“And, oh! through many a dark campaignThey proved their prowess stern,In Leinster’s plains and Munster’s vales,On king, and chief, and kern.But noble was the cheer withinThe halls so rudely won,And generous was the steel-gloved handThat had such slaughter done.How gay their laugh, how proud their mien,You’d ask no herald’s sign—Amid a thousand you had known,The princely Geraldine.”
“And, oh! through many a dark campaignThey proved their prowess stern,In Leinster’s plains and Munster’s vales,On king, and chief, and kern.But noble was the cheer withinThe halls so rudely won,And generous was the steel-gloved handThat had such slaughter done.How gay their laugh, how proud their mien,You’d ask no herald’s sign—Amid a thousand you had known,The princely Geraldine.”
“And, oh! through many a dark campaignThey proved their prowess stern,In Leinster’s plains and Munster’s vales,On king, and chief, and kern.But noble was the cheer withinThe halls so rudely won,And generous was the steel-gloved handThat had such slaughter done.How gay their laugh, how proud their mien,You’d ask no herald’s sign—Amid a thousand you had known,The princely Geraldine.”
Thiscastle was built by Hugh de Lacy, Chief Governor of Ireland, for Walter de Riddlesford, Baron of Bray, who had been granted the surrounding district of Omurethi by Strongbow. De Riddlesford’s granddaughter, Emelina inherited the manors of Kilkea and Castledermot through her mother, and she, marrying Maurice FitzGerald, 3rd Baron of Offaly, the property passed to the Geraldines who still possess Kilkea Castle, which is one of the seats of the Duke of Leinster, where some of the family at present reside.
Kilkea signifies the Church of St. Kay, or Caoide, and the barony derives its name from the churchyard situated a few perches north-west of the castle.
The fortress is built on the banks of the River Greese, a tributary of the Barrow, about five miles south-east of Athy. Its position was a particularly exposed one, being
KILKEA CASTLE.
KILKEA CASTLE.
KILKEA CASTLE.
situated in the Marshes which lay between the English pale and the territories of the native Irish. During the centuries since its erection it has undergone many alterations and enlargements down to its final restoration in 1849.
In 1356 Maurice, 4th Earl of Kildare, was commanded by the king to “strengthen and maintain his castles of Kilkea, Rathmore, and Ballymore, under pain of forfeiting the same.” In 1426 the castle was enlarged by John FitzGerald, 6th Earl of Kildare. Again, about the year 1573, Gerald, the 11th Earl, repaired Kilkea after he was restored to the title and estates of which his half-brother, the “Silken Thomas,” had been dispossessed. Three sculptured stones are still in existence belonging to a chimney-piece placed in the dining-hall by this Earl, and have, after various vicissitudes, been replaced in somewhat their original positions.
This Earl was called the “Wizard Earl,” and the haunted room of the castle (which also contains a carved stone) is said to have been the place where he practised the Black Art. A legend regarding him runs thus:—His wife, not liking that he should have any secrets from her, begged him to let her be witness to some of his transformations and sorcery. At length he consented to give her three trials, but warned her that any sign of fear on her part would be fatal to him. First, the river Greese rose and flowed through the castle; secondly, an animal, half fish, half serpent, crept out of the water and twined round the lady’s feet; and thirdly, a ghost flitted to and fro, but all these failed to frighten the Countess. Then the Earl was transformed into a little black bird, which lit on her shoulder; but the devil, in the form of a cat, springing at it, she stretched forth her hand with a cry to protect her lord. Hence he and all his knights were spirited away to the Rath of Mullaghmast, where they sleep by their horses’ sides, fully clad in armour, and from thence they ride toKilkea Castle every seven years. The Earl’s steed is shod with silver shoes, and as soon as they are worn out the spell will be broken, and he will return again to Kilkea, when, after about half a century, he will drive the ancient enemies of Ireland out of the country.
A lady writing of the castle in 1817, mentions the grand staircase being of massy oak, and amongst other things speaks of the ancient kitchen containing seven ovens. The building seems to have been somewhat dilapidated when the 3rd Duke of Leinster began to restore it (1849). Nearly all the battlements were thrown down, and its last tenant had made matters worse in searching for treasure. This same man, writing to the Duke in 1839, speaks of a carved oak ceiling in what had once been the castle chapel. This is said to have been on the north side.
During restoration a few quaint-shaped bottles containing liquid were found in a recess, and previously it is stated that an old gentleman sitting at a table, had been discovered built up in some part of the walls, but that he fell to dust at once when air was admitted.
Two underground passages are believed to connect the castle with the churchyard on the one hand, and a pagan tumulus or burial moat on the other.
The grooves of the portcullis by which the main entrance was protected are to be seen at the hall-door, and also the square holes for fixing beams of timber, which added to the security. The hall had a stone vaulted ceiling at the time of restoration, which was removed to give greater height. A new storey was also added to the building at this time.
The “Evil Eye Stone” is carved with a group of grotesque figures, and is situated 17 feet above the ground, in the quoin of the “Guard Room,” near the entrance-gate of the ancient bawn of the castle.
Maurice FitzGerald, 3rd Baron of Offaly, seems to have parted temporarily with his interest in Kilkea to Christianade Marisco, a niece of his wife’s, through whom a royal claim on the manor was established. In 1317 it appears to have been in possession of the Wogan family. Sir Thomas de Rokeby, Lord Justice of Ireland, died in the castle in 1356.
In 1414, the O’Mores and O’Dempseys, having invaded the pale, Thomas Cranly, Archbishop of Dublin, and Lord Deputy, accompanied the Royal troops as far as Castledermot, where he and his clergy remained praying for the success of the arms. The opposing forces met at Kilkea, where a battle was fought, in which the Irish were defeated. A great many human bones having been found in a field south of the castle, it is likely to have been the scene of this conflict.
John FitzGerald, 6th Earl of Kildare, nicknamed “Shaun Cam,” or Hump-back John, again defeated the native Irish at Kilkea in 1421.
It was here, too, that the “Great Earl,” Gerald FitzGerald, 8th Earl of Kildare and Lord Deputy of Ireland, got his death wound. In August, 1513, he started on an expedition against a castle belonging to the O’Carrolls, and now known as Leap Castle, in the King’s County. While the Earl was watering his horse at the River Greese, near Kilkea, attended by the Mayor of Dublin and a splendid retinue, he received a wound from one of the O’Mores of Leix, which in a few days proved fatal. He was moved by gentle stages to Kildare, where he died. He was thirty-three years Chief Governor of Ireland.
During the rebellion of the “Silken Thomas,” 10th Earl of Kildare, in 1535, Kilkea seems at first to have formed one of the headquarters of his native sympathisers. The surrounding country having, however, been laid waste by the Earl of Ossory, we read that he made an appointment with Sir William Skeffington, the Lord Deputy, to meet him at Kilkea. He waited with his army for three days, but the Lord Deputy being ill, he did not arrive.
In 1537 the King appointed Lord (James) Butler to be Constable of the Castles of Catherlagh (Carlow) and Kilkea. Some years later a Walter Peppard, one of the gentlemen ushers of the King’s chamber, seems to have been in possession of the castle.
The 11th Earl lived largely at Kilkea after the restoration of his title and lands. In 1575, when apprehended on suspicion of treason, one of the charges was that he had interviewed and entertained rebels at Kilkea.
Elizabeth, widow of the 14th Earl of Kildare, was granted the Manors of Kilkea and Graney by the King, as she had no jointure. She was a daughter of Lord Delvin, and had married the Earl by dispensation of the Pope, she being a Roman Catholic. In 1618 she wrote a most touching letter from Kilkea to the Privy Council, beseeching them to allow her the guardianship of her little son Gerald, the 15th Earl—then just over six years old—until he should be older and stronger, urging that he was “the only son of his father.” The infant Earl died some two years later at Maynooth, being succeeded by his cousin George, known as the “Fairy Earl.”
In 1634 the Countess gave Kilkea to the Jesuits, who retained possession of the castle until 1646, in which year the Superior of the Order entertained the Pope’s Nuncio sumptuously at the castle.
During the civil war, which began in 1641, Kilkea was taken and re-taken several times; but on the restoration of peace, both the 16th and 17th Earls seem chiefly to have resided there.
In 1668 it was leased to Lord Brabazon, and afterwards, for nearly two centuries, the castle was inhabited by strangers, to whom it was let at different times.
In 1797 it passed into the hands of Thomas Reynolds, the ’98 informer through the influence of Lord Edward FitzGerald. He somewhat repaired and furnished the castle. His son gives a graphic description of the wantondestruction of property by the soldiers sent from Dublin to arrest his father. It appears they tore up floors and down wainscotting, in a search for Lord Edward, who it was thought was hidden in the castle.
Shortly after this it became a regular garrison and a refuge for the Loyalists. It was attacked by the insurgents without success.
The castle was leased once more, in 1799, before the family again took possession of their ancient home.
Thereseems to be a difference of opinion regarding the derivation of this name. The most popular belief is that it signifies the Church of St. Canice or Kenny. Again it is put forward that a settlement of the Gaels having been along the banks of the Nore, the high ground towards the present castle was wooded, and so called Coil or Kyleken-uï, “the wooded head” or “hill near the river,” and so it became Cillcannegh or Kilkenny.
The city is situated seventy-two miles south-west of Dublin, in the county of the same designation.
The fortress is said to occupy the site of the ancient Irish castellum of the kings of Ossory. It is built on high ground above the town, and the present entrance is through a handsome gate-house of Caen stone which was brought up the River Nore in boats. The 2nd Duke of Ormond, who succeeded in 1688, spent £1,500 on its erection, but the carving has only been completed in later years. A massive wooden door gives admittance from the Parade.
The castle seems formerly to have been a quadrangular building flanked by towers, having its entrance on the south side opposite the present gate-house. The building now forms three sides of a square, but in 1861 the foundations of the south curtain and the two bastions which protected the entrance were uncovered during alterations.
Thus up to the beginning of the eighteenth century the castle practically had its back to the town, and it is therefore
KILKENNY CASTLE.
KILKENNY CASTLE.
KILKENNY CASTLE.
likely that the architects of the Norman stronghold followed the ground plan of the old Irish fort, where King Donnchadh held his court during the greater part of the tenth century, and which existed long before the English town was built.
In the northern side of the building is situated the hall, billiard room, ante-room, library, and drawing-room. The west wing is occupied by the private rooms of the family, while the picture gallery forms the eastern block. This wing was added by the 2nd Duke of Ormond. It is 120 feet long by 30 broad, and contains some valuable portraits by Vandyck, Holbein, Lely, Kneller, &c.
The dining-room is part of the original building, and its walls measure some 15 feet in thickness.
The tapestry in the castle is very handsome. Some of it is supposed to have been manufactured in Kilkenny, where Piers, Earl of Ormond, and his wife, Margaret FitzGerald, started a tapestry industry, some of the records of which are still preserved. A set of panels representing the “History of Deceus” is the most valuable tapestry in the castle.
Of the three towers, that on the south being the largest is called “The Tower.” The small turret in the north-west angle is part of the oldest masonry in the castle, and is supposed to belong to the twelfth-century fortress.
The Evidence Chamber contains an immense number of valuable historic documents and family records, among which are some deeds executed by Strongbow.
The first Norman fortress is supposed to have been erected by Richard, Earl of Pembroke, better known as Strongbow, shortly after his arrival in Ireland. In 1173 Donald O’Brien, King of Thomond, descended and seized the castle, its garrison of Flemings retreating to Waterford. They returned when the Irish had withdrawn and occupied what remained of the stronghold until William, Earl Marshal, arrived with Isabel, his bride, in 1191. She wasthe daughter and heiress of Eva and Strongbow, and had been brought up at the English Court. They were married in 1189, and he began to rebuild the Castle of Kilkenny in 1192. Thomas, 10th Earl of Ormond and favourite of Queen Elizabeth, repaired the castle. James, the 1st Duke of Ormond, remodelled the whole building after his return from exile with Charles II., in a style of architecture then common in France and Holland. Dr. Molyneux, writing in 1709, says: “There is not one handsome or noble apartment. The Rooms are Darke, and the stairs mighty ugly.”
It is at present in castellated Tudor style. In 1826 the change of architecture was entrusted to Mr. William Robertson, and during the minority of the present Marquess his mother carried out many improvements.
A passage is reported to exist from the castle to Dunmore cave.
In Earl Mareschal’s charter he granted the tenth part of the provisions in the castle to the Brotherhood of St. John. They were also to officiate in the castle chapel while the Earl was absent, but when at home his chaplain took their place.
The stronghold was inherited in succession by the Earl’s five sons, who all died without heirs, and Kilkenny passed to his third daughter Isabel, who married Gilbert de Clare, 6th Earl of Clare, Hertford and Gloucester, and in 1290 we find him surrendering Kilkenny Castle to the King to hold at his pleasure.
In 1334 the 9th Earl of Clare died without issue, and was succeeded by his sister Eleanor de Clare, whose husband became Earl of Gloucester through her right. His grandson Spencer, Lord of Glamorgan and Kilkenny, sold the castle in 1391 to James Butler, 3rd Earl of Ormond.
Theobald Walter had been made Chief Butler of Ireland by Henry II., which appointment granted him a tun ofwine out of every nine brought to Ireland, and this privilege remained in the family until 1810, when the Government purchased it from Walter, the 1st Marquess of Ormond.
The gilt key which was worn at the girdle when the Butlers attended the King is still preserved at the castle.
A few years after the fortress had changed hands, King Richard II. spent a fortnight at Kilkenny as the guest of the Earl of Ormond.
The Carew MSS. inform us that the Earl of Ormond made Kilkenny Castle his chief residence in 1596.
The 1st Duke of Ormond was born in 1610, and is generally known as the “Great Duke.” He was for many years Lord Lieutenant of Ireland.
In 1642 the castle was taken by the “Council of Confederate Catholics,” and was held by them for some years.
Oliver Cromwell besieged both town and castle in March, 1650. On the 23rd he opened fire on the castle, and two days following a breach was made at noon, but the garrison twice beat off the besiegers and quickly repaired the damage.
Cromwell’s time being short for the work before him, he was about to retire when the mayor and the townspeople offered to give up the town, and he was shortly reinforced by Ireton.
Sir Walter Butler had received instructions from Lord Castlehaven to surrender, in case no help arrived before a given time, so considering the weakness of his garrison he made terms with the Parliamentarians which were of an honourable nature. As the garrison marched out Cromwell complimented them on their gallantry, saying he had lost more men in the storming of Kilkenny than in the taking of Drogheda.
The estate was restored to the Duke upon the Restoration. The Count de Lauzun had been commander forJames II. at Kilkenny, and the castle had been carefully preserved by him.
The Duke died in 1688, and was succeeded by his son, who also was Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. William III. dined in the castle in August, 1690, as the Duke’s guest.
In 1715 he was accused falsely of conspiring against the Crown, and in anger at the charge he crossed to France, and joined the Stuarts.
His estates, valued at £80,000 a year, were forfeited and he died at Avignon, supported by a pension from the Court of Spain.
The Irish House of Lords restored part of the estates and the Irish Earldom to another branch of the Ormonds, and John Butler became 17th Earl of Ormond.
Walter, the 18th Earl, was created Marquess in 1816, and from him the present representative is descended, who in 1904 entertained King Edward VII. and Queen Alexandra at the castle.
Thisfortress is situated in a parish of the same name in the Barony of Forth, about three miles south-east of Wexford. The name, which is written Killyan in theLiber Regalisvisitations, signifies “The Church of St. Liedania.”
The building consists of a castellated rectangular keep, to which a modern house has been attached. There is also an enclosed bawn with most excellently preserved walls. Near the castle stand the ruins of its chapel.
In the notes attached to the Down Survey Maps, dating from about 1657, it is stated that at Great Killiane is “a Castle with a slate house adjoining, a decayed windmill, and seven cabbins.”
The castle is supposed to have been erected by the family of Hay, whose first representative in Ireland was Richard de Hay, Lord of Hay in Wales, who crossed with the Normans in 1196. From this family Killiane passed to a younger branch of the house of Chevers, of Ballyhally, early in the sixteenth century. Hamond Chevers, of Killiane, was one of the jurators to hold an inquisition on Tintern Abbey in 1543. He held his castle and lands from the Mayor of Wexford.
In 1627 Killiane was still in possession of a Hamond Chevers, and his son George held it with 237 acres when the rebellion broke out in 1641. He was present at the siege of Duncannon Fort in 1645, when it was defended against the Confederate Catholics by Laurence, LordEsmond, and in consequence of the part he took in the insurrection Killiane was confiscated. In 1666 it was granted to Francis Hervey, Esq., with 220 acres, and it has remained in this family’s possession ever since.
One of the daughters of the house, who married the Very Rev. Samuel Adams, D.D., Dean of Cashel, in 1809, was so famous for her beauty that she was called “The Rose of Killiane.” The family has not lived in the castle for some years, and it is let by the present owner, Arthur Hervey, Esq.
KILLYLEAGH CASTLE.
KILLYLEAGH CASTLE.
KILLYLEAGH CASTLE.
“Downpatrick too may boastOf the great fort by its side,Where a monarch may have lived,And have rul’d in savage pride;But what is Patrick’s grave,Or cathedral old and grey,To the proud baronial castleThat adorns Killileagh?”
“Downpatrick too may boastOf the great fort by its side,Where a monarch may have lived,And have rul’d in savage pride;But what is Patrick’s grave,Or cathedral old and grey,To the proud baronial castleThat adorns Killileagh?”
“Downpatrick too may boastOf the great fort by its side,Where a monarch may have lived,And have rul’d in savage pride;But what is Patrick’s grave,Or cathedral old and grey,To the proud baronial castleThat adorns Killileagh?”
Thiscastle stands on rising ground above the town of Killyleagh, five miles north-east of Downpatrick, in the County of Down. It was the principal fortress of seven which formerly guarded the shores of Strangford Lough.
About a mile distant isLoch Cleath, or “The Lake of the Hurdles,” so it is probable that Killyleagh signifies “the Church of the Hurdles.”
The gate tower of the castle is entered under a Gothic arch of Glasgow stone from the main street of the town. It is 59 feet in height, and crowned with turrets. Curtain walls on each side connect it with flanking towers, which are again joined by other castellated walls to the castle itself, thus enclosing a rectangular courtyard, which is laid out in grass and flower-beds.
The mansion has an imposing frontage, flanked at both sides by circular towers. One of these dates from the castle’s erection, and the other, which is a copy, from the year 1666. The centre block of masonry was entirely restored in the middle of the nineteenth century. Some of the walls, which were removed at that time, were15 feet thick, being composed of rubble and excellent mortar.
The old carved stone over the door was copied in Caen stone. The Royal Arms are surmounted by a figure of Charles I., while below are the family arms. The original stone, which was much weather worn, has been placed over a small door at the side.
Most of the stone used at the restoration was quarried on the estate, but the facing stones were brought from Scotland.
One of the special attractions of this charming residence is the beautiful terraced gardens lying to the south. They consist of three tiers of cultivation beginning with the “Box Garden” of trim flower-beds, from which you descend by a flight of rustic steps to “the Rockery Garden” abounding in Alpine plants. Here some beautiful and extremely ancient yew-trees are to be seen, their branches being 120 feet in circumference, while below a small lake in the centre of rose-beds leaves nothing to be desired in its delightful effect.
The castle was erected by Sir John de Courcy shortly after his conquest of Ulster, and in 1356 Edward III. appointed John de Mandeville warden.
After this it fell into the hands of the O’Neills, who retained it up to 1561, when Queen Elizabeth granted the territory to Hugo White. He rebuilt the castle and removed the ward from Dufferin Castle near, to garrison it. After this it was known as “White’s Castle” for many years.
In 1567 the fortress was gallantly defended against a fierce attack made by the great Shane O’Neill, and he was successfully repulsed. The strength of the White family gradually decreased, and in 1590 they could only muster a hundred and twenty foot soldiers and twenty horsemen to defend their lands, while eight years later twenty footmen was the total of their fighting strength.
The M’Artans and O’Neills joined together and dispossessed them, the former family taking possession of Killyleagh. Their estates were, however, forfeited at the close of the sixteenth century for the part they took in the rebellion of the Northern Earls, and some time after this the lands were granted to the Hamiltons.
General Monk partly demolished the castle in 1649, and the Hamiltons began to rebuild it in 1666.
James I. had created the head of the family Earl of Clanbrassil and Viscount Clandeboye, but the last to hold the title died in 1676. It is said he was poisoned by his wife, Lady Alice of Clanbrassil, a daughter of the Earl of Drogheda, who was a beautiful and vicious woman, and after plunging the estate into debt desired to contract a wealthy marriage.
At this time the Earl’s mother, Lady Anne, resided at Killyleagh Castle in accordance with the wishes of her husband’s will.
As Earl Henry left no children the estate was divided amongst his cousins, Killyleagh falling to the lot of James Hamilton. When James died in 1683 his lands were divided between his brother Gawin, ancestor of the present Colonel Rowan-Hamilton, D.L., of Killyleagh Castle, and his daughter Anne, whose granddaughter, Dorcas, married Sir John Blackwood, and was created Baroness Dufferin and Clandeboye.
The division of the estate was accurately made and decided by lot, which had the effect of putting one branch of the family in possession of the half of the courtyard of the castle which lay nearest the town, while the other part was attached to the castle.
This division caused a family feud of some two hundred years in duration. A house was built on the disputed land between the town and castle, and it was only upon the coming of age of the late Marquis of Dufferin, who said it should never be said of him that he keptany man out of his own hall-door, that the contention ended.
The young nobleman presented the land to his kinsman of the castle, to be held by the tenure of the annual tribute of a red rose to the lady of Clandeboye, or should there be no such person, a pair of gilt spurs to the Lord Dufferin of the time. He added to his gift a castellated gate-house, which was erected from designs by Mr. Ferrers.
The last stone was laid by Lord Dufferin upon the morning of his marriage with Miss Rowan Hamilton on the 23rd of October, 1862.
It bears an inscription to that effect, as well as the name of its sculptor, Mr. Samuel Hastings, of Downpatrick.
In 1688-89 Sir Robert Maxwell resided in the castle, having married the widow of the Earl of Clanbrissal. Captain Savage asked to be allowed to garrison the gate-tower so as to be some check upon the disturbances the Protestant party were making in the North. Sir Robert took two days to consider the matter, but in the meantime the soldiers were attacked by Hunter, and the captain and lieutenant taken prisoners.
Soon after the castle was reduced by the Royalists, and in the investigation which followed much credit was taken from the fact that no plundering was allowed. It was stated that such forbearance was wonderful in the face of great provocation, inasmuch as the very day the castle was taken part of Colonel Mark Talbot’s wig was shot off by a bullet from the fortress.
The celebrated United Irishman, Archibald Hamilton Rowan, owned and lived in the castle. He was secretary of the Dublin Society of United Irishmen in 1791, and in 1794 he was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment for seditious libel.
The embroidered lavender dress coat, which he wore at his presentation to Marie Antoinette in 1781 or 1782, whenin attendance on the Duchess of Manchester, is still preserved as an heirloom in the castle. A pair of pistols presented to Captain Hamilton, R.N., C.B., after the battle of Navarino, by the French Admiral De Rigny, for his gallant services to the French squadron, are also to be seen at Killyleagh.
In 1842 Captain Archibald Rowan Hamilton married Miss Caldwell, of Cheltenham, and seven years later they began to restore the castle.
In 1862 the marriage of the late Lord Dufferin and Clandeboye, with Hariot Georgina, eldest daughter of the late Captain Archibald Rowan Hamilton, 5th Dragoon Guards, was celebrated in the evening of October 23rd, in the drawing-room of the castle.
When the present owner of the castle, Colonel Gawen Rowan Hamilton, came of age in 1864, Lord Dufferin handed him the keys of the gate-tower, to which reference has already been made, saying, “The time is now come for me to hand over to you this gate-house, a gift which I had originally destined for your father, but which, with equal pleasure, I now make to you. I trust that you and your descendants may long continue to enjoy it.”
Thisis one of the few names in Ireland which clearly show a Danish influence. The Irish designation was Cairlinn, and the present name simply means the “fiordof Cairlinn,” or Carlingford.
It is situated in the County of Louth, on the southern shore of the bay at the foot of the Mourne Mountains, about eleven miles east-north-east of Dundalk.
It was a most important town of the Pale, and at one time nearly every building of any size was of a fortified type. There are still to be seen the remains of three strongholds called at the present time King John’s Castle, Taffe’s Castle, and Lee’s Castle.
King John’s Castle is traditionally supposed to have been erected by that monarch’s orders in 1210 to protect the mountain pass of Goulin. We know that King John was at “Kerlingford,” but Grose considers that it is more likely the fortress was built by De Lacy or De Courcy.
It is situated on a rocky promontory which projects into the sea, and having been built in accordance with the natural formation of the rock is triangular in shape. It is divided in the centre by a “cross wall” nearly 12 feet thick. On the southern side the divisions of apartments are still to be seen, and there are also the remains of galleries with recesses for archers. The walls are about 11 feet in thickness, and on the sea side there is a small underground passage some 20 feet in length.
The chief entrance from the water was protected by a
KING JOHN’S CASTLE, CARLINGFORD.
KING JOHN’S CASTLE, CARLINGFORD.
KING JOHN’S CASTLE, CARLINGFORD.
platform or battery, which also commanded the harbour. It is said the promontory once extended further into the sea, and being covered with soft grass was called the “Green Quay.”
In 1215 the King commanded Roger Pipard to deliver up the castle to any one the Archbishop of Dublin appointed to receive it. Richard de Burgh was ordered to give up the fortress to Geoffrey de Mariscis in 1216 or 1217, but this order was immediately followed by a similar one to William de Lacy, who had evidently taken the King’s Castle at Carlingford.
In 1388 Stephen Gernon, the constable of the time, was licensed by the King to take corn tithes in the lordship of Cooley to supply the castles of Carlingford and Greencastle. Five years later Esmond de Loundres was appointed Warden of Carlingford, Greencastle, and Coly, with the profits due to the office. The O’Neill of that day so pillaged the country round that De Loundres was unable even to meet his expenses, and he petitioned that, the seignory being laid waste, he might be either relieved of office or properly supplied with means to meet the charges attached to it. Whereupon an order to provision the castles under his command was issued.
Fishing rights seem to have been attached to the castle in 1425, and more than a hundred years later they still formed a Government revenue. In 1535 the Treasurer went to Carlingford to inspect the King’s castle. He reported that it and Greencastle with the country round had been almost destroyed, and that if the war was to continue English workmen would have to be sent over to put the castle in repair. He suggested that the expenses should be defrayed by the fishing dues.
This does not seem to have been done, for in 1549 both castles were in a dilapidated condition. Three years later Sir Nicholas Bagenall was granted “the Manor of Carlingford and an old castle there, and the whole demesne andmanor of Mourne and Greencastle, the castle and demesne of the Black Friars in Carlingford.” Ten years later it was still in his hands.
In 1596 the Earl of Tyrone, after having pretended to submit to the Government, made an incursion into the Pale. It seems that his foremost troops were commanded by his son-in-law, Henry Oge, who endeavoured to surprise the castle at Carlingford. This he was unable to accomplish, but, “missing of his principal purpose, there were carried away as prisoners, in lamentable manner, two gentlewomen, daughters of Captain Henshaw, the one married and the other a maid.”
The Earl, who was following, had intended to reinforce the troops after the seizing of the town and fortress, but the failure of the enterprise prevented his doing so. He acknowledged having carried off the ladies from the castle “in time of peace,” and refused to return them until O’Hanlon’s son was liberated in exchange.
Marmaduke Whitechurch was constable of Carlingford in 1610, and had six warders under his command.
In 1641 “Sir Con Maginse tooke the forte and castle of the Neurie and Carlingfoorde.”
The next year it was captured by a ruse graphically described as follows: “5th of May. Newes came from Dundalk to the Lords Justices by Captaine Cadogan (who came thence through Maday with ten horse-men only) that the Newry was not only retaken by the Lord Conway and Munroe, the Scots commander, from the rebels, but also that the towne and castle of Carlingford were taken by a ship that came from Knockfergus. Their policy was to put up the Spanish colours, which the rebels discerning, sent a fisher-boat, with ten or twelve of their commanders, to goe aboard the ship, supposing that some ammunition was come unto them; but the captaine of the ships, instead of shewing them any such commodities, clapt them up under decks, and so landing his musketiers,they took the towne, which they of the castle soone perceiving, fled away, and left both unto our forces.”
In 1648 Lord Inchiquin marched on Carlingford after capturing Dundalk, and seems to have had little difficulty in getting possession of the town and fortress. The following year Colonel Venables appeared before the walls with Parliamentary forces. Upon his making preparation for the landing of cannon the town and castles were surrendered. In a letter to Oliver Cromwell he speaks with great praise of Captain Ferns, who “came to the harbour’s mouth with his fregot, and upon a signal agreed between us, came gallantly in under fire,” although his mainmast was split by a shot from the castle. He captured a small Wexford vessel then in the bay.
Carlingford was no mean prize, as it formed the chief storehouse of their opponents’ arms in Ulster.
The three castles and the sea-fort contained in all seven pieces of ordnance, nearly 40 barrels of powder and the same of small shot, over a thousand muskets, and 480 pikes.
They did not find much provision in the town. The next day Newry surrendered.
The fortress must have been subjected to bombardment at some time, as cannon-balls have been found among the ruins.
Limerick Cityis situated on the Shannon, ninety-four miles south-west by west of Dublin. The name is a corruption of Luimneach, signifying “barren spot of land.”
King John’s Castle is one of the finest examples of Norman military architecture in the country. It was erected to guard Thomond Bridge, and was the citadel of the English town of Limerick.
The curtain wall by the river is about 200 feet long, and is flanked at both ends by round towers, each having a diameter of 50 feet, and with walls 10 feet thick. A third tower protects the north-east angle, while the corner towards the town had a square platform raised to the level of the battlements and capable of mounting five or six cannon. In the lower part of this structure was the sally port of the fortress.
The modern entrance is in Nicholas Street, but the former gate led into Castle Street, and was protected by a drawbridge. It was exceedingly narrow, and flanked by two massive towers, one circular and the other semicircular. The arms of the city surmount the gate. A wet ditch surrounded the castle, and was supplied with water from the Shannon.
The oldest part of the structure is the tower nearest the bridge, which shows marks of bombardment.
The dilapidations caused by the guns have been
KING JOHN’S CASTLE, LIMERICK.
KING JOHN’S CASTLE, LIMERICK.
KING JOHN’S CASTLE, LIMERICK.
renovated with red brick, which was a happy idea of the contractor so as to preserve the old war marks.
The ancient battlements were not removed until the close of the eighteenth century, up to which time they were a favourite city promenade.
The castle, as its name indicates, was constructed at the command of King John, and the builders were ruthlessly encroaching on church land until the bishop remonstrated with the King, who issued a proclamation in 1207, ordering that the work should cease until his return, which was in 1210. He furnished the stronghold with every requisite of defence, and appointed a constable and chaplain.
There was a long uninterrupted line of constables from 1216, when Godfrey de Rupe, or Roche, was appointed, until the office was prospectively abolished by Act of Parliament in 1809 to cease with the life of the constable of that date, the Right Hon. Colonel Vereker, afterwards Viscount Gort, who died in 1842.
The chaplaincy was also an office of importance.
In 1217 Reginal de Breouse received the custody of the castle and city for a stated period of years, and in 1226 it was the only castle in Ireland which was not fortified against the King, Richard de Burgh holding it for him.
Twenty pounds were granted to Thomas de Winchester in 1326 to repair the walls, which were much decayed; and six years later the followers of the Desmonds, who were prisoners in the fortress, took possession of it, after killing the constable. The citizens soon recovered possession and put all the occupiers to death.
The Earl of Desmond was made constable for life in 1423, with leave to discharge the duty by deputy. He was granted £10 and some fishing dues to repair the building as “the greater part of it had fallen to the ground.”
We learn from the State Papers that, Mr. Zouche having liberated O’Sullivan Beare, who had been captive atLimerick in 1582, the castle no longer required a ward. But the following year it is stated that John Sheriff having let Patrick Fitzmaurice and his brother out of the castle cost the Queen £20,000.
Three years later the fortress was occupied only by a constable and porter, and was in much need of repair and a garrison.
Sir George Carew received an order to repair the building and provide a ward in 1600, so that it would be a fit residence for the President. He reported that unless part of the town were removed it was impossible to make the fortress really strong, and so he was merely able to add some storehouses, which he regretted, “for that this insolent town has need of a straight curb.”
The death of the President prevented the intended repairs being carried out, and two or three hundred pounds were needed shortly after to roof the towers and the Great Hall, which had been begun, so that the assizes might be held in it. The arms were being much injured through the stronghold not being weather-proof.
In 1602 Father Archer informed the Spaniards of a way they could surprise the castle, he having learned it in Limerick during the previous rebellion.
The plan consisted of two or three Irish galleys coming up the river at night with the tide, and carrying about three hundred men, who would at once force the northern gate by breaking the wooden door with a “pittarr,” as no watch was kept there. The castle once in their hands, attacks could be made from all the other sides of the town.
King James I. granted a charter to the city of Limerick in 1609, from which the castle is exempted.
In 1608 it was stated that a cellar existed under the stronghold, which could be entered from the town without observation. The following year great dilapidations are reported by Sir Josias Bodley. He said that the round towers near the river were so undermined by the water thata cart might pass below their foundations. He repaired the walls and towers, and built the square platform for cannon on the town side. He surrounded the whole with a moat and erected the drawbridge. A constable’s house was still needed.
Repairs were again required in 1618 and 1624.
Captain George Courtenay with two hundred men maintained a most gallant siege in 1642. Though short of provisions, and with a garrison who were not all regulars, he managed to keep the Irish forces at bay for a considerable time.
The besiegers threw a great boom across the Shannon, formed of aspen trees fastened together with iron links, so as to prevent Sir Henry Stradling provisioning the castle by the water gate.
A steady fire from the fortress delayed the work for some days, but the boom was eventually fixed and the remains of it could be seen at low water so late as 1787.
The castle was next bombarded from the cathedral, but still the brave defenders held out. Then mines were begun in three places, the roofs being propped with dry timber smeared with tar. When completed this was ignited and the cavern falling made a large breach in the wall of the castle.
Seeing defence was no longer possible Captain Courtenay capitulated on the 21st of June, obtaining honourable terms for himself and the garrison. Lord Muskerry took possession the next day.
The captured cannon were used to reduce the neighbouring castles. It is said that the great gun which was mounted on the platform next the town took 35 yoke of oxen to draw it.
Ireton arrived at Limerick in 1651, and began to bombard the castle from the foot of Thomond Bridge. As soon as a breach was effected twenty dragoons, in complete armour, led by Captain Hackett, rushed in, followedby infantry. The Irish fled across the bridge into the further town, breaking two of the arches to prevent pursuit. Barrels of gunpowder were found in the vaults of the castle with lighted matches ready to ignite them.
It seems from the following inscription which was inserted in the south-west tower near the platform that repairs were carried out after these sieges: “Contrived by Lef. Vanderstam, General of their Majesties’ Ordnance, Anno 1691-2.”
In 1787 infantry barracks for about four hundred men were erected within the old walls.
The castle is now used as a Government ordnance store.
Thiscastle is situated on the banks of the Barrow in the north-east corner of the Barony of Pornahinch, in the Queen’s County.
The name is sometimes spelt Ley or Leagh, and is said to signify “grey” or “grey land,” though a legend traces its origin to the name of a great chieftainess who lived, and was treacherously slain, on the plain of Lea.
The fortress consisted of a three-storeyed rectangular building 60 feet by 46 feet, flanked by round towers and having walls varying in thickness from 8 to 10 feet. The west side of the structure has been blown up, but the remaining tower contains five rooms, one of them having thicker walls than the rest,i.e., 13 feet instead of 12.
The centre of the castle was built on arches, and the projecting angles of the towers were connected by a curtain wall nearly 8 feet thick.
The approach was by a causeway 100 feet in length. It was surrounded by a ditch 25 feet wide, which could be filled by water from the Barrow. From this it was called Port-na-hinch, or the “Castle of the Island,” from which the barony takes its name. Inside the moat was a low wall, which can still be traced. All the arches are round except one leading from the causeway to the bawn, which is pointed.
Two drawbridges and two bastions defended the gate into the inner ballium, which measured 140 feet by 130 feet. The remains of the barbican can still be seen.
The outer ballium includes the bawn, and the inner one contained a tennis court and tilt yard.
Some authorities state the castle was erected by Baron Offaly, while again it is said to owe its origin in about 1260 to William de Vesey, who had married the Earl of Derby’s daughter, whose mother was heiress to William Mareschal, Lord Palatine of Lea. The daughter of O’More, Prince of Leix, is also said to have built Lea Castle on the Barrow in the marches of Inch, 1260.