1765 Hugh Massy, of Ballynort,* 1771 Hugh Ingoldsby Massy, of New Garden,§ 1778 William Fitzgerald, of Ballinard,* 1799 De Courcy O'Grady, of Kilballyowen, 1802 William Jackson Harte, of Coolruss, 1805 Thomas O'Grady, of Belmont,††† 1809 Thomas Alexander Odell, of Odellville, 1811 Aubrey De Vere Hunt, of Currah, 1812 Gerald Blennerhassett, of Riddlestown, 1813 William Gabbett, of Caherline, 1814 Richard Smyth, of Smythfield, 1815 William Ryves, of Ryves Castle, 1816 Thomas Royse, of Nantenan, 1817 John Lowe, of Castle Jane, 1818 Richard Taylor, of Holly Park, 1819 Michael Lloyd Apjohn, of Linfield, of 1820 Edward Villiers, of Kilpeacon, 1782 John Fitzgibbon, of Mount Shannon,†† 1789 Crosbie Morgell, of Rathkeale,|||| 1794 John T. Westropp, of Ballysteen, 1821 De Courcy O'Grady, of Kilballyowen, of Limerick, and at the general election of 1783, his health not permitting him to to undergo the fatigues of a senator, he declined to offer himself a candidate for this county. Son of Lord Massy, elected Member for Askeaton in 1761, and for the county of Limerick in 1783. Among a collection of portraits at Clonshavoy, the residence of Caleb Powell, Esq., ex-M.P., is one of the Rev. George Massy, Archdeacon of Ardfert, next brother of the first Lord Massy, and known in his generation by the soubriquet of "Dirty Boots", which originated as follows: About the year A.D. 1750, the public communication between Limerick and Dublin was effected by a cumbrous machine, drawn by four horses, consuming four days and a-half transporting the passengers, who it may be supposed must have learned something of each other during the journey, and the Rev. George Massy having ascertained that one of his compagnons de voyage was a clergyman of considerable political influence (the way to church preferment, in those days at least), about to apply for a benefice then vacant, and in the gift of the government-the very one which the Rev. George Massy was about to apply for-he, without delaying to change his travelling attire, repaired forthwith from his conveyance to the Castle of Dublin, had an interview with the then Irish Secretary, who at once complied with his request, and bestowed upon him the living in question. Very shortly after, his competitor, who had gone to a hotel to change his dress, made his appearance in full figure in the Secretary's apartment, just as the Rev. George Massy withdrew from it; and having preferred his claim, the Secretary exclaimed, "How unlucky you are, sir! Dirty Boots, whom you must have met, has just got it". The venerable Archdeacon kept a pack of hounds at Elm Park, was "a mighty hunter before the Lord", extremely hospitable, lived jovially till upwards of 80, and expired suddenly in an apoplectic fit, bequeathing his estate to his youngest brother, General Eyre Massy, created Baron Clarina in 1800, and was grandfather of the present nobleman bearing that title. ↑ Elected Member for Kilmallock in 1761, and Mayor of Limerick in 1762. Mayor of Limerick in 1764 and 1776, and elected a member for the city in 1776. § Son of Hugh Massy, of Knockevan, Mayor of Limerick, 1792; left a son, Hugh Ingoldsby, who died without issue, and left his estate to his cousin, third Lord Massy, who sold it to John Massy, Esq., of Limerick. Caleb Powell, Collector of Limerick, grandfather of Caleb Powell, Sheriff in 1858. Mayor of Limerick in 1775. Mayor of Limerick in 1786. † Elected Member for Kilmallock in 1783, became afterwards Earl of Clare, and Lord High Chancellor of Ireland. 1 Father of Chief Baron O'Grady, created Viscount Guillamore. $$ Mayor of Limerick in 1785. An Attorney, of whom Daniel O'Connell used to speak disparagingly. ¶¶ Elected Member for the County in 1720. Mr. Bruce, who purchased the estate of Hermitage, containing 200 acres, from Mr. Waller, of Castletown, for £5,000, in 1789, built the house and made improvements estimated at £10,000, all which he disposed of in 1802 to the third Lord Massy, for £20,000. Mr. Bruce was founder of the Limerick Club, and a banker; his bank house was the house No. 6 Rutland Street, now an auction mart. ttt Author of the Nosegay. He used to say that his cousin, Standish O'Grady, of Grange, "sent his children to church through fear of his wife, and went to Mass himself through fear of the devil". 1832 Henry O'Grady, The Grange, 1833 Thomas Lloyd, Beechmount, 1834 G. M. Maunsell, Ballywilliam, 1835 Wm. Monsell, Tervoe, 1836 Vere Edmond De Vere, Curragh Chase, 1838 James Denis Lyons, Croom House, 1848 Francis W. Goold, Dromadda, 1849 Samuel Frederick Dickson, of Vermont, 1850 Eyre Lloyd, Prospect, 1853 Hugh Massy, Riversdale, 1854 F. C. F. Gascoigne, Castle Oliver, 1856 John White, Belmont, 1859 Heffernan Considine, Derk House, 1860 Henry Lyons, Croom House, 1861 Helenus White, Mount Sion House, 1863 Joseph Gubbins, Kilfrush, 1864 John Franks, Ballyscaddane, 1865 Sir David Vandeleur Roche, Bart., Carass Court, 1866 Henry Westropp, Esq. (M.P. for Bridgewater), of Greenpark. The Right Hon. the Earl of Dunraven is Lord Lieutenant of the county and Custos Rotulo rum. D. CAHERIVAHALA. Near this locality is "the Rock of the first (or the hundred) fires", Carrig an Ceud tinne, a bold and lofty rock; also remains of ancient fortifications, a large rath, and an old church. Near Ballinagarde is the Hill of Knockla, which appears to have been strongly fortified. FEDAMORE AND FRIARSTOWN. In this neighbourhood is Cloch-na-Monach, or the "Monk's Stone", the remains of some ancient buildings; the fine remains of two ancient abbeys, founders unknown; also a large dun or fort. HOSPITAL, a town four miles east of Bruff. In the church is the figure of a knight, said to be the founder, in the niche in the chancel. It was formerly a locality of the Knights Templars, and passed by gift of Queen Elizabeth to Sir Valentine Browne, who erected a fortress called Kenmare. The hospital is gone, and the castle very nearly so. The commandery of Knights Templars was founded by Geoffrey de Mariscis, about 1215. RALEIGHSTOWN is near Hospital. In the church of the Recollects (Paris), was a monument erected to the memory of a scion of the house of Raleigh of Raleighstown, with the following inscription:Messire Michel de Raleigh de la famille de Raleighstown, vivant captain commandant au regiment infanterie Irelandise de Berwick, Chevalier de l'ordre militaire de Saint Louis, qui eut l'honneur de servir 42 ans, sous les regnes de Louis XIV. et XV. et mourut 31st Decemr, 1732, age de 76 ans. I am informed that Mr. Richard Raleigh, of Patrick Street, Limerick, Mr. Gibbon Raleigh, of Castlemahon, and Mr. John Raleigh, of Kyle, in the county of Limerick, are descendants of this ancient family. SHANAGOLDEN. A post town, twenty miles w. of Limerick. Here is a curious circular compartmented moat. The entrance was from the east, by which it is said the Irish forts were distinguished from those of the Danes. A little to the south is the ruin of Shanid Castle, whence the Desmonds, who deprived the MacSheehys of it, derived their war cry of "Shanid-a-boo". Between Shanagolden and Foynes is Knockpatrick Hill, on the slope of which a church is said to have been built by St. Patrick, whose chair and well are shown in the adjoining field. The hill, which is 574 feet high, commands an extensive view of five counties. Seats.-Shanagolden House and the Glebe House. PALLASKENRY. A market and post town, twelve miles w. of Limerick. The Chapel Russell Loan Fund, estab lished in 1823, gave a great stimulus to trade in this neighbourhood. Flax dressing, spinning, and linen weaving are still carried on here. Numerous petrifactions have been found in the waters of a stream and pond near the town. The castle, of which the ruins are not far distant, was built by the O'Donovans, but subsequently held by the Fitzgeralds. An ancient silver bodkin and a golden fibula have been found near the church.-Seats-Castletown (Rev. J. T. Waller). GREANE was formerly an incorporate town, and had a collegiate church. A.D. 968, at Sulcohid Pass the Danes defeated by the Irish, and driven to Limerick. By the old road which passes near Derk, the handsome seat of H. Considine, Esq., J.P., King William marched his army to Limerick. There is a moat about a mile from the church, eastwards of the old castle of Kilduff. Near Lynfield are the remains of Kilcolman church, which was founded in the seventh century, and also Knocksifien on the top of Knockgreane, where, in penal times, tradition has it the priest used to officiate. Mass Rock, or Carriganfain, is shown to the visitor. The rocks at Lynfield are basaltic. MEMORIAL STONES. Pillars, Steles, or Inscribed Stones, have been found in Limerick. There are two Ogham Stones in the Earl of Dunraven's demesne, for which see his Memorials of Adare. ROUND TOWERS. Dr. Petrie states that the majority of these towers were erected about the ninth and tenth centuries, though history gives the foundation of a round tower in the sixth century. To some towers, as at Clonmacnoise, he assigns the date of the twelfth century. The generally received opinion which he has argued out, is, that they were used for the double purpose of belfries and castles. Others think that they were anchorite towers, or penitential houses, or fire temples, or built by the Danes, perhaps for watch towers. In Irish they are called generally Cloictheach, and in a few districts Clogar or Cuiltheagh, all meaning "belfries". The finest of all is in Devenish Island in Lough Erne. 66 THE SO-CALLED DANISH FORTS AND TOMBS OF THE EARLY IRISH. Sir W. Wilde, in his interesting lecture on "Ireland, Past and Present", remarks that if the Danes had erected these curious mounds, the popular belief would not ascribe them to the Fairies or "Good People"; more probably they were constructed by the Tuatha de Danaans, whose name they preserve. These were globular-headed, intellectual, and refined specimens of humanity", as compared with the "long-headed, thick-skulled Firbolgs". The latter or "early pre-metallic Irish", buried their dead lying at full length in a stone sepulchre, covered with a huge monolith, of which there are two specimens in the Phoenix Park-one in the Zoological Gardens, and the other behind the Military School; the Tuatha de Danaans buried their dead in the "Kistvaen" or stone chamber, sometimes small and sunk beneath the level of the soil, sometimes rising into the great cromlech, miscalled Druid's altars, and consisting of one large superincumbent stone supported by four others. These latter have been denuded of their tumuli, and rifled of their contents at the beginning of the Christian era. The body must have been placed in a doubled up or crouching attitude. Mortuary urns containing fragments of burnt bones have been found in some of the latter tombs. Two thousand years at least, according to Sir W. Wilde, have elapsed since the construction of these earthen raths, stone circles, great forts, and sepulchral monuments. The sarcophagi of the Firbolgs and their contemporaries contain flint weapons and shell ornaments, but no metal, and were originally covered by mounds of earth. We suppose many of these raths were fortified in the wars of Strongbow and Cromwell. FOSSIL DEER. Several fine specimens of these huge animals are preserved in Adare Manor. Numerous specimens of these Fossil Deer have been found by William Hinchy of Thomond Gate, in Kilcullane Bog, within two miles of Lough Gur, in which a great number of the bones of the Fossil Cow have also been found. Hinchy had lately one of these deer measuring twelve feet eight in a straight line from the tail to the mouth, and ten feet across the antlers. He had two others of somewhat lesser size. He sold two of them to the Dublin Society for the sum of £60. They were male and female. Lord Powerscourt gave him fifty guineas for another. CROPS AND CLIMATE OF LIMERICK. The Registrar General's statistics, published in 1865, state the total extent under crops in Limerick at 194,267 acres, which shows an increase of more than 3,000 acres on the year 1864. "The county of Limerick", says Fitzgerald, is so much exposed to the winds from the Atlantic ocean, that the air is generally moist. The following is the result of atmospherical observations made in two consecutive years: Days with rain Greatest general height of the thermometer, in shade, in summer, 72; greatest depression, 58: in winter these figures are 54 and 28 respectively, yet the natives are remarkable for longevity" In Limerick, however, as elsewhere, the climate is somewhat altered since Fitzgerald wrote. THE NATURAL HISTORY OF LIMERICK. Neither in the fauna, flora, nor sylva of this county is there anything that requires particular notice. Wood is scarce, though in this and the county Clare the county is famous for orchards, producing the cider called Cacagee. Two of these near Loughmore, have of late years been cut down. The eagles that once frequented Lough Gur are hardly ever seen now, and even the singing birds and other small birds have been nearly annihilated by the severity of past winters. The wild swans have forsaken the marshes of Cahercorney, Carrickee, and other parts of the county, and the flights of wild geese are no longer so numerous as of old. The county must have been formerly well wooded, if we are to judge from the oak, fir, beech, and other trees, which we find in the bogs, and which, from their bearing the marks of fire, seem to have been cut and burned by the natives. A "moving bog", like that which created such a sensation about 1822 near Clara, in the King's County, occasioned similar excitement at Kilmallock on the 7th of July, 1697. Bones and horns of the Irish elk have been found near Lough Gur, at Castlefarm, Rathcannon, and at Knockee, one of which, a perfect specimen, Archdeacon Maunsell sent to the Royal Dublin Society. Flint instruments, including celts, spear heads, etc., have been found at Lough-Gur. THE WHITE KNIGHT was so called from the first knight being hoary headed. He is now represented by the Earl of Kingston. In 1604 the White Knight lived in the abbot's residence and that of several of the sovereigns of the borough, previous to its occupation by the White Knight, close to the river near Kilmallock. The ruins in the Spitalfield, a mile north of the town, were once a leper hospital. E. GRANTS UNDER THE COMMISSION OF GRACE. The following "grants" were made under the "Commission of Grace", printed folio:1684. To Digby Foulkes, of various lands in Cork and Limerick, p. 5 and 6. Grant to John Crips, of estates in the county of Limerick, and within the liberties, id. p. 6. Grant of ditto to Thomas Maunsell, in this county, p. 6. Ditto to George and Simon Purdon, of lands in this county and in Clare county, id. p. 6. Ditto to Thady Quin, of lands in Clare and Limerick including weirs and fisheries, id. p 7. Ditto to Joseph Ormsby, id. p. 8. Ditto to Thomas Power, id. p. 9. " Ditto to Edward Rice, of lands in the the barony of Conneloe, id. 12. p. Ditto to Henry Widdendam, id. p. 17. Ditto to Brooke Briges, id. p. 18. Ditto to Patrick Sarsfield, id. p. 18. 1685. To Laurence Clayton, in Cork county and in Limerick county and city, id. 34. Ditto in Cork and Limerick, to Nicholas Lysaght, id. p. 36. " Ditto to ditto, in the liberties of Limerick and Kilmallock, id. 37. Ditto within the city of Limerick, very extensively, to Archbishop Alibale Ball, id. p. 1686. Grant of a small portion of lands in this county, with extensive possessions in Mayo p. 41. "An abstract of the expenses of James II. by actual payments in money for three years, from Lady Day 1685, to 1688. (These seem to refer to England rather than united to Ireland.) THE WALLS AND GATES OF LIMERICK. Portions of the famous old wall are still remaining between St. Munchin's Churchyard and the Shannon, where the wall is flanked by towers. Also between Island Road and Barrack Street, extending from the crossing to Dominick Street to the crossing of the New Road, near St. Mary's Chapel, where it forms an angle, and extends along Change Street. From Water-gate to the site of the old Linen Hall there is another segment; and from the corner of Lock Quay to the Fever Hospital, another and by far the most interesting portion, the ground adjacent to and occupied by the latter building having formed the Black Battery, between which and St. John's Gate was the breach. The "Ramparts", as the line from this corner to old Clare Street was called, even to a late period, which were also breached, and defended by the women of Limerick, were a sloping mound of earth, powerfully strengthening the wall interiorly, and now, along with the walls, forming the sites of Mr. Cregan's, Mr. Brown's, and a Mrs. Callaghan's gardens. In the former, a small swivel gun, quite perfect, about a foot and a-half long, and capable of throwing two-ounce balls, was found with three iron tubes of about the same length, but larger calibre, and are still mounted on the walls in embrasures lately made to receive them. Here the walls are nearly 36 feet thick, and have been lately tunnelled by the proprietor, in order to connect the interior and exterior garden; in the latter of which a passage like a chimney runs up to the top of that part of the wall which forms Mr. Brown's garden, where the wall has had a passage cut through, with steps, as old as the time of the Siege, when it formed a sally port. The chimney-like passage is traditionally said to have been used for obtaining supplies for the garrison. This part of the wall is parallel to John Street, and the present occupiers are so very obliging that respectable visitors will find no difficulty in procuring admission. The entrance is in what is now called Father Quinn's Lane. The Devil's Battery was at the angle facing the lane. The names of the gates of Limerick sufficiently indicate their position. John's Gate, nearly opposite the site of the Black Battery, is the most celebrated. The position of the West Watergate was near the bakery still called after it, in a yard belonging to which stations in honour of St. Gubbinet are said to have been performed round a well, which is at present shut up. This saint, who was very beautiful, is said to have prayed that she might become deformed in order to prevent temptation; when she is traditionally recorded to have been attacked by the small pox, traces of which are still marked on her image, of which a small stone bust still remains. Some person blackened it lately with tar. In the year 1760 there were 17 gates still standing; but in 1787 only the Watergate of King John's Castle remained. The names of these we gave in a former chapter. THE CROSSING OF THE SHANNON BY THE WILLIAMITES. Story's map, in which three islands adjacent to each other are represented nearly opposite Penny Well heights, and within some five hundred yards of Islanroan at their most southern point, gives the idea that the river, at the first crossing, was passed here at the place still called the Islands. The description of the point, as near Annabeg, seems to confirm this idea; but I have followed local tradition in the text, which describes the crossing to have taken place within about four hundred yards of St. Thomas's Island. Could Story have meant this by "Thomond Isle"? Some say King's Island was so called originally. Opposite this latter Island, on the Clare side, are still the marks of extensive entrenchments. THE RUINED HOUSE AT SINGLAND. Neither the fathers nor grandfathers of the present generation have been able to learn when this house was built. It was evidently standing at the time of the Siege, being exactly delineated in Story's map, published two years after the Siege. THE ENGLISH LINES. A line drawn from St. Patrick's churchyard to a point nearly opposite the present Steamboat Quay, will pretty well indicate the English trenches and circumvallations. This line connected the old church fort, Ireton's and Cromwell's forts, out of which the Irish had been driven, with the batteries on the left. The Irish had a sort of Redan and a fort on the other side of the river, opposite the latter, besides the battery at Cromwell's fort on the King's Island. They do not appear to have had any other outworks, except another fort near Penny Well. The Cromwell fort, first mentioned, occupies the ground now the site of the Waterworks. Its natural elevation was raised with turf taken from the hollow grounds; and when dug up, several balls, pieces of arms, and armour were found. Ireton's fort is a short distance to the right of this, and is still discernible. William had a narrow escape while entering this. The English camp lay about an English mile south of this line. A PLURALIST. The Right Hon. George Evans, M.P., father of the first Lord Carbery, was Custos Rotulorum, Governor of the County, Colonel of the Militia, Judge of Assize presiding in Limerick, at one and same time, in the year 1693-4. |