fices of each dignity. I learn that there are six diaconates in the diocese of Limerick. 4. I learn that there are eleven prebends or canonries. 5. I learn how many prebends are in each decanate. The benefices of each dignity, viz.: I. To the bishop's table belong:-1. Mongrett. 2. Tura Deil, or Blind Man's Tower. 3. Keilionochan. 4. Ardmuolan, near Killmallock. 5. Cottan, or Kilny, near Killmallock. 6. The middle part of Cluoncourtha, but now the whole, although formerly one part belonged to the bishop of Cloyne. II. 1. To the deanery belonged the whole parish of St. Mary's, Limerick. 2. The rectory of Mongrett. 3. The entire chapel of Keililin, outside St. John's Gate, near the walls. 4. The rectory of the chapel of Rathiuird, near Limerick, because it is part of St. Nicholas's parish. 5. The parish of Cathiornary. 6. The rectory of Bruiry. 7. The rectory of Baillishiowaird. 8. The rectory of Keappach, alias Tristane. III. To the precentor belong:-1. The rectory of Keilfiny. 2. The parish of Neantonan. 3. The rectory of Dromdily, or Tomdily, or Dromdelithy. 4. The rectory of Scannaghuoilin, or Seangolden. 5. The rectory of Leaughill. 6. The whole of Keilmile, alias Keilmuirelle. 7. The whole chapel' of Crag Desert Morogan, or Merogan, or Muiririgan, alias Morgans. 8. The whole of the chapel of Crinbhailly, or Cliny. 9. The rectorate of the parish of Cnocknaghauil. 10. The rectory of Cluomagh, in the ecclesiastical tenure only. 11. The chapel of Rathnasaon, according to an ancient roll of the year 1542. 12. The church of Keilairissa, or Keilfargus. IV. To the chancellor belong:-1. The rectory of Raithkeill entirely. 2. The rectory of Keilscainnill. 3. The rectory of Cluomagh, in the lay tenure only. 4. The rectory of Cluoinsierre. V. To the treasurer belong:-1. The parish of St. Patrick entirely. 2. The tithes of all the mills of Limerick. 3. The chapel of Keilcuain, near Parteen, which is a dependency of the said parish of St. Patrick. 4. The rectory of Caithirthiovathalla, or Cahirivahala. 5. The rectory of Imilighrinin, near Kill mallock. VI. To the archdeacon belong:-1. The rectorate of the parish of St. Michael (outside the walls of Limerick). 2. The rectory of Keildimo. 3. Clouincreu, or Cluoinchremha. 4. Ardagh entire. VII. To the college of Vicars Choral of Limerick belong:-1. The vicariate of the parish of St. Nicholas of Limerick. 2. The vicariate of Rathiuird. 3. The vicariate of the Chriochourtha. 4. The vicariate of Corcomoithid. 5. The rectory of Kilmallock. 6. The rectory of Keilmuallan. 7. The rectory of Cluoinelthy. 8. Cluoincagh. 9. Chapel of Kilghobban. 10. Chapel Mineta. 11. Chapel of Magrainy, or Keilcagny. VIII. To the college of Kilmallock belong:-1. The vicariate of the college of Kilmallock. 2. The vicariate of Athnese. 3. Ballinghaddy. 4. Chapel of Saycaithile. 5. Chapel of Keilionan. 6. Chapel of Dune-gaddy and Dune-joris. 7. Chapel Martell. 8. Kilbeedy Major. 9. Chapel of St. Martin. IX. To the Corporation of the Mayor and Aldermen of Limerick belongs the Church of St. Laurence beyond St. John's Gate. X. To the prebend of St. Munchin's belong:-1. The half part of the fruits of the prebend-the other part to the vicar. 2. The rectory of Keilnochon, or Keilineunghe. 3. The rectory of the chapel of Drehid-Tarsne. 4. The chapel of Keilchiomogan. XI. To the prebendary of Donoughmore belong:-1. The rectory of the 1 The word capella, I imagine, means "chapelry", rather than "chapel", otherwise why add "the whole of it" ?-Tomline gives chapellania for chapelry. parish of Donoughmore. 2. The rectory of the parish of Keiliele with its appendices. 3. The rectory of Ardpatrick. XII. To the rectory of Kilpeacon belongs the rectory of the chapel of Keilcuain of Aghennis. XIII. To the rectory of Croom belong:-1. The rectory of Cluonnana. 2. The chapel of Cnockdromaissel. 3. The chapel of Dolla. 4. The chapel of Dunenamaun, or Tristan. XIV. To the hospital belongs the chapel of Bruff. XV. To the rectory of Rathronan belongs the chapel of Mount Temple. NOTE 1.-The decanates in the diocese of Limerick are six, viz., the decanate of Limerick, the decanate of Kilmallock, the decanate of Adare, the decanate of Ballingarry, the decanate of Rathkeale, and the decanate of Ardagh. NOTE 2.-There are eleven prebends or canonries in the diocese of Limerick. 1. The canonry or prebend of St. Mun chins, 2. The canonry or prebend of Donogh-In the decanate of Limerick. more, 3. The canonry or prebend of Kilpeacan, 4. The canonry or prebend of Eflin, 5. The canonry or plebend of Tully-In the decanate of Kilmallock. bracke, So far the important matter in White's MSS. With respect to the property of the cathedral in its ancient state, there can be no question of its extent, and of the jealous care with which it was preserved. Grants of land were frequently made to the cathedral; whilst, as we perceive by the Black Book, the possessions in mortmain of all the churches of Limerick have been taken into account in the Patent and Close Rolls of Chancery in several successive reigns. These lands were most frequently leased out to tenants. The bishop's manors, of which Mungret, containing six large plow-lands, was one, Kilmallock another, which "hath been ever the bishop's manor", where the bishop was lord paramount, when it (Kilmallock) was a strong walled town; where the bishop had a fair which he purchased for £10 from David Lord Barry; where he held a court twice a year, had a mill, a bake-house, and a shambles; where all persons should grind at the bishop's mill, bake at his bake-house, and pay for the shambles according to custom; and where the burgesses and townsmen were called and impannelled as juries in the bishop's court. Ardagh, as we have above seen, was another bishop's manor in which bishops held courts and received rents; Drumdeely was another; and there is an entry in the little Black Book (quoted by Bishop Adams), 1 See Black Book and Bishop Adams's MSS., account of the property, etc. See also folio 7, p. 2, of the Black Book, and folio 8, p. 1, in the two offices of inquisition, where Drumdeely is found to be the bishop's land. to the effect that the inhabitants of Inniscattery are bound "carriare lignum, gramen et victualla ad omnia maneria sua de Lesamkill, Drumdeely et Mungarett". No church was more richly endowed by kings and princes, than the Cathedral of St. Mary's, Limerick. We now proceed with the Bishops: Robert of Dondomhnal or Dundonald, a canon of Limerick, was elected bishop by the king's assent, after canonical election in 1302. He was not restored to the temporalities until the 23d of September following, as appears by the accounts in the Chief Remembrancer's office. He died on the 3rd of May, 1311, and was buried in his own cathedral. Eustace de L'Eau, or Waters, Dean of Limerick, succeeded, and was consecrated at the close of the year 1311. He indeed was a great benefactor to the cathedral in his time. The citizens, who appear to have been not only wealthy, but pious, and to have appreciated the value of the cathedral, gave their energetic assistance towards the good work in which the bishop was engaged. After a session of twenty-four years, he died on the 3rd of May, 1336, and was interred in his own church. Maurice de Rupe Forte, or Rochfort, succeeded to the episcopacy in the same year, and was consecrated on the 6th of April in Limerick. An information was exhibited against him for opposing the levying of a subsidy granted to the king, of which he was found guilty. It appears that, in 1346, a parliament was held at Kilkenny, which granted the subsidy to the king (Edward III.), to support the exigencies of the state. Ralph Kelly, Archbishop of Cashel, opposed the levying of it within his province, and for that end summoned a meeting of his suffragan bishops at Tipperary, at which Maurice, Bishop of Limerick, Richard, Bishop of Emly, and John, Bishop of Lismore, appeared. They fulminated excommunication against all who should contribute to the subsidy; and at Clonmel the Archbishop appeared in the public streets, robed, and boldly published the decree of excommunication, particularly against William Epworth, the king's commissioner in the county of Tipperary, for gathering in the subsidy from the collectors. Maurice Rochfort was for some time deputy to Sir Thomas Rokeby, Lord Justice of Ireland, and according to Friar Hogan's Annals of Nenagh (preserved in the Brundusian Library, Brussels), Maurice was "a man of good life and honest conversation". The mortmain laws were so strictly enforced during his episcopacy, that whereas Gerald le Marescal, above mentioned, in A.D. 127 had purchased some lands for the see, without having previously obtained his license of mortmain, Edward III. obliged Maurice Rochfort, in 1337, to pay a fine of twenty marks. An ancient rental of the Diocese of Limerick is attributed to Maurice Rochfort. The attitude assumed by the Church at this period was bold and vehement against the tyrannical usurpations of the crown, which not only sought to set aside the liberties extended by Magna Charta, but under the falsest of pretences, levied oppressive taxes, and frequently revoked all previous grants, letters patent, etc., as well to all persons denounced, as to the Church itself, which maintained its position as the champion of truth and the protector of the persecuted. Many instances are given, in contemporaneous records, of the rapacity of the crown, and of the resistance of the Church to the spoliating hands of royalty and to the unscrupulousness of its agents; and the vehemence with which the Archbishop of Cashel hurled defiance at the decrees of the subservient parliament of Kilkenny, and the readiness with which his zeal was seconded by his suffragans of Limerick, Emly, and Lismore, afford a proof, if proof were wanting, that the Church, in those times, never abandoned the people, though the power of the state and the influence of the crown were brought to bear against it on many occasions. Stephen Lawless, or Lellies, Chancellor of Limerick, succeeded in 1353, and was restored to the temporalities by the king on the 13th of May, 1353. He died on the 28th of December, 1359. In 1360, Stephen de Valle, or Wall, Dean of Limerick, succeeded by provision of the Pope, and was consecrated this year. He filled the high office of treasurer of Ireland. He was translated to the bishopric of Meath, where having sat ten years, he died at Oxford on the 4th of November, 1379, and was buried there in the Dominican monastery. While he was Bishop of Limerick he translated the bones of Richard FitzRalph, Archbishop of Armagh, commonly called St. Richard of Dundalk, from Avig non to Dundalk, the birth-place of that archbishop, and deposited them in the Parish Church of St. Nicholas in that town.' Peter Curragh (in a MS. in T.C.D., said to be taken out of the Black Book, he is called Creagh; and in White's MSS. he is designated Pierce Creagh, a native of Limerick, though Ware states that he was a native of the county of Dublin) was elected next in succession, in 1369. He took the oath of fealty to Edward III. before the illustrious William of Wykeham, Bishop of Winchester, on the 10th of February (English style). Creagh's episcopacy was full of troubles. He engaged in implacable opposition to the Franciscans. When Archbishop Warrington came to Limerick to redress their grievances, and cited the bishop to answer their complaints, he (the bishop) laid violent hands on the archbishop, and tore the citation from him with such force that he drew his blood, and ordered the archbishop to begone, or that it should fare worse with his attendants. It is said, moreover, that the bishop laid censures on and threatened with excommunication all who should repair for divine service within the church of the Franciscans; that he excommunicated all who afforded the archbishop food and entertainment. There are other matters equally harsh said of this bishop: some of these accusations are preferred by Ware, on the authority of Luke Wadding; but we must accept them with some reservation. We must bear in mind that this prelate governed the see of Limerick for the long period of thirty years. During his time religion flourished in Limerick. Some of the most eminent of the families of the city then lived, and by their munificent expenditure on the churches and monasteries, showed that their zeal was ardent and their faith sincere. It was during the episcopacy of Pierce Creagh that Martin Arthur made a will' which shows that there were nine churches in the city. This will was made A.D. 1376. Among the bequests was one to the Franciscan friars, which the assertion of Ware, or rather of his commentator, Harris, as to the resent In a Parliament held at Trim, in June, 1485, a chantry was confirmed in this church of St. Nicholas, at Dundalk, in honour of God, the Blessed Virgin, St. Nicholas, and St. Richard, of Dundalk. Ware's Bishops. "Preserved in the Arthur MSS. ment manifested by the bishop towards the Franciscans, shows did not extend to the citizens. This will indicates the curious domestic manners of the times, and sets out several curious bequests. Confirmation of it is granted, and letters of administration, by the bishop. The will concludes as follows: "In the name of God, Amen, I, the aforesaid Martin, bequeath my soul to God, the Blessed Virgin, and all the saints; my body to be buried in the church of the Preaching Friars in Limerick. I also bequeath to the Cathedral of St. Mary's, Limerick, for forgotten tithes Also to the Preaching Friars ... Also for a friar's habit, to be put on him, half a mark ... Item to repair of the Church of St. Munchin's (marks) 200 ... 1 8 10 0 2 0 4 0 This bishop resigned his see A.D. 1400, and died about the end of October, 1407. Before his death, but after his resignation, viz., in 1401, John Budstone, a wealthy citizen of Limerick, bestowed four great bells on the cathedral of St. Mary's, to which we shall have to refer in the next chapter. Up to this period, from the foundation of the chapter by Bishop Donat O'Brien, there had been nine' Deans. CHAPTER LVII. BISHOP CORNELIUS O'DEA-HIS MITRE, CROZIER, AND SEAL-HIS IMPROVEMENTS-STATE OF AFFAIRS IN HIS TIME-GRANT OF HENRY VI. TO THE CITIZENS THE CATHEDRAL OF ST. MARY'S-MONUMENTS AND MONUMENTAL INSCRIPTIONS-THE BISHOPS IN SUCCESSION-THE REFORMATION", ETC., ETC. 66 THE illustrious Cornelius O'Dea, Archdeacon of Killaloe, succeeded Curragh or Creagh, A.D. 1405. He was a liberal benefactor to the cathedral, as we have already seen, and he also enlarged and beautified it. His mitre Viz.:-in 1204, p. 1212, T. ibid. W. Reymundus, tempore Henrici de Walyn, Dec. Lim.; 121 to 1278, Thomas of Woodford; 1295-8, John de Cotes; 1302, Luke; 1311, Eustace de l'Eau or Waters, who was raised to the bishopric this year; 1366, Adam Owen; 1398 to 1409, |