\nrock. It is probable that they are later than 1640, though whether\nthey were built, as tradition states, because the domestics refused\nto inhabit the older castle after the subsidence of the kitchen,\nor whether the increase of the family\u2019s importance required more\naccommodation, it is hard to say.\n\nIn 1513 a dispute arose between the descendants of Garrett MacQuillin\nand those of Walter MacQuillin for Dunluce, then in the former\u2019s hands.\nO\u2019Donnell seems to have placed the Walter MacQuillins in possession.\n\nSir Thomas Cusake mentions the castle in his account of the expedition\nagainst the MacDonnels in 1551, and four years later a fierce dispute\narose between the MacQuillins and MacDonnels for the chieftainship of\nthe Route district.\n\nThese MacDonnels were of Scotch descent, and in 1565 the famous Shane\nO\u2019Neill set out to expel the Scots from Antrim.\n\nA great fight ensued, in which James and Sorley Boy (yellow or swarthy\nCharles) MacDonnel were taken prisoners.\n\nDunluce held out for three days longer, but Shane kept Sorley\nBoy without food until the garrison should surrender, which they\naccordingly did for his sake as well as their own.\n\nO\u2019Neill then put his men in the castle, and is reported to have \u201ckylled\nand banyshed all the Skottes out of the north.\u201d\n\nJames MacDonnel died in Tyrone Castle in 1567--probably from poison.\nTwo years later his death was avenged by one of the clan, who\nassassinated Shane, and after this Sorley Boy was set at liberty.\n\nAt this time an English garrison was in possession of Dunluce, and\nSorley Boy crossed to Scotland, and returned with eight hundred picked\nRedshanks to demand his castles and lands returned by a grant from the\nCrown.\n\nThis request not being at once acceded to, he commenced hostilities,\nand in a year had re-possessed himself of all his strongholds and\nlands, except Dunluce. He then renounced all allegiance to the Oueen,\nraised some more Scotch troops, and took the surrounding country\nwithout opposition.\n\nIn 1573 he made a partial submission to the Crown, and asked to have\nthe part of the Glynns, which he claimed through the Bysetts, confirmed\nto him by letters patent, but when the title deeds arrived he cut them\nup and threw them in the fire, saying--\n\n\u201cBy my sword I got these lands, and by the sword I will hold them.\u201d\n\nThe next year Mr. Francis Killaway was granted Dunluce under Essex\u2019s\nscheme of plantation, but in those days possession was more than \u201cnine\npoints of the law,\u201d and when the Lord Deputy, Sir John Perrott, set out\nwith a great army against the Scots of Ulster, in 1584, Sorley Boy\u2019s\nwarder occupied Dunluce.\n\nIn the official despatches it is styled the \u201cimpregnable\u201d fortress.\n\nThe MacDonnels were unprepared for the attack. Cannon was landed at\nthe Skerries and drawn up by men, but when the castle was summoned to\nsurrender, the Scotch captain replied he would hold the fortress to the\nlast man for the King of Scotland.\n\nThe siege lasted nine months; the ward of forty men, mostly Scotch,\nsurrendering in September, 1585.\n\nSt. Columkill\u2019s Cross was found amongst the treasure by Perrott, who\nforwarded it, with a jeering letter, to Burghly. It has since been lost\nsight of.\n\nThe Lord Deputy appointed a pensioner called Peter Carey as constable,\nand a ward of English soldiers.\n\nPerrott reports that Carey dismissed them, and re-filled their places\nwith Northerns, some of whom were in league with MacDonnel, and that\none night fifty men were drawn up the rock by ropes made of wythies. He\nalso says they offered Carey his life, but he refused, and retired to a\ntower with a few men, where he was eventually slain.\n\nThis seems a rather unlikely story, and another account states a good\nmany of the garrison were slain, and that Carey being hanged over one\nof the walls of the stronghold, the English soldiers fled. Carey\u2019s\nwidow was granted a pension.\n\nHaving recovered his castle, Sorley Boy made overtures of peace to the\nGovernment, which were eagerly accepted, and he travelled to Dublin\nand prostrated himself before Elizabeth\u2019s portrait. The Indenture,\ndated 1586, amongst other things, states he was appointed Constable or\nKeyholder of Dunluce Castle.\n\nHis son, Sir James MacDonnel, occupied the stronghold in 1597, and\nthe Governor of Carrickfergus lodged numerous complaints against him,\namongst which were his refusal to give up the ordnance he had taken\nfrom Don Alonzo\u2019s ship of the Spanish Armada, and his having fortified\nhimself in Dunluce.\n\nThe following year Tyrone\u2019s two sons and their tutor were lodged in the\ncastle, and Sir Geffrey Fenton had suspicions that they were placed\nthere as hostages to the Scotch King.\n\nShortly afterwards open hostilities began between MacDonnel and the\nGovernment until Sir James died suddenly at Dunluce in 1601.\n\nThe castle was granted to his son, Randel, by letters patent in 1614,\nto be surrendered if required for a garrison, and he was created Earl\nof Antrim in 1620.\n\nHis son, who succeeded in 1636, married the widowed Duchess of\nBuckingham. The castle was summoned by the Irish in 1641, and they also\nburned the town.\n\nThe Earl did not join the Rebellion, though many of his relations\nwere in arms. In 1642 Munro came to Dunluce on pretence that some\nof the Earl\u2019s tenantry were implicated. After having been well\nentertained, he treacherously seized Lord Antrim and sent him prisoner\nto Carrickfergus, at the same time plundering Dunluce.\n\nThe Earl escaped to England, and his lands, which had been confiscated\nduring Cromwell\u2019s time, were restored to him in 1663; but in the\nmeantime Dunluce had fallen to decay, and does not seem to have been\ninhabited since.\n\nThe Antrim family at present reside at Glenarm Castle.\n\n\n AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.\n\n G. Hill, \u201cMacdonnells of Antrim.\u201d\n Calendar of State Papers.\n Parliamentary Gazetteer.\n Proceedings of Arch\u00e6ological Association\n of Ireland, Papers by R. Young and\n J. O\u2019Laverty.\n Joyce, \u201cIrish Place Names.\u201d\n \u201cThe Description and Present State of\n Ulster,\u201d in _Ulster Journal of Arch\u00e6ology_.\n\n[Illustration: DUNSOGHLY CASTLE.]\n\n\n\n\n_DUNSOGHLY CASTLE_\n\n\nThis castle is situated eight miles north-by-west of Dublin, near the\nvillage of St. Margaret\u2019s, off the Ashbourne road.\n\nIt consists of a splendidly preserved keep about 80 feet high, flanked\nby four square towers which rise above the roof at each corner. One of\nthese contains a winding stair leading to the battlements, at the top\nof which a flight of ten steps gives egress to the summit of the watch\ntower.\n\nThe other three towers have little rooms opening off the different\nstoreys.\n\nThe ground floor, which was most likely a kitchen, is a large vaulted\napartment into which a door has been quarried in later years.\n\nThe first floor was once a fine wainscotted room, the walls of which\nwere yet hung with family pictures when D\u2019Alton visited it in 1838.\n\nA flight of wooden stairs connects this apartment with the ground.\n\nThe two upper storeys had wooden floors, and the building is still\ncovered by a good slated roof, which is evidently a modern addition. So\ntoo are the large square windows, some of which are glazed and others\nprotected by wire netting. The doorways are Gothic.\n\nIn the south-west tower is the prison with no entrance except through a\nhole in the roof by which captives and their food were let down.\n\nTradition states an underground passage connects the castle with St.\nMargaret\u2019s Church, as well as having many hidden vaults.\n\nBeside the keep is the ruined chapel with an arched doorway, which\nhas been used as a cowshed. At the side towards the castle is a low\nbuilt-up archway over which is a slab carved with the symbols of the\ncrucifixion, and having under it the inscription:--\u201cJ.P.M.D.S., 1573,\u201d\nwhich is supposed to mean Johannes Plunket Miles de Dun-Soghly, 1573.\n\nThere seems to be no record of the building of the castle.\n\nIn 1288-89 it is noted that the rent paid for Dunsoghly by Geoffrey\nBrun was 74s. and fivepence. Nearly two hundred years later (1422) the\nKing granted to Henry Stanyhurst the custody of all the messuages which\nhad belonged to John Finglas to hold rent free during the minority of\nthe heir. Two years later Roger Finglas is forgiven his arrears of\nCrown rent out of the lands and tenants of Dunsoghly and Oughtermay.\n\nSoon after this the land seems to have passed to Sir Roland Plunkett,\nthe younger son of Sir Christopher Plunkett, Baron of Killem, and Lord\nDeputy of Ireland, 1432, this family being a branch of the Fingall\nfamily.\n\nIn 1446 Sir Rowland Plunkett, of Dunsoghly Castle, was appointed Chief\nJustice of the King\u2019s Bench, and later his son, Sir Thomas Plunkett,\nbecame Chief Justice of Common Pleas.\n\nThe Crown leased, in 1547, to John Plunkett, of Dunsoghly, gent., all\nthe tithes in Dunsoghly and Oughtermay, in the Parish of St. Margaret\nof Dowanor, part of the possessions of the Chancellor of the late\nCathedral of St. Patrick, at a rent of five marks. He was also to\nprovide a chaplain for the church of Dowanor.\n\nThis John Plunkett was grandson to Sir Thomas, and also received\nknighthood. He was made Chief Justice of the Queen\u2019s Bench in 1559. He\ndied twenty-three years later, seized of the manors of Dunsoghly and\nOughtermay.\n\nSir John built the private chapel belonging to the castle, and also the\nchantry of St. Margaret\u2019s.\n\nIn 1590 Christopher Plunkett, of Dunsoghly, is included in the list of\nthe English Pale; and twenty years later he surrendered Dunsoghly to\nthe King, who re-granted it to him with additional lands on account of\nhis own and his family\u2019s service to the Crown.\n\nColonel Richard Plunkett, of Dunsoghly, was an active supporter of the\nLords of the Pale in 1641, and a reward of \u00a3400 was offered for his\nhead by the Lords Justices and Council.\n\nIn 1657 the Down Survey says that the \u201cchiefest places in the Barony\nof Coolock are Malahide and Dunsoghly.\u201d \u201cThere is in Dunsoghly a good\ncastle, and a house adjoining it (James Plunkett).\u201d\n\nThe House of Commons granted Sir Henry Tichbourne \u00a32,000 in lieu of his\nwardship of Nicholas Plunkett, of Dunsoghly, in 1666. This Nicholas was\nsucceeded by his son, at whose death the property was divided between\nhis three daughters, and the castle is still in possession of their\ndescendants.\n\nThe fortress is said to have been bombarded in Cromwell\u2019s time from a\nmound near, which is now occupied by a dwelling-house, and a long crack\nmade in the south wall by the cannon is still visible.\n\nThe castle was inhabited up to the middle of the eighteenth century.\n\n\n AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.\n\n J. D\u2019Alton, \u201cHistory of County Dublin.\u201d\n Proceedings of Royal Arch\u00e6ological Association of Ireland.\n W. Wakeman, \u201cRambles near Dublin,\u201d in Dublin _Evening Telegraph_ Reprints.\n Carew MSS.\n State Documents\n\n\n\n\n_ENNISCORTHY CASTLE_\n\n\nSituated on the Slaney, about twelve miles north-by-west of Wexford,\nin the Barony of Ballaghkeen, is the town of Enniscorthy. The origin\nof the name does not seem to admit of a satisfactory explanation. Some\nwriters say that it was originally Corth\u00e6, and the capital of Ptolemy\u2019s\nCoriandi. Hence the prophesy, \u201cEnniscorthy was, Dublin is, and Drogheda\nwill be.\u201d Again Enis-scorteach, signifying \u201cthe stud-house pastorage,\u201d\nhas been mentioned as a possible explanation.\n\nThe castle is a massive square structure, flanked by three round\ntowers. It is in good preservation. Two of the towers can still be\nascended.\n\nIt is built of hard blue slate, dug on the spot, and the cases of the\ndoors and windows are of grey grit stone.\n\nIt is believed that the manor of Enniscorthy was granted by Strongbow\nto Maurice de Prendergast, and that he commenced to erect the castle in\n1199, it being finished by his son Philip in 1205 or 1206.\n\nAgain, it is stated to have passed to the De Prendergasts through the\nDe Quincey family, and that it was originally erected by Raymond le\nGros.\n\nBetween 1225 and 1228 it was walled in and entrenched by Gerald\nPrendergast, who died in 1251.\n\nThe Rochfords held it from 1252 to 1327 through Maurice Rochford\nmarrying Matilda Prendergast.\n\nThe land had formerly been part of the MacMurroughs\u2019 territory, and\nthey regained it in 1328, although their claim was fiercely disputed by\nthe Rochfords.\n\nDonogh MacMorrough, King of Leinster, resided in the castle from 1368\nto 1375, in which year he was slain near Carlow by Geoffrey Wall. Two\nyears later Art MacMurrough, King of Leinster, recovered the castle,\nand held it until his death in 1418.\n\nDonald Kavanagh, King of Leinster, lived in state in the castle from\n1428 to 1476, and he it was who founded the Franciscan monastery close\nto the stronghold in 1460.\n\nMurrough, King of Leinster, died in the castle in 1518.\n\nIn 1550 it passed to the Crown after Cahir MacArt Kavanagh relinquished\nthe title \u201cMacMurrough.\u201d\n\nRichard Kettyng complained in 1551 that the Council would not confirm\nthe King\u2019s letters, which granted him the castles of Ferns and\nEnniscorthy. He requested that they might be granted by patent.\n\nThe following year Enniscorthy was leased to Gabriel Blake.\n\nIn 1566 a ruined castle and the manor of \u201cInnescortye\u201d was leased to\nNicholas Hearon, Esq., for twenty-one years, and the following year\nit was surrendered by his assignee, Thomas Stucley, Esq., who then\nreceived a lease of it.\n\nIt was sacked by Sir Edmund Butler in 1569, and remained uninhabited\nfor thirteen years, though it was leased to Richard Synnot for\ntwenty-one years in 1575, and in 1581 the great poet Edmund Spenser\nreceived it upon like condition.\n\n\u201cLease (under commission, 15 July, XXII.) to Edmund Spenser, gent., of\nthe site of the house of friars of Enescortie, with apputences; the\nmanor of Enescortie, a ruinous castle, land, and a weir there, lands of\nGarrane, Killkenane, Loughwertie, Barrickcrowe, and Ballineparke, and\nthe customs of boards, timber, laths, boats bearing victuals, lodgings\nduring the fair, and things sold there, and fishings belonging to the\nmanor, and all other appurtenances as well within the Morroes country\nas without. To hold for 21 years. Rent, \u00a313-6-4. Maintaining one\nEnglish horseman. Fine, 20s.\u201d\n\nIt is stated that fear of the Kavanaghs prevented his coming into\nresidence, for the year afterwards his lease was transferred to Sir\nRichard Sinnot, of Ballybrennan, and ratified by the Crown for a term\nof forty years.\n\nIn 1595 Queen Elizabeth granted the estate to Sir Henry Wallop,\nTreasurer of War, by letters patent.\n\nHe restored the castle, but his son preferred to reside in the more\nmodern dwelling of the Franciscan monks, which was close to the\nfortress. He died here in 1624, and was succeeded by his son Robert.\n\nSir Henry\u2019s grandson was one of the judges at the trial of Charles\nI., and after the Restoration he was imprisoned in the Tower of\nLondon, where he died in 1667. His great grandson was created Earl of\nPortsmouth in 1743.\n\nThe castle was in the hands of the Confederates in 1642.\n\nIn 1649 (whilst in the possession of Mr. Robert Wallop) the army of\nthe Commonwealth laid siege to the stronghold. It was well manned and\nprovisioned.\n\nClose to its walls was the \u201cfair house,\u201d formerly the largest\nFranciscan monastery in Ireland, and then the residence of the Wallop\nfamily, who deserted it upon the approach of the army.\n\nWhen the castle was summoned the garrison refused to surrender, but\nthey shortly afterwards reconsidered their decision and left their\ngreat guns, arms, ammunition, and provisions in the hands of the\nvictors.\n\nShortly afterwards the castle was, however, re-taken by a trick. Some\nRoyalist supporters feasted the men of the garrison and sent women\nto them to sell whiskey. When they were helplessly drunk the Irish\noverpowered them and took possession of the castle.\n\nThe Governor, Captain Todd, and his wife, as well as the officers\nunder him, were all put to death. Only four of the soldiers were\nspared, they having betrayed the fortress for the sum of \u00a37.\n\nAs soon as Colonel Cooke, the Governor of Wexford, heard of the outrage\nhe marched to Enniscorthy and took the castle by storm, killing every\none of the Irish garrison.\n\nThe first Earl of Portsmouth repaired the building and leased it to\nAdam Colclough in 1745.\n\nDuring the rebellion of 1798 it was used as a prison by the insurgents\nduring the period that Enniscorthy remained in their hands.\n\nThey greatly defaced the place, but the Earl of Portsmouth restored\nit between 1806 and 1812, altering it to the requirements of a modern\nresidence for his agent. After this period it had many tenants.\n\nFrom 1852 to 1863 it was used as an estate office, and a printing\npress was also erected within the walls. It was from here that the\n_Enniscorthy News_ was first issued.\n\nIt fell into a state of dilapidation about 1863, though in 1867 it was\nused as a temporary barracks for the extra police required in the town\nduring the Fenian rising.\n\nIn 1898 it was sold to Mr. P. J. Roche of New Ross.\n\n\n AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.\n\n Flood, \u201cHistory of Enniscorthy.\u201d\n D. Murphy, \u201cCromwell in Ireland.\u201d\n Brewer, \u201cBeauties of Ireland.\u201d\n Proceedings of Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland.\n Parliamentary Gazetteer.\n State Papers.\n Calendar of Patent and Close Rolls, Ireland.\n Fiants of Elizabeth.\n\n\n\n\n_ENNISKILLEN CASTLE_\n\n\nThe chief part of the town of Enniskillen is situated on an island in\nLough Erne, seventy-five miles west-by-south of Belfast, in the County\nFermanagh.\n\nThe name is supposed to be derived from a small islet near to the\neastern bridge where the heroic wife of a great chief is buried, and\nwhich was called Enis-Cethlenn or \u201cthe Island of Cethlenn.\u201d\n\nThe castle stands at the western side of the town, where it commanded\nthe lake.\n\nIt is now incorporated with the Castle Barrack, but the original\nquadrangular keep (a storey lower than in former times) is still to\nbe seen, while the curtain wall and towers, which were erected in\n1611, and figure in the arms of the town, are in a good state of\npreservation. The ditch which once surrounded it has now been filled\nup. The castle was the chief fortress of the Maguires, lords of\nFermanagh. In 1439 it was surrendered to Donall Ballach Maguire, and\nthree years later Thomas Oge Maguire gave it to Philip Maguire.\n\nIn 1593 Maguire had the houses round the castle burnt for fear of\nattack. Nevertheless, early the following year, during his absence,\nCaptain Dowdall laid siege to the fortress.\n\nOn the ninth day he attacked the castle \u201cby boats, by engines, by sap,\nby scaling.\u201d He placed 100 men in a great boat covered with hurdles and\nhide, which, with\n\n[Illustration: ENNISKILLEN CASTLE.]\n\nConnor O\u2019Cassidy as guide, drew up close to the wall of the barbican.\n\nHere a fierce onslaught was made, and the garrison retreated to\nthe keep. This, Captain Dowdall threatened to blow up unless they\nsurrendered, which they accordingly did.\n\nThe steersman of the boat gives the number as thirty-six fighting men,\nand nearly the same of women and children; whereas Captain Dowdall\nstates he put a hundred and fifty to death, which is most likely an\nexaggeration.\n\nHe says it came into her Majesty\u2019s hands with small loss, though it was\nvery strong, with walls seven feet thick and \u201csoundrie secret fights\nwithin it of great annoyance uppon the barbican.\u201d\n\nHe remained ten days mending the breaches, gates, and doors, and laid\nin three months\u2019 provisions. He elected a constable, and, garrisoning\nit with thirty soldiers, took his departure.\n\nMarshall Bagnall was on his way to ward the castle, but Dowdall\nreported that he was too ill to await his coming.\n\nThe same year Maguire laid siege to the fortress, it is said, at the\ninstigation of the Earl of Tyrone. The relieving party was defeated,\nand the Lord Deputy himself set out to the rescue of the garrison.\n\nThey had been reduced to eating horseflesh, and had only one more\nanimal when they were relieved. The ward was then reduced from forty to\nthirty, and the castle victualled for six months, which supply was to\nbe augmented by fishing for eels under the walls.\n\nShortly after this the bawn was seized and seven warders killed; and\nin 1595 the whole fortress surrendered. In the State Papers the Lord\nDeputy declares he cannot understand why this should have been, as the\ncastle was well provisioned. He says that he hears the constable and\nfifteen warders were promised life and goods, but that when they came\nout they were all put to death. It does not seem that this report was\nconfirmed.\n\nIn 1596-97 the Lord Deputy asks for three falcons with their carriages\nand ladles, to replace those which Maguire had taken with the castle,\nand which had belonged to Dublin.\n\nMaguire\u2019s brother held the fortress in 1598.\n\nIt was again in English possession in 1607, and Captain William Cole\nwas constable in 1610, when he asked for some land to be allotted\nto his office. That immediately round the castle was in the hands\nof Scottish settlers, and there was no demesne land attached to the\nbuilding.\n\nIn 1611 he built \u201ca fair house\u201d on the old site, adding numerous\nouthouses.\n\nA moat surrounded the bawn, and the river was crossed by a drawbridge.\nHe also erected a wall 26 feet high with flankers and parapet, which\nstill remains.\n\nThe castle was granted to Sir William Cole in 1620 on a lease for\ntwenty-one years, and he was responsible for its repair. The Earl of\nEnniskillen at present represents the family.\n\nFour hundred pounds was granted for State repairs in 1646, some of\nwhich had been expended on the castle of Enniskillen.\n\nDuring the famous siege of the town in 1689 the Governor, Gustavus\nHamilton, took up his residence in the castle, which belonged to Sir\nMichael Cole, who was absent in England.\n\nIn 1749 the fortress was in ruins.\n\n\n AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.\n\n State Papers.\n MS. Ordnance Survey.\n Parliamentary Gazetteer.\n Proceedings of Royal Society of Antiquaries, Ireland.\n King, \u201cHenry\u2019s Upper Lough Erne.\u201d\n Witherrow, \u201cDerry and Enniskillen.\u201d\n Earl of Belmore, \u201cGovernor Hamilton and Captain Corry,\u201d\n and Ancient Maps of Enniskillen, both in _Ulster\n Journal of Arch\u00e6ology_.\n\n\n\n\n_FERNS CASTLE_\n\n\nThis ancient seat of royalty is situated five miles and three-quarters\nnorth-by-east of Enniscorthy, on the River Bann, in the County of\nWexford. The name comes from Fearna, meaning alders, or \u201ca place\nabounding in alders.\u201d\n\nThe erection of the first stone castle is ascribed to Strongbow, and it\nis supposed to have been built upon the site of the fortress or dun of\nhis father-in-law, Dermot MacMurrough, King of Leinster.\n\nThe present ruins are the remains of four round towers, which were\njoined by high curtain walls enclosing a courtyard. The building is one\nof great strength, and occupies an imposing situation above the town.\n\nThe most perfect of the towers contains a chapel, with a beautifully\ngroined roof springing from consoles. Richard Donovan, who inherited\nthe property in 1773, is said to have converted the sanctuary into an\nOrange Lodge, where high revel was held, and a visitor in 1864 states\nthat an equestrian statue of William III. occupied the site of the\naltar beneath the east window.\n\nMr. Baranger, however, writing in 1780, says that the chapel was\nwithout a floor, and made one with the under apartment. He describes\nthe room above it as arched, and also remarks that the edges of the\nstones of the long loophole windows had been cut underneath as if for\ncannon to be pointed through. A brass fieldpiece found in the castle\nwas used for the defence of Wexford, 1641.\n\nThree kinds of masonry are visible in the construction of the tower,\neach occupying about a third of its height. The bottom layer consists\nof small stones, the middle part of larger ones, while those at the top\nare hewn.\n\nAt one time part of the wall connecting the towers was used as a\nball-alley (the ground being flagged for this purpose), until the owner\nof the castle enclosed the ruins with a wall for their preservation.\n\nIn 1865 part of the fortress on the north side fell in a thunderstorm,\nand the tenant of that date procured leave to blast the rest of this\nwall for fear of accident. The ground is littered with broken masonry.\n\nAfter Strongbow\u2019s death in 1177, Henry II. bestowed the manor and\ncastle of Ferns upon William FitzAdelm de Burgo. The same year\nFitzAdelm seized the Black Castle of Wicklow from the three sons of\nMaurice Fitzgerald, giving them Ferns by way of compensation.\n\nThe brothers at once began to rebuild and strongly fortify their\nnew possession, but it was hardly completed before Walter Allemand,\na nephew of FitzAdelm, attacked the castle and left it in a ruined\ncondition.\n\nWilliam Marshall, Earl of Pembroke, who married the grand-daughter\nof Dermot MacMurrough, began to erect a much larger fortress on the\nsame site in 1192. He was succeeded by his son, who had married the\ndaughter of King John, and he completed the stronghold in 1224. He then\npresented it to the Bishop of Ferns as restitution for Church land\nwhich his father had seized.\n\nIt remained in the possession of the Church from 1224 to 1364, during\nwhich time it was used as an Episcopal Palace.\n\nIn 1243 Geoffrey St. John, Vicar-General of Ferns, and Escheator of\nIreland, came into residence, and was succeeded by Bishop Lambert in\n1282, who died in the castle.\n\nHe was followed by Richard of Northampton, who had been Canon of\nKildare, while in 1304 Robert Waldrond was consecrated, and took up his\nabode at Ferns. During this time the neighbourhood was much disturbed,\nand the next Bishop was arraigned for high treason in 1317, but was\npardoned the following year.\n\nIn 1331 the clan of O\u2019Toole seized the castle, pillaged, and burned it.\nNext year the Crown took possession again, and three years later they\nthought it expedient to appoint Lord Gerald Rochford constable of Ferns\nCastle. He held office for ten years, and was summoned to Parliament as\na Baron.\n\nIn 1347 Bishop Esmond came into possession of the stronghold, and was\nsucceeded by Bishops Charnels and Denn. The latter prelate was the last\nBishop to reside in the castle, for from 1402 to 1530 the stronghold\nwas in possession of the MacMurroughs.\n\nAt the end of this period it was captured by Lord Deputy Grey. He was\non his way from Kilkenny to Dublin, when he sent word from Leghlyn to\nStephen FitzHenry at Kilkea, to meet him at Ferns Castle with his guns\nand men.\n\nLord Grey marched by night, and arrived in the morning before the\nfortress. He demanded its surrender, which was refused by the garrison,\n\u201cusing very spiteful language.\u201d The day was spent in preparing for the\nattack. He posted his men round the building in the ditches and other\ncover, so that none of the besieged should escape, and the troops broke\ndown the gate leading to the drawbridge. A Mr. Thomas Allen, who was\nwith the attacking party, noticed that one of the garrison kept watch\nevery now and then from one particular place, and he sent a gunner to\nhide himself where he could cover the spot with his weapon. This was\nsuccessful, and the man was shot as soon as he returned. He was the\ngovernor and chief gunner of the castle.\n\nThe rest of the garrison then asked for a parley, which was granted.\n\nLord Grey told them that unless they surrendered before the arrival\nof the ordnance, which was within a mile of the stronghold, he would\nnot accept a surrender, but kill them all. They then agreed to give the\ncastle up, and two of the English were stationed in it during the night.\n\nThe next day the Lord Deputy appointed a garrison of the MacMurroughs\nto guard the stronghold, taking their chief with him to Dublin as a\nhostage.\n\nA writer of this time describes the castle as the old inheritance\nof the Earl of Shrewsbury or the Duke of Norfolk, and \u201coon of the\nauncientis and strongest castells within this lande.\u201d\n\nIn 1536 Cahir Maclnnycross Kavanagh, the MacMurrough, was appointed\nconstable by the Crown, but two years later he was superseded by Sir\nRichard Butler.\n\nAt the time great anxiety was felt for fear of an attack from the\nKavanaghs; and in 1550, we learn from the State Papers that Cahir\nM\u2019Arte Kavanagh had managed to get possession of the castle by\ntreatment.\n\nThe next year Richard Kettyng asked the Privy Council to confirm the\nKing\u2019s letter granting him the stronghold, but they refused.\n\nIt was considered necessary to have English captains in the castles\nof the districts to hold the Kavanaghs in subjection, so that a list\nof constables to Ferns Castle is recorded, the most remarkable being\nthe Mastersons, father and son, the former being accused of conspiring\nagainst the Queen in 1569.\n\nThrilling traditions are related regarding his wife, Catherien de\nClare, who was said to decoy the neighbouring chiefs and Irish\ngentlemen within the fortress under the guise of hospitality and murder\nthem by pushing them down a trapdoor.\n\nIn 1588 Masterson entered a petition for land, as recompense for\nthirty-four years\u2019 service.\n\nHis son spent large sums on rebuilding the castle; nevertheless it was\ngranted to Lord Andley in 1608.\n\nSir Charles Coote occupied the stronghold in 1641, but finding he was\nunable to hold it against the insurgents, he dismantled the outworks,\nblew up part of the building, and left the neighbourhood.\n\nIt must, however, have been partly repaired, for eight years later,\nwhen Cromwell\u2019s commander, Colonel Reynolds, appeared before it, the\ngarrison fled, leaving their arms, ammunition, and provisions behind\nthem.\n\nIn 1669 Charles II. granted the castle to Arthur Parsons; while in 1689\nit seems to have been in the possession of Alderman Thomas Keiran, who\ngave it to his brother-in-law, Richard Donovan, in 1694, from whom\nit descended to its present owner, Richard Donovan, Esq., D.L., of\nBallymore House, Camolin.\n\n\n AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.\n\n Calendar of State Papers.\n Calendar of Carew MSS.\n Parliamentary Gazetteer.\n W. G. Flood, \u201cHistory of Enniscorthy.\u201d\n G. Bassett, \u201cWexford.\u201d\n G. Stokes, \u201cIreland and Anglo-Norman Church.\u201d\n G. Griffiths, \u201cChronicles of County Wexford.\u201d\n Savage, \u201cPicturesque Ireland.\u201d\n Proceedings of Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland.\n\n\n\n\n_FERRYCARRIG AND SHANA COURT CASTLES_\n\n\nThe chief interest attaching to the castles of Ferrycarrig and Shana\nCourt is the fact that one or other of them was the first Anglo-Norman\nfortress erected in Ireland.\n\nThe sites of the two strongholds occupy positions one on each side of\nthe Slaney, a little more than two miles west of Wexford. The parish\nof Carrig lies on the right bank of the river in the Barony of West\nShelmalier, and here on an isolated rock commanding the ferry is\nsituated Ferrycarrig Castle--Carrig signifying a rock.\n\nIt is a square tower of great age and occupies the whole summit of the\nrocky point on which it stands, and does not seem, therefore, to have\never been of larger dimensions than at present. The masonry is rough\nand massive and the loopholes unusually small, while the door is so low\nand narrow that it is necessary to stoop when entering.\n\nAn opening in the wall is usually called the \u201cmurdering hole,\u201d but as\nthere is another aperture to correspond with it in the exterior at the\nbase they are likely to have had some other use.\n\nThe close resemblance which this tower bears to Trajan\u2019s Tower at\nPaboquaipass on the Danube, even to a similar entrance, has been the\nsubject of remark.\n\nOn the south bank of the river, where the Crimean monument now stands,\nwere traceable some years ago the fosse and outworks of Shana Court.\nThey occupied about half an acre, but the walls of the fortress had\nbeen demolished to supply stones for the building of the old mansion\nof Belmont.\n\nTradition asserts that Ferrycarrig was erected by FitzStephen, who\nlanded in Ireland in 1169, and that Shana Court was built by King John,\nit deriving its name from his having held court there as Viceroy.\n\nWe know FitzStephen de Marisco erected a castle at Carrig from the\nfollowing passage in Giraldus Cambrensis:\n\n\u201cMacMorogh marched to besiege Dublin, but left FitzStephen behind, who\nwas then building a hold or castle upon a certain rocky hill called\nthe Carricke, about two miles from Wexford, which place, although it\nwas very strong of itself, yet by industry and labour it was made much\nstronger.\u201d\n\nFrom the same source we also learn that it was environed on two sides\nby the river, but this might apply equally to either fortress.\n\nA further description says: \u201cIt was at first made but of rods and\nwiffes, according to the manner in those daies, but since builded with\nstone, and was the strongest fort then in those parts of the land; but\nbeing a place not altogether sufficient for a prince, and yet it was\nthought too good and strong for a subject, it was pulled down, defaced,\nand razed, and so dooth still remane.\u201d\n\nThe most likely assumption, on the whole, seems to be that King John\nerected on the ruined site of FitzStephen\u2019s stronghold the castle known\nas Shana Court, the stones of which were used in building Belmont, and\nthat Ferrycarrig was an outwork of the larger fortress or else was\nerected by the Roches of Artramont as a watch-tower to protect the\nferry.\n\nFitzStephen suffered a memorable siege in his castle in 1170. He had\nweakened his garrison by sending a detachment to serve with Strongbow,\nwhen the men of Wexford and Kinsellagh rose and laid siege to Carrig\nCastle with a force of about three thousand.\n\nSeveral desperate assaults were successfully repulsed before the\nattackers asked for a parley. This was granted, and they informed\nFitzStephen that Strongbow and his followers had been utterly routed,\nand that King Roderic was marching with a great army to annihilate his\ngarrison, but that out of respect to his person they wished him to\nescape.\n\nFitzStephen could not be induced to believe the tale until three\nbishops took a false oath as to its truth, whereupon he capitulated\nupon honourable terms. These were at once violated, and, against the\nconditions, he was made prisoner and sent to Beggery Island, while many\nof those with him were killed.\n\nDonald Kavanagh, with great difficulty, arrived in Dublin to inform\nStrongbow that FitzStephen could not hold out more than three days. It\nwas on this occasion that Maurice FitzGerald made his famous speech,\nin which he said: \u201cFitzStephen, also, whose courage and noble daring\nopened to us the way into this island, is now with his small force\nbesieged by a hostile nation. What should we, therefore, wait for?\u201d\n\nStirred by his eloquence, the English forces, though of small numbers,\nset out and carried victory before them, but in the meantime Carrig had\nsurrendered.\n\nStrongbow was warned that if his forces marched on Wexford all the\nprisoners would be at once slain, so that FitzStephen was not liberated\nuntil King Henry arrived in Ireland in 1172.\n\nFerrycarrig is situated on the Earl of Donoghmore\u2019s estate.\n\n\n AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.\n\n J. Ryan, \u201cHistory and Antiquities of Carlow.\u201d\n Brewer, \u201cBeauties of Ireland.\u201d\n Giraldus Cambrensis.\n Parliamentary Gazetteer.\n Proceedings of Royal Society of Antiquaries.\n Marquis of Kildare, \u201cEarls of Kildare.\u201d\n Joyce, \u201cIrish Place Names.\u201d\n \u201cFerrycarrig,\u201d in _The People_.\n\n\n\n\n_GEASHILL CASTLE_\n\n \u201cOh, sweetly rural is the scene\n Where Geashill Castle stands;\n Beneath the line of green old hills\n This lovely vale expands.\u201d\n E. EGAN.\n\n\nThe village of Geashill is situated in the barony of the same name,\nabout eight miles south-east of Tullamore, in the King\u2019s County. On a\nlong ridge near are the ruins of the castle, adjoining a modern lodge\nusually occupied by the agent of the Digby estate. The ancient fortress\nis three storeys high, and a spiral stairway still leads to the summit,\nwhere there is an iron chair. An underground passage is said to run to\nthe ruined Abbey close by.\n\nThe date of the castle\u2019s erection by the Fitzgeralds is ascribed to\nthe twelfth century, and in 1203 or 1204 the King commanded it to be\ndelivered to William Marshall, Earl of Pembroke, as the guardian of\nMaurice, second Baron of Offaly, who was heir to Gerald FitzMaurice.\n\nIn 1305 the sept of the O\u2019Dempseys slaughtered a great number of the\nO\u2019Connors near the castle, and the following year the stronghold was\ndestroyed by these native Irish. The Book of Howth says: \u201cThe Lord of\nOffalye builded the castle of Geschell\u201d in 1307, so it was, no doubt,\nrebuilt this year by Thomas FitzMaurice, \u201cthe crooked heir,\u201d who died\nin 1298, and who is supposed to have been prevented from inheriting as\nhead of the family on account of some deformity. Juliana FitzGerald\ngranted the castle to his son, who was her cousin, and afterwards 1st\nEarl of Kildare.\n\nAn inquisition was held at Kildare in 1282 upon the estate of the late\nJohn FitzThomas, when his heir, Thomas FitzMaurice, came of age. It\nwas shown that the former had held lands from Maurice FitzGerald \u201cfor\na moiety of the service of one knight whenever royal service should be\nsummoned, rendering suit nevertheless at the court of the said Maurice\nFitzGerald at Geashill.\u201d\n\nLord Leonard Gray and the chieftain O\u2019Mulmoy seized the castle, and\nabbey of Killeigh in 1538. In both they found great stores of corn,\npart of which they burnt and part carried off.\n\nOn an ancient map of Leix, dated about 1563, both the castles of Lea\nand Geashill are marked as ruins, but in Sir Henry Sydney\u2019s account of\nIreland shortly afterwards he writes: \u201cGeshell, in the King\u2019s County,\nis very necessary to be had of the Earl of Kildare; it is a matter of\nconsequence for her Majesty\u2019s service in that county.\u201d\n\nJames I. granted the barony of Geashill in 1619 and 1629 to Lady\nLettice Digby, widow of Sir Robert Digby, of Warwickshire, as\ncompensation for not inheriting as heir-general of the house of\nKildare, she being the only child of the eldest son of the 11th Earl of\nKildare. At the same time he created her Baroness of Offaly, and she\nlived quietly at Geashill from that date until 1642, when the great\nrebellion broke out and the Confederate Catholics laid siege to her\nstronghold.\n\nA kinsman of hers named Henry Dempsy, brother of Lord Clanmalier, was\nin command, and despatched a letter \u201cTo the Honourable and thrice\nvirtuous Lady, the Lady Digby,\u201d demanding that she should surrender the\ncastle to his Majesty and offering her and her household a free pass\nto wherever they wished, threatening at the same time if she did not\ncomply to murder every Protestant in the town.\n\nTo this demand the Baroness sent the following answer: \u201cI received your\nletter, wherein you threaten to sack this my castle, by his Majesty\u2019s\nauthority. I have ever been a loyal subject and good neighbour among\nyou, and, therefore, cannot but wonder at such an assault. I thank\nyou for your offer of a convoy, wherein I hold little safety; and,\ntherefore, my resolution is, that being free of offending his Majesty,\nor doing wrong to any of you, I will live and die innocently, and\nwill do the best to defend my own, leaving the issue to God. And\nthough I have been, and still am desirous to avoid the shedding of\nChristian blood, yet, being provoked, your threats shall no wit dismay\nme.--LETTICE OFFALY.\u201d\n\nThe castle was surrounded by bog and wood, and was, in consequence,\nsomewhat difficult of access, so that upon receiving her letter the\nenemy retired to make more elaborate preparations for attack.\n\nThey collected a number of pots and pans, with which a man from Athboy\nconstructed a cannon. It had to be cast three times before it was\nsuccessful.\n\nAfter two months the attackers returned to the castle with Lord\nClanmalier in command. He despatched another letter demanding surrender\nto the brave lady, which received a spirited reply, reiterating her\ndetermination to endeavour to hold her own against all comers.\n\nUpon its receipt they discharged the gun, which burst at the first\nshot, but a fusilade of muskets was kept up until the evening.\n\nAs the Baroness was looking out of one of the windows a ball struck\nthe wall near her, and taking out her handkerchief, she contemptuously\ndusted the spot.\n\nIt is said that one of her sons, having fallen into the enemy\u2019s hands,\nwas brought before the castle in chains, with a threat that they would\nkill him unless she surrendered. She, however, replied that if they\ntouched a hair of his head she would at once put to death a Roman\nCatholic priest who was within the walls.\n\nAt dark the enemy retired, again sending her a letter offering her\nterms, which received the same refusal as the others had done, and the\nmessenger she sent was kept a prisoner.\n\nLady Offaly managed to let Sir Charles Coote, then at Naas, know that\nshe needed assistance, and Philip Sydney, Viscount Lisle, at once\nset out from Dublin to her relief, accompanied by Sir Charles Coote,\nSir George Wentworth, Lord Digby, the Baroness\u2019s eldest son, and a\nconsiderable force of horse and foot.\n\nLady Offaly had also despatched an appeal for help to the FitzGeralds,\nbut the letter fell into the enemy\u2019s hands instead, who at once renewed\nthe siege when they learnt of her straits.\n\nAs the English forces advanced the besiegers skirmished and retreated.\nThe relieving party supplied the fortress with food and ammunition, but\nat Lady Offaly\u2019s request she remained in the castle.\n\nThe following October she was again attacked by Charles Dempsie, but\nthis time was shortly relieved by Sir Richard Grenville, and after this\nshe retired to Cole\u2019s Hill, in Warwickshire, where she died in 1658.\n\nHer eldest son, Lord Digby, inherited the castle, and it is still in\nthe family\u2019s possession.\n\n\n AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.\n\n Marquis of Kildare, \u201cEarls of Kildare.\u201d\n J. Wright, \u201cKing\u2019s County Directory.\u201d\n State Documents.\n Carew MSS., including Book of Howth.\n Parliamentary Gazetteer.\n Hore, \u201cRental Book of Gerald, 9th Earl\n of Kildare,\u201d and \u201cNotes on a\n Fac-Simile of an Ancient Map\n of Leix,\u201d both in _Journal\n of Royal Society of Antiquaries, Ireland_.\n\n[Illustration: GLENARM CASTLE.]\n\n\n\n\n_GLENARM CASTLE_\n\n\nThis castle is situated in the Barony of Lower Glenarm, a little more\nthan twenty-five miles north of Belfast, in the County Antrim, where\nthe Glenarm rivulet enters the bay.\n\nThe original stronghold was erected by the Byset family about the\nmiddle of the thirteenth century, and came into the MacDonnell family\nthrough the marriage of Margery Bisset.\n\nThe castle stood on the southern side of the river at the head of the\nstreet which leads from the barbican, and on the opposite bank from the\npresent building.\n\nIn 1278 an inquisition was held after the death of two John Bysets to\ndetermine if the Earl of Ulster was right in making the fortress over\nto the Bishop of Connor as ecclesiastical property, and it was decided\nthat the Bysets had not held the castle from the church.\n\nCaptain Pers and Malbie placed Randal Oge in possession of the\nstronghold in 1568, but the same year his ward surrendered it.\n\nIn 1597 it is reported James and Randal M\u2019Donnell \u201cbroke\u201d the castle,\nand it does not appear to have been afterwards rebuilt, although the\nruins were standing for many years.\n\nSir Randal MacDonnell was granted the estate in 1603, and began to\nerect the present castle.\n\nSir Awla M\u2019Awla petitioned against his possession of Glenarm in 1610,\nbut apparently without effect.\n\nSir Randal greatly enlarged the dwelling in 1636, and the following\ninscription was placed over the entrance:--\n\n\u201cWith the leave of God this castle was built by Sir Randal McDonnel,\nKnight, Erle of Antrim, having to wife Dame Aellis O\u2019Neill, in the year\nof our Lord God, 1636. Deus est adjutor meus.\u201d\n\nShortly after this the family made Glenarm their chief place of\nresidence instead of Dunluce Castle.\n\nThe fortress is approached by a barbican standing on the northern side\nof the bridge, while an avenue of limes leads to the hall door. The\nbuilding is flanked by towers crowned with cupolas and vanes, and the\ngables are decorated with heraldic devices.\n\nAn embattled wall guards the terrace on the river side.\n\nThe hall, which is also used as a billiard-room, is especially\nhandsome, while the dining-room and drawing-room are also fine\napartments.\n\nSome treasure chests said to have belonged to the Spanish Armada are\npreserved in the castle, but a doubt has been thrown upon their being\nof such a date.\n\nDuring the rebellion of 1798, the castle was used as the headquarters\nof the Yeomanry. The rebels had decided to attack it on the 8th of\nJune, and the wives of the Yeomen, whom they had captured, were to be\nplaced in front of the insurgents in their advance.\n\nThis diabolical plan was frustrated on the very morning of the intended\nattack by news of the defeat at Antrim, whereupon the camp was broken\nup.\n\nGlenarm is the seat of the Earl of Antrim, the present representative\nbeing the sixth peer.\n\n\n AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.\n\n Hill, \u201cMacDonnells of Antrim.\u201d\n State Documents.\n State Papers.\n Thomson, \u201cHighways and Byeways in Donegal and Antrim.\u201d\n Parliamentary Gazetteer.\n \u201cGuide to the Giant\u2019s Causeway,\u201d in _Dublin Penny Journal_.\n Drew, \u201cOld Iron Treasure Chests\u201d; Smith,\n \u201cMemories of \u201998,\u201d in _Ulster Journal of Arch\u00e6ology_.\n\n\n\n\n_GLIN CASTLE_\n\n\nThe origin of the title Knight of Glin, or Knight of the Valley, seems\nnot to be accurately known, but the designation has been recorded as in\nuse during the reign of Henry III. The Knights of Glin, also called the\nBlack Knights, belong to the great Geraldine family, and owed a certain\nallegiance to the Earls of Desmond, which is described as follows:\n\u201cDivers customs of meat and drink, together with rising of men at the\nEarl\u2019s calling to the number of 60 kearne.\u201d\n\nThe housing and feeding of some of the Earl\u2019s men were also included.\n\nGlin is a small market town and seaport in the Barony of Shanid, in\nthe County Limerick, at the junction of a rivulet with the Shannon,\ntwenty-six miles west by south of Limerick City.\n\nOf the ancient fortress situated in the town, nothing now remains but\nthe keep. It measures 38 feet by 35 externally, and the walls are 8\nfeet in thickness. It is at present about 40 feet in height, but was\nat one time crowned by a turret in the eastern corner. The courtyard\nwalls were 102 feet in length and 92 in breadth. The chief entrance, to\nthe north, was defended by a semicircular outwork. The great hall was\nsituated on the western side of the courtyard, while the keep was in\nthe south-west corner. The two eastern angles were defended by small\ntowers. A moat surrounded the castle filled with water from the Shannon\ntributary.\n\nThe Knight of Glin was a very important chieftain in Limerick,\nmaintaining an ordinary force of ten horsemen and a hundred and forty\nfoot soldiers. During the Desmond wars he shared the fortunes of the\nEarl, and in 1569 both the Knight and the son were attainted, the\nlatter being executed.\n\nThe estates were, however, very shortly afterwards restored, and in the\nrebellion of the Northern Earls and the \u201cSugan Earl\u201d of Desmond, the\nKnight of Glin was again amongst the disaffected.\n\nIn the summer of 1600 Sir George Carew started on an expedition to the\nwest to restore peace in that quarter. He had with him a force of one\nthousand five hundred men, and was accompanied by the Earl of Thomond.\n\nThe army marched through Kerry to Askeaton, where there was a halt\nfor four days awaiting provisions, which had been sent by water from\nLimerick. On the 4th of July they marched twelve miles to Ballintare,\nthe enemy moving in front within view. The next morning\u2019s march brought\nthem before Glin Castle, the rebels still offering no opposition.\n\nThe Four Masters describe the route taken as having been from Limerick\nalong the northern bank of the Shannon through Clare, the troops\nferrying themselves across the river at Glin, but it is most likely\nthat Sir George Carew\u2019s biographer gives the correct line of march.\n\nCaptain Gawin Harvey\u2019s ship, with the ordnance on board, had been\nanchored in the Shannon for fourteen days awaiting their arrival, and\nthe guns were at once unshipped upon the arrival of the troops.\n\nThat night the forces entrenched themselves between the castle and the\nriver, and the next day, under the guise of a parley, they managed to\nplant the cannon without opposition.\n\nThe next day the Knight of Glin, who was not within the castle,\nasked for a safe conduct to the English camp, which was granted. Upon\narrival he demanded to see the President, but was refused unless upon\nan unconditional surrender. This he would not consent to, and was,\ntherefore, ordered to depart. Seeing his son in the camp, whom he had\ndelivered as a hostage some time previously, he seemed to hesitate,\nbut as he still held out for terms the Earl of Thomond broke off\nthe negotiations, and the Knight and his attendants retired to a\nneighbouring hill to watch the attack.\n\nLater the Constable of the fortress sent a message to the Earl of\nThomond begging an interview, which was granted. He began by stating\nthat the love he bore the Earl, being a Thomond man himself, had\ninduced him to warn the English to depart, as the Earl of Desmond with\nthree thousand Connaught men were only two miles off, and would most\nlikely attack the camp and drive them all into the river. The Earl\nlaughed at his forebodings, and told him to deliver the castle and so\nsave himself and the warders from death. This offer he refused, and the\nPresident, hearing he had done so, sent a message to say that he hoped\nto place his head on a stake in two days\u2019 time.\n\nOne of the cannon becoming clogged, Sir George Carew ordered it to be\nfilled with a charge in inverted order and the fire put to the mouth,\nso as to clear the touch-hole by the explosion. This was carried out\nwith great success, much to the relief of the besiegers.\n\nA fire of small shot was kept up from the castle at the ordnance, and\nthe President, placing the Knight\u2019s son on one of the cannon, sent a\nmessage to the garrison to say he had given them a mark to aim at. The\nConstable replied that the Knight of Glin might have more sons, and\nthat the child should not deter him from firing.\n\nSir George Carew, however, removed the child, and commenced the\nbattery. A breach was made into the cellar under the great hall, one\ngunner only being killed.\n\nCaptain Flower then led the attack and entered the hall through the\nbreach, forcing the ward to retire. The flag of the besiegers was\nhoisted from the turrets of the hall, and night coming on Captain\nSlingsby was ordered to hold the position until the morning.\n\nA dropping fire was kept up all night. The Constable, seeing that to\nsuccessfully hold the castle was impossible, tried to escape with some\nof the warders, but he and others were killed in the attempt, one only\ngetting away. His head was placed upon a stake in the camp as the\nPresident had said.\n\nThe rest of the garrison retired to the keep. In the morning the\nattackers burned the heavy wooden door which guarded the stairway, but\nthey had to wait two hours for the smoke to clear away. As soon as it\nhad done so, one of the garrison appeared to ask for the lives of his\ncomrades if they surrendered, but it appears he gave himself up before\nan answer was returned.\n\nThe officers and men then ascended the stairs in single file as the\nwidth of the passage necessitated, but met with no opposition, the\ngarrison having retired to the battlements, which were protected only\nby one door.\n\nHere a terrible hand to hand encounter took place. Some of the warders\nwere killed, while the rest jumped from the parapet into the water\nbelow, and were either drowned or killed by the guards stationed\nbeneath the tower.\n\nThe English lost ten soldiers and one ensign, while about twenty-one\nmen were wounded. Of the defenders of the castle about eighty men were\nkilled, while the Four Masters state that some women and children also\nlost their lives. They remark that the place would not have been so\neasily won had not the \u201cEarl of Desmond\u2019s people dispersed from him.\u201d\n\nThe rebels had burned the town of Glin upon the approach of the Royal\ntroops.\n\nDuring the rising the castle had been used as a storehouse for the\n\u201cSugan Earl\u2019s\u201d forces, and a Limerick merchant called Anthony Arthurs\nseems to have dispensed his goods from it.\n\nSir George Carew placed a guard of twenty-one soldiers in it under the\ncommand of Captain Nicholas Mordant.\n\nEdmund FitzGerald, Knight of the Valley, was restored to most of his\nestates in 1603, and six years later he appealed to the Lords of the\nCouncil against Patrick Crosby obtaining Glin Castle by the King\u2019s\nletter, on the pretext that it was kept from the Knight to prevent his\nrebelling. Crosby had undertaken to repair and fortify the fortress at\nhis own cost. The Knight stated he had been pardoned by Lord Mountjoy,\nthat his lands had been restored, and shortly afterwards the castle as\nwell.\n\nThe next year Sir Arthur Chichester explains that the building was\noccupied only by Anthony Arthur, who sold wines in it, and that he had\ntherefore given it to Crosby. He also stated that the Knight\u2019s eldest\nson was abroad.\n\nIn 1681 the castle was in the possession of Major FitzGerald.\n\nThe present Glin Castle, seat of Desmond FitzJohn Lloyd FitzGerald,\nKnight of Glin, is situated about a mile west of the town. Over the\nyard gate is an engraved stone bearing the following inscription:\n\u201cEdmond Gerrald, Knight of the Vally. Onnor Cartie, his wife. Fear God\nalways and remember the Poor. I.H.S. Anno Domoni, 1615.\u201d\n\n\n AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.\n\n Pacata Hibernia (Dublin reprint, 1810).\n J. Dowd, \u201cCounty of Limerick.\u201d\n Calendar of State Papers.\n Parliamentary Gazetteer.\n Carew MSS.\n Donovan, \u201cAnnals of the Four Masters.\u201d\n Journal of Thomas Dineley (_Kilkenny Arch\u00e6ological Society\u2019s Journal_).\n\n\n\n\n_GREENCASTLE, COUNTY DONEGAL_\n\n\nThis castle is situated on the west side of the entrance to Lough\nFoyle, two and a half miles north-east of Moville, in the Barony of\nInnishowen.\n\nIt was erected upon a rock and defended by two towers which contained\nthe chief apartments, while a third tower defended the northern end.\n\nIt is built of green fire stone, from which its present name may have\nbeen derived.\n\nIn Macator\u2019s map, which was published in 1629, it is marked as \u201cNew\nCastle,\u201d and it is still known in Irish by that name.\n\nHanmer\u2019s \u201cChronicle\u201d and Grace\u2019s \u201cAnnals\u201d state that Arx Viridis in\nUltonia was thrown down in 1260, so that it is likely that the present\nbuilding, which was erected by Richard de Burgo, the Red Earl of\nUlster, in 1305, replaced a former fortress.\n\nIn 1332 William de Burgo, or the \u201cDun Earl,\u201d owned the fortress, which\nhe had inherited from his father, and having taken prisoner Walter,\nson of Sir Walter de Burgo, he starved him to death in the castle. Sir\nArthur Chichester excavated one of the pillars of the dungeon in which\nit is supposed he was confined, and a mark was discovered that most\nlikely had held a ring to which the prisoner was chained. The \u201cdreary\nand dismal\u201d prisons are still to be seen.\n\nThe Dun Earl was stabbed to death the next year in revenge for the\nmurder.\n\nThe following legend is told regarding Walter de Burgo\u2019s death. The\nEarl had a beautiful daughter who one day, in\n\n[Illustration: GREENCASTLE, COUNTY DONEGAL.]\n\ncrossing the sands on the shore under Benevenagh, became engulfed in\nquicksands, and was nearly losing her life when Sir Walter Burk\u2019s son,\nwho was serving in the army of O\u2019Neill and O\u2019Donnell, seeing her danger\nfrom the heights above rushed down and saved her from the peril.\n\nThe same year this young man was taken prisoner by the girl\u2019s father in\nhis war with the O\u2019Donnells and starved to death at Greencastle. The\nEarl one day, during his unfortunate victim\u2019s captivity, discovered his\ndaughter carrying food to the prisoner, and seizing her by the hair,\ndragged her to the battlements and hurled her over on to the rocks\nbelow.\n\nThe fortress was for many years in possession of the O\u2019Dohertys.\n\nIn 1555 Calvagh O\u2019Donnell went to Scotland to raise forces with the\nhelp of Mac Calin (Gillaspick Don), and returning with them and a\ncannon called _gonna cam_, or \u201ccrooked gun,\u201d he set to work and\ndemolished the New Castle.\n\nIt was, however, reported as wardable in 1586. The last of the\nO\u2019Dohertys to hold the fortress was knighted by Queen Elizabeth, but\nshortly afterwards he went into rebellion, and his estate was forfeited.\n\nIn 1610 it was granted with other property to Sir Arthur Chichester\nwith an allowance to maintain the garrison. Two years later he asked\nto be allowed for horsemen at Greencastle instead of the ten warders,\nand in 1615 Lord Chichester was granted Greencastle for three lives by\nletters patent.\n\nIn 1752 it was on the Earl of Donegal\u2019s estate.\n\n\n AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.\n\n O\u2019Donovan, \u201cAnnals of the Four Masters.\u201d\n MS. Ordnance Survey.\n Stokes, \u201cPococke\u2019s Tour in Ireland in 1752.\u201d\n State Papers.\n Carew MSS.\n Parliamentary Gazetteer.\n Blackley, \u201cA Tour through Innishowen.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n_GREENCASTLE, COUNTY DOWN_\n\n\nUpon the northern shore of Carlingford Lough, in the Barony of Mourne,\nfour and a half miles south-west of Kilteel, County Down, are situated\nthe ruins of this castle. It is a very fine specimen of Norman\narchitecture, and was erected soon after the landing of the first\nEnglish settlers so as to secure communication between the Pale and\nthe outlying district of Lecale, as well as to command the entrance to\nCarlingford Lough.\n\nAt present the remains chiefly consist of the keep, which was a high\nrectangular building, with square towers at the angles. A winding stair\nin the south-west turret leads to the top. The stone floor of the great\nhall, measuring 70 feet by 40, is supported by arches which form vaults\nin the basement. The upper floors have disappeared, and were probably\nof wood.\n\nThe traces of extensive outworks can be seen round the building. On the\nwest side stands a house which is at present inhabited by a farmer, but\nwhich for many years formed the chief residence of the Bagnall family\nduring the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.\n\nThe castle belonged to the Du Burgos or Burkes, Earls of Ulster, and\nin 1312 Sir Maurice, the son of Thomas, married Catherine, daughter of\nthe \u201cRed Earl\u201d of Ulster, and the next day, being the 16th of August,\nThomas, the 2nd Earl of Kildare, \u201ca prudent and wise man,\u201d married her\nsister, Lady Joan de Burgh, also in the castle. The Lady Joan had two\nother married sisters, one being the\n\n[Illustration: GREENCASTLE, COUNTY DOWN.]\n\nwife of King Robert Bruce, and the other Countess of Desmond.\n\nIn 1335 there was an order to send six \u201cbalistas\u201d to furnish \u201cViride\nCastrum,\u201d or the Greencastle. The same year William de Logan was\nordered to pay Henry de Maunderville 20 marks out of the rents of the\nlate Earl of Ulster, which were in the King\u2019s hands, on account of\nthe minority of the heir. This reward was for De Maunderville having\ntwice relieved the castle of Greencastle with men-at-arms when it was\nbesieged by the \u201cfelons\u201d of Ulster.\n\nIt was again attacked by the Irish in 1343, and this time it was\ncarried by storm and dilapidated, but was shortly afterwards restored.\n\nThe late Constable, William de Doun, received pardon in 1356 for having\nseized and imprisoned Rosea, daughter of Richard Foy.\n\nDuring Henry IV.\u2019s reign there was only one constable between the\ncastles of Carlingford and Greencastle. It is reported that Stephen\nGeron received \u00a320 a year for the guardianship of Greencastle and \u00a35\nfor Carlingford.\n\nIn 1403 John Moore, who was then constable, petitioned for a rise\nof salary, and he was granted \u00a340 a year on condition he spent 10\nmarks of it on repairs. The amount was to be paid out of the rents of\nCarlingford, Cooley, and \u201cle Mourne.\u201d\n\nNone but Englishmen were permitted to hold the appointment in 1495.\n\nNotwithstanding this, when M\u2019Donell made his submission in 1542 he\nrequested to be granted Greencastle, and the lands lying waste around\nit, for which favour he promised military service.\n\nThe Government did not evidently see their way to accede to his\nrequest, and seven years later it is reported that the fortress was in\na \u201cwretched condition.\u201d\n\nIn 1552 it was granted to Sir Nicholas Bagnall, in whose family\u2019s\npossession it remained for many years.\n\nSir Arthur Chichester was granted means to provide ten warders for\nGreencastle in 1612, but this does not seem to have interfered with\nthe Bagnall possession, as in 1620 Arthur Bagnall held the manors and\nlordships of Greencastle and Mourne.\n\nThree years later it is recommended that the ward be moved from Culmore\nto Greencastle, and the stronghold was garrisoned during the rebellion\nof 1641.\n\n\n AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.\n\n J. O\u2019Laverty, \u201cDiocese of Down and Connor.\u201d\n W. Harris, \u201cCounty of Down.\u201d\n R. Praeger, \u201cOfficial Guide to County Down.\u201d\n State Papers.\n Marquis of Kildare, \u201cEarls of Kildare.\u201d\n Carew MSS.\n Parliamentary Gazetteer.\n\n[Illustration: HOWTH CASTLE.]\n\n\n\n\n_HOWTH CASTLE_\n\n\nAbout seven miles east-north-east of Dublin, in the Barony of Coolock,\nis situated the village of Howth, on the promontory of the same name.\n\nA short way from the town, nestling under the lee of the hill is the\ncastle, the seat of the Earls of Howth.\n\nIt is a long battlemented building, with square towers at each end.\n\nA large flight of steps gives admission to the hall, which extends\nalong the whole length of the building. Here is preserved the\ntwo-handed sword of Sir Amoricus Tristram (the founder of the St.\nLaurence family in Ireland) with which he is said to have fought his\nfirst Irish battle. Also three inscribed bells, which were removed from\nthe Abbey, are preserved in the castle.\n\nThe fortress seems to have undergone much alteration since its first\nerection, and the great gateway tower, which now flanks the main\nbuilding on one side, appears to be of sixteenth-century architecture\nand is no doubt part of the original building.\n\nThe stronghold was erected in 1564 by Christopher, the twentieth baron,\nbut whether it was built on the site of an older castle or whether Corr\nCastle, also situated on the peninsular, was the ancient fortress of\nthe St. Laurence family, does not seem to be known.\n\nThe mortar of the early building, like the Tower of London, is reported\nto have been mixed with blood. Until far into the nineteenth century\nthe castle was surrounded by a fosse.\n\nThere are several inscribed and figured stones over the entrance to the\nstable-yard, and also one built into the wall near the garden gate.\n\nSir John de Courcy and his sister\u2019s husband, Sir Amoricus Tristram,\narrived at Howth in 1177. Their companionship in arms is said to have\nbeen the outcome of a compact to share each other\u2019s fortunes made in\nthe Church of St. Mary at Rouen.\n\nUpon the arrival of the ship at Howth, De Courcy, being ill, remained\non board, while Sir Amoricus took command of their forces in the first\nengagement with the Danes, who fiercely opposed their landing.\n\nAfter a great battle, in which Sir Amoricus lost seven blood relations,\nthe enemy were completely defeated at the bridge of the Evora, and the\nlands of Howth were granted to the victor as a reward of prowess.\n\nHe then accompanied Sir John de Courcy to Down, where he also gained\npossessions and did great deeds of valour. A story is told that after\nthe first battle in the north Sir Amoricus was found leaning on his\nshield under a hedge, bleeding from three large wounds, and having\nsustained himself by eating the wild roses and honeysuckle which grew\nwithin his reach. His life was despaired of for nine days, but he\neventually recovered, and lived to die heroically among a group of\noutnumbered infantry, having slain his horse so that he could not save\nhimself by flight.\n\nThe St. Laurence coat of arms is a shield with cross swords and roses\nin a bloody field, which may have originated from the wild flowers Sir\nAmoricus gathered.\n\nAn early chronicler says of him that he might \u201cbe chosen from amongst a\nthousand knights for beauty and heroic courage, as well as for humility\nand courtesy to his inferiors, yielding to none but in the way of\ngentleness.\u201d\n\nAfter his death his sons gradually lost his northern possessions, and\nKing John confirmed the grant of the lands of Howth to the third baron\nby charter. It may have been at this time that the family name was\nchanged from Tristram to St. Laurence. There seems to be no historical\nevidence for the tradition that the name was altered to commemorate a\nvictory gained upon St. Laurence\u2019s Day.\n\nIn 1575, as Grace O\u2019Mailley was returning from her famous visit to\nQueen Elizabeth she landed at Howth, but found the castle gates closed,\nthe reason assigned being that it was the dinner hour. Shocked at such\nwant of Irish hospitality she seized the young heir, who was playing on\nthe strand, and carried him off to her castle in Mayo. She refused to\nrestore him until she received a promise that the gates of Howth Castle\nshould never again be closed at dinner hour. This child was Nicholas,\nafterwards twenty-first baron. A picture at the castle is supposed to\nrepresent the incident.\n\nLord Mountjoy, as Lord Deputy, and Sir George Carew, as Lord President\nof Munster, landed at Howth in 1599, and spent a night at the castle\nbefore proceeding to Dublin.\n\nIn 1607 the State Papers report that the old Countess of Kildare\nand Lady Dowager of Delvin and her children were at Howth in Sir\nChristopher St. Laurence\u2019s house, and the following year it is\nmentioned that Sir John Talbot\u2019s house is near the castle of Howth.\n\nKing William slept a night in the castle in 1690, and his room was kept\nunaltered from the time he had used it.\n\nDean Swift was a constant visitor at Howth, and an original portrait of\nhim, painted by Bindon in 1735, hangs in the castle.\n\nNear the garden stands the old elm known as \u201cThe Tristram Tree,\u201d which\nhas been carefully propped and preserved in every way on account of the\ntradition attaching to it. It is said that as long as this tree lives\nthere will be an heir to the noble house which was founded by Sir\nAmoricus Tristram.\n\nTo \u201cfollow as closely as Lord Howth\u2019s Rat\u201d was at one time a common\nsimile for any faithful or attached animal, and the legend which gave\nrise to the saying is the following:--\n\nOne of the former Lords of Howth had retired to his castle to retrench\na somewhat diminished heritage, and one night while living thus in\nsolitary state there was a fearful storm.\n\nWord was brought to the fortress that a ship was being wrecked under\nthe cliffs near the Abbey, and every one rushed off to the spot to\nrender what assistance was possible, and amongst them Lord Howth.\n\nEvery effort was, however, unavailing, and the ship went down\napparently with all hands. But as morning broke the eager watchers\nespied a frail, roughly-put-together raft floating towards them, and on\nthis was a beautiful woman, with a wooden chest beside her.\n\nAs soon as she landed Lord Howth courteously offered her the\nhospitality of the castle, and ordered his servants to carry the heavy\ncoffer thither.\n\nShe continued to live at Howth Castle, and her host became passionately\nenamoured of her, and wished to marry her, but she persistently refused\nhis offers, and urged him daily to seek another bride.\n\nAt last he gave way to her entreaties, and became affianced to the\ndaughter of a neighbouring nobleman.\n\nAs the time for the marriage drew near the fair stranger presented Lord\nHowth with a ribbon wrought with strange characters, which she told him\nto wear on his wrist and guard as his luck. Then she left the castle\nand was heard of no more.\n\nIn due course Lord Howth brought home his bride, and with true womanly\ncuriosity she wanted to know why he never removed the ribbon from his\narm.\n\nOne night, while he was asleep, she untied it, and took it over to the\nfire to decipher the inscription, but it accidentally ignited, and was\nburnt to ashes.\n\nLord Howth was terribly distressed at its loss, declaring that his good\nfortune would now forsake him.\n\nShortly after this there was a great feast in the castle. In the midst\nof the festivities the dogs in the courtyard began to give tongue,\nas if in pursuit of game, and in a minute a terrified rat had jumped\non the banqueting table, and, pausing before Lord Howth, looked up\npiteously in his face for protection.\n\nHe ordered the dogs to be called off, and from that hour the rat never\nleft him.\n\nHis wife and family did not approve of his faithful attendant, and his\nbrother persuaded him to go to the Continent, and by thus crossing the\nsea rid himself of the animal. However, the morning after his arrival\nin France the rat was found sleeping on his bed. He then pushed on to\nMarseilles, but not long after his arrival the rat entered his room wet\nand draggled from its long journey.\n\nThe animal approached the fire to dry itself, when the nobleman\u2019s\nbrother took up the poker in a rage and killed it with one blow.\n\n\u201cYou have murdered me,\u201d cried the Earl, and, falling back, he died.\n\nThe rat is sometimes said to have been white, and to reappear when evil\nis about to befall the house of St. Laurence.\n\nThe present Lord Howth is the fourth earl.\n\n\n AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.\n\n D\u2019Alton, \u201cHistory of Co. Dublin.\u201d\n Proceedings of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland.\n Brewer, \u201cBeauties of Ireland.\u201d\n Parliamentary Gazetteer.\n Calendar of State Papers.\n R. A., \u201cThe Abbey of Howth,\u201d in _Dublin Penny Journal_.\n\n\n\n\n_KILBARRON CASTLE_\n\n \u201cBroad, blue, and deep the Bay of Donegal\n Spreads north and south, and far a-west before\n The beetling cliffs, sublime and shattered wall,\n Where the O\u2019Cleary\u2019s name is heard no more.\u201d\n T. D. MCGEE.\n\n\nThis castle is situated on the shores of Donegal Bay about three miles\nfrom the town of Ballyshannon, in the Barony of Kilbarron, County\nDonegal.\n\nThe name Cill-Barrainn signifies \u201cthe Church of St. Barrfhionn.\u201d\n\nThe fortress was built on a high and nearly insulated cliff, and from\nits romantic and wild situation a tradition falsely sprang up that\nit had been the stronghold of freebooters. The promontory is nearly\ncircular in form and rises a hundred feet above the sea, along the edge\nof which a wall was built, while on the landward side a thick wall, the\nwhole width of the neck protected this direction from attack.\n\nTo the north of the small open courtyard thus enclosed was the keep,\nand here are traces of a subterranean passage, now filled up, which was\nused for \u201cdistillery purposes\u201d in the eighteenth century.\n\nThe remains of two chambers at the cliff side seem older than the other\nbuildings. The sea wall is pierced by an oblong passage with a small\nsquare mouth popularly known as \u201cthe murdering-hole.\u201d\n\nThe castle was probably erected in the thirteenth or fourteenth\ncentury by the O\u2019Sgingins, who were ollaves or historians to the great\nO\u2019Donnells.\n\nIn 1391 the Four Masters tell us it was demolished by Donnell, the son\nof Murtough (O\u2019Conor of Sligo).\n\nThe last of the O\u2019Sgingins to be chief historian to O\u2019Donnell in the\nfourteenth century had no son, and only one beautiful daughter, with\nwhom Cormac O\u2019Cleary, who was on a visit to the Abbey of Assaroe, from\nGalway, fell in love.\n\n[Illustration: KILBARRON CASTLE]\n\nO\u2019Sgingin gave his consent to the marriage, and instead of the wedding\ngift which it was usual for the bridegroom to present to his wife\u2019s\nfather, O\u2019Sgingin asked that if a son were born of the marriage he\nshould be brought up with a knowledge of literature and history.\n\nHence Kilbarron passed into the O\u2019Cleary family, and this great race of\nhistorians occupied it for several centuries.\n\nIt is likely Cormac O\u2019Cleary re-edified it, but the \u201cstone houses,\u201d of\nwhich the building is recorded, were erected by Diarmaid, one of the\ncelebrated sons of Tadhg Cam (or The Stooped) O\u2019Cleary.\n\nThe fortunes of the Ollaves of Tirconnell began to wane with that of\ntheir patrons, the O\u2019Donnells, although the last O\u2019Cleary to hold lands\nwas not dispossessed until 1632, yet many of their possessions were\nlost to them at the flight of the Northern Earls in 1607. Most of the\nestate passed to Lord Folliott and the Bishop of Raphoe.\n\n\n AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.\n\n Donovan, \u201cAnnals of the Four Masters.\u201d\n Allingham, \u201cHistory of Ballyshannon.\u201d\n P., \u201cKilbarron Castle,\u201d in _Irish Penny Journal_.\n Donovan, \u201cGenealogies, Tribes and Customs of Hy-Fiachrach.\u201d\n Parliamentary Gazetteer.\n Proceedings of Royal Society of Antiquaries, Ireland.\n\n\n\n\n_KILBRITTAIN CASTLE_\n\n\nThe castle is situated about five miles south of Bandon, at the\nKilbrittain inlet from Courtmacsherry Bay, in the County of Cork.\n\nSmith says the castle before being rebuilt \u201cwas a stately building\nenvironed with a large bawn, fortified with six turrets on the walls.\u201d\nMr. Jones Stawell erected the present mansion, with which a portion\nof the ancient castle is incorporated. The kitchen, servants\u2019 hall,\nand housekeeper\u2019s room have vaulted roofs, and date from the twelfth\ncentury or earlier. There is also a tower and adjoining wall which\nbelonged to the former fortress, as well as the steps leading from the\nold courtyard. There are supposed to be vaults underneath the building,\nwhich are not now accessible, as well as an underground passage leading\nto the sea.\n\nThe castle is pleasantly situated on rising ground between hills. It\nis usually supposed to have been erected by the Lords Courcey, who\nreceived a grant of the lands shortly after the Anglo-Norman landing,\nbut in 1743 Robert Clayton, Bishop of Cork, sent copies of two\ninscribed stones, found at Kilbrittain, to John, Earl of Egmont. These\nstones bore the date 1035 in the Arabian characters, which seems to\nindicate an earlier date of erection. He says: \u201cThe stone from which\nthe inscription was taken was found by Mr. Stawell in an old castle,\nwhich he has since pulled down, called Kilbrittain, which signifies\nin Irish the \u2018church or cell,\u2019 or rather the \u2018burial place of the\nBritains.\u2019 Mr. Stawell says there was likewise the figure of a woman\ncarved in _bas-relief_ on another stone, the workmanship of which being\nmost curious. He neglected it, and it has since been lost.\u201d\n\nThe manor of Kilbrittain passed into the King\u2019s hands in 1295 upon the\ndeath of John de Courcey, who was slain on the Island of Inchydonny by\nM\u2019Carthy. Walter de la Haye, the King\u2019s escheator, delivered the lands\nto James Keating in keeping for De Courcey\u2019s heir.\n\nLord Courcey, it is said, borrowed a white weasel or ferret from\nM\u2019Carthy, and pledged his castle as surety for its safe return, but the\nanimal dying M\u2019Carthy claimed Kilbrittain, and it thus passed out of De\nCourcey\u2019s hands.\n\nIn 1430 M\u2019Carthy Reagh and James, Earl of Desmond, \u201cThe Usurper,\u201d began\nhostilities, and the castle was stormed by the Earl and given to his\nbrother Donough, who had assisted at its capture, but it subsequently\nreturned to the M\u2019Carthys.\n\nIn 1537 Lady Eleanor M\u2019Carthy resided in the castle after her husband\u2019s\ndeath. She was sister to Gerald, 9th Earl of Kildare, and, therefore,\naunt to Thomas, the \u201cSilken Lord,\u201d and his half brothers. After Lord\nOffaly\u2019s rebellion, and execution, and the attainting of the house of\nKildare, the young heir Gerald escaped from the Government by the aid\nof his tutor Thomas Leverous, afterwards Bishop of Kildare, who wrapped\nhim in a blanket, and fled with him although the lad was sick with\nsmallpox. After a hot pursuit they reached Kilbrittain where the Lady\nEleanor took charge of her nephew. She subsequently married O\u2019Donnell\nof Ulster to gain protection for the boy, but finding her husband was\ntreating with the Government to betray him, she sent the future Earl to\nFrance and returned to her son\u2019s territory in the County Cork.\n\nIn 1572 Kilbrittain is spoken of as M\u2019Carthy Reagh\u2019s chief\ndwelling-place, and it is mentioned that he paid a yearly rent of 67\nbeefs for it to the Earl of Desmond, besides rendering him military\nservice at times. Eighteen plough lands are mentioned as attached to it\nin 1599.\n\nDuring the great rebellion of 1641 it was the scene of much bloodshed,\na gallows having been erected before the castle windows \u201cfor hanging\nthe English.\u201d One morning a Richard Mewdon was hanged after two days\u2019\nimprisonment, having been bound to a Mrs. Stringer with great cruelty.\nThe rope was then put round her neck, but M\u2019Carthy\u2019s mother looking out\nof the window, and thinking to save her, sent a priest to know what\nreligion she was. She, however, boldly declared she was a Protestant.\n\nThe castle was shortly afterwards taken by the Bandonians.\n\nSome ancient fir-trees are still to be seen called \u201cM\u2019Carthy\u2019s\nBagpipes,\u201d where the executions took place, and the ground beneath\nhaving been cursed by one of his victims no grass will grow on it,\nalthough there is plenty of light and air.\n\nAfter the confiscation of the M\u2019Carthy estates the castle passed to\nColonel Thomas Long, who was left at the head of affairs when Henry\nCromwell retired. At the Restoration it reverted to the Crown and James\nII. bestowed it on Donough M\u2019Carthy, Lord Cloncarty, a relative of its\nformer owner.\n\nIt was sold in Oueen Anne\u2019s reign to the Hollow Sword Blades Company,\nand it is now in the possession of Colonel W. St. Leger Alcock-Stawell.\n\nTo the castle belonged privileges of fairs and markets.\n\n\n AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.\n\n Smith, \u201cState of the County and City of Cork\u201d;\n also Copenger, \u201cHistorical Notes in New Edition\u201d of same.\n Gibson, \u201cHistory of the County and City of Cork.\u201d\n Bennett, \u201cHistory of Bandon.\u201d\n Marquis of Kildare, \u201cEarls of Kildare.\u201d\n Carew MSS.\n Parliamentary Gazetteer.\n\n\n\n\n_KILKEA CASTLE_\n\n \u201cAnd, oh! through many a dark campaign\n They proved their prowess stern,\n In Leinster\u2019s plains and Munster\u2019s vales,\n On king, and chief, and kern.\n But noble was the cheer within\n The halls so rudely won,\n And generous was the steel-gloved hand\n That had such slaughter done.\n How gay their laugh, how proud their mien,\n You\u2019d ask no herald\u2019s sign--\n Amid a thousand you had known,\n The princely Geraldine.\u201d\n\n\nThis castle was built by Hugh de Lacy, Chief Governor of Ireland,\nfor Walter de Riddlesford, Baron of Bray, who had been granted the\nsurrounding district of Omurethi by Strongbow. De Riddlesford\u2019s\ngranddaughter, Emelina inherited the manors of Kilkea and Castledermot\nthrough her mother, and she, marrying Maurice FitzGerald, 3rd Baron of\nOffaly, the property passed to the Geraldines who still possess Kilkea\nCastle, which is one of the seats of the Duke of Leinster, where some\nof the family at present reside.\n\nKilkea signifies the Church of St. Kay, or Caoide, and the barony\nderives its name from the churchyard situated a few perches north-west\nof the castle.\n\nThe fortress is built on the banks of the River Greese, a tributary of\nthe Barrow, about five miles south-east of Athy. Its position was a\nparticularly exposed one, being\n\n[Illustration: KILKEA CASTLE.]\n\nsituated in the Marshes which lay between the English pale and the\nterritories of the native Irish. During the centuries since its\nerection it has undergone many alterations and enlargements down to its\nfinal restoration in 1849.\n\nIn 1356 Maurice, 4th Earl of Kildare, was commanded by the king\nto \u201cstrengthen and maintain his castles of Kilkea, Rathmore, and\nBallymore, under pain of forfeiting the same.\u201d In 1426 the castle was\nenlarged by John FitzGerald, 6th Earl of Kildare. Again, about the year\n1573, Gerald, the 11th Earl, repaired Kilkea after he was restored to\nthe title and estates of which his half-brother, the \u201cSilken Thomas,\u201d\nhad been dispossessed. Three sculptured stones are still in existence\nbelonging to a chimney-piece placed in the dining-hall by this Earl,\nand have, after various vicissitudes, been replaced in somewhat their\noriginal positions.\n\nThis Earl was called the \u201cWizard Earl,\u201d and the haunted room of the\ncastle (which also contains a carved stone) is said to have been the\nplace where he practised the Black Art. A legend regarding him runs\nthus:--His wife, not liking that he should have any secrets from her,\nbegged him to let her be witness to some of his transformations and\nsorcery. At length he consented to give her three trials, but warned\nher that any sign of fear on her part would be fatal to him. First, the\nriver Greese rose and flowed through the castle; secondly, an animal,\nhalf fish, half serpent, crept out of the water and twined round the\nlady\u2019s feet; and thirdly, a ghost flitted to and fro, but all these\nfailed to frighten the Countess. Then the Earl was transformed into a\nlittle black bird, which lit on her shoulder; but the devil, in the\nform of a cat, springing at it, she stretched forth her hand with a cry\nto protect her lord. Hence he and all his knights were spirited away\nto the Rath of Mullaghmast, where they sleep by their horses\u2019 sides,\nfully clad in armour, and from thence they ride to Kilkea Castle every\nseven years. The Earl\u2019s steed is shod with silver shoes, and as soon as\nthey are worn out the spell will be broken, and he will return again\nto Kilkea, when, after about half a century, he will drive the ancient\nenemies of Ireland out of the country.\n\nA lady writing of the castle in 1817, mentions the grand staircase\nbeing of massy oak, and amongst other things speaks of the ancient\nkitchen containing seven ovens. The building seems to have been\nsomewhat dilapidated when the 3rd Duke of Leinster began to restore\nit (1849). Nearly all the battlements were thrown down, and its last\ntenant had made matters worse in searching for treasure. This same man,\nwriting to the Duke in 1839, speaks of a carved oak ceiling in what had\nonce been the castle chapel. This is said to have been on the north\nside.\n\nDuring restoration a few quaint-shaped bottles containing liquid were\nfound in a recess, and previously it is stated that an old gentleman\nsitting at a table, had been discovered built up in some part of the\nwalls, but that he fell to dust at once when air was admitted.\n\nTwo underground passages are believed to connect the castle with the\nchurchyard on the one hand, and a pagan tumulus or burial moat on the\nother.\n\nThe grooves of the portcullis by which the main entrance was protected\nare to be seen at the hall-door, and also the square holes for fixing\nbeams of timber, which added to the security. The hall had a stone\nvaulted ceiling at the time of restoration, which was removed to give\ngreater height. A new storey was also added to the building at this\ntime.\n\nThe \u201cEvil Eye Stone\u201d is carved with a group of grotesque figures, and\nis situated 17 feet above the ground, in the quoin of the \u201cGuard Room,\u201d\nnear the entrance-gate of the ancient bawn of the castle.\n\nMaurice FitzGerald, 3rd Baron of Offaly, seems to have parted\ntemporarily with his interest in Kilkea to Christiana de Marisco,\na niece of his wife\u2019s, through whom a royal claim on the manor was\nestablished. In 1317 it appears to have been in possession of the Wogan\nfamily. Sir Thomas de Rokeby, Lord Justice of Ireland, died in the\ncastle in 1356.\n\nIn 1414, the O\u2019Mores and O\u2019Dempseys, having invaded the pale, Thomas\nCranly, Archbishop of Dublin, and Lord Deputy, accompanied the Royal\ntroops as far as Castledermot, where he and his clergy remained praying\nfor the success of the arms. The opposing forces met at Kilkea, where a\nbattle was fought, in which the Irish were defeated. A great many human\nbones having been found in a field south of the castle, it is likely to\nhave been the scene of this conflict.\n\nJohn FitzGerald, 6th Earl of Kildare, nicknamed \u201cShaun Cam,\u201d or\nHump-back John, again defeated the native Irish at Kilkea in 1421.\n\nIt was here, too, that the \u201cGreat Earl,\u201d Gerald FitzGerald, 8th Earl\nof Kildare and Lord Deputy of Ireland, got his death wound. In August,\n1513, he started on an expedition against a castle belonging to the\nO\u2019Carrolls, and now known as Leap Castle, in the King\u2019s County. While\nthe Earl was watering his horse at the River Greese, near Kilkea,\nattended by the Mayor of Dublin and a splendid retinue, he received\na wound from one of the O\u2019Mores of Leix, which in a few days proved\nfatal. He was moved by gentle stages to Kildare, where he died. He was\nthirty-three years Chief Governor of Ireland.\n\nDuring the rebellion of the \u201cSilken Thomas,\u201d 10th Earl of Kildare, in\n1535, Kilkea seems at first to have formed one of the headquarters of\nhis native sympathisers. The surrounding country having, however, been\nlaid waste by the Earl of Ossory, we read that he made an appointment\nwith Sir William Skeffington, the Lord Deputy, to meet him at Kilkea.\nHe waited with his army for three days, but the Lord Deputy being ill,\nhe did not arrive.\n\nIn 1537 the King appointed Lord (James) Butler to be Constable of the\nCastles of Catherlagh (Carlow) and Kilkea. Some years later a Walter\nPeppard, one of the gentlemen ushers of the King\u2019s chamber, seems to\nhave been in possession of the castle.\n\nThe 11th Earl lived largely at Kilkea after the restoration of his\ntitle and lands. In 1575, when apprehended on suspicion of treason, one\nof the charges was that he had interviewed and entertained rebels at\nKilkea.\n\nElizabeth, widow of the 14th Earl of Kildare, was granted the Manors\nof Kilkea and Graney by the King, as she had no jointure. She was a\ndaughter of Lord Delvin, and had married the Earl by dispensation of\nthe Pope, she being a Roman Catholic. In 1618 she wrote a most touching\nletter from Kilkea to the Privy Council, beseeching them to allow her\nthe guardianship of her little son Gerald, the 15th Earl--then just\nover six years old--until he should be older and stronger, urging that\nhe was \u201cthe only son of his father.\u201d The infant Earl died some two\nyears later at Maynooth, being succeeded by his cousin George, known as\nthe \u201cFairy Earl.\u201d\n\nIn 1634 the Countess gave Kilkea to the Jesuits, who retained\npossession of the castle until 1646, in which year the Superior of the\nOrder entertained the Pope\u2019s Nuncio sumptuously at the castle.\n\nDuring the civil war, which began in 1641, Kilkea was taken and\nre-taken several times; but on the restoration of peace, both the 16th\nand 17th Earls seem chiefly to have resided there.\n\nIn 1668 it was leased to Lord Brabazon, and afterwards, for nearly two\ncenturies, the castle was inhabited by strangers, to whom it was let at\ndifferent times.\n\nIn 1797 it passed into the hands of Thomas Reynolds, the \u201998 informer\nthrough the influence of Lord Edward FitzGerald. He somewhat repaired\nand furnished the castle. His son gives a graphic description of the\nwanton destruction of property by the soldiers sent from Dublin\nto arrest his father. It appears they tore up floors and down\nwainscotting, in a search for Lord Edward, who it was thought was\nhidden in the castle.\n\nShortly after this it became a regular garrison and a refuge for the\nLoyalists. It was attacked by the insurgents without success.\n\nThe castle was leased once more, in 1799, before the family again took\npossession of their ancient home.\n\n\n AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.\n\n Lord Walter FitzGerald, \u201cKilkea Castle\u201d\n (_Kildare Arch\u00e6ological Society\u2019s Journal_).\n Marquis of Kildare, \u201cThe Earls of Kildare.\u201d\n State Papers.\n\n\n\n\n_KILKENNY CASTLE_\n\n\nThere seems to be a difference of opinion regarding the derivation of\nthis name. The most popular belief is that it signifies the Church of\nSt. Canice or Kenny. Again it is put forward that a settlement of the\nGaels having been along the banks of the Nore, the high ground towards\nthe present castle was wooded, and so called Coil or Kyleken-u\u00ef, \u201cthe\nwooded head\u201d or \u201chill near the river,\u201d and so it became Cillcannegh or\nKilkenny.\n\nThe city is situated seventy-two miles south-west of Dublin, in the\ncounty of the same designation.\n\nThe fortress is said to occupy the site of the ancient Irish castellum\nof the kings of Ossory. It is built on high ground above the town, and\nthe present entrance is through a handsome gate-house of Caen stone\nwhich was brought up the River Nore in boats. The 2nd Duke of Ormond,\nwho succeeded in 1688, spent \u00a31,500 on its erection, but the carving\nhas only been completed in later years. A massive wooden door gives\nadmittance from the Parade.\n\nThe castle seems formerly to have been a quadrangular building flanked\nby towers, having its entrance on the south side opposite the present\ngate-house. The building now forms three sides of a square, but in\n1861 the foundations of the south curtain and the two bastions which\nprotected the entrance were uncovered during alterations.\n\nThus up to the beginning of the eighteenth century the castle\npractically had its back to the town, and it is therefore\n\n[Illustration: KILKENNY CASTLE.]\n\nlikely that the architects of the Norman stronghold followed the ground\nplan of the old Irish fort, where King Donnchadh held his court during\nthe greater part of the tenth century, and which existed long before\nthe English town was built.\n\nIn the northern side of the building is situated the hall, billiard\nroom, ante-room, library, and drawing-room. The west wing is occupied\nby the private rooms of the family, while the picture gallery forms the\neastern block. This wing was added by the 2nd Duke of Ormond. It is 120\nfeet long by 30 broad, and contains some valuable portraits by Vandyck,\nHolbein, Lely, Kneller, &c.\n\nThe dining-room is part of the original building, and its walls measure\nsome 15 feet in thickness.\n\nThe tapestry in the castle is very handsome. Some of it is supposed to\nhave been manufactured in Kilkenny, where Piers, Earl of Ormond, and\nhis wife, Margaret FitzGerald, started a tapestry industry, some of the\nrecords of which are still preserved. A set of panels representing the\n\u201cHistory of Deceus\u201d is the most valuable tapestry in the castle.\n\nOf the three towers, that on the south being the largest is called \u201cThe\nTower.\u201d The small turret in the north-west angle is part of the oldest\nmasonry in the castle, and is supposed to belong to the twelfth-century\nfortress.\n\nThe Evidence Chamber contains an immense number of valuable historic\ndocuments and family records, among which are some deeds executed by\nStrongbow.\n\nThe first Norman fortress is supposed to have been erected by Richard,\nEarl of Pembroke, better known as Strongbow, shortly after his arrival\nin Ireland. In 1173 Donald O\u2019Brien, King of Thomond, descended and\nseized the castle, its garrison of Flemings retreating to Waterford.\nThey returned when the Irish had withdrawn and occupied what remained\nof the stronghold until William, Earl Marshal, arrived with Isabel, his\nbride, in 1191. She was the daughter and heiress of Eva and Strongbow,\nand had been brought up at the English Court. They were married in\n1189, and he began to rebuild the Castle of Kilkenny in 1192. Thomas,\n10th Earl of Ormond and favourite of Queen Elizabeth, repaired\nthe castle. James, the 1st Duke of Ormond, remodelled the whole\nbuilding after his return from exile with Charles II., in a style of\narchitecture then common in France and Holland. Dr. Molyneux, writing\nin 1709, says: \u201cThere is not one handsome or noble apartment. The Rooms\nare Darke, and the stairs mighty ugly.\u201d\n\nIt is at present in castellated Tudor style. In 1826 the change of\narchitecture was entrusted to Mr. William Robertson, and during\nthe minority of the present Marquess his mother carried out many\nimprovements.\n\nA passage is reported to exist from the castle to Dunmore cave.\n\nIn Earl Mareschal\u2019s charter he granted the tenth part of the provisions\nin the castle to the Brotherhood of St. John. They were also to\nofficiate in the castle chapel while the Earl was absent, but when at\nhome his chaplain took their place.\n\nThe stronghold was inherited in succession by the Earl\u2019s five sons,\nwho all died without heirs, and Kilkenny passed to his third daughter\nIsabel, who married Gilbert de Clare, 6th Earl of Clare, Hertford and\nGloucester, and in 1290 we find him surrendering Kilkenny Castle to the\nKing to hold at his pleasure.\n\nIn 1334 the 9th Earl of Clare died without issue, and was succeeded by\nhis sister Eleanor de Clare, whose husband became Earl of Gloucester\nthrough her right. His grandson Spencer, Lord of Glamorgan and\nKilkenny, sold the castle in 1391 to James Butler, 3rd Earl of Ormond.\n\nTheobald Walter had been made Chief Butler of Ireland by Henry II.,\nwhich appointment granted him a tun of wine out of every nine brought\nto Ireland, and this privilege remained in the family until 1810, when\nthe Government purchased it from Walter, the 1st Marquess of Ormond.\n\nThe gilt key which was worn at the girdle when the Butlers attended the\nKing is still preserved at the castle.\n\nA few years after the fortress had changed hands, King Richard II.\nspent a fortnight at Kilkenny as the guest of the Earl of Ormond.\n\nThe Carew MSS. inform us that the Earl of Ormond made Kilkenny Castle\nhis chief residence in 1596.\n\nThe 1st Duke of Ormond was born in 1610, and is generally known as the\n\u201cGreat Duke.\u201d He was for many years Lord Lieutenant of Ireland.\n\nIn 1642 the castle was taken by the \u201cCouncil of Confederate Catholics,\u201d\nand was held by them for some years.\n\nOliver Cromwell besieged both town and castle in March, 1650. On the\n23rd he opened fire on the castle, and two days following a breach was\nmade at noon, but the garrison twice beat off the besiegers and quickly\nrepaired the damage.\n\nCromwell\u2019s time being short for the work before him, he was about to\nretire when the mayor and the townspeople offered to give up the town,\nand he was shortly reinforced by Ireton.\n\nSir Walter Butler had received instructions from Lord Castlehaven to\nsurrender, in case no help arrived before a given time, so considering\nthe weakness of his garrison he made terms with the Parliamentarians\nwhich were of an honourable nature. As the garrison marched out\nCromwell complimented them on their gallantry, saying he had lost more\nmen in the storming of Kilkenny than in the taking of Drogheda.\n\nThe estate was restored to the Duke upon the Restoration. The Count de\nLauzun had been commander for James II. at Kilkenny, and the castle\nhad been carefully preserved by him.\n\nThe Duke died in 1688, and was succeeded by his son, who also was Lord\nLieutenant of Ireland. William III. dined in the castle in August,\n1690, as the Duke\u2019s guest.\n\nIn 1715 he was accused falsely of conspiring against the Crown, and in\nanger at the charge he crossed to France, and joined the Stuarts.\n\nHis estates, valued at \u00a380,000 a year, were forfeited and he died at\nAvignon, supported by a pension from the Court of Spain.\n\nThe Irish House of Lords restored part of the estates and the Irish\nEarldom to another branch of the Ormonds, and John Butler became 17th\nEarl of Ormond.\n\nWalter, the 18th Earl, was created Marquess in 1816, and from him the\npresent representative is descended, who in 1904 entertained King\nEdward VII. and Queen Alexandra at the castle.\n\n\n AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.\n\n J. Hogan, \u201cKilkenny.\u201d\n Brewer, \u201cBeauties of Ireland.\u201d\n J. Robertson, \u201cAntiquities and Scenery of Kilkenny.\u201d\n P. Egan, \u201cKilkenny Guide.\u201d\n E. Ledwidge, \u201cHistory of Irishtown and Kilkenny\u201d\n in \u201cCollectanea de Rebus Hibernices.\u201d\n J. Graves, \u201cJourney to Kilkenny, 1799\u201d (_Journal\n of Kilkenny Arch\u00e6ological Society_).\n MacMahon, \u201cKilkenny Castle\u201d in \u201cHistoric Houses.\u201d\n Calendar of State Documents.\n Calendar of Carew MSS.\n\n\n\n\n_KILLIANE CASTLE_\n\n\nThis fortress is situated in a parish of the same name in the Barony\nof Forth, about three miles south-east of Wexford. The name, which is\nwritten Killyan in the _Liber Regalis_ visitations, signifies \u201cThe\nChurch of St. Liedania.\u201d\n\nThe building consists of a castellated rectangular keep, to which a\nmodern house has been attached. There is also an enclosed bawn with\nmost excellently preserved walls. Near the castle stand the ruins of\nits chapel.\n\nIn the notes attached to the Down Survey Maps, dating from about 1657,\nit is stated that at Great Killiane is \u201ca Castle with a slate house\nadjoining, a decayed windmill, and seven cabbins.\u201d\n\nThe castle is supposed to have been erected by the family of Hay, whose\nfirst representative in Ireland was Richard de Hay, Lord of Hay in\nWales, who crossed with the Normans in 1196. From this family Killiane\npassed to a younger branch of the house of Chevers, of Ballyhally,\nearly in the sixteenth century. Hamond Chevers, of Killiane, was one of\nthe jurators to hold an inquisition on Tintern Abbey in 1543. He held\nhis castle and lands from the Mayor of Wexford.\n\nIn 1627 Killiane was still in possession of a Hamond Chevers, and his\nson George held it with 237 acres when the rebellion broke out in 1641.\nHe was present at the siege of Duncannon Fort in 1645, when it was\ndefended against the Confederate Catholics by Laurence, Lord Esmond,\nand in consequence of the part he took in the insurrection Killiane was\nconfiscated. In 1666 it was granted to Francis Hervey, Esq., with 220\nacres, and it has remained in this family\u2019s possession ever since.\n\nOne of the daughters of the house, who married the Very Rev. Samuel\nAdams, D.D., Dean of Cashel, in 1809, was so famous for her beauty that\nshe was called \u201cThe Rose of Killiane.\u201d The family has not lived in\nthe castle for some years, and it is let by the present owner, Arthur\nHervey, Esq.\n\n\n AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.\n\n MSS. Ordnance Survey.\n Down Survey Maps.\n Inquisitions of Leinster.\n Hore, \u201cHistory of Wexford.\u201d\n Lewis, \u201cTypographical Dictionary of Ireland.\u201d\n B. Adams and M. Adams, \u201cHistory of the Adams Family.\u201d\n Proceedings Royal Society of Antiquaries, Ireland.\n Chancery Patent Rolls, Act of Settlement.\n\n[Illustration: KILLYLEAGH CASTLE.]\n\n\n\n\n_KILLYLEAGH CASTLE_\n\n \u201cDownpatrick too may boast\n Of the great fort by its side,\n Where a monarch may have lived,\n And have rul\u2019d in savage pride;\n But what is Patrick\u2019s grave,\n Or cathedral old and grey,\n To the proud baronial castle\n That adorns Killileagh?\u201d\n\n\nThis castle stands on rising ground above the town of Killyleagh,\nfive miles north-east of Downpatrick, in the County of Down. It was\nthe principal fortress of seven which formerly guarded the shores of\nStrangford Lough.\n\nAbout a mile distant is _Loch Cleath_, or \u201cThe Lake of the Hurdles,\u201d so\nit is probable that Killyleagh signifies \u201cthe Church of the Hurdles.\u201d\n\nThe gate tower of the castle is entered under a Gothic arch of Glasgow\nstone from the main street of the town. It is 59 feet in height, and\ncrowned with turrets. Curtain walls on each side connect it with\nflanking towers, which are again joined by other castellated walls to\nthe castle itself, thus enclosing a rectangular courtyard, which is\nlaid out in grass and flower-beds.\n\nThe mansion has an imposing frontage, flanked at both sides by circular\ntowers. One of these dates from the castle\u2019s erection, and the other,\nwhich is a copy, from the year 1666. The centre block of masonry was\nentirely restored in the middle of the nineteenth century. Some of the\nwalls, which were removed at that time, were 15 feet thick, being\ncomposed of rubble and excellent mortar.\n\nThe old carved stone over the door was copied in Caen stone. The Royal\nArms are surmounted by a figure of Charles I., while below are the\nfamily arms. The original stone, which was much weather worn, has been\nplaced over a small door at the side.\n\nMost of the stone used at the restoration was quarried on the estate,\nbut the facing stones were brought from Scotland.\n\nOne of the special attractions of this charming residence is the\nbeautiful terraced gardens lying to the south. They consist of\nthree tiers of cultivation beginning with the \u201cBox Garden\u201d of trim\nflower-beds, from which you descend by a flight of rustic steps to\n\u201cthe Rockery Garden\u201d abounding in Alpine plants. Here some beautiful\nand extremely ancient yew-trees are to be seen, their branches being\n120 feet in circumference, while below a small lake in the centre of\nrose-beds leaves nothing to be desired in its delightful effect.\n\nThe castle was erected by Sir John de Courcy shortly after his conquest\nof Ulster, and in 1356 Edward III. appointed John de Mandeville warden.\n\nAfter this it fell into the hands of the O\u2019Neills, who retained it up\nto 1561, when Queen Elizabeth granted the territory to Hugo White. He\nrebuilt the castle and removed the ward from Dufferin Castle near, to\ngarrison it. After this it was known as \u201cWhite\u2019s Castle\u201d for many years.\n\nIn 1567 the fortress was gallantly defended against a fierce attack\nmade by the great Shane O\u2019Neill, and he was successfully repulsed.\nThe strength of the White family gradually decreased, and in 1590\nthey could only muster a hundred and twenty foot soldiers and twenty\nhorsemen to defend their lands, while eight years later twenty footmen\nwas the total of their fighting strength.\n\nThe M\u2019Artans and O\u2019Neills joined together and dispossessed them, the\nformer family taking possession of Killyleagh. Their estates were,\nhowever, forfeited at the close of the sixteenth century for the part\nthey took in the rebellion of the Northern Earls, and some time after\nthis the lands were granted to the Hamiltons.\n\nGeneral Monk partly demolished the castle in 1649, and the Hamiltons\nbegan to rebuild it in 1666.\n\nJames I. had created the head of the family Earl of Clanbrassil and\nViscount Clandeboye, but the last to hold the title died in 1676. It is\nsaid he was poisoned by his wife, Lady Alice of Clanbrassil, a daughter\nof the Earl of Drogheda, who was a beautiful and vicious woman, and\nafter plunging the estate into debt desired to contract a wealthy\nmarriage.\n\nAt this time the Earl\u2019s mother, Lady Anne, resided at Killyleagh Castle\nin accordance with the wishes of her husband\u2019s will.\n\nAs Earl Henry left no children the estate was divided amongst his\ncousins, Killyleagh falling to the lot of James Hamilton. When James\ndied in 1683 his lands were divided between his brother Gawin, ancestor\nof the present Colonel Rowan-Hamilton, D.L., of Killyleagh Castle,\nand his daughter Anne, whose granddaughter, Dorcas, married Sir John\nBlackwood, and was created Baroness Dufferin and Clandeboye.\n\nThe division of the estate was accurately made and decided by lot,\nwhich had the effect of putting one branch of the family in possession\nof the half of the courtyard of the castle which lay nearest the town,\nwhile the other part was attached to the castle.\n\nThis division caused a family feud of some two hundred years in\nduration. A house was built on the disputed land between the town and\ncastle, and it was only upon the coming of age of the late Marquis of\nDufferin, who said it should never be said of him that he kept any man\nout of his own hall-door, that the contention ended.\n\nThe young nobleman presented the land to his kinsman of the castle, to\nbe held by the tenure of the annual tribute of a red rose to the lady\nof Clandeboye, or should there be no such person, a pair of gilt spurs\nto the Lord Dufferin of the time. He added to his gift a castellated\ngate-house, which was erected from designs by Mr. Ferrers.\n\nThe last stone was laid by Lord Dufferin upon the morning of his\nmarriage with Miss Rowan Hamilton on the 23rd of October, 1862.\n\nIt bears an inscription to that effect, as well as the name of its\nsculptor, Mr. Samuel Hastings, of Downpatrick.\n\nIn 1688-89 Sir Robert Maxwell resided in the castle, having married the\nwidow of the Earl of Clanbrissal. Captain Savage asked to be allowed to\ngarrison the gate-tower so as to be some check upon the disturbances\nthe Protestant party were making in the North. Sir Robert took two days\nto consider the matter, but in the meantime the soldiers were attacked\nby Hunter, and the captain and lieutenant taken prisoners.\n\nSoon after the castle was reduced by the Royalists, and in the\ninvestigation which followed much credit was taken from the fact that\nno plundering was allowed. It was stated that such forbearance was\nwonderful in the face of great provocation, inasmuch as the very day\nthe castle was taken part of Colonel Mark Talbot\u2019s wig was shot off by\na bullet from the fortress.\n\nThe celebrated United Irishman, Archibald Hamilton Rowan, owned\nand lived in the castle. He was secretary of the Dublin Society of\nUnited Irishmen in 1791, and in 1794 he was sentenced to two years\u2019\nimprisonment for seditious libel.\n\nThe embroidered lavender dress coat, which he wore at his presentation\nto Marie Antoinette in 1781 or 1782, when in attendance on the Duchess\nof Manchester, is still preserved as an heirloom in the castle. A pair\nof pistols presented to Captain Hamilton, R.N., C.B., after the battle\nof Navarino, by the French Admiral De Rigny, for his gallant services\nto the French squadron, are also to be seen at Killyleagh.\n\nIn 1842 Captain Archibald Rowan Hamilton married Miss Caldwell, of\nCheltenham, and seven years later they began to restore the castle.\n\nIn 1862 the marriage of the late Lord Dufferin and Clandeboye, with\nHariot Georgina, eldest daughter of the late Captain Archibald Rowan\nHamilton, 5th Dragoon Guards, was celebrated in the evening of October\n23rd, in the drawing-room of the castle.\n\nWhen the present owner of the castle, Colonel Gawen Rowan Hamilton,\ncame of age in 1864, Lord Dufferin handed him the keys of the\ngate-tower, to which reference has already been made, saying, \u201cThe\ntime is now come for me to hand over to you this gate-house, a gift\nwhich I had originally destined for your father, but which, with equal\npleasure, I now make to you. I trust that you and your descendants may\nlong continue to enjoy it.\u201d\n\n\n AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.\n\n Lowry, \u201cThe Hamilton Manuscripts.\u201d\n Knox, \u201cHistory of County of Down.\u201d\n Praeger, \u201cOfficial Guide to County Down.\u201d\n S. M. S., \u201cKillyleagh Castle, County of Down,\u201d in _Dublin Penny Journal_.\n Hanna, \u201cThe Break of Killyleagh,\u201d in _Ulster Journal of Arch\u00e6ology_.\n Newspaper Cuttings lent by Mrs. Rowan Hamilton.\n\n\n\n\n_KING JOHN\u2019S CASTLE, CARLINGFORD_\n\n\nThis is one of the few names in Ireland which clearly show a Danish\ninfluence. The Irish designation was Cairlinn, and the present name\nsimply means the \u201c_fiord_ of Cairlinn,\u201d or Carlingford.\n\nIt is situated in the County of Louth, on the southern shore of the bay\nat the foot of the Mourne Mountains, about eleven miles east-north-east\nof Dundalk.\n\nIt was a most important town of the Pale, and at one time nearly every\nbuilding of any size was of a fortified type. There are still to be\nseen the remains of three strongholds called at the present time King\nJohn\u2019s Castle, Taffe\u2019s Castle, and Lee\u2019s Castle.\n\nKing John\u2019s Castle is traditionally supposed to have been erected by\nthat monarch\u2019s orders in 1210 to protect the mountain pass of Goulin.\nWe know that King John was at \u201cKerlingford,\u201d but Grose considers that\nit is more likely the fortress was built by De Lacy or De Courcy.\n\nIt is situated on a rocky promontory which projects into the sea, and\nhaving been built in accordance with the natural formation of the rock\nis triangular in shape. It is divided in the centre by a \u201ccross wall\u201d\nnearly 12 feet thick. On the southern side the divisions of apartments\nare still to be seen, and there are also the remains of galleries with\nrecesses for archers. The walls are about 11 feet in thickness, and\non the sea side there is a small underground passage some 20 feet in\nlength.\n\nThe chief entrance from the water was protected by a\n\n[Illustration: KING JOHN\u2019S CASTLE, CARLINGFORD.]\n\nplatform or battery, which also commanded the harbour. It is said the\npromontory once extended further into the sea, and being covered with\nsoft grass was called the \u201cGreen Quay.\u201d\n\nIn 1215 the King commanded Roger Pipard to deliver up the castle to\nany one the Archbishop of Dublin appointed to receive it. Richard de\nBurgh was ordered to give up the fortress to Geoffrey de Mariscis in\n1216 or 1217, but this order was immediately followed by a similar\none to William de Lacy, who had evidently taken the King\u2019s Castle at\nCarlingford.\n\nIn 1388 Stephen Gernon, the constable of the time, was licensed by\nthe King to take corn tithes in the lordship of Cooley to supply\nthe castles of Carlingford and Greencastle. Five years later Esmond\nde Loundres was appointed Warden of Carlingford, Greencastle, and\nColy, with the profits due to the office. The O\u2019Neill of that day so\npillaged the country round that De Loundres was unable even to meet his\nexpenses, and he petitioned that, the seignory being laid waste, he\nmight be either relieved of office or properly supplied with means to\nmeet the charges attached to it. Whereupon an order to provision the\ncastles under his command was issued.\n\nFishing rights seem to have been attached to the castle in 1425, and\nmore than a hundred years later they still formed a Government revenue.\nIn 1535 the Treasurer went to Carlingford to inspect the King\u2019s castle.\nHe reported that it and Greencastle with the country round had been\nalmost destroyed, and that if the war was to continue English workmen\nwould have to be sent over to put the castle in repair. He suggested\nthat the expenses should be defrayed by the fishing dues.\n\nThis does not seem to have been done, for in 1549 both castles were\nin a dilapidated condition. Three years later Sir Nicholas Bagenall\nwas granted \u201cthe Manor of Carlingford and an old castle there, and the\nwhole demesne and manor of Mourne and Greencastle, the castle and\ndemesne of the Black Friars in Carlingford.\u201d Ten years later it was\nstill in his hands.\n\nIn 1596 the Earl of Tyrone, after having pretended to submit to the\nGovernment, made an incursion into the Pale. It seems that his foremost\ntroops were commanded by his son-in-law, Henry Oge, who endeavoured to\nsurprise the castle at Carlingford. This he was unable to accomplish,\nbut, \u201cmissing of his principal purpose, there were carried away as\nprisoners, in lamentable manner, two gentlewomen, daughters of Captain\nHenshaw, the one married and the other a maid.\u201d\n\nThe Earl, who was following, had intended to reinforce the troops after\nthe seizing of the town and fortress, but the failure of the enterprise\nprevented his doing so. He acknowledged having carried off the ladies\nfrom the castle \u201cin time of peace,\u201d and refused to return them until\nO\u2019Hanlon\u2019s son was liberated in exchange.\n\nMarmaduke Whitechurch was constable of Carlingford in 1610, and had six\nwarders under his command.\n\nIn 1641 \u201cSir Con Maginse tooke the forte and castle of the Neurie and\nCarlingfoorde.\u201d\n\nThe next year it was captured by a ruse graphically described as\nfollows: \u201c5th of May. Newes came from Dundalk to the Lords Justices\nby Captaine Cadogan (who came thence through Maday with ten horse-men\nonly) that the Newry was not only retaken by the Lord Conway and\nMunroe, the Scots commander, from the rebels, but also that the\ntowne and castle of Carlingford were taken by a ship that came from\nKnockfergus. Their policy was to put up the Spanish colours, which the\nrebels discerning, sent a fisher-boat, with ten or twelve of their\ncommanders, to goe aboard the ship, supposing that some ammunition\nwas come unto them; but the captaine of the ships, instead of shewing\nthem any such commodities, clapt them up under decks, and so landing\nhis musketiers, they took the towne, which they of the castle soone\nperceiving, fled away, and left both unto our forces.\u201d\n\nIn 1648 Lord Inchiquin marched on Carlingford after capturing Dundalk,\nand seems to have had little difficulty in getting possession of the\ntown and fortress. The following year Colonel Venables appeared before\nthe walls with Parliamentary forces. Upon his making preparation for\nthe landing of cannon the town and castles were surrendered. In a\nletter to Oliver Cromwell he speaks with great praise of Captain Ferns,\nwho \u201ccame to the harbour\u2019s mouth with his fregot, and upon a signal\nagreed between us, came gallantly in under fire,\u201d although his mainmast\nwas split by a shot from the castle. He captured a small Wexford vessel\nthen in the bay.\n\nCarlingford was no mean prize, as it formed the chief storehouse of\ntheir opponents\u2019 arms in Ulster.\n\nThe three castles and the sea-fort contained in all seven pieces of\nordnance, nearly 40 barrels of powder and the same of small shot, over\na thousand muskets, and 480 pikes.\n\nThey did not find much provision in the town. The next day Newry\nsurrendered.\n\nThe fortress must have been subjected to bombardment at some time, as\ncannon-balls have been found among the ruins.\n\n\n AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.\n\n Murphy, \u201cCromwell in Ireland.\u201d\n Grose, \u201cThe Antiquities of Ireland.\u201d\n Gilbert, \u201cAffairs in Ireland, 1641-1652.\u201d\n Graves, \u201cKing\u2019s Council in Ireland.\u201d\n Joyce, \u201cIrish Names of Places.\u201d\n Parliamentary Gazetteer.\n Calendar of Carew MSS.\n State Documents.\n State Papers.\n Reeves, \u201cEcclesiastical Antiquities of Down, &c.\u201d\n D., \u201cCarlingford,\u201d in _Dublin Penny Journal_.\n\n\n\n\n_KING JOHNS CASTLE, LIMERICK_\n\n\nLimerick City is situated on the Shannon, ninety-four miles south-west\nby west of Dublin. The name is a corruption of Luimneach, signifying\n\u201cbarren spot of land.\u201d\n\nKing John\u2019s Castle is one of the finest examples of Norman military\narchitecture in the country. It was erected to guard Thomond Bridge,\nand was the citadel of the English town of Limerick.\n\nThe curtain wall by the river is about 200 feet long, and is flanked at\nboth ends by round towers, each having a diameter of 50 feet, and with\nwalls 10 feet thick. A third tower protects the north-east angle, while\nthe corner towards the town had a square platform raised to the level\nof the battlements and capable of mounting five or six cannon. In the\nlower part of this structure was the sally port of the fortress.\n\nThe modern entrance is in Nicholas Street, but the former gate led into\nCastle Street, and was protected by a drawbridge. It was exceedingly\nnarrow, and flanked by two massive towers, one circular and the other\nsemicircular. The arms of the city surmount the gate. A wet ditch\nsurrounded the castle, and was supplied with water from the Shannon.\n\nThe oldest part of the structure is the tower nearest the bridge, which\nshows marks of bombardment.\n\nThe dilapidations caused by the guns have been\n\n[Illustration: KING JOHN\u2019S CASTLE, LIMERICK.]\n\nrenovated with red brick, which was a happy idea of the contractor so\nas to preserve the old war marks.\n\nThe ancient battlements were not removed until the close of the\neighteenth century, up to which time they were a favourite city\npromenade.\n\nThe castle, as its name indicates, was constructed at the command of\nKing John, and the builders were ruthlessly encroaching on church land\nuntil the bishop remonstrated with the King, who issued a proclamation\nin 1207, ordering that the work should cease until his return, which\nwas in 1210. He furnished the stronghold with every requisite of\ndefence, and appointed a constable and chaplain.\n\nThere was a long uninterrupted line of constables from 1216, when\nGodfrey de Rupe, or Roche, was appointed, until the office was\nprospectively abolished by Act of Parliament in 1809 to cease with the\nlife of the constable of that date, the Right Hon. Colonel Vereker,\nafterwards Viscount Gort, who died in 1842.\n\nThe chaplaincy was also an office of importance.\n\nIn 1217 Reginal de Breouse received the custody of the castle and city\nfor a stated period of years, and in 1226 it was the only castle in\nIreland which was not fortified against the King, Richard de Burgh\nholding it for him.\n\nTwenty pounds were granted to Thomas de Winchester in 1326 to repair\nthe walls, which were much decayed; and six years later the followers\nof the Desmonds, who were prisoners in the fortress, took possession of\nit, after killing the constable. The citizens soon recovered possession\nand put all the occupiers to death.\n\nThe Earl of Desmond was made constable for life in 1423, with leave to\ndischarge the duty by deputy. He was granted \u00a310 and some fishing dues\nto repair the building as \u201cthe greater part of it had fallen to the\nground.\u201d\n\nWe learn from the State Papers that, Mr. Zouche having liberated\nO\u2019Sullivan Beare, who had been captive at Limerick in 1582, the castle\nno longer required a ward. But the following year it is stated that\nJohn Sheriff having let Patrick Fitzmaurice and his brother out of the\ncastle cost the Queen \u00a320,000.\n\nThree years later the fortress was occupied only by a constable and\nporter, and was in much need of repair and a garrison.\n\nSir George Carew received an order to repair the building and provide a\nward in 1600, so that it would be a fit residence for the President. He\nreported that unless part of the town were removed it was impossible to\nmake the fortress really strong, and so he was merely able to add some\nstorehouses, which he regretted, \u201cfor that this insolent town has need\nof a straight curb.\u201d\n\nThe death of the President prevented the intended repairs being carried\nout, and two or three hundred pounds were needed shortly after to\nroof the towers and the Great Hall, which had been begun, so that the\nassizes might be held in it. The arms were being much injured through\nthe stronghold not being weather-proof.\n\nIn 1602 Father Archer informed the Spaniards of a way they could\nsurprise the castle, he having learned it in Limerick during the\nprevious rebellion.\n\nThe plan consisted of two or three Irish galleys coming up the river at\nnight with the tide, and carrying about three hundred men, who would\nat once force the northern gate by breaking the wooden door with a\n\u201cpittarr,\u201d as no watch was kept there. The castle once in their hands,\nattacks could be made from all the other sides of the town.\n\nKing James I. granted a charter to the city of Limerick in 1609, from\nwhich the castle is exempted.\n\nIn 1608 it was stated that a cellar existed under the stronghold, which\ncould be entered from the town without observation. The following year\ngreat dilapidations are reported by Sir Josias Bodley. He said that\nthe round towers near the river were so undermined by the water that\na cart might pass below their foundations. He repaired the walls and\ntowers, and built the square platform for cannon on the town side.\nHe surrounded the whole with a moat and erected the drawbridge. A\nconstable\u2019s house was still needed.\n\nRepairs were again required in 1618 and 1624.\n\nCaptain George Courtenay with two hundred men maintained a most gallant\nsiege in 1642. Though short of provisions, and with a garrison who were\nnot all regulars, he managed to keep the Irish forces at bay for a\nconsiderable time.\n\nThe besiegers threw a great boom across the Shannon, formed of aspen\ntrees fastened together with iron links, so as to prevent Sir Henry\nStradling provisioning the castle by the water gate.\n\nA steady fire from the fortress delayed the work for some days, but the\nboom was eventually fixed and the remains of it could be seen at low\nwater so late as 1787.\n\nThe castle was next bombarded from the cathedral, but still the brave\ndefenders held out. Then mines were begun in three places, the roofs\nbeing propped with dry timber smeared with tar. When completed this was\nignited and the cavern falling made a large breach in the wall of the\ncastle.\n\nSeeing defence was no longer possible Captain Courtenay capitulated\non the 21st of June, obtaining honourable terms for himself and the\ngarrison. Lord Muskerry took possession the next day.\n\nThe captured cannon were used to reduce the neighbouring castles. It is\nsaid that the great gun which was mounted on the platform next the town\ntook 35 yoke of oxen to draw it.\n\nIreton arrived at Limerick in 1651, and began to bombard the castle\nfrom the foot of Thomond Bridge. As soon as a breach was effected\ntwenty dragoons, in complete armour, led by Captain Hackett, rushed\nin, followed by infantry. The Irish fled across the bridge into the\nfurther town, breaking two of the arches to prevent pursuit. Barrels of\ngunpowder were found in the vaults of the castle with lighted matches\nready to ignite them.\n\nIt seems from the following inscription which was inserted in the\nsouth-west tower near the platform that repairs were carried out\nafter these sieges: \u201cContrived by Lef. Vanderstam, General of their\nMajesties\u2019 Ordnance, Anno 1691-2.\u201d\n\nIn 1787 infantry barracks for about four hundred men were erected\nwithin the old walls.\n\nThe castle is now used as a Government ordnance store.\n\n\n AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.\n\n M. Lenihan, \u201cLimerick: Its History and Antiquities.\u201d\n J. Ferrar, \u201cHistory of Limerick.\u201d\n J. Dowd, \u201cLimerick and its Sieges.\u201d\n FitzGerald and M\u2019Gregor, \u201cHistory of Limerick.\u201d\n Proceedings of Kilkenny Arch\u00e6ological Society.\n Joyce, \u201cIrish Place Names.\u201d\n Parliamentary Gazetteer.\n State Papers.\n Carew MSS., with Book of Howth.\n State Documents.\n\n\n\n\n_LEA CASTLE_\n\n\nThis castle is situated on the banks of the Barrow in the north-east\ncorner of the Barony of Pornahinch, in the Queen\u2019s County.\n\nThe name is sometimes spelt Ley or Leagh, and is said to signify \u201cgrey\u201d\nor \u201cgrey land,\u201d though a legend traces its origin to the name of a\ngreat chieftainess who lived, and was treacherously slain, on the plain\nof Lea.\n\nThe fortress consisted of a three-storeyed rectangular building 60\nfeet by 46 feet, flanked by round towers and having walls varying in\nthickness from 8 to 10 feet. The west side of the structure has been\nblown up, but the remaining tower contains five rooms, one of them\nhaving thicker walls than the rest, _i.e._, 13 feet instead of 12.\n\nThe centre of the castle was built on arches, and the projecting angles\nof the towers were connected by a curtain wall nearly 8 feet thick.\n\nThe approach was by a causeway 100 feet in length. It was surrounded by\na ditch 25 feet wide, which could be filled by water from the Barrow.\nFrom this it was called Port-na-hinch, or the \u201cCastle of the Island,\u201d\nfrom which the barony takes its name. Inside the moat was a low wall,\nwhich can still be traced. All the arches are round except one leading\nfrom the causeway to the bawn, which is pointed.\n\nTwo drawbridges and two bastions defended the gate into the inner\nballium, which measured 140 feet by 130 feet. The remains of the\nbarbican can still be seen.\n\nThe outer ballium includes the bawn, and the inner one contained a\ntennis court and tilt yard.\n\nSome authorities state the castle was erected by Baron Offaly, while\nagain it is said to owe its origin in about 1260 to William de Vesey,\nwho had married the Earl of Derby\u2019s daughter, whose mother was heiress\nto William Mareschal, Lord Palatine of Lea. The daughter of O\u2019More,\nPrince of Leix, is also said to have built Lea Castle on the Barrow in\nthe marches of Inch, 1260.\n\n[Illustration: LEA CASTLE (INTERIOR).]\n\nIt appears, however, to have been in existence in 1203, as there is an\norder to the Justiciary of Ireland to have the castle delivered, as\nwell as other possessions, which had belonged to Gerald FitzMaurice,\nand in 1257 William Marshall, Earl of Pembroke, received a grant of the\nwardship of Maurice, 2nd Baron of Offaly, and also his castles of Lea\nand Geashill.\n\nIn 1264 a meeting was held at Castledermot to settle some dispute about\nland in Connaught, but at it Maurice, Baron of Offaly, and his nephew,\nJohn FitzThomas, seized Richard de Burgh, heir to the Earl of Ulster,\nthe Lord Justice Richard de Capella, Theobald Butler, and John Cogan,\nand imprisoned them in Lea.\n\nThomas de Clare sold the wardship of Maurice Fitz-Gerald\u2019s heirs and\nthe guardianship of Lea Castle to Sir William de Valence in 1270 for\n3,500 marks. The wardship had been granted to De Clare by the King\u2019s\neldest son. At this time, the Book of Howth states, it was the only\nfortress held by the English in Offaly. In 1274, however, an order\nwas issued to restore the custody of FitzGerald\u2019s heirs to Roger and\nMatilda de Mortimer, who had, it seems, inherited the privilege, and De\nValence only having paid 2,300 marks was not held liable for the rest\nof the money in consequence.\n\nThe castle was burnt by the O\u2019Dempseys, O\u2019Dunnes, and O\u2019Carrols in\n1284, and Theobald Verdon going to avenge the outrage was entirely\nrouted. It was shortly afterwards restored by De Vesey, the Lord\nJustice of Ireland.\n\nHere, with the assistance of Baron Offaly, he imprisoned the Red\nEarl of Ulster and his brother in 1294, but they were liberated the\nfollowing year by order of the Parliament at Kilkenny, and the Pearl\u2019s\nsons were surrendered as hostages instead. It is said De Vesey then\nquarrelled with John FitzThomas FitzGerald, Baron Offaly, and fled to\nFrance to avoid meeting him in single combat, and by this means Lea\nCastle lapsed again to the Geraldines.\n\nJohn FitzThomas was ordered to repair to the King abroad in 1297, and\n\u00a340 was granted to him to fortify his Castle of Ley.\n\nThe castle was besieged and the town burnt in 1307 by the \u201ctories\u201d of\nOffaly, but the former was relieved by John FitzThomas and Sir Edmund\nButler, afterwards Earl of Carrick.\n\nBaron Offaly restored the fortress and erected a church with steeple\nand bells, but in 1316 Robert Bruce burnt the castle and town, and\ncarried off the bells.\n\nSir Walter Eustis is said to have been stabbed to death in the castle\nby his wife\u2019s sister, daughter of the O\u2019More, who had formerly rejected\nhis addresses, but upon the birth of her sister\u2019s child, she murdered\nSir Walter in a fit of jealousy, and retired to the convent at Kildare,\nwhere she confessed her crime and died penitent.\n\nThe O\u2019Dempseys\u2019 seized the fortress in 1329, but the next year it was\nsurrendered to Sir John Darcy, Lord Justice, who restored it to the\nEarl of Kildare to keep for the King. The O\u2019Dempseys again laid siege\nto the castle in 1339, but were driven off by the Earl.\n\nO\u2019More, Chief of Leix, burnt Lea in the spring of 1346, but in the\nfollowing November he was defeated by the Earl of Kildare, who rebuilt\nthe town, castle, and church, but not the steeple.\n\nThe fortress was again taken by O\u2019More and O\u2019Dempsey in 1414. Seven\nyears later they were defeated near Kilkea Castle by the 6th Earl of\nKildare, nicknamed \u201cShaun Cam,\u201d or Hump-backed John.\n\nLea Castle was restored to the Earl after the battle of the Red-bog of\nAthy.\n\nThe Four Masters mention the castle in 1452.\n\nIn 1533 the Earl of Kildare furnished the stronghold with guns and\nammunition out of the King\u2019s store, and in direct opposition to his\ncommands, which the Master of the Rolls pointed out to him in the\npresence of the Bishop of Meath.\n\nThe following year it is reported to have been one of the six best\ncastles of the Geraldines, and it was the chief stronghold of Lord\nOffaly, the \u201cSilken Thomas,\u201d during his rebellion, after the fall of\nMaynooth.\n\nThere is a letter from the former constable of this latter fortress,\nwritten in 1535, to Cromwell, saying that Lord Thomas had removed the\nCountess\u2019s apparel to Ley, as well as other valuables, and that he,\nBoyce, had resigned his office in consequence of the insurrection.\n\nThe Carew MSS. record the Castle of Ley was of \u201cno value\u201d in 1537, and\nstate it was granted to James FitzGerald after the attainting of the\nEarl. In 1548 he required two gunners at the King\u2019s charge, and powder\nand shot.\n\nThomas Scotte petitioned to lease it in 1549.\n\nIn 1554 the Lord Deputy, Thomas Earl of Sussex, is said to have taken\nit from Patrick O\u2019More, but it was regained by Anthony O\u2019More in 1598,\nafter which he defeated Essex at the Pass of Ballybrittas, called the\n\u201cPass of Plumes\u201d from those worn by the gay English soldiers.\n\nLea was held by the Irish in 1641 upon the breaking out of the\nrebellion, but afterwards the loyalists took possession under the\ncommand of Lord Lisle. They planted an ash-tree to commemorate the\nevent which lived 170 years, and had a girth of from 29 to 33 feet,\nwhile its shade had a diameter of 60 feet.\n\nIn 1642 Lord Castlehaven retook Lea, and at this time some of the brass\nmoney known as St. Patrick\u2019s halfpennies was struck here. These coins\nhave the letter L on them and are very rare.\n\nO\u2019Neill is said to have lodged in the castle.\n\nThe Parliamentary Colonels, Hudson and Reynolds, took and dismantled\nthe fortress in 1650.\n\nIt was repaired and held by lease under the Crown by an O\u2019Dempsey until\nconfiscated after the fall of the Stuarts. In 1695 it was granted to\nthe Earl of Meath as part of Sir Patrick Trant\u2019s estate.\n\nA horse stealer called O\u2019Dempsey and nicknamed \u201cShamas a Coppuil,\u201d or\n\u201cJames the Horse,\u201d inhabited it at the beginning of the eighteenth\ncentury until the Government interfered.\n\nHampden Evans owned it in 1791, and it afterwards passed to Viscount\nCarlow.\n\nThe following legend was related by Widow Gorman in 1818 to Miss\nFrench of Glenmolire, and noted by her:--\n\nRedmond M\u2019Comon O\u2019Byrne, chief of Donamace and Leagh, had two gigantic\nsons named Roderick and Maurice. The latter was married to a daughter\nof The O\u2019Neill and had one son called Connell.\n\nUpon the death of the old chieftain O\u2019Byrne, he divided his territory\nbetween his sons, leaving Donamace to the elder, Roderick, and Leagh to\nthe younger, Maurice.\n\nRoderick, believing he should have inherited all his father\u2019s\npossessions, determined to murder his brother.\n\n[Illustration: LEA CASTLE (EXTERIOR).]\n\nOne stormy night he set out alone from Donamace, and having tied his\nhorse beneath a grove of ash-trees near the castle of Lea, he let\nhimself in by the postern, with the key of which his unsuspecting\nbrother had entrusted him.\n\nReaching Maurice\u2019s chamber he murdered him in cold blood, but not\nbefore his victim had cried out to his son to revenge his death by a\nbrother\u2019s hand.\n\nRoderick seized the body and, carrying it to where he had left his\nhorse, put it into a leather bag that he had brought with him. Arriving\nat Dunamace he threw the body into a very deep well, thinking it would\nnever be discovered.\n\nMaurice\u2019s son, Connell, had heard his father\u2019s cry for vengeance in\nhis dreams, but upon awaking and finding his father gone, with blood\nstains on the floor and stairs, he knew he had actually heard his voice.\n\nThe young chieftain, armed with two great sabres of equal size,\nproceeded to his uncle\u2019s stronghold, and presenting himself before him,\ndemanded satisfaction. In the duel which followed both combatants were\nkilled, and it is said no grass grows in their footsteps on the rock\nuntil this day.\n\nThe old well is still shown, and if two friends visit it together one\nis said to die within the year.\n\nThere seems to be no historical record of the fortress ever having been\nin possession of the O\u2019Byrnes.\n\n\n AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.\n\n Grose, \u201cAntiquities of Ireland.\u201d\n O\u2019Byrne, \u201cHistory of the Queen\u2019s County.\u201d\n MS. Ordnance Survey.\n Comerford, \u201cKildare and Leighlin.\u201d\n Marquis of Kildare, \u201cEarls of Kildare.\u201d\n Joyce, \u201cIrish Names of Places.\u201d\n State Documents.\n State Papers.\n Carew MSS.\n Parliamentary Gazetteer.\n \u201cLea Castle, Queen\u2019s Co.,\u201d in _Dublin Penny Journal_.\n Lord Walter FitzGerald, \u201cKilkea Castle,\u201d\n in _Journal of Kildare Arch\u00e6ological Society_.\n Miss French, MS.\n\n\n\n\n_LEAP CASTLE_\n\n\nThe ancient stronghold of the O\u2019Carrolls, of Ely-O\u2019Carrol, is situated\nin the parish of Aghancon, in the Barony of Ballybritt, King\u2019s County,\nabout five miles south-east of Birr.\n\nIts former name of Leim-Ui-Bhanain denoted \u201cThe Leap of O\u2019Banan,\u201d and\nit is still known as \u201cThe Leap\u201d in the district.\n\nThere are several legends to account for its designation. One is that\ntwo brothers came to the rock on which the castle is built, and they\ndecided that whichever of them survived, after leaping to the ground\nbelow, should erect the stronghold. One of the two was killed by the\njump.\n\nAnother story of a leap is told of a period long after the castle was\nbuilt. Sometime during the sixteenth century the O\u2019Carrolls\u2019 fortress\nwas besieged by the English forces, and in a sortie the garrison took\nprisoner a young Captain Darby, who was with the attacking party. The\nroom where he was imprisoned in the castle is still shown. The daughter\nof the chief was deputed to carry him his food, which was delivered\nthrough a hole in the wall. But the young Englishman made good use of\nhis slender opportunities by winning the heart of the Irish maid, so\nthat she connived at his escape by unbarring his prison. When running\ndown the stone stairs which led to the cell in which he had been\nconfined, he met her brother coming up, who raised the alarm regarding\nthe escaping captive. Nothing daunted, young Darby turned and\n\n[Illustration: LEAP CASTLE.]\n\nascended to the battlements, where, it is said, he leaped from the\ncastle roof into a large yew-tree, the roots of which have only lately\nbeen removed. That the young couple were eventually married is a\nsatisfactory ending to the romance, and certain it is that Leap Castle\npassed to the Darby family as the marriage portion of an O\u2019Carroll\u2019s\ndaughter who married a Darby, son of an English knight.\n\nThe castle is supposed to have been built by the Danes prior to the\nEnglish invasion, during their conflicts in these parts with the more\nrecently landed Norwegians. The structure resembles their form of\ndefence, being of pyramidical shape, and built in the rubble masonry\nof that period, with pre-Norman arches and small loopholes for the\ndischarge of arrows and javelins. The walls vary from 15 to 25 feet in\nwidth. There are several stone stairways in the thickness of the walls,\nand parts of them are brightly polished from constant use. The keep is\nthe oldest construction, and it forms the hall of the present edifice.\nThe wings, one at each side, were built at the end of the sixteenth or\nbeginning of the seventeenth century. That on the north-west connects\nwhat is known as the \u201cPriest\u2019s House\u201d with the main building. This\ndwelling is of fourteenth-century masonry, and was used as the chief\nresidence of the family in times of peace.\n\nIn the top of the keep is situated what is known as \u201cThe Bloody\nChapel,\u201d having been desecrated by one Teige O\u2019Carroll, who murdered\nhis brother before the altar. It was formerly covered with a stone\nroof, but this gave way last century. A curious old stone-fastening\nremains that formerly received the bar of the door.\n\nOff the chapel is the oubliette, formerly supplied with a spring\ndeath-trap. Not so very long ago three cart-loads of bones were removed\nfrom it and buried in consecrated ground. Bits of several old watches\nwere found among the remains.\n\nLarge dungeons are situated below the keep, and there are many\nbricked-up passages and secret chambers. One of the former is said to\nlead to a neighbouring rath. The guard-room on the south-east side is\nhewn out of the rock. Numerous bones have been found in different parts\nof the building.\n\nThe site of the castle was evidently chosen to guard the river ford and\nthe pass of the Slieve Bloom Mountains into Tipperary. Many bones have\nbeen found in a field near the river. A village once surrounded the\ncastle, but only the ruins of the houses now remain.\n\nThe O\u2019Carrolls, whose chief stronghold the castle was, are supposed to\nhave wrested it from its original builders, the Danes.\n\nIn 1154 Henry II. granted Ely O\u2019Carroll to Theobald de Walter, but he\nwas entirely unable to take possession of any but the lower portion of\nthe kingdom.\n\nIn 1489 John O\u2019Carroll died of plague at Leap. The visitation was at\nthis time so bad that hundreds of bodies lay unburied.\n\nGerald Fitz-Gerald, 8th Earl of Kildare and Lord Deputy of Ireland, set\nout for Leamyvannan in 1513 to put down a rising of the O\u2019Carrolls.\nHe failed to take the castle, \u201cas was seldom the case with him,\u201d and\nretreated to collect fresh forces.\n\nReturning with a splendid company he was shot by an O\u2019More while\nwatering his horse at the River Greese, near Kilkea, and he died a few\ndays later at Kildare.\n\nThree years afterwards his son attacked Leap, and took the stronghold,\nof which it is recorded, \u201cthere was scarcely any castle at that period\nbetter fortified and defended than this, until it was demolished upon\nits warders.\u201d\n\nIn 1522 the Earl of Kildare made it a charge against his rival, Sir\nPiers Butler, Lord Deputy, that he had lent O\u2019Carroll cannon to defend\nLeap against him in 1516. The charge was hardly denied, but the\ndefence was put forward that the attack on O\u2019Carroll was unwarranted.\n\nMulrony O\u2019Carroll died at Leap in 1532. It is recorded that he was \u201ca\ntriumphant traverser of tribes; a jocund and majestic Munster champion,\na precious stone, a carbuncle gem, the anvil of the solidity, and the\ngolden pillar of the Elyans.\u201d\n\nHe was succeeded in the chieftainship by his son, Ferganainm, but the\nsuccession was disputed by a senior branch of the family who were in\npossession of Birr. Ferganainm enlisted the aid of his father-in-law,\nthe Earl of Kildare, who received a wound during the dispute which\nhurried his end.\n\nIt was, no doubt, at this time that a terrible massacre took place at\nLeap Castle upon the rival branch of the sept, who had been invited\nto the stronghold under the guise of friendship. Lord Deputy Grey may\nhave had this act of treachery in his mind when writing of O\u2019Carroll,\nBaron of Ely, in Edward VI.\u2019s reign, he speaks of him as \u201cfalse.\u201d It is\nstated that this O\u2019Carroll made submission to Lord Leonard Grey in 1537.\n\nTwenty years later (1557) the Earl of Sussex, Lord Justice, made a\nhosting into Fircall, penetrating into Ely, where he took Leap Castle.\nBut this expedition seems, mainly, to have been directed against the\nO\u2019Connors, who had taken refuge there after their escape from Meelick\nCastle, and \u201cthe goodness of his steed\u201d is said to have saved O\u2019Connor\nfrom his pursuers, who took the Leap without opposition. O\u2019Carroll\nbecame re-possessed of the stronghold shortly afterwards.\n\nThere was a Jonathan Darby, Captain of Sussex Horse, in 1553, and\nperhaps it was during this expedition that the romance before related\ntook place. A tomb in the neighbouring graveyard records the death of a\nJonathan Darby in 1601.\n\nIt is said an inquisition was called at Lemyvanane in 1568 for the\npreparation of a deed by which Ely O\u2019Carroll was surrendered to the\nking by \u201cSir William O\u2019Kerroll,\u201d to whom it was restored by letters\npatent, but there is some confusion about the dates and conditions of\nthe several transfers.\n\nIn 1604 Ely O\u2019Carroll was annexed to the King\u2019s County.\n\nDuring the Parliamentary wars, Mr. Darby, of Leap, espoused the King\u2019s\ncause, and tradition avers that Cromwell appeared before the castle\nsaying that if they did not surrender in twenty-four hours he would\nblow them out with a pump-stick. The fortress was not tenable in the\nevent of cannon being used, as it is commanded from many points.\n\nA weird story is told of the Jonathan Darby of the time, usually known\nas \u201cthe wild Captain.\u201d It is said before he surrendered the castle he\ncollected all his money and treasure and with the aid of two servants\nhid it somewhere in the walls of the fortress. He then sent one of them\nfor his sword and in the meantime threw the other over the battlements.\nUpon the messenger returning he slew him with the weapon he brought,\nevidently thinking \u201ca secret is only safe with three when two are\ndead.\u201d Later he was arrested on a charge of high treason and imprisoned\nin Birr. He was several times reprieved, and at last liberated, his\nlegs having mortified. Upon his return he was only capable of murmuring\n\u201cMy money, my money,\u201d but was quite unable to say where it was\nconcealed.\n\nIn 1691 a Captain Darby, of the Leap, is alleged to have committed\nmany deeds of daring against rapparees. It would appear that the\nestate was mortgaged for a nominal sum to one John Holland for fear of\nconfiscation, for Charles II. re-granted the land to this Holland as\nmortgagee.\n\nAdmiral Darby, who commanded the _Bellerophon_ at the battle of the\nNile, 1798, was one of the Darbys of Leap.\n\nThe present owner is Jonathan Charles Darby, Esq., D.L., who resides in\nthe castle.\n\n\n AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.\n\n Donovan, \u201cAnnals of the Four Masters.\u201d\n Cooke, \u201cHistory of Birr.\u201d\n Cooke, \u201cPicture of Parsonstown.\u201d\n G. Story, \u201cImpartial History of Ireland.\u201d\n R. Bagwell, \u201cIreland Under the Tudors.\u201d\n J. Brewer, \u201cBeauties of Ireland.\u201d\n Parliamentary Gazetteer.\n Lord Walter Fitzgerald, \u201cKilkea Castle\u201d\n (_Kildare Arch\u00e6ological Society\u2019s Journal_).\n\n\n\n\n_LEIXLIP CASTLE_\n\n\nThe castle is situated in the portion of Leixlip which extends into\nNorth Salt Barony in the County Kildare. The fortress occupies a\ncommanding position at the juncture of the Rivers Rye-water and Liffey,\nabove the famous Salmon Leap from which the designation Leixlip is\nderived, being a Danish name from the old Norse word \u201cLax-hlaup,\u201d\n_i.e._, Salmon Leap. From the word \u201cSaltus,\u201d a leap, the baronies of\nSalt have also taken their name.\n\nThe castle is generally supposed to have been erected by the De\nHereford family towards the close of the twelfth century. The present\nbuilding consists of two blocks at right angles, facing east and south.\nThe east wing probably incorporates part of the twelfth-century keep,\nand with the north-east circular tower represents the oldest portion of\nthe structure, although it has been pierced by modern windows.\n\nIn this part a room is still shown in which tradition states that King\nJohn slept during his stay in Ireland.\n\nThe square south-east tower is not so old, and its erection is\ngenerally ascribed to the Geraldines.\n\nThe lands of Leixlip were granted to Adam de Hereford by Strongbow\nshortly after the Normans arrived in 1170. At the close of the\nthirteenth century the castle and lands had passed to the Pypards. In\n1302 Ralph Pypard surrendered all his castles, &c., to the Crown, and\nin consequence Richard de Bakeputz, who was constable of Leixlip, was\nordered to deliver it up to the King.\n\n[Illustration: LEIXLIP CASTLE.]\n\nLeixlip Castle was included in the list of those fortresses that were\nonly to have Englishmen as constables by the statute passed in 1494.\n\nHenry VII. granted the castle and lands to Gerald, 8th Earl of Kildare,\nupon his marriage with Dame Elizabeth Saint John, between the years\n1485 and 1509, and they remained in the possession of the FitzGeralds\nuntil the rebellion of \u201cThe Silken Thomas\u201d in 1534, in which the owner,\nSir James \u201cMeirgach\u201d (_i.e._, the winkled) FitzGerald was concerned.\nIn 1536 an Act was passed by which the Crown became possessed of the\ncastle and manor.\n\nTwo years after Mathew King, of Dublin, surrendered the castle, which\nappears to have been granted to him for twenty-one years. In 1568\nWilliam Vernon, gentleman, was leased the manor of Leixlip, containing\ncastles, &c., by the Crown. Nine years later Sir Nicholas Whyte, Master\nof the Rolls, came into possession. He was a son of James Whyte, of the\nCounty Waterford.\n\nIn 1570 he was granted the manor of Leixlip, two castles, a water-mill,\na salmon-weir, two fishing-places called the Salmon Leap, on the River\nAnna Liffey, Priortown Meade, and other demesne lands. Two years later\nhe was made Master of the Rolls.\n\nSir Nicholas Whyte was succeeded by his son Andrew, whose son was again\nSir Nicholas Whyte, Knt.\n\nThis Sir Nicholas held the manor of Leixlip upon the breaking out of\nhostilities in 1641. In company with Lord Dunsany, Patrick Barnwall,\nSir Andrew Aylmer, and other chief men of the Pale, he surrendered\nhimself to the Lords Justices Parsons and Borlace. This was done in\nobedience to the King\u2019s proclamation to show that they had no part\nin the rebellion, but they were imprisoned in Dublin Castle and most\ninhumanly treated.\n\nIn the diary of Captain William Tucker he records going from Dublin\nto Naas in 1641 with the Marquis of Ormond, and sleeping a night in\nLeixlip Castle. He mentions that the owner, Sir Nicholas Whyte, was at\nthe time a prisoner in Dublin.\n\nIn 1646 General Preston established his chief quarters in the fortress,\nand in November of that year the Confederate Catholics halted in\ntheir march on Dublin between Leixlip and Lucan. They were commanded\nby Generals Preston and Owen Roe O\u2019Neill. The King\u2019s secretary and\nminister, Digby, was at Leixlip with Preston.\n\nPlots and counter plots among the Confederate commanders made the once\nformidable army of no avail. Owen Roe, fearing some treachery, threw a\nwooden bridge across the Liffey, as a flood had destroyed the permanent\none, and withdrew his forces into Meath.\n\nSir Nicholas Whyte recovered his lands of Leixlip by a Decree of\nInnocence. He died in 1654, and was buried at Leixlip.\n\nVarious historians have confused the fortress popularly called Leixlip\nCastle with a stronghold of less note designated the \u201cBlack Castle\u201d of\nLeixlip, situated at the eastern end of the town. Although still known\nas the \u201cBlack Castle\u201d this building has been so modernised that its\noriginal fortified structure is not noticeable.\n\nThat some discrepancies as to ownership existed in the written history\nof Leixlip Castle was first noted in 1901, but it was not until\nthe following year that Lord Walter FitzGerald, in a note in the\n_Journal of the Kildare Arch\u00e6ological Society_, gave an extract from\n\u201cThe Civil Survey\u201d of James Peisley and Henry Makepeace of 1654, in\nwhich the \u201cBlack Castle\u201d of Leixlip is mentioned as belonging to the\nEarl of Kildare and \u201cone ruined castle\u201d to Sir Nycholas White, thus\nestablishing the fact that there were two distinct castles at Leixlip\nowned by different persons.\n\nThe \u201cBlack Castle\u201d is therefore no doubt the fortress alluded to in\nan inquisition held in September, 1612, which states that Gerald\nFitzGerald, son of Gerald, late Earl of Kildare, and uncle of Gerald,\nlate Earl of Kildare, was seized of one castle, three messuages, one\nruined water-mill, and forty acres of arable land at Leixlip. And again\nin 1621 the inquisition taken upon the death of Gerald, 15th Earl of\nKildare, includes the Castle of Leixlip, &c. While the rental of the\nEarl of Kildare in 1657 mentions the black castle of Leixlip with sixty\nacres of land valued at \u00a315 a year.\n\nLeixlip Castle was purchased by the Right Hon. William Conolly, Speaker\nof the Irish House of Commons, at the beginning of the eighteenth\ncentury. He subsequently built the mansion of Castletown at Celbridge,\nbut his nephew and heir occupied Leixlip Castle during the famine years\nof 1740 and 1741.\n\nAfter this period the castle has been inhabited by many distinguished\ntenants.\n\nIt was a favourite residence of Primate Stone, and during Lord\nTownshend\u2019s period of office he usually passed the summer there.\n\nMany stories are told of this Viceroy\u2019s fancy for mixing incognito with\n\u201call sorts and conditions of men.\u201d\n\nOne day Lord Townshend met a journeyman cutler named Edward Bentley in\nthe demesne of Leixlip Castle and began to talk to him. Bentley was\nloud in his praises of the Lord Lieutenant\u2019s kindness in allowing the\npublic into the grounds of his residence, but he was equally vehement\nin denouncing the political views he held.\n\nMistaking the proprietor for one of the retainers, he offered him half\na crown upon leaving, and when it was refused the cutler commented on\nthe difference between his action and that of the gate-keeper who had\ndemanded that amount.\n\nLord Townshend then took him to the castle and provided him with a cold\nrepast, but as he was escorting his departing and grateful visitor\nthrough the hall the unfortunate gate-keeper came in.\n\nThe Lord Lieutenant asked him why he had dared to disobey orders\nand receive money from visitors. Whereupon the man fell upon his\nknees and asked pardon. Bentley, at last realising who had been his\nentertainer, immediately followed suit. Lord Townshend sent for his\nsword, and the cutler was quite certain that his last hour had come.\nThe Lord Lieutenant flourished the weapon over his head and brought\nit down smartly on the terror-stricken man\u2019s shoulder, saying, \u201cRise,\nSir Edward Bentley.\u201d The new-made knight was appointed cutler to His\nExcellency, and lived long to enjoy his honour.\n\nViscount Townshend\u2019s wife died at Leixlip Castle.\n\nThe Hon. George Cavendish remodelled the building and brought it up to\nmodern requirements during his tenancy before 1837.\n\nJohn Michael, Baron de Robuck, subsequently lived there, and was\ndrowned in the Liffey in 1856 during a flood.\n\nIn 1878, Captain the Honourable Cornwallis Maude, son of the Earl of\nMontalt, took the castle after his marriage. He was killed at Majuba\nHill.\n\nThe present occupier is William Mooney, Esq., J.P.\n\nThis fortress is one of the oldest inhabited houses in Ireland. It has\nbeen said that the novelist Maturin founded one of his weird plots\non a legend relating to Leixlip Castle, but the statement requires\nverification.\n\nAn underground passage runs from the castle, beneath the Byewater, to\nSt. Mary\u2019s Church, where it terminates in a vault under the building,\nthe end being now walled up.\n\n\n AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.\n\n Lord Frederick FitzGerald, \u201cLeixlip Castle,\u201d and Lord Walter FitzGerald,\n Note, in _Journal of the Arch\u00e6ological\n Society of the County Kildare_.\n Proceedings of Royal Society of Antiquaries.\n \u201cHistory of St. Wolstan\u2019s,\u201d in _Irish Builder_ for 1899.\n P. (Petrie?), \u201cTown and Castle of Leixlip,\u201d in _The Irish Penny Journal_.\n Parliamentary Gazetteer.\n Book of Survey and Distribution.\n Calendar of Patent Rolls, Ireland.\n Book of Inquisitions of Province of Leinster.\n Fiants of Elizabeth.\n Transcripts of Inquisitions.\n MS. Ordnance Survey of Ireland.\n\n\n\n\n_LISMORE CASTLE_\n\n\nThis castle takes its name from a rath now known as Round Hill, _lis_\nmeaning \u201cfort,\u201d and _mor_ \u201cgreat.\u201d It is situated on the right bank\nof the River Blackwater, about four and a half miles north-by-east of\nTallow, in the county of Waterford.\n\nWhen Henry II. visited Lismore in 1171 he seems to have formed the plan\nof turning the ancient and famous Abbey of Mochuda into a fortified\nepiscopal residence; hence in 1179 Milo de Cogan and Robert FitzStephen\nwere sent by his directions to choose the site for this stronghold,\nwhich was to act as a protection against the \u201cmere Irish.\u201d\n\nIn all probability the tapering tower, now known as \u201cSir Walter\nRaleigh\u2019s Tower,\u201d formed part of the ecclesiastical buildings. It is\nconstructed of rude rubble, and has plain loops and cornices. The\nentrance is on the second floor, and this leads into buildings of later\ndate, so that it has no external doorway. A somewhat similar tower was\ndestroyed by fire prior to 1864, which may (with the one now standing)\nhave protected a gate between the upper and lower courts.\n\nThe outer wall, with its beehive-roofed bastions at the corners, and\nthe old gate, which has its archway decorated with chevrons, are likely\nto have been of twelfth-century construction.\n\nThe entrance to the castle is by \u201cthe Riding House,\u201d so called from its\nhaving formerly been guarded by two mounted sentries, the niches for\nthe horses being still shown. This leads into a long shaded avenue,\nflanked by high walls which extends to the opening of the lower\ncourtyard. Over the gate are the arms of the first Earl of Cork, and\nthe motto \u201cGod\u2019s Providence is our inheritance.\u201d \u201cKing John\u2019s Tower\u201d\nis situated to the right of the entrance, and the \u201cCarlisle Tower\u201d on\nthe left. This latter is about 240 feet in height, and was erected\nto commemorate the Lord Lieutenancy of the Earl of Carlisle. It is\nconstructed of coarse rubble. The stone for the dressing of its windows\nand for other parts of the castle was quarried at Chatsworth, and\nbrought over in specially chartered vessels.\n\nThe \u201cFlag Tower\u201d flanks the north-east angle, and the oldest wing faces\neast towards the garden. The upper court is reached through a passage\non the west of the entrance, and here Sir Walter Raleigh\u2019s tower is\nsituated to the north.\n\nThe whole fortress is built upon a rock, which on one side descends\nprecipitously to the Blackwater, the base being clothed with trees.\n\nThe Earl of Cork employed \u201ca free Mazon of Bristol\u201d during his\nalterations. The modern improvements were principally designed by Sir\nJoseph Paxton.\n\nThe main door has an Ionic porch executed in Bath-stone, said to have\nbeen the work of Inigo Jones.\n\nThe hall is square, and is used as a billiard-room. A stone stairway\nascends on the left side of the entrance. The present banqueting hall\nwas originally a chapel, and has a Gothic roof of open woodwork. The\ndrawing-room contains a large bay window overhanging the river, known\nas \u201cKing James\u2019s Window.\u201d During his stay in Ireland in 1689, he spent\na night in the castle, and dining in this room, he approached the\nwindow, but started back when he saw the depth below.\n\nThe sword and mace of Youghal are exhibited in the hall, where is\nalso the Pastoral Staff of Lismore, which was discovered built up in\na doorway of the castle with a valuable Irish manuscript book, since\ncalled the \u201cBook of Lismore.\u201d\n\nIn 1181 Cullen O\u2019Cullane, and O\u2019Phelan, Prince of the Decies, attacked\nthe fortress, which had been somewhat hastily constructed, and they\nkilled fifty to eighty of the garrison and razed the stronghold.\n\n[Illustration: LISMORE CASTLE.]\n\nPrince John, Earl of Morton, landing at Waterford in 1185, rebuilt the\ncastle on a larger scale.\n\nNine years later the men of the Decies took the fortress by surprise\nand killed Robert Barry, brother of Giraldus Cambrensis. In the autumn\nof the same year (1189) the Irish, finding they could not hold the\ncastle, decided to destroy it, but they afterwards surrendered it upon\nterms. From this time it appears to have been an episcopal residence\nfor some four hundred years.\n\nIn 1218 the Bishop of Waterford wrote to Henry III. complaining that\nthe castle of Lismore had been taken from him by Thomas FitzAnthony and\nGriffin FitzGriffin. The King ordered that it should be restored to the\nbishop.\n\nWhen Robert de Bedford was elected Bishop of Lismore the fortress was\ntransferred to him, but not without the Bishop of Waterford declaring\nit belonged to his see. Bishop de Bedford appealed to Rome, and after a\ndispute of twelve years it was finally confirmed to the see of Lismore.\n\nIn 1271 Lord Justice Audley came on a visit to the castle, and Roger de\nMortimer, after he landed at Youghal as Lord Justice, was the guest of\nBishop Fleming at Lismore in 1317.\n\nSome time before his resignation in 1589, Meler Magrath, Bishop of\nLismore and Archbishop of Cashel, granted the castle to Sir Walter\nRaleigh at a rent of \u00a313 6s. 8d., and three years later Sir Walter\nsold it to Sir Richard Boyle, afterwards the first Earl of Cork, who\nrestored and enlarged it.\n\nHis great son, the philosopher, was born in the castle in 1626.\n\nThe stronghold was besieged three times during the civil wars of 1641.\nIt was first attacked by five thousand Irish troops under the command\nof Sir Richard Beling, and was successfully defended by Lord Broghill,\nthe Earl\u2019s third son.\n\nThe following year an unsuccessful attempt was made to burn it by the\nIrish.\n\nIn 1643 it was again besieged by Lieutenant-Colonel Purcell with\nseven thousand foot and nine hundred horse. This time Captain Hugh\nCroker commanded the garrison. The Earl records in his diary that the\nrebels demanded the surrender of the fortress, but \u201cwe retorned them\ndefyance.\u201d None of the defenders were killed, but their enemies lost\nabout three hundred in killed and wounded. The following month cannon\nwas brought to bear on the stronghold, and a breach was effected in\nthe brewhouse, but it was quickly repaired with earth, and the fire\nfrom the castle was so great that the enemy did not dare to storm the\nopening. The guns were then shifted to the south-west, and the orchard\nwas attacked, but the shots from the turrets protected the curtain wall.\n\nAfter a siege of eight days, the Earl\u2019s sons, Lords Dungarvan and\nBroghill, landed at Youghal and made a treaty with Lord Muskerry for\na six days\u2019 truce. Of the besiegers twenty were killed, while the\ndefenders escaped injury.\n\nThe great Earl died in 1644. The following year the castle was again\nbesieged, this time by troops under Lord Castlehaven. Major Bower, with\na garrison of a hundred of the Earl\u2019s tenants, managed to kill five\nhundred of the besiegers and to make terms before they surrendered.\n\nThe 4th Earl of Cork died without male heirs in 1753, and Lismore\nCastle passed to his eldest daughter, Lady Charlotte Boyle, who had\nmarried the 4th Duke of Devonshire in 1748. It thus passed to its\npresent owner, the 8th Duke of Devonshire, who entertained King Edward\nVII. and Oueen Alexandra at the castle in 1904.\n\n\n AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.\n\n Boyle, \u201cLismore Papers.\u201d\n C. Smith, \u201cState of Waterford.\u201d\n R. Ryland, \u201cHistory of Waterford.\u201d\n Egan, \u201cWaterford Guide.\u201d\n Proceedings of Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland.\n Parliamentary Gazetteer.\n W. Flood, \u201cLismore\u201d (_Journal of Waterford Arch\u00e6ological Society_).\n Windele Manuscript (_Cork Arch\u00e6ological Society\u2019s Journal_).\n MacMahon, \u201cLismore Castle\u201d (Historic Houses).\n\n\n\n\n_LOHORT CASTLE_\n\n\nThis fortress is situated in the Barony of Duhallow, four miles and a\nhalf east-south-east of Kanturk, County Cork.\n\nThe name was sometimes spelt Loghort, and means literally \u201cherb-plot\u201d\nor \u201cgarden,\u201d from _luibh_, \u201cherb,\u201d and _gort_, \u201can enclosed field.\u201d\n\nThe central tower is circular, and measures about 80 feet in height. It\nwas strongly machicolated, and had only a few apertures for light and\nair. The walls are about 10 feet thick at the base, diminishing to 6\nfeet.\n\nThe castle was formerly surrounded by a moat, which was crossed by a\ndrawbridge, but this has been removed.\n\nRichard Sainthill, writing in 1831, describes the castle thus:--\n\n\u201cSix miles from Liscarroll is Loghort Castle, the residence of Lord\nArden when he visits his Irish estates. It is a square keep about 90\nfeet in height. The ground floor is now the kitchen. The first floor\nwas the armoury, and contained arms for 100 soldiers, which were\nremoved and lost in the year 1798. This is now the dining-parlour;\nabove this is the drawing-room. We then rise to the state bedroom,\nbeside which there are six others. From the battlements an extensive\nprospect is commanded.\u201d\n\nThe castle also contained a good library. In the armoury was preserved\nthe sword of Sir Alex. MacDonald, who commanded the Highlanders at\nthe battle of Knockninoss in 1647, and was treacherously killed by a\nsoldier after the encounter.\n\nThe fortress dates from the reign of King John, and was a former\nstronghold of the MacCarthys.\n\nIn 1641 Sir Philip Perceval garrisoned it with a hundred and fifty men\nduring the rebellion. Nevertheless the Irish gained possession of the\nstronghold by treachery, and held it until May, 1650, when Sir Hardress\nWaller reduced it with a battery of cannon.\n\nIn his letter to the Parliament he writes of it as a place of great\nstrength.\n\nAfter this it seems to have remained in a state of dilapidation until\nthe middle of the eighteenth century, when Sir Philip Perceval\u2019s\ndescendant, the Earl of Egmont, put it into a state of repair.\n\nThe agents of the estate resided in the castle during many years of the\nlast century, and it is now the residence of Sir Timothy O\u2019Brien, Bart.\n\nThere are many legends relating to the old fortress.\n\n\n AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.\n\n C. Smith, \u201cCounty of Cork,\u201d with\n \u201cHistorical Notes from Croker and Caulfield MSS.\u201d\n Joyce, \u201cIrish Names of Places.\u201d\n Brewer, \u201cBeauties of Ireland.\u201d\n Gibson, \u201cHistory of Cork.\u201d\n Parliamentary Gazetteer.\n Lewis, \u201cIrish Topographical Dictionary.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n_LOUGH CUTRA CASTLE_\n\n\nIn the Barony of Kitartan, County Galway, about three miles\nsouth-by-east of Gort, is situated Lough Cutra Castle, the beautiful\nmansion of Viscount Gough.\n\nThe demesne extends along the west and south shores of the lake, and\nthe gardens slope to the water\u2019s edge in terraces.\n\nMr. Blake Foster, in \u201cThe Irish Chieftains,\u201d says that the name was\nderived from a leader of the Belgic tribe, called Cutra, who owned the\ndistrict before the arrival of the Milesians.\n\nThe mansion is a castellated building of Tudor style. It has massive\nwalls of finely-cut limestone, and was erected during the last century\nat a cost of over \u00a350,000.\n\nMr. Paine was the architect, but he died before the building was\nfinished, and the lodges, &c., were carried out in the same style by\nMr. Nash, while the gardens and grounds were exquisitely laid out by\nMr. Sutherland.\n\nIt is considered one of the show places of the west.\n\nJohn Prendergast Smith was created Viscount Gort in 1816. He had\ninherited the O\u2019Shaughnessy estate through his uncle, and he began to\nbuild the present mansion.\n\nThe story goes that being enchanted with East Cowes Castle, in the Isle\nof Wight, which belonged to, and had been designed by, Mr. Nash, Lord\nGort decided to erect a similar building on the shores of his beautiful\nlake. It is strange that the present Lord Gort now lives in East Cowes\nCastle, from which the design of his ancestor\u2019s castle in Ireland was\nborrowed.\n\nThe first Viscount Gort adopted his nephew, Colonel Vereker, as his\nheir.\n\nThis soldier so distinguished himself at the battle of Coloony that he\nand his heirs were granted supporters to the family arms and allowed to\nadopt \u201cColoony\u201d as their motto.\n\nWhen the 3rd Viscount Gort succeeded to the estates they were heavily\nencumbered, and the famine of 1848 completed the ruin of the family.\n\nThe castle was sold for \u00a317,000 to Mrs. Ball, Superioress of the\nReligious Order of Loretto, Dublin. She turned it into a novitiate\nhouse and opened a school. After a few years the community was\nrecalled, and the castle was again put up for sale. This time it was\npurchased for \u00a324,000 by the first Lord Gough.\n\nTwo pieces of ordnance which he captured in India are mounted at the\nentrance.\n\nThe present Viscount Gough is Resident British Minister at Dresden.\n\n\n AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.\n\n Fahey, \u201cHistory and Antiquities of Diocese of Kilmacduagh.\u201d\n Blake Foster, \u201cThe Irish Chieftains.\u201d\n Parliamentary Gazetteer.\n Ward\u2019s Guide to Limerick, Clare Coast, and Lower Shannon.\n\n\n\n\n_MACROOM CASTLE_\n\n\nThis fortress is situated in West Muskerry, County Cork, about twenty\nmiles from Cork City, on the bank of the River Sullane, the ford of\nwhich it was evidently built to command.\n\nVarious derivations are given of the old name Macromp. Some authorities\nstate that it signifies the \u201cPlain of Crom,\u201d the supreme deity of the\nancient inhabitants of Ireland. Smith says the name came from a crooked\noak under which travellers used to pass, but it seems more probable\nthat it simply meant \u201ca crooked plain,\u201d and referred to the undulating\ncountry round.\n\nIn Smith\u2019s History of Cork he describes the building as consisting\nof two square towers about 60 feet high connected by a large modern\nbuilding. Windele, however, says that the present residence is a huge\nsquare mass of masonry which formed the keep of the original castle.\n\nIt has a handsome gallery and other good apartments, and is now\ncovered with ivy. At the beginning of the last century Gothic windows\nwere introduced and part of it weather-slated, which, being entirely\nout of keeping with the style of architecture, has not added to its\npicturesqueness.\n\nIt occupies a slight rise on the east bank of the Sullane River, which\nflows through the demesne. The gardens lie to the south.\n\nThe castle appears to have been erected in the twelfth century, and its\nbuilding has been variously attributed to the Carews and Daltons, while\nits Irish name of Caislean-i-Fhlionn, signifying \u201cO\u2019Flyn\u2019s Castle,\u201d\nseems to indicate that it owes its origin to this family, who formerly\nowned territory in Muskerry and Carberry. It afterwards came into the\npossession of the MacCarthys, and Tiege MacCarty, father of the famous\nLord Muskerry, died in the castle in 1565, having restored and enlarged\nit.\n\nIn 1602 its owner, Cormac MacDermot Carthy, Lord Muskerry, was\nsuspected of hostile intrigues and imprisoned in Cork, while Captain\nFlower and then Sir Charles Wilmot were sent to lay siege to the\ncastle. Lord Muskerry, however, escaped, and the Lord President fearing\nhe might cut off Sir Charles\u2019s retreat, ordered him to return to Cork.\n\nThe night before the intended march the garrison killed a pig, but\nwater being too scarce to scald it they decided to singe it instead\nwith fern and straw. This they did in the castle bawn, but some sparks\nlighting on the thatched roof of a cabin flamed up and set fire to some\ntallow through one of the windows of the castle.\n\nThe flames quickly spread through the building and the garrison was\nobliged to take speedy refuge in the bawn. From thence they made a\nsally to the woods, about fifty being slain in their attempt to escape.\n\nThe besiegers entered the castle and extinguished the fire. After\nmaking some necessary repairs Sir Charles left a garrison there and\nmarched to Cork.\n\nUpon the breaking out of the rebellion of 1641 it was again in Lord\nMuskerry\u2019s possession, and when the Papal Nunzio landed in the south\nof Ireland he visited many places and amongst them Macroom Castle. He\nwas received at the great gate of the fortress by Lady Helena Butler,\nsister of Lord Ormond, and the wife of Donough, Lord Muskerry. The\nNunzio stayed at Macroom for four days.\n\nIn 1650 the Bishop of Ross assembled an army in the park. Upon the\napproach of Lord Broghill with a body of horse, the garrison in the\ncastle set fire to it and joined the main body encamped outside.\nThen followed the battle of Macroom, in which about seven hundred\nof the Irish troops were slain. The Bishop and the High Sheriff of\nKerry were taken prisoners. The latter was shot, but the bishop was\npromised freedom if he induced the garrison of Carrigadrohid Castle\nto surrender. When brought to that fortress he, however, exhorted the\nbesieged to hold out, and he was at once hanged with the reins of his\nown horse.\n\nLater in the war General Ireton is said to have burned both the town\nand castle of Macroom.\n\nDuring the Commonwealth the castle was granted to Admiral Sir William\nPenn, father of the founder of Pennsylvania.\n\nUpon the restoration of Charles II. the stronghold was restored to the\nMacCarthys, and was enlarged and modernised by the Earl of Clancarty.\n\nIn 1691 it again fell into the hands of an English garrison. They were\nhard pressed by James\u2019s troops, until the approach of Major Kirk and\nthree hundred dragoons raised the siege.\n\nThe estate of the 4th Earl of Clancarty was confiscated for his\nallegiance to King James, and the castle was sold by auction in 1703.\nIt was bought by the Hollow Sword Blade Co., who resold it to Judge\nBernard, ancestor to Lord Bandon.\n\nAfter this it was occupied by the Hedges Eyre family, the Hon. Robert\nHedges Eyre dying 1840.\n\nColonel White Hedges, brother of Lord Bantry, owned the castle in 1861,\nand it is now in the possession of Lord Ardilaun, whose wife is one of\nthe Bantry family.\n\n\n AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.\n\n Smith, \u201cState of County and City of Cork.\u201d\n Bennett, \u201cHistory of Bandon.\u201d\n J. Windele, \u201cNotices of the City of Cork,\u201d &c.\n C. Gibson, \u201cHistory of the County and City of Cork.\u201d\n Meehan, \u201cConfederation of Kilkenny.\u201d\n Murphy, \u201cCromwell in Ireland.\u201d\n Parliamentary Gazetteer.\n\n\n\n\n_MALAHIDE CASTLE_\n\n\nThe town of Malahide is situated in the Barony of Coolock, about seven\nmiles north-north-east of the City of Dublin, and about half a mile\ndistant stands the ancient seat of the Talbot family.\n\nA number of suggestions have been put forward as to the derivation of\nthe name Malahide, perhaps the most probable being that it comes from\nBaile-atha-id, signifying the \u201ctown of Id\u2019s ford.\u201d\n\nThe present castle is almost square in form, with a Gothic entrance\non the south-east. This side of the fortress is flanked at each angle\nby a round tower, one of them at least having been added during the\nlast century. The whole effect is much enhanced by the building being\nlargely covered with ivy.\n\nDuring the early part of the eighteenth century the stronghold was\nenlarged and modernised by its owner, Colonel Talbot. It had at that\ntime lost its castellated character, which was restored, while the moat\nthat surrounded it was filled in and planted.\n\nThe former entrance was by drawbridge, protected by a portcullis and\nbarbican. The old tower of the barbican now gives entrance to the\nstable yard.\n\nThe hall is flagged and vaulted, and the walls are hung with\ninteresting martial relics, while a handsomely-carved chair is said to\nhave belonged to King Robert Bruce.\n\nA circular flight of stairs leads to the next floor, which contains\nthe famous \u201cOak Room.\u201d The timber for its ornamentation is said to\nhave been brought from the \u201cfaire greene commune of Ostomanstoune,\u201d\nwhich was not so far away, and from which King William Rufus is said to\nhave obtained the oak to roof Westminster Hall. The panels in Malahide\nCastle are of an ebony black, and are richly carved in relief with\nscriptural subjects. The ceiling is cross-beamed with oak, and a wide\nmullioned window gives light to this beautiful apartment. It is said\nto have once been the castle chapel, and that behind a double panel,\ncarved with scenes from the Garden of Eden, is a recess still occupied\nby the altar.\n\nHere amongst other interesting objects is the suit of armour\ntraditionally supposed to have been worn by Sir Walter Hussey, who was\nthe first husband of the Hon. Maud Plunkett, and was killed on his\nwedding day.\n\nThe dining hall is said to date from the Tudor period, and it has a\npointed ceiling of stained wood with a gallery at one end. In this room\nis displayed a very fine collection of historical and family portraits\nby many celebrated artists, amongst whom are Lely, Titian, Reynolds,\nKneller, and others.\n\nThe portraits include those of \u201cHandsome Dick Talbot,\u201d Duke of\nTyrconnel, favourite of Charles II. and James I., the Duchess of\nPortsmouth and her son the Duke of Richmond, the Earl of Lucan, Ireton,\nMyles Corbet, and several royal personages.\n\nThe \u201csaloon\u201d has also some art treasures, the chief being an\naltar-piece by Albert Durer, which once belonged to Mary Oueen of\nScots, and was purchased by Charles II. for the Duchess of Portsmouth\nfor the then enormous sum of \u00a32,000.\n\nThe lands of Malahide were granted to the Talbot family in 1174 by\nHenry II., in whose train was Chevalier Richard Talbot, when the king\ncame to Ireland in 1172. This grant was confirmed to Sir Richard Talbot\nby Edward IV. in 1475.\n\nThe foundations of the castle were laid by the first Richard Talbot in\nHenry II.\u2019s reign upon the gentle elevation of limestone rock where it\nstands to-day. It was enlarged during Edward IV.\u2019s reign.\n\nSir Richard Edgecomb landed at Malahide in 1488 as Lord Justice, and\nwrites that \u201cthere a gentlewoman called Talbot received and made me\nright good cheer,\u201d until the Bishop of Meath and others came later in\nthe day to escort him to Dublin.\n\nDuring the rebellion of Lord Offaly or the \u201cSilken Thomas,\u201d the\nO\u2019Tooles and O\u2019Byrnes ravished the country north of Dublin, and having\nplundered Howth, they \u201cwent to Malahyde and burst open the gates till\nthey came to the hall-doors, when as they were resisted with great\ndifficulty,\u201d they returned homeward.\n\nAfter the rising had been suppressed, the unfortunate young leader\nexecuted, and his family attainted, Gerald, afterwards 12th Earl\nof Kildare, only escaped from the English Government through the\nassistance of his aunt, the Lady \u201cAleanora\u201d FitzGerald, and for the\nprotection she had afforded her nephew she was detained at Malahide\nCastle awaiting the King\u2019s pleasure. From here, in 1545, was dated her\npetition for pardon to Henry VIII., which he granted.\n\nLord Strafford tried to gain some of the Talbot possessions and\nprivileges in 1639, but without success.\n\nJohn Talbot was banished to Connaught for taking part in the rebellion\nof 1641, and his castle and 500 acres were granted on a seven-year\nlease in 1653 to Miles Corbet, who was Chief Baron. His house in Dublin\nhad been visited by plague, and he took up residence at Malahide about\nChristmas time. Here he lived until obliged to fly for his life, and he\nwas afterwards executed as a regicide.\n\nThere is a tradition that Cromwell was his guest at Malahide during his\ntenancy.\n\nA picture appearing on the Down Survey Map (1655-56) represents the\ncastle as having a large tower at one end, and the notes describe it\nas \u201ca good stone house therein, with orchards and gardens and many\nash-trees, with other outhouses in good repair.\u201d\n\nUpon the Restoration the Talbot family came again into possession.\n\nClose to the castle are the ruins of a church which was erected\nand endowed by the Talbot family, and where they were buried for\nmany years. Here is the altar tomb of Maud Plunkett, \u201cThe Bride of\nMalahide,\u201d who was \u201cmaid, wife, and widow on one and the same day.\u201d\nHer third husband was Sir Richard Talbot. The tomb is particularly\nremarkable because of the effigy which represents Lady Talbot as\nwearing the \u201chorned coif\u201d of 1412, and it is the only representation of\nthis fashion in Ireland.\n\nIt is said the church was unroofed by Corbet, either to make bullets of\nthe lead or to cover a barn with the other material.\n\nThe history of the castle would be hardly complete without mention of\nthe famous ghost \u201cPuck,\u201d who has a fancy for roaming the grounds in\nthe costume he wore when he was an inhabitant of the castle. There are\nmany stories regarding his appearances, amongst which is the following\nauthenticated account: Not so many years ago a naval officer who had\njust been appointed to the Coast Guard Station at Malahide received\nan invitation to dine at the castle. On his way up the avenue he met\na strange figure in a fantastic costume whom he thought was some\none masquerading. Not liking to be made the subject of a joke, he\nthreatened to knock him down unless he told him what he wanted, and\nupon getting no reply he endeavoured to carry out his threat, but his\narm passed through his adversary, and he thought it advisable to hasten\nhis steps to the castle. It was not likely to improve his appetite,\nhowever, to find the portrait of the strange figure looking down upon\nhim from the dining-room wall.\n\nRichard Talbot was created Lord Talbot de Malahide in 1831, and the\npresent peer is 5th Baron.\n\n\n AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.\n\n D\u2019Alton, \u201cHistory of County of Dublin.\u201d\n Proceedings of Royal Society of Antiquaries.\n Carew MSS., Book of Howth.\n Brewer, \u201cBeauties of Ireland.\u201d\n Burke, \u201cVisitation of Seats and Arms.\u201d\n M\u2019Mahon, \u201cMalahide Castle\u201d in \u201cHistoric Houses.\u201d\n Burke\u2019s Peerage.\n Parliamentary Gazetteer.\n P., \u201cMalahide Castle,\u201d in _Dublin Penny Journal_.\n Prendergast, \u201cThe Plantation of the Barony\n of Rhone,\u201d in _Journal of Kilkenny Arch\u00e6ological Society_.\n\n\n\n\n_MALLOW CASTLE_\n\n\nThe town of Mallow is situated on the River Blackwater, seventeen miles\nnorth-north-west of Cork, in the Barony of Fermoy.\n\nThe ruins of the castle are to the south of the town upon rising ground\ncommanding the river. They consist of a great rectangular building\nrunning north and south, and measuring about 80 feet in length and 30\nin breadth on the inside. It has thirty-one Tudor windows, which are\ngenerally large and square, having two series of oblong lights, three\nor five in number, and a window on the north contains as many as eight.\n\nThe structure is unroofed, and the floors being of wood have almost\nentirely disappeared. It was defended by three towers on the western\nside. The round tower at the north-west angle contained a clock until\nthe middle of the last century. The centre tower measures about 12\nfeet by 15, and its door-head is depressed. The south-west tower has\na five-sided exterior, and inside the upper part is circular, and the\nlower portion pentagonal.\n\nThe eastern front of the castle has one tower, with a five-sided\nexterior likewise. In 1836 a portion of the east side of the castle\nfell. The whole of it is now extensively covered with ivy.\n\nThis building is supposed to be of the Tudor era, and it is likely to\noccupy the site of an older fortress, as there are still traces of\nfoundations which do not seem to have been included in the plan of the\npresent ruin.\n\nThe Manor of Mallow passed by exchange from the De Rupes or Roches into\nthe hands of the Desmond FitzGeralds at the close of the thirteenth\ncentury.\n\nTradition states that the Tudor fortress was erected by the \u201cGreat\nEarl\u201d of Desmond, as Garrett, the 15th Earl, who succeeded to the\ntitle in 1558, is usually styled. It seems, however, more probable\nthat it was built by his even greater father, James, who was Lord High\nTreasurer of Ireland.\n\n[Illustration: MALLOW CASTLE.]\n\nIt remained in the Desmond possession until the forfeiture of their\nprincely estates in 1584.\n\nAt this time it was in the hands of Sir John of Desmond, the Earl\u2019s\nson, who was overtaken near Castlelyons and killed by a former servant\nof his own. His body was hung over one of the gates of Cork for some\nyears, and his head sent to Dublin Castle.\n\nThe following description of the stronghold is taken from an\ninquisition held at this time on the Manor of Mallow:--\n\n\u201cOne castle containing in itself two small courts and one great\nbarbican, namely, where the howse standeth the enterance in is on the\nnorth side ffyrste into one of the said courts, and then turninge one\nthe lefte hande ye enter by a doore, beinge in a highe wall into the\nBalne or Barbican, which is reasonable large, and then goinge a little\nway, turninge one the lefte hande, have ye enterance by an other stone\nwall, whereas the castell or howse standeth, the lower rooms whereof ar\nsellers vauled over. And in the wall one the lefte hande there be stay\nres of stone of xii stepps in heyght that leadeth one the right hande\ninto the Hall, which is about lx foote longe and xxvi foot wyde, within\nthe howse, and is deepe, with a highe roofe, the Tymber wereof seemeth\nto be sounde, and is covered with thacke, some thinge decayed at the\nnorth ende; towards the west corner there is a square buyldinge vaulted\nas thother is, but not so broade, and riseth somewhat higher than the\nroofe of the hall in which, over the sellor, ar fower stronge roomes\nthat may be made meete for lodgings: the uppermost, savinge one, is\nvaulted.\u201d\n\nThe siege during the Desmond rebellion must have caused the castle to\nneed repair, and even at subsequent dates it seems to have been in a\nruinous condition.\n\nAt first after this, the district of Mallow was assigned to Pelham,\nH.M. Attorney-General, and Sir Thomas Norreys, who was holding the\nplace, writes to Burghley in 1587: \u201cI understand Mallow (a place which\nI have hitherto had keeping of) is assigned to H.M. Attorney-General,\nwho doth little esteem it. I crave to be admitted an associate in Co.\nCork, and still keep that place, which I doubt not the Attorney-General\nwill easily yield to. I affect not the place for any special goodness,\nbut having held it so long am the more unwilling to leave it, and, if I\nmay obtain it, will endeavour the best service I can.\u201d\n\nThe same year Sir John Norreys, President of Munster, writes from\nUtrecht complaining that the honour of his office brings little land\nwith it, and asking that Mallow might be granted to him.\n\nHe it was who settled the crown of Portugal on the royal house of\nBraganza, and Edmund Spencer described him in some of the lines of his\n\u201cFairy Oueen.\u201d\n\nIn 1588 Sir Thomas Norreys received a grant of the castle and lands\nfrom Elizabeth.\n\nHere, in Sir Thomas\u2019s arms, died his brother, the great Sir John\nNorreys, in 1597, of old wounds which had been neglected and turned\nto gangrene. One of many fables told regarding his death is that the\ndevil, dressed in black, appeared while he was playing cards, and\nclaimed his soul on the spot in fulfilment of an old bargain.\n\nDuring the Tyrone rebellion in 1598-99 Norreys had his English sheep\nstolen from Mallow, and his park wall broken down, so that the deer\nroamed loose.\n\nUpon the restored young Earl of Desmond\u2019s returning to Ireland in 1599\nhe spent much of his time at Mallow, where he was said to be in love\nwith Lady Norris, widow of Sir Thomas.\n\nThe Attorney-General writes in 1606: \u201cThe first night we lodged at\nMallow, a house of my Lady Norries, which is a well-built house,\nand stands by a fair river in a fruitful soil, but it is yet much\nunrepaired and bears many marks of the late rebellion.\u201d At this time\nElizabeth Norreys, heiress to the estate, was a king\u2019s ward, and\nresided with her mother in the castle.\n\nIn 1613 a fresh patent was granted to Dame Elizabeth Jephson, and her\nheirs for \u00a350 paid by her husband, Sir John Jephson, Knight, she having\ninherited her father\u2019s estate. The grant included the castle, manor,\nand town of Mallow, Short Castle, _alias_ Castle-Gar, &c.\n\nIn 1636 the Earl of Cork made an offer for the manor, but he did not\ncome to terms with the owners.\n\nShort Castle, which was on the north side of the town, was in charge of\nLieutenant Williamson in 1641, when Lord Mountgarret marched against\nMallow, while the larger fortress was placed in charge of Arthur\nBettesworth and two hundred men by Captain Jephson.\n\nAfter many assaults and several breaches, Short Castle was forced to\nsurrender, which its commander did on terms. There are several versions\nof the following story.\n\nAfter the castle\u2019s fall its defender and his men were refreshing\nthemselves in a public-house in the town, when an officer and man\nbelonging to Mountgarret\u2019s force entered with a block and sword,\nstating they had come to behead them. Lieutenant Williamson caught\nthe sword up with one hand and the officer\u2019s hair with the other, and\ndragged him to the walls of the larger stronghold, where, dismissing\nhim with a kick, he and his men joined the other garrison.\n\nThe Castle of Mallow was taken by the Earl of Castlehaven in 1645, and\nalmost reduced to ruins.\n\nIn 1666 there seems to have been an attempt made to restore it. Lord\nOrrery, writing to the Duke of Ormond in this year, says: \u201cThis bridge\nis at Mallow, where there is a castle of good strength if it had a\nlittle reparation, and is one of the greatest passes and thoroughfares\nin this province, and if seized on by any enemy would, in effect,\ndivide the country into two parts.\u201d\n\nDuring the scare of the French invasion the Grand Jury presented money\nto repair it, but the Judge seems to have reserved his decision on the\nmatter.\n\nMajor-General Sgravenmore sent Colonel Doness to destroy the bridge and\nreconnoitre the castle in 1689.\n\nNorreys was added to the family surname Jephson in 1838, and some years\nlater Sir Denham Jephson Norreys erected a mansion in Elizabethan style\nclose to the old fortress. Sir Bernard Burke remarks of it: \u201cHere\nare mullioned windows, pointed gables, tall chimneys, and all those\nvarious intricacies of building which characterised our noblest seats\nin the days of the Virgin Oueen; somewhat fantastic, it is true, but\npicturesque in the extreme.\u201d\n\nThe manor and castle are still in the possession of this family, Mrs.\nAtherton-Jephson-Norreys being the present representative.\n\n\n AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.\n\n H. F. Berry, \u201cThe Manor and Castle\n of Mallow,\u201d in _Journal of Cork\n Arch\u00e6ological Society_.\n J. O\u2019Flanagan, \u201cThe Blackwater in Munster.\u201d\n Sir B. Burke, \u201cThe Seats and Arms of Noblemen and Gentlemen, &c.\u201d\n Smith, \u201cHistory of County and City of Cork.\u201d\n R. Bagwell, \u201cIreland under the Tudors.\u201d\n Parliamentary Gazetteer.\n H. Berry, \u201cManor of Mallow in the\n Thirteenth Century,\u201d in _Journal\n of Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland_.\n\n[Illustration: MAYNOOTH CASTLE.]\n\n\n\n\n_MAYNOOTH CASTLE_\n\n \u201cYe Geraldines! ye Geraldines! how royally ye reigned\n O\u2019er Desmond broad, and rich Kildare, and English arts disdained,\n Your sword made knights, your banner waved, free was your bugle call,\n By Glyn\u2019s green slopes, and Dingle\u2019s tide,\n from Barrow\u2019s banks to Youghal.\n What gorgeous shrines, what Brehon lore, what minstrel feasts there were\n In and around Maynooth\u2019s strong keep and palace-tilled Adare!\n But not for rite or feast ye stayed, when friend or kin were pressed;\n And foemen fled, when \u201cCrom a boo\u201d bespoke your lance in rest.\u201d\n THOMAS DAVIS.\n\n\nSituated about twelve miles west-by-north of Dublin, this ancient\nfortress of the Pale was the chief stronghold of the Kildare branch\nof the Geraldines. It was built by Maurice FitzGerald (the first of\nthe great family to settle in Ireland) to protect the lands of Offaly,\ngranted to him in 1176 by Strongbow in lieu of part of Wexford which\nKing Henry wished to retain.\n\nFrom the excellency of the twelfth-century masonry, the great keep,\nwith walls some 8 feet in thickness, and the gate-house, are the best\npreserved parts of the ruin. The large corner tower and three round\narches adjoining belong to the thirteenth century, while the fifteenth\ncentury is represented by an oblong tower, now used as the belfry of\nthe Episcopalian Church. The rest of the buildings which connected\nthese, now isolated, structures have almost entirely disappeared.\n\nThe fortress was surrounded on two sides by water, being at the\njunction of the River Lyreen, a tributary of the Liffey, and a smaller\nstream.\n\nIn 1248 we read that Luke, Archbishop of Dublin, erected the chapel\nof Maynooth into a prebend of St. Patrick\u2019s Cathedral at the request\nof Maurice, second Baron of Offaly. This building, which was once the\ncastle chapel, is now the parish church.\n\nAt the beginning of the fourteenth century Maynooth seems to have been\nthe favourite residence of the FitzGerald family. John, the 1st Earl\nof Kildare, and Thomas, the 2nd Earl, both died there (1316 and 1328).\nThe latter bequeathed the castle to his wife. It is described as being\n\u201cbuilt of stone, with numerous offices partly of stone, and two gates,\none leading to the town, and the other to the garden.\u201d\n\nThe castle was added to in 1426, and is said to have been \u201cone of the\nlargest and richest Earl\u2019s houses in Ireland.\u201d\n\nIn 1534 the Earl of Kildare, being Lord Deputy, was summoned to London,\nand appointed his son, Lord Offaly, Vice-Deputy in his absence. Upon\na rumour that his father had been executed, Lord Thomas, who was very\nyoung, went into rebellion, and such nobles and chiefs as refused to\njoin his standard he sent as prisoners to Maynooth.\n\nA division of the English army, landing at Howth to raise the siege\nof Dublin Castle, was met by \u201cSilken Thomas\u201d with two hundred men.\nAn engagement followed, in which Lord Offaly was victorious, and the\nsurvivors of the King\u2019s troops were sent captive to Maynooth.\n\nAt this time the castle was splendidly fortified with men and ordnance.\n\nHearing that the whole English army was about to arrive, Lord Offaly\nleft Maynooth in command of Christopher Paris, his foster-brother, and\nwent into Connaught to raise forces.\n\nIn January, 1535, seven hundred men were sent from Dublin to burn\nMaynooth Castle. A skirmish took place, and although some of the rebels\nwere slain, the royal troops retired.\n\nThe Lord Deputy, Sir William Skeffington, now collected his forces, and\nmarched in full strength against the stronghold. The siege began on the\n14th of March, and was continued until the 23rd.\n\nUpon arriving at Maynooth, Sir William demanded the surrender of the\ncastle, and offered free pardon and reward to all the garrison.\n\nTo this he only received a jeering reply, so planting his cannon to the\nnorth of the building towards the park he opened fire. The attack was\nvaried north-east and north-west, but though this continued for over a\nweek little damage was done, save destroying the battlements.\n\nTowards the close of this time a letter was shot out of the castle\nto the Lord Deputy from Christopher Paris, offering to find means of\nletting the besiegers enter the castle for a certain sum of money and\nprovision for the rest of his life.\n\nSir William Skeffington agreed to the terms, and upon the 22nd, a\nfield-piece having been captured from the besiegers, the Governor made\nit an occasion for high revelry. Thus, while the men who guarded the\nouter battlements were sound asleep after their carouse, the King\u2019s\ntroops easily entered the castle by scaling-ladders early on the\nmorning of the 23rd.\n\nSir William Brereton led the attack, but the resistance was very\nfeeble, the drunken soldiers believing that the cry of \u201cSt. George! St.\nGeorge!\u201d was but a dream. Sir William hoisted his standard from the\nhighest turret, so as to inform the Lord Deputy that the castle had\nbeen won.\n\nSir William Skeffington entered in the afternoon. The garrison\nconsisted of thirty-seven persons. Two singers of the chapel were\npardoned, at the intervention of Chief Justice Aylmer, on account of\ntheir sweet voices.\n\nTwenty-five of the men were beheaded, and one hanged, outside the\ncastle gate, and the principal heads placed upon the battlements.\nAmongst these was that of the Dean of Kildare. Paris was paid the sum\nstipulated for his treachery, but as he had forgotten to make his\nsafety a condition, he was executed with the rest.\n\nThe Lord Deputy left a garrison in the castle and returned to Dublin.\n\nLord Offaly was marching to the relief of his stronghold with an army\nof seven thousand men when the news of its fall reached him. At this,\nmost of his forces melted away, and the rebellion became rather a\nseries of raids than regular warfare.\n\nAt last, Lord Thomas, tempted by a promise of pardon, surrendered\nhimself, and was sent prisoner to England. Here, after some months of\ncaptivity, he and his five uncles were beheaded at Tyburn.\n\nThere is a tradition that the last evening \u201cSilken Thomas\u201d ever spent\nat Maynooth he played the harp under the venerable yew which is now\nenclosed in the grounds of St. Patrick\u2019s College.\n\nA bill of attainder was passed in 1536 against the Earl of Kildare and\nhis heirs; and Maynooth, being forfeited to the Crown, became a King\u2019s\ncastle. It seems to have been a favourite residence of the Lords Deputy\nat this time.\n\nIn 1552 Edward VI. restored Gerald, 11th Earl of Kildare, to his title\nand estates. His widow lived at Maynooth until her death; and it was in\nthe castle garden that Lord Delvin was first approached by the Earls\nof Tyrone and Tyrconnell to join the insurrection in 1606. In a letter\nwritten by the Countess of Kildare she expresses her regret for such an\noccurrence.\n\nAfter the death of the 14th Earl in 1612, Maynooth Castle seems to have\nfallen into a state of dilapidation on account of his son\u2019s minority.\nIt was restored by his guardian, the great Earl of Cork, who placed an\ninscription over the gateway recording its restoration, and bearing the\ndate 1630.\n\nIn 1629 we hear of the Earl\u2019s title deeds being preserved in the\nCouncil House, which was a stone building that stood on the site now\noccupied by the President\u2019s house of St. Patrick\u2019s College. It was\nremoved about 1780. The doorway is still preserved in a school of the\ntown, and the council table, bearing the date 1533, stands before the\nDuke of Leinster\u2019s residence at Carton.\n\nThe 12th Earl of Kildare lived at Maynooth until civil war broke out in\n1641. Shortly after hostilities began the castle was plundered and the\nvaluable library destroyed.\n\nIn 1643 Captain Michael Jones, under the Marquis of Ormond, held\npossession of the fortress; and in 1644 the Earl of Kildare asked for\npowder and men to increase its defence, he having taken down the spouts\nto make bullets.\n\nIn 1647 General Owen O\u2019Neill sent a detachment from Trim, which carried\nthe castle by assault. Twenty-six men of the garrison and some officers\nwere hanged, and the fortress dismantled.\n\nThe next Earl lived chiefly at Kilkea Castle, and Maynooth gradually\nfell into decay.\n\nIn 1707 Robert, 19th Earl of Kildare, wished to restore the building,\nbut finding it too dilapidated he decided to enlarge Carton House\ninstead.\n\nHouses were subsequently built among the castle ruins, and these were\nremoved by the Duke of Leinster in 1848, and the space round planted\nand enclosed.\n\n\n AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.\n\n Duke of Leinster, \u201cMaynooth Castle.\u201d Addenda\n by Miss M. Stokes (_Kildare\n Arch\u00e6ological Society\u2019s Journal_).\n Marquis of Kildare, \u201cEarls of Kildare.\u201d\n Most Rev. John Healy, D.D., \u201cMaynooth College.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n_MONGEVLIN CASTLE_\n\n\nThis castle is situated on the banks of the Foyle where it narrows\ninland, somewhat over a mile south of Saint Johnstown and seven miles\nfrom the City of Londonderry.\n\nOnly the keep now remains, but during the last century the walls of\nthe courtyard which lay between the Foyle and the fortress were still\nstanding, and over the arch of the gateway was a small stone engraved\nwith the initials \u201cI.S.E.S.T.\u201d and the date 1619. This has, however,\nnow disappeared. Another inscribed stone bears the following: \u201cThe\nHon. Elizabeth Hamilton, daughter of John Lord Culpeper, and widow\nof Colonel James Hamilton (who lost his life at sea in Spain, in the\nservice of his king and country), purchased this manor, and annexed\nit to the opposite estate of the family, which paternal estate itself\nhas improved by her prudent management to nearly the yearly income\nof the dower she received thereout. She has also settled her younger\nson, William Hamilton, Esq., in an estate acquired in England, of\nnearly equal value in the purchase to this, and given every one of her\nnumerous offspring, descended from both branches, some considerable\nmark of her parental care. Her eldest son, James, Earl of Abercorn, and\nViscount Strabane, hath caused this inscription to be placed here for\nthe information of her posterity, Anno, 1704.\u201d\n\nThere are two incidents in the castle\u2019s history which are of particular\ninterest. In the sixteenth century it was the chief residence of the\nbeautiful \u201cIneen Dubh,\u201d daughter of Macdonnell, Lord of the Isles, and\nmother of the famous Red Hugh O\u2019Donnell, Chief of Tyrconnell.\n\nIt was said of her that she was \u201cexcelling in all the qualities that\nbecome a woman, yet possessing the heart of a hero, and the soul of a\nsoldier.\u201d\n\nThe State Paper recording her possession is as follows: \u201cFrom\nCul-Mac-Tryan runs a bogg three myles in length to the side of\nLough Foyle--in the midst of the bog is a standing loughe called\nBunaber--here at Bunaber dwells O\u2019Donnell\u2019s mother (Ineen Dubh\nM\u2019Donnell). Three miles above Cargan stands a fort called McGevyvelin\n(Mongivlin) upon the river of Lough Foyle--O\u2019Donnell\u2019s mother\u2019s chief\nhouse.\u201d\n\nThe fortress is mentioned in 1619 in Captain Pynnar\u2019s Survey of the\nEscheated Counties of Ulster in the following manner: \u201cSir John Stewart\nhath 3,000 acres called Cashell Hetin and Littergull. Upon this\nproportion there is built, at Magevlin, a very strong castle, with a\nflanker at each corner.\u201d\n\nJames II. was the guest of Archdeacon Hamilton at Mongevlin during\nthe siege of Derry. From there he sent proposals of surrender to the\ngarrison by his host, which were rejected.\n\nA sad incident occurred in connection with the castle last century. A\nservant lad being employed by the owner of the time was so terrified by\nthe ghost stories he heard in connection with the building that he left\nhis situation and went home. His friends persuaded him to return, but\nthe matter so preyed upon his mind that he shortly after hanged himself.\n\n\n AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.\n\n \u201cThe Donegal Highlands.\u201d\n J. A. H., \u201cMongevlin Castle,\u201d in _Dublin Penny Journal_.\n\n\n\n\n_MONKSTOWN CASTLE, COUNTY CORK_\n\n\nSituated at the western extremity of Cork Harbour, in the Barony of\nKerricurrihy, is the now ruined castle of Monkstown. The name is\nderived from the Monastery Legan, belonging to the Benedictine Monks,\nwhich was formerly established here, it being a cell of Bath Abbey.\n\nThe castle consists of a quadrangular building, flanked by four square\ntowers, having machicolated defences projecting from their angles. The\nwindows are in excellent preservation, being of square Tudor style,\ndivided by strong stone mullions, with horizontal weather cornices. The\nmoulding of the door displays excellent workmanship.\n\nThe estate belonged to the Archdeacons, who changed their name to\nMacOdo, or Cody.\n\nThe castle was erected in 1636 by Anastasia Archdeacon, _nee_ Gould,\nwho intended it as a pleasant surprise for her husband, who was a naval\nofficer, and away on a voyage at the time.\n\nTradition says that it only cost the thrifty lady a groat. At first\nshe found that the builders objected to go to so out-of-the-way a\nsituation, as provisions were difficult to procure. Nothing daunted by\nsuch an excuse the lady offered to supply the workmen with provisions\nat the ordinary retail rate. This she did, but as she purchased her\ngoods at wholesale prices she found when she came to balance her\naccounts that she was only 4d. out of pocket.\n\nThe castle was erected in a twelvemonth and a day, and the date 1636\nappears on one of the mantelpieces.\n\nSmith states that the fortress was originally styled Castle Mahon or\nO\u2019Mahony\u2019s Castle, and in an ancient MS. document (probably now in the\npossession of Captain Shaw, late of the London Fire Brigade) it is\ndescribed as being \u201cremade\u201d at the above date, so that it may occupy\nthe site of an older stronghold.\n\nThe following interesting extracts are taken from the manuscript\nalluded to, which has been preserved in the Shaw family, they having at\none time leased the castle: \u201cA.D. 1636, Monkstown Castle and court were\nremade. Reader, you are to observe that it was not John Archdeacon, but\nhis wife, Anastatia Gould, who built the four castles of Monkstown, and\nthe court, in his absence, as he was from home. On his return he did\nnot like the building, and said that a building near a harbour was a\nbuilding of sedition, which, alas! turned out so.\u201d\n\n\u201cA.D. 1660.--Archdeacon died, as when Cromwell came to Ireland he was\ndeprived of his castle, lands, &c., but not his life, which they did\nnot covet.\u201d\n\nIn 1612 the wardship of the son of the late John Archdeacon, of\nMonkstown, was given to Sir John Jephson Knt., and it was this ward\u2019s\nwife who afterwards built the castle.\n\nHe died in 1660, and both he and his wife are buried in the disused\ngraveyard of Teampul Oen Bryn, west of the castle. Upon his tomb\nappears a long Latin inscription which, among other things, states\nthat--\u201cHere lies the body of that most noble man, John Archdeacon.\u201d\n\nColonel Hunks, one of the three deputed to execute the death warrant\nof Charles I., was granted the lands of Monkstown by the Commonwealth\nbefore the demise of John Archdeacon, who lost his estate on account of\nloyalty to the Stewarts. Hunks sold it to Primate Boyle, brother of the\nEarl of Cork, for \u00a3400.\n\nBut it evidently returned to the Archdeacon family upon the\nRestoration, for it was again confiscated in 1688 on account of the\nfamily\u2019s loyalty to King James.\n\nIt then passed again into the hands of the Boyles, and through two\ngranddaughters of the Primate it descended to the present owners, the\nLords De Vesci and Longford.\n\nIn 1700 Dive Downes writes: \u201cMr. O\u2019Callaghan, a Protestant, lives in\nMonkstown, in a good square castle with flankers.\u201d\n\nLater in this century it was rented by the Government as a barrack.\n\nLord De Vesci leased the castle to Bernard Shaw in 1861.\n\n\n AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.\n\n Smith, \u201cCounty and City of Cork.\u201d\n Gibson, \u201cHistory of Cork.\u201d\n J. Windele, \u201cHistorical Notices of City of Cork,\u201d &c.\n Proceedings of Royal Society of Antiquaries.\n Parliamentary Gazetteer.\n\n\n\n\n_PORTUMNA CASTLE_\n\n\nThere have been three consecutive castles at Portumna, which is\nsituated in the Barony of Longford, Co. Galway. The town stands at the\nhead of Lough Derg, about eleven miles west of Birr. The name signifies\n\u201cthe bank of the oak.\u201d\n\nThe territory formerly belonged to the O\u2019Maddens, and was included in\nthe grant to De Burgo 1226.\n\nSoon after this the first castle was erected close to the River\nShannon. The ruins were removed some years ago, but its position can\nstill be traced.\n\nThe second fortress, which was an imposing castellated building of the\nTudor period, was burnt in 1826. The chief apartments were the great\nhall, handsome state drawing-room, and library--a beautiful long room\nin the upper storey. They were all completely destroyed, only the walls\nbeing left.\n\nSome of the out-offices were fitted up as a residence for the Dowager\nCountess of Clanricard shortly afterwards.\n\nSince then the Earl of Clanricard has erected a magnificent modern\nresidence in the demesne, but on a different site.\n\nThe manor passed, by the marriage of Elizabeth, daughter of William de\nBurgo, Earl of Ulster, to Lionel, Duke of Clarence, through whom it\npassed to the Mortimers, and later to the Earls of Clanricard.\n\nIn 1582 it was held by Ulick Burke, Earl of Clanricard, to whom\nPortumna and the earldom were confirmed, as his brother John disputed\nhis right.\n\nIn 1608 it was granted to the Earl, with other houses, to be held by\nknight\u2019s service _in capite_.\n\nThe Earl of Strafford held a council in the castle in 1634 to establish\nthe King\u2019s title in Connaught. The jury, however, negatived the matter,\nwhereupon the Earl arrested them and the sheriff, and sent them\nprisoners to Dublin.\n\nIn 1641, Ulic, 5th Earl of Clanricard, was at Portumna upon the\nbreaking out of hostilities. He fortified the castle and proceeded to\nGalway, of which city he was governor. He used every effort to maintain\npeace, and in 1650 was appointed Lord Deputy in place of Ormond. At\nthis time he made Portumna his chief place of residence.\n\nIn 1659 General Ludlow laid siege to the fortress.\n\nIn the struggle between James and William it was garrisoned for James,\nbut surrendered to Brigadier-General Eppinger, who, with one thousand\ntwo hundred horse and dragoons, arrived to reduce it.\n\n\n AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.\n\n Hardiman, \u201cHistory of Galway.\u201d\n State Papers.\n Lewis, \u201cTopographical Dictionary of Ireland.\u201d\n Parliamentary Gazetteer.\n Carew MSS.\n MS. Ordnance Survey.\n\n\n\n\n_ROSCOMMON CASTLE_\n\n\nIn the Barony of South Ballintobber, County Roscommon, seventy-five\nmiles west-by-north of Dublin, stands the now ruined fortress of\nRoscommon. Joyce says the name signifies \u201cComan\u2019s wood,\u201d from St.\nComas, who founded a monastery there about the year 746, but O\u2019Donovan\ntraces its derivation from \u201ccrooked stick.\u201d\n\nThe plan of the castle consists of a quadrangular space enclosed by\ncurtain walls flanked at the angles by towers rounded on the outside.\nThe whole measures about 223 feet in length and 173 in breadth. On the\neast side the entrance, under a pointed arch, was also protected by\ntwo towers, which were connected by a rectangular building inside that\nprobably contained the state rooms.\n\nThe lower storeys of the towers were vaulted, although some of them are\nnow broken. The upper floors have larger windows, and also the remains\nof fireplaces. Most of the windows contain four lights, but some have\nElizabethan mullions.\n\nThe north-west tower has a winding stair, which leads to the top of\nthe curtain wall. On the western side of the stronghold is a small\nrectangular tower, which contained a little entrance.\n\nThere is now no trace of the moat, but a few remains of earth outworks\nare visible.\n\nOn the east is a long enclosure surrounded by walls and flanked by\nbastions, which is known as the orchard, although at present it\ncontains no trees.\n\nThe north and south walls of the castle, which had been broken down,\nhave been again raised for farming purposes. The inside of the walls\nexhibit traces of blasting. The castle was built of blue limestone, and\nmuch of the stone has been used elsewhere.\n\nWeld considers it likely that the fortress was built from an English\nplan, and remarks on the apparent absence of patching, it all seeming\nto date from the same period.\n\nRobert d\u2019Ufford, Lord Justice of Ireland, began to erect the castle\nin 1268, while Hugh, King of Connaught, was too ill to prevent such\nencroachment on his territory. Some authorities state a fortress\nexisted here prior to this time. During 1270-72 there are numerous\naccounts of payments for building and fortifying the stronghold.\n\nIn 1275-76 is an entry of payment to Brother Maurice, Bishop of Elphin,\nfor the site that had been used, and which appears to have been Church\nproperty.\n\nThe castle is said to have been razed by O\u2019Conor in 1272, but the\nword \u201cbroken\u201d used in the Book of Howth seems to be nearer the truth,\nas four years later the Irish again seized it by scaling ladders and\noverthrew the English garrison.\n\nIn Weld\u2019s Statistical Survey he gives an amusing account of the\ncontradictions which obscure the early history of the stronghold, and\nfrom which it appears impossible to gather the true facts at this\ndistant period.\n\nIn 1277 Sir Robert d\u2019Ufford was again Lord Juctice, and with Thomas\nde Clare, Maurice Fitz-Maurice and all their forces was hemmed in by\nthe Irish in the Slievebawn Mountains. They were only released on the\ncondition that Roscommon Castle was surrendered to the O\u2019Conors.\n\nIt is also chronicled that Hugh O\u2019Conor destroyed it in this year and\nthat it was rebuilt by Maurice Fitz-Maurice.\n\nAt any rate it seems again to have been in English possession in\n1282-83, as there are entries regarding payment for its fortifications,\nand a grant to the Prior and Convent of St. Coman of a right to water\ntheir animals for ever at the lake under the castle. This sheet of\nwater, which was called Loch-na-nean, or \u201cthe lake of birds,\u201d has now\nentirely disappeared.\n\nThe names of numerous constables of the castle are mentioned in the\nState Documents.\n\nIn 1290 the castle was garrisoned by Welshmen, and the townspeople\nwere in great distress because of the constables and bailiffs preying\nupon them. The King issued an order that nothing must be taken without\nconsent and payment.\n\nThere was a long trial in 1292 of William de Prene, a carpenter in\ncharge of works at Roscommon Castle, who was accused of various frauds\nin connection with his contract.\n\nA very interesting account of repairs is recorded in 1304 which gives\na fair idea of the extent of the fortress. An artilleryman was paid\nfor repairing war engines, and the well was enclosed by a wall 3 feet\nthick. It was 5 feet across and 32 feet deep, with a wooden cover.\nThree drawbridges and two portcullisses are also mentioned. The postern\nwas closed with masonry 7 feet thick. The step of the hall repaired,\nand the tower near it vaulted with two arches. Also St. Bridget\u2019s well\nwas drained into the lake.\n\nSomewhere about this time Felim O\u2019Conor is said to have laid low the\ncastle, while in 1341 his son Hugh was taken prisoner by the King of\nConnaught and imprisoned in the stronghold, but was released for a\nransom the following year.\n\nRoderic O\u2019Conor occupied the castle in 1375.\n\nWhile in possession of the O\u2019Conors it was a constant source of dispute\nbetween O\u2019Conor Don and O\u2019Conor Roe. In 1409, being in the former\u2019s\npossession, it was besieged by the latter, but the garrison was\nrelieved by Brian O\u2019Conor Sligo, who managed to get provisions into the\nfortress.\n\nRory O\u2019Conor died there in 1453. Tadhg O\u2019Conor was treacherously killed\nby his own people in 1476, and they took the castle of Roscommon, but\ndid not keep it long.\n\nIn 1499 the Earl of Kildare led his forces into Connaught, dislodged\nO\u2019Conor Roe and installed O\u2019Conor Don. In 1512 the Earl of Kildare\nagain took the fortress, and this time he garrisoned it with his\nown warders. It, however, immediately reverted to the O\u2019Conors, and\nremained with them until 1566, when it was taken for Queen Elizabeth.\n\nIt had been granted to M\u2019William Bourke in 1544, but as he would have\nhad to drive out the occupiers, it is not to be wondered at that he\nnever took possession.\n\nIt was restored by the O\u2019Conor Don, and Sir Thomas L\u2019Estrange made\nconstable in 1569. The O\u2019Conor Roe, having a spite against the\nconstable, attacked and burned the castle in 1573, and L\u2019Estrange\nclaimed compensation to the amount of \u00a31,000.\n\nSir Henry Sydney lodged a night in the castle in 1576, and complained\nof having no cheer. The O\u2019Conor Don visited him at this time.\n\nSir Nicholas Maltbie, to whom the castle was leased in 1577, asked to\nbe made Seneschal of Roscommon in 1580 as compensation for rebuilding\nthe fortress.\n\nCaptain Brabazon, Governor of Connaught, summoned a meeting of the\nchiefs in the castle in 1582. It was held in the \u201cTower of the Narrow\nPassages,\u201d and the joistings giving way the whole meeting, including\nthe Governor, was precipitated to the bottom. Chief O\u2019Flanagan died\nfrom the fall.\n\nAfter this the English constable was murdered, and Sir Henry Sydney\nleft a garrison in the castle.\n\nSir Nicholas Malbie died in 1584, and the castle remained in his\nfamily\u2019s possession for some years afterwards. In 1609 Lady Sydley,\nwidow of Henry Malby, Esq., asked allowance for the repairs of the\ncastles of Roscommon and Longford, both of which she rented from the\nCrown. Roscommon had been ruined by various garrisons which had been\nplaced there by Sir John Norris and others.\n\nOne of the charges against the northern Earls was their intention to\nseize Roscommon Castle amongst others.\n\nThe garrison made a brave defence against the Irish in 1642. The castle\nwas chiefly defended by Scotch warders. It is quaintly noted that at\nthe beginning of these \u201ccommotions\u201d it had belonged to Lord Grandesson.\n\nThree years later General Preston arrived and laid siege to it, opening\nfire on both town and castle.\n\nOn the ninth day of the siege the garrison offered to make honourable\nterms, which were accepted. The same day the besieging party had a\nsharp encounter with a relieving force, who were, however, defeated,\nand the castle surrendered. Captain Leicester was left in command.\n\nIt remained in the possession of the Irish forces until 1652, when\nit was delivered on articles to Commissary-General Reynolds, of the\nParliamentary troops, by Captain Daly.\n\nIt is probable that it was demolished at this time. Tradition states\nit was burned by fugitive Irish after the battle of Aughrim, and some\nblackened joists are pointed out in corroboration.\n\nIt is now leased to a farmer by the Earl of Essex.\n\n\n AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.\n\n Weld, \u201cStatistical Survey of County Roscommon.\u201d\n O\u2019Conor Don, \u201cO\u2019Conors of Connaught.\u201d\n Meehan, \u201cIrish Franciscan Monasteries.\u201d\n Joyce, \u201cIrish Names of Places.\u201d\n State Documents.\n State Papers.\n Carew MSS., including Hook of Howth.\n Parliamentary Gazetteer.\n MS. Ordnance Survey.\n Murphy, \u201cThe Castle of Roscommon,\u201d\n in _Journal of Royal Society\n of Antiquaries, Ireland_.\n\n[Illustration: ROSS CASTLE.]\n\n\n\n\n_ROSS CASTLE_\n\n \u201cIts embers smouldering here and there,\n Unfed, the civil war-flame dies;\n But still defiant on the air,\n O\u2019er Rosse the green flag proudly flies.\n\n p p p p p\n\n \u201c\u2018Till Birnam wood meets Dunsinane,\u2019\n Macbeth before no foe shall quail,\n And Rosse may all assaults disdain,\n \u2019Till on Lough Lein strange ship shall sail.\u2019\u201d\n A. B. ROWAN.\n\n\nThis castle is situated on what is now known as the Island of Ross, on\nthe east shore of Lough Lene, or the Lower Lake of Killarney, about a\nmile and three-quarters south of the town.\n\nThe island has been artificially formed by cutting across the peninsula\nor _ros_ on which the fortress is built and from which it takes its\nname.\n\nThe channel, which is flooded by the waters of the lake, is crossed by\na bridge, although it is usually dry during the summer months.\n\nThis bridge was formerly protected by a guard house and gates, which\nwere closed every night, sentinels being posted at the entrance when\nthe castle was garrisoned in later times.\n\nThe present ruins consist of a keep, with the remains of the\nsurrounding bawn wall, which was flanked by semicircular towers at\nthe corners. A spiral stone stair leads to the top of the keep, with\ndoorways opening at the various floors.\n\nThe fortress is based on a limestone rock, and sustained on the land\nside by a buttress of masonry.\n\nThe peninsula contains 158 acres, and copper mines were opened on it\nin 1804, which were worked for four years, in which time \u00a380,000 worth\nof ore was extracted. Water getting in stopped further work. It was\nclearly proved that the mines had been worked many centuries before,\nand a number of stone implements, locally called \u201cDanes\u2019 hammers,\u201d have\nbeen found on the island.\n\nThe castle is supposed to have been built towards the close of the\nfourteenth century by the family of O\u2019Donoghue-Ross, who added the\nappellation of their home to distinguish them from the family of\nO\u2019Donoghue-More.\n\nA modern barrack capable of holding some two hundred men and officers\nwas erected against the keep, but when it ceased to be used Lord\nKenmare had the unsightly erection removed.\n\nThere is a legend regarding a great and wise Prince O\u2019Donoghue who\npossessed the secret of eternal youth, and under whose rule the land\nprospered greatly. It is related how that during a splendid feast\nat Ross Castle he rose up amongst the company and made a prophetic\noration, recounting accurately all that the future years would bring.\nIn the midst of speaking he walked over to a window (which is still\nshown) and through it he passed out over the lake. Upon nearing the\ncentre he turned round and waved his hand in farewell to those behind,\nand, the waters opening, he disappeared beneath them.\n\nOn May morning he is said to rise from his watery grave and ride over\nthe lake on a white steed, surrounded by beautiful women and youths.\nHis appearance is looked upon as a sign of a bountiful harvest.\n\nIt is also related how a young maiden imagining herself in love with\nthe phantom prince, cast herself into the lake on a May morning and was\ndrowned.\n\nThe O\u2019Donoghues were succeeded at Ross by the M\u2019Carthy Mores, through\nwhom the castle passed in 1588 to Sir Valentine Browne, ancestor to the\npresent house of Kenmare.\n\nIn 1651 Lord Muskerry was guardian to his nephew Sir Valentine Browne,\nwho was then a minor of about twelve years old. Hence it was that after\nhis defeat by the Parliamentary forces at Knockniclashy on the 5th of\nJuly he retired with his army, numbering some one thousand five hundred\nmen, to Ross.\n\nLudlow, accompanied by Lord Broghill and Sir Hardress Waller, followed\nwith four thousand horse and two thousand foot.\n\nLord Muskerry was the last Royalist commander in arms, and his\nsubmission was a matter of great moment.\n\nLudlow reports that the castle was only accessible by the causeway\nwhich the besieged had fortified, being otherwise surrounded by water\nand bog.\n\nFinding that this made the reduction of the fortress a matter of\ndifficulty, and probably hearing of the tradition which stated Ross\nCastle could not fall until a ship should sail on the lake, Ludlow\nasked for a small fleet of boats to be prepared for transport at\nKinsale.\n\nIn the meantime he found that the besieged were obtaining supplies\nthrough the thick woods surrounding the island. A force of two thousand\nfoot were, therefore, despatched to clear the thickets. Some of the\nenemy were killed, some taken prisoners, and the rest saved themselves\n\u201cby their good footmanship.\u201d\n\nThe rest of Ludlow\u2019s forces were employed in fortifying the peninsular\nso that a few men could keep the besieged in, while a large company was\ndespatched to Killorgan, on Castlemain Bay, to receive the boats and\nsupplies.\n\nThe preparation for the expedition was undertaken by the Rev. Dr.\nJones, and the command was given to Captain Chudleigh.\n\nThe vessels were sent in pieces, so that the workmen who accompanied\nthem could put them together in a few days. Two pinnaces carrying\nordnance, and capable of holding fifty (or Ludlow says a hundred and\nfifty) men, were forwarded so as to be ready for use in two days. Also\nfive or six boats to hold fifty men each, and material to make more.\n\nGreat has been the controversy as to what route was followed in\nconveying these vessels to Killarney. The River Laune, which drains the\nlakes, is not navigable above the place where Ludlow\u2019s force was to\nreceive the goods.\n\nTradition asserts that they were conveyed by the mountain road,\nand in Ware\u2019s Annals it is recorded that a ship was \u201ccarried over\nthe mountains.\u201d On the other hand, Smith distinctly says they were\n\u201cbrought up by the River Lane, by strength of men\u2019s hands.\u201d He also\nrelates how a recent sexton of Swords, called Hopkins (who had died at\nthe age of 115), had been one of those who \u201cassisted in drawing the\nabove-mentioned vessel into the lake.\u201d It is, therefore, likely that\nSmith\u2019s informant on the matter had received the correct impression\nfrom an eye witness.\n\nOn Captain Chudleigh\u2019s tomb at St. Multon\u2019s, Kinsale, the fact is\nrecorded of his having constructed a ship to sail on land for the\nreduction of Ross.\n\nSome naval men are said to have drawn a vessel up the Laune in later\nyears.\n\nIt is on the whole most likely that the hulls of the pinnaces were\nbrought up by the river bed, while the lighter craft were conveyed by\nroad. At any rate the transport and preparation occupied only the short\nperiod of four days, at the end of which time the terrified garrison\nperceived a warship being rowed upon the lake.\n\nIt is not unlikely that pressure was put on Lord Muskerry by his\nsuperstitious garrison, for no sooner had the vessel appeared than he\nnotified to Ludlow that he was willing to treat.\n\nCommissioners were appointed on both sides, and after a fortnight spent\nin debating the terms the treaty of Ross was signed. Lord Muskerry\u2019s\nson and Sir Daniel O\u2019Brien were delivered as hostages.\n\nFair terms were granted to the Royalist Army, and five thousand horse\nand foot laid down their arms.\n\nFor a long time Ross Castle gave rank and emolument to a governor. One\nof these owed his position to the confusion of names between New Ross,\nCounty Wexford, and the Ross of Killarney, for having rendered valuable\nservice at the former during the rebellion of 1798, the governorship of\nthe latter becoming vacant he was at once appointed.\n\n\n AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.\n\n M. F. Cusack, \u201cHistory of Kerry.\u201d\n I. Weld, \u201cIllustrations of Killarney.\u201d\n J. Savage, \u201cPicturesque Ireland.\u201d\n C. Smith, \u201cState of County Kerry.\u201d\n J. Cook, \u201cMurray\u2019s Handbook for Ireland.\u201d\n Mr. and Mrs. Hall, \u201cIreland.\u201d\n Parliamentary Gazetteer.\n Proceedings of Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland.\n J. Prendergast, \u201cSurrender of Ross Castle\u201d; A. B. Rowan,\n Notes on same, _Journal of\n Kilkenny Arch\u00e6ological Society_.\n\n\n\n\n_ROSSCLOGHER CASTLE_\n\n\nThe shores of Lough Melvin comprise part of Leitrim, Fermanagh and\nDonegal. The lake is about six miles long and a mile and a half at its\ngreatest width. The castle of Rossclogher is situated on an artificial\nisland to the south, near the Leitrim shore, and it gives its name to\nthe Barony of Rossclogher in that county.\n\nThe Four Masters record the miraculous formation of the\nlake in 4694 B.C., while during the preparation of the grave of\nMelghe Molbhthach the waters gushed forth. He had been King of Ireland\nfor fourteen years and was killed in battle. The lake was then called\nLough Melghe, from which comes the modern Melvin.\n\nThe castle belonged to the M\u2019Clancys, who were chiefs of Dartraigh in\n1241 according to the Irish annals. They were a subordinate sept to\nthe O\u2019Rourkes and the name is variously spelt Glannaghie, M\u2019Glannough,\nM\u2019Glanna, M\u2019Glanathie, M\u2019Glanchie, Maglanshie, &c.\n\nThe lake fortress of Rossclogher was built by one of this family before\nthe reign of Henry VIII., but the exact date is unknown.\n\nIt is interesting to note that the island next it, to the east, is\ncalled Inisheher (Inis Siar), meaning western island, having evidently\nreceived its name long before the foundations of the castle were laid,\nwhich at the present time form the most western land in the lake.\n\nThe structure upon which the fortress is built is like that of the\nHag\u2019s Castle in Lough Mask, and Cloughoghter Castle in Cavan. It\nconsists of a foundation of heavy stones laid in the lake and filled in\nwith smaller stones and earth so as to form an island.\n\nThe castle consists of a circular tower surrounded by a wall about\nfive feet in height. It is built of freestone taken from the mainland\nnear, cemented together with lime and coarse gravel. The walls, which\nare very thick, were coated outside with rough cast, which is unusual\nin the ancient buildings of the neighbourhood. On the side nearest the\nland are the ruins of a bastion with holes for musketry. The water is\nvery deep between the fortress and the land, which is about 100 yards\ndistant.\n\nOn the mainland opposite the stronghold are the remains of earthworks\nwhich would seem to have been formed by some attacking party possessing\nmilitary skill. On a hill above this is situated the ancient\n\u201ccattle-booley\u201d of the MacClancy clan. It is a circular enclosure of\nearth, faced with stone, and is about 220 feet in circumference.\n\nThe ruins of a church are also on the mainland, within hailing distance\nof the castle.\n\nThe Four Masters record a night attack made by the O\u2019Rourks in 1421, by\nwhich they took MacClancy Oge prisoner, and became possessed of \u201cLough\nMelvin and its castle.\u201d The attack, however, is said to have been\nmade on the island of Inisheen, in consequence of the guards of the\nlake giving up the boats to the attackers. It was on this island the\nMacClancy\u2019s wooden crannog was situated, and its plundering again in\n1455 by Maguire is recorded.\n\nIn 1588 three ships belonging to the Spanish Armada were wrecked on\nStreedagh Strand.\n\nIn one of these was Captain Cuellar, whose graphic narrative of his\nadventures in Ireland, when he had escaped with his life from the sea,\nhave been published of recent years.\n\nAfter various wanderings, sufferings and ill-treatment in the\nneighbourhood, he met a priest who directed him, in Latin, to a\ncastle six leagues off. \u201cIt was very strong, and belonged to a savage\ngentleman, a very brave soldier and great enemy of the Oueen of England\nand of her affairs, a man who had never cared to obey her or pay\ntribute, attending only to his mountains, which made it strong.\u201d\n\nOn the road he fell in with a blacksmith who forced him to work at his\nforge until the same clergyman, passing that way, promised to ask the\nchief to send an escort for him.\n\nThe following day MacClancy despatched four of his own people and a\nSpanish soldier to fetch him. He states they were much grieved at his\nsore state and assisted him in every way, and he adds: \u201cI remained\nthere three months, acting as a real savage like themselves.\u201d\n\nHe describes his hostess as \u201cbeautiful in the extreme,\u201d and very kind\nto him. One day while sitting with her and some of her women friends\nhe began to tell their fortunes by palmistry, and \u201cto say to them a\nhundred thousand absurdities.\u201d Soon this got abroad, with the result\nthat hundreds of people flocked to him to have their hands told. At\nlength he said he would have to leave, and then MacClancy ordered that\nno one should molest him in future.\n\nWhile Captain Cuellar was thus spending his time at Lough Melvin, news\narrived that the Lord Deputy, Fitzwilliam, had marched from Dublin with\na great force, and was hanging all the Spaniards he could find and\npunishing those who had succoured them.\n\nMacClancy (Cuellar calls him Manglana) decided to fly to the mountains\nwith his people, most likely by a bridlepath still to be traced from\nthe \u201ccattle-booley.\u201d It was two feet wide, and the paving was enclosed\nby a kerb. He asked Cuellar and eight other Spaniards what they\nwished to do. After a conference they offered to defend the castle\nagainst the Lord Deputy. MacClancy was delighted, and at once made\nall provision. They then retired to the castle, taking with them the\nchurch valuables, three or four boat-loads of stones, six muskets, six\ncrossbows, and other arms.\n\nCaptain Cuellar describes the stronghold thus: \u201cThe castle is very\nstrong, and very difficult to take if they do not (even though they\nshould) attack it with artillery, for it is founded in a lake of very\ndeep water which is more than a league wide at some parts, and three or\nfour leagues long, and has an outlet to the sea; and, besides, with the\nrise of spring tides it is not possible to enter it, for which reason\nthe castle could not be taken by water nor by the shore of the land\nthat is nearest to it. Neither could injury be done it, because (for)\na league round the town, which is established on the mainland, it is\nmarshy, breast-deep, so that even the inhabitants (natives) could not\nget to it except by paths.\u201d\n\nAs the Spanish captain never mentions the name of the fortress, its\nidentification with Rossclogher has been called in question, chiefly\nbecause the measurements are much greater than those of Lough Melvin (a\nleague equalling 3\u00b766 miles), but all the distances in the narrative\nare greatly overstated. Again, Lough Melvin has not been open to the\nsea within the historic period. A map, however, of 1609 in the British\nMuseum represents the river which drains it as being nearly as wide\nas the Erne, and we do not read that Cuellar personally explored its\noutlet.\n\nIn all other matters the castle accurately answers to his description,\nand no other building has ever been put forward as the probable scene\nof the siege.\n\nWhen the Lord Deputy appeared upon the shore (with, Cuellar says, one\nthousand eight hundred men) he could not get nearer than a mile and a\nhalf on account of the marshy ground. From this it would seem that he\narrived at the point of Rossfriar on the north-west shore of the lough.\nHe then hanged two Spaniards as a warning, and demanded by a trumpeter\nthe surrender of the castle, promising the garrison a free pass to\nSpain. This they pretended not to understand.\n\nThe siege lasted seventeen days, when a great snowstorm obliged the\nDeputy to return south.\n\nUpon this episode the State Papers are silent; the Lord Deputy merely\ngiving the following account of his northern expedition. \u201cFirst,\ntherefore, it may please your lordships, I undertook the journey the\n4th November, and finished the same the 23rd of this instant, December,\nbeing seven weeks and one day, returning without loss of any one of Her\nMajesty\u2019s army.\u201d\n\nWhen the English forces had retired MacClancy returned in great delight\nand f\u00eated the Spaniards. He offered his sister to Cuellar in marriage,\nbut this was declined. The chief decided to keep the foreigners as his\nguard, by force if necessary, but they hearing this left secretly.\nAfter much hardship Cuellar eventually crossed to Scotland from\nDunluce, and from thence to Antwerp.\n\nIn 1590 MacClancy\u2019s death is officially recorded as follows:\n\u201cM\u2019Glannaghe ran for a lough which was near, and tried to save himself\nby swimming, but a shot broke his arm, and a gallowglass brought him\nashore. He was the best killed man in Connaught a long time. He was the\nmost barbarous creature in Ireland, and had always 100 knaves about\nhim. He would never come before any officer. His country extended from\nGrange beyond Sligo till you come to Ballyshannon. He was O\u2019Rourke\u2019s\nright hand. He had some 14 Spaniards, some of whom were taken alive.\u201d\n\nThus in trying to reach Rossclogher fortress MacClancy lost his life,\nhis head being exhibited in triumph.\n\nThe estates of the sept were forfeited in 1641, and the island fortress\nnow belongs to St. George Robert Johnston, Esq., of Kinlough House, the\nvillage of Kinlough being near the ruins.\n\nUpon approaching Lough Melvin from one direction at about a mile\ndistant the castle of Rossclogher bears a most remarkable resemblance\nto a ship in full sail upon the lake.\n\n\n AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.\n\n H. Allingham, \u201cCaptain Cuellar\u2019s Adventures in Connaught and\n Ulster,\u201d with Translation of Narrative, by R. Crawford.\n Donovan, \u201cAnnals of the Four Masters.\u201d\n O\u2019Reilly, \u201cRemarks on Captain Cuellar\u2019s\n Narrative,\u201d in Proceedings of Royal Irish Academy.\n\n\n\n\n_SHANE\u2019S CASTLE_\n\n \u201cIn th\u2019 historic pages of Erin\u2019s green isle\n How bright shines the name of old Phelim the brave,\n Who lived where the groves of Shane\u2019s Castle now smile,\n And Neagh\u2019s crystal waters the green meadows lave.\u201d\n J. S. M. C.\n\n\nThe ancient name of this fortress was Edan-dubh-Cairrge, meaning \u201cthe\nfront or brow of the black rock.\u201d\n\nIt is situated near the village of Randalstown, about two miles and a\nquarter north-west of Antrim. The present demesne, which extends for\ntwo miles along the northern shore of Lough Neagh, is bisected by the\nriver Main.\n\nThe castle has not been inhabited since it was burnt down on the 15th\nof May, 1816. A large addition was being erected at the time, and it\nas well as the older buildings were all consumed. Only the beautiful\nconservatory and the fortified terrace escaped uninjured. Several\nturrets and towers still stand to indicate its former extent and\ngrandeur.\n\nA passage about a hundred yards in length runs underground from the\ncastle to the adjacent graveyard, and was the servants\u2019 entrance to the\nmansion. Connected with this are great vaults which were built at the\nsame time as the conservatory and the rooms near, so as to raise the\naddition above the level of the Lough, and give the building a better\nfrontage.\n\nAn old safe is still to be seen in one of the castle walls, and not far\nfrom it a curious figure-head, supposed by\n\n[Illustration: SHANE\u2019S CASTLE.]\n\nsome to have been brought from the East and to belong to a much earlier\ndate than the ruins among which it stands. Tradition states that when\nit falls the family of O\u2019Neill will come to an end.\n\nIt is recorded that in 1490 Edan-dubh-Cairrge, the castle of Niale,\nthe son of Con, son of Hugh Boy, was taken and demolished by Felim,\ngrandson of Niale Boy. It is probable that the present ruins are the\nremains of a castle which was erected in the sixteenth century upon\nthe site of an older fortress, though the exact date of building is\nuncertain.\n\nEdenduffcarrick belonged to the O\u2019Neills of Clandaboy, and a younger\nbranch of the great Tyrone family.\n\nThey were descendants of Hugh O\u2019Neill, surnamed _buide_ or\n_boy_--yellow-haired, from which fact the district got its name.\n\nIn Queen Elizabeth\u2019s reign Sir Brian MacPhelim O\u2019Neill usurped the\nO\u2019Neill estates with the help of the English, but they were shortly\nafterwards confiscated and bestowed by the Crown on Sir Thomas Smith.\n\nIn 1573 there is a memorandum by Secretary Smith offering to give up to\nthe Earl of Essex upon certain conditions \u201cBelfast, Massareen, Castle\nMowbray _alias_ Eden Doucarg (now Edenduffcarrick or Shane\u2019s castle, in\nthe county of Antrim) and Castle Toome.\u201d\n\nAfter the treacherous seizing and execution of Sir Brian in 1574 a\nfierce struggle for possession of Clandaboy began between his son\nShane MacBrian and a cousin, Neal Oge. In 1583 Captain Thomas Norreys\ncaptured the castle of Edenduffcarrick from Hugh Oge and handed it over\nto Shane as Captain of Lower Clandaboy.\n\nA writer about 1586, describing Antrim, states that Edenduffcarrig and\nBelfast were the only wardable castles at that time.\n\nIn 1588-89 Lower Clandaboy was divided between Shane M\u2019Brian M\u2019Felim\nO\u2019Neill, and Neale M\u2019Hue, son of Hue M\u2019Felim. The latter was granted\nthe castle with a fourth of the country and followers, but as he\nwas unable to provide the pledges required for the safe delivery\nof the castle and the payment of rent, he was imprisoned in Dublin\nCastle until he could find them. In the meantime his men garrisoned\nEdenduffcarrick.\n\nShane M\u2019Brian O\u2019Neill endeavoured to get possession of North Clandaboy\nin 1591 for himself and his heirs, and the Government received warning\nthat it would be best for them to keep Shane\u2019s Castle in their own\nhands, especially as it could be used to guard the fisheries of Lough\nNeagh, where a \u201ccivil English plantation\u201d might be formed.\n\nThe same year Shane and his cousin Neale agreed to submit to\narbitration regarding the division of North Clandaboy. Commissioners\nwere, therefore, appointed by the Lord Deputy, and Shane\u2019s Castle was\nreserved to the Crown according to advice.\n\nThe Earl of Tyrone formed a camp near the castle in 1593-94, and the\nSheriff of Antrim appealed to the Lord Deputy for a guard to be put in\nEdenduffcarrick, saying that otherwise the country was unprotected, and\nthat it \u201cis the only mark that these fellows shoot at.\u201d\n\nAfter this the castle seems to have been allowed to fall into decay,\nfor in 1596 Mr. Francis Shane, discoursing about the rebellion in\nUlster, states that upon the edge of Lough Neagh \u201cstandeth a ruinated\npile called Edendowcarrick,\u201d which being made wardable could be\nconverted into a store for provisioning Blackwater and Coleraine in\ncase of sea storms.\n\nLater it was evidently taken possession of by Shane M\u2019Brian O\u2019Neill,\nwho had joined with his great namesake and kinsman, the Earl of Tyrone,\nfor in 1597 Sir John Chichester, with the help of Neale M\u2019Haghe (the\nother claimant to Clandaboy) took the castle from him. It was a\nsomewhat unexpected victory, as Sir John did not at first intend the\ncapture. He had divided his forces into three companies of a hundred\nmen each. One party he sent to seize some horses of the enemy, the\nsecond was detailed to harass the rebels, and the third, which he\nhimself commanded, was intended to prevent a sally from the castle. The\ngarrison did make an attempt to issue forth, and he presently came up\n\u201cpell mell with them,\u201d and entered the bawn.\n\nAfter two assaults the English came so near that they set the building\non fire. It was said to have contained large stores, and that its loss\nwas a great bridle to the Earl of Tyrone.\n\nAfter this the chieftains of both the Clandaboys laid down their arms\nand gave hostages.\n\nThe castle had not long been in Government hands when the warders,\nalthough well provisioned by the help of Shane M\u2019Brian (now siding with\nthe English), made a raid upon the country people, and carried off a\nnumber of horses.\n\nNeill M\u2019Hugh M\u2019Phelim, having escaped from prison, took up the people\u2019s\ncause and assaulted the castle. They broke the bawn and burned the\ndoor of the main keep, whereupon the garrison killed their prey in the\ncellar, and as it is reported, \u201cby this wilful accident put the house\nin danger.\u201d\n\nA new door was ordered, and also a more plentiful stock of provisions\nfor the garrison.\n\nIn 1598 Sir Hugh O\u2019Neill resided at Edenduffcarrick, it having passed\nagain out of the hands of the Government.\n\nIn 1607 King James I. finally settled the castle and estate upon the\ndescendants of Shane MacBrian O\u2019Neill. It is most likely that the\npresent name of Shane\u2019s Castle is derived from this man. Richard Dobbs\nuses this designation in 1683, so that the popular belief that the name\nwas altered by French John who came into possession in 1716 is clearly\nerroneous. He was called \u201cFrench\u201d John because, being of a younger\nbranch, he had made his own way in the world engaged in the wool trade\nabroad. When he came into possession of the estate he displayed in the\ncastle hall the very wool-cards he had used in his poorer days to show\nhe was not ashamed of his calling. It was he who built the family vault\nin the adjacent graveyard in 1722.\n\nIn 1798 the first Viscount O\u2019Neill, who was then the family\nrepresentative, rode into Antrim on the day of the battle of that town.\nHe received a mortal wound from a pike in his side, and being conveyed\nby boat to Shane\u2019s Castle, he lingered for a fortnight. It is supposed\nthat it was at his wife\u2019s instigation that he enlarged the castle\ndemesne and removed the ancient village of Edenduffcarrick.\n\nA most interesting note from Mrs. Siddon\u2019s diary, mentioning her visit\nto the castle in 1783, is as follows:--\n\n\u201cWhen my Dublin engagement concluded I made a visit to Shane\u2019s Castle,\nthe magnificent residence of Mr. and Mrs. O\u2019Neill. I have not words to\ndescribe the beauty and splendour of this enchanting place, which, I\nam sorry to say, has since been destroyed by a tremendous fire. Here\nwere often assembled the talent, and rank, and beauty of Ireland.\nAmong the persons of the Leinster family whom I met here was poor Lord\nEdward Fitzgerald, the most amiable, honourable, though misguided,\nyouth I ever knew. The luxury of this establishment almost inspired\nthe recollections of an Arabian Night\u2019s entertainment. Six or eight\ncarriages, with a numerous throng of lords and ladies on horseback,\nbegan the day by making excursions around this terrestrial paradise,\nreturning home just in time to dress for dinner. The table was served\nwith a profusion and elegance to which I have never seen anything\ncomparable. The sideboards were decorated with adequate magnificence,\non which appeared immense silver flagons containing claret. A fine\nband of musicians played during the whole of the repast. They were\nstationed in the corridors which led into a fine conservatory, where we\nplucked our dessert from numerous trees of the most exquisite fruits.\nThe foot of the conservatory was washed by the waves of a superb lake,\nfrom which the cool and pleasant wind came to murmur in concert with\nthe harmony from the corridor. The graces of the presiding genius, the\nlovely mistress of the mansion, seem to blend with the whole scene.\u201d\n\nThe great fire already alluded to occurred in 1816, and is supposed to\nhave originated in a chimney where jackdaws were building. It quickly\nspread to the drawing-room, and nothing was saved except the family\npapers and plate. A most valuable library and many pictures were\ndestroyed.\n\nThe sky was crimson for miles round, and people flocked to all the\nadjacent hills to witness the magnificent sight.\n\nThe present family residence is about a quarter of a mile from the old\ncastle. The owner, Lord O\u2019Neill, is the 2nd Baron, the former title\nhaving become extinct in 1855.\n\n\u201cThe Rockery,\u201d formed from an ancient quarry and stocked with rare\nplants, is one of the attractions of the demesne.\n\n\n AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.\n\n Calendar of State Papers.\n Calendar of Carew MSS.\n G. Hill, \u201cMacdonnells of Antrim.\u201d\n W. S. Smith, \u201cShane\u2019s Castle.\u201d\n Donovan, \u201cAnnals of the Four Masters.\u201d\n Parliamentary Gazetteer.\n W. S. Smith, \u201cMemories of \u201998\u201d; G. Hill,\n \u201cShane\u2019s Castle\u201d; \u201cOrigin and\n Characteristics of the Population\n in the Counties of Down and Antrim,\u201d\n and Notes, all in _Ulster Journal of Arch\u00e6ology_.\n\n\n\n\n_SWORDS CASTLE_\n\n\nAbout seven miles from Dublin, on the chief highway to the North,\nis situated the town of Swords, Sword, Surd, or Swerdes, as it is\nvariously termed in ancient manuscripts. From the earliest ages of\nChristianity the church founded by St. Columbkille, with its attendant\noffices and monastery, made the neighbourhood a powerful ecclesiastical\ncentre; so that, when in later years the church lands of Swords became\njoined to the see of Dublin, they formed no inconsiderable part of the\nArchbishop\u2019s revenue.\n\nIn the Bull of Pope Alexander III. in 1179 to St. Laurence O\u2019Toole,\nArchbishop of Dublin, confirming his archiepiscopal see, Sword is\nplaced second on the list of churches in importance.\n\nTherefore it is not surprising that the Englishmen who succeeded\nO\u2019Toole in the see of Dublin should have erected their country\nresidence in a town, from the surrounding lands of which they derived\nso much of their income.\n\nThe site for the castle or palace was chosen on the east bank of Swords\nRiver, and the area covered by the buildings was more extensive than is\nusual for a Norman fortress, while the defences were somewhat less, as\nwe hear no mention, nor see any remains, of the keep, which forms so\nuniversal a feature of the chief baronial strongholds.\n\nAuthorities place the date of building variously between 1184 and 1282,\nwhich gives a somewhat wide margin, but its erection is most generally\nassigned to John Comyn, the first English Archbishop of Dublin, who\nwas elected at Evesham, 1181, and who was one of those to welcome\nPrince John at Waterford in 1185. An inquisition of 1265 finds that\nthere was a constable of the castle in this Archbishop\u2019s time.\n\nThe palace was built in castellated style, and the range of embattled\nwalls flanked with towers is still complete. The warders\u2019 walk is yet\neasy to trace. Over the gateway were the apartments for the guard, and\njust below is still visible the bakehouse chimney, of which mention\nwill be made later.\n\n[Illustration: SWORDS CASTLE.]\n\nLike so many of the castles of Leinster, Swords provided for years\na convenient quarry for the neighbourhood, and what had once been\ncorner stones of a palace went to support the thatched roofs of the\nsurrounding cabins, so that few of the buildings which stood inside the\nbattlements are now traceable.\n\nIn the line of walls is a large window which once occupied the gable\nend of what is likely to have been the great hall. The mullions of this\nwindow, which remained intact until recently, were remarkable for being\nof red sandstone, which is unknown in the country.\n\nThe situation of the chapel may still be discerned by the remnants of\nsome of the stone carving which once adorned its sacred walls.\n\nIn 1192 Archbishop Comyn obtained a patent authorising him to hold an\nannual fair in his manor of Swords, and in 1387 this privilege was\nconfirmed to Robert de Wikeford.\n\nKing Henry III. enlarged the possessions and added new privileges to\nthe manor, which he granted to Henry de Loundres in 1216, on condition\nthat he should build and maintain Castlekevin, near Glendalough, County\nWicklow, to defend the pale in that quarter from the invasions of the\ngreat Irish families of O\u2019Toole and O\u2019Byrne.\n\nWe read later (1380) that Sir Nicholas Daggeworth seized the manor of\nSwords as Commissioner of Forfeitures, on the plea that the conditions\nabove stated had not been complied with. He, however, afterwards\nconfessed that the charge had not been proved, and therefore a writ of\nrestitution was issued by the Treasurers and Barons of the Exchequer to\nRobert de Wykeford, Archbishop of Dublin.\n\nThe great prelates seem to have lived in almost royal state within\ntheir manor of Swords. They had their own seneschal, who was exempt\nfrom the authority of the sheriff of the county, and the law courts.\nThe archbishops could try every case except the four pleas of the\nCrown, and their gallows was erected near the town on an eminence since\nknown as Gallows Hill. Every writ issued from the civil courts had to\nbe transferred to the prelates\u2019 seneschal before it could be served.\n\nThe office of chief constable of the palace was a post of considerable\nimportance, and survived the occupation of the castle for a\nconsiderable time. William Galrote held the position in 1220, Sampson\nde Crumba in 1240, and Thomas Fitzsimons in 1547.\n\nIn 1624 we read that Patrick Barnewell, of Grace Dieu, received\npardon for alienation of certain interests, amongst which was the\nConstableship of Swords with ten acres in the Broad Meadow that\nbelonged to the office.\n\nIt was most likely in connection with this post that the Lords of\nKingsland were required to attend the Archbishop whenever he visited\nSwords, and to hold his stirrup as he mounted or dismounted, for which\nservice they held lands to the value of some \u00a3300 a year.\n\nIt seems to be uncertain at what exact period the castle ceased to\nbe used as a residence by the Archbishops, but in 1324 Alexander de\nBicknor built the archiepiscopal palace of Tallaght, which was used as\na country seat for the Archbishops for centuries, and only ceased to be\nconsidered as a palace in 1821.\n\nIt is most likely, therefore, that the invasion of Ireland by Edward\nBruce, brother to the King of Scotland, rendered the position of Swords\npalace (which was not wholly built for defence) a somewhat dangerous\none, as Bruce, having his headquarters at Dundalk, was in possession of\nthe country almost up to the walls of Dublin.\n\nIn 1326 this same Alexander de Bicknor having displeased Edward II.,\nand also being in arrears with his accounts as Lord Treasurer, the\nprofits of his See were seized by the King to compensate for the\ndeficiency, and in order to ascertain their real value inquisitions by\njurors were held on the different manors.\n\nThe finding as regards the palace of Swords was as follows:--\n\n\u201cWho being sworn, say on oath, that there is in this place a hall,\nand the chamber adjoining said hall, the walls of which are of stone,\ncrenelated after the manner of a castle, and covered with shingles.\n\n\u201cFurther, there is a kitchen, together with a larder, the walls of\nwhich are of stone, roofed with shingles. And there is in the same\nplace a chapel, the walls of which are of stone, roofed with shingles.\nAlso there was in the same a chamber for friars, with a cloister,\nwhich is now prostrate. Also, there are in the same place a chamber,\nor apartment, for the constables by the gate, and four chambers for\nsoldiers and warders, roofed with shingles, under which are a stable\nand bake-house.\n\n\u201cAlso, there were here a house for a dairy, and a workshop, which are\nnow prostrate. Also, there is on the premises in the haggard a shed\nmade of planks, and thatched with straw. Also, a granary, built with\ntimber and roofed with boards. Also, a byre, for the housing of farm\nhorses and bullocks.\n\n\u201cThe profits of all the above-recited premises, they return as of\nno value, because nothing is to be derived from them, either in the\nletting of the houses, or in any other way. And they need thorough\nrepair, inasmuch as they are badly roofed.\u201d\n\nThis gives some idea of the lost buildings, and also shows that even at\nthis date the castle was beginning to decay.\n\nLater the manor of Swords seems several times to have been granted\nto archbishops who wished during their lives to resign the arduous\nduties of the See. In 1484 we read that \u201cDoctor Walton, Archbishop of\nDublin, being blind and infirm, resigned his dignity, and reserved to\nhimself for a maintenance the manor of Swords during his life, which\nreservation was confirmed to him by Act of Parliament during the\nfollowing year.\u201d And again, in 1562, it is recorded that, by Act of\nParliament, John, late Archbishop of Dublin, was assured the manor of\nSwords for his life in consideration of surrendering the bishopric to\nWalter FitzSymons.\n\nThere is no evidence to show that these aged prelates ever resided in\nthe castle, and as the following extract, written in 1583, records its\nstate of ruin, it is most likely they were content with the revenues\nalone.\n\nSir Henry Sydney, Lord Deputy in Queen Elizabeth\u2019s reign, when sending\nto Sir Francis Walsingham a summary of his services in Ireland, says:\n\u201cI caused to plant and inhabit there about forty families of the\nreformed churches of the Low Countries, flying thence for religion\u2019s\nsake, in one ruinous town called Surds (Swords). And truly (Sir) it\nwould have done any man good to have seen how diligently they wrought,\nhow they re-edified the quite spoiled old castle of the same town and\nrepaired almost all the same, and how godly and cleanly they, their\nwives and children lived. They made diaper and ticks for beds, and\nother good stuff for man\u2019s use, and excellent good leather of deer\nskins, goat and sheep fells, as is made at Southwark.\u201d\n\nUpon the disestablishment of the Church of Ireland the castle ground\nwas purchased by the late Charles Cobbe, Esq., who leased it to the\nlate Henry Baker, Esq., whose successor still holds the land.\n\nThe ground enclosed by the walls is at present laid out as an orchard\nand garden, and the castellated battlements, which were built to\nprotect the royal state of wealthy prelates, have now no sterner duty\nthan to shelter the delicate apple blossoms from the harsh spring\nwinds, and to catch the sun-rays for the ripening fruit.\n\n\n AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.\n\n Right Rev. W. Reeves, D.D., Pamphlet 011 \u201cAntiquities of Swords.\u201d\n Rev. Canon Twigg, MS. Paper read to Antiquarian Society.\n Grose, \u201cAntiquities of Ireland.\u201d\n D\u2019Alton, \u201cHistory of County Dublin.\u201d\n D\u2019Alton, \u201cArchbishops of Dublin.\u201d\n Calendar of Carew MSS.\n\n\n\n\n_TILLYRA CASTLE_\n\n\nNot far from Ardrahan, in the County Galway, stands this castle, which\noriginally belonged to the Burkes or De Burgos. We read that Ulick, 3rd\nEarl of Clanricarde, married a daughter of Burke of Tullyra, but it\nseems to have passed to the Martyns during the sixteenth century. This\nis generally supposed to have been through marriage. Hogan mentions the\nMartins of Tillyra in 1598.\n\nIn one of the upper chambers is carved the date 1614, accompanied by\nthe initials \u201cS. B.\u201d\n\nA somewhat modern doorway opening into the courtyard is surmounted by\na stone shield bearing the Martyn arms. They are said to have been\npresented to the family by Richard I., who was accompanied by Oliver\nMartyn when he went to the Holy Land.\n\nUnderneath the arms on the right side are the letters \u201cR.M.,\u201d and on\nthe left \u201cC. M.\u201d\n\nIn 1702 Oliver Martin of Tulliry, Esq., was allowed to retain his lands\nafter the rebellion, because he had assisted so many Protestants during\nthe insurrection. This was an almost unique concession at the time.\n\nThe present owner, Mr. Edward Martyn, of literary fame, has recently\nerected a beautiful modern mansion near the old fortress.\n\n\n AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.\n\n J. Fahey, \u201cHistory and Antiquities of the Diocese of Kilmacduagh.\u201d\n J. Hardiman, \u201cHistory of Galway.\u201d\n Hogan, \u201cDescription of Ireland, 1598.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n_TIMON CASTLE_\n\n\nThis fortress was one of the castles of the Pale, and is situated in\nthe County of Dublin on the right-hand side of the road which leads\nfrom Balrothery to Greenhills.\n\nThe name Timon or Timothan is derived from _Teach-Munna_, signifying\n\u201cthe house of St. Munna.\u201d\n\nThe stronghold is built upon an esker and is therefore conspicuous for\na considerable distance round.\n\nThere seems to be no trace of outworks, which were probably unnecessary\nowing to the castle having formerly been surrounded by marshes. In\nrecent years the land has been drained and the water carried off by a\nsmall stream which crosses the road near the castle and is a tributary\nof the Poddle.\n\nThe building consists of a square keep with a projecting stair tower\nadjoining the south-west angle, which is now covered with ivy. The main\nstructure was formerly divided into two floors by an arched roof over\nthe lower room. The battlement slightly projects. The east wall has\nbeen destroyed, while about two-thirds of the north wall and some of\nthe south have gone. The western side is still perfect.\n\nThere is a narrow window splayed outwards on the ground floor, while\nseveral \u201cslit\u201d windows and larger openings are noticeable at different\nheights. There are a few recesses in the walls.\n\nA flue projection resting on two corbels is to be seen near the summit,\nand also a walk inside the battlements at the top of the tower.\n\nThe entrance was in the west wall, and a small machicolation for\npouring lead or water on an enemy was situated over the arched doorway.\nThere were holes at each side of the entrance for securing it with\nwooden bars.\n\nA great rent now runs from base to summit of the ruin.\n\nA view of the castle as it was in 1770 is published in Handcock\u2019s\n\u201cHistory of Tallaght.\u201d\n\nThe fortress is supposed to have been erected in the reign of King\nJohn, who granted the manor to Henry de Loundres for his expenses\nincurred in fortifying Dublin Castle. This grant was confirmed in 1231.\n\nTimon was constituted a prebend of St. Patrick\u2019s in 1247, and it is so\nstill, but without endowment, though in 1306 it was valued at \u00a310 a\nyear.\n\nIn an inquisition in 1547 it is described as a \u201cruinous fortress,\u201d\nand three years later being a suppressed prebend it was granted to\nBartholomew Cusack for twenty-one years. Two or three years later the\nlands were granted to James Sedgrove, after which they were purchased\nby Sir Charles Wilmot, from whom they passed to the Loftus family.\n\nDudley Loftus was in possession of the castle when he died in 1616, and\nin 1618 the property was confirmed to Sir Adam Loftus.\n\nWilliam Conolly purchased the estate, which still remains in his family.\n\nSome peasantry inhabited the castle towards the close of the eighteenth\ncentury.\n\nThere was once a village of Timon, of which no trace now remains.\n\n\n AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.\n\n D\u2019Alton, \u201cHistory of County Dublin.\u201d\n Handcock, \u201cHistory of Tallaght.\u201d\n Joyce, \u201cRambles Around Dublin,\u201d in _Evening Telegraph_ Reprints.\n Dix, \u201cLesser Castles of the County Dublin,\u201d in _Irish Builder_.\n Joyce, \u201cIrish Names of Places.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n_TRALEE CASTLE_\n\n\nThe town of Tralee, formerly Traleigh, meaning the \u201cstrand of the River\nLeigh,\u201d is situated in the Barony of Trughenackmy, in the County Kerry.\nIt is nearly two miles east-north-east of Tralee Harbour, and the Lee\nRivulet, from which it takes its name, formerly filled the moat of\nthe great castle. Sir Thomas Denny made it run along the Mall in the\neighteenth century, and it is now covered over.\n\nThe town had originally four castles, only two of which were standing\nduring the famous siege of 1641. Short Castle had disappeared in 1756,\nwhile the great castle was demolished in 1826 by consent of its owner,\nSir Edward Denny, for the improvement of the town. Its former site, and\nthat of the bowling green attached, is now occupied by the handsome\nthoroughfare known as Denny Street. The entrance to the castle demesne\nor \u201cgreen,\u201d is at the top of this street, and the public have always\nhad access to it.\n\nThe great mahogany doors from the castle may still be seen, cut down to\nfit ordinary doorways, in the houses in Denny Street belonging to Sir\nJohn Neligan and Mr. Francis M\u2019G. Denny. Mr. Denny also possesses some\nparts of a grey stone mantelpiece carved in high relief with the Denny\narms, crest, and motto, which also came from the old fortress.\n\nThis last castle was a restoration of the chief seat of the Desmond\nFitzGeralds for close on four hundred years.\n\nThere are several versions of the legend which accounts for the crest\nand supporters of the Geraldines being represented by monkeys. One of\nthese is that in 1261, after the battle of Callen, where MacCarthy\nReigh slew the chief heads of the Munster FitzGeralds, only a little\nbaby of eight months old, at nurse in Tralee, was left to represent\nthe great family. Upon hearing the news of the disaster the child\u2019s\nattendants rushed into the streets, when to their horror they presently\nbeheld their charge exhibited on the battlements of the castle in the\narms of a pet ape. The animal, however, returned the baby unharmed to\nhis cradle, and afterwards this Desmond was known as \u201cThomas a Nappagh\u201d\nor \u201cof the ape.\u201d Some authorities mention the abbey as the scene of the\nchild\u2019s escape.\n\nSir Henry Sidney, in his report on Munster, declared that there\nwould be \u201cneither peace nor order in the South, until the palatine\njurisdiction of both Ormond and Desmond (East and South Munster) were\nreduced.\u201d\n\nTherefore, in 1576 Sir William Drury, Lord President of Munster,\ndeclared his intention of giving the Queen\u2019s writ currency in the\npalatinate.\n\nAt the Council the Earl of Desmond tried to dissuade him, but being\nunsuccessful he offered him hospitality during his visit.\n\nUpon approaching Tralee the Lord President was met by seven or eight\nhundred armed men who emerged from the cover of the wood, and rushed\ntowards him shouting and brandishing their weapons. Sir William, not\nknowing whether the display was friendly or otherwise, determined to be\non the safe side, and gathering his body guard of a hundred and twenty\nmen round him, he charged the on-coming troop, who did not wait for an\nattack, but withdrew as hastily as they had advanced.\n\nThe President rode on to the castle, where he demanded admittance and\nexplanation, both of which were given to him by the Countess, who\nreceived him at the entrance, and assured him (or endeavoured to do so)\nthat he had but received an Irish welcome, and that her husband had\nmeant no harm, but awaited him in the fortress to go hunting.\n\nIn 1579 Sir William Drury, then Lord Deputy, sent Henry Danvers to the\nDesmonds to enlist their aid in repelling a threatened invasion of some\nforeign mercenaries. This he failed to do, and upon his return journey\nhe slept a night in Tralee Castle, having formerly been a great friend\nof Sir John of Desmond, the Earl\u2019s brother. This friendship is said to\nhave weakened Sir John\u2019s influence among his countrymen, and that in\nconsequence he determined to show it had ceased to exist. Be that as\nit may, he demanded admittance to the castle during the night, and he\nand his followers murdered Sir Henry Danvers, the Justices Meade and\nCharters, and their servants, while they slept. It is said that Danvers\nawoke and seeing Sir John said, \u201cMy son, what is the matter?\u201d But his\nmurderer answered, \u201cNo more of son, no more of father, make thyself\nready, for die thou shalt.\u201d\n\nTradition always pointed out a room in the castle as the scene of the\nmurder, which had a small room off it in the thickness of the walls,\nfrom which access was obtained to a narrow stairway and postern. This\nwas commonly called the \u201cmurdering hole,\u201d and regarded with great\nsuperstition.\n\nA despatch to Cecil in 1580 states \u201call the houses in Trally burnte and\nthe castles raised.\u201d\n\nThe Earl of Desmond\u2019s estate was forfeited in 1583.\n\n\u201cTraylye\u201d was granted to Sir Edward Denny in 1587, and delivered to him\nby Mr. Thomas Norreys.\n\nThe castle was at this time in a ruined condition, and when the family\ncame to Ireland they resided at Carrignafeely Manor until the close of\nJames I.\u2019s reign.\n\nThe \u201cSugan\u201d Earl of Desmond seized the fortress in 1599 and employed a\nhundred and fifty men to undermine it. Sir Charles Wilmot surprised the\nrebels with fifty horse. He killed thirty-two, and seized the arms of\nabout a hundred more while the rest escaped to the mountains.\n\nIn 1627 Edward Denny, grandson to the first grantee, began to rebuild\nthe stronghold.\n\nUpon the breaking out of the rebellion in 1641 Sir Edward Denny\ncollected his English tenants and the loyal Irish, and they fortified\nthemselves in the two castles. Lady Denny and her children went to\nEngland, while Sir Edward joined the President. His step-father, Sir\nThomas Harris, took command of the Tralee garrisons, but it was not\nuntil early in the following year that the Irish laid siege to the\ntown, under the command of Florence Carty with six hundred men.\n\nThe guns of Short Castle opened fire, but nevertheless the Irish raided\nthe town. They stripped or murdered all the inhabitants they captured,\nand hundreds fled to the two strongholds for protection.\n\nUpon the 10th of February a spy named Laurence gained admittance to\nthe larger castle, on the plea of seeing the Governor, who was asleep.\nHe carried a pass from the rebel poet, Pierce Ferriter, who commanded\nthe Irish forces in the district. His movements at length awakening\nsuspicion he was taken prisoner.\n\nShortly after this the Irish took possession of the town during the\nnight. The guns of both castles played with little effect, and some of\nthe inhabitants were drawn up into Short Castle by ropes. The Provost,\nwho had left the town to see to some outlying property, was prevented\nreturning, and Sir Thomas Harris had command of both castles, a line\nfrom the top of each conveying letters from one fortress to the other.\n\nAbout four hundred persons fled to the strongholds, so that the\nprovisions intended to last two years gave out in seven months. Water\nfailed, and although thirteen wells were sunk twenty feet each, only\nthick black water could be procured.\n\nCaptain Ferriter and a townsman of Tralee demanded a parley with Sir\nThomas and asked him to surrender, but he refused.\n\nThey then hauled \u201csow\u201d engines against the strongholds. The one sent\nagainst the great castle was smashed by a small cannon ball, and a\ncooper in Short Castle dislodged a pinnacle of the building on the top\nof the other, which they afterwards burnt. The Irish lost about twenty\nmen and their engines in the attack.\n\nAn effort was made to relieve the town by sea, but the small force sent\nfor the purpose was entirely routed.\n\nWhen the siege had lasted about six months Sir Thomas Harris fell ill\nand died through bad water and anxiety.\n\nImmediately after the provisions giving out the garrisons capitulated,\nthe terms being their lives and a suit of clothes each. Most of them\njoined Colonel Crosbie in Ballingarry fortress on an island in the\nShannon.\n\nOf the six hundred within the castles of Tralee three hundred died\nduring the siege. They were reduced to eating bran, tallow, and raw\nhides.\n\nThe castles were burnt upon being surrendered.\n\nThe great castle was shortly afterwards restored, but in 1691 it was\nagain burned, by Sir James Colter\u2019s orders, and when the Royalists\nwere defeated at Lixnaw the two Irish officers who carried out the\norder would have been hanged but for the intervention of Colonel Edward\nDenny. The famous \u201cDenny Bible\u201d in which this conflagration is recorded\nbelongs to Tralee church, to which it was presented by the Denny family.\n\nIn 1698 the House of Commons decided to help in the rebuilding of the\ncastle.\n\nThis fortress was of an L shape, but Sir Edward Denny, 3rd baronet,\nwho succeeded to the title in 1795, added another wing in 1804, which\ncontained several fine saloons, a large hall with a handsome circular\nstaircase and other apartments. Soon after 1820 Sir Edward went to live\nin England.\n\nA black coach, with headless horses and coachman, was formerly said to\ndrive through Tralee upon the death of one of the Denny family, and if\nany one looked out at it, a basin of blood was thrown in his face. Of\nlater years a banshee is said to have taken its place.\n\n\n AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.\n\n C. Smith, \u201cState of the County Kerry.\u201d\n M. A. Hickson, \u201cOld Kerry Records.\u201d\n \u201cThe Antiquities of Tralee,\u201d in _Kerry Magazine_.\n J. J. Howard, \u201cMiscellanea Genealogica.\u201d\n M. Hickson, \u201cIreland in the Seventeenth Century.\u201d\n Gilbert, \u201cThe Castle of Dublin,\u201d in _Dublin University Magazine_.\n Marquis of Kildare, \u201cEarls of Kildare.\u201d\n Carew MSS.\n Parliamentary Gazetteer.\n\n\n\n\n_TRIM CASTLE_\n\n \u201cWhat! rate--rebuke--and roughly send to prison\n The immediate heir of England! Was this easy?\n May this be washed in Lethe--and forgotten?\u201d\n SHAKESPEARE.\n\n\nThe ancient name of Trim was Ath Truim, signifying \u201cthe ford of the\nboortrees\u201d or elders, the latter half of which appellation alone\nremains. It is situated on the Boyne, twenty-two and a half miles\nnorth-west by west of Dublin on the Enniskillen road.\n\nThe castle lies east of the town, on the right bank of the river, and\nhas been said to be the only castle in Ireland deserving the name. It\nis certainly the finest specimen of the Anglo-Norman fortress, and\nwas one of the chief strongholds of the Pale. It occupies a sloping\nmound and its walls enclose a triangular area of about three acres,\nwhich measures 486 yards in circumference, and was protected by eight\ncircular flanking towers at nearly equal distances and two gate towers.\n\nThe north-east side was formerly washed by the Boyne, but now a low\nmeadow intervenes.\n\nOn the west or town side a gate-tower occupies the centre. The grooves\nfor the portcullis are still perfect, and from abutting masonry it\nwould appear that there had once been a drawbridge and barbican. The\nlower portion of the tower is rectangular and the upper part octagonal.\n\nIn the southern side is a circular gate tower of Gothic shape. Here\nalso are the portcullis grooves visible and a recess for the windlass,\nas well as the remains of arches over the moat, and a barbican beyond.\n\nA moat or ditch surrounded the fortress, on the two sides not washed by\nthe Boyne, which was supplied with water by a small stream.\n\nWhere the town wall joined the castle at the south-west angle a mound\nof earth has been artificially raised to the height of the castle wall.\nThis was probably done for the mounting of cannon when the castle was\nre-fortified in 1647.\n\nOne of the towers near this mound was cleared in 1836. It is of three\nstoreys, and the upper part was found to be a pigeon-house, having\nholes for 60 or 80 pair, while the lower storey contained a postern\nleading to the level of the moat water. In 1425 it is recorded that the\nKing granted the custody of the dove-cot to Thomas Brown, with pasture\ncalled the Castle Orchard.\n\nThe north angle of the bawn contains the ruins of several buildings,\none being of three storeys with a high gable, and four large windows in\nthe wall towards the river. The piers for the arched roof are still to\nbe seen, and it is likely to have been the banqueting hall or chapel.\nA large vault extends under part of it. In one of the towers near this\nthe mint is supposed to have been situated. Another tower contains the\nremains of a small chapel.\n\nThe keep consists of a rectangular figure, on each side of which a\nsmall square tower abuts, thus forming a twenty-sided figure from which\nmissiles could be showered in all directions. The walls of the centre\ntower are twelve feet thick, while those of the adjoining ones measure\nfrom four to six feet. Winding stairways lead to the summit, at some\n60 feet from the ground, while on each angle of the centre tower is a\nsquare turret nearly 17 feet in height.\n\nAfter Hugh de Lacy had been granted Meath in 1173 he erected the\ncastle of Trim to guard his possessions. He surrounded it with a\nmoat, and furnished it with stores. He then entrusted its custody to\nHugh Tyrrell and proceeded to England. No sooner had he left than\nRoderick O\u2019Connor, King of Connaught, descended on Trim with a large\narmy. Tyrrell sent messages to Strongbow for aid, but in the meantime,\nfinding himself unable to hold the fortress, he evacuated and burnt it.\n\n[Illustration: TRIM CASTLE.]\n\nThe news was brought to Strongbow as he marched to its relief, and upon\nhis arrival finding the Irish had retreated, and having nowhere to\nlodge, he pursued them and killed a hundred and fifty.\n\nGiraldus states that the castle was rebuilt by Raymond le Gros, who had\nmarched to its relief with Strongbow, having joined the expedition on\nthe day of his marriage.\n\nKing John stayed at Trim, but he did not lodge in the castle, although\none of the towers is called after him, and his signet ring is said to\nhave been found in the enclosure.\n\nIn 1215 letters were sent from the King to Thomas Fitzadam to surrender\nthe castle, and five years later it was restored by William Peppard,\nLord of Tabor.\n\nAt this time Meath was wasted by the quarrels between William, Earl\nMarshal, and Sir Hugh de Lacy, Earl of Ulster.\n\nThere was an order in 1224 from Henry III. to the Lord Justice to allow\nWalter de Lacy to occupy a hall, rooms, and chambers in the castle. The\nsame year the fortress was besieged.\n\nDe Lacy died in 1241, and through the female line the castle passed\ninto the hands of Roger Mortimer, who landed in Ireland in 1308 and\ntook possession.\n\nUpon the invasion of Edward Bruce, Mortimer fled to Dublin, and Lord\nWalter Cusacke occupied Trim.\n\nOrders for repairing the great hall were issued in 1326, and it was\nmost likely at this time that the two arches which formerly crossed the\nnorthern division of the keep were erected, for when they fell in 1820\nthe plaster showed they had been added after the walls were built.\n\nIn 1330 Edward III. granted to Roger Mortimer, Earl of March, the\nmoiety of Meath and the privileges exercised in Trim Castle. He was\nhanged as a traitor the same year, but Trim was restored to his widow.\n\nRoger, Earl of March, was killed by the Irish in 1398, and the next\nyear Richard II. landed at Waterford to avenge his cousin\u2019s death, with\nHumphrey, son of the Duke of Gloucester and Henry (afterwards Henry\nV.), son of the Duke of Lancaster. The boys he brought with him as\nhostages, and upon returning to England he left them as prisoners in\nTrim Castle. A very small steel spur, inlaid with silver, was found in\nthe castle yard in 1836, which may have belonged to one of the princes.\n\nIn 1400 Henry IV. appointed a custodian to the late Earl of March\u2019s\nrecords at Trim and elsewhere. At this time the castle was in his\nhands owing to the minority of the heir.\n\nThe Privy Council in England (1403) notified to the King that the\ncastle was in a most dilapidated condition.\n\nFrom this time forward Parliaments were continually held at Trim, while\nin 1418 the Earl of Kildare, Sir Christopher Preston, and John Bedlow\nwere imprisoned in the castle.\n\nFour years later Richard Talbot, Archbishop of Dublin, resided in the\nfortress, and in 1425 Edmund, Earl of March, died there while Lord\nDeputy.\n\nBut, perhaps, the most palmy days of Trim Castle were in 1449, when\nRichard, Duke of York, came to Ireland as Lord Lieutenant, and held his\ncourt there.\n\nThe mint was opened in 1460, and the following year Christopher Fox was\nappointed Comptroller.\n\nA Parliament held at Trim in 1465 enacted that any one discovered\nrobbing might be killed, and in Meath their heads were to be sent\nto the Portreffe of the town of Trim, to be put on the castle wall.\nSeveral skulls have been found in the moat.\n\nIn 1495 an Act of Parliament passed at Drogheda provided that only\nEnglishmen should be constables of Trim and the other principal castles.\n\nThe liberty and lordship of Trim were at this time annexed to the Crown\nfor ever.\n\nIn 1541 an order was issued to restore the castle, half the cost of\nwhich was to be paid by the country.\n\nA grant was made to Sir James Carroll, Lord Mayor of Dublin, in 1610,\nto build upon the ruins of the castle a house for the King, and also a\njail within the castle enclosure.\n\nColonel Fenwicke occupied the fortress with a regiment of foot and some\ntroops of horse in 1647. It was in the Royalists\u2019 hands until the fall\nof Drogheda, in 1649, and the garrison disobeyed the Duke of Ormond\u2019s\ninstructions to destroy the place before letting it fall into the\nhands of Sir Charles Coote and his army.\n\nIt is stated that the yellow steeple near having been treacherously\ndelivered into the hands of the Cromwellians, was used as a vantage\npoint to make the castle untenable, and that afterwards when the\nGovernor of the castle was reinstated he had one side of the tower\nblown up. It was in a sally from the town of Trim that Sir Charles\nCoote lost his life.\n\nIt is reported Cromwell-spent one night in the castle, but there is no\nevidence that this is the case.\n\nAdam Loftus sold the castle to Sir James Shean in 1666, and it seems\nto have been in military occupation in 1690. The whole property was\npurchased by the Wellesleys, who afterwards sold it to Colonel Leslie.\n\nIt is now in Lord Dunsany\u2019s possession.\n\n\n AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.\n\n R. Butler, \u201cCastle of Trim.\u201d\n W. Wilde, \u201cThe Boyne and Blackwater.\u201d\n E. Evans, \u201cTrim.\u201d\n P. Joyce, \u201cIrish Place Names.\u201d\n\n\n_Elliot Stock, Paternoster Row, London._","title":"Castles of Ireland: Some Fortress Histories and Legends","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":84535}