Part 18

The eastern front of the castle has one tower, with a five-sided exterior likewise. In 1836 a portion of the east side of the castle fell. The whole of it is now extensively covered with ivy.

This building is supposed to be of the Tudor era, and it is likely to occupy the site of an older fortress, as there are still traces of foundations which do not seem to have been included in the plan of the present ruin.

The Manor of Mallow passed by exchange from the De Rupes or Roches into the hands of the Desmond FitzGeralds at the close of the thirteenth century.

Tradition states that the Tudor fortress was erected by the “Great Earl” of Desmond, as Garrett, the 15th Earl, who succeeded to the title in 1558, is usually styled. It seems, however, more probable that it was built by his even greater father, James, who was Lord High Treasurer of Ireland.

It remained in the Desmond possession until the forfeiture of their princely estates in 1584.

At this time it was in the hands of Sir John of Desmond, the Earl’s son, who was overtaken near Castlelyons and killed by a former servant of his own. His body was hung over one of the gates of Cork for some years, and his head sent to Dublin Castle.

The following description of the stronghold is taken from an inquisition held at this time on the Manor of Mallow:--

“One castle containing in itself two small courts and one great barbican, namely, where the howse standeth the enterance in is on the north side ffyrste into one of the said courts, and then turninge one the lefte hande ye enter by a doore, beinge in a highe wall into the Balne or Barbican, which is reasonable large, and then goinge a little way, turninge one the lefte hande, have ye enterance by an other stone wall, whereas the castell or howse standeth, the lower rooms whereof ar sellers vauled over. And in the wall one the lefte hande there be stay res of stone of xii stepps in heyght that leadeth one the right hande into the Hall, which is about lx foote longe and xxvi foot wyde, within the howse, and is deepe, with a highe roofe, the Tymber wereof seemeth to be sounde, and is covered with thacke, some thinge decayed at the north ende; towards the west corner there is a square buyldinge vaulted as thother is, but not so broade, and riseth somewhat higher than the roofe of the hall in which, over the sellor, ar fower stronge roomes that may be made meete for lodgings: the uppermost, savinge one, is vaulted.”

The siege during the Desmond rebellion must have caused the castle to need repair, and even at subsequent dates it seems to have been in a ruinous condition.

At first after this, the district of Mallow was assigned to Pelham, H.M. Attorney-General, and Sir Thomas Norreys, who was holding the place, writes to Burghley in 1587: “I understand Mallow (a place which I have hitherto had keeping of) is assigned to H.M. Attorney-General, who doth little esteem it. I crave to be admitted an associate in Co. Cork, and still keep that place, which I doubt not the Attorney-General will easily yield to. I affect not the place for any special goodness, but having held it so long am the more unwilling to leave it, and, if I may obtain it, will endeavour the best service I can.”

The same year Sir John Norreys, President of Munster, writes from Utrecht complaining that the honour of his office brings little land with it, and asking that Mallow might be granted to him.

He it was who settled the crown of Portugal on the royal house of Braganza, and Edmund Spencer described him in some of the lines of his “Fairy Oueen.”

In 1588 Sir Thomas Norreys received a grant of the castle and lands from Elizabeth.

Here, in Sir Thomas’s arms, died his brother, the great Sir John Norreys, in 1597, of old wounds which had been neglected and turned to gangrene. One of many fables told regarding his death is that the devil, dressed in black, appeared while he was playing cards, and claimed his soul on the spot in fulfilment of an old bargain.

During the Tyrone rebellion in 1598-99 Norreys had his English sheep stolen from Mallow, and his park wall broken down, so that the deer roamed loose.

Upon the restored young Earl of Desmond’s returning to Ireland in 1599 he spent much of his time at Mallow, where he was said to be in love with Lady Norris, widow of Sir Thomas.

The Attorney-General writes in 1606: “The first night we lodged at Mallow, a house of my Lady Norries, which is a well-built house, and stands by a fair river in a fruitful soil, but it is yet much unrepaired and bears many marks of the late rebellion.” At this time Elizabeth Norreys, heiress to the estate, was a king’s ward, and resided with her mother in the castle.

In 1613 a fresh patent was granted to Dame Elizabeth Jephson, and her heirs for £50 paid by her husband, Sir John Jephson, Knight, she having inherited her father’s estate. The grant included the castle, manor, and town of Mallow, Short Castle, _alias_ Castle-Gar, &c.

In 1636 the Earl of Cork made an offer for the manor, but he did not come to terms with the owners.

Short Castle, which was on the north side of the town, was in charge of Lieutenant Williamson in 1641, when Lord Mountgarret marched against Mallow, while the larger fortress was placed in charge of Arthur Bettesworth and two hundred men by Captain Jephson.

After many assaults and several breaches, Short Castle was forced to surrender, which its commander did on terms. There are several versions of the following story.

After the castle’s fall its defender and his men were refreshing themselves in a public-house in the town, when an officer and man belonging to Mountgarret’s force entered with a block and sword, stating they had come to behead them. Lieutenant Williamson caught the sword up with one hand and the officer’s hair with the other, and dragged him to the walls of the larger stronghold, where, dismissing him with a kick, he and his men joined the other garrison.

The Castle of Mallow was taken by the Earl of Castlehaven in 1645, and almost reduced to ruins.

In 1666 there seems to have been an attempt made to restore it. Lord Orrery, writing to the Duke of Ormond in this year, says: “This bridge is at Mallow, where there is a castle of good strength if it had a little reparation, and is one of the greatest passes and thoroughfares in this province, and if seized on by any enemy would, in effect, divide the country into two parts.”

During the scare of the French invasion the Grand Jury presented money to repair it, but the Judge seems to have reserved his decision on the matter.

Major-General Sgravenmore sent Colonel Doness to destroy the bridge and reconnoitre the castle in 1689.

Norreys was added to the family surname Jephson in 1838, and some years later Sir Denham Jephson Norreys erected a mansion in Elizabethan style close to the old fortress. Sir Bernard Burke remarks of it: “Here are mullioned windows, pointed gables, tall chimneys, and all those various intricacies of building which characterised our noblest seats in the days of the Virgin Oueen; somewhat fantastic, it is true, but picturesque in the extreme.”

The manor and castle are still in the possession of this family, Mrs. Atherton-Jephson-Norreys being the present representative.

AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.

H. F. Berry, “The Manor and Castle of Mallow,” in _Journal of Cork Archæological Society_. J. O’Flanagan, “The Blackwater in Munster.” Sir B. Burke, “The Seats and Arms of Noblemen and Gentlemen, &c.” Smith, “History of County and City of Cork.” R. Bagwell, “Ireland under the Tudors.” Parliamentary Gazetteer. H. Berry, “Manor of Mallow in the Thirteenth Century,” in _Journal of Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland_.

_MAYNOOTH CASTLE_

“Ye Geraldines! ye Geraldines! how royally ye reigned O’er Desmond broad, and rich Kildare, and English arts disdained, Your sword made knights, your banner waved, free was your bugle call, By Glyn’s green slopes, and Dingle’s tide, from Barrow’s banks to Youghal. What gorgeous shrines, what Brehon lore, what minstrel feasts there were In and around Maynooth’s strong keep and palace-tilled Adare! But not for rite or feast ye stayed, when friend or kin were pressed; And foemen fled, when “Crom a boo” bespoke your lance in rest.” THOMAS DAVIS.

Situated about twelve miles west-by-north of Dublin, this ancient fortress of the Pale was the chief stronghold of the Kildare branch of the Geraldines. It was built by Maurice FitzGerald (the first of the great family to settle in Ireland) to protect the lands of Offaly, granted to him in 1176 by Strongbow in lieu of part of Wexford which King Henry wished to retain.

From the excellency of the twelfth-century masonry, the great keep, with walls some 8 feet in thickness, and the gate-house, are the best preserved parts of the ruin. The large corner tower and three round arches adjoining belong to the thirteenth century, while the fifteenth century is represented by an oblong tower, now used as the belfry of the Episcopalian Church. The rest of the buildings which connected these, now isolated, structures have almost entirely disappeared.

The fortress was surrounded on two sides by water, being at the junction of the River Lyreen, a tributary of the Liffey, and a smaller stream.

In 1248 we read that Luke, Archbishop of Dublin, erected the chapel of Maynooth into a prebend of St. Patrick’s Cathedral at the request of Maurice, second Baron of Offaly. This building, which was once the castle chapel, is now the parish church.

At the beginning of the fourteenth century Maynooth seems to have been the favourite residence of the FitzGerald family. John, the 1st Earl of Kildare, and Thomas, the 2nd Earl, both died there (1316 and 1328). The latter bequeathed the castle to his wife. It is described as being “built of stone, with numerous offices partly of stone, and two gates, one leading to the town, and the other to the garden.”

The castle was added to in 1426, and is said to have been “one of the largest and richest Earl’s houses in Ireland.”

In 1534 the Earl of Kildare, being Lord Deputy, was summoned to London, and appointed his son, Lord Offaly, Vice-Deputy in his absence. Upon a rumour that his father had been executed, Lord Thomas, who was very young, went into rebellion, and such nobles and chiefs as refused to join his standard he sent as prisoners to Maynooth.

A division of the English army, landing at Howth to raise the siege of Dublin Castle, was met by “Silken Thomas” with two hundred men. An engagement followed, in which Lord Offaly was victorious, and the survivors of the King’s troops were sent captive to Maynooth.

At this time the castle was splendidly fortified with men and ordnance.

Hearing that the whole English army was about to arrive, Lord Offaly left Maynooth in command of Christopher Paris, his foster-brother, and went into Connaught to raise forces.

In January, 1535, seven hundred men were sent from Dublin to burn Maynooth Castle. A skirmish took place, and although some of the rebels were slain, the royal troops retired.

The Lord Deputy, Sir William Skeffington, now collected his forces, and marched in full strength against the stronghold. The siege began on the 14th of March, and was continued until the 23rd.

Upon arriving at Maynooth, Sir William demanded the surrender of the castle, and offered free pardon and reward to all the garrison.

To this he only received a jeering reply, so planting his cannon to the north of the building towards the park he opened fire. The attack was varied north-east and north-west, but though this continued for over a week little damage was done, save destroying the battlements.

Towards the close of this time a letter was shot out of the castle to the Lord Deputy from Christopher Paris, offering to find means of letting the besiegers enter the castle for a certain sum of money and provision for the rest of his life.

Sir William Skeffington agreed to the terms, and upon the 22nd, a field-piece having been captured from the besiegers, the Governor made it an occasion for high revelry. Thus, while the men who guarded the outer battlements were sound asleep after their carouse, the King’s troops easily entered the castle by scaling-ladders early on the morning of the 23rd.

Sir William Brereton led the attack, but the resistance was very feeble, the drunken soldiers believing that the cry of “St. George! St. George!” was but a dream. Sir William hoisted his standard from the highest turret, so as to inform the Lord Deputy that the castle had been won.

Sir William Skeffington entered in the afternoon. The garrison consisted of thirty-seven persons. Two singers of the chapel were pardoned, at the intervention of Chief Justice Aylmer, on account of their sweet voices.

Twenty-five of the men were beheaded, and one hanged, outside the castle gate, and the principal heads placed upon the battlements. Amongst these was that of the Dean of Kildare. Paris was paid the sum stipulated for his treachery, but as he had forgotten to make his safety a condition, he was executed with the rest.

The Lord Deputy left a garrison in the castle and returned to Dublin.

Lord Offaly was marching to the relief of his stronghold with an army of seven thousand men when the news of its fall reached him. At this, most of his forces melted away, and the rebellion became rather a series of raids than regular warfare.

At last, Lord Thomas, tempted by a promise of pardon, surrendered himself, and was sent prisoner to England. Here, after some months of captivity, he and his five uncles were beheaded at Tyburn.

There is a tradition that the last evening “Silken Thomas” ever spent at Maynooth he played the harp under the venerable yew which is now enclosed in the grounds of St. Patrick’s College.

A bill of attainder was passed in 1536 against the Earl of Kildare and his heirs; and Maynooth, being forfeited to the Crown, became a King’s castle. It seems to have been a favourite residence of the Lords Deputy at this time.

In 1552 Edward VI. restored Gerald, 11th Earl of Kildare, to his title and estates. His widow lived at Maynooth until her death; and it was in the castle garden that Lord Delvin was first approached by the Earls of Tyrone and Tyrconnell to join the insurrection in 1606. In a letter written by the Countess of Kildare she expresses her regret for such an occurrence.

After the death of the 14th Earl in 1612, Maynooth Castle seems to have fallen into a state of dilapidation on account of his son’s minority. It was restored by his guardian, the great Earl of Cork, who placed an inscription over the gateway recording its restoration, and bearing the date 1630.

In 1629 we hear of the Earl’s title deeds being preserved in the Council House, which was a stone building that stood on the site now occupied by the President’s house of St. Patrick’s College. It was removed about 1780. The doorway is still preserved in a school of the town, and the council table, bearing the date 1533, stands before the Duke of Leinster’s residence at Carton.

The 12th Earl of Kildare lived at Maynooth until civil war broke out in 1641. Shortly after hostilities began the castle was plundered and the valuable library destroyed.

In 1643 Captain Michael Jones, under the Marquis of Ormond, held possession of the fortress; and in 1644 the Earl of Kildare asked for powder and men to increase its defence, he having taken down the spouts to make bullets.

In 1647 General Owen O’Neill sent a detachment from Trim, which carried the castle by assault. Twenty-six men of the garrison and some officers were hanged, and the fortress dismantled.

The next Earl lived chiefly at Kilkea Castle, and Maynooth gradually fell into decay.

In 1707 Robert, 19th Earl of Kildare, wished to restore the building, but finding it too dilapidated he decided to enlarge Carton House instead.

Houses were subsequently built among the castle ruins, and these were removed by the Duke of Leinster in 1848, and the space round planted and enclosed.

AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.

Duke of Leinster, “Maynooth Castle.” Addenda by Miss M. Stokes (_Kildare Archæological Society’s Journal_). Marquis of Kildare, “Earls of Kildare.” Most Rev. John Healy, D.D., “Maynooth College.”

_MONGEVLIN CASTLE_

This castle is situated on the banks of the Foyle where it narrows inland, somewhat over a mile south of Saint Johnstown and seven miles from the City of Londonderry.

Only the keep now remains, but during the last century the walls of the courtyard which lay between the Foyle and the fortress were still standing, and over the arch of the gateway was a small stone engraved with the initials “I.S.E.S.T.” and the date 1619. This has, however, now disappeared. Another inscribed stone bears the following: “The Hon. Elizabeth Hamilton, daughter of John Lord Culpeper, and widow of Colonel James Hamilton (who lost his life at sea in Spain, in the service of his king and country), purchased this manor, and annexed it to the opposite estate of the family, which paternal estate itself has improved by her prudent management to nearly the yearly income of the dower she received thereout. She has also settled her younger son, William Hamilton, Esq., in an estate acquired in England, of nearly equal value in the purchase to this, and given every one of her numerous offspring, descended from both branches, some considerable mark of her parental care. Her eldest son, James, Earl of Abercorn, and Viscount Strabane, hath caused this inscription to be placed here for the information of her posterity, Anno, 1704.”

There are two incidents in the castle’s history which are of particular interest. In the sixteenth century it was the chief residence of the beautiful “Ineen Dubh,” daughter of Macdonnell, Lord of the Isles, and mother of the famous Red Hugh O’Donnell, Chief of Tyrconnell.

It was said of her that she was “excelling in all the qualities that become a woman, yet possessing the heart of a hero, and the soul of a soldier.”

The State Paper recording her possession is as follows: “From Cul-Mac-Tryan runs a bogg three myles in length to the side of Lough Foyle--in the midst of the bog is a standing loughe called Bunaber--here at Bunaber dwells O’Donnell’s mother (Ineen Dubh M’Donnell). Three miles above Cargan stands a fort called McGevyvelin (Mongivlin) upon the river of Lough Foyle--O’Donnell’s mother’s chief house.”

The fortress is mentioned in 1619 in Captain Pynnar’s Survey of the Escheated Counties of Ulster in the following manner: “Sir John Stewart hath 3,000 acres called Cashell Hetin and Littergull. Upon this proportion there is built, at Magevlin, a very strong castle, with a flanker at each corner.”

James II. was the guest of Archdeacon Hamilton at Mongevlin during the siege of Derry. From there he sent proposals of surrender to the garrison by his host, which were rejected.

A sad incident occurred in connection with the castle last century. A servant lad being employed by the owner of the time was so terrified by the ghost stories he heard in connection with the building that he left his situation and went home. His friends persuaded him to return, but the matter so preyed upon his mind that he shortly after hanged himself.

AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.

“The Donegal Highlands.” J. A. H., “Mongevlin Castle,” in _Dublin Penny Journal_.

_MONKSTOWN CASTLE, COUNTY CORK_

Situated at the western extremity of Cork Harbour, in the Barony of Kerricurrihy, is the now ruined castle of Monkstown. The name is derived from the Monastery Legan, belonging to the Benedictine Monks, which was formerly established here, it being a cell of Bath Abbey.

The castle consists of a quadrangular building, flanked by four square towers, having machicolated defences projecting from their angles. The windows are in excellent preservation, being of square Tudor style, divided by strong stone mullions, with horizontal weather cornices. The moulding of the door displays excellent workmanship.

The estate belonged to the Archdeacons, who changed their name to MacOdo, or Cody.

The castle was erected in 1636 by Anastasia Archdeacon, _nee_ Gould, who intended it as a pleasant surprise for her husband, who was a naval officer, and away on a voyage at the time.

Tradition says that it only cost the thrifty lady a groat. At first she found that the builders objected to go to so out-of-the-way a situation, as provisions were difficult to procure. Nothing daunted by such an excuse the lady offered to supply the workmen with provisions at the ordinary retail rate. This she did, but as she purchased her goods at wholesale prices she found when she came to balance her accounts that she was only 4d. out of pocket.

The castle was erected in a twelvemonth and a day, and the date 1636 appears on one of the mantelpieces.

Smith states that the fortress was originally styled Castle Mahon or O’Mahony’s Castle, and in an ancient MS. document (probably now in the possession of Captain Shaw, late of the London Fire Brigade) it is described as being “remade” at the above date, so that it may occupy the site of an older stronghold.

The following interesting extracts are taken from the manuscript alluded to, which has been preserved in the Shaw family, they having at one time leased the castle: “A.D. 1636, Monkstown Castle and court were remade. Reader, you are to observe that it was not John Archdeacon, but his wife, Anastatia Gould, who built the four castles of Monkstown, and the court, in his absence, as he was from home. On his return he did not like the building, and said that a building near a harbour was a building of sedition, which, alas! turned out so.”

“A.D. 1660.--Archdeacon died, as when Cromwell came to Ireland he was deprived of his castle, lands, &c., but not his life, which they did not covet.”

In 1612 the wardship of the son of the late John Archdeacon, of Monkstown, was given to Sir John Jephson Knt., and it was this ward’s wife who afterwards built the castle.

He died in 1660, and both he and his wife are buried in the disused graveyard of Teampul Oen Bryn, west of the castle. Upon his tomb appears a long Latin inscription which, among other things, states that--“Here lies the body of that most noble man, John Archdeacon.”

Colonel Hunks, one of the three deputed to execute the death warrant of Charles I., was granted the lands of Monkstown by the Commonwealth before the demise of John Archdeacon, who lost his estate on account of loyalty to the Stewarts. Hunks sold it to Primate Boyle, brother of the Earl of Cork, for £400.

But it evidently returned to the Archdeacon family upon the Restoration, for it was again confiscated in 1688 on account of the family’s loyalty to King James.

It then passed again into the hands of the Boyles, and through two granddaughters of the Primate it descended to the present owners, the Lords De Vesci and Longford.

In 1700 Dive Downes writes: “Mr. O’Callaghan, a Protestant, lives in Monkstown, in a good square castle with flankers.”

Later in this century it was rented by the Government as a barrack.

Lord De Vesci leased the castle to Bernard Shaw in 1861.

AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.

Smith, “County and City of Cork.” Gibson, “History of Cork.” J. Windele, “Historical Notices of City of Cork,” &c. Proceedings of Royal Society of Antiquaries. Parliamentary Gazetteer.

_PORTUMNA CASTLE_

There have been three consecutive castles at Portumna, which is situated in the Barony of Longford, Co. Galway. The town stands at the head of Lough Derg, about eleven miles west of Birr. The name signifies “the bank of the oak.”