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 of Ormond, 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 the
_Journal 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, which states 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 escorting his 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.
AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.
Lord Frederick FitzGerald, “Leixlip Castle,” and Lord Walter FitzGerald,
Note, in _Journal of the Archæological
Society of the County Kildare_.
Proceedings of Royal Society of Antiquaries.
“History of St. Wolstan’s,” in _Irish Builder_ for 1899.
P. (Petrie?), “Town and Castle of Leixlip,” in _The Irish Penny Journal_.
Parliamentary Gazetteer.
Book of Survey and Distribution.
Calendar of Patent Rolls, Ireland.
Book of Inquisitions of Province of Leinster.
Fiants of Elizabeth.
Transcripts of Inquisitions.
MS. Ordnance Survey of Ireland.
_LISMORE CASTLE_
This castle takes its name from a rath now known as Round Hill, _lis_
meaning “fort,” and _mor_ “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 two mounted 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 the hall, 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.
[Illustration: 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 the stronghold, 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.
AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.
Boyle, “Lismore Papers.”
C. Smith, “State of Waterford.”
R. Ryland, “History of Waterford.”
Egan, “Waterford Guide.”
Proceedings of Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland.
Parliamentary Gazetteer.
W. Flood, “Lismore” (_Journal of Waterford Archæological Society_).
Windele Manuscript (_Cork Archæological Society’s Journal_).
MacMahon, “Lismore Castle” (Historic Houses).
_LOHORT CASTLE_
This fortress 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,” from _luibh_, “herb,” and _gort_, “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.
AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.
C. Smith, “County of Cork,” with
“Historical Notes from Croker and Caulfield MSS.”
Joyce, “Irish Names of Places.”
Brewer, “Beauties of Ireland.”
Gibson, “History of Cork.”
Parliamentary Gazetteer.
Lewis, “Irish Topographical Dictionary.”
_LOUGH CUTRA CASTLE_
In the 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 East Cowes
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.
AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.
Fahey, “History and Antiquities of Diocese of Kilmacduagh.”
Blake Foster, “The Irish Chieftains.”
Parliamentary Gazetteer.
Ward’s Guide to Limerick, Clare Coast, and Lower Shannon.
_MACROOM CASTLE_
This fortress 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
owned territory 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 the Irish 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.
AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.
Smith, “State of County and City of Cork.”
Bennett, “History of Bandon.”
J. Windele, “Notices of the City of Cork,” &c.
C. Gibson, “History of the County and City of Cork.”
Meehan, “Confederation of Kilkenny.”
Murphy, “Cromwell in Ireland.”
Parliamentary Gazetteer.
_MALAHIDE CASTLE_
The town 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.”