One layer* of Mac Carthy's, at one blow death had 'em, And a credit they were to the race of old Adam.— But their parted souls now with bright angels are winging, Thro' the high halls of heaven, where the blessed are singing. My pain, and my loss, and my heart's bitter sorrow, KEEN ON JOHN FITZGERALD, ESQ. SON OF THE KNIGHT OF GLIN. TRANSLATED FROM THE IRISH BY THE EDITOR. THE original is in the MS. volume, mentioned at p. 12, as belonging to Dr. Lee, of Hartwell, in which it is entitled "The Elegy of the Kt. of Glen, who died in Cork, in the year 1737." The Editor should state, as he is informed that this volume is not at present in the possession of Dr. Lee, that it contains the following note by him. "John Lee, Colworth. These poems were written for me from old MSS. during the winter of 1806 and 1807, at Cork, by the favor and assistance of Mr. Flyn, a learned grocer of that town, who introduced me to an old schoolmaster well skilled in ancient Irish history and mythology." In a communication which the Editor received from the pre *Spaith, the word used, although it means a layer, is here intended to convey the image of graves placed side by side, as the rows of hay or corn, cut down by a mower or reaper, for which it is the common expression. sent Knight of Glin (Sept. 27, 1834), he says, "Having lately received the pedigree and papers from Mr. Spring Rice to which I referred you, in answer to your queries respecting the descent of John Fitzgerald, &c. and fearing you may not have had an opportunity of seeing them, I beg to furnish you with the following information, which appears to be fully authenticated by the pedigree duly certified from the Herald's Office. The John Fitzgerald alluded to by you was son of Gerald Fitzgerald, 13th Knight of Glin, and brother of Thomas, 14th Knight of Glin, who married Mary, daughter of Edmond Fitzgerald, of Castle martyr. John died without issue. He went to France in some official capacity. There is a tradition of his having fought with some person high in office in that country who was cased in armour. I have a portrait of him, full length, receiving the challenge from his servant." Between this statement, however, and the following sketch of the pedigree of the Knight of Glin, there appears to be some confusion; but a little investigation would, I have no doubt, soon clear up the difference." I believe the Knight of Glin, or the Heralds, have confounded John Fitzgerald, the brother of Thomas, Knight of Glin, who married Mary, the daughter of Edmond Fitzgerald of Castle martyr, with his nephew, John Fitzgerald, who, it appears from the keen, died in Cork, and, according to tradition, was interred in the church-yard of the Cathedral there (St. Fin bar's) where this inscription records the circumstance :— 66 HERE LIES A BRANCH OF DESMOND'S RACE Among some Irish MSS. which were collected by Sir Lucius O'Brien, and by him placed in the Editor's hands in 1828, there was a fragment of three verses composed by "James Fitzgerald, on the death of Thomas, the son of John, the son of the Knight of Glin," of which the following is a translation. "O Ireland! vile woman, how shameless thou art, "The true sons of Heber,-the free-born of Nial, The descendants of kings that once ruled Innisfail,— Now freedom and fame seek abroad o'er the earth, "The destruction of conquest on Erin attends,— No lands have her children, no justice, no friends, The red-sworded Saxon, flushed with triumph and lust, Strikes them down to the grave, and then tramples their dust.' My loss and my pain,—and of hundreds the pain, 'Tis the sorrow of all, East and West-everywhere There are cries of bereavement, with wild streaming hair, From Dublin to Beer,* quickly clapping their hands, The keeners lament thee, in loud wailing bands. When sickness hung o'er thee, all creeds and all clans Thy death by its side has Lee,‡ swollen with tears * Or Beara,-Bearhaven in Bantry Bay. †The Irish and the English.-The Irish were commonly term-' ed Gaels, the English were called Gauls, from the invaders under Strongbow being of Norman French descent. Cork is on the River Lee. "that like an island fair Encloseth Cork with his divided flood."-Spenser. § Glin Castle, the residence of the Knights of Glin, is near the mouth of the River Shannon, in the county of Limerick. Loch Leun* rolls in billows to echoes of woe; Together the Papst as in widow-hood mourn, * Or Lough Lane, commonly called the Lake of Killarney. Nenius, who wrote in the 9th century, calls it Lochlenius. And the River Lane, or Laune as Smith writes it, is the exit of the waters of Killarney to the sea. The Doctor tells us that "Lan or Laun in the old Irish signifies full. Léun means, in Irish, woe, and Lough Leun, is literally the Lake of Woe, and this gives a double meaning to the original line, which it is impossible to convey in translation. The lake of Killarney is traditionally said to have received its Irish name of Leun from having overwhelmed a great city. + The Feal, mentioned at p. 19, rises in the mountains which bound the counties of Limerick and Kerry. It runs through the towns of Abbey Feal and Listowel, in the latter county, and being joined by the rivers Galey and Brick, their united waters. fall into the sea under the name of Cashin. "A long range of continuous hills extends from the boundary of the county of Cork to the lakes of Killarney, two of these, called the Paps, are particularly remarkable for the regularity of their convex or conical form," and receive their name from a fancied resemblance to a woman's breast. The higher of the two is 2280 feet. § Mac Gilla Cuddy's Reeks, mentioned at p. 20. So pronounced, correctly written Cnoc an Fhomhar, i.e. the Hill of Harvest, or Autumn-probably from its brown or yellow colour. A remarkable hill, between Tralee and Smerwick Bays; men |