[Illustration: LEIGHLIN-BRIDGE AND THE BLACK CASTLE.]
The ancient Bridge and Black Castle of Leighlin-Bridge, seated on “the
goodly Barrow,” must be familiar to such of our readers as have ever
travelled on the mail-coach road between Carlow and Kilkenny, for it is
a scene of much picturesque beauty, and of a character very likely to
impress itself on the memory.
These are the most striking features of the town called Leighlin-Bridge,
a market and post town, situated partly in the parish of Augha and
barony of Idrone-East, and partly in the parish of Wells and barony of
Idrone-West, in the county of Carlow, six miles south from the town of
that name, and forty-five miles S.S.W. from Dublin. This town contains
about 2000 inhabitants, and is seated on both sides of the Barrow;
the bridge, which contains nine arches, dividing it into nearly equal
portions: that on the east side consists of 178 houses, and that on the
west of 191, being 369 houses in all. The parish church of Wells, the
Roman Catholic chapel, and a national school-house, are on the Wells
side of the river, as is also the ruined castle represented in our
illustration.
To the erection of this castle the town owes its origin. As a position
of great military importance to the interests of the first Anglo-Norman
settlers in Ireland, it was erected in 1181, either by the renowned Hugh
de Lacy himself, or by John de Clahull, or De Claville, “to whom De Lacy
gave the marshallshipp of all Leinster, and the land between Aghavoe and
Leighlin.”
From a minute description of the remains of this castle given by Mr Ryan
in his History and Antiquities of the County of Carlow, a work of much
ability and research, it appears that it was constructed on the Norman
plan, and consisted of a quadrangular enclosure, 315 feet in length
and 234 feet in width, surrounded by a wall seven feet thick, with a
fosse on the exterior of three sides of the enclosure, and the river
on the fourth. Of this wall the western side only is now in existence.
The keep or great tower of this fortress, represented in our sketch, is
situated at the north-western angle of the square, and is of an oblong
form, and about fifty feet in height. It is much dilapidated; but one
floor, resting on an arch, remains, to which there is an ascent by stone
steps, as there is to the top, which is completely covered over with
ivy, planted by the present possessors of the castle. At the other, or
south-west angle of the enclosure, are the remains of a lesser tower,
which is of a rotund form and of great strength, the walls being ten feet
thick. It is still more dilapidated than the great keep, and is only 24
feet high, having a flight of steps leading to its summit.
The present name of the town, however, is derived from the bridge,
which was erected in 1320 to facilitate the intercourse between the
religious houses of old and new Leighlin, by Maurice Jakis, a canon of
the cathedral of Kildare, whose memory as a bridge-builder is deservedly
preserved, having also erected the bridges of Kilcullen and St Woolstan’s
over the Liffey, both of which still exist. Previously to the erection
of this bridge, the town was called _New_ Leighlin, in contradistinction
to the original Leighlin, a town of more ancient and ecclesiastical
origin, which was situated about two miles to the west, and which was
afterwards known by the appellation of _Old_ Leighlin. The erection of
this bridge, by giving a new direction to the great southern road, led
rapidly to the increase of the new town and the decay of the old one,
whose site is only marked at present by the remains of its venerable
cathedral church.
In addition to the Black Castle and the bridge already noticed,
Leighlin-Bridge had formerly a second castle, as well as a monastery,
of which there are at present no remains. The former, which was called
the White Castle, was erected in 1408 by Gerald, the fifth Earl of
Kildare: its site, we believe, is now unknown. The monastery was erected
for Carmelite or White Friars, under the invocation of the Virgin Mary,
by one of the Carews, in the reign of Henry III., and was situated at
the south side of the Black Castle. After the suppression of religious
houses, this monastery, being in the hands of government, was in 1547
surrounded with a wall, and converted into a fort, by Sir Edward
Bellingham, Lord Deputy of Ireland, who also established within it a
stable of twenty or thirty horses, of a superior breed to that commonly
used in Ireland, for the use of his own household, and for the public
service. The dispersed friars did not, however, remove far from their
original mansion when dispossessed of their tenements; they withdrew to
a house on the same side of the river, about two hundred yards from the
castle; and an establishment of the order was preserved till about the
year 1827, when it became extinct, on the death of the last friar of the
community.
As the English settlement here became very insecure towards the close of
the fourteenth century, and was peculiarly exposed to the hostile attacks
of the native Irish, who continued powerful in its immediate vicinity,
a grant of ten marks annually was made by King Edward III. in 1371, to
the Prior of this monastery, for the repairing and rebuilding of the
house, which grant was renewed six years afterwards; and in 1378, Richard
II., in consideration of the great labour, burden, and expense which
the Priors had in supporting their house, and the bridge contiguous to
it, against the king’s enemies, granted to the Priors an annual pension
of twenty marks out of the rents of the town of Newcastle of Lyons,
which grant he confirmed to them in 1394, and which was ratified by his
successors Henry IV. and V. in the first years of their reigns (1399,
1412), the latter monarch ordering at the same time that all arrears of
rent then due should be paid.
In the civil wars of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries the
possession of Leighlin-Bridge and its castle became an object of much
importance to the combatants on both sides. In 1577, when the celebrated
chieftain of Leix, Rory Oge O’More, rose in rebellion, among other
depredations he burned a part of the town of Leighlin-Bridge, and
endeavoured to get possession of its castle, which was then feebly
garrisoned under the command of Sir George Carew, constable of the
fort and town. With the slender force of seven horse, as it is stated
by Hooker, but under the cover of night, Carew made a sally on his
assailants, numbering two hundred and forty, who, being taken by
surprise, lost many men, and the remainder for a time fled. Having soon
however discovered the extremely small force by which they had been
attacked, they rallied, and in turn became the assailants, pursuing
Carew’s party to the gate of Leighlin-Bridge Castle, and some of them
even entering within its walls; but by the bravery of the garrison they
were soon expelled. Carew had two men and one horse killed, and every man
of his party was wounded. The rebels lost sixteen men, among whom was one
of their leaders, which so discomfited them that they retired, leaving
one-half of the town uninjured.
In the great rebellion of O’Neil, at the close of the reign of Elizabeth,
the castle of Leighlin-Bridge was repaired and garrisoned for the Queen,
though the surrounding country was laid waste by the Kavanaghs. In
the beginning of the succeeding reign (1604), the site of the castle,
together with that of the monastery, &c. &c., were granted by the king to
George Tutchett, Lord Awdeley, to be held of the crown for ever in common
soccage.
In the great rebellion of 1641, the castle of Leighlin-Bridge was
garrisoned for the confederate Catholics, in 1646, with one hundred
men, under the command of Colonel Walter Bagnall; it was here also
that in 1647 the Marquis of Ormond assembled his forces, to attack
the republicans, who had got possession of Dublin; and he rested his
forces here in 1649. It was, however, surrendered to the parliamentary
forces under Colonel Hewson in the following year, soon after which the
main army under Ireton sojourned here for a time, and plundered the
surrounding country. Since this period, Leighlin-Bridge has enjoyed the
blessings of peace, and has made those advances in prosperity which
follow in its train. Its market is on Monday and Saturday amply supplied
with corn and butter, &c., and it has four well-attended fairs, on Easter
Monday, May 14th, September 25th, and December 27th. Much beautiful
scenery and many interesting remains of antiquity exist in its immediate
vicinity.