£129 6s. 2d. for "works at the castle of Roscommon;" and in 1290, £300 was granted to Geoffrey Brun for fortifying the castle. During the same period half-yearly payments were made, varying from fifty marks to £50, for the custody of the castle; and numerous entries for wines and victuals, supplied to its keepers, appear in each year's accounts. What was the value of these payments may be estimated when we remember that, at that time, a cow was worth from 5s. to 13s. 4d.; a heifer from 3s. 4d. to 5s.; a sheep from 8d. to Is.; ordinary horses from 13s. 4d. to 40s., and a pig from Is. 6d. to 2s.1 In connection with the supply of wines and victuals to this castle, the following amusing complaint, made in 1284, against Stephen, Bishop of Waterford, Justiciary of Ireland, will be found amongst the documents of the Irish Exchequer. It is headed : "Hov. THE BISHOP OF WATERFORD, JUSTICIARY OF IRELAND, BECAME RICH. "The justiciary is buyer and receiver of nearly all wines coming into Ireland. He buys them for the K.'s use, and places them in cellars. He sends to the K. and sells such as he pleases: dearer to the K. and of the worst. He did likewise to Robert de Ufford. His wines being for sale, by his own vendors, he will not permit other merchants to sell their wines : and so of corn. "By reason of the Welsh war he now buys granges of rectors, abbots, and others at low prices. "He sent to the K. at his own price his bad corn from the farms of Swords, Santry, and elsewhere. "He sends his wines at his own price for supplies of castles; other victuals in like manner to Roscommon, Randown, Roscrea, and elsewhere. "Credible persons say that the account of Clemenzan, his merchant, who undertook to sell the justiciary's wines as if they were the K.'s, was so settled, that he demised his manor of Rath near Maynooth. "There can be no contention in regard to land in Ireland, but the justiciary must have a share in it. By grievous amercements and charges, he imposes the necessity of selling on those who will and those who will not to sell. "He is enriched by the mint and the customs thereof. "No person can be in any office whether as sheriff or constable except by his gift. "He is enriched by taking fines from imprisoned mariners, charging them with having badly preserved corn in ships carrying it to the K. in Wales. And it was his own unused corn coming from Swords and Santry. "He is also enriched by carrying out works in castles, houses, walls round the Exchequer, and mills, which he causes to be erected without view: he makes one work under another, so that the cost of one or the other cannot be known. "Credible persons say that he thus becomes enriched beyond measure." 'Gilbert's History of the Viceroys of Ireland, p. 121. That the justiciary was not the only person accused of taking the king's money and goods, in connection with this castle, will appear from the following. On 30th August, 1284, William de Prene was appointed the king's carpenter in Ireland, under patent to the following effect :— : "Having learnt by testimony of the K.'s council in Ireland, that William de Prene, carpenter, is useful and necessary to the K. for carpentry works at his houses and castles in Ireland, the K. appoints him to do these works by counsel of the Justiciary of Ireland, for the time being, and grants him 12d. a day for his maintenance, and 40s. a year for his robes, payable at the Exchequer of Dublin, so long as he shall, of the K.'s will, well and faithfully discharge that office." This William de Prene was subsequently charged before brother William FitzRoger, Prior of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem in Ireland, and his associates, the justices itinerant of the county of Dublin, as follows: "William de Prene, carpenter, was attached and charged, that whereas he was keeper of the K.'s work at Roscommon, he stole of the K.'s iron, wherewith he bound a cart; afterwards he loaded the cart with iron nails, to wit, spikeinges,' caused them to be furtively carried to Dublin, and sold them to his own use; that whereas he was keeper and mastercarpenter throughout Ireland, he frequently rendered account of more workmen than he employed, so embezzling the money of the K. and Queen, to the damage of £300. That whereas he ought to have been at Glinery and Newcastle, looking after the Queen's workmen, he attended to his own works, and hired other workmen at the K's. expense, at 8d. a day, so cheating the K. to the amount of £10. William denied all these charges, and put himself on 12 men." William was accordingly tried, and found guilty of some of the charges. and acquitted of others, whereon he "made a fine to the K. of £200 to have peace," &c. Subsequently he made an appeal to the king to the following effect, which appeal was referred to the justiciary, William De Vescy: "William de Prene had complained that whereas no one in the K.'s realm, or in Ireland, ought to be arrested or imprisoned for felony, without presentment of twelve men, upon articles to be presented in the justice's eyes; and no inquisition of such felonies ought to be taken, save by men of the county where they were committed. Nevertheless, the justices itinerant in the county of Dublin had caused William to be arrested and imprisoned in Dublin, because certain persons had presented to them a bill accusing William of having feloniously taken 60s. worth of nails bought by the K.'s money for works at the castle of Roscommon, in the county of Connaught, and £20 wages of the K.'s carpenters at that castle; and of having maintained a common servant there, who did little or no work, in lieu of a carpenter, and of having committed other transgressions, &c. The justices by an inquisition 1 Pat. 12 Ed. I., m. 6. taken by men of the county of Dublin, upon which William did not put himself, would have adjudged William to be hanged if he did not make with them a fine of £200." The King having received this appeal, commanded the justiciary, with the other members of the King's Council, to inquire diligently into the complaint, and if the proceedings were irregular, to cause them to be amended, and due justice done to William. Subsequently, the record having been inspected, and no one appearing to prosecute on behalf of the king, the justiciary and council found that there was an error in the proceedings, and security was taken from William to stand his trial in the county where the offence was committed. What was the result of this trial does not appear. Some time before the year 1341, the castle of Roscommon must have been taken by the O'Conors, as in the latter year we read that Hugh, the son of Felim, was taken prisoner by the King of Connaught (Turlough O'Conor, who was Felim's uncle), and confined in the castle of Roscommon, from which he was released on ransom in the following year. In 1375, Roderic, or Rory O'Conor, who was chief of the O'Conors, and son of the above-named Turlough, was in possession of the castle; and in 1409, we are informed that O'Conor Sligo and Tiernan O'Rourke took the castle, and placed provisions and stores in it, "in spite of the men of Connaught." From this date until 1453, no mention is made of this castle in the Irish Annals; but it was evidently all this time in the hands of the Irish, and in the latter year we learn that Rory O'Conor died in it. In 1499, as above related, it was taken by the Earl of Kildare from O'Conor Roe, and apparently given to O'Conor Don. With him it did not long remain; and it was again taken by the Earl of Kildare in 1512, who then. placed warders in it. Shortly after it reverted to the O'Conors, in whose hands Henry Sydney, in 1569, as narrated later on, took it, in the name of Queen Elizabeth, from Dermot O'Conor Don, and placed it in charge of Sir Thomas L'Estrange. it remained until Sir It had not been long in his possession when it was attacked and burned by O'Conor Roe; and L'Estrange, in various petitions to the queen and to Lord Burghley, in the years 1573 and 1575, estimated his losses by the burning at from £1,000 to £1,800, and claimed compensation for them. Writing to the Treasurer of England in 1573, he says:— "My duty most humbly remembered to your honour. Whereas I understand it hath been reported to your honour, that I did give up the castle of Roscommon, although I have lost there of late, almost to my utter undoing, above a thousand pounds stg., besides the stuff and plate which I lost there, when the castle was burned, which was done on blake Monday, at night in Easter week, by O'Conor Ro, who dwelleth within six miles thereof, notwithstanding that such losses would move a poor man as I am, to give over so great a charge ; and especially it being so far from succour, and the La President being discharged, yet I would not show myself so undutiful to Her Majesty as to forsake the charge, if I be maintained with victuals, as other forts are; for this four years come Michaelmas, I have not charged Her Majesty with any kind of victuals, but have victualled it from mine own house, being distant from thence as good as thirty miles, which I am not now able to do, by reason of my great losses, and that the sa O'Conor Ro being of much more force than the warde, hath banished all those that did inhabit under me. Were it not my great charges in England, the burning of my town at the same time, and now last my great losses since my coming over, I would have asked licence of my L' Deputy, to have repaired to Her Majesty to have craved some recompence at Her Highness' hand; but wayinge my disability, most humbly I beseech your honour to be a means to Her Highness in my behalf, for some recompence in consideration of my great hindrances; and I shall duly pray for your Honours prosperity. "From Dublin the xv June, 1573. "Your Honours most humble to command, "THOMAS LE STRANGE. "To the right honorable and my singular good Lord, the Lord High Treasurer of England." In 1577 a lease was made to Sir N. Malby, Knt., of "the castle or manor of Roscommon; seven cottages and five quarters or carues of land, demesne of the castle, and a great lough or standing water, containing eighty acres, belonging to the castle; the site of the house of the canons of Roscommon, nine quarters of land, and the tithes of eight towns, now waste, belonging to the monastery; also the site of the house of the friars of Roscommon, one quarter of land and its tithes; the churches of Emlaghmore and Cloynin, with land and tithes. To hold for twenty-one years. Rent £31 5s. 10d. Maintaining three English horsemen."1 We next hear of the castle in 1582, when a meeting of all the chieftains of Connaught was called there by Captain Brabazon, then governor of the province. At this meeting, which is referred to later on, a rather serious accident occurred. It was held in the tower called the "Tower of the narrow passages;" and the joistings in this tower not being very strong, gave way under the weight of the assembled company, and all were precipitated to the bottom, amongst them Captain Brabazon himself. One of the Irish chieftains, O'Flanagan, died from the effects of this fall." During the civil war which began in the year 1641, the castle of Roscommon was again taken by the Irish, and was retained by them until 1652, when it was delivered up to Commissary-Genl. Reynolds of the parliamentary army, under the following terms: ARTICLES OF SURRENDER OF GARRISON OF ROSCOMMON. "Articles of Agreement between L'.-Col. Francis Gore and Major John Disbrow, on behalf of the R' Hon. Commissary-Genl. Reynolds on the one part, and Capt" Edmond Daly on the other part, concluded April 3a, 1652 :—. "1. That the castle of Roscommon, now under the command of Capt" Edmond Daly, shall be surrendered to Com"-Genl. Reynolds, or to any other whom he shall appoint, by five of the clock in the afternoon. "2. That all stores of ammunition and provision shall be delivered unto Com"-Genl. Reynolds, or unto any other whom he shall appoint without embezzlement. "3. That Capt Daly, Capt Meed, and their officers, shall have their horses, pistols, and swords, the soldiers their swords and skeenes; and two servants belonging to the sa captain, their horses and arms. "4. That they are to have liberty, for the space of twenty-eight days, to carry such goods as are properly their own unto such places as they shall think convenient, and enjoy their crops now in ground: Provided they come under protection and pay their proportions of contributions: their chaplain and chirurgion have liberty to go with them. "5. That such goods as do belong unto Col. Richard Burke, except store of ammunition and provisions, shall be disposed of by the said Captain, and conveyed to such places as they shall think fit; and such corn as belong unto the aforesaid Colonel shall be preserved for his use to make sale thereof to the Parliament's party; Provided he come under protection within twenty-eight days after the date hereof. "6. That the said Capt Daly have liberty to make use of the barn within the bawne, to lay in his goods for the time above mentioned, and his wife Ellis Nirine, alias Daly, is to be freed from any debts until there be a settlement. "7. That Ensign John M'Cooge, now in restraint with O'Connor Roe, shall have his enlargement, provided the Commissary-General consents thereto, and shall enjoy his crop now in ground: Provided he come under protection, and pay his proportion of contribution. "For the due performance of the above-mentioned articles, I have hereto set my hand the day and year above written. "EDMOND DALY."! It being the policy of Cromwell not to leave any strongholds in the country, of which the Irish might again possess themselves, the castle was probably dismantled by General Reynolds, and it has not since then been inhabited. MS. Library, Royal Irish Academy, Dublin, p. 20. Also Gilbert's History of Affairs in Ireland, Vol. VI., p. 304. A A |