BARRYSCOURT CASTLE

Thefine ruins of this fortress are situated about half a mile south of Carrigtohill, in the County Cork.

It consists of a rectangular structure about 70 feet in height, flanked by three towers, which open into the main building at each storey.

A small oblong shaft in the south-east angle of the keep runs from the upper to the lower rooms. A passage in the main north wall is now filled up.

The arches are of good workmanship and well preserved. In some of the smaller apartments the marks of the wattle frames used in the building are still easily traced on the ceilings, which show an early date of construction.

In the chamber above the chapel appears the date 1588, as well as an inscription stating the castle was erected by “D.B.” and “E.R.,” which initials stand for David Barry and his wife, Eliza Roche. In another room the date 1596 is inscribed.

The lands of the Barrys in Cork were confirmed to Philip Barry by King John in 1206, and he later became possessed of Barry’s Court. The present castle is, however, supposed to have been built during the fourteenth century.

Tradition states it was erected upon the site of an older fortress belonging to the Lyons or Lehanes of Castle Lyons, and that during the excavations for the present foundations an inscribed stone was found stating that “O’Lehan hoc fecit MCIII.,” but O’Donovan does not think the story probable.

Geraldus Cambrensis is credited with having written part of his history of the conquest in the earlier castle.

In 1490 the head of the Barry family was summoned to Parliament as Lord Barry of Barry’s Court, and 1588 “James Barry of Barrescourt, Viscount Barrymore, otherwise James, called Barrymore and Barryroo,” was in possession.

The Commissioners who were appointed to govern Munster while the Earl of Desmond was in prison, wrote, after arriving in Cork, in 1568: “Wood Kerne, under Gerot Bracke, one of the Earl of Desmond’s near kinsmen, intercepted our letters, certain Kerne lay in ambush for us, but Lord Barrymore and John FitzEdmund, Dean of Cloyne, met us, and led us to Barry’s Court.”

In 1580 Sir Walter Raleigh started from Cork to make complaint to Lord Grey in Dublin that the Barrys and Condons were in league with the rebels. He received orders to besiege Barry’s Court, but Lord Barry, hearing of his intention, set the castle on fire, while he and his friend, Fitzgerald, the seneschal of Imokilly, lay in wait for Sir Walter at the ford near the old abbey of Midleton.

In the encounter so little expected, Raleigh only saved his life by his somewhat foolhardy daring.

In the account of his doings in Ireland in 1583, Sir Henry Sydney writes: “I was well entertained at the Viscount Barrie’s house, called Barrie’s Court.”

During the Desmond rebellion of 1585, David Lord Barry, whose initials are carved over the mantelpiece of the castle, was associated with the disaffected. He afterwards submitted and sat on the Council of Munster under Sir George Carew. He was present at the relief of Kinsale in 1602, and died at Barry’s Court in 1617. He was the second son of James Barry, and his wife, Ellen Roche, was a daughter of Lord Fermoy.

Writing of him in 1606, Sir John Davys says: “From Youghall we went to Cork, and dined by the way with theViscount Barrie, who, at his castle at Barriecourt, gave us civil and plentiful entertainment.”

Barryscourt was regranted by James I. to his grandson David, who succeeded him.

The castle seems to have again been consumed by fire after James II.’s visit to Ireland, as it is stated that the velvet bed hung with gold brocade in which he slept at Sir James Cotter’s, of Ballinsperrig, was then at Barryscourt, and so destroyed by the conflagration.

The castle was in possession of the Coppinger family for many years, William Coppinger being the owner in 1861.

It now belongs to Lord Barrymore.

A member of the Wakeham family informs me that it was in possession of her ancestors several centuries ago, and that the Lord Barrymore of that day gave the owners, John and William Wakeham, the estates of Springhill and Water-rock instead of it, which their descendants still possess.

“Lords to whom great men submit,Are the O’Carrolls of the plain of Birr.”O’Heerin.

Thisfortress was one of the numerous strongholds of the O’Carrolls of Ely O’Carroll. The derivation of the name, formerly Biorra, is doubtful.Birsignifies “water,”birra= “abounding in wells,” or “fountains of water,”bir= “a spit,”bior= “the brink of a river,” and the name may have originated from any of these words.

The town is situated on the right bank of the Little Brosna River at its juncture with the Birr rivulet. It is in the barony of Ballybrit, King’s County, sixty-two and a half miles west-south-west of Dublin.

The O’Carroll’s stronghold, called the “Black Castle,” stood some sixty yards north-west of the present building on the high bank of the river. The principal tower was raised on an artificial mound, and in 1627 Sir Laurence Parsons added a watch tower, which stood on thirteen corbels, projecting on the outside, and was higher than all the other buildings. The dungeon of the stronghold was situated in the Black Castle, but this older fortress has long since been demolished.

In 1620-21 Sir Laurence Parsons made a great many additions to the castle. He erected a tower 46 feet long and 25 feet broad, at each end of which an arch of hewn stone gave entrance to the fortress. The present hall, which is reached by a flight of stone steps under a vaultedvestibule, is the centre part of this tower, as it is also that of the present mansion.

In the following two years Sir Laurence also built a porter’s lodge, known as the “Garden House,” fitted up a drawing-room and made a garden and orchard.

In 1624 he built a new line of offices, which formed one side of the courtyard, and in which was a kitchen, &c. Another side of the enclosure was occupied by the stables, which extended along the river, south of the Black Castle.

BIRR CASTLE.

On the north was a double wall filled up with earth, and having a gateway in the centre.

Sir William Parsons threw all these buildings down in 1778.

The castle was enlarged and remodelled under the direction of Mr. J. Johnstone, architect, who altered the entrance to the back of the building, away from the town.

Sir Laurence Parsons had also added a “French Flanker” in 1627, but on what site is not known.

The Annals of Clonmacmoise record that Byrre Castle was besieged in 1207 by “Moriertagh Mac Bryen an Sleyve,” who burnt the whole town.

Ely O’Carroll was granted to FitzWalter by Henry II., nevertheless King John re-granted it to William de Braosa in 1200, and FitzWalter had to buy it back to regain possession.

It shortly afterwards passed into the hands of Hugh de Hose or Hussey.

The English rebuilt and enlarged the stronghold in 1213.

In 1432 the Earl of Ormond went to war with O’Carroll of Ely, and demolished his two chief castles, which most likely were Birr and Leap, for in spite of Royal grants the stronghold remained in the possession of the O’Carrolls.

A dispute arose about the chieftainship of the sept in 1532, the senior branch of the family holding Birr Castle.

Ferganainm O’Carroll, the son of the late chief, enlisted the aid of the Earl of Kildare, whose daughter he had married, and together they laid siege to Birr. The Earl received a bullet in his side from the garrison. It is said that a soldier, hearing him cry out in agony, remonstrated with him, remarking he himself had been wounded three times and was none the worse, to which the Earl replied he was sorry he had not received the fourth bullet in his stead. The ball was extracted the following spring, but it is said to have hastened his end.

In 1537 Lord Leonard Grey took Birr Castle, and is reported to have received submission from O’Carroll, who was created Baron of Ely in 1552.

At the time of the plantation of Ely, Birr and its castle were granted to Sir Laurence Parsons in 1620, and the same year his steward arrived to make preparations. Shortly afterwards O’Carroll appealed in vain.

In 1641 Sir William Parsons was made Governor of ElyO’Carroll and the Castle of Birr, which latter he garrisoned with his tenants.

He put the place at once in a state of defence. He raised a flanker behind the stables, and erected scaffolds inside the castle for the garrison to fight from.

After some skirmishing the fortress was closely besieged in 1642, and of the nine hundred people in town and castle many died of starvation, while others were reduced to eating dogs and cats.

At length the Earl of Ormond sent a detachment to its relief, but early the next year General Preston approached the stronghold with artillery and troops.

He reconnoitred the town from Drumbawn Hill, and after firing a few shots encamped in the neighbouring woods. On the second day of the siege he sent a messenger to the Governor to inquire if he held the castle for the King or the Parliament, and asking to be allowed to garrison it for his Majesty’s use.

Sir William replied that he had not heard of any difference from his Majesty or from the Parliament, and that he held his commission as Governor of Ely O’Carroll.

At this reply Preston entrenched, and next day began to bombard the fortress in earnest. The following night a mine was commenced under the direction of a mason who had been employed in the castle. The garrison, hearing the noise, fired on the sappers, but the darkness prevented the shot taking effect, and in the morning they were underground.

Preston continued firing, and destroyed much of the wall and one of the flankers. He said he would break down the fortress about the Governor’s ears. Some of the balls found in the masonry weighed 9 lbs. each.

Under cover of a parley the defenders of the mill were withdrawn, and the garrison held out for two days after they had been undermined. A conference was held and the besieged were granted honourable terms.

Lord Castlehaven conducted them to Athy. They numbered about eight hundred men, women, and children.

Preston seems to have retained possession of Birr until 1645, when for five years it was held by the Confederate Catholic forces.

It was taken from the Irish in 1650 by General Ireton, the enemy having burnt it before retreating. The Marquis of Clanrickarde tried to retake it in vain.

In 1688 Birr was so infested with robbers that Sir Laurence Parsons took some of his neighbours and tenants inside the castle and closed the gates. This act was magnified to the Government by his enemy, Colonel Oxburgh, who obtained an order from the Lord Lieutenant to put a garrison in the castle.

Oxburgh demanded admittance, and Sir Laurence refused until he should hear from Lord Tyrconnel. A siege then began, and when they attempted to undermine the fortress terms of capitulation were agreed upon.

Both terms of surrender (1643-1688) are preserved in the castle and have been published in the Report of the Historical MSS. Commission.

Sir Laurence and some of his tenants were imprisoned in the fortress. He was tried for high treason and several times reprieved. He was liberated after the Boyne, and appointed High Sheriff for the King’s County.

In 1690 the castle garrison, being English, was summoned, but after a parley the enemy retired.

Later the same year it was attacked by Sarsfield, who fired all day on the stronghold. The marks of the shot are still to be seen upon the castle walls. The besieged, under Captain Curry, held out until reinforcements arrived.

The English army, passing through Birr in 1691, left four hundred wounded men in the castle for two months.

Sir Laurence Parsons died in 1698.

The second Earl of Rosse succeeded to the estatesin 1841. His experiments towards improving the reflecting telescope had been begun in 1827 at Birr Castle. He employed local workmen, and the tools, machinery, furnaces, ovens, &c., were all constructed on the spot, many of which are still to be seen.

At length, after many failures, two specula were cast in 1842-43. They each measured 6 feet in diameter, weighed 4 tons, and were of 54 feet focus.

The tube in which one was mounted is 58 feet long and 7 feet in diameter. It is slung on chains between two piers of masonry, and the telescope is moved and supported by a complex system of cast-iron platforms, triangles, and levers.

It is the largest telescope in the world, and cost about £20,000 to construct. Observations were commenced in February, 1845. There are several smaller telescopes at the castle as well.

The present Earl of Rosse is the third Earl, and, like his father, is an eminent scientist.

Wicklowis situated about twenty-five miles south-south-east of Dublin, and the ruins of the Black Castle occupy an isolated rocky promontory east of the town, and on the south side of the Leitrim river. The name Wicklow is likely to have been of Norwegian origin, but the meaning is uncertain. The Irish name Kilmantan signified S. Mantan’s Church. The castle followed the natural shape of the dark rock on which it was built, and from which, no doubt, the designation “Black” is taken. It was divided from the mainland by a chasm, which was probably bridged in former times. A few fragments of walls, with window openings, are all that remain.

The fortress can never have been of large dimensions if it was confined to the rock on which the ruins now stand.

In 1176, after Maurice FitzGerald had been recalled by Strongbow, he received a grant of the Castle of Wicklow, among other possessions, in lieu of his lands in Wexford, which King Henry wished to retain. From this it would appear to have been the site of an older fortification.

Maurice FitzGerald began to erect a Norman stronghold on the promontory, but he died before it was completed.

Soon after his death William FitzAdelm managed by falsehood to get possession of the Black Castle from his son Gerald, first Baron of Offaly, and surrendered him instead the unprotected Castle of Ferns.

The Earl of Ormond being arraigned for treason in1422, one of the charges against him was that he had retained William Edward, Constable of Arklow, in his service after he had assisted the O’Byrnes in seizing the King’s Castle of Wicklow. They killed John Liverpoole, the constable, and sent his head to the O’Byrne. They also imprisoned a priest, whom they found in the fortress, to hold for ransom.

BLACK CASTLE, WICKLOW.

The O’Byrnes seem to have been in possession of the castle in the early part of the sixteenth century, but in 1534 it had again passed to the Crown, and Thomas Stevyns was appointed constable. In 1567 Sir Thomas Fytzwylliams began his suit for the fortress, which, in 1575, he offered to re-edify, though his doing so does not seem altogether to have worked in his favour.

It seems generally believed that the present ruins represent the stronghold he built, but in 1580 it was reported that Wicklow Castle was razed by the enemy.

Nineteen years later the terrible disaster took place inJune, 1599, in which the English troops were utterly routed between Rathdrum and Glenmalure by the combined Irish septs of the district. It was this that caused Essex such a sharp reprimand from Oueen Elizabeth.

Sir Henry Harrington was in command, and his troops fell back upon Wicklow Castle in the wildest disorder, chased by the Irish within half a mile of the town.

Captain Adam Loftus seems to have been the only one who endeavoured to redeem the day. He was wounded in the leg and conveyed to the castle. A surgeon was sent for, though the wound was not considered dangerous at first; but he shortly afterwards succumbed to the effects.

In 1610 Sir William Usher, Knight, was made constable of the fortress, and in 1641 Luke O’Toole and a band of insurgents laid siege to the town and castle, but retreated upon the approach of Sir Charles Coote with some English troops.

“There is a stone there whoever kisses,Oh, he never misses to grow eloquent,’Tis he may clamber to a lady’s chamberOr become a member of Parliament.A clever spouter, he’ll sure turn out, orAn ‘out an’ outer’ to be let alone,Don’t hope to hinder him or bewilder him,Sure he’s a pilgrim to the Blarney Stone!”Father Prout.

Appropriatelybuilt on an isolated limestone rock, the castle of the Blarney (Blarna meaning “little field”) was the chief stronghold of the chiefs of the sept Carty, from Cartheigh, “an inhabitant of the rock.” It is situated some three and a half miles north-west of Cork, near the junction of the Comane (i.e.crooked stream) and the Awmartin River. The present ruins show three distinct periods of construction, of which the oldest is a slender tower, or peel, situated at the north-west corner of the larger block of masonry that was built to it, the whole being the great keep of the fortress.

A stone bearing the inscription “Cormac M’Carthy, Fortis Me Fieri Facit,A.D.1446,” forms the sill of one of the machicolations on the south side of the tower, and being damaged during the siege in Cromwell’s time, has been supported with iron.

The keep is gnomon in shape, the later rectangular tower being 60 feet by 36 feet, while the peel, which is half built into the north-west corner, forms a projection of 18feet by 12 feet. The tower is about 120 feet high. The original entrance to the peel, which was 10 feet above the ground, is now built up, and access is gained by the large newel stair in the later building. What are called “the back stairs,” were the original flight belonging to the first tower. Here is situated the “Earl’s bedroom,” with a more modern bay window, and remnants of the tapestry which once covered the walls may still be seen. In the very top storey is situated a kitchen with two great fireplaces, and one of the now floorless rooms in this tower was probably the chapel.

In the later portion of the keep is the store-room and guard chamber near the entrance, which is a low-pointed doorway once defended from above. The apartment in the third floor was most likely used as a reception room, above which the great banqueting hall is situated, with an elaborately-worked chimney, and a fireplace 12 feet wide. The tower on the south and east is finished by machicolated parapets, resting on fourteen corbels, and having a corresponding number of opens or crenelles above.

The keep represents the fifteenth-century masonry, except where it is surmounted by the ogee parapet of brick work, which was seemingly added at the time the now ruined mansion to the east of the tower was built. This dwelling, erected by the Jeffreys family, was unroofed and its timber sold in 1821.

What are locally called “the dungeons” are merely divisions in the well cavern, which was at one time connected with the castle by a covered passage now filled up.

There seems to be great uncertainty as to the identity of the famous kissing stone, said to give a persuasive tongue to whoever touches it with his lips. The power of conferring this accomplishment appears to have been unknown in the early part of the nineteenth century.

The inscribed stone already mentioned is generally supposed to be the true “Blarney stone,” chiefly, it seemsbecause it has been carefully propped, and most likely had the mystic reputation conferred upon it when a slightly water-worn hollow stone situated on the parapet of the east side of the turret disappeared more than a quarter of a century ago.

Again a stone bearing the date 1703, on the highest part of the north-east angle, and another engraved with a shamrock in relief have each been asserted to be the original stone.

BLARNEY CASTLE.

The origin of “Blarney,” meaning flattery, is said to have been from an exclamation of Queen Elizabeth upon receiving a very plausible letter from M’Carthy, to the effect that it was all “Blarney” and he did not intend to carry out his promises.

The castle at one time covered eight acres. In a quarry near a large number of human bones have been found.

Cormac MacCarty, surnamed Laider, or the Strong, cameinto the lordship of Muskerry three years after he had built Blarney Castle, and such was his power that English settlers paid him a yearly tribute of £40 to protect them against the attacks of the Irish. He was fourth lord, and direct descendant of the former Kings of Desmond and Cork. He died in 1494.

Teige MacCormac Carty signed an indenture of allegiance to the English laws in 1542, and this was faithfully adhered to by his descendants, who, unlike the other great Irish septs, never went eagerly into rebellion. At this time the clan could raise three thousand fighting men. His son Dermod was knighted in 1558.

The Manor of Blarney, Twhoneblarney, the entire country of Muskerry, with all its lordships and possessions, were granted to M‘Dermod to hold by military service in 1589.

His cousin Charles, however, was page to Sir Walter Raleigh, and through his interest procured from the Privy Council a sequestration of the rents.

In 1596 Cormack M‘Dermot M‘Carthy asked for a new grant of the Manor of Blarney with a release of all conditions.

When war broke out, although Lord Muskerry remained with the English forces, he was seized as a traitor (1600) because his brother had joined the rebels, and a relative informed the Council that he himself was plotting against them.

Tyrone at this time encamped with all his forces near Blarney, which is described as one of the strongest castles in the province of Munster, “for it is four piles joined in one, seated upon a main rock, so as it is free from mining, the wall 18 feet thick, and flanked at each corner to the best advantage.”

Sir Charles Wilmot and Captain Roger Harvey endeavoured to surprise the garrison after the arrest of Lord Muskerry, but the warders, suspecting their motive, made them partake of the food they asked for, outside the castle walls.

When Lord Muskerry was put upon his trial he indignantly denied the charges made against him. The President replied that he had better either confess his guilt and ask pardon, or deliver up Blarney Castle until the accusations were proved false. This Lord Muskerry hesitated to do, and so was committed to prison. At length he consented to give up Blarney to Captain Taafe, on condition that it would be restored to him unaltered.

Shortly after this he escaped, in 1602, but seeing the struggle against the Crown was hopeless, he asked leave to make submission to Sir George Carew, which was granted.

In 1628 he was created Baron of Blarney and Viscount Cartie of Muskerie, and as such went to Parliament.

Charles I. appointed him President of Munster, but in 1646 Lord Broghill, afterwards Earl of Orrery, took the castle of Blarney and made it his headquarters. Lord Muskerry was the last Royalist in Ireland to lay down arms, and he was tried for his life by Ludlow and others. He was permitted to pass to Spain, while his wife was allowed to receive his income from the estate, except £1,000 a year granted to Lord Broghill for his services (1656).

Two years later Lord Muskerry was recalled, after the Restoration, and created Viscount Muskerry and Earl of Clancarty. His property was given back to him, except the portion allowed to Lord Broghill, who was now a supporter of the King.

When James landed at Kinsale, Blarney Castle was used as one of the prisons for the Protestants of Cork, the fourth Earl of Clancarty being one of the King’s chief supporters.

Upon the succession of King William the Clancarty estate, worth about £150,000, was confiscated and sold, a pension of £300 being allowed to the Earl, who died at Hamburg, 1734.

The Rev. Dean Davies, of Cork, was tenant of the castle for some years after the Hollow-Sword-Blade Company ofLondon bought it. Upon leaving he took away many of the oak beams of the castle for his new residence at Dawstown.

Chief Justice Pyne then purchased it, and held it for a short time, but in 1703 Sir James Jeffreys bought the castle and lands, and from him the present owner, Sir George Colthurst, is descended.

There is in the possession of The O’Donovan, at Liss Ard, Skibbereen, a dadagh, or Irish skean, with which an O’Donovan killed M‘Carty Reagh about the middle of the sixteenth century. The dispute arose about some plundered cattle which M‘Carty wished to drive into the bawn of Blarney without division. Being opposed by O’Donovan, he attacked him and threw him down, but O’Donovan, although on the ground, snatched the dadagh from him, and slew him with his own weapon.

About a quarter of a mile south-west of the castle, in the park is the lake, where it is supposed the plate chest of the last Earl of Clancarty was thrown before the castle was surrendered to William’s forces, and a legend says that the Earl rises from the lake every seven years, and walks two or three miles in the hope that some one will speak to him, so that he may tell them where it lies. Another version says that as soon as the estate is restored to the MacCartys the chest will be discovered. A little silver ring has been found in the lake.

BUNRATTY CASTLE.

Thevillage of Bunratty is situated in the Barony of Lower Bunratty, County Clare, and the castle stands on the banks of the Ougarnee River, a little above its juncture with the Shannon on its northern bank, about six miles below Limerick.

The former name of the river was Ratty, and the name, therefore, signifies the end or mouth of the Ratty.

The fortress is still in a very fair state of preservation and shows many signs of alterations during its existence.

It consists of an oblong structure, flanked by four square towers built into the angles, which are joined at the head by depressed arches.

The north-east tower contains an oratory. It has a piscina, and the ceiling is a handsome specimen of richly moulded seventeenth-century stucco work, probably executed when the “great Earl” of Thomond restored the castle in 1610. Out-offices and servants’ quarters formerly surrounded the main building, but were removed by the late Mr. Studdert to supply material for the modern manor house.

An inscribed stone at the summit of the castle states that the present building was erected by O’Brien in 1397. There are marks of shot still visible on the walls.

The cantred of Tradee was granted in fee farm to the Norman Robert de Muscegros, at a yearly rent of £30.

Henry III. remitted him two years’ rent in 1251 to enable him to fortify Bunratty Castle, which he had built.Shortly after he surrendered it to the King on condition he was allowed for the repairing, provisioning, and defending of it. It was taken by the Irish in 1257.

De Muscegros exchanged his lands of Tradee, in Thomond, with Sir Richard de Clare in 1275 for property in England, and the following year Bunratty Castle was taken for the King by Geoffry de Gyamul, Lord Justice.

The same year King Brian the Red granted to de Clare the district he had acquired by exchange, and he at once began to repair the castle. It is recorded he built “a defensive thick-walled castle of lime and stone, which was a sheltered, impregnable fortress, and a wide white-washed mansion which he founded in the clear-harboured Bunratty,” and that he resided here with English retainers whom he purchased “for love or money.”

Torlough O’Brien invaded Thomond, and its King, Brian, fled to Bunratty. Among those who opposed the invaders was de Clare’s brother-in-law, Patrick Fitz-Maurice, who was slain in the conflict. When news of his death reached Bunratty there was great lamentation, and his sister, de Clare’s wife, denounced King Brien, who was then at dinner, as the cause of the disaster.

He was thereupon dragged from the table, bound to wild horses, and literaly torn to pieces. This act of treachery was rendered even more horrible from the fact that he and de Clare had sworn friendship with the most solemn rites.

Among the State Documents of 1298 is an entry for expenses and wages of horse and foot soldiers in an expedition to relieve Bunratty, which was besieged by Turlough O’Brien. This attack probably took place at an earlier date.

The castle was besieged again in 1305 by Coveha MacConmara and the outworks burnt, which is thus picturesquely described: “Yea, at this bout, the open-spaced Bunratty, when it was gutted, fed the flames; andby the Wolf-dog’s pertinacity, not once, but twice, were many of the lime-white towers burnt.”

The fortress was not taken, and Lord Burke persuaded MacConmara to raise the siege.

At this time Maurice de Rochford was custodian.

The Earl of Ulster marched into Clare with a great army in 1311 to besiege Bunratty. Richard de Clare sallied out to meet him on the hill behind the fortress, but was obliged to retreat. William de Burgo, pressing too far in pursuit, was taken prisoner, as well as John, son of Walter de Lacy.

In 1313, de Clare was about to hang O’Brien’s son, who was hostage for the tribe of Coileau, but his wife, with the clergy and nobility, interceded for him.

De Clare and his son Thomas were killed in 1318 in the battle of Dysert O’Dea, and upon his wife, Lady Johan de Clare, hearing of the disaster, she set fire to the castle and sailed for England.

The following year it was spoiled by King Mortogh.

It was immediately repaired, and the Government assigned it to Matilda, wife of Robert de Wills, and Margaret, wife of Bartholomew de Badlesmere, sisters to Richard de Clare, and appointed Robert Sutton constable.

In 1326 it was held for the Crown by James de bello Fago, and in 1332 it was besieged and taken by the Macnamaras.

There is an order dated 1356 to liberate Thomas, the son of John FitzMaurice, who had been imprisoned as accessory to the loss of the castle.

The Lord Deputy recovered the fortress in 1558 by firing across the river until the garrison of Donnell O’Brien surrendered it.

The Earl of Thomond was proclaimed rebel in 1570, and fled to sea; the Earl of Ormond meantime garrisoned Bunratty with his own men, but in 1585 the castle was confirmed to the Earl of Thomond.

The “Great Earl” of Thomond restored it in 1617.

Some authorities say Lord Forbes seized the castle in 1642 in a buccaneering expedition.

When the rebellion broke out in 1641 the Earl of Thomond of the time found himself in a difficult position, for by religion he might have been supposed to side with the Government, while at the same time he was closely related to many of the prominent Confederates, being uncle to Lord Muskerry who commanded their troops in the south. He, therefore, remained quietly at Bunratty taking neither side, but he was too powerful to be allowed to presevere in neutrality.

The Supreme Council of the Confederates entrusted the seizure of both the castle and Earl to his relatives, the O’Briens, but in the meantime the Earl of Ormond had entered into a treaty with the Earl of Thomond whereby the latter was to surrender the castle of Bunratty to a governor they mutually agreed upon.

The choice fell upon Colonel Adams, “a stout officer,” who, with upwards of six hundred men, took possession of the stronghold in 1645. The governor was a Scotchman whose family name was Adam, but upon settling in Ireland he seems to have been called Adams, and sometimes MacAdam. He was married to the Hon. Catherine Magennis, granddaughter of Hugh, Earl of Tyrone, therefore his wife was first cousin to Owen Roe O’Neill, which, no doubt, guided his selection as commander of Bunratty garrison.

Before the castle was surrendered the Earl of Thomond built all his plate and money into the walls to the amount of £2,000, and had the place plastered and rough cast. Some of the servants betrayed the fact to the soldiers, and they seized the Earl and threatened to kill him unless he showed them the treasure, whereupon they took it before his face. He afterwards tried to recover it as a debt from the Government in vain.

The castle was provisioned at the cost of £1,200 by John Davies.

The Earl of Thomond left his fortress in the hands of the soldiers and sailed for England. Colonel Adams at once set to work to put the place in a state of defence by raising earthworks and fortifying outlying positions, as well as mounting cannon in the garden, his was much helped in his operations by the marshy character of the surrounding country.

The Confederates sent an army to besiege the castle, which encamped in the park. They were shortly afterwards joined by Lord Muskerry, who seems to have been only half-hearted in attacking his uncle’s property, and it required the persuasion and presence of the Nuncio to push the siege to a victorious issue.

Cardinal Rinuncini must have been much impressed by the beauty of the spot, as later he had scenes of the siege painted on the walls of his Italian palace.

After some weeks a dam about half a mile from the castle was captured, but only held a few hours when deserted by its guards, who were hanged for the offence.

Two pieces of cannon were then directed upon a small outlying castle, and at the end of two days’ firing Colonel Adams repaired to the place to see if it could be held any longer. A chance shot at the upper window mortally wounded him, and being carried out he died that night.

When Muskerry heard this he decided to attack in force, “knowing how much discouraged they were at the loss of so valiant a person.”

The Irish gradually gained position, and at length the garrison capitulated for their lives, and the officers their swords, and returned to Cork by water. This was in 1646.

In 1712 Henry, 8th Earl of Thomond, disposed of his estate, and the castle passed to the Studdert family, who lived there until the neighbouring mansion was built.

For some years afterwards it was partly used for a police barrack, and now it is in the hands of a caretaker.

Thetown of Carlow, Catherlough or Catherlogh, is situated on the banks of the Barrow, five and a half miles south-by-west of Castledermot near the junction of the above river with the Burren. The name signifies “the city on the lake,” but the sheet of water from which it derived its name has disappeared.

The castle stands on a slight eminence to the west of the town on the east bank of the river, where it commanded the ford.

The present ruins consist of two round towers, and the western wall, which measures about 105 feet in length and some 70 feet in height. One of the towers is joined to this structure, and a small portion of the north and south walls adhere to both turrets respectively.

The doors were remarkably low and narrow, and light was admitted almost entirely by loopholes.

In Thomas Dineley’s quaint diary he states that the fortress was built of freestone, and a picture in the same work represents it with gables and a high-pitched roof. It is flanked by round towers and has many tall chimneys. It appears to be surrounded by a low battlemented wall, and to have numerous little out-houses.

Like so many castles in Ireland, local tradition ascribes its erection to King John, but Eva, Strongbow’s wife, Isabel, their daughter, Hugh le Bigod, 4th Earl of Norfolk, and Bellingham, Lord Deputy of Ireland, have been mentioned by other authorities. Ryan, in his history of Carlow,deals with the likelihood of each claim, and thinks that it was most probably built by Hugh de Lacy. He is said to have erected it about 1180, but the architecture is rather that of the beginning of the thirteenth century.

The castle is mentioned in the charter of William, Earl Marshal.

In 1283 we find the repairing of the old hall, kitchen, and tower among the accounts of Roger le Bigod, Earl of Norfolk, in whose possession it then was. Among the items of expenditure are 700 nails and canvas, which were probably for the roofing of the great hall, which was covered with wooden shingles, and seems to have been difficult to keep in repair.

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