&c., and in the ground within the walls and towers, an excellent Infantry Barracks for four hundred soldiers was erected in 1751. The number of English settlers now began to increase rapidly; and the introduction of English habits, customs, dress, &c. kept pace with the numbers of the new inhabitants. Outside the walls many English families also established themselves.1 The politic John was resolved to keep on the best terms with the Bishop and Church of Limerick after he had obtained a firm footing within the city. The question of building the Castle and other fortifications, and of strengthening himself as much as possible, was paramount with him; but he was resolved to do so, not at the expense of the Church, by any encroachment whatever on the domains of the Bishop of Saint Mary's Church in Limerick. It would appear that certain of his partizans had begun to occupy some of the church lands in their zeal to erect the Castle and fortifications; but the King, before 1207, issued a prohibition against the slightest encroachment on the church properties, and in earnest and emphatic language warned, in a letter still extant, and addressed to his justices, bailiffs, barons, soldiers, and all his faithful subjects, in France, England, and Ireland, telling them that the rights of his venerable father in Christ, D. the Bishop of Limerick, should be strictly guarded, in reference to the contemplated Castle, and the other muniments and fortifications, and that nothing whatever should be done to interfere with the church property until his arrival in Ireland, when he expressed his determination to see the Bishop fully satisfied in every thing connected with the projected fortifications. The King furnished the Castle with every requisite for the defence of his newly acquired city. He not only placed constables within its walls,3 whom he invested with authority, but he Among the possessors of land in the county of Limerick in the thirteenth century, the following names appear :-Bagod or Baggot, a companion of Strongbow was the founder of the Bagot family now represented by Thomas Neville Bagott, Esq. of Ballymoe, county Galway; Patrick Bagott, Esq., of Bagottstown Castle, county Limerick, m. in 1540, Maria, daughter of J. Edmond O'Dwyer, Esq., of Kilnemanagh, county Tipperary: nine Bagots were attainted and their estates confiscated in Carlow and Limerick, in the wars of James II.-a portion of the family escorted king James to France:-Bonervyle, Brown, Butler, Fitzgerald, Sir Thomas de Clifford, Sir David de Rupe or Roche, Naish, Maunsell and Pierrepoint. Walter Maunsell was chief sergeant of the county of Limerick in the reign of Edward the first. Of the early settlers in the city, the following are the names of those that survive in our day :-White, Barrett, Long, Naish, O'Neill, O'Noonan, Sergeant, Young, Dundon, Russell, Flandr, Hallanan, and Purcell. Judging from the municipal roll of the thirteenth century, of which not many names have come down to us, there appears to have been a mixture of Welsh, Normans, Spaniards, English and Italians. See Sir Bernard Burke's Landed Gentry. The name of Robert Bagod occurs very frequently in the sales and settlements of land, &o., that were made during the episcopacy of Gilbert, Bishop of Limerick, whose transactions in this respect were very numerous, as appears by the Black Book. Maurice Bagott of Baggotstown was one of those who were excepted from pardon by the cruel and merciless Ireton, when he obtained possession of Limerick in 1651, through the treachery of Fennel, as will appear more fully in the proper place. Many of the Bagott family have continued Catholics, and are allied to some of the first Catholic families in Ireland. 2 Black Book of Limerick. Godfrey de Rupe or Roche was constable of the Castle of Limerick in the year 1216.Arthur MSS. Before the regular list of these begins, there are scattered notices to be found of the constables of the Castle of Limerick.-See Liber Munerum Hib. Thomas FizHugh de Lees was constable at a fee of ten marks, temp. Edward II. He was succeeded by Thomas de Winchester, (Patent 28th May, 1326.) He had a warrant in the following July for £20 to repair the buildings and walls of the Castle-then in a very bad state of repair. And in October of that year £80 more was granted to him and John le Blound, MAYOR of LIMERICK, for the same purpose. William de Swynford was constable in 1335. John Corbet in 1372. took care to provide it with chaplains. These succeeded each other, as removal or other causes created a vacancy in the office; and on one occasion we find Geoffrey de Mareys, Lord Justiciary of Ireland, on the part of his royal master, making a presentation to the chaplaincy of the King's Castle, of Thomas in the place of Andrew, who had either died, or been placed in some other position. The church lands were extensive, the constant dealings with them, the employment they gave the Courts in Dublin, as well as in Limerick, are shown in the records that have come down to us, and of which the Black Book contains a considerable number. In 1217 a mint was established in Limerick.2 In 1222 regulations were made concerning the Corporation, which has been recognised by Act of Parliament as a Corpo James Earl of Desmond was made constable for life by Patent 23rd August 1423-with leave to execute the Office by Deputy-and inasmuch as "the ancient fees for the custody of the Castle were for the most part annihilated, and the Castle become so ruinous, that the greater part of it was fallen to the ground," he was given £10 for the repair of the Castle, as well as forty marks out of the profits of the Lexwer (Laxweir), while he should occupy the officetwenty marks more, out of the profits of these weirs, were granted to him for five years in 1424. Sixty marks a year was a large sum in those days-so the Laxweir fishery must have been a very rich one to pay it. The earliest constables named by Lodge, in his list of patentee officers, are Sir Wm. Wyse, Knt., Esquire of the King's Body, appointed by Hen. VIII. Constable for life, with £10 a year fee, the king's island and the king's fisheries there, called the "Leixs Wayres." The £10 payable out of the fee farm of the said city, 25th Feb., 1523. On his resignation, his son, Andrew Wyse, was appointed, 7th June, 1551. Richard Chichester succeeded on the death of Wyse. He resigned, and was succeeded by Hercules Rainsford, Andrew Creagh, James Spencer, Robert Longe, and John Bleake. After which Chichester was again appointed, by a new patent, 16th Sept. 1588. Bleake, however, recovered the appointment by patent of 14th April, 1590, and held it for life. John Dannet succeeded, 29th Mar. 1597. Capt. Francis Berkeley succeeded on his death soon after, the Patent (given "free from the seal, because he is son-in-law to the Lord Chancellor") being dated 2nd Nov. 1597. This was Sir F. Berkeley of Askeyton, who was knighted at Kilmallock two years after by the Earl of Essex, and whose estates eventually devolved on his daughters, of whom one married Mr. Courtenay, of Powderham Castle, and another Mr. Taylor, of Ballynort, from whom the Massy and Westropp families are descended. The Lord Chancellor, to whom he was son-in-law, was Adam Loftus, Archbishop of Dublin. George Blundell obtained a reversion of Sir Francis Berkeley's patent, 13th May, 1608, but Maurice, son to Sir Francis, got him to surrender it, and had a patent accordingly, 8th June, 1610. George Courtenay succeeded his brother-in-law, Sir Maurice Berkeley, as Constable of the Castle by patent, 18th Sept. 1622 and the reversion of the office was granted to Roger, Earl of Orrery, on whose death Murrough, Viscount Blessington, became Constable in 1679. Sir Wm. King, Knt. (of Kilpeacon ?) succeeded in 1692, but surrendering the office in 1700, it was granted to Brigadier-General Richard Ingoldsby. George, Lord Carbery, succeeded as Constable on the death of Ingoldsby in 1714, and though displaced on the accession of George II., when the office was conferred on Sir Standish Hartstonge, Baronet, of Bruff, he was restored to it in 1739. Thomas, second Lord Southwell, succeeded Lord Carbery, on that nobleman's death in 1749. On his death, the office was granted to Edward Stopford, Esq., by patent, 26th Sept. 1780, and he held it for life. 2nd January, 1795, the Constableship, vacant by his death, was given to the Hon. William Cockayne; and he held it until his demise in 1809. The Right Hon. Colonel Vereker, afterwards second Viscount Gort, the last Constable of the Castle of Limerick, was nominated by patent, 18th Nov. 1809, and died 11th Nov. 1842, when that feudal office, prospectively abolished by Act of Parliament, ceased to exist. The Hon. William Cockayne was Constable of the Castle in 1799, when a grant was made to him and his successors for 99 years, of the King's Island, Limerick.-See Patent, 8th July, 1799. He died in 1809, and was succeeded by Colonel Charles Vereker, afterwards second Viscount Gort, in whose lifetime this ancient office was abolished, and the King's Island taken back into the possession of the Crown. The Black Book of Limerick. 2 Smith's MSS in R.I.A. ration by prescription. In 1237 a toll was granted for the purpose of enclosing the city with a wall; and throughout these and subsequent years church affairs, which are noticed in their proper place, appear to have occupied the largest share of public attention. Some of the churches were established; the concerns of the fisheries and the mills became of much importance, owing to the large receipts from those sources of revenue and profit. The fishermen must have enjoyed no small share of opulence for the time, because we find in some of the oldest documents reference made to the houses in which they lived, as marks or boundaries of property bequeathed or granted." The increasing importance of the city in 1285, induced Edward I. to grant a charter to the citizens, empowering the freemen of the Corporation to meet within their Common Court within the city, and there make bye-laws and regulations for their internal government. Grants by royal hands were given to the Dominican and Franciscan friaries; and though Galway had advanced more in commerce, the progress of Limerick, in other respects, was fully on a par with its ancient rival, while the bequests of land, &c. to the Church, surpassed any thing of which we have a record in other parts of Ireland. Out of the rents of the city John assigned £100 to the Archbishop of Cashel, in discharge of a sum of money due by him to that prelate. The growth of English customs and habits was now becoming stronger every succeeding year. The names which were in the records of the city, civil and ecclesiastical, are for the greater part English. The fisheries, as we have stated, were constantly occupying public attention; many inquisitions were held in reference to the tithes of rival claimants; and on the 25th of July, 1225, a solemn enquiry, on a novel issue regarding them, was held before the Archbishop of Cashel, the Bishops of Emly, Killaloe, Ross, Lismore, &c. as to whether the tithes of the fishery and of the mills of Limerick, and of the land of Dromin, were vested in the Treasurer of the Cathedral Church of St. Mary's, or in the Chaplain of the King's Castle, before the barons waged war against King John; the result of the enquiry was given in favor of the Treasurer. Contemporary authorities assure us that, in the midst of these proceedings, the people were greatly troubled with singular apprehensions. Extraordinary fears occupied their imaginations and visions, which we must attribute more to their comparative ignorance than to reality, constantly terrified them. The following events occurred in the reign of John. On the 30th of August, 1205, a writ was issued to the Lord Justice, commanding him to build a strong Castle at Dublin, to defend that city and to preserve the King's treasure; and on the 2nd of November following, the King by Writ commanded Walter de Lacy to put Limerick into the hands of the Lord Justice, because without it he could not keep the peace in Cork or Connaught. In the same year a fierce dispute arose between the English 2 See Black Book. 3 Ibid. Acts 4 Geo. IV. cap. 126. Loc & Pars. 1236, Mathew Paris writes, that in Ireland strange and wonderful sights were now seen, which amazed all the beholders, viz. There appeared coming out of the earth, companies of armed men on horse-back in battle array, and encountering together; this sight appeared several days after each other; sometimes they seemed to join in battle and to fight violently; and sometimes they seemed to joust and break staves, as if it had been at a tournament; the people of the country plainly saw them at a distance, for the skirmish shewed itself so lively, that now and then they might see them come with their empty horses. sore, wounded and bruised, and likewise men mangled and bleeding; and what seemed most strange, was that after they vanished, the prints of their feet appeared in the ground, and the grass was trodden in those places where they had been seen!!! 5 Cox's Hibernia Anglicana, Vol. I. p. 43. themselves about the possession of Limerick. Meyler the younger, son of Meyler Bermingham, besieged the city, and at last took it by force; in consequence of which the English of Meath became dissatisfied; dissensions arose among them. Cowley Mac Convey Leyghaghkan, chief of Silronan, was killed," with many hurts done among the English themselves." In 1208, Murtagh O'Brien, son of Donell, Lord of Thomond, was taken prisoner by the English at Limerick, in violation of the guarantee of the three Bishops, and by order of his brother Donough Cairbreach,2 This fact is also mentioned in the Annals of Clonmacnoise. In 1210, William De Burgo having received severe usage from the Connacians, to whom he and his people went to obtain "their wages," returned to Limerick, and Cathal Crovderg assumed the regals way of Connaught. It was in this year that the King, to supply "defects as far as he was able," divided Leinster and Munster, the only parts he had actually in possession, into the counties of Dublin, Kildare, Meath, Uriel, Catherlaigh (Carlow), Kilkenny, Wexford, Waterford, Cork, Limerick, Tipperary and Kerry, and appointed sheriffs and officers of them after the manner of the English. An important grant was made to Edmond, bishop of Limerick at this period, A.D. 1215—a grant which to our own day has continued to be a subject of interest to every class and party among the citizens, as it is connected with salmon and eel fisheries of the Shannon. The succession of mayors and bailiff's continued uninterruptedly, and the city was now forming into a shape consistent with the ideas of its English rulers, whose policy it was to have each city and town. in Ireland thoroughly English, for nearly all outside the walls continued abso 1 MacGeoghegan's translation of the Annals of Clonmacnoise. The O'Leyghaghan family was otherwise called MacConineadlla, now MacNamee. O'Dugan makes O'Rouarc chief of Carbright Gabra, which was in North Tiaffa. O'Leyghaghan was of the race of Fiacha, i.e. race of Tiaga, son of Neill-he was third son of Niall, of the Nine Hostages, monarch of Ireland, in the beginning of the fifth century. His descendants were the MacGeaghans and O'Molloys, whose country extended from Trim to Kildare, as we learn in an entry in MacGeaghan's translation of the Annals of Clonmacnoise, at the year 1207. 2 Annals of the Four Masters, Vol. II. p. 133. 3 "1207, Murtagh MacDonnell O'Bryen, Prince of Thomond, was taken by the Englishmen at Lymbrick against the wills of three Busshopps, by the procurement of his own Brother, Donough Cairbreah Mac Donnell O'Brien." 4 Annals of Four Masters. 5 Cox Hib. Angli. Vol. I. p. 50. Chancery Role 17th John : Grant to the Bishop of Limerick, dated 5th July, 17° John (1215.) John, by the grace of God, &c., to all, &c., greeting. Know ye that we, for the intention of the Lord, have granted, by this our charter confirmed, to God and the Blessed Mary, and to our venerable father Edmond, Bishop of Limerick, and his successors, ten pounds of silver for ever, every year, to be received at our Exchequer, Dublin, in free, pure, and perpetual alms of the farm rent assize of the city of Limerick and the fisheries of Limerick, which the said bishop against us has challenged. And the same bishop the ten marks which he has been accustomed to receive at our aforesaid Exchequer, in exchange of the lands of Drunnannalub, which, to the ancestor of the same before, we had given, together with the same land, to us and our heirs, for himself and his heirs, he has quitted claim. Wherefore, we will and firmly command, that the aforesaid Bishop of Limerick and his successors, may take for ever every year, at our aforesaid Exchequer of Dublin, those ten pounds of silver, in free, pure, and perpetual alms, as aforesaid. Witness, &c. &c. A mandate was issued on the 30th of July, 1216, to Geoffrey de Marshall, &c., ordering him without delay to cause the Venerable Father Edmond, Bishop of Limerick, to have the arrears which are due to him of the ten pounds which annually he ought to receive out of the Exchequer in Ireland (Close Role, 18 John); and on the 31st of July, same year, a mandate to the same to assess ten librates of land for the arrears due to the Bishop. lutely hostile to the crown and interest of England.' The want of a market having been thus early experienced by the busy and energetic settlers, king Henry III. in the first year of his reign, conceded to Edmund, bishop of Limerick, a weekly market, every Tuesday, at his manor of "Mungerett." The bishops of the see of Limerick continued occasionally to reside at Mungret up to the tenth century, if not later, as we find from some of their documents, mandates, &c. In the second year of Henry III. Walter de Lacy got "plein seizen," (full possession) of the castle of Beathar near Limerick-Patent Rolls, Numb. 3. In 1222, the 6th year of Henry III., the King ordered that none should receive a place or messuage in the cities of Limerick or Waterford, "who are strangers and do not abide in cities or good towns."-Close Rolls, No. 9. William Minntor and Adam Clericus, or Clarke, gave an account for the citizens of Limerick, of £70 of the Term of St. Michael of the 11th year, of the farm of their manor house, and £140 for the whole of the 12th year, for the farm of said manor-in all £210. For a long period efforts were made to increase the trade and commerce of the city, and place them on an equality with those of Galway and Waterford, which were English cities also, and towards which the Government had been earnestly manifesting their favor. Henry III. who in 1254 accepted Limerick, and afterwards granted it to Prince Edward, exerted himself strenuously for this object. Galway, however, kept the lead for a long period. At this moment, while the Limerick fisheries challenge so much public notice, it is interesting to find that the subject occupied the attention of a committee so early as the days of Edward I. The produce of the customs of Limerick 1 Roger Maii, Roger de Raleie, William Fitz Rudolph, Rodolph le Talure, John Cambitor, Robert Albus (White), were citizens of Limerick in the 17th of king John's reign.—Arthur MSS. 2 Close Roll, Ma. 16o. on the 27th of October, 2nd Edward I., 1274, a commission was issued to Geoffry de Genyville to enquire into certain petitions of the citizens of Limerick, including among other matters the weir which 27 years before, they received from Maurice Fitzgerald, then justiciary of Ireland, for a triennial term and not beyond, for 100 marks to king Henry, and how much the said weir may be worth by the year, in all the issues, &c. The inquisition was taken in Limerick, 4th Edward I., 1275, on Friday next after the feast of king Edmund the Martyr, before twenty-four jurors, in which they declare the weir is worth in all issues of the fishery by the year, to wit, in common years, and also in time of peace, twenty marks, &c. The names of the citizens before whom this inquisition was taken, are as follow: Richard Laynach, Robert Brun, John Wodeford, Walter Russell, Thomas Fitz Elias, The letter of Geoffry de Genyville to the king, is dated 8th March, 4th Edward 1., 1275, and after stating that he was occupied on divers affairs in the part of Ireland and towards Connaught, and elsewhere, he could not go to Limerick to take the above inquest, and that he did not wish it should be taken, except by some certain men, he states that "the inquest was passed suitably in the several points, except in the extent of the land, as to which they have extended eleven |