LEAP CASTLE

LEA CASTLE (INTERIOR).

It appears, however, to have been in existence in 1203, as there is an order to the Justiciary of Ireland to have the castle delivered, as well as other possessions, which had belonged to Gerald FitzMaurice, and in 1257 William Marshall, Earl of Pembroke, received a grant of the wardship of Maurice, 2nd Baron of Offaly, and also his castles of Lea and Geashill.

In 1264 a meeting was held at Castledermot to settle some dispute about land in Connaught, but at it Maurice, Baron of Offaly, and his nephew, John FitzThomas, seizedRichard de Burgh, heir to the Earl of Ulster, the Lord Justice Richard de Capella, Theobald Butler, and John Cogan, and imprisoned them in Lea.

Thomas de Clare sold the wardship of Maurice Fitz-Gerald’s heirs and the guardianship of Lea Castle to Sir William de Valence in 1270 for 3,500 marks. The wardship had been granted to De Clare by the King’s eldest son. At this time, the Book of Howth states, it was the only fortress held by the English in Offaly. In 1274, however, an order was issued to restore the custody of FitzGerald’s heirs to Roger and Matilda de Mortimer, who had, it seems, inherited the privilege, and De Valence only having paid 2,300 marks was not held liable for the rest of the money in consequence.

The castle was burnt by the O’Dempseys, O’Dunnes, and O’Carrols in 1284, and Theobald Verdon going to avenge the outrage was entirely routed. It was shortly afterwards restored by De Vesey, the Lord Justice of Ireland.

Here, with the assistance of Baron Offaly, he imprisoned the Red Earl of Ulster and his brother in 1294, but they were liberated the following year by order of the Parliament at Kilkenny, and the Pearl’s sons were surrendered as hostages instead. It is said De Vesey then quarrelled with John FitzThomas FitzGerald, Baron Offaly, and fled to France to avoid meeting him in single combat, and by this means Lea Castle lapsed again to the Geraldines.

John FitzThomas was ordered to repair to the King abroad in 1297, and £40 was granted to him to fortify his Castle of Ley.

The castle was besieged and the town burnt in 1307 by the “tories” of Offaly, but the former was relieved by John FitzThomas and Sir Edmund Butler, afterwards Earl of Carrick.

Baron Offaly restored the fortress and erected a church with steeple and bells, but in 1316 Robert Bruce burnt the castle and town, and carried off the bells.

Sir Walter Eustis is said to have been stabbed to death in the castle by his wife’s sister, daughter of the O’More, who had formerly rejected his addresses, but upon the birth of her sister’s child, she murdered Sir Walter in a fit of jealousy, and retired to the convent at Kildare, where she confessed her crime and died penitent.

The O’Dempseys’ seized the fortress in 1329, but the next year it was surrendered to Sir John Darcy, Lord Justice, who restored it to the Earl of Kildare to keep for the King. The O’Dempseys again laid siege to the castle in 1339, but were driven off by the Earl.

O’More, Chief of Leix, burnt Lea in the spring of 1346, but in the following November he was defeated by the Earl of Kildare, who rebuilt the town, castle, and church, but not the steeple.

The fortress was again taken by O’More and O’Dempsey in 1414. Seven years later they were defeated near Kilkea Castle by the 6th Earl of Kildare, nicknamed “Shaun Cam,” or Hump-backed John.

Lea Castle was restored to the Earl after the battle of the Red-bog of Athy.

The Four Masters mention the castle in 1452.

In 1533 the Earl of Kildare furnished the stronghold with guns and ammunition out of the King’s store, and in direct opposition to his commands, which the Master of the Rolls pointed out to him in the presence of the Bishop of Meath.

The following year it is reported to have been one of the six best castles of the Geraldines, and it was the chief stronghold of Lord Offaly, the “Silken Thomas,” during his rebellion, after the fall of Maynooth.

There is a letter from the former constable of this latter fortress, written in 1535, to Cromwell, saying that Lord Thomas had removed the Countess’s apparel to Ley, as well as other valuables, and that he, Boyce, had resigned his office in consequence of the insurrection.

The Carew MSS. record the Castle of Ley was of “no value” in 1537, and state it was granted to James FitzGerald after the attainting of the Earl. In 1548 he required two gunners at the King’s charge, and powder and shot.

Thomas Scotte petitioned to lease it in 1549.

In 1554 the Lord Deputy, Thomas Earl of Sussex, is said to have taken it from Patrick O’More, but it was regained by Anthony O’More in 1598, after which he defeated Essex at the Pass of Ballybrittas, called the “Pass of Plumes” from those worn by the gay English soldiers.

Lea was held by the Irish in 1641 upon the breaking out of the rebellion, but afterwards the loyalists took possession under the command of Lord Lisle. They planted an ash-tree to commemorate the event which lived 170 years, and had a girth of from 29 to 33 feet, while its shade had a diameter of 60 feet.

In 1642 Lord Castlehaven retook Lea, and at this time some of the brass money known as St. Patrick’s halfpennies was struck here. These coins have the letter L on them and are very rare.

O’Neill is said to have lodged in the castle.

The Parliamentary Colonels, Hudson and Reynolds, took and dismantled the fortress in 1650.

It was repaired and held by lease under the Crown by an O’Dempsey until confiscated after the fall of the Stuarts. In 1695 it was granted to the Earl of Meath as part of Sir Patrick Trant’s estate.

A horse stealer called O’Dempsey and nicknamed “Shamas a Coppuil,” or “James the Horse,” inhabited it at the beginning of the eighteenth century until the Government interfered.

Hampden Evans owned it in 1791, and it afterwards passed to Viscount Carlow.

The following legend was related by Widow Gormanin 1818 to Miss French of Glenmolire, and noted by her:—

Redmond M’Comon O’Byrne, chief of Donamace and Leagh, had two gigantic sons named Roderick and Maurice. The latter was married to a daughter of The O’Neill and had one son called Connell.

Upon the death of the old chieftain O’Byrne, he divided his territory between his sons, leaving Donamace to the elder, Roderick, and Leagh to the younger, Maurice.

Roderick, believing he should have inherited all his father’s possessions, determined to murder his brother.

LEA CASTLE (EXTERIOR).

One stormy night he set out alone from Donamace, and having tied his horse beneath a grove of ash-trees near the castle of Lea, he let himself in by the postern, with the key of which his unsuspecting brother had entrusted him.

Reaching Maurice’s chamber he murdered him in cold blood, but not before his victim had cried out to his son to revenge his death by a brother’s hand.

Roderick seized the body and, carrying it to where he had left his horse, put it into a leather bag that he had brought with him. Arriving at Dunamace he threw the body into a very deep well, thinking it would never be discovered.

Maurice’s son, Connell, had heard his father’s cry forvengeance in his dreams, but upon awaking and finding his father gone, with blood stains on the floor and stairs, he knew he had actually heard his voice.

The young chieftain, armed with two great sabres of equal size, proceeded to his uncle’s stronghold, and presenting himself before him, demanded satisfaction. In the duel which followed both combatants were killed, and it is said no grass grows in their footsteps on the rock until this day.

The old well is still shown, and if two friends visit it together one is said to die within the year.

There seems to be no historical record of the fortress ever having been in possession of the O’Byrnes.

Theancient stronghold of the O’Carrolls, of Ely-O’Carrol, is situated in the parish of Aghancon, in the Barony of Ballybritt, King’s County, about five miles south-east of Birr.

Its former name of Leim-Ui-Bhanain denoted “The Leap of O’Banan,” and it is still known as “The Leap” in the district.

There are several legends to account for its designation. One is that two brothers came to the rock on which the castle is built, and they decided that whichever of them survived, after leaping to the ground below, should erect the stronghold. One of the two was killed by the jump.

Another story of a leap is told of a period long after the castle was built. Sometime during the sixteenth century the O’Carrolls’ fortress was besieged by the English forces, and in a sortie the garrison took prisoner a young Captain Darby, who was with the attacking party. The room where he was imprisoned in the castle is still shown. The daughter of the chief was deputed to carry him his food, which was delivered through a hole in the wall. But the young Englishman made good use of his slender opportunities by winning the heart of the Irish maid, so that she connived at his escape by unbarring his prison. When running down the stone stairs which led to the cell in which he had been confined, he met her brother coming up, who raised the alarm regarding the escaping captive. Nothing daunted, young Darby turned and

LEAP CASTLE.

ascended to the battlements, where, it is said, he leaped from the castle roof into a large yew-tree, the roots of which have only lately been removed. That the young couple were eventually married is a satisfactory ending to the romance, and certain it is that Leap Castle passed to the Darby family as the marriage portion of an O’Carroll’s daughter who married a Darby, son of an English knight.

The castle is supposed to have been built by the Danes prior to the English invasion, during their conflicts in these parts with the more recently landed Norwegians. The structure resembles their form of defence, being of pyramidical shape, and built in the rubble masonry of that period, with pre-Norman arches and small loopholes for the discharge of arrows and javelins. The walls vary from 15 to 25 feet in width. There are several stone stairways in the thickness of the walls, and parts of them are brightly polished from constant use. The keep is the oldest construction, and it forms the hall of the present edifice. The wings, one at each side, were built at the end of the sixteenth or beginning of the seventeenth century. That on the north-west connects what is known as the “Priest’s House” with the main building. This dwelling is of fourteenth-century masonry, and was used as the chief residence of the family in times of peace.

In the top of the keep is situated what is known as “The Bloody Chapel,” having been desecrated by one Teige O’Carroll, who murdered his brother before the altar. It was formerly covered with a stone roof, but this gave way last century. A curious old stone-fastening remains that formerly received the bar of the door.

Off the chapel is the oubliette, formerly supplied with a spring death-trap. Not so very long ago three cart-loads of bones were removed from it and buried in consecrated ground. Bits of several old watches were found among the remains.

Large dungeons are situated below the keep, and there are many bricked-up passages and secret chambers. One of the former is said to lead to a neighbouring rath. The guard-room on the south-east side is hewn out of the rock. Numerous bones have been found in different parts of the building.

The site of the castle was evidently chosen to guard the river ford and the pass of the Slieve Bloom Mountains into Tipperary. Many bones have been found in a field near the river. A village once surrounded the castle, but only the ruins of the houses now remain.

The O’Carrolls, whose chief stronghold the castle was, are supposed to have wrested it from its original builders, the Danes.

In 1154 Henry II. granted Ely O’Carroll to Theobald de Walter, but he was entirely unable to take possession of any but the lower portion of the kingdom.

In 1489 John O’Carroll died of plague at Leap. The visitation was at this time so bad that hundreds of bodies lay unburied.

Gerald Fitz-Gerald, 8th Earl of Kildare and Lord Deputy of Ireland, set out for Leamyvannan in 1513 to put down a rising of the O’Carrolls. He failed to take the castle, “as was seldom the case with him,” and retreated to collect fresh forces.

Returning with a splendid company he was shot by an O’More while watering his horse at the River Greese, near Kilkea, and he died a few days later at Kildare.

Three years afterwards his son attacked Leap, and took the stronghold, of which it is recorded, “there was scarcely any castle at that period better fortified and defended than this, until it was demolished upon its warders.”

In 1522 the Earl of Kildare made it a charge against his rival, Sir Piers Butler, Lord Deputy, that he had lent O’Carroll cannon to defend Leap against him in 1516.The charge was hardly denied, but the defence was put forward that the attack on O’Carroll was unwarranted.

Mulrony O’Carroll died at Leap in 1532. It is recorded that he was “a triumphant traverser of tribes; a jocund and majestic Munster champion, a precious stone, a carbuncle gem, the anvil of the solidity, and the golden pillar of the Elyans.”

He was succeeded in the chieftainship by his son, Ferganainm, but the succession was disputed by a senior branch of the family who were in possession of Birr. Ferganainm enlisted the aid of his father-in-law, the Earl of Kildare, who received a wound during the dispute which hurried his end.

It was, no doubt, at this time that a terrible massacre took place at Leap Castle upon the rival branch of the sept, who had been invited to the stronghold under the guise of friendship. Lord Deputy Grey may have had this act of treachery in his mind when writing of O’Carroll, Baron of Ely, in Edward VI.’s reign, he speaks of him as “false.” It is stated that this O’Carroll made submission to Lord Leonard Grey in 1537.

Twenty years later (1557) the Earl of Sussex, Lord Justice, made a hosting into Fircall, penetrating into Ely, where he took Leap Castle. But this expedition seems, mainly, to have been directed against the O’Connors, who had taken refuge there after their escape from Meelick Castle, and “the goodness of his steed” is said to have saved O’Connor from his pursuers, who took the Leap without opposition. O’Carroll became re-possessed of the stronghold shortly afterwards.

There was a Jonathan Darby, Captain of Sussex Horse, in 1553, and perhaps it was during this expedition that the romance before related took place. A tomb in the neighbouring graveyard records the death of a Jonathan Darby in 1601.

It is said an inquisition was called at Lemyvananein 1568 for the preparation of a deed by which Ely O’Carroll was surrendered to the king by “Sir William O’Kerroll,” to whom it was restored by letters patent, but there is some confusion about the dates and conditions of the several transfers.

In 1604 Ely O’Carroll was annexed to the King’s County.

During the Parliamentary wars, Mr. Darby, of Leap, espoused the King’s cause, and tradition avers that Cromwell appeared before the castle saying that if they did not surrender in twenty-four hours he would blow them out with a pump-stick. The fortress was not tenable in the event of cannon being used, as it is commanded from many points.

A weird story is told of the Jonathan Darby of the time, usually known as “the wild Captain.” It is said before he surrendered the castle he collected all his money and treasure and with the aid of two servants hid it somewhere in the walls of the fortress. He then sent one of them for his sword and in the meantime threw the other over the battlements. Upon the messenger returning he slew him with the weapon he brought, evidently thinking “a secret is only safe with three when two are dead.” Later he was arrested on a charge of high treason and imprisoned in Birr. He was several times reprieved, and at last liberated, his legs having mortified. Upon his return he was only capable of murmuring “My money, my money,” but was quite unable to say where it was concealed.

In 1691 a Captain Darby, of the Leap, is alleged to have committed many deeds of daring against rapparees. It would appear that the estate was mortgaged for a nominal sum to one John Holland for fear of confiscation, for Charles II. re-granted the land to this Holland as mortgagee.

Admiral Darby, who commanded theBellerophonatthe battle of the Nile, 1798, was one of the Darbys of Leap.

The present owner is Jonathan Charles Darby, Esq., D.L., who resides in the castle.

Thecastle is situated in the portion of Leixlip which extends into North Salt Barony in the County Kildare. The fortress occupies a commanding position at the juncture of the Rivers Rye-water and Liffey, above the famous Salmon Leap from which the designation Leixlip is derived, being a Danish name from the old Norse word “Lax-hlaup,”i.e., Salmon Leap. From the word “Saltus,” a leap, the baronies of Salt have also taken their name.

The castle is generally supposed to have been erected by the De Hereford family towards the close of the twelfth century. The present building consists of two blocks at right angles, facing east and south. The east wing probably incorporates part of the twelfth-century keep, and with the north-east circular tower represents the oldest portion of the structure, although it has been pierced by modern windows.

In this part a room is still shown in which tradition states that King John slept during his stay in Ireland.

The square south-east tower is not so old, and its erection is generally ascribed to the Geraldines.

The lands of Leixlip were granted to Adam de Hereford by Strongbow shortly after the Normans arrived in 1170. At the close of the thirteenth century the castle and lands had passed to the Pypards. In 1302 Ralph Pypard surrendered all his castles, &c., to the Crown, and in consequence Richard de Bakeputz, who was constable of Leixlip, was ordered to deliver it up to the King.

LEIXLIP CASTLE.

Leixlip Castle was included in the list of those fortresses that were only to have Englishmen as constables by the statute passed in 1494.

Henry VII. granted the castle and lands to Gerald, 8th Earl of Kildare, upon his marriage with Dame Elizabeth Saint John, between the years 1485 and 1509, and they remained in the possession of the FitzGeralds until the rebellion of “The Silken Thomas” in 1534, in which the owner, Sir James “Meirgach” (i.e., the winkled) FitzGerald was concerned. In 1536 an Act was passed by which the Crown became possessed of the castle and manor.

Two years after Mathew King, of Dublin, surrendered the castle, which appears to have been granted to him for twenty-one years. In 1568 William Vernon, gentleman, was leased the manor of Leixlip, containing castles, &c., by the Crown. Nine years later Sir Nicholas Whyte, Master of the Rolls, came into possession. He was a son of James Whyte, of the County Waterford.

In 1570 he was granted the manor of Leixlip, two castles, a water-mill, a salmon-weir, two fishing-places called the Salmon Leap, on the River Anna Liffey, Priortown Meade, and other demesne lands. Two years later he was made Master of the Rolls.

Sir Nicholas Whyte was succeeded by his son Andrew, whose son was again Sir Nicholas Whyte, Knt.

This Sir Nicholas held the manor of Leixlip upon the breaking out of hostilities in 1641. In company with Lord Dunsany, Patrick Barnwall, Sir Andrew Aylmer, and other chief men of the Pale, he surrendered himself to the Lords Justices Parsons and Borlace. This was done in obedience to the King’s proclamation to show that they had no part in the rebellion, but they were imprisoned in Dublin Castle and most inhumanly treated.

In the diary of Captain William Tucker he records going from Dublin to Naas in 1641 with the Marquis ofOrmond, and sleeping a night in Leixlip Castle. He mentions that the owner, Sir Nicholas Whyte, was at the time a prisoner in Dublin.

In 1646 General Preston established his chief quarters in the fortress, and in November of that year the Confederate Catholics halted in their march on Dublin between Leixlip and Lucan. They were commanded by Generals Preston and Owen Roe O’Neill. The King’s secretary and minister, Digby, was at Leixlip with Preston.

Plots and counter plots among the Confederate commanders made the once formidable army of no avail. Owen Roe, fearing some treachery, threw a wooden bridge across the Liffey, as a flood had destroyed the permanent one, and withdrew his forces into Meath.

Sir Nicholas Whyte recovered his lands of Leixlip by a Decree of Innocence. He died in 1654, and was buried at Leixlip.

Various historians have confused the fortress popularly called Leixlip Castle with a stronghold of less note designated the “Black Castle” of Leixlip, situated at the eastern end of the town. Although still known as the “Black Castle” this building has been so modernised that its original fortified structure is not noticeable.

That some discrepancies as to ownership existed in the written history of Leixlip Castle was first noted in 1901, but it was not until the following year that Lord Walter FitzGerald, in a note in theJournal of the Kildare Archæological Society, gave an extract from “The Civil Survey” of James Peisley and Henry Makepeace of 1654, in which the “Black Castle” of Leixlip is mentioned as belonging to the Earl of Kildare and “one ruined castle” to Sir Nycholas White, thus establishing the fact that there were two distinct castles at Leixlip owned by different persons.

The “Black Castle” is therefore no doubt the fortress alluded to in an inquisition held in September, 1612, whichstates that Gerald FitzGerald, son of Gerald, late Earl of Kildare, and uncle of Gerald, late Earl of Kildare, was seized of one castle, three messuages, one ruined water-mill, and forty acres of arable land at Leixlip. And again in 1621 the inquisition taken upon the death of Gerald, 15th Earl of Kildare, includes the Castle of Leixlip, &c. While the rental of the Earl of Kildare in 1657 mentions the black castle of Leixlip with sixty acres of land valued at £15 a year.

Leixlip Castle was purchased by the Right Hon. William Conolly, Speaker of the Irish House of Commons, at the beginning of the eighteenth century. He subsequently built the mansion of Castletown at Celbridge, but his nephew and heir occupied Leixlip Castle during the famine years of 1740 and 1741.

After this period the castle has been inhabited by many distinguished tenants.

It was a favourite residence of Primate Stone, and during Lord Townshend’s period of office he usually passed the summer there.

Many stories are told of this Viceroy’s fancy for mixing incognito with “all sorts and conditions of men.”

One day Lord Townshend met a journeyman cutler named Edward Bentley in the demesne of Leixlip Castle and began to talk to him. Bentley was loud in his praises of the Lord Lieutenant’s kindness in allowing the public into the grounds of his residence, but he was equally vehement in denouncing the political views he held.

Mistaking the proprietor for one of the retainers, he offered him half a crown upon leaving, and when it was refused the cutler commented on the difference between his action and that of the gate-keeper who had demanded that amount.

Lord Townshend then took him to the castle and provided him with a cold repast, but as he was escortinghis departing and grateful visitor through the hall the unfortunate gate-keeper came in.

The Lord Lieutenant asked him why he had dared to disobey orders and receive money from visitors. Whereupon the man fell upon his knees and asked pardon. Bentley, at last realising who had been his entertainer, immediately followed suit. Lord Townshend sent for his sword, and the cutler was quite certain that his last hour had come. The Lord Lieutenant flourished the weapon over his head and brought it down smartly on the terror-stricken man’s shoulder, saying, “Rise, Sir Edward Bentley.” The new-made knight was appointed cutler to His Excellency, and lived long to enjoy his honour.

Viscount Townshend’s wife died at Leixlip Castle.

The Hon. George Cavendish remodelled the building and brought it up to modern requirements during his tenancy before 1837.

John Michael, Baron de Robuck, subsequently lived there, and was drowned in the Liffey in 1856 during a flood.

In 1878, Captain the Honourable Cornwallis Maude, son of the Earl of Montalt, took the castle after his marriage. He was killed at Majuba Hill.

The present occupier is William Mooney, Esq., J.P.

This fortress is one of the oldest inhabited houses in Ireland. It has been said that the novelist Maturin founded one of his weird plots on a legend relating to Leixlip Castle, but the statement requires verification.

An underground passage runs from the castle, beneath the Byewater, to St. Mary’s Church, where it terminates in a vault under the building, the end being now walled up.

Thiscastle takes its name from a rath now known as Round Hill,lismeaning “fort,” andmor“great.” It is situated on the right bank of the River Blackwater, about four and a half miles north-by-east of Tallow, in the county of Waterford.

When Henry II. visited Lismore in 1171 he seems to have formed the plan of turning the ancient and famous Abbey of Mochuda into a fortified episcopal residence; hence in 1179 Milo de Cogan and Robert FitzStephen were sent by his directions to choose the site for this stronghold, which was to act as a protection against the “mere Irish.”

In all probability the tapering tower, now known as “Sir Walter Raleigh’s Tower,” formed part of the ecclesiastical buildings. It is constructed of rude rubble, and has plain loops and cornices. The entrance is on the second floor, and this leads into buildings of later date, so that it has no external doorway. A somewhat similar tower was destroyed by fire prior to 1864, which may (with the one now standing) have protected a gate between the upper and lower courts.

The outer wall, with its beehive-roofed bastions at the corners, and the old gate, which has its archway decorated with chevrons, are likely to have been of twelfth-century construction.

The entrance to the castle is by “the Riding House,” so called from its having formerly been guarded by twomounted sentries, the niches for the horses being still shown. This leads into a long shaded avenue, flanked by high walls which extends to the opening of the lower courtyard. Over the gate are the arms of the first Earl of Cork, and the motto “God’s Providence is our inheritance.” “King John’s Tower” is situated to the right of the entrance, and the “Carlisle Tower” on the left. This latter is about 240 feet in height, and was erected to commemorate the Lord Lieutenancy of the Earl of Carlisle. It is constructed of coarse rubble. The stone for the dressing of its windows and for other parts of the castle was quarried at Chatsworth, and brought over in specially chartered vessels.

The “Flag Tower” flanks the north-east angle, and the oldest wing faces east towards the garden. The upper court is reached through a passage on the west of the entrance, and here Sir Walter Raleigh’s tower is situated to the north.

The whole fortress is built upon a rock, which on one side descends precipitously to the Blackwater, the base being clothed with trees.

The Earl of Cork employed “a free Mazon of Bristol” during his alterations. The modern improvements were principally designed by Sir Joseph Paxton.

The main door has an Ionic porch executed in Bath-stone, said to have been the work of Inigo Jones.

The hall is square, and is used as a billiard-room. A stone stairway ascends on the left side of the entrance. The present banqueting hall was originally a chapel, and has a Gothic roof of open woodwork. The drawing-room contains a large bay window overhanging the river, known as “King James’s Window.” During his stay in Ireland in 1689, he spent a night in the castle, and dining in this room, he approached the window, but started back when he saw the depth below.

The sword and mace of Youghal are exhibited in thehall, where is also the Pastoral Staff of Lismore, which was discovered built up in a doorway of the castle with a valuable Irish manuscript book, since called the “Book of Lismore.”

In 1181 Cullen O’Cullane, and O’Phelan, Prince of the Decies, attacked the fortress, which had been somewhat hastily constructed, and they killed fifty to eighty of the garrison and razed the stronghold.

LISMORE CASTLE.

Prince John, Earl of Morton, landing at Waterford in 1185, rebuilt the castle on a larger scale.

Nine years later the men of the Decies took the fortress by surprise and killed Robert Barry, brother of Giraldus Cambrensis. In the autumn of the same year (1189) the Irish, finding they could not hold the castle, decided to destroy it, but they afterwards surrendered it upon terms. From this time it appears to have been an episcopal residence for some four hundred years.

In 1218 the Bishop of Waterford wrote to Henry III.complaining that the castle of Lismore had been taken from him by Thomas FitzAnthony and Griffin FitzGriffin. The King ordered that it should be restored to the bishop.

When Robert de Bedford was elected Bishop of Lismore the fortress was transferred to him, but not without the Bishop of Waterford declaring it belonged to his see. Bishop de Bedford appealed to Rome, and after a dispute of twelve years it was finally confirmed to the see of Lismore.

In 1271 Lord Justice Audley came on a visit to the castle, and Roger de Mortimer, after he landed at Youghal as Lord Justice, was the guest of Bishop Fleming at Lismore in 1317.

Some time before his resignation in 1589, Meler Magrath, Bishop of Lismore and Archbishop of Cashel, granted the castle to Sir Walter Raleigh at a rent of £13 6s. 8d., and three years later Sir Walter sold it to Sir Richard Boyle, afterwards the first Earl of Cork, who restored and enlarged it.

His great son, the philosopher, was born in the castle in 1626.

The stronghold was besieged three times during the civil wars of 1641. It was first attacked by five thousand Irish troops under the command of Sir Richard Beling, and was successfully defended by Lord Broghill, the Earl’s third son.

The following year an unsuccessful attempt was made to burn it by the Irish.

In 1643 it was again besieged by Lieutenant-Colonel Purcell with seven thousand foot and nine hundred horse. This time Captain Hugh Croker commanded the garrison. The Earl records in his diary that the rebels demanded the surrender of the fortress, but “we retorned them defyance.” None of the defenders were killed, but their enemies lost about three hundred in killed and wounded. The following month cannon was brought to bear on thestronghold, and a breach was effected in the brewhouse, but it was quickly repaired with earth, and the fire from the castle was so great that the enemy did not dare to storm the opening. The guns were then shifted to the south-west, and the orchard was attacked, but the shots from the turrets protected the curtain wall.

After a siege of eight days, the Earl’s sons, Lords Dungarvan and Broghill, landed at Youghal and made a treaty with Lord Muskerry for a six days’ truce. Of the besiegers twenty were killed, while the defenders escaped injury.

The great Earl died in 1644. The following year the castle was again besieged, this time by troops under Lord Castlehaven. Major Bower, with a garrison of a hundred of the Earl’s tenants, managed to kill five hundred of the besiegers and to make terms before they surrendered.

The 4th Earl of Cork died without male heirs in 1753, and Lismore Castle passed to his eldest daughter, Lady Charlotte Boyle, who had married the 4th Duke of Devonshire in 1748. It thus passed to its present owner, the 8th Duke of Devonshire, who entertained King Edward VII. and Oueen Alexandra at the castle in 1904.

Thisfortress is situated in the Barony of Duhallow, four miles and a half east-south-east of Kanturk, County Cork.

The name was sometimes spelt Loghort, and means literally “herb-plot” or “garden,” fromluibh, “herb,” andgort, “an enclosed field.”

The central tower is circular, and measures about 80 feet in height. It was strongly machicolated, and had only a few apertures for light and air. The walls are about 10 feet thick at the base, diminishing to 6 feet.

The castle was formerly surrounded by a moat, which was crossed by a drawbridge, but this has been removed.

Richard Sainthill, writing in 1831, describes the castle thus:—

“Six miles from Liscarroll is Loghort Castle, the residence of Lord Arden when he visits his Irish estates. It is a square keep about 90 feet in height. The ground floor is now the kitchen. The first floor was the armoury, and contained arms for 100 soldiers, which were removed and lost in the year 1798. This is now the dining-parlour; above this is the drawing-room. We then rise to the state bedroom, beside which there are six others. From the battlements an extensive prospect is commanded.”

The castle also contained a good library. In the armoury was preserved the sword of Sir Alex. MacDonald, who commanded the Highlanders at the battle of Knockninoss in 1647, and was treacherously killed by a soldier after the encounter.

The fortress dates from the reign of King John, and was a former stronghold of the MacCarthys.

In 1641 Sir Philip Perceval garrisoned it with a hundred and fifty men during the rebellion. Nevertheless the Irish gained possession of the stronghold by treachery, and held it until May, 1650, when Sir Hardress Waller reduced it with a battery of cannon.

In his letter to the Parliament he writes of it as a place of great strength.

After this it seems to have remained in a state of dilapidation until the middle of the eighteenth century, when Sir Philip Perceval’s descendant, the Earl of Egmont, put it into a state of repair.

The agents of the estate resided in the castle during many years of the last century, and it is now the residence of Sir Timothy O’Brien, Bart.

There are many legends relating to the old fortress.

Inthe Barony of Kitartan, County Galway, about three miles south-by-east of Gort, is situated Lough Cutra Castle, the beautiful mansion of Viscount Gough.

The demesne extends along the west and south shores of the lake, and the gardens slope to the water’s edge in terraces.

Mr. Blake Foster, in “The Irish Chieftains,” says that the name was derived from a leader of the Belgic tribe, called Cutra, who owned the district before the arrival of the Milesians.

The mansion is a castellated building of Tudor style. It has massive walls of finely-cut limestone, and was erected during the last century at a cost of over £50,000.

Mr. Paine was the architect, but he died before the building was finished, and the lodges, &c., were carried out in the same style by Mr. Nash, while the gardens and grounds were exquisitely laid out by Mr. Sutherland.

It is considered one of the show places of the west.

John Prendergast Smith was created Viscount Gort in 1816. He had inherited the O’Shaughnessy estate through his uncle, and he began to build the present mansion.

The story goes that being enchanted with East Cowes Castle, in the Isle of Wight, which belonged to, and had been designed by, Mr. Nash, Lord Gort decided to erect a similar building on the shores of his beautiful lake. It is strange that the present Lord Gort now lives in EastCowes Castle, from which the design of his ancestor’s castle in Ireland was borrowed.

The first Viscount Gort adopted his nephew, Colonel Vereker, as his heir.

This soldier so distinguished himself at the battle of Coloony that he and his heirs were granted supporters to the family arms and allowed to adopt “Coloony” as their motto.

When the 3rd Viscount Gort succeeded to the estates they were heavily encumbered, and the famine of 1848 completed the ruin of the family.

The castle was sold for £17,000 to Mrs. Ball, Superioress of the Religious Order of Loretto, Dublin. She turned it into a novitiate house and opened a school. After a few years the community was recalled, and the castle was again put up for sale. This time it was purchased for £24,000 by the first Lord Gough.

Two pieces of ordnance which he captured in India are mounted at the entrance.

The present Viscount Gough is Resident British Minister at Dresden.

Thisfortress is situated in West Muskerry, County Cork, about twenty miles from Cork City, on the bank of the River Sullane, the ford of which it was evidently built to command.

Various derivations are given of the old name Macromp. Some authorities state that it signifies the “Plain of Crom,” the supreme deity of the ancient inhabitants of Ireland. Smith says the name came from a crooked oak under which travellers used to pass, but it seems more probable that it simply meant “a crooked plain,” and referred to the undulating country round.

In Smith’s History of Cork he describes the building as consisting of two square towers about 60 feet high connected by a large modern building. Windele, however, says that the present residence is a huge square mass of masonry which formed the keep of the original castle.

It has a handsome gallery and other good apartments, and is now covered with ivy. At the beginning of the last century Gothic windows were introduced and part of it weather-slated, which, being entirely out of keeping with the style of architecture, has not added to its picturesqueness.

It occupies a slight rise on the east bank of the Sullane River, which flows through the demesne. The gardens lie to the south.

The castle appears to have been erected in the twelfth century, and its building has been variously attributed to the Carews and Daltons, while its Irish name of Caislean-i-Fhlionn, signifying “O’Flyn’s Castle,” seems to indicate that it owes its origin to this family, who formerly ownedterritory in Muskerry and Carberry. It afterwards came into the possession of the MacCarthys, and Tiege MacCarty, father of the famous Lord Muskerry, died in the castle in 1565, having restored and enlarged it.

In 1602 its owner, Cormac MacDermot Carthy, Lord Muskerry, was suspected of hostile intrigues and imprisoned in Cork, while Captain Flower and then Sir Charles Wilmot were sent to lay siege to the castle. Lord Muskerry, however, escaped, and the Lord President fearing he might cut off Sir Charles’s retreat, ordered him to return to Cork.

The night before the intended march the garrison killed a pig, but water being too scarce to scald it they decided to singe it instead with fern and straw. This they did in the castle bawn, but some sparks lighting on the thatched roof of a cabin flamed up and set fire to some tallow through one of the windows of the castle.

The flames quickly spread through the building and the garrison was obliged to take speedy refuge in the bawn. From thence they made a sally to the woods, about fifty being slain in their attempt to escape.

The besiegers entered the castle and extinguished the fire. After making some necessary repairs Sir Charles left a garrison there and marched to Cork.

Upon the breaking out of the rebellion of 1641 it was again in Lord Muskerry’s possession, and when the Papal Nunzio landed in the south of Ireland he visited many places and amongst them Macroom Castle. He was received at the great gate of the fortress by Lady Helena Butler, sister of Lord Ormond, and the wife of Donough, Lord Muskerry. The Nunzio stayed at Macroom for four days.

In 1650 the Bishop of Ross assembled an army in the park. Upon the approach of Lord Broghill with a body of horse, the garrison in the castle set fire to it and joined the main body encamped outside. Then followed the battle of Macroom, in which about seven hundred of theIrish troops were slain. The Bishop and the High Sheriff of Kerry were taken prisoners. The latter was shot, but the bishop was promised freedom if he induced the garrison of Carrigadrohid Castle to surrender. When brought to that fortress he, however, exhorted the besieged to hold out, and he was at once hanged with the reins of his own horse.

Later in the war General Ireton is said to have burned both the town and castle of Macroom.

During the Commonwealth the castle was granted to Admiral Sir William Penn, father of the founder of Pennsylvania.

Upon the restoration of Charles II. the stronghold was restored to the MacCarthys, and was enlarged and modernised by the Earl of Clancarty.

In 1691 it again fell into the hands of an English garrison. They were hard pressed by James’s troops, until the approach of Major Kirk and three hundred dragoons raised the siege.

The estate of the 4th Earl of Clancarty was confiscated for his allegiance to King James, and the castle was sold by auction in 1703. It was bought by the Hollow Sword Blade Co., who resold it to Judge Bernard, ancestor to Lord Bandon.

After this it was occupied by the Hedges Eyre family, the Hon. Robert Hedges Eyre dying 1840.

Colonel White Hedges, brother of Lord Bantry, owned the castle in 1861, and it is now in the possession of Lord Ardilaun, whose wife is one of the Bantry family.

Thetown of Malahide is situated in the Barony of Coolock, about seven miles north-north-east of the City of Dublin, and about half a mile distant stands the ancient seat of the Talbot family.

A number of suggestions have been put forward as to the derivation of the name Malahide, perhaps the most probable being that it comes from Baile-atha-id, signifying the “town of Id’s ford.”

The present castle is almost square in form, with a Gothic entrance on the south-east. This side of the fortress is flanked at each angle by a round tower, one of them at least having been added during the last century. The whole effect is much enhanced by the building being largely covered with ivy.

During the early part of the eighteenth century the stronghold was enlarged and modernised by its owner, Colonel Talbot. It had at that time lost its castellated character, which was restored, while the moat that surrounded it was filled in and planted.

The former entrance was by drawbridge, protected by a portcullis and barbican. The old tower of the barbican now gives entrance to the stable yard.

The hall is flagged and vaulted, and the walls are hung with interesting martial relics, while a handsomely-carved chair is said to have belonged to King Robert Bruce.

A circular flight of stairs leads to the next floor, which contains the famous “Oak Room.” The timber for itsornamentation is said to have been brought from the “faire greene commune of Ostomanstoune,” which was not so far away, and from which King William Rufus is said to have obtained the oak to roof Westminster Hall. The panels in Malahide Castle are of an ebony black, and are richly carved in relief with scriptural subjects. The ceiling is cross-beamed with oak, and a wide mullioned window gives light to this beautiful apartment. It is said to have once been the castle chapel, and that behind a double panel, carved with scenes from the Garden of Eden, is a recess still occupied by the altar.

Here amongst other interesting objects is the suit of armour traditionally supposed to have been worn by Sir Walter Hussey, who was the first husband of the Hon. Maud Plunkett, and was killed on his wedding day.

The dining hall is said to date from the Tudor period, and it has a pointed ceiling of stained wood with a gallery at one end. In this room is displayed a very fine collection of historical and family portraits by many celebrated artists, amongst whom are Lely, Titian, Reynolds, Kneller, and others.

The portraits include those of “Handsome Dick Talbot,” Duke of Tyrconnel, favourite of Charles II. and James I., the Duchess of Portsmouth and her son the Duke of Richmond, the Earl of Lucan, Ireton, Myles Corbet, and several royal personages.

The “saloon” has also some art treasures, the chief being an altar-piece by Albert Durer, which once belonged to Mary Oueen of Scots, and was purchased by Charles II. for the Duchess of Portsmouth for the then enormous sum of £2,000.

The lands of Malahide were granted to the Talbot family in 1174 by Henry II., in whose train was Chevalier Richard Talbot, when the king came to Ireland in 1172. This grant was confirmed to Sir Richard Talbot by Edward IV. in 1475.

The foundations of the castle were laid by the first Richard Talbot in Henry II.’s reign upon the gentle elevation of limestone rock where it stands to-day. It was enlarged during Edward IV.’s reign.

Sir Richard Edgecomb landed at Malahide in 1488 as Lord Justice, and writes that “there a gentlewoman called Talbot received and made me right good cheer,” until the Bishop of Meath and others came later in the day to escort him to Dublin.

During the rebellion of Lord Offaly or the “Silken Thomas,” the O’Tooles and O’Byrnes ravished the country north of Dublin, and having plundered Howth, they “went to Malahyde and burst open the gates till they came to the hall-doors, when as they were resisted with great difficulty,” they returned homeward.

After the rising had been suppressed, the unfortunate young leader executed, and his family attainted, Gerald, afterwards 12th Earl of Kildare, only escaped from the English Government through the assistance of his aunt, the Lady “Aleanora” FitzGerald, and for the protection she had afforded her nephew she was detained at Malahide Castle awaiting the King’s pleasure. From here, in 1545, was dated her petition for pardon to Henry VIII., which he granted.

Lord Strafford tried to gain some of the Talbot possessions and privileges in 1639, but without success.

John Talbot was banished to Connaught for taking part in the rebellion of 1641, and his castle and 500 acres were granted on a seven-year lease in 1653 to Miles Corbet, who was Chief Baron. His house in Dublin had been visited by plague, and he took up residence at Malahide about Christmas time. Here he lived until obliged to fly for his life, and he was afterwards executed as a regicide.

There is a tradition that Cromwell was his guest at Malahide during his tenancy.

A picture appearing on the Down Survey Map (1655-56)represents the castle as having a large tower at one end, and the notes describe it as “a good stone house therein, with orchards and gardens and many ash-trees, with other outhouses in good repair.”

Upon the Restoration the Talbot family came again into possession.

Close to the castle are the ruins of a church which was erected and endowed by the Talbot family, and where they were buried for many years. Here is the altar tomb of Maud Plunkett, “The Bride of Malahide,” who was “maid, wife, and widow on one and the same day.” Her third husband was Sir Richard Talbot. The tomb is particularly remarkable because of the effigy which represents Lady Talbot as wearing the “horned coif” of 1412, and it is the only representation of this fashion in Ireland.

It is said the church was unroofed by Corbet, either to make bullets of the lead or to cover a barn with the other material.

The history of the castle would be hardly complete without mention of the famous ghost “Puck,” who has a fancy for roaming the grounds in the costume he wore when he was an inhabitant of the castle. There are many stories regarding his appearances, amongst which is the following authenticated account: Not so many years ago a naval officer who had just been appointed to the Coast Guard Station at Malahide received an invitation to dine at the castle. On his way up the avenue he met a strange figure in a fantastic costume whom he thought was some one masquerading. Not liking to be made the subject of a joke, he threatened to knock him down unless he told him what he wanted, and upon getting no reply he endeavoured to carry out his threat, but his arm passed through his adversary, and he thought it advisable to hasten his steps to the castle. It was not likely to improve his appetite, however, to find the portrait of the strange figure looking down upon him from the dining-room wall.

Richard Talbot was created Lord Talbot de Malahide in 1831, and the present peer is 5th Baron.

Thetown of Mallow is situated on the River Blackwater, seventeen miles north-north-west of Cork, in the Barony of Fermoy.

The ruins of the castle are to the south of the town upon rising ground commanding the river. They consist of a great rectangular building running north and south, and measuring about 80 feet in length and 30 in breadth on the inside. It has thirty-one Tudor windows, which are generally large and square, having two series of oblong lights, three or five in number, and a window on the north contains as many as eight.

The structure is unroofed, and the floors being of wood have almost entirely disappeared. It was defended by three towers on the western side. The round tower at the north-west angle contained a clock until the middle of the last century. The centre tower measures about 12 feet by 15, and its door-head is depressed. The south-west tower has a five-sided exterior, and inside the upper part is circular, and the lower portion pentagonal.

The eastern front of the castle has one tower, with a five-sided exterior likewise. In 1836 a portion of the east side of the castle fell. The whole of it is now extensively covered with ivy.

This building is supposed to be of the Tudor era, and it is likely to occupy the site of an older fortress, as there are still traces of foundations which do not seem to have been included in the plan of the present ruin.

The Manor of Mallow passed by exchange from the De Rupes or Roches into the hands of the Desmond FitzGeralds at the close of the thirteenth century.

Tradition states that the Tudor fortress was erected by the “Great Earl” of Desmond, as Garrett, the 15th Earl, who succeeded to the title in 1558, is usually styled. It seems, however, more probable that it was built by his even greater father, James, who was Lord High Treasurer of Ireland.

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