Part 4

A man is said to be interred between the top of the main stair and the roof of the tower. His family having held the castle by a lease which expired when he was put underground, determined to evade relinquishing their hold on the property by keeping him always above the earth.

The southern tower consists of three storeys corresponding with those in the keep, and had formerly doors opening from the main rooms. Next the southern wall is a curious slit in each floor just wide enough to permit of a ladder giving access to the apartment above or below. The ground floor in this tower is of very small dimensions, being about 3 feet square.

The walls of the keep slope considerably at the outside base so as to prevent an enemy getting out of gun shot by closing up to the building. Large modern windows now light each floor, and the whole is in excellent preservation.

A flue runs in the thickness of the wall on the north side, which is crowned by a handsome brick chimney, evidently added when the Elizabethan dwelling-house which adjoins the castle was erected. A still more modern house has been added to the north of this building, so that at present three distinct periods are represented by the castle and houses, which are all joined together.

The remains of an old wall near the fortress points to its having once been of larger dimensions. Tradition states that an underground passage leads from the castle to a lodge near the roadway. Some fine old yews of great age adorn the lawn, similar to those which are to be seen near Maynooth Castle.

Locally it is believed that Barberstown was once the residence of the King of Leinster, but its architecture does not bear out the tradition.

In 1622 William Sutton, of Barberstown, is mentioned in an inquisition, and in 1630 it is stated that he held it as tenant of the Earl of Kildare.

Nicholas Sutton was in possession of the castle in 1641, and at a subsequent date it must have passed to the Crown, who granted it in 1666 to John King, first Lord Kingston.

His son Robert, the second Baron, was exempted from mercy by Tyrconnell’s proclamation, and his estate sequestered in 1689.

Richard, Earl of Tyrconnell, then became possessed of the fortress, and, strange to say, that although he could only have retained it until he was attainted in 1692, yet it was known for many years as Tyrconnell Castle. Lady Tyrconnell retained some of her husband’s lands in the neighbourhood to a much later date.

Bartholomew Vanhomrigh, Esq., of Dublin, father of the famous Vanessa, bought Barberstown from the Crown in 1703 for £1,300. James Young was the tenant at the time, and the property is thus described: “In the parish of Straffan, distant from Dublin ten miles, Naas 5, and Manooth 3; is Arable Medow and Pasture, on it 1 Castle in repair, with a large stone House adjoyning, and Orchard, also 8 Cabbins, with Gardens.”

At the beginning of the next century it was occupied by a family named Douglas, and it was purchased by the Bartons, of Straffan, in 1826. They restored and re-castellated it, and it still remains in their possession.

Subsequently it was occupied by Admiral Robinson, and the present tenant is S. F. Symes, Esq.

A most extensive view is obtained from the summit.

AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.

A Book of Postings and Sale of the Forfeited and other Estates, &c. Book of Survey and Distributions. Book of Inquisitions, Province of Leinster. S. Lee, “Dictionary of National Biography.”

_BARGY CASTLE_

This castle takes its name from the Barony of Bargy, County Wexford, on the borders of which it is situated, about eight miles south-west of the town of Wexford, on the margin of Lake Tucumshane.

The fortress is in excellent preservation, having been several times restored. It consists of a square keep, to which two wings have been added at more recent dates, probably in the fifteenth and seventeenth centuries.

The chief entrance to the Castle was formerly by the central tower, where a stained-glass window bearing the Harvey Arms is now to be seen. On the outside of the embrasure is a stone carved with figures supposed to represent Queen Elizabeth and her court, and far above this slab may be seen a large machicolation, once used for hurling missiles for the defence of the door. The tower is ascended by a winding stone stair, off which are openings commonly known as “murdering holes.” The keep, in which are several rooms, is separated from the rest of the mansion by a large door at the foot of the stairway. A beautiful view can be had from the battlements.

In the north wing of the castle is a small panelled room, and not far from it a carved oak partition bears with a cross and shamrock the following on the reverse side: “I.H.S. 1591. R.R. M.S.”

A beautiful oak staircase leads from the chief apartments.

The castle grounds were formerly entered from the south, where the old piers and gateway still remain. At the back of the castle is part of the old moat or fosse, which now contains large cellars.

The fortress is usually supposed to have been erected by the Rossiter family at the beginning of the fifteenth century, though some authorities state it owes its origin to Hervey de Montmorency, one of the first Norman invaders.

William Rowcester, of Bridge of Bargie (Bargie Castle), was pardoned for felony in 1540. He is described as a “horseman,” which, according to Hollinshead was a position next to that of captain or lord. About 1553 Nicholas Roche was granted the wardship and marriage of his son Richard.

The Most Rev. Michael Rossiter, Bishop of Ferns, is supposed by some to have been born in Bargy Castle, in 1648, but the Down Survey maps of 1657 describe the castle as being in ruins.

The last Rossiter to own Bargy was William Rossiter, who took part in the defence of Wexford against Cromwell. His lands were confiscated in 1667, and Bargy Castle was granted to William Ivory, Esq.

After this it passed to the Harvey family, and here Beauchamp Bagnal Harvey was born, who commanded the Wexford insurgents in 1798.

Bargy was confiscated to the Crown, after the suppression of the rebellion; and Bagnal Harvey, who owned the castle, and Colclough were captured on the Saltee Islands and executed at Wexford.

Troops were quartered at Bargy from 1798 to 1808, when the property was restored to James Harvey, brother of the late owner.

It is said that when a detachment of soldiers was sent to take possession of the fortress in 1798 they indulged so freely in the contents of the great wine cellars, that some of them injudiciously disturbed the hives in the garden, whereupon the bees attacked their tormentors with such force that some of the soldiers died from the effects, and others were pursued by the irate insects to the very town of Wexford.

Mr. Harvey lived in London, and the castle gradually fell into dilapidation until his death, when it passed to Councillor John Harvey, who restored it. Major Harvey, who died in 1880, is entombed in a mausoleum before the hall door. The castle was afterwards let to Mr. Leared, who re-roofed and improved it.

Ghostly tappings are reported to be heard on the castle windows between 10 and 11 p.m., while a phantom carriage is said to be sometimes audible driving up the disused avenue, when the horses’ hoofs cease before the old entrance in the keep, and a minute or two later the coach is again heard returning by the old drive.

AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.

Act of Settlement. Down Survey Maps. Fiants of Edward VI. Doyle, “Notes and Gleanings of Co. Wexford.” Madden, “The United Irishmen.” Article and letter in _The People_.

_BARRYSCOURT CASTLE_

The fine ruins of this fortress are situated about half a mile south of Carrigtohill, in the County Cork.

It consists of a rectangular structure about 70 feet in height, flanked by three towers, which open into the main building at each storey.

A small oblong shaft in the south-east angle of the keep runs from the upper to the lower rooms. A passage in the main north wall is now filled up.

The arches are of good workmanship and well preserved. In some of the smaller apartments the marks of the wattle frames used in the building are still easily traced on the ceilings, which show an early date of construction.

In the chamber above the chapel appears the date 1588, as well as an inscription stating the castle was erected by “D.B.” and “E.R.,” which initials stand for David Barry and his wife, Eliza Roche. In another room the date 1596 is inscribed.

The lands of the Barrys in Cork were confirmed to Philip Barry by King John in 1206, and he later became possessed of Barry’s Court. The present castle is, however, supposed to have been built during the fourteenth century.

Tradition states it was erected upon the site of an older fortress belonging to the Lyons or Lehanes of Castle Lyons, and that during the excavations for the present foundations an inscribed stone was found stating that “O’Lehan hoc fecit MCIII.,” but O’Donovan does not think the story probable.

Geraldus Cambrensis is credited with having written part of his history of the conquest in the earlier castle.

In 1490 the head of the Barry family was summoned to Parliament as Lord Barry of Barry’s Court, and 1588 “James Barry of Barrescourt, Viscount Barrymore, otherwise James, called Barrymore and Barryroo,” was in possession.

The Commissioners who were appointed to govern Munster while the Earl of Desmond was in prison, wrote, after arriving in Cork, in 1568: “Wood Kerne, under Gerot Bracke, one of the Earl of Desmond’s near kinsmen, intercepted our letters, certain Kerne lay in ambush for us, but Lord Barrymore and John FitzEdmund, Dean of Cloyne, met us, and led us to Barry’s Court.”

In 1580 Sir Walter Raleigh started from Cork to make complaint to Lord Grey in Dublin that the Barrys and Condons were in league with the rebels. He received orders to besiege Barry’s Court, but Lord Barry, hearing of his intention, set the castle on fire, while he and his friend, Fitzgerald, the seneschal of Imokilly, lay in wait for Sir Walter at the ford near the old abbey of Midleton.

In the encounter so little expected, Raleigh only saved his life by his somewhat foolhardy daring.

In the account of his doings in Ireland in 1583, Sir Henry Sydney writes: “I was well entertained at the Viscount Barrie’s house, called Barrie’s Court.”

During the Desmond rebellion of 1585, David Lord Barry, whose initials are carved over the mantelpiece of the castle, was associated with the disaffected. He afterwards submitted and sat on the Council of Munster under Sir George Carew. He was present at the relief of Kinsale in 1602, and died at Barry’s Court in 1617. He was the second son of James Barry, and his wife, Ellen Roche, was a daughter of Lord Fermoy.

Writing of him in 1606, Sir John Davys says: “From Youghall we went to Cork, and dined by the way with the Viscount Barrie, who, at his castle at Barriecourt, gave us civil and plentiful entertainment.”

Barryscourt was regranted by James I. to his grandson David, who succeeded him.

The castle seems to have again been consumed by fire after James II.’s visit to Ireland, as it is stated that the velvet bed hung with gold brocade in which he slept at Sir James Cotter’s, of Ballinsperrig, was then at Barryscourt, and so destroyed by the conflagration.

The castle was in possession of the Coppinger family for many years, William Coppinger being the owner in 1861.

It now belongs to Lord Barrymore.

A member of the Wakeham family informs me that it was in possession of her ancestors several centuries ago, and that the Lord Barrymore of that day gave the owners, John and William Wakeham, the estates of Springhill and Water-rock instead of it, which their descendants still possess.

AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.

Gibson’s “History of Cork.” Carew MSS. Patent and Close Rolls, Chancery, Ireland. State Papers. “Local Names” and “Notes and Queries” in _Journal of Cork Archæological Society_.

_BIRR CASTLE_

“Lords to whom great men submit, Are the O’Carrolls of the plain of Birr.” O’HEERIN.

This fortress was one of the numerous strongholds of the O’Carrolls of Ely O’Carroll. The derivation of the name, formerly Biorra, is doubtful. _Bir_ signifies “water,” _birra_ = “abounding in wells,” or “fountains of water,” _bir_ = “a spit,” _bior_ = “the brink of a river,” and the name may have originated from any of these words.

The town is situated on the right bank of the Little Brosna River at its juncture with the Birr rivulet. It is in the barony of Ballybrit, King’s County, sixty-two and a half miles west-south-west of Dublin.

The O’Carroll’s stronghold, called the “Black Castle,” stood some sixty yards north-west of the present building on the high bank of the river. The principal tower was raised on an artificial mound, and in 1627 Sir Laurence Parsons added a watch tower, which stood on thirteen corbels, projecting on the outside, and was higher than all the other buildings. The dungeon of the stronghold was situated in the Black Castle, but this older fortress has long since been demolished.

In 1620-21 Sir Laurence Parsons made a great many additions to the castle. He erected a tower 46 feet long and 25 feet broad, at each end of which an arch of hewn stone gave entrance to the fortress. The present hall, which is reached by a flight of stone steps under a vaulted vestibule, is the centre part of this tower, as it is also that of the present mansion.

In the following two years Sir Laurence also built a porter’s lodge, known as the “Garden House,” fitted up a drawing-room and made a garden and orchard.

In 1624 he built a new line of offices, which formed one side of the courtyard, and in which was a kitchen, &c. Another side of the enclosure was occupied by the stables, which extended along the river, south of the Black Castle.

On the north was a double wall filled up with earth, and having a gateway in the centre.

Sir William Parsons threw all these buildings down in 1778.

The castle was enlarged and remodelled under the direction of Mr. J. Johnstone, architect, who altered the entrance to the back of the building, away from the town.

Sir Laurence Parsons had also added a “French Flanker” in 1627, but on what site is not known.

The Annals of Clonmacmoise record that Byrre Castle was besieged in 1207 by “Moriertagh Mac Bryen an Sleyve,” who burnt the whole town.

Ely O’Carroll was granted to FitzWalter by Henry II., nevertheless King John re-granted it to William de Braosa in 1200, and FitzWalter had to buy it back to regain possession.

It shortly afterwards passed into the hands of Hugh de Hose or Hussey.

The English rebuilt and enlarged the stronghold in 1213.

In 1432 the Earl of Ormond went to war with O’Carroll of Ely, and demolished his two chief castles, which most likely were Birr and Leap, for in spite of Royal grants the stronghold remained in the possession of the O’Carrolls.

A dispute arose about the chieftainship of the sept in 1532, the senior branch of the family holding Birr Castle.

Ferganainm O’Carroll, the son of the late chief, enlisted the aid of the Earl of Kildare, whose daughter he had married, and together they laid siege to Birr. The Earl received a bullet in his side from the garrison. It is said that a soldier, hearing him cry out in agony, remonstrated with him, remarking he himself had been wounded three times and was none the worse, to which the Earl replied he was sorry he had not received the fourth bullet in his stead. The ball was extracted the following spring, but it is said to have hastened his end.

In 1537 Lord Leonard Grey took Birr Castle, and is reported to have received submission from O’Carroll, who was created Baron of Ely in 1552.

At the time of the plantation of Ely, Birr and its castle were granted to Sir Laurence Parsons in 1620, and the same year his steward arrived to make preparations. Shortly afterwards O’Carroll appealed in vain.

In 1641 Sir William Parsons was made Governor of Ely O’Carroll and the Castle of Birr, which latter he garrisoned with his tenants.

He put the place at once in a state of defence. He raised a flanker behind the stables, and erected scaffolds inside the castle for the garrison to fight from.

After some skirmishing the fortress was closely besieged in 1642, and of the nine hundred people in town and castle many died of starvation, while others were reduced to eating dogs and cats.

At length the Earl of Ormond sent a detachment to its relief, but early the next year General Preston approached the stronghold with artillery and troops.

He reconnoitred the town from Drumbawn Hill, and after firing a few shots encamped in the neighbouring woods. On the second day of the siege he sent a messenger to the Governor to inquire if he held the castle for the King or the Parliament, and asking to be allowed to garrison it for his Majesty’s use.

Sir William replied that he had not heard of any difference from his Majesty or from the Parliament, and that he held his commission as Governor of Ely O’Carroll.

At this reply Preston entrenched, and next day began to bombard the fortress in earnest. The following night a mine was commenced under the direction of a mason who had been employed in the castle. The garrison, hearing the noise, fired on the sappers, but the darkness prevented the shot taking effect, and in the morning they were underground.

Preston continued firing, and destroyed much of the wall and one of the flankers. He said he would break down the fortress about the Governor’s ears. Some of the balls found in the masonry weighed 9 lbs. each.

Under cover of a parley the defenders of the mill were withdrawn, and the garrison held out for two days after they had been undermined. A conference was held and the besieged were granted honourable terms.

Lord Castlehaven conducted them to Athy. They numbered about eight hundred men, women, and children.

Preston seems to have retained possession of Birr until 1645, when for five years it was held by the Confederate Catholic forces.

It was taken from the Irish in 1650 by General Ireton, the enemy having burnt it before retreating. The Marquis of Clanrickarde tried to retake it in vain.

In 1688 Birr was so infested with robbers that Sir Laurence Parsons took some of his neighbours and tenants inside the castle and closed the gates. This act was magnified to the Government by his enemy, Colonel Oxburgh, who obtained an order from the Lord Lieutenant to put a garrison in the castle.

Oxburgh demanded admittance, and Sir Laurence refused until he should hear from Lord Tyrconnel. A siege then began, and when they attempted to undermine the fortress terms of capitulation were agreed upon.

Both terms of surrender (1643-1688) are preserved in the castle and have been published in the Report of the Historical MSS. Commission.

Sir Laurence and some of his tenants were imprisoned in the fortress. He was tried for high treason and several times reprieved. He was liberated after the Boyne, and appointed High Sheriff for the King’s County.

In 1690 the castle garrison, being English, was summoned, but after a parley the enemy retired.

Later the same year it was attacked by Sarsfield, who fired all day on the stronghold. The marks of the shot are still to be seen upon the castle walls. The besieged, under Captain Curry, held out until reinforcements arrived.

The English army, passing through Birr in 1691, left four hundred wounded men in the castle for two months.

Sir Laurence Parsons died in 1698.

The second Earl of Rosse succeeded to the estates in 1841. His experiments towards improving the reflecting telescope had been begun in 1827 at Birr Castle. He employed local workmen, and the tools, machinery, furnaces, ovens, &c., were all constructed on the spot, many of which are still to be seen.

At length, after many failures, two specula were cast in 1842-43. They each measured 6 feet in diameter, weighed 4 tons, and were of 54 feet focus.

The tube in which one was mounted is 58 feet long and 7 feet in diameter. It is slung on chains between two piers of masonry, and the telescope is moved and supported by a complex system of cast-iron platforms, triangles, and levers.

It is the largest telescope in the world, and cost about £20,000 to construct. Observations were commenced in February, 1845. There are several smaller telescopes at the castle as well.

The present Earl of Rosse is the third Earl, and, like his father, is an eminent scientist.

AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.

T. Cooke, “History of Birr,” &c. Cooke, “Picture of Parsonstown.” Brewer, “Beauties of Ireland.” Donovan, “Annals of the Four Masters.” S. Lee, “Dictionary of National Biography.” Parliamentary Gazetteer. Report of Historical MSS. Commission.

_BLACK CASTLE, WICKLOW_

Wicklow is situated about twenty-five miles south-south-east of Dublin, and the ruins of the Black Castle occupy an isolated rocky promontory east of the town, and on the south side of the Leitrim river. The name Wicklow is likely to have been of Norwegian origin, but the meaning is uncertain. The Irish name Kilmantan signified S. Mantan’s Church. The castle followed the natural shape of the dark rock on which it was built, and from which, no doubt, the designation “Black” is taken. It was divided from the mainland by a chasm, which was probably bridged in former times. A few fragments of walls, with window openings, are all that remain.

The fortress can never have been of large dimensions if it was confined to the rock on which the ruins now stand.

In 1176, after Maurice FitzGerald had been recalled by Strongbow, he received a grant of the Castle of Wicklow, among other possessions, in lieu of his lands in Wexford, which King Henry wished to retain. From this it would appear to have been the site of an older fortification.

Maurice FitzGerald began to erect a Norman stronghold on the promontory, but he died before it was completed.

Soon after his death William FitzAdelm managed by falsehood to get possession of the Black Castle from his son Gerald, first Baron of Offaly, and surrendered him instead the unprotected Castle of Ferns.

The Earl of Ormond being arraigned for treason in 1422, one of the charges against him was that he had retained William Edward, Constable of Arklow, in his service after he had assisted the O’Byrnes in seizing the King’s Castle of Wicklow. They killed John Liverpoole, the constable, and sent his head to the O’Byrne. They also imprisoned a priest, whom they found in the fortress, to hold for ransom.

The O’Byrnes seem to have been in possession of the castle in the early part of the sixteenth century, but in 1534 it had again passed to the Crown, and Thomas Stevyns was appointed constable. In 1567 Sir Thomas Fytzwylliams began his suit for the fortress, which, in 1575, he offered to re-edify, though his doing so does not seem altogether to have worked in his favour.

It seems generally believed that the present ruins represent the stronghold he built, but in 1580 it was reported that Wicklow Castle was razed by the enemy.

Nineteen years later the terrible disaster took place in June, 1599, in which the English troops were utterly routed between Rathdrum and Glenmalure by the combined Irish septs of the district. It was this that caused Essex such a sharp reprimand from Oueen Elizabeth.

Sir Henry Harrington was in command, and his troops fell back upon Wicklow Castle in the wildest disorder, chased by the Irish within half a mile of the town.