late of Castle Mahown, entered into rebellion with Gerald, late Earl of
Desmond, and was slain therein and that he was seized of Castle Mahown
and of the barony or cantred of Kineallineaky.
The following year the castle and lands were conferred by patent on
Phane Beecher, son of Alderman Henry Beecher, of London.
Mr. William Weever, in his “discourse” on the Munster rebellion of
1598, records that Mr. Beecher deserted Castle Mahon during the rising.
In 1611 it seems the grant to Phane Beecher was confirmed.
The first Bernard to settle in Ireland during Elizabeth’s reign had
a son Francis, who was lord of the manor of Castle Mahon, where he
lived before the rebellion in 1641. He had one son, Francis, who was in
possession of the castle in 1690 when Bandon was surprised and taken by
Colonel M’Carthy’s men. After the town had fallen into their hands they
proceeded to Castle Mahon and demanded the fortress and its stores to
be given up to King James, and the garrison to surrender as prisoners.
Mr. Bernard had served many years with the Bandon Militia, and had
been rewarded with a grant of land from Cromwell for military service,
so that he was not likely to surrender without a struggle when the
trumpeter appeared on the esplanade in front of the castle.
He had gathered his retainers and the neighbouring farmers into the
stronghold, and flew the red flag from King John’s Tower.
Having received a negative to their demand, the besiegers attempted to
batter in the great gate, but a discharge of musketry killing some of
their number they desisted. They shook the windows and doors to try and
effect an entrance.
A line of sentries were posted in front of the castle with orders to
shoot any one who appeared at the windows, but the deadly fire of the
besieged killed them nearly all.
Seeing that their numbers were rapidly thinning they sought cover
from the out-houses in the rear, and from there they carried on an
ineffectual fusilade for some time.
Finding, however, this was of no avail they retreated to the river,
crossing by the ford. A pike blade and some swords of this date were
recently found in a pond which lay in their route.
The brave garrison had many killed and wounded, Mr. Bernard being among
those who lost their lives.
The dead Irish were collected and covered with straw in a stable
until the next day, when they were buried in a disused graveyard at
Killountain.
Judge Bernard succeeded his father, having been born in the castle in
1663. He changed the name from Castle Mahon to Castle Barnard.
His son, “Squire Bernard,” did much for the neighbourhood until a
dispute with the townspeople about trees caused him to go and live in
England.
In 1760 a sad accident took place which led to the death of little
Robert Bernard, one of the sons of the house. He had climbed to the top
of King John’s Tower, and as the bats and swallows flew in and out he
tried to strike them with his battledore, but overbalancing, he stepped
back to recover himself and fell through the trapdoor which gives
egress to the summit. He died of the injuries received.
Francis Bernard was created Earl of Bandon in 1800, and Castle Barnard
is still the principal residence of the Earls of Bandon.
AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.
G. Bennett, “History of Bandon.”
C. Smith, “County and City of Cork.”
Calendar of State Papers.
Calendar of Carew MSS.
_CASTLE BORO_
Lord Carew’s demesne of about a thousand acres is situated in the
townland of Ballyboro, six miles west-south-west of Enniscorthy, and
is bisected by the River Boro. The ancient name for this stream was
Bel-atha-Borumha, and was derived from the Borumha, or cow tribute,
which the Kings of Leinster had to pay to the High Kings of Ireland.
To the south-east of Castle Boro mansion, on the other side of the
river, is the ivy-clad ruin, formerly known as Ballyboro Castle. It
now stands in the farmyard, and is 42 feet long by 27 feet wide when
measured from the outside. Two gables are still to be seen, and the
windows are built of brick.
Local tradition states that it was formerly the residence of Brien
Boroimhe, but the site is all that could possibly have belonged to a
dwelling of his.
About the year 1628 Robert Carew, younger son of Carew of Haccombe in
Devonshire, obtained through his kinsman, Sir George Carew, afterwards
Earl of Totnes, a grant of lands in the County Wexford, which had
formerly belonged to the Desmonds. Charles II. confirmed the grant in
1663 to his son. This Carew is generally supposed to have built the now
ruined castle, which was occupied by the family until near the close of
the eighteenth century. By others, however, the date of architecture
is considered to be that of the beginning of the seventeenth century,
and the castle believed to have been the residence of “James Hoar
of Bellaborow, constable of the Barony of Bantry” in 1608, who is
mentioned thus in the Carew MSS.
When James II. was fleeing to Duncannon, after the battle of the Boyne,
he stopped to water and rest his horses at the ford of Aughnacopple,
near the castle. The Carew of that time sent provisions to the
fugitives, and the pair of gold sleeve links given by the fallen
monarch as a mark of his gratitude are still preserved as an heirloom
at Castle Boro. There is some doubt as to whether they were presented
at the river bank or sent later from Duncannon.
Towards the close of the eighteenth century the head of the family
wished to have a more modern house than the old fortress, but not
deeming it worth while to go to the expense unless he had a son to
succeed him, he delayed the commencement of the work until the very day
when his son and heir was born.
The insurgents of 1798 attacked the residence, and a picture hangs in
the hall of Castle Boro which has holes in it that were made by the
rebels’ pikes.
Mr. Robert Carew was raised to the peerage in 1834, and in 1840, during
the absence of the family, the newly-erected house was burned down,
the fire having originated in a chimney. The west wing containing the
library was the only portion saved.
Building operations were at once commenced under the direction of Mr.
Robertson. The present mansion is in Classic style, having a centre
block four storeys in height with wings at either side of a storey
less. The drawing-rooms are especially handsome apartments, and are
being decorated by the present Lady Carew with embroidered panels of
Early English design.
In the gardens are a number of trees which have been planted by
distinguished visitors, amongst whom were the late Duke of Clarence,
the present Prince of Wales, the Duke of Aosta, the Count of Turin,
the Earl of Halsbury and the late Sir H. M. Stanley.
A very handsome granite gateway gives access to the grounds.
The present Lord Carew is the 3rd Baron.
AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.
W. Flood, “History of Enniscorthy.”
MS. Ordnance Survey of Ireland.
Parliamentary Gazetteer.
Joyce, “Irish Place Names.”
_CASTLE DONOVAN_
This stronghold is situated in a wild romantic district among the
mountains, to the north of the village of Drimoleague in the eastern
division of West Carbery, about seven miles east of Bantry, County Cork.
Above it rises the hill of Mulraugh-Nesha. The country round is
destitute of trees, and from its elevated position the castle is
visible from a wide area.
The fortress consists of a tall, square keep with crenelated
battlements and defences projecting from the angles. It is built on a
rock, the rough surface of which forms the floor of the lower room in
the castle.
There seems to have been no attempt to make the ground even, as great
indentations, nearly two feet in depth, extend the whole length of the
apartment.
The first floor is supported by a vault, and this state apartment
measures about 26 feet by 20. The windows and loops are exceedingly
small, the former being surrounded by label mouldings well cut in the
dark freestone.
A spiral stair leads to the hall above the vault, and this is open to
the heavens, but the high-pitched gables of the roof still remain.
Great cracks in the masonry run down the centre and through the
south-west angle.
It belongs to the earliest type of castle which succeeded the peel
tower. The outworks, of which little remain but the foundations, are
situated close to the keep.
The O’Donovans were descended from a long line of Munster kings.
Cahill, the son of Donovan, was killed in 1254, and from him the
district round the stronghold took its name, and also the clan of which
he was chief.
It is likely that he erected the fortress.
[Illustration: CASTLE DONOVAN.]
James I. granted the castle (then called Sowagh) to Donell O’Donovan,
of Castle Donovan, Gent., and with it a large tract of country, part
of which was created the manor of Castle Donovan, with 500 acres of
demesne.
Donell O’Donovan died in 1639, and his son forfeited the estate in the
rebellion of 1641.
Tradition states that the castle was reduced by Ireton during the
Parliamentary wars.
Charles II. bestowed the lands of Castle Donovan by letters patent on
Lieutenant Nathaniel Evanson in 1679.
There is a legend regarding a mysterious drip of water which apparently
comes from the upper masonry of the tower, and which it is said will
continue as long as there is an heir to the chieftainship of O’Donovan.
AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.
J. Windele, “Notices of City of Cork.”
Parliamentary Gazetteer.
“Rides through the County Cork” (_Dublin Penny Journal_), 1828.
_CASTLE KEVIN, COUNTY CORK_
This name was formerly written Castle Kiffin, and the fortress is
situated between Doneraile and the Blackwater in the County Cork.
The castle has been much altered and modernised since its first
erection. It contains thirty-two rooms, though some of them are
exceedingly small. There are 365 windows, one, therefore, for every day
in the year. The hall of black and white marble is L shaped and much
worn by age. From this a very handsome oak staircase leads to the first
landing, which is lighted by a beautiful old stained-glass window upon
which the Thornhill arms are emblazoned.
During repairs in 1810 a number of skeletons were discovered under the
steps. They were supposed to be those of soldiers, and beside one a
gold piece of James II. and a number of copper coins of various dates
were found. These are now in the possession of Colonel Badham-Thornhill.
During a siege, of which the fortress stood many, the water supply
was a serious inconvenience. Not only was the well some distance from
the castle, but it was apt to run dry when largely drawn upon. It is
situated in the limestone rock at a great depth, and when being cleaned
in 1825 the key of the portcullis was found at the bottom and carefully
preserved by E. Badham-Thornhill, who was then owner.
The castle originally belonged to the O’Keeffs, from which, no doubt,
the name is derived. Their territory being seized, was given to the
Anglo-Norman family of de Rupe, or Roche, and in 1583 David and Maurice
Fitz John Roch are mentioned as of Castlekevin.
Cromwell’s troops besieged and took the castle for the Commonwealth,
tradition stating that the soldiers placed the late owner’s head on a
lance over the “Bell Gate,” near the present stables.
The castle was then granted to Sir Richard Thornhill, who also
possessed considerable property in the neighbourhood by purchase, so
that the estate was about 10,000 acres in extent in the counties of
Cork and Limerick.
The Thornhills occupied the castle until 1853, when it was sold in the
Encumbered Estates Court, and the building was purchased by Mr. E.
Reeves.
AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.
C. Smith, “County and City of Cork.”
Fiants of Elizabeth.
Colonel Badham-Thornhill MS.
_CASTLE KEVIN, COUNTY WICKLOW_
“The halls where mirth and minstrelsy
Than Fertire’s winds rose louder,
Were flung in masses lonely,
And black with English powder.”
In 1216 King Henry III. granted the manor of Swords with increased
privileges to Henry de Loundres, Archbishop of Dublin, on condition
that he should build and maintain a castle on his manor of Castle
Kevin. Nearly two centuries later, Swords was seized by the
Commissioner of Forfeitures on the plea that this had not been done,
but it was afterwards returned to the Archbishop of the time as having
been unjustly taken.
The fortress was intended for protection in this direction against the
invasions of the O’Byrnes and O’Tooles. The site was some three and
a half miles north-east of Glendalough, the ancient cathedral city
of that diocese. Its natural defences were the bog, on the edge of
which it stood, and thick woods that stretched almost from Dublin to
Glendalough. Quite close to it ran a stream, which joined the Avonmore
about a quarter of a mile lower down, near the present village of
Annamoe.
It appears to have been a square building, flanked by towers at each
corner. The foundations, which still remain, measure some 120 feet each
way. They are elevated about 20 feet, and are now covered with grass.
The castle was built of rubble stone and excellent mortar, which
is shown by the huge blocks of the walls which still lie round the
foundations.
The Archbishops held courts and exercised jurisdiction here through
their officers, and had their own gallows.
In 1277-78 the Treasurer’s account for the year contains £60 to John
de Saunford for the custody of the new castle of Mackinegan and
Castle Keyvin. The stronghold was often used by the Archbishops as a
hunting-lodge, the woods around being well stocked with deer. It was
also strongly garrisoned.
At the beginning of the next century (1308) the Viceroy Wogan marched
against the O’Tooles, but was defeated with the loss of several
knights. Castle Kevin was captured and the garrison killed, while the
towns near were sacked and plundered.
Later Piers de Gaveston successfully subdued the rising, and made
a thanksgiving offering at the Church of St. Kevin, Glendalough.
The following year he built New Castle in the O’Byrnes’ country and
repaired Castle Kevin, at the same time cutting a pass through the
woods, from it to Glendalough.
Thirty years later Alexander de Bickner received royal orders to repair
his fortifications at Castle Kevin, so that at this time it was still
connected with the See of Dublin, but it subsequently passed into royal
keeping.
It appears that Henry VIII. by letters patent “made grants to Arte
O’Toole and heirs the manor of Castle Kevin and the Farrtree” (hence
Vartry) “on conditions they used the English habit, language,
education, hostings, aidings, and the like, and that he should keep
Castle Kevin in repair as a bulwark against the rebels.”
Phelim O’Toole was the representative of the family in 1591 when Hugh
Roe O’Donnell escaped from one of the gate towers of Dublin Castle,
where he had been confined as a hostage for over three years.
O’Toole having visited him in prison, as a friend, during this time,
he naturally thought he was safe in seeking shelter at Castle Kevin.
Phelim’s loyalty was not, however, above suspicion, and he was divided
between his wish to help the young fugitive and fear for his own head.
In this difficulty a woman’s wit apparently solved the problem. His
sister Rose, wife to the great O’Byrne of Ballinacor, was at Castle
Kevin at the time, and she advised him to send a slow messenger
to Dublin advising the Lord Deputy of O’Donnell’s arrival, and a
fast messenger to her husband in Glenmalure (who was in a state of
open rebellion), telling him to come and carry off Hugh before the
Government officials arrived.
Phelim followed the advice given, but the “wine-dark” Avonmore becoming
flooded the party of rescuers, at once despatched by O’Byrne, could
not cross the river, and the King’s men arrived first upon the scene.
Whereupon Hugh O’Donnell was escorted back to Dublin, and was confined
in the Wardrobe Tower in irons, from which, however, he escaped the
following year.
Captain Charles Montague, writing to the Lord Deputy in 1596, states
that Feagh M’Hugh O’Byrne had threatened to besiege the castle with
three hundred men, and that he had provisioned it for a month. The
same year a ward was placed in it during the rebellion, while in 1599
a commander was appointed to the forts of Rathdrome, Castlekeavyn, and
Wicklowe, at ten shillings a day.
No doubt the O’Tooles were implicated in the rebellion referred to, for
in 1609 we find John Wakeman, who had received the confiscated estate
of the O’Tooles, selling Castle Kevin back to Luke (or Feogh) O’Toole.
In the deed recording the transaction it is remarked that the castle
for some years past “hath been waste and in utter decay.”
An inquisition of 1636 found that the son of Arte O’Toole, to whom the
lands were first granted, had gone into rebellion and died, and that
his son Feogh O’Toole who represented the family at the time of the
inquiry, had bought back Castle Kevin from the man to whom it had been
granted after the confiscation of the O’Toole property. Castle Kevin
had at this time been uncovered for thirty years, and this was deemed
sufficient for forfeiture, as it had been granted on condition that it
should be kept in repair.
Accordingly in July of the same year an ordinance was issued by the
King taking possession. The castle and lands were then granted to Sir
John Coke, Knight, Secretary of State. Dr. Alane Cooke, writing to
him from Dublin in August describing his new property, says:--“Castle
Kevin, the town where the castle doth stand; this hath a goodly wood,
but no great timber and very fine young oaks;” and again:--“Castle
Kevin is the fittest place to build the manor, because of the strength.
The bawn is very good, very near 20 feet high. All the castle is down
and the bounds are very nearly 50 yards square, a fine small river
running at the foot of the castle.”
The grant of land consisted of 15,441 acres of all sorts, English
measure, 12 miles from Dublin, with a castle called Kevin, and a fine
river full of salmon and trout.
It does not appear, however, that Luke O’Toole was easily dislodged,
and when Oliver Cromwell left Dublin to march to Wexford in 1649 he
proved a source of constant annoyance to the troops. At this time he
was encamped at Glenmalure with his four sons, one of whom managed to
seize Cromwell’s favourite steed. Its owner offered £100 to Luke for
its return, “but for gold or silver he would not give him back, but
preferred to keep him as a monument.”
It is said that in revenge for this Cromwell ordered his cannon to
level Castle Kevin. Local tradition supports this statement by pointing
out a furze-covered rath from which the castle is supposed to have
been shelled by Ludlow, while the blocks of adhering masonry round the
foundations are unlike the crumbling of age alone.
Against this it is remarked that Castle Kevin does not appear in the
list of Leinster castles reduced by Cromwell. This, however, might be
accounted for from the fact that (as it appears) only a part of the
castle walls were standing at the time, and that its final destruction
had no strategical value, but was merely private revenge for the theft
of a horse, and so was not recorded.
Luke O’Toole was afterwards captured and executed.
The land upon which the remains of the castle stand is now in the
possession of the Rev. Charles Frizell, who also owns the modern manor
house of Castle Kevin, some quarter of a mile distant, on a hill above
the ancient building.
AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.
D’Alton, “Archbishops of Dublin.”
O’Toole, “Clan of O’Toole.”
State Papers.
Carew MSS.
Murphy, “Cromwell in Ireland.”
O’Clery, “Hugh Roe O’Donnell.” Introduction by Murphy.
Gilbert, “History of the Viceroys.”
Stokes, “Anglo-Norman Church.”
Reeves, Pamphlet on Swords.
Rev. W. Stokes, Pamphlet on Derrylossory.
_CASTLE SALEM_
Benduff, signifying the black peak or gable, was the former name of
this fortress, which was built on a rock in the centre of a small
valley about a mile north-west of Ross, in East Carbery, Co. Cork.
The present ruins consist of the castle and a more modern
dwelling-house, which was added to the back of the fortress and
communicated with it by the ancient doorway of the keep, about 12 feet
from the ground, and which gave access to the first landing of the more
modern staircase. The castle had three arches, the walls being 11 feet
thick, and containing passages and recesses. A stone stair led to the
summit, which originally was reached at about 70 feet from the ground.
When in possession of the Morris family the old covering was replaced
by a slated roof, the material for which was, no doubt, procured at the
neighbouring slate quarry.
The situation is so enclosed by the surrounding hills that figs grew
plentifully here in former days. The pleasure grounds were at one time
laid out in the Dutch style; yew, beech, and laurel grew to great
perfection, and in a grove of the latter a rookery was established. The
remains of a deer-park wall are still to be seen.
The fortress is generally supposed to have been erected by the
O’Donovans, but it is also ascribed to the Lady Catherine Fitzgerald,
daughter of Thomas, 8th Earl of Desmond, and sister-in-law to the
long-lived Countess. This would place its building at the later end
of the fifteenth century. There are various legends told about “the
black lady” in connection with Benduff, and they may refer to the above
Geraldine.
Later the castle belonged to the M’Carthys, and at the time of the
Commonwealth confiscation it was in the possession of one Florence
M’Carty.
The estate was granted to Major Apollo Morris, an officer in Cromwell’s
army, during the seventeenth century, and upon the restoration of
Charles II. he retained his lands through the interest of the King’s
secretary, to whom he was related.
The grant was preserved in the castle until the middle of the
nineteenth century, when Mr. William Morris sent it to a Cork
bookseller for publication, and it was lost through the failure of the
firm.
Major Morris was succeeded by William Morris, who was an intimate
friend of the great William Penn.
On the right-hand side of the avenue is an old Quaker burial-ground,
which was established by him, and to which “Friends’” funerals came
from all parts of Cork. He was himself interred there, but against all
the rules of the order a tomb was erected to his memory, which may
still be seen, and after that the Quakers ceased to bring their dead to
Benduff for interment.
The property passed from the possession of the Morris family into that
of the Fitzgibbons.
AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.
D. Donovan, “Sketches in Carbery.”
Smith, “County and City of Cork.”
Townsend, “Statistical Survey of the County of Cork.”
Book of Survey and Distribution.
_CLOGHAN CASTLE_
This fortress is situated between the Shannon and Little Brosna River,
on the banks of the latter, about three miles south of Banagher, in the
King’s County. This part of the country was formerly joined to Galway.
Joyce gives the meaning of the name Cloghan as “stepping stones,” but
Cooke states that the full appellation is Cloghan-na-geaorach, or “the
stony place of the sheep,” Cloghan Hill being still famous for rearing
these animals.
When a tennis-court was being made some years back a number of human
bones and cannon shot were found, while inside the castle a hand was
discovered in the wall covered by the plaster.
The castle is supposed to have been built in the reign of King John and
to be one of the oldest inhabited castles in Ireland.
In 1249 we have a mention of “MacCoghlan of the castles” of which
Cloghan was one, but it subsequently passed to the O’Maddens. The
fortress was usually called “Cloghan O’Madden,” but on Sir William
Petty’s map it is marked “Poghan.”
It was destroyed in 1548 for fear it might fall into the hands of the
English, but it must have been afterwards restored, as in 1595 Sir
William Russell, Lord Deputy, laid siege to it. A quaint account of the
taking of the castle is given in a journal of the time which is, no
doubt, accurate in the main.
It appears O’Madden was absent “in rebellion,” but he had garrisoned
the castle with his chief men.