It was again in English possession in 1607, and Captain William Cole
was constable in 1610, when he asked for some land to be allotted
to his office. That immediately round the castle was in the hands
of Scottish settlers, and there was no demesne land attached to the
building.
In 1611 he built “a fair house” on the old site, adding numerous
outhouses.
A moat surrounded the bawn, and the river was crossed by a drawbridge.
He also erected a wall 26 feet high with flankers and parapet, which
still remains.
The castle was granted to Sir William Cole in 1620 on a lease for
twenty-one years, and he was responsible for its repair. The Earl of
Enniskillen at present represents the family.
Four hundred pounds was granted for State repairs in 1646, some of
which had been expended on the castle of Enniskillen.
During the famous siege of the town in 1689 the Governor, Gustavus
Hamilton, took up his residence in the castle, which belonged to Sir
Michael Cole, who was absent in England.
In 1749 the fortress was in ruins.
AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.
State Papers.
MS. Ordnance Survey.
Parliamentary Gazetteer.
Proceedings of Royal Society of Antiquaries, Ireland.
King, “Henry’s Upper Lough Erne.”
Witherrow, “Derry and Enniskillen.”
Earl of Belmore, “Governor Hamilton and Captain Corry,”
and Ancient Maps of Enniskillen, both in _Ulster
Journal of Archæology_.
_FERNS CASTLE_
This ancient seat of royalty is situated five miles and three-quarters
north-by-east of Enniscorthy, on the River Bann, in the County of
Wexford. The name comes from Fearna, meaning alders, or “a place
abounding in alders.”
The erection of the first stone castle is ascribed to Strongbow, and it
is supposed to have been built upon the site of the fortress or dun of
his father-in-law, Dermot MacMurrough, King of Leinster.
The present ruins are the remains of four round towers, which were
joined by high curtain walls enclosing a courtyard. The building is one
of great strength, and occupies an imposing situation above the town.
The most perfect of the towers contains a chapel, with a beautifully
groined roof springing from consoles. Richard Donovan, who inherited
the property in 1773, is said to have converted the sanctuary into an
Orange Lodge, where high revel was held, and a visitor in 1864 states
that an equestrian statue of William III. occupied the site of the
altar beneath the east window.
Mr. Baranger, however, writing in 1780, says that the chapel was
without a floor, and made one with the under apartment. He describes
the room above it as arched, and also remarks that the edges of the
stones of the long loophole windows had been cut underneath as if for
cannon to be pointed through. A brass fieldpiece found in the castle
was used for the defence of Wexford, 1641.
Three kinds of masonry are visible in the construction of the tower,
each occupying about a third of its height. The bottom layer consists
of small stones, the middle part of larger ones, while those at the top
are hewn.
At one time part of the wall connecting the towers was used as a
ball-alley (the ground being flagged for this purpose), until the owner
of the castle enclosed the ruins with a wall for their preservation.
In 1865 part of the fortress on the north side fell in a thunderstorm,
and the tenant of that date procured leave to blast the rest of this
wall for fear of accident. The ground is littered with broken masonry.
After Strongbow’s death in 1177, Henry II. bestowed the manor and
castle of Ferns upon William FitzAdelm de Burgo. The same year
FitzAdelm seized the Black Castle of Wicklow from the three sons of
Maurice Fitzgerald, giving them Ferns by way of compensation.
The brothers at once began to rebuild and strongly fortify their
new possession, but it was hardly completed before Walter Allemand,
a nephew of FitzAdelm, attacked the castle and left it in a ruined
condition.
William Marshall, Earl of Pembroke, who married the grand-daughter
of Dermot MacMurrough, began to erect a much larger fortress on the
same site in 1192. He was succeeded by his son, who had married the
daughter of King John, and he completed the stronghold in 1224. He then
presented it to the Bishop of Ferns as restitution for Church land
which his father had seized.
It remained in the possession of the Church from 1224 to 1364, during
which time it was used as an Episcopal Palace.
In 1243 Geoffrey St. John, Vicar-General of Ferns, and Escheator of
Ireland, came into residence, and was succeeded by Bishop Lambert in
1282, who died in the castle.
He was followed by Richard of Northampton, who had been Canon of
Kildare, while in 1304 Robert Waldrond was consecrated, and took up his
abode at Ferns. During this time the neighbourhood was much disturbed,
and the next Bishop was arraigned for high treason in 1317, but was
pardoned the following year.
In 1331 the clan of O’Toole seized the castle, pillaged, and burned it.
Next year the Crown took possession again, and three years later they
thought it expedient to appoint Lord Gerald Rochford constable of Ferns
Castle. He held office for ten years, and was summoned to Parliament as
a Baron.
In 1347 Bishop Esmond came into possession of the stronghold, and was
succeeded by Bishops Charnels and Denn. The latter prelate was the last
Bishop to reside in the castle, for from 1402 to 1530 the stronghold
was in possession of the MacMurroughs.
At the end of this period it was captured by Lord Deputy Grey. He was
on his way from Kilkenny to Dublin, when he sent word from Leghlyn to
Stephen FitzHenry at Kilkea, to meet him at Ferns Castle with his guns
and men.
Lord Grey marched by night, and arrived in the morning before the
fortress. He demanded its surrender, which was refused by the garrison,
“using very spiteful language.” The day was spent in preparing for the
attack. He posted his men round the building in the ditches and other
cover, so that none of the besieged should escape, and the troops broke
down the gate leading to the drawbridge. A Mr. Thomas Allen, who was
with the attacking party, noticed that one of the garrison kept watch
every now and then from one particular place, and he sent a gunner to
hide himself where he could cover the spot with his weapon. This was
successful, and the man was shot as soon as he returned. He was the
governor and chief gunner of the castle.
The rest of the garrison then asked for a parley, which was granted.
Lord Grey told them that unless they surrendered before the arrival
of the ordnance, which was within a mile of the stronghold, he would
not accept a surrender, but kill them all. They then agreed to give the
castle up, and two of the English were stationed in it during the night.
The next day the Lord Deputy appointed a garrison of the MacMurroughs
to guard the stronghold, taking their chief with him to Dublin as a
hostage.
A writer of this time describes the castle as the old inheritance
of the Earl of Shrewsbury or the Duke of Norfolk, and “oon of the
auncientis and strongest castells within this lande.”
In 1536 Cahir Maclnnycross Kavanagh, the MacMurrough, was appointed
constable by the Crown, but two years later he was superseded by Sir
Richard Butler.
At the time great anxiety was felt for fear of an attack from the
Kavanaghs; and in 1550, we learn from the State Papers that Cahir
M’Arte Kavanagh had managed to get possession of the castle by
treatment.
The next year Richard Kettyng asked the Privy Council to confirm the
King’s letter granting him the stronghold, but they refused.
It was considered necessary to have English captains in the castles
of the districts to hold the Kavanaghs in subjection, so that a list
of constables to Ferns Castle is recorded, the most remarkable being
the Mastersons, father and son, the former being accused of conspiring
against the Queen in 1569.
Thrilling traditions are related regarding his wife, Catherien de
Clare, who was said to decoy the neighbouring chiefs and Irish
gentlemen within the fortress under the guise of hospitality and murder
them by pushing them down a trapdoor.
In 1588 Masterson entered a petition for land, as recompense for
thirty-four years’ service.
His son spent large sums on rebuilding the castle; nevertheless it was
granted to Lord Andley in 1608.
Sir Charles Coote occupied the stronghold in 1641, but finding he was
unable to hold it against the insurgents, he dismantled the outworks,
blew up part of the building, and left the neighbourhood.
It must, however, have been partly repaired, for eight years later,
when Cromwell’s commander, Colonel Reynolds, appeared before it, the
garrison fled, leaving their arms, ammunition, and provisions behind
them.
In 1669 Charles II. granted the castle to Arthur Parsons; while in 1689
it seems to have been in the possession of Alderman Thomas Keiran, who
gave it to his brother-in-law, Richard Donovan, in 1694, from whom
it descended to its present owner, Richard Donovan, Esq., D.L., of
Ballymore House, Camolin.
AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.
Calendar of State Papers.
Calendar of Carew MSS.
Parliamentary Gazetteer.
W. G. Flood, “History of Enniscorthy.”
G. Bassett, “Wexford.”
G. Stokes, “Ireland and Anglo-Norman Church.”
G. Griffiths, “Chronicles of County Wexford.”
Savage, “Picturesque Ireland.”
Proceedings of Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland.
_FERRYCARRIG AND SHANA COURT CASTLES_
The chief interest attaching to the castles of Ferrycarrig and Shana
Court is the fact that one or other of them was the first Anglo-Norman
fortress erected in Ireland.
The sites of the two strongholds occupy positions one on each side of
the Slaney, a little more than two miles west of Wexford. The parish
of Carrig lies on the right bank of the river in the Barony of West
Shelmalier, and here on an isolated rock commanding the ferry is
situated Ferrycarrig Castle--Carrig signifying a rock.
It is a square tower of great age and occupies the whole summit of the
rocky point on which it stands, and does not seem, therefore, to have
ever been of larger dimensions than at present. The masonry is rough
and massive and the loopholes unusually small, while the door is so low
and narrow that it is necessary to stoop when entering.
An opening in the wall is usually called the “murdering hole,” but as
there is another aperture to correspond with it in the exterior at the
base they are likely to have had some other use.
The close resemblance which this tower bears to Trajan’s Tower at
Paboquaipass on the Danube, even to a similar entrance, has been the
subject of remark.
On the south bank of the river, where the Crimean monument now stands,
were traceable some years ago the fosse and outworks of Shana Court.
They occupied about half an acre, but the walls of the fortress had
been demolished to supply stones for the building of the old mansion
of Belmont.
Tradition asserts that Ferrycarrig was erected by FitzStephen, who
landed in Ireland in 1169, and that Shana Court was built by King John,
it deriving its name from his having held court there as Viceroy.
We know FitzStephen de Marisco erected a castle at Carrig from the
following passage in Giraldus Cambrensis:
“MacMorogh marched to besiege Dublin, but left FitzStephen behind, who
was then building a hold or castle upon a certain rocky hill called
the Carricke, about two miles from Wexford, which place, although it
was very strong of itself, yet by industry and labour it was made much
stronger.”
From the same source we also learn that it was environed on two sides
by the river, but this might apply equally to either fortress.
A further description says: “It was at first made but of rods and
wiffes, according to the manner in those daies, but since builded with
stone, and was the strongest fort then in those parts of the land; but
being a place not altogether sufficient for a prince, and yet it was
thought too good and strong for a subject, it was pulled down, defaced,
and razed, and so dooth still remane.”
The most likely assumption, on the whole, seems to be that King John
erected on the ruined site of FitzStephen’s stronghold the castle known
as Shana Court, the stones of which were used in building Belmont, and
that Ferrycarrig was an outwork of the larger fortress or else was
erected by the Roches of Artramont as a watch-tower to protect the
ferry.
FitzStephen suffered a memorable siege in his castle in 1170. He had
weakened his garrison by sending a detachment to serve with Strongbow,
when the men of Wexford and Kinsellagh rose and laid siege to Carrig
Castle with a force of about three thousand.
Several desperate assaults were successfully repulsed before the
attackers asked for a parley. This was granted, and they informed
FitzStephen that Strongbow and his followers had been utterly routed,
and that King Roderic was marching with a great army to annihilate his
garrison, but that out of respect to his person they wished him to
escape.
FitzStephen could not be induced to believe the tale until three
bishops took a false oath as to its truth, whereupon he capitulated
upon honourable terms. These were at once violated, and, against the
conditions, he was made prisoner and sent to Beggery Island, while many
of those with him were killed.
Donald Kavanagh, with great difficulty, arrived in Dublin to inform
Strongbow that FitzStephen could not hold out more than three days. It
was on this occasion that Maurice FitzGerald made his famous speech,
in which he said: “FitzStephen, also, whose courage and noble daring
opened to us the way into this island, is now with his small force
besieged by a hostile nation. What should we, therefore, wait for?”
Stirred by his eloquence, the English forces, though of small numbers,
set out and carried victory before them, but in the meantime Carrig had
surrendered.
Strongbow was warned that if his forces marched on Wexford all the
prisoners would be at once slain, so that FitzStephen was not liberated
until King Henry arrived in Ireland in 1172.
Ferrycarrig is situated on the Earl of Donoghmore’s estate.
AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.
J. Ryan, “History and Antiquities of Carlow.”
Brewer, “Beauties of Ireland.”
Giraldus Cambrensis.
Parliamentary Gazetteer.
Proceedings of Royal Society of Antiquaries.
Marquis of Kildare, “Earls of Kildare.”
Joyce, “Irish Place Names.”
“Ferrycarrig,” in _The People_.
_GEASHILL CASTLE_
“Oh, sweetly rural is the scene
Where Geashill Castle stands;
Beneath the line of green old hills
This lovely vale expands.”
E. EGAN.
The village of Geashill is situated in the barony of the same name,
about eight miles south-east of Tullamore, in the King’s County. On a
long ridge near are the ruins of the castle, adjoining a modern lodge
usually occupied by the agent of the Digby estate. The ancient fortress
is three storeys high, and a spiral stairway still leads to the summit,
where there is an iron chair. An underground passage is said to run to
the ruined Abbey close by.
The date of the castle’s erection by the Fitzgeralds is ascribed to
the twelfth century, and in 1203 or 1204 the King commanded it to be
delivered to William Marshall, Earl of Pembroke, as the guardian of
Maurice, second Baron of Offaly, who was heir to Gerald FitzMaurice.
In 1305 the sept of the O’Dempseys slaughtered a great number of the
O’Connors near the castle, and the following year the stronghold was
destroyed by these native Irish. The Book of Howth says: “The Lord of
Offalye builded the castle of Geschell” in 1307, so it was, no doubt,
rebuilt this year by Thomas FitzMaurice, “the crooked heir,” who died
in 1298, and who is supposed to have been prevented from inheriting as
head of the family on account of some deformity. Juliana FitzGerald
granted the castle to his son, who was her cousin, and afterwards 1st
Earl of Kildare.
An inquisition was held at Kildare in 1282 upon the estate of the late
John FitzThomas, when his heir, Thomas FitzMaurice, came of age. It
was shown that the former had held lands from Maurice FitzGerald “for
a moiety of the service of one knight whenever royal service should be
summoned, rendering suit nevertheless at the court of the said Maurice
FitzGerald at Geashill.”
Lord Leonard Gray and the chieftain O’Mulmoy seized the castle, and
abbey of Killeigh in 1538. In both they found great stores of corn,
part of which they burnt and part carried off.
On an ancient map of Leix, dated about 1563, both the castles of Lea
and Geashill are marked as ruins, but in Sir Henry Sydney’s account of
Ireland shortly afterwards he writes: “Geshell, in the King’s County,
is very necessary to be had of the Earl of Kildare; it is a matter of
consequence for her Majesty’s service in that county.”
James I. granted the barony of Geashill in 1619 and 1629 to Lady
Lettice Digby, widow of Sir Robert Digby, of Warwickshire, as
compensation for not inheriting as heir-general of the house of
Kildare, she being the only child of the eldest son of the 11th Earl of
Kildare. At the same time he created her Baroness of Offaly, and she
lived quietly at Geashill from that date until 1642, when the great
rebellion broke out and the Confederate Catholics laid siege to her
stronghold.
A kinsman of hers named Henry Dempsy, brother of Lord Clanmalier, was
in command, and despatched a letter “To the Honourable and thrice
virtuous Lady, the Lady Digby,” demanding that she should surrender the
castle to his Majesty and offering her and her household a free pass
to wherever they wished, threatening at the same time if she did not
comply to murder every Protestant in the town.
To this demand the Baroness sent the following answer: “I received your
letter, wherein you threaten to sack this my castle, by his Majesty’s
authority. I have ever been a loyal subject and good neighbour among
you, and, therefore, cannot but wonder at such an assault. I thank
you for your offer of a convoy, wherein I hold little safety; and,
therefore, my resolution is, that being free of offending his Majesty,
or doing wrong to any of you, I will live and die innocently, and
will do the best to defend my own, leaving the issue to God. And
though I have been, and still am desirous to avoid the shedding of
Christian blood, yet, being provoked, your threats shall no wit dismay
me.--LETTICE OFFALY.”
The castle was surrounded by bog and wood, and was, in consequence,
somewhat difficult of access, so that upon receiving her letter the
enemy retired to make more elaborate preparations for attack.
They collected a number of pots and pans, with which a man from Athboy
constructed a cannon. It had to be cast three times before it was
successful.
After two months the attackers returned to the castle with Lord
Clanmalier in command. He despatched another letter demanding surrender
to the brave lady, which received a spirited reply, reiterating her
determination to endeavour to hold her own against all comers.
Upon its receipt they discharged the gun, which burst at the first
shot, but a fusilade of muskets was kept up until the evening.
As the Baroness was looking out of one of the windows a ball struck
the wall near her, and taking out her handkerchief, she contemptuously
dusted the spot.
It is said that one of her sons, having fallen into the enemy’s hands,
was brought before the castle in chains, with a threat that they would
kill him unless she surrendered. She, however, replied that if they
touched a hair of his head she would at once put to death a Roman
Catholic priest who was within the walls.
At dark the enemy retired, again sending her a letter offering her
terms, which received the same refusal as the others had done, and the
messenger she sent was kept a prisoner.
Lady Offaly managed to let Sir Charles Coote, then at Naas, know that
she needed assistance, and Philip Sydney, Viscount Lisle, at once
set out from Dublin to her relief, accompanied by Sir Charles Coote,
Sir George Wentworth, Lord Digby, the Baroness’s eldest son, and a
considerable force of horse and foot.
Lady Offaly had also despatched an appeal for help to the FitzGeralds,
but the letter fell into the enemy’s hands instead, who at once renewed
the siege when they learnt of her straits.
As the English forces advanced the besiegers skirmished and retreated.
The relieving party supplied the fortress with food and ammunition, but
at Lady Offaly’s request she remained in the castle.
The following October she was again attacked by Charles Dempsie, but
this time was shortly relieved by Sir Richard Grenville, and after this
she retired to Cole’s Hill, in Warwickshire, where she died in 1658.
Her eldest son, Lord Digby, inherited the castle, and it is still in
the family’s possession.
AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.
Marquis of Kildare, “Earls of Kildare.”
J. Wright, “King’s County Directory.”
State Documents.
Carew MSS., including Book of Howth.
Parliamentary Gazetteer.
Hore, “Rental Book of Gerald, 9th Earl
of Kildare,” and “Notes on a
Fac-Simile of an Ancient Map
of Leix,” both in _Journal
of Royal Society of Antiquaries, Ireland_.
[Illustration: GLENARM CASTLE.]
_GLENARM CASTLE_
This castle is situated in the Barony of Lower Glenarm, a little more
than twenty-five miles north of Belfast, in the County Antrim, where
the Glenarm rivulet enters the bay.
The original stronghold was erected by the Byset family about the
middle of the thirteenth century, and came into the MacDonnell family
through the marriage of Margery Bisset.
The castle stood on the southern side of the river at the head of the
street which leads from the barbican, and on the opposite bank from the
present building.
In 1278 an inquisition was held after the death of two John Bysets to
determine if the Earl of Ulster was right in making the fortress over
to the Bishop of Connor as ecclesiastical property, and it was decided
that the Bysets had not held the castle from the church.
Captain Pers and Malbie placed Randal Oge in possession of the
stronghold in 1568, but the same year his ward surrendered it.
In 1597 it is reported James and Randal M’Donnell “broke” the castle,
and it does not appear to have been afterwards rebuilt, although the
ruins were standing for many years.
Sir Randal MacDonnell was granted the estate in 1603, and began to
erect the present castle.
Sir Awla M’Awla petitioned against his possession of Glenarm in 1610,
but apparently without effect.
Sir Randal greatly enlarged the dwelling in 1636, and the following
inscription was placed over the entrance:--
“With the leave of God this castle was built by Sir Randal McDonnel,
Knight, Erle of Antrim, having to wife Dame Aellis O’Neill, in the year
of our Lord God, 1636. Deus est adjutor meus.”
Shortly after this the family made Glenarm their chief place of
residence instead of Dunluce Castle.
The fortress is approached by a barbican standing on the northern side
of the bridge, while an avenue of limes leads to the hall door. The
building is flanked by towers crowned with cupolas and vanes, and the
gables are decorated with heraldic devices.
An embattled wall guards the terrace on the river side.
The hall, which is also used as a billiard-room, is especially
handsome, while the dining-room and drawing-room are also fine
apartments.
Some treasure chests said to have belonged to the Spanish Armada are
preserved in the castle, but a doubt has been thrown upon their being
of such a date.
During the rebellion of 1798, the castle was used as the headquarters
of the Yeomanry. The rebels had decided to attack it on the 8th of
June, and the wives of the Yeomen, whom they had captured, were to be
placed in front of the insurgents in their advance.
This diabolical plan was frustrated on the very morning of the intended
attack by news of the defeat at Antrim, whereupon the camp was broken
up.
Glenarm is the seat of the Earl of Antrim, the present representative
being the sixth peer.
AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.
Hill, “MacDonnells of Antrim.”
State Documents.
State Papers.
Thomson, “Highways and Byeways in Donegal and Antrim.”
Parliamentary Gazetteer.
“Guide to the Giant’s Causeway,” in _Dublin Penny Journal_.
Drew, “Old Iron Treasure Chests”; Smith,
“Memories of ’98,” in _Ulster Journal of Archæology_.
_GLIN CASTLE_