Armachiana Volume 1 by Armagh City Banbridge & Craigavon Borough Council

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Armachiana Vol1 (Armagh County Museum ARMCM.28.2014.38)

If any of the material is reproduced, in any form and in any medium, you should acknowledge Armagh County Museum as the source and give the document references below.

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The contents of this digital resource should only be used for non-commercial personal research and all rights remain with Armagh County Museum.

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Armachiana Volume 1

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The cont ents of these volumes l a belled are simply notes for t alks to

Armachiana

local and visiting societies in search of

They a re not of any

and ancient monuments .

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TGF Paterson

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students seeking da t a on the county g enerally or on their own distri ct s i n particular .

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great i mportance but may provide a gui de to

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material relating to it s historical background

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ARMAGH MISCELLANEA

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VOL .I

1-30

Presentment of Jury for the Survey of County Armagh , 1608

31-5 5

Old County Customs , Crafts and Industries

56- 69

Some County Armagh Outlaws of the 17th and 18th centuries

70- 90

The Orchards of County Armagh

91-109

110-1 21

The Ancient Schools of Armagh

122- 134

135- 156

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195-209

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Affinities and Contrasts

157-174 175-194

210- 220 z 221-)'43

Local Astronomical Links Dunsink- Armagh .

The Armagh Observatory

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City Antiquities

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Railways in County Armagh

Charters , Fairs and Markets

City Charters and Corporation Records

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The Armagh Registers and the Archbishops of t he period

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THE ARMAGH REGISTERS

AND THE ARCHBISHOPS OF THE PERIOD

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The subject fo r discussion this evening is the

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sequence of ancient Registers relating to the Ecclesiastical

Province of Armagh , studied from the local point of view

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rather than from their links with Ireland as a whole

In the time at my disposal I can only very briefly

I cannot attempt the brilliant survey made

Archbishops.

notice a few entries in the Primacies of the individual

by Professor Sayles some twelve months ago in .hich we

were shown the value of such Registers to the hi storian

and given an illuminating exposition on their worth for

My examination must be much less comprehensive and

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comparative purposes with similar documentary material

elsewhere.

consequently less widely informative - I must confine

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myself to the local aspect and leave the wider and perhaps

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even more interesting issues for some future occasion.

It is gene r ally agreed that the most important

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manuscripts in the archives of the Archbishop of Armagh

With some slight gaps

among Irish medieval records.

are the surviving Registers, a series of documents unique

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they cover the pe ri od 1350-1550 and a re the chief source

we now have illustrating the ecclesiastical activities of

Pre-Reformation days in the Province of Armagh but we must

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remember that although they throw much light on the

histo ry of the See in those two centuries , they are not

the only sources available for that purpose .

Irish

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Annals supplement the Registers and indeed carry the story back to Pre-Christian times.

Written in diary

fashion and from Patrick ' s coming onwards, dealing

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principally with obituaries of abbots, kings, bishops,

city.

They also tell us of the frequent destruction

that Armagh suffered by fire and otherwise, of tragic

archbishops, scribes, saints and scholars, they embody a

detailed narrative of people and events linked with our

t ribal warfare, the arrival of the Vikings, the coming of

Before passing on to the Regis ters we shall, however,

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the Anglo-Normans and so down the years.

The Book of Armagh compiled in our city in the

Armagh .

devote a few minutes to other manuscrip ts connected with

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year 807 is the only manuscript of early origin that can

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with absolute certainty be dated - and it is but a copy

of an earlier work that probably perished in a Viking raid.

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Another notable script associated with Armagh and of almost

The scribes or

equal antiquity is now, alas , in England - it is the product

of an Abbot of Armagh who di ed in 927,

compilers of such works appear early in the Annals and in

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to the year 720,

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so far as Armagh is concerned the re are notices dating back

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The wealth of manuscripts once housed in Armagh will In the many burnings of the town the

never be kno1m.

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books of the local scribes were often lost, or carried

our way .

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off by attacking parties in the many conflicts that came

For instance, the Book of Druim Saileach, an

old manuscript derivin g its name from the ridge of

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sallows, or hill on whi ch the old cathedral now stands

is completely lost, though its existence is well

established by references in surviving material .

seems to have been a composition of genealogical interest,

the early inhabitants of this country being much concerned

with battles and pedigrees - two subjects orally preserved

One celebrated manuscript completed

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reduced to writing .

by the poets or bards of the septs and in Christian times

in Armagh in 1138 - less than half a century before the

first Anglo - Norman reached Ireland - found a home in Paris,

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from which i t was later stolen, next turning up in Holland

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and much more recently finding a refuge in the British

Museum .

An ancient Book of Hymns of the llth- 12th century,

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formerly part of the Archbishop Ussher Collection is now,

with the Antipbonary of Armagh, in Trinity College Library,

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and the r efor e well within the compass of our study .

have been in use in the Cathedral before the year 1549,

the l at ter a Hymnary that from internal evidence seems to

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passing I would , however, like to remind you that we have

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of the Registers .

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a secondary guide to affairs in Armagh in the period

The "State Papers of Ireland" in the

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English Public Record Office begin in 1176 and we have

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excellent printed Calendars running to many volumes , in

one of which in 1226 we find King Henry III requesting a site for a castle in Armagh , presumably the edifice

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completed in 1236 that gave name to Castle Street, the

The

the centuries

Calendars of State Papers cover very fully

street that in its outline preserves the inner ring of

the hill- top settlement of pre- Patrican times.

They may be briefly catalogued as follows : -

(2)

(3)

(6)

(8)

(7)

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The inclusive dating of 1350-1550 is based on the

In real ity ,

all ied with the particul ar Registers .

period of the Ar chbishops whose names and actions are

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(5')

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(4)

(1)

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"Registers".

from then onwards but our immediate concern is the

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howeve r, leaves from similar but earlier documents have been inserted , often without regard to sequence of date.

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Swayne ' s Register, the third i n poi nt of antiquity,

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carries an ent r y that may be dated between 1218 and 1220

and therefore belonging to the archbishopric of Luke

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Net terville who be came Primate in 1 216 and died 1227 . Other stray ent r ies relate to Acts of Archbi shop

0 Sc anlon who, i n 1264, built the Franciscan Fri ar y and

in 1 268 a new cathedral whose walls still remain.

Other notabl e archbishops represented inc l ude John Colton,

who at a Provincial Synod held be tween 1383 and 1389

fo rbade the game of Gar baldy believed to have been a

excommunic ation but t here the story ends .

We are left

Another pr oclama ti on renewed a

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rep r ehensible game .

in doubt as to ;mether the f aithful fo r sook th e

The pen alty for disobedience was

ensuin g there f r om .

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fo rm of hu rling , because of mort al sins and homi ci des

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statute enfor ced by Colton's predecessors , Archbi shop s

All are ori ginals with t he exception of the Dowdall

Transcrip ts

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harpers, and drummers.

Fitzralph and O'Hiraghty, against mimes, jugglers, po ets,

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of three of the volumes, those of Swayne, Prene and

Cromer, were made 'by a good scribe in the 18th century.

The task of completing the transcripts was carried out

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by Dean Reeves whilst Librarian of the Public Library

of Armagh .

His copies of Volumes I, IV,

and VII

are very superior i n accuracy and as specimens of

caligraphy.

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Reeves first made rough copie s - they are

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now in Trinity College Library - and from those the

beautifully written copies in Armagh were completed in

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The earliest Register though, known as the Register

conjunction with the individual registers .

of Archbishop Sweteman contains certain Acts relating to

Sweteman I s Register is,

a volume or volumes now lost.

two earlier Archbishops which seem to be fragments from

however , but a small portion of the records of his

Primacy and there is no doubt but that many leaves are

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missing - indeed the wonder is that the Registers should

and the Revolution of 1690.

have survived the Reformation, the Civil War of 1641-42

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The complete set of Registers are now being micro -

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filmed for eventual publication and the task has

unfortunately received unnecessary and indeed unpleasant

(last) featured a story about them having been

7th January

For instance, the Sunday "Irish Press" of

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publicity.

Needless to say there is not the slightest

Library .

found behind a veil of cobwebs in the Armagh Episcopal

We do

institution in Armagh as the. Episcopal Library.

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truth in that assertion and, of course, there is no such

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possess, however, an old established and well - known

Public Library in ;mich cobwebs are conspicuous by

A similar tale was carried

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thei r absence, and there the Registers are on loan from

the Archbishop's archives .

by an English Sunday paper some months earlier and the story was revived in the weekly bulletin of the Eire

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Department of External Affairs of 4th February, 1952 .

curtain of cobwebs for four to six hundred years are

being revealed to three men in a room in Queen's

There we were informed that "secr ets hidden behind a

University , Belfast", and again the Episcopal Library

enshrouded in cobwebs appears and the absurd statement

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We are

also told that the Registers are written in Latin short-

hand - medieval Latin in abbreviated court hand or with

that "the discovery of these Registers in Armagh was the

most historic find in Ireland fo r centuries" .

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contractions would be more accurate - and it is utterly

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lost .

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ridiculous to write of finding Registers that were never They form part of the Archbishop's muniments,

They were used by Archbishop Ussher in the

in the 19th century by Stuar t

by King when writing his

of the succeeding century; in his "Memoir of Armagh ";

by Sir James Ware in the first half

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early 17th century;

They are well known

indeed.

his courtesy being microfilmed.

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are at present on loan to the Public Library and are by

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by th a t eminent scholar, Dr.

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"History of t he Primacy";

Willi am Reeves - a former De an of Armagh and Keepe r of the Armagh Publi c Li brary;

and in the present century

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De an La wlor published his Calen dars of the Regist ers of

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Sweteman an d Fleming, Dr , Chart a Calenda r of the

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Crom er and Dowdall Registers, and the Rev . Aubrey Gwynne,

his "Medieval Province of Armagh" based chiefly on the

Registers.

I t is a pity that the Pr es s should so disto rt facts -

and an even gr eater pity that the person who is credited

with having made the statements in interviews, should

not have felt it necessary to repudiate what were in

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They also provi de

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p roblems in the centuries th ey cover ,

Registers contain much data on social and economi c

Apart from their ecclesiastical i mport ance the

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fa ct slanderous untruths.

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us with old forms of place - nam es i n certain districts and parishes for which we of ten have no earlier source - in

It may be of i nterest to discuss in a general sor t

Ulster gene rally we have no townland index until 1609,

who are of local significance.

We have already mentioned

of way certain personalities appearing in the Registers

During his term of

Primate in 1334 and ·died in 1346.

Archbishop O Hiraghty, a former Dean of Armagh, who became

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office the old quarrel between Dublin and Armagh was

revived, but the king intervened and commanded the Arch-

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bishop of Dublin and the Corporation of that city to

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refrain in future from molesting His Grace of Armagh.

The disagreement, a form of jealousy or inferiority

complex on the part of Dublin, was even then of some

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standing and was to occur again from time to time .

also, with a certificate belonging to his successor, the

He is said to have been a na tive

Archbishops of Armagh.

famous Richard Fitzralph, one of the most celebrated

One of O Hiraghty's Metropolitan Visitations survives

place of pilgrimage .

He was an author of repute on

of Dundalk and was buried there, his tomb being long a

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theological and other subjects and certain of his wor ks,

long after his death are in the Public Library .

early specimens of continental printing, but published They

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include his "Defence of the Clergy" publish ed in Rouen 1461, believed to be the earliest printed book by an Irish writer that has specific reference to Ireland.

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was translated to Armagh in 1347 and died 1360.

His

successor was Milo Sweteman who became Archbishop in 1361,

With

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swept away multitudes of men but very few women.

a year in which Ireland was afflicted by a pestilence that

him begin the Registers named as we know them to-day.

His tenure of the archbishopric was both interesting and

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10.

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eventful, and it had by then become the custom of the

archbishops to reside in County Louth, usually at

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Dr omiskin or Termonfeckin, where they had palaces or

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castles and at Drogheda where they had a small mansion.

At that time Louth was commonly known as the "English

Armagh " and Armagh and those parts of Tyrone that were

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incorporated in the See were spoken of as "Irish Armagh" .

Like his predecessors and successors

are now no remains.

Mullynure, later called Bishop' s Court , of which there

beside the lake" - possibly the Abbey of

his Manor

Sweteman did, however, reside occasionally in Armagh in

In 1374, for instance, Niallan

in the Primacy he was much worried by the conduct of the 0 Hanlons and O Neills .

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0 Neill t hreatened t o strip the archbishop and his clerks

of all their possessions excepting the Cathedral Church

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reached for two years later the Archbishop appointed 0 O'Neill his arch-seneschal.

but some sort of temporary settlement seems to have been

Archbishop Sweteman died in 1380 and was succeeded by

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John Colton in 1381, who in 1397 made a Visitation of the

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piscopal Collection here until the middle of the last

The original Roll was part of the Archie-

of that See.

Diocese of Derry that gives much information on the parishes

century when, owing to an accident following its preparation

for publication, it was not replaced in the Archbishop's

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Muniment Room, by 1ohich mischance it passed into private

hands, was later sold, and is now in the British Museum .

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In Coltonâ&#x20AC;˘s time a house of entertainment and support for

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the learned men of Ireland was founded and erected at

Emain Macha in 1387 by Nial O' Neill, King of Ulster, the

site of which is still traditionally known as the "King's

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House".

We, however, are

chiefly interested in it from the local aspect.

the sequence is equally instructive.

Archbishop Colton died in 1404 and was followed by

Nicholas Fleming whose register like its predecessor in

During

his Primacy the Cathedral was destroyed by accidental

Whether

fire at some date previous to September 1405.

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it was repaired again immediately seems doubtful as a

further reference occurs in 1414 when alms were being

collected throughout the Province fo r the repair of the

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In 1406 an item of particular local inte rest is

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burnt.

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Metropolitan Church which we are informed was maliciously

recorded - the gr ant of three pa rts of the vault or crypt

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of the Cathedral to the citizens of the town, during the

Archbishop's life for ke eping goods in, on condition of

their being obedient, pleasing and faithful to him and his

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and later date.

His Register contains matter of earlier

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church - the fourth part being reserved for church property . He died in 1416.

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Following the death of Archbishop Fleming the See

of Armagh was vacant for almost two years.

John Swayne

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was consecrated in 1418 but resi gned in 1439.

His

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incorporates Acts relating to earlier archbishops besides

entries after a-~d subsequent to his resignation and death .

being.

of the city, an item suggestive of a town charter then in

In the same year we find a re ference to the tolls

1428.

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In his Primacy the Cathedral was burnt by chance fire in

Archbishop Swayne's visits to Armagh were very

the upholding of Armagh's supremacy.

He refused indeed

infrequent and like his predecessors he was involved in

submit to the Archbishop of Dublin's restrictions.

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to attend Parliaments when held in Dublin rather than

his Primacy there were the usual troubles with the

John

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Primate to the then O'Neill reads as follows:-

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0 1 Hanlon's and the 0 1 Neill 1 s and a letter written by the

Archbishop of Armagh to his beloved son in Christ

Greetings.

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We have perceived by the relation of trustworthy persons

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mortal ulcers, but happily as , we presume, at the prayers

that God has visited you, while he impressed upon both

armpits of your body, two rather severe and as it were

of some holy man, the said ulcers being broken and there-

after flowing away, you have been restored as it were from

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death to li fe by the favour of God.

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We counsel you fo r

the future to exhibit gratitude to God , Bl essed Mary,

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St . Patrick , our Church at Armagh and ourselves ".

The

pit y is that we know nothing of 0 Neill ' s reacti ons to

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the Primate ' s conce r n fo r his welfare .

We are aware ,

however, that interdicts and excommunication were sometimes

A rather curious effusion exists in his Registe r -

it fol l ows an entry of 14th August , 1431 , and i s in the

of that later.

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necessary when dealing wi t h the 0 1 Hanlons and O' Neills but

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"That fleshly lusts and feast s And furs of divers manner of beasts, The devil of hell them first found . Hole clothes cut in shreds And the pride of women ' s heads Hath been destroyed in thi s land. God that beareth the crown of thorns For his dear passion And never let her long tails That be t he devil of hell his flails Be the cause of our confusion".

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bewai ls the fact :

the t all cone- shaped head-dres ses of the period .

nature of a complaint as regards women ' s attire, espe cially

Before Anne's arrival in England, all

reached Armagh.

the ver ses in question that some of t h em had actually

were introduced by the new Queen, and it would seem f rom

Revolutionary fashions

Bohemia t o Rich a rd III in 1383 .

The craze began after the marriage of Anne of

style.

I n that century ·excess and exaggeration governed every new

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head- dresses had been designed as a covering for t he

hair or as a means of enhancing its beauty but afterwards

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the one consuming idea was to cover all traces of the It

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fact that a woman had any hair on her head at all !

was fo r almos t a century an age of fantastic head-gear

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and the woman who devised a fresh met hod of adorning her

Width of

Dresses were equally elaborate.

shoulders was emphasized, there was great var iety in

sleeves and a rather silly elongation of the toes of

fashionable.

head , be it with horns, boxes, or pads, was immedi atel y

shoes that r eached the height of absurdity about 1420,

>men the toes became so l ong tha t they had t o be attache d

A few years later a law was enfo rce d prohibi t i ng

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to the lrne es with chains t o prevent them tri ppi ng the

wearer.

people >mo were not in re ceip t of an income of ÂŁ40 per

year from wearing shoes with points longer than two fee t.

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One fin1 it di ffi cult to believe that the Armagh of

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five centuries ago was a pl ace where women's modes were

so extreme as t o meri t the displ easur e of th e chur ch but,

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of course, we all remember t he recent attempts t o ban

stockin gless, sleeveless, neckless and hatless maidens

from her services, a t h reat that merely resulted in them

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handkerchiefs for hats.

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taking refuge in trousers and substituting coloured

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15.

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Swayne was succeeded in 1439 by John Prene (a former

Archdeacon of Armagh) whose Register has also come down .

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Archbishop Prene was an energetic Primate and like earlier He

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archbishops had many worries with local chieftains.

kept up the old customs and on his journeys to Arm agh and parish es in t he vicinity, his tenants on the See Lands

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were bound at their own expense to provide him with men,

regard to Clonfeacle in 1441.

Such a drastic measure

was no idle threat.

Prene's denunciation of Felemy

church was hurled at them - we have an instance with

ho rses, and entertainment whilst en gaged in those duties.

If they failed to do so th e threat of expulsion from the

0 Hanlon, and hi s followers must have struck terror to

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the less hardened adherents of the Clan O Hanlon.

"May

With sound of terr or let their memory perish .

living.

they fall in battle and be wiped out of the book of

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Be fi re and brimstone the por ti on of their cup and in one And as this

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generation blot out their name fo r ever.

candle falls extinguished from our hand so fall their

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souls f rom the sight of Almighty God and the company of

When a widow was r obbed

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persons he was equally direct.

With less important

fostering embrace of the church".

Heaven unless they take thought and return to the

in 1461 he excommunicated the persons implicated, not

only by Bell, Book and Candle, but also cursed them

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16.

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standing, sitting, walking, riding , lying , sleepi ng ,

waking, eating , drinking, in bread, liquor, f lesh , fish ,

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butter, leeks, onions , garlic and in all ot her

crown of the head".

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occupations whatsoever from the sole of the foo t to the

Sometimes a complete par i sh was

placed under an interdict - during which all chur ch rites

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with few exceptions were suspended ,

No mass, marri age

agains t the living and the churchy ard agains t the dead.

and in 1444 John Mey

Ar chbishop Mey s Register

He was Prima te un til 1456

has come down to us also.

was appointed in his place.

Archbishop Prene died in 1443

It was p erhaps the most terrible weapon of all.

or other service was celebrated - the church closed

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and during his time as Archbishop the English settlers

were prohibited f rom wearing beards after the Irish

fashion and ordered to shave them once a fo rtnight.

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The Act of Parliament enforcing it was passed in 1447.

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In his Primacy , in 1441, the custody of St. Patrick's

he had a confirmation of a Market Charter and other

record we have of any such grant to the city,

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privileges from Edward IV in the year 1467 - the first

During his Primacy

Archbishop fr om 1457 until 1470.

He se rved as

May' s successor was John Bole.

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Bell passed f r om the O'Mellans to the O'Mullhollands.

He took

an active interest in the diocese and was not content to

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17 . He

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govern it from Termonfeckin as was t h en the rule.

had, however, plenty of troubles to contend with here.

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For instance, in 1466 when on a visit to the city two of

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his horses were stolen by members of the Clan O Mellan,

the local sept that had previously been Keepers of St.

Patrick's Bell, the family indeed from whom Lurgyvallen

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in the vicinity of the city derives its name.

The

assume that he received them eventually - in the meantime,

Similar accounts occur in

home again to Drogheda.

however, he was compelled to hire transport to take him

Primate took measures for their recovery and we may

earlier Registers - in Sweteman's Register for example,

there is a letter from the Archbishop written in 1367 to

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the Chaplain of Castrum O O'Hanlon(Loughgilly) commanding

to compel certain of his subjects to restore goods taken

him to admonish Malachy O Hanloyn , King of Erthyr (Orior)

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from the Archbishop's messenger by violence (all set out

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in detail and including coats, hoods, belts, new shoes,

linen and other breeches, gloves, cloaks, pocket knives,

Under June 1458

But to return to Bole 's Register.

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it records the fact that a certain Arthur MacKearney of

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corn, salt, silver, etc.) one of the persons concerned

being O'Hanlonâ&#x20AC;˘s younger son, Donald.

Armagh for the salvation of his soul and that he might

avoid imminent danger had intended to build a wooden

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18.

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bridge over the Kilcrewe river and a chapel at the plac e,

but having begun the work and prepared much timber found

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hi mself unable to complete i t at his own expense.

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many of the entries in the Registers it fails to tell us

what happened , other than that the Ar chbishop had gr ant ed

fo rty days indulgence out of the treasures of the church

In 1471 , th e year after Bole's death, J ohn Foxall

was conse crated and remained Archbishop for four years

the finishin g of the work .

without onc e puttin g a foot within t he city.

He was

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t o all charitable Christians who should contribute to

followed by Edward Connesburgh in 1475 who, because of

inability to cope with diocesan finances, re signed in

He was a man

rulin g the See unt il his death in 1513 .

of sound learning and great political sagacity .

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1480, whereupon 0ctavian del Pal atio became Archbishop

His

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regis ter containing "Memoranda" of Archbishop Bole and

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1460- 1520 .

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Kite has come safely down to us - it covers t he period

During his Primacy he remitted certain dues

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in 1509 so that the accumulated sum could be made use of

During Archbishop del Palatio 's time as Primate,

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Lambert Symnel, Pretender to the t hrone of En gland, was

for the fabric of the Cathedral and its adornment.

crowned in Christ Church, Dublin, but the Archbishop not

alone tried to persuade the Lord Deputy to prevent the

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ou nt y

19.

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Coronation but finally withdrew from the Council and

refused to take any pa rt in the crowning ceremonies.

ou nt y

In 1486 a tempest of wind accompanied by torrents of

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rain swept the Province of Ulster, uprooting trees and

destroying houses and churches, and in 1491 the summer and

harvest seasons were so wet it was impossible to save the corn and famine ensued.

nt y

In the same year a blazing star,

as the English Sweat - a terrible fever that carried away

children, and old men.

the young and middle-aged men, but was less fatal to women,

In the following summer most of

possibly a comet was the precursor of a pestilence known

In 1498 Armagh

fever added to the confusion and terror.

Ar m

Another comet visible for two months and further

the rivers dried up and cattle perished everywhere from thirst.

Such were some

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of the events of Archbishop del Palatio' s Primacy.

Stuart

of Charles Maguire, the eminent annalist.

lost one of its greatest literary ornaments by the death

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ag h

tells us that in the Archbishop's time Armagh was reduced

from its former splendour to a state of insignificance and

It reads:

ou C

ÂŠ

"Armagh - 'tis a pity Is now a vain city deprived of all common morality, The women go nude The meat's taken crude, and poverty there has locality",

ÂŠ

quotes a Latin rhyme attributed to that period .

h ag

but in reality it was written almost three centuries earlier

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2 0.

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by a ce r tain Hugh Tyrell who had assisted in the capture of

the city in the days of the comin g of the Anglo - Normans .

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According to Irish Annals he deprived the church of Armagh

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of a magnificent cauldron, a theft that we are told brought him many misfortunes.

That Tyrell should have found su ch

a state of affairs in the city at that particular time was ,

A much

that reduced the inhabitants to pove rty and want .

"So fa r from the town of Armagh being witty, It is an extremely cocked-up and ridiculous city , Man , woman and lad thei r mann ers are bad The ladies I wish were a little more prude For I blush to narrate they are awfully nude, And if you dine with a gent, the meat ' s underdone And your host some poo r pa.upe r ly son of a. gun".

later and more popular version informs us that: -

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of course, due to the continued ravages of war, a condition

Some of his Act s, strangely

promoted to the Primacy.

Ar m

In the same year that del Pal atio died John Kite was

enou gh, a.re incorporated in the Register of his pr edecessor.

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Archbishop Kite in cro ssi ng f r om England to his diocese

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ag h

of Armagh had an adventure that might have resulted in him His vessel was attacked by two

never reaching Ireland .

ÂŠ

Bre t on pir ates and would have been captured only that two

He was a man of

ÂŠ

in one of the Breton boats a.s a prize.

Spani sh ships were quickly manned by the ci tizens of Drogheda

who hastened t o his assis t ance, rescuing him and bringing

action and remons trated wi th O Neill for having no thought

A friend of Archbishop

but for his belly and pleasure.

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ou nt y

21.

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Wolsey, he was present at that prelate ' s institution as

Cardinal in 1515, and at the christening of Princess

Mary in 1516, and in 1520 accompanied Henry VIII to the

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ou nt y

Field of the Cloth of Gold .

Archbishop Kite resigned in 1521 and George Cromer

"a learned, grave and courteous man " was enthroned in

the following year.

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His Register has been very fully

Three blazing st ars, which appeared

in the heavens in the years 1531 and 1532 astonished and

terr ified the people of Armagh and of Ireland as a whole

Rev . L. P. Murray .

calendared i n the Louth Archaeological Jour nal by the

;,,ho viewed .them as indications of approaching calamities .

In 1533 a Par l iament was held in Dublin a t

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Ir eland.

Two years later the shock of an earthquake was fel t i n

which the controversy betwixt t he Archbishop of Armagh

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wa s renewed and de cid ed in favour of Armagh .

In the

and the Archbish op of Dublin as to precedency in Dublin

ag h

ou n

next year Archbishop Cromer was present in Dublin when Lord Thomas Fitzgerald went into rebellion agains t the

ÂŠ

King and vainly appealed to that unfortunate noble not

to plunge the Gerald.ines in war and possible extinction,

but to rely upon the wisdom and justice of his Sove rei gn -

ÂŠ

advice t hat unfortunately was not taken .

Cromer's Register instances t he case of a citizen

doing public penance in the Cathedral Church of Armagh

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22 .

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clothed in white as a penitent and offering a pound of

wax in honour of St . Patrick on Sundays until the

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Primate was satisfied.

He had a residence at Armagh

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and during the winter of 1534- 35 incursions were made

on his l and s in the neighbourhood of Arma gh and a

direct attack carried out upon his Palace at Dromarge

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predecesso r Archbishop Kite, and also deals with

ecclesiastical discipline, matrimonial disputes, testa-

His Regi ster incorporates some reco r ds of his

on the outskirts of the city .

mentary affai rs , slanders, and church matters of the

Province generally and like the other Regis ters is a

y nt

Following Ar chbishop Cromer' s death in 1542 a shor t

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of the diocese.

useful source fo r names of the pre - Reformation clergy

Hi s Regis t er of which we have only

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was chosen Primate .

vacancy ensued but in the following year George Dowdall

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ag h

a copy includes the closing yea r s of Cromer and the firs t year s of his own term - th e period 1540-1546.,

but f r om

ÂŠ

t hen on is an incomplete collection of scatte r ed wri tings.

th e Cont inen t of Europ e and t hough th e beliefs of the

En gl an d it was very different her e .

ÂŠ

refo rm ers had achieved a con sider abl e i mpression i n

The do ctr in es of Luther had then made much prog r ess on

Th e Refor mation

in Britain wa s, however, acceler a ted by the i ntermarriage

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ou nt y

23.

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of Henry VIII with Anne Boleyn and that monarcHs quarrel wi th the Pope, resulting in a separation of himself and

his subjects from the Papal See.

Having secured the

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reluctant support of the English clergy he determined

that the Irish Church should likewise break with Rome and

acknowledge him a supreme head .

He was successful with

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George Brown , Archbishop of Dublin, but Archbishop Cromer

opposed the new regime.

Archbishop Dowdall was appo inted

confirm the appointment .

Dowdall did not, however,

approve of the English liturgy and in the end refused to use it.

Pressure was brought to bear upon him and a

Cromer•s successor by the King but the Pope declined to

threat was made to make Armagh subordinate to Dublin.

Ar m

In 1551 the King and Council deprived him of the Primacy

He died, however, in the

and in 1552 selected Hugh Goodacre - the first Protestant

prelate of the See of Armagh .

Ar m

following year, and in 1553 Edward VI was succeeded by

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ag h

Mary, daughter of Henry VIII, a Queen strongly attached to

the Roman Catholic religion who recalled Archbishop Dowdall

and re- instated him in t he See of Armagh in March 1554 .

Archbishop Dowdall's second

surrender his patent thus restoring the Primacy to the Archbishop of Armagh.

At the same time Mary caused the Archbishop of Dublin to

occupation o.f the See of Armagh had the approval of the

Pope, but the death of Queen Mary in 1558 resulted in

us eu

ou nt y

24 .

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Elizabeth, the only survivin g child of Hen ry VIII corning to th e throne and the appointment of Adam Loftus, one of

ou nt y

he r chap l ai ns as Archbish op in 1562.

Archbishop Loftus

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was Primate a t the early age of twenty - ei gh t, but the

See of Armagh not being financially productive he accepted

the Archbishopric of Dublin instead in 1567 ,

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Th e English successful ly hel d Dublin from the 14th

extent from Drogheda but in the period covered by the

Registers it is clea rly apparen t that although those

pa rt s of the Province of Armagh situated in the Pale

century onwards and were able to contro l Armagh t o some

func tioned fai rly well it was a very di fferent sto ry in

In conclusion I should per haps st re ss the fac t that

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the northern counties .

the Armagh Registers deal with Ireland as a whole, but

Their interest

ou n

Diocese only or indeed to Iri sh affairs .

ag h

They are, therefore, not confined to the

Ar m

Armagh .

mo re pa rticula rly with the Ecclesi astic al Province of

and appeal is much more extensive than their title sugges ts.

ÂŠ

The Province of Armagh in itself embraces the counties

Cavan, Fermanagh, Lei trim , Longfo rd, Meath, Westmeath,

of Armagh, Tyrone, Derry, Donegal, Sligo , Mayo, Galway,

ÂŠ

King's County, Roscommon, Mona gh an, Louth, Down and Antrim.

In that huge area there are many places of pre-Christian

significance such as Emain Macha, Ta ra, Rathcrogan, and

us eu

ou nt y

25'.

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Usneagh and famous monuments like the Boyne and Slieve-na -

calliagh, prehisto ric burial-places, but far more important

ou nt y

still is the fact that our ancient Ecclesiastical Province

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contains four most renowned associations with St. Patrick -

Slemish where he spent his captivity, Saul where he is

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reputed to have built his first church, Slane where he

li ghted the famous fire that foretold th e extinction of

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M ty

ou C h

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ag h m

Ar ÂŠ

C h

ÂŠ

Ar m

the place he loved most - "his dear t ho rpe and hill" .

Paganism in Irel and, and Armagh the centre of his affection,

1308 but deposed 1327 .

1337 - deposed 1399 .

1413 - 1422.

1429 - deposed 1461.

King 1464-1483.

1509-1547.

Edward VI

1547-1553.

Queen 1553- 1558.

1558-1603.

h ag m

Elizabeth

ag h

Mary

Henry VIII

The first of the Tudors .

1485-1509.

Ar m

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King 1483-1485.

accession .

murdered with his brother soon after his

Richar d III

Hen r y VII

beginning of the York and Lancaster quarrels

Edward IV Edward IV

1399-1413.

Henry VI

Henry V

1327-1377.

" "

Richard II

Ar m

1274-1 307 .

nt y

Edward III

Edward II

King 1216- 1272 .

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Edwar d I

1208 - J 1558 ..

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Henry III

Henry I V

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ou nt y

His tyranny led to the

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King John died in 1216 .

signing of the Magna Charta.

He was succeeded by Henry

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III whose folly and extravagance called for a demand for

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the representation of the people in Parliament - f rom

which beginning the House of Commons developed .

His successor Edward I was crowned in 1272.

nt y

his reign Wales was conquered and Scotland partly subdued.

Sovereign .

fi rst time their right to depose a weak and worth less

Edward II reigned from 1307- 1327, in which year he was

deposed, the English people having exercised for the

Edward III became King in 1327 and was forced to

reco gnize the independence of Scotland, but he laid claim

His successor Richard II was crowned in 1377.

Years War

Ar m

to the throne of France, a demand that led. to "the Hundred

His reign is chiefly renowned for the Peasants ' Revolt,

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ag h

Ar m

the translation of the Bible into English by the eccentric John Wilclif, and the famous poet Geoffrey Chaucer.

Richard was forced to abdicate in 1399, a measure that

reign, steeped in opposition and conspiracy .

Things were

In 1399 Henry IV became King, but his was an uneasy

ÂŠ

brought about the disastrous Wars of the Roses .

ÂŠ

indeed difficult when in 1413 Henry V ascended. the throne,

He left a baby son who succeeded him

conquered France .

but he made friends with the opposing parties and act ually

us eu

as Henry VI in 1422 .

ou nt y

28.

His was not a successful reign .

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Hi s long mi nority made it impossible to hold the French throne and in his reign the Wars of' the Roses began.

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was deposed in 1461 and Edward I V became the new king.

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He was , however, soon compelled to flee the country and thus Henry VI returned to power .

Edward regained the

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throne and thus began the rei gn in which printing was

Richard III ascended the throne in 1483 and is

introduced in England by Caxton.

specially remembe red for the murder of the two young princes

in the Tower, the elder of whom should indeed have been king .

He secured the ki ngdom by usurpation and was not a favourite,

The rule of the Tudor Sovereigns then began .

Ar m

so ther e was little grief when he fell at Bosworth Field in

the last battle of the Wars of the Roses.

Henry

VII becam e king in 1485 and if he had no t been so miserabl e

Though he

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Ar m

would have fallen to England instead of Spain .

with regard to money the honour of the discovery of America

of Newfoundland .

ag h

failed Columbus he did encourage the Cabots, th e di scoverers

ÂŠ

His successor was the celebrated Henry VIII , a

The Welsh were content and the Scotch

Mary and Elizabeth, in that order.

At his death t h e crown was t o descend t o Edward,

subdued.

ÂŠ

full treasury.

of an unquestioned ri ght and a

1509 wi th the avantage

popular and mu ch married king, who came to the th r one in

ou nt y

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29 .

Edward VI was crowned in 1547.

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In his time the

Book of Common Prayer was compiled and the Protestant

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faith became established.

By his will he bequeathed

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the crown to the unfortunate Lady Jane Grey who actually

rei gned fo r twelve days and was succeeded by Queen Ma ry . Queen Mary rei gned from 1553 until 1558 .

a firm Roman Catholic.

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She was

She married Philip of Spain and

Through her wish to please her

I n her reign England lost its

las t grip on France .

shortly afterwards the old laws for burning heretics were

revived and enforced.

husband a war was entered that should never have been

Her reign was marked by so many persecutions

fought .

She was fond of study and conversant with Philip of Spain sought her as a wife

Ar m

Latin and Greek .

successful.

Elizabeth's tenure of the throne was long and

Ar m

a Protestant Queen.

that the people at her death in 1558 joyfully proclaimed

ag h

ou n

but the proposal s eems to have been distasteful though she t r eated it with courtesy .

Between the Prote stants

and the deep blue sea .

She did , however, know how to

ÂŠ

and the Roman Catholics she was indeed between the devil

ÂŠ

She had many

choose reliable men and there is no doubt but that much of her success was due to her advisors .

Her reign saw the defeat

Scotland, executed in 1587.

worries, chief amongst them her cousin Mary, Queen of

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Raleigh sailed to Vir ginia an d Frobrisher

ruled the sea .

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of Spain's "Invincible Armada" and England then in truth

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visited Labrado r and Greenland in search of a north west

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passage to England , literature flourished - Spencer and

Shakespeare were p r oducts of her reign.

The Queen herself was a complex char acter.

She

nt y

enjoyed t ravelling , was well educated and witty but so

thought herself de se rving .

her wo rd was not always reliable .

She did, however , With her

love her country and she was a gr eat ruler .

She had a quick temper and

vain t ha t nobody ever succeeded in prais ing her as sh e

death i n 1603 the throne passed to the House of St uart

in the person of James I of England and VI of Scotland,

of Ulster was carried out.

His mother was a devout Roman Catholic but he had

Ar m

son of Mary, Queen of Scots, in whose reign t he Plantation

Ar m

been brought up very strictly by the Scotch Presbyterians

ou n

Puri tans .

ag h

and they we re even more rigid in their ideas than the

To him we owe the Plantation of Ulster by

h ag m

ÂŠ

17th centur y.

ÂŠ

Scotch and English settlers in the opening years of the

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ou nt y

The Presentment of the Jury for the

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Survey of the County of Armagh

Qow

Ardmagh

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ou nt y

Taken at the Castle of the Moyrey, 2 August 1608

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The Presentment of the Jury for the Survey for th e County of Ardmagh t aken at the Castle of Moyrey before His Majest y 's Commi ssi one rs , the second day of August 1608 .

First We find and present that the whole County of Ardmagh is general ly mea red and bounded as follo ws, viz.

C h

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Ar m

Between Cla nb r assel and this county and pa rt of Evagh ne ar the town of Killaghy in Clanbrass el afore said, the re is an old caus eway in a bog called Clo ghan near Lough Eaugh, which is a meare between t hi s county and the Coun t y of Down and from thence to the foord of Aghneha in a bog lying bet ween Dromenekeyrn in Clanbra ssel and Ballymagin i n Evagh, and so t hrough the mid st of the bog called lfoonmoreballynickytire and from through the midst of a bog called Moan Rine rt y and so to the ford of Agheveghan, and from thence they refer themselves to the meares of O Hanlon ' s Coun try fo r me rly deliv ered to the Commissioners at Mountnorris ; and from thence t o the fo rd called Bealacloghan lying between t he Fuighes and Do,mgowle in the County of Louth, being the next meara to O Hanlon; and from • thence to Carriclmeshioge near Dongale and so near to Lissecoonny along by a ditch lying between Li ssecoonny and Bedlowes land in the County of Louth and from thence to the ford of Carrigeterman and from thence to the ford of Belaghmackleynny; and so the ford of Aghknockecladdy; and so from thence to the ford of· Belaghreny, and so from thence to Sraghnenealan in the Fuighes and to the ford by the same in the River of Muchna and so up the same river to Loughross and so up the river to the ford of Ballyhinogerly and from thence through the bog Loughesheill, parcel of' the Fiughes and so to the ford of[ land so to the small stream running near Carrawaghroe in Henry Oge's l ands and so through t he bog to Dromh erny, leaving tha same to the County of Ardmagh and from thence to the small stream running between the Poullenagh in the County of Monaghan and Dirrinuse in this county and so to

us eu m

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ou nt y

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the small stream running between Ballaghgreen i n the County of Monaghan and Dough skeagh in t he said county and so t o another small bog divi ding bet ween Crossdallagh i n the County of' Ardmagh and Lissdr omgowllaght in the Count y of Monaghan and so from thence t o the small bog l yi ng between the Enowh in the County of' Monaghan and the Knockban in t hi s county and so t hrough a small bog down t o Owencogge ry which is a meare betwixt the County of Monagha n and t hi s county and so up t he s ame river to t he Blackwat er t o Lough Eaugh af'oresaid.

nt y

And we f'ind further that there is within this county f'ive baronies, viz.

Orier, Ardmagh, Fui ghes, Toaghranie and o•Neilan.

And t ouching the me ares of Orier we refer our selves unto the book that was delivered unto the Commi s sione rs at Mountnorris.

And that the barony of Ardmagh is mea red viz.- on the north f'rom Bunetallagh and so to Moy - gr avid in the west and so to Aghmagowan in the south and so to Bal lynehowen in the east.

Ar m

And that the barony of Fuighes af'oresaid is meared , viz.- on the south f'rom Shanmullagh and so to Ballynegallagh in the west and so to Ballinegr owbanagh in t he north, and so to Creiggan in the west.

ou n

ag h

Ar m

And that the barony of Tuoghrany afore sa.1.d is meared, viz. on the north from Anaghlary and so to Carranagh Roe in the south, and so to Ardgonnell in the west and so to Tollglashogowen in the east.

And that the barony of' O'Neilan af'oresaid is meared viz. on the south from Shankrekin and so to Ballymg1llmorrow in the west and so to Magherygreeny in the north and so to Killaghy in the east.

And that there is in the barony of Ardmagh aforesaid these several lesser countries or precincts of land, viz.

C h

m Ar

Tuoghaghie, Cossvoy, Collowre and the Lord Primate's land Duogh Slutmelaughl1n, Duogh Muntercullen.

us eu

ou nt y

eu us M

h ag

ag m

Ballyduff •

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ag h

Krewrinn. Gartan. Moichuvony. Canantis. Moiegrawid. Naule. Killolah.

Cav angarvan . Dirrecahagh, Balt aeagh. Lissogally als Lissechrin,

37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42 . 43 .

Ar m 33

34: 35 30 :

nt y

Ar m

32. Carrickene cloughoge.

?·.

ou nt y

l. Bal lydowneronagb. ". n,, r kley als Tiewfadda 3, Tull aghlish. 4 Keduff , Carri ckclogher , o Cros sdanedd , 7. Tullaghnemall oge. 8 . Downelarge 9 , Crossmo re. 10. Lor ge cliegh. 11. Correhugh. 12 . Cav agh . 13 . Laggan . 14. Dir thennell, 15. Dromg rinagh . 16 . Maddane. 17. Farrinnemuyloig. 18. Dr omdeirg . 19 . Knockravan. 20 . Ki llycrew. 21. Moyvollin. 22 . Uskemedy 23 . Roan. «4, Dromhurke . 25 . Kilcriew. 26. Dromcolt er , 27. Drombroughus. 28 . Brottelly. 29 . Lisglyn . 30. Tawlaught. 31. Drommcanvar.

us eu m

And that tl1ere is in Tuoghaghie a foresaid , these several towns or vil l ages or ballieboes ensuing vi z.

us eu m

ou nt y

46. Tullaghg allody. 47. Dromga r. 48. Gooll agh . 49 . Di r reneli egh . di b.b . 51

us eu m

us eu

ou nt y

45. Corvin.

Bal linegar , 1 cessi ogh. Enaghneancih, 1 cessiogh .

nt y

And also cert ain othe r t owns , vi l lage s or bal l ieboes out of whi ch t he Lor d Archbi shop of Ardmagh clai ms certain yea r l y r ent t he cert ainty whe r eof we know not , viz . Tuwnagh als Aghirfiny .

~: 55 .

Ballycoh ie als Bot ter an. Trewn als Ball yaghy. Li ss edelin als Bally scanill . Tawl aghteboo , half a ballybo.

51.

50. Maghery - Kill eane als Li sdr oma.rd .

us M

52. Cullint ragh als Bracktwnagh.

M ty

Grearnnore 6/8 . Corcleigh 6/8. Aghymagowregan 13/1+. Tassagh 13/4. 60. Tirarly als Crew Roe 13/4.

56. 57. 58 . 59.

Ar m

And that ther e i s othe r ce r tai n villiages or ballibo es in the sai d country which do pay a chief r ent to the Abbey of Ar magh viz.

C ag

J rolly. 2. [ Tirretrah. Tireskahan. Drombee. The two Ballyvartraws, 2 balliboes, 7, Tullaghnicholl, 8. Cloghfin. ..9. Tullaghgerran •

ou n

ag h

l. Navan .

Ar m

And that there is in Coswoy afor esaid , these sever al towns , village s or balliboes out of which the s ai d Lord Archbishop challengeth certain rents, the certainty whereof we know not, viz.

us eu m

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ou nt y

3 5,

And tha t th ere is in Duogh-slut- ne-Melagh lin th es e sev e ral towns, villages or balliboes out of which the sai d Ar chbishop chal lengeth ce rtain ch ie f r ents the ce rt aint y

ou nt y

whe r eof we know no t , vi z .

nt y

us eu m

Kno cknecoonny , Tullidonegan , Tal l aghs tah . Dromshiel. Killeloyne. Bealhugh . 7, Annaghan- Rie . 8. Two Creaghans , 2 bal liboos .

1, 2, 3.•• Ii 5. i'i

M y

Grangagh 6/8. · Cross Kr ien 6/ 8. Mullaghboy 13/4

Ar m

Mel agh lin , the se t owns viz.-

And also in Duogh-Slutm -

Grangagh 6/8 .

And that t here i s in Coswov aforesaid t hese sever al t owns, vill ages or balliboes which pay to he Abbay of Ardmagh to rent, vi z .

ou n

ag h

Corr. Ballinbreagh. Aghmylugg , Lyshlosh ty. Mullaghmore. Tirme ckrenan. Chamegow.

Ar m

2. 3 •• !i '5 •• i'i 7. 8.

1. Downdavally.

And tha t there i s in Cowloowr e afore sai d, thes e s everal balliboes ensuing, vi z .

whereof Downdavally and Corr are alloted to the town a: Charlemont.

m Ar

And that there is Duogh-Muntercullen aforesaid, these several balliboes ensuing, viz.

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ou nt y

l, ShanmuJ.lagh , 2 , Lisboyfin. 3 •• Laggan . 4 Tiremickbrien, 5 Kilmore . b • Mullaghanar y. 7. Mull agh - eightragh , 8. Dromarr an .

us eu m

us eu

ou nt y

nt y

wher eof Shanmullagh aforesaid is assigned to the Fort of Charlemont , out of all which l ands the Archbishop of Armagh challengat h a cert ain yearl y . rent, t he certaint y whereof we know not.

And tha t there is in this ba r ony the Manor of Ardmagh containing 24 balliboes which l ands ar e reported the Chur ch Lands of Ardmagh, par tly belonging t o the Archbishop of Ardmagh 1 par tly to Religious Houses dissolv ed, part in demai ne and part in ser vices, the cer t ainty wher0of we know no t,

And t ha t the r e i s wi t hin this ba rony in the Town of Ardmagh a small Friery of Fr anciscans di ssolved t o which belong eth two t ownlands .

Ar m

And ther e is al so a small Nunner y in the t own of Ardmagh a for esaid.

And that all t he Tiethe s within this bar ony do belong t o the Bishop , the Dean, the Pr ior and the Abbay of Ardmagh, but in wha t manne r we know not ,

ou n

Ar m

And t here bel orige t h to t he Abbay of Ardmagh one cessioe of land, viz.

ag h

Vicars Chorals of Ardmagh in demaine viz. FuighesFews Barony,

And there i s in t he barony of Fuighes aforesaid these several lesser countries or precincts of land, viz.-

Clanconnoghy, Fuighes, Clancarny , Ballienemoyre and Ballym Owen That there is is Clanconnoghy aforesaid, these several towns, villages or balliboes ensuing, viz.-

us eu

eu us M

M ty

ou n C

ou C

m Ar

ÂŠ

y nt

ag h

Ar m

nt y

us eu m

ou nt y

Ar m

ÂŠ

Eddeneveghes 2 balliboes

ou nt y

Dirrychor. Brandrim . Leyt ry. Cabbragh . Dromnel ock. Moylurge . Cor necri ew. Maghe rydough er. Magheryloughcowmor Ballin-jrrew. Magherymsrough. Mullaghbra ck . Corr Ardgonnell. Groobanagh. Dromin . Gar vagh. Droma r gin . Kilrodan . Dromanish . Dir rmenagh. Dromenaglogh. Rat a r naght. Dromshewgysh. Dr ewran. Drornnecro ss . Laneleigh. Teydan. Knappagh . Largeboy . Keilfaddy. Bally-Ire. Broghan. Inishlace. Dromchonawle. Vauran. Lattmachallow, Utleckeh. Dromgagh. Kilnegappull. Quillin. Couloon Ballinegalliogh 2 balliboes. Drombeas, 2 ball iboes,

us eu

ou nt y

us eu m

and also certa in other balli boes viz . -

ou nt y

Carnemene schar . Cavanagr oogh

nt y

Dromenty 6/ 8 . Dromnechoy 6/ 8 . Ballinda r r agh 6/ 8. Ba llyma ckally 6/8. Lur gowy 6/ 8 .

us eu m

Out of which the Lord Archbishop clai met h r ent, the certainty and also cert ain other balliboes out of which is pai d certain rents to the Abbay of Ardmagh viz.

us M

ou n

ag h

y nt

Ar m

Lough-bal ly-Ikee. Dromchony. Crewhillagh. two Creggans 2 balliboes. Dirrlattygow y. Glassdromin.

Eddenecannowny Carrickleaghan . Kilbrack . Feighboggan . Bra ckl y. Cordomin 1 2 cessioes. Lesnegatt. Dromgem. Lurgyross. Coronagh . Li ssdrumcor . Dromnehunchin. Carrickgallogly. Corromanin .

Ar m

nt ou

Crunaght ( 2). Coolmalishes ( 2).

And t hat there is i n Clancarny afores ai d t hese several balliboes, viz.

h ag

Note. Capt ain Adderton is in possession of these three last towns of the two Creggans, D1rrlattygowly and Glassdromin bf colour of a· lease made by the Earl of Tyrone for the earl's life and his son Hugh, but no livery or seizen.

us eu

ou nt y

us eu m

And a l so c e rt ain othe r towns villages or balliboes cer t ain rents to the Abbay of Ardmagh ,

ou t of whi ch is paid vi z .-

us eu m

ou nt y

Ba l lytanmor e 6/ 8. Ballyhyanbeg 6/ 8 , Damwally 6/ 8. Tawnagh 1 sessi ogh 2/3,

eu us

ou C h

ou n

ag h Ar

Ar m

Glassdr omin . Lurga coolinboy . Tollyvollin. Nedorsagh . Tollyvalloh. Tullydon ell . Our r eiu. Ca rri clc- mally . Cor menonagh t. Aghihi rr eshelloghan. Cr ei ggan . Cl arinagh , Dr omaghevalla. Drommuck . Trughur. Crossmogglan. Li s s er agh. Cloneli ck. Drombee . Eddenedony. Manigillagh . Lis s awry. Dr omgawgh. Crewekurin. Crinkill Cornelish. Tullynecrossy. Tomerphrigh. Anaghmerah. Kiltebanagh. Reigh. Shitrim. Tullayhslagh • Cloghehennagh. Cherrin,

nt y

And that there is in the Fuighes aforesaid, t he seve r al vil lages or balliboes - vi z.

us eu

ou nt y

us eu m

Cavanore. Shanmullagh , Dowereggan, Carrignegin. Teynisken Lissdromgeir, Anaghebacky Lyo l gh ,

us eu m

ou nt y

y nt

nt ou

h ag

Ar m

Lorginah. Cavan aki lly, Dromgeo rge, Li ssdromar d , Li s sue . Ma ckawe , Aghnecorke, Ballymi ckan, Sycaghan,

nt y

Corri lla , Larkan.

And that there is in Ballynemoyre aforesa i d. , these sev e ral towns villages or balliboes out of whi ch the Archbishop of Armagh challenge th certain chief rents the cer t aint y wh e reof we know not, viz. -

ou n C

ag h

ÂŠ

Ar m

Lisnedull, Li sseleigh, Drommoyle, Cavenegroagh, Corren, Ardmaghbreigy, Tonregugh, Tullybrone,

And t hat there is in Ballymc Owen aforesaid, the s everal l ands, village s and balliboes out of which the Archbishop chall engeth ce rtain chief rents, the certainty 1,J hereof we know not, viz.-

m Ar

ÂŠ

And that there is within this barony the Parish Church of Mullaghbrack wherein the Prior of Armagh is parson, and there 1s a vicar endowed to be presented to His Majesty,

us eu m

us eu

ou nt y

And also th e Par ish Church of Kil clonan wherein the Trea surer of Ardmagh is pa rson and vicar.

ou nt y

And al so the Chappel of Corleat t which belonge th t o t he Church of Loughg i lly in 0rier .

us eu m

And also the Pa r ish Church of Creiggan , the tythes 1oher eof as well as the pa rs onage and vicarage do belong t o t he Pri or and Vica rs Chorals of Ardmagh .

nt y

And th at the r e is within the ba r ony of Tuoghrany afore said t he several l esser countries or precincts of land viz. -

us ou n

C ag

Racomer.

ag h

21. 22.

ÂŠ

20.

ÂŠ

18. 19.

Nunchoge. Ratrillis. Dromgarn . Shantullagh. Fuighduff. Ardgonnell. Sycoonny. Drumgows. Gortfaddah and Skirry, one balliboe, Rynn. Crann. Crossdallagh-eightragh. cro s sdallagh- oughtragh.

14. 15. 16. 17.

11. Tullaghleish . 12. Keillycananan .

13. Cavandowgin .

9. Tullibrick- eightragh .

10. Tulli brick- oughtragh.

Ar m

5. Kiltibored.

6. Mullin . 7. Coolkill . 8. Corfeighnagh .

2. Ballimetagh - oughtragh.

3. Lisslony . 4. Braghmoy

l. Ballimetagh - eeght ragh .

And that there i s in Tuogh- Rany afores aid , these several towns vi llage s or balliboes ensuing, viz. -

Tuogh - Rany, Clinawl y, Teynan, Derrinowes .

us eu

ou nt y

us eu m

nt y

ou nt y

us eu m

Gl a s sd r omin, Kno ck and Dromnemorih on e balli boe , Dowrah , Banra , Sytrim , Tollygl u sh . Cr enchier in . Ly ss l anoghli gh, Purtenellegan , Dowger r y , Mullaghnary Knocltcr aneskall agh .

y ty

ou n

ag h

Ar m

Enaghnenanagh , Pawl anagh . Foore. Knockeneigh, Li s snefiddy , Keilnemaddy , Coole carne. Corr. Aghatarragha. t wo Tullymores, 2 balliboes . Tullaghneskin, Eddenedirry, Tullaghmore. Bealamoygoole, Atty shooly. Mullagh-Iloghan Mullagh-eturr two Dromsallons, 2 balliboes, Dirren0ssey. Tawnaghewan. Leynabroagh. Dromharnaght.

Ar m

And that there is in Cl in awly afo r esaid th es e several villages or bal liboes, viz,-

towns

and al so Ca rr any uhich containeth eight balli boes .

all a£ which lands the said Archbishop 0£ Ardmagh claims as part of his demains.

h ag

Clontakeran. Agh emoy alt.t •

And that there is in the said country these other towns or balliboes ensuing, viz . -

us eu

nt y

us eu m

ou nt y

Turry. Ta nnagh, Cavanballyaghie . Mullagh-I tynne. Knappagh, Down. Li shn eshanrady. Garvaghy . Shanmullagh . Cabbragh , Tulloghoseran and Kielbot r y. Anna ghmoieth, two Anaghlarowes . 2 balliboes, Moiehdowne. ' Muntercar r .

Out of which the said Archbishop of Ardmagh claimeth cert ain rents the ce rt ainty whe reof we know not ,

Out of all which lands the said Lord Archbishop of Ardmagh claims as part of his demaine .

Quoy and Tynagh, one balliboe, Annaghrappe and Lyleigh, one balliboe . Clont yca rty and Legmego rry, one balliboe. Gortmolieg and Mucklogh one balliboe . Breagha and Dromchonnoroe, one balliboe . Lisseagh , Loynevane and Mullaghbard, one balliboe.

Ar m

And tha t there is in Tynan aforesaid, t hese several t owns, villages or balliboes ensuing viz. -

ou n

h ag m

2 , Feargort, 3 •• Droma r ge . It Tullyhirrin , 5' •• Tullyfinn. Ii Drombarneh, 7. Tievnecrey. 8. La t tygarran . 9. Crossnemoyle. 10, Bracklin,

1. Roughan,

ag h

Ar m

And that there is i n De rrynowes aforesaid, these several towns , villages or balliboes en suing viz.-

us eu

ou nt y

us eu m

Dr omcoyle . Dromti er ny . Aghneglogh . Mallyai d . Ballint ampl e . Dirrenowes .

ou nt y

11. 12 . 13. 14 . 15. 16.

~ 4.

All of which the said Lord Archbishop clai ms a s pa rt of hi s demaine .

nt y

And th at t he r e i s within this bar ony t he Parish Chur ch of De r renowes , the Tithes whereof a s well of t he Par sonag e as t he Vicar age do belong to t he sai d Pri or and Vi car s Chor al s of Ardmagh.

O'Nealan Barony

And that there is within t he Barony of O1 Nealan afor e-

said these several less er countries or pre cinct s of la nd vi z .-

O'Neilan, Killmoore, Lough Ror kan , Cr anagill , Keyer , Dirribrochus, Clancan and Clanbra s sel, the Grange and Duogh Slut t-Edmond-Oge.

ou C h

ou n

ag h Ar

Dromna sweh . Mollaghnasaillagh • .Cloghan Radromgrene. Dromi seies . Loscaburrin. Mollagheanayn. Raymolcrayne. Aghena. Raye, Lagacorieh. Corrycrivoy. Mollaghelittaragh. Enaghbooagh. Enaghchyny Rakineigha. Kenicon. Faghearte.

Ar m

And that there is in o•Nealan af oresaid t he se several towns, villages or ballieboes, ensuing viz .-

us eu

M ty

ou n

ag h

ou C

nd also other towns or balliboes, viz.-

ÂŠ

Ar m

nt y

us eu m

ou nt y

Ar m

ÂŠ

ou nt y

Dromi arda. Dromnihonshen. Molaghedroy, Keidy. Cl ondroett. Bayleantaggart. Dayr chiall. Bailenebreagh , Moll aghea leal i sh, Ballenahense. Baileanl ogheain. Aghiori er . Magherloughecows Dromart, Enaghsawry . Cloneru ei ggan. Clonene - Edden. Aghytireloughbragh, Cawsanagh, Nacoroagha. Tirenegriew. Downalaghan, Ballymagieray. Dromehcriffe, Lissa. Lissesfill, Crienagh, Ballyke rovan. Ardrohy. Dromilly, Tirecharry. Mullagh bane. Dromifogher, Killmackhugh, Ballineknock, Boliogasie, Dromard, Belly-ossowen. Leballyneglass. Killemanyn , one cessioe, Teemickmore, hal.f a balliboe, Tulloghmore two cessioes, Dromart one cessioe, Ferromilly half a balliboe,

us eu m

ou nt y

us eu m

us eu

ou nt y

Tir nes coab, Mullaghlowharnagh K1llov11mey . Drumadbegg, Greenan , Ballym ackgillvooragh.

Out of all of which the Lord Archbishop of Armagh claimeth certain chief rents, the certainty ,-,hereof we know not.

nt y

And also the balliboe of Granagh, belonging to the Abbey of Ardmagh in demaine,

all of which land the said Archbishop of Armagh claims as part of his demaine.

nt C

Ar m

Tireg ar den , Killmabkr aine, Moynymoriertie Kilm keinty keinty. Baile-Ifegan, Baileanmo llay . Baletrea. Rowghan. Dromard. Clonlarge .

And that there is in Kilmore aforesaid , these several towns, villages or balliboes ensuing viz.-

ag h

ÂŠ

Marorkan. two Sancrackans, 2 balliboes. Dromenemeddar. Moiegh. Tawnaghmore, two ce ssioes .

ou n

Ar m

And that there is in Lough Rorkan aforesaid these several towns, villages or balliboes ensuing, viz.-

ÂŠ

Moiegh, Cranagill als Dromard. Brouchus

And that there is in Cranagill aforesaid, these several towns, villages or balliboes ensuing viz.-

us eu m

us eu

ou nt y

47.

Annaghmo re, Coppn ey and Di rrych ah r ah , one ballibo e . Ardr i n ske,

us eu m

nt y

Tol ly r oan . Tires cu llila, Kinne r y . Dirrychagh,

ou nt y

And that th er e is i n Keir afor esaid thes e sever al t own s , vi ll ag e s or balliboes ensuing , vi;, _

Clont ycheagh , Clonemore , Dirrebr ochus, Dirrelaghy.

And tha t t he r e i s i n Dirrebr ochus afor esaid thes e sever al t owns , vi .l lages or bal l i boes, vi z . -

Out of which the s ai d Archbishop of Ardmagh claimeth cert ai.n r ents the ce rt aint y wher eof we know not.

M ty

ou C h

ou n

ag h Ar

ÂŠ

Ar m

Ballenegoan-owght r agh. Broughus. Raha rragh. Annag oar. Cooshenew. Lisserae. Aghavellan. Tawnaght-Ivinigh. Ballifedryn. Laggana. Corkynegerriff. Corneamucklagh. Annaghkeerah , Drominallagb, Solleshane. Corcullyntraghbegg. Corcullyntraghmore. Cornelekegh. Dromgoos.

Ar m

And tha t t her e is i n Clan can aforesaid these sever al towns, villages or bal l iboes ensuing, viz .-

y ty

nt ou

ou C h

ou n

ÂŠ

Aghbrackoeg. Mehan

ag h

Ar m

ÂŠ

Dyrreagh, Clonamekeat, Dyrrehynnea. Dyrrelaagh, Cloanekesh-eightragh sh- eigh tragh. Cloonkagh, Dromraekally,

nt y

us eu m

ou nt y

us eu m

us eu

ou nt y

Ki l lemagawishe , Criegh neskri ney . Corbrackogie, Muckhurey Derr anle, Dromenaugh . Dirrehanmoyle Drommalis . May a ghmore , Mayaghbeg . Dirr echinr in . Dirrel aghard. Dirrenreagh . Clan oer, Droml ellan. Dir reletti ew. Tagmc Ichiell. Farrah. Breagh - owtragh . Dromheriff. Drom chew. Aghene Regell, Cloonmartin , Dirrekarne . Dr omynewyn . Rowaghan . Tyamulkanny, Canonea lle. Canogolagh , Dr omruanmorehie, Clont eliew. Kanaghgolnagh, Bre agh-eightragh, Daghkereaghan . Tagh loaghogie, Cloanameke sh-owghtragh . Dirrekorra.

Ar m

and also the balliboe of Magherygrena bel onging t o the Abbay of Ardmagh in demaine.

M ty

ou n

ag h

ou C h

ÂŠ

Ar m

Tawnaghmore

Lurge . Dough corr. Dromen emore, Clongillewoorriff. Cor rekenigeir. Doimegreagh . Dromenekarne, Tullaghconnelly. Tullaghdagoin. Kynegowe. Dromnecally, Dirryh. Shankill, Aghnecloigh. Tobberhevench. Taghnewan, Killinargitt. Tyremoyry. Boghannel. Knockrawer, Ballinemone Aghacanan.

Killaghy. Clonerolagh. Li sschor an.

And th at there is in Clanbrassell afore said t hese several towns, villages and balliboes _ensuing vi z .-

us eu m

nt y

ou nt y

Cloanagh . Tawnaghmore Dromyn a ssoh . Corralcryn. Eydenaderry . Garvagh i e. Lis sbal l ygowroin. Boyleelum . Killemc murriertagh murriertagh. Mullaghetean . Dromanan . Dirrelosteh . Ballinegoan-eightra .

us eu m

us eu

ou nt y

4 9.

us eu m

ou C h

ou n

ag h

ÂŠ

Ar m

nt y

ou nt y

Tawnaghmore . Kinverrigan , Balto- f agh . Tawnagh tne gla ssan. Dr omnegowen . Sygoo- ei ghtragh . Sygoo- owght r agh , Tassan . Carn e , Tawnaghcarbitt Cor r, Dirrinnaragh , Dirrit agh . Dirrytrasney, Dirrinevirr, Nar d , Diraddeh. Dirinakei sh, Knockballybrienboy , Lanedarr ah . Magherna , Knocknemuckley , Ballyyargan. Dromyn, Ball ymickcrannell . Carrick , Dromlishnegrillah. Breagh . Kilbian. Levaghery, Lis senusky, Keyrnan, Loylucke , Bocomerah. Honagh an. Lyssdr ommoynt ry, Clandroll, Cros smuckcahully, Drumgorr, Marevery, Leggecorr, Tullygallih, Moybreck, Lurgemackoin Ballyblagh, Knoclmeshane,

us eu m

us eu

ou nt y

Ar m

us eu m

us eu

ou nt y

Tawnaghmore. Bo sallagh .

us eu m

nt y

ou nt y

And t hat there is in the Gr ange afor esa id, th e se seve r al towns vi llages or balli boes ensuing, viz.Lisg renan . Tawnaghmore Dr ombenny. Aghecos s coragh. Ce r owhumog e . Dong en en . Ta wnaghb egg.

All of which a r e in the possession of the College of t he Newr y and in possessi on of the heirs of Ni cho la s Bagnall .

M y

ou C

Madd . Br ogheis. Droma r d. Annagh emo re. Ardi a ste .

And that there is in Duogh-Slutt-Edmond-Oge aforesaid these several towns villages or balllboes ensuing, viz.-

Ar m

An d that there is within this barony the Pa ri sh Church of Kilmore \olhe rein t he Dean of Ardmagh is pa rson and the Chan cellor is vicar.

Ar m

And also the church of Agh ekilltaran , wherei n the said Dean is pa rson and the vic a r age belon ge t h to the Prior and Vicars Corralls of Ardmagh aforesaid.

ou n

ag h

And also the Pa rish Chur ch of Dr omcrew wherein the said Dean is parson and the Chancellor, vicar.

ÂŠ

And al so the cha pel of Magh eragrene which belon ge th to the aforesaid Abbay of Ardmagh .

And also the Chappell of Tartiraghan \olhi ch belongeth to the aforesaid Abbay of Ardmagh.

m Ar

ÂŠ

And also the Parish Church of Sigoo, wherein there is a parson and vicar, the parson has two parts of the tythes and the vicar the third.

us eu

ou nt y

fi,:. .

nt y

us eu m

ou nt y

us eu m

And also the chapel f Shankill. Church of Ki l mulch n ' d O anl<i;1-l belongi ng to th e be l on ge t h to t he church3 ;' ]i! 8 rt of tne t ythes th e r eo f rc,1 0 1 0 Donacloney cloney . d A.ll we furth er fin d t ha t t he sev e r al ba r oni e s of Ardmagh t ~he Fuighes Tuoghrany and O ONeialan a fores aid an 1. a . 8 s evera l _ 1:3 s s er countrie s or 1:-re ci nct s of lands , t~ -1;:~l vill a ge s, bal liboes or pa r cel s of l and s above written ~ is present a.re and at the t ime or ..'.laki ng of the St a tut e 7n t ,1e llt,1 yaa r of the l ate Que en and be for e time out of 1!11nd , ive r e always lying and bei ng wit hin t he Coun t ry o r 0 r r:i.to r y of Tyron e and posses s ed by t he o Nealle s a nd th~ir fo llower s and tha t by fo rc e of the s aid st at ute th e s~i d l at ? Que en ' s Ma jest y was enti tl ed t o all and. singular t ne pr em:i. s;i,s , except s:uc~ par cel s t hereof a s of r i gh t di d belong t o v,19 Lord Archbishop of Ar dmagh or t o any Abbay Pri or y or o t he r Reli gi ous Hous e s . '

Ar m

And we fur t h er find that aft erwards t h e said Queen ' s Ma je st y about t he 28t h yea r of her reign gran ted un t o Hugh , late Ea r l of Tyrone, by Letters Pat ent , aJ.1 and singul ar t he p remises ( except befo re ex cept ed) , t o have and t o hol d t o the sai d Hugh for life, t he remaind er t o Hugh hi s r e put ed s on and th e hei r s mal e s of his body lawfully bego t te n and for the want of such is sue to Henr y another r eputed son of t he l a t e Ea rl and the heir s mal e s of hi s body lawf ully b ego tten a nd f or want of su ch issue t o Cormock O Ne ale , brother t o the sai d l at e Earl , for lii'e, the r emainde r t o Art Oge, son to t he sai d Cormock and t he hei rs mal es of his body l awf ully begott en, and f or t he want of such i ssue the Reve rsi on to th e sai d l ate Queen's s Majest y he r h eir s and successors for ever.

ou n

ag h

By f orce whereof the said Hugh , lat e Earl, was of all and singula r t he p remises, exce pt t he Manor of Ardmagh af ore s ai d seized for term of hi s li fe, with the r emainder as afor e s~id and being so s eized was a fterwards a ttainted of Hi gh Treason by outlawry, the time and pl a ce and other circumstances of which a tt ainder we refe r t o be set do,m ac cor ding t o the records thereof.

m Ar

By force whereof t he said late Queen • s Majesty was of all singul ar the premise s ( except the l a ~~ befo r e excepted) seized for t e r m of the li fe of the said Hugh late Earl and th e reof afterwards died seized , on whose a eath the same descended to the King's Majesty that now is.

ou nt y

us eu m

force t he reof the said King'ss Majesty sty 1·1a s also 0 seized, and in the 3rd yea r of His Hi ghn ess 's r e i gn , gr an t ed the s am e by Let t e rs Patent unto the said Hugh late Earl of Tyr one fo r life with the same remainders continued i n the former Letters Patent ( excepting and alwaysreserving out _of the s aid Pa t ent , the coun t rie s of Tuogthrany and the Fuighes aboveme ntioned and th e lands of Ch a r .Lemont . ·

thereof

us eu m

us eu

ou nt y

nt y

And that the said King ' s Ma jesty aft e rwar ds the [ ye a r o f his rei gn granted by Let te r s Patent unto Sir Henry Oge O Neale, Kni ght, dec eased and his heirs fo r ever, the above written coun t ry of Tuoghrany and al l the lands , t enement s and he reditament s there in.

And al so in the [ )year of his reign , gr an t ed by Le tt er s Paten t un t o Sir Ti r logh McHenry , Knight and his heirs for eve r all the above writt en country of the Fu ighes and a ll th e lands t enements and hereditaments the re i n.

By f orce whereo f the said Sir Henry and Sir Tirlogh we r e and the he irs of the said Si r Henry a re, severally sei zed of the sever al countries l ast above written as the law requi reth .

Ar m

And we f urther find th at th e said Hugh late Earl, and Hugh his son and Art Oge afore sai d and divers others we re a ft e r wards by proce ss of outlawry attainted of High Treason , t he ti me pl ace and other circumst an ce s of which these said attainders we refe r to be s et down acc or ding to the Records thereof.

ou n

ag h

Ar m

And we find fur t he r that t he said Hugh, l ate Earl of Tyrone was at the time of his sai d attainder seized by force of bis said Letters Patent , for te r m of his life of and in all and singul ar the premises except the Manor of Ardmagh, the countries of Tuoghr any and the Fuighes and the lands of Cha rlemont a f oresaid,

m Ar

And that the several est ates in remainder of the said Hugh supposed son to the sai d Hu gh, l at e Earl of Tyrone and Art og e McCormack were in them at the time of these said attainders by force of the said Lett ers Patent. And that as well the po ss ession as all the said remainders by force of t he said several attainders are come to Hi s Majesty's ha nds,

us eu

ou nt y

54 .

us eu m

ou nt y

us eu m

And touching the claims of the said Lord Archbishop of Ardmagh abo':e mentioned, if he shall befor e All Hallowtide next.? befo r e ~~s Majesty s said .Commissioners produc e any sufficient e':ioe~ce or proof to!. J his said claims therein, then we require His ajesty •s Commi ss ioners to inser t in this. I nquisition all !:is title t herein • otherways t his our ver dict to stand for his Ma jesty in ev ~r y point .

nt y

And t ouching the barony of' Ori re and all the lands and tenements t hereof and the Kin g 's ti tl e t hereunto , we refer th e same t o be set down in . this I nquisi ti on a ccoruing t o the late Survey taken be fore His Ma j esty • s Surveyor and oth er Commissioners and the Offic e t aken bufore the Eschea tor' s Deputy and other Commissioners in that behalf .

And we further find tha t ev er y of' the town l ands or balliboes above written except in Clanbrassil and Clan can do contain in them severally about 100 acr es le piece of arable l and and pasture bes i des bog and wood and are wo rth by the yea r ea ch of' them above all repriza l s 13/4 Irish except i t be foun d the Lord Primate had right t o any rent out of them and then the said land is to be valued ac cordingly if t his rent exceed no t 13/4 Irish.

Ar m

And that the sever al towns or balliboes of Clancan and Clanbrasse l aforesaid, being but small measure contain each of them about 60 acres a rable and pasture and wood and wort h by the year le pi ece ultra reprises , 6/ 8 Irish .

ou n

ag h

Ar m

All of which we do present t o His Ma jesty ' s Commissioners as our abso lut e verdict and do hereby pr ay and authorize them or any of them a ccor ding t o this commission to draw u p this our verdict into one or more Inquisitions in aue fo r m of l aw and to affix our seals thereunt o and to return t he same for us and in our names into His Majesty's High Court of Ch ancer y .

ou C

Carbry Mccan . Xoffer Fleming. Donagh Murchy.

Briann McDonell. Donaldus Casaus. Cormock McTirlagh.

M. Whit echurch.

In witness whereof we ha~e hereunt o put our hands t his day and year first above written.

us eu

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2i;.

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Hugh McGilleduf f . Owen Hughes. Ne a le O Callaghan . Pa trie Mri Ro r y McPatr ick . Patri ck Oge O Cor . Hugh O La ppan. Donell O Neal. To r lagh McTeyre . Nee c e o Quin. Ca lleigh McDonell. T. C, D. pp .177-196.

Se e Volume E.3 . 13 and No . 582 .

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All the jurors si gned by mar k excep ting Whitechurch, Casaus , McTey r e, Fl eming, Murchy, a nd Mri.

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CRAFTS

CUSTOMS,

AND

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Industries

OLD

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In County Armagh many ancient customs survive.

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Rushes are gathered on St. Brigid I s Eve and woven into

Brigid's Crosses, a custom with roots in the dim past.

nt y

At Eastertide children still trundle hard-boiled eggs

that have been gaily coloured by spring time blossoms,

patron saint.

On St, Patrick's day sh amrock is worn in honour of our

May-flowers (marsh marigolds) are even yet collected

on May-Eve and strewn around the doors and windows, but

May Eve bonfires no longer light our hills on that particular

May Queens, however, still go forth in state The Queen is

escorted by their maids and pages of honour,

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crown is always a wreath of blossoms.

In past days the

usually the youngest and prettiest of the _party and her

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evening.

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May Boys made a similar parade, but that form of May Day

observance, like the driving of the cattle through the May

Less than half-a-century ago on Mid-Summer Eve

ÂŠ

Eve fires, has quite died out.

Old games are

apples 'ducked' for in tubs of icy water.

ÂŠ

At Hallow's Eve nuts are burned and

is almost extinct.

bonfires blazed from practically every hill, now the custom

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played and maidens still tr y t he Hallow E'en charms.

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It is, and was , an evening of trick s, a night on which ghostly

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f igures might be about and moveabl e objects like carts and

pl ough s stroll abroad without the aid of a horse at all, In the harvest-time in certain areas the Calliagh is

nt y

still cut but now th at re aping machines have repl a ced the

"Harvest Bows" and "Knots", however, a re still fashioned

to a limited extent in almost every pari sh i n the county

simple sickle, the cere mony is shorn of much of its ritual.

and spo rted during harvesting operations.

They were once very general

As Christmas approa che s the "Christmas Rhyme rs" make

t heir annual appear ance,

They are a survival of various

In South Armagh on the Louth-Armagh

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special se a sons,

forms of drama that were pr actised in ea rli er time s at

a couple of parishes,

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through out the county but now, al as , they only appear in

ag h

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border "Wren Boys" still circulate on St, Stephen I s Day

It is a form of bowls and

Bullets" is still in being,

On t he road s around the city the old game of "Long

ÂŠ

but they no longer operate in other parts of the county.

It ha s been

ÂŠ

of miles on the least number of throws.

the game goes to the person who covers the agreed number

h ag

played in the vicinity for centuries but it is a mere baby

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in point of age, in comparison with for instance, the

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cutting of the Calliagh, or t he making of St. Brigid â&#x20AC;˘ s Crosses.

One of the most interesting , as we ll as one of the

mo st ancient customs surviving in the county , is the

nt y

pi l gri mage to the summit of Carrickatuke on the last

On tho se days t here was gr eat festivity

in the count y .

Sunday in July and first Sunday in August of each year.

A century ago the re were similar pil grimages elsewhe re

in t he way of dancing , mu si c and game s and much eating of

bilberries , f rom whi ch the festi vals derived t he name of

Now- a-days the dancing , music

and game s have almo s t disappeared , but the pilgrimage

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name of Garland Sunday.

Bilberry Sundays to t he gradual effacement of the older

Many

continue s in so far as Ca rrickatuke is concerned .

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such a day.

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a happy marriage has had its beginning on such a hill on

The ringing of the nightly curfew in t he ancient city

ÂŠ

of Armagh and elsewhere in t he county wa s a custom that

It is to be regretted that

ÂŠ

it has not been revived, for it was one of the old

came down to us from medieval times and continued to the

beginning of the recent war.

h ag

associations that lingered in the minds of our visitors,

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long after stories of kings and saints were quite forgotten.

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Down the long centuries it had pealed forth every evening , though fires were no longer covered or ext ingui shed when it

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t olled - t ha t pa rt of curf ew observance ended long since.

I have not by any mea ns named all our county customs

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nor h ave I spoken of the exl.sting pil grimages to Hol y Wells.

such thing s behind me .

Old crafts unfortunately are de caying.

I f I am to deal with old crafts and indus tries I must leave

Country carts are dis-

are becoming rarities on our ro ad s, wheelwrights

be seen ar ound the forges .

app ea r ing, and wheels shod by blacksmiths are no longer to

The ol de r slide-cars or carts

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have vanished but in the hilly dist rict s of South Armagh

creel tran sport may yet occasionally be seen.

a living

thatching is still, however

a thing of t h e pa st;

Handloom weaving and the manufact ur e of such looms is

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being e rected.

They were inexpensive to build and when

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art, though mud-wall cot t ages and farm-h ous e s are no longer

Many cont ain fe atures of great

throughout the county.

Thousands of t hem yet remain

summer and warm in winter.

ÂŠ

kept in good repair proved excellent habit ations, cool in

interest such as open hearths designed for the burning of

ÂŠ

turf and a few still remain surmounted by the old-fashioned

h ag

canopy-type chimney flue extending over the hearth for

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bo.

sever al feet, providing an encl osed space for seats of

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various kinds ranging from perhaps a settle- bed against

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the inne r Side of the jamb-wall, to little t hree- legg ed

creepy stools for chil dren.

In such houses cooking

methods are much as they have been for centuries.

survive - with a moveable arm that lies against the back

of the hearth gives suppo rt to i mplements called crooks

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kit chen-crane of iron - some specimens in wood ye t

from which hang whatever cooking utensils t ha t are in

immedi a te use - pot, griddl e or kettle.

If a pot

If the latter

vessel may be used for roasting also.

probabl y something is being boiled th ough that par ticula r

Cakes a re sometimes

have a covering of lighted turf.

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form of cookery is in pr og r ess , the lid of the pot will

baked in the flatter pots commonly called ovens but muoh

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of the bread used in country districts is still baked on

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the old-fa shioned griddle and by-the-way County Armagh

people are famous for their griddle-baked apple cakes,

The older kitchen implements such as rush-light

ÂŠ

but alas home baking has largely given way to supplies

from bread carts.

ÂŠ

candle-sticks, toasters for hardening oat-cakes, etc. are

h ag

now seldom seen and churns and wooden milk-bowls of

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bi.

va rious t ype s only survive on f ar ms t hat are no t ti ed up wi th cre ame ri es ,

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The ol de r cot tages are now in many instance s being

roof

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slat ed or cove r ed wi th wha t is locally known a s a "tinStraw, unfortunately, has become an expensive

•

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r oof i ng material and requires f airly frequent r enewal.

and nicely kept cottage is a re ally attr active dwelling,

The use of straw for such a pur pose dates back to quite

It is, however, a wa rm cove ring, and a well-thatched

early times but reeds and r ushes were also used for

roofing purposes and are mentioned in th at conne ction in

Half-a-century ago a census report r eve aled the

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r e cords of the Early Christi an Period .

wheelwr ights, millers, weavers, tinsmiths, carpenters,

following country occupations in our county - blacksmiths,

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reed-makers, tailors, s addlers, can dle-make rs , rope-makers,

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nai l-make rs, sp ade manufacturers, thatche rs, basket-

makers, ma sons , l ace-makers, coopers and brogue-makers,

In those days the brogue-makers and tailors went from

house to house and sometimes if a particular f amily

In those cases the f amilies

h ag

concerned provided the cloth, leather and other

service of the household.

required much work done they spent a week or more in the

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incidentals, besides bo ard and lodg ing.

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Of all t he occupati ons that I have me nti oned t he

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craft is pr obably the oldest. In a state of society when war wa s re garded a s the mo st nobl e of all

blacksmith's

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professi ons and be fore the invent i on of gun- powder, those

Forges in past times were considered

important people .

who manufactured swords were naturally looked upon as

the chief centres of their pa rticular districts and smiths

The forge was then, and still is, a clearing-

to-day.

occupied a much higher rank in the community than they do

house for the gossip or news of the area that it serves.

Ar m

Th e anvil

bellows , tongs, sledges, etc.

Forge-equipment i s to some extent much a s it was

centuries ago .

remain and have quite a respectable antiquity behind them.

The smith's activi ties now, however, are mostly confined

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shoeing of horses.

Gone are the days when they fo r ged

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to the repai ring of farm ma chinery and the occasional

the weapons of war for t he heroes that still live in our

ÂŠ

county folk-tales, but there wa s a revival of the old art,

They

Some of these were mo st artistic,

They no longer produce rushlight candlesticks

ÂŠ

or toasters.

thousands.

in the troubles of 1798 and 1840, wh en pikes were made in

h ag

yet, however, from time to time, produce well-propo rtioned

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and nicely de si gned garden gates .

That, however, is a

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feature tha t is also pas sing quickly

I ndividuality in

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ironwor k ha s been utterly de stroyed by mass- production

f rom the foundries but exampl es of gates of local craft s-

manship may s till be seen in country gar dens and in

last of its type in the north.

survived until a few years ago - in all probability the

On it wooden bowls and

nt y

grille-wor k pillars and lamp standards in Armagh city,

where by the way an old fashioned foot oper ated pole-lathe

other utensils were manufact ured in the same primitive

manne r as they were fashioned centurie s ago and all t he

working tools hand-made in t he old traditional way,

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Fortunat ely t his par ticular lathe and its equipment are

being preserved in the Ulst er Folk Museum.

In passing from crafts to industries I should like

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to mention the Crossmaglen lace-making , though it is not

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an oldish county craft, having been introduced into that

area just over a century ago.

It is beautiful work and

County Armagh people should

ÂŠ

has still a steady demand.

It is distinctive

C h

interest to visitors to Armagh.

ÂŠ

and comparatively inexpensive so should be of great

see that it is better known and there should be depots for

it in the various towns of the county,

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As r ega r ds old industries I shall discuss three only,

lime-burning , turf-cutting and t he manufact ure of linen.

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The burn ing of limestone fo r t he making of mo rt ar and for

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the white- washing of buildings is one of the ol dest

Th e earliest local r efe rence

industrie s i n the county .

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to lime-burning occurs in 1145 in which year a huge kiln

wi th sides 60 fee t each way wa s built by the t hen Ar chbishop and ot her buildings in the cit y.

of Armagh to provide lime fo r the repai r of the Cathedr al

Present day kiln s are

quite small in comp ari son and probabl y fa r more akin to the reall¥ early t ypes .

Lime is still in gene r al use through-

out the county fo r whi tewa shing country houses.

It is

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al so in use fo r agricultural pur poses, and th ere are still

were lime- washed i n early

Ecclesi a stical buildings

hood.

some lime-kilns in wor king order in the i mmedia t e neighbour-

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days - the tradition still survives in certain country

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churches - and there is an old poem ext ant, relating to

Armagh Cathedral, written by an Ulster poet who flourished

"Well hath its poli shed sides been warmed With lime as white as the plumes of swans ."

The cutting of turf is another industry of some

The use of peat as a fuel seems to have been In the 7th

known from the earliest recorded times.

antiquity.

in the perio d 1220-1250, which states that -

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:ta.

65.

century there is a reference in Irish Annals to one of

our Provincial kings having

exa sperated some men cutting

Such entri e s shows

and killed him with their spade s.

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turf in a bog with the result that they fell upon him

that peat ha s been a common fuel in Ireland from at

nt y

least the beginni ng of the hist oric pe riod.

T'n e cutting

A small heap of

The brick-shaped

peat cut by the spade is called a turf.

peat-bogs are scenes of great activity.

of the turf begins in May an d for a couple of months the

piled turf is commonly known as a "rickle" whilst larger

"clamps"

quantities built into a sort of long stack are called

The various operati ons in the cutting, drying

The great peat district in Coun·ty Armagh is known as

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and stacking of turf have ea ch their particul a r name.

the Montiaghs and natives of that district are jokingly

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termed "moss-cheepers" while those inhabit ants who come to

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bummers".

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the towns to sell the fuel itself are spoken of as "turf-

Armagh as a county is plentifully endowed with

now often mere waste-land.

such bogs though many have been completely cut out and are It seems a pity that all such

areas are not converted into meadows or planted with timber

where conditions are favourable.

h ag

The making of turf figures in an old county folk-tale

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handed down from generation to generation. It is said that the "wee people" first told the inhabitants of our

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county of its usefulness and that originally the common

fuel then was wood.

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Later when Patrick came to Ireland, because of that and other

the "wee people" hoped

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t hings in the way of kindnes ses shown to his flock,

51::,_,\-

the sa int would intercede on their beh alf so that they

Patrick, however, felt

might again have God's favour.

otherwise - and t hat's the end of that story!

As to linen - ther e is no doubt but that it has been

manufactured in Ireland from earliest historic times though

there is little detailed evidence rega rding its actual

staple product by a travel ler in Ireland in 1430.

It was

certainly very abundant in the 16th century for at that

It is referred to as a

industry became a State concern.

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production until 1185, in which year t he promotion of the

ag h

thirteen to f ourteen yards each.

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period the Irish gentry were wearing shirts containing

Later an Act of Parliament

yards each for shirts.

Notwithstanding that particular

ÂŠ

was passed limiting this extravagant use of linen to seven

enactment it is recorded in 1571 that shirts with wide

m Ar

ÂŠ

were little enough for one of them!

hanging sleeves were still in use and that thirty yards

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3:2.

1:,7

In th e late 17th century th

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e 1i nen trade of I reland was en couraged at the expe nse of its wool l en busi ne s s,

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t he l atter becoming by Act of Parli ament the spe cial

prero gative of England, to the very gre at har dship of

Irel and as a whole.

in the development of the linen manufa cture and were

They we r e assisted by the Government

of the country,

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Early in the next century certain Hugenot fugitives i -;, arr ve d and settled in vari ous parts

It is well, however, to remember that t he linen

Ulster.

successful in establishing it as the maj or industry of

f or whi ch Ulster is now so famous is the growth of an ar t

Time does not permit me to go into the many f actors

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whos e history is lost in the mists of I rish antiquity .

of the modern history of linen development or deal with

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t he story of the many emp t y mill s and de serted bleach-

greens of our county.

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I h ave dealt with customs , craf ts and industries in

a very general way inde ed and it may seem to you th at my

make no apology f or that.

Personal ly I consider f arming

ÂŠ

interests lie more in the country si de t han in towns.

one of the most essential occupa tions and I feel that the

ÂŠ

farming community is ver.Y worthy of appreci ation.

h ag

Though I like old customs and value old crafts, I would

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13.

not wish t o see agr i cagriculture ure deprived of me ch anized help,

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The sickle, fo r instance , as a cutting i mpl emen t is of

Wooden ploughs , gr ubbe r s and harrow s

Corn and wheat were thrashed in mud- f l oo red

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we re common .

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great antiquity and was once the only method of re aping

whea t and corn.

barns by the wooden- flail, a t rul y ancient implement

now

Half-a- century ago onl y three tools were needed in the All

service of haymaking, the scythe, for k and rake .

to be f ound i n use only on tiny mount ain-side farm s .

three a re still used t o a limited extent - but the scythe

has almost been completely repl aced by the me chani cal

In t hose day s the

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reape r and the ol d hand-rake has now developed into a

horse or pet rol driven impl ement.

fields were scenes of gr eat activity during harvesting

Women were then much in evidence and

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Meals we r e carried to the f ields and served

pi cnic fashion.

ope r ation s.

Earlier still when the sickle was in common use

ÂŠ

they shared in t he work of reaping .

They did no t,

corn.

ag h

were the main source of help in the lift ing and tying of

however, ever quite master the scythe, but now that they

have taken t o trous ers and le arned to drive tractors t hey

ÂŠ

can give an excellent a ccount of t hemselves in the harvest-

h ag

interest.

fields as indeed in work of any kind that captures their

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In conclusion I would like to enlist the sympathies

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of my audience in the aims of the recently founded

society for the preservation of Ulster Folk Life and

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Traditions , a body well wo rthy of support and in the

still more recent Ul ster Folk Museum .

Much ma terial

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assistance to both bodies.

available and volunt ary workers can be of great

has perished but there is still a mass of information

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lo.

SOME COUNTY ARMAGH OUTLAWS OF THE 17th and 18th

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CENTURIES.

In the days following the Plantation of Ulster, property

nt y

in County Armagh was very insecure and travel somewhat unsafe .

In 1612, fo r instance, there was a complaint by Sir James

Douglas and other undertakers of land within the county, that

they were discouraged in their plantati ons by robberies committed

mpon them by the natives .

The Lord Deputy, in his reply to

their r epr esentation of the matter , excused or rather blamed the state of the county on the fact that its wooded lands offered

Ar m

shelter to such offenders, whom he insinuated "to be mischievous

knaves implicated in the l ate rebellion and as yet unpardoned" .

Those who had already been acquitted he hoped would r emain honest

What t he Deputy and the undertakers seem to have quite

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men.

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forgotten was that they themselves were occupying l ands that

had been but a few years previous possessed by native landowners

ÂŠ

In a short time, however, law and the new order became

A few of the

fairly well establi shed , with judges go ing upon cir cuit and

holding assizes in the different county towns.

assize records of those days have been pr ese r ved , but most of

ÂŠ

them were lost in 1922 in the wanton destruction of t he Four

Courts in that year by a small group of "patriots" who failed

National collections in Europe,

to realize that the building contained one of the fi nest

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'\.

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The earliest Assize Rolls that I know of relating to

Armagh a r e those r egarding prisone r s in gaols throughout the Province of Ulster in the years 1613- 1618 .

The

nt y

original Rolls were in the Four Courts and fortunately

An Assize held at Armagh in

1615 shows that most of the then crimes were thefts , and

Names a r e given ,

such records yi eld much information.

From a social history point of view

wa s very prevalent .

that the steali ng of horse s , cows , oxen, sheep and pi gs

were copied many year s ago .

Horses wer e then wo rth from 40s.

Persons

to 80s.; pigs 3s .; sheep 4s . ; and cows 40 s .

found guilty of such robberi es were condemned to death

Ar m

of the stolen chattel s .

verdicts noted , and par ti cular s recorded as to the value

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by hanging on the Public Gallows , then situate on a hill

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now partly within the Pal ace Demesne and still well known as Gallows Hill, a spot that r emained the pl ace of publ ic

ÂŠ

execution s for quite two centuries, and may indeed have

People sentenced for ~ stealing a firkin

of butter suffered exactly the same penalty.

ÂŠ

animals alone .

The

been of some antiquity as such in pre -Plantation days.

death sentence wa s then not confined to the theft of

In 1623 the city and county were shocked by the

dramatic capture outside the town boundary of Sir Benjamin

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7?..

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Thornborough, by four of the o•Neills, who carried him

off to the woods where they prevailed upon him to write

the Lord Deputy saying that they would execute him unless

nt y

he secured for them the Deputy•s protection until such

This roused the Deputy to acti on and he

promptly caused the parents and near relatives of the

time as they themselves procured pardons for certain

offences.

kidnappers to be arrested, made known the fact that they

would all die if harm came to Thornborough and that if the

O•Neills did not deliver him up immediately and with halters

That

The four 0 1 Neills quickly came to

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round their necks, the consequences would be serious.

had the desired effect.

Armagh with halters about their necks, made public

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submission on their knees and were pardoned on the under-

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Six years later Neale boy Milnatella, a notorious

years.

ag h

standing that they embarked upon foreign service for seven

capture near Clady some eight miles _south of the city.

Down

Many such instances of lawlessness might be quoted.

County Armagh robber and outlaw, was killed r esi sting

to the Civil War of 1641, through the Cromwellian period and

About

the Williamite War, conditions were much the same.

the time of the battle of the Boyne the designation became

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73.

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changed to "rapparee" and the term "outlaw" fell into disuse.

The new description crops up in the journals of John Steen

and George Story, the former an adherent of King James, the

nt y

latter one of King William's chaplains.

In County Armagh it

was in use at least as early as 1697, in which year a gentleman

in Armagh writing to his friend in Dublin mentioned that

"yesterday, about six of the clock in the afternoon, there

came into this town a country fellow stripped to his shirt, with

an account that Captain Macanally and the re st of the Rapparees

that had so long infested this road were in a litt le house

Ar m

within four miles of the place and were there aslee p".

The

company with some townsmen made haste to capture them, but

letter goes on to say that a Captain Macklin and twelve of his

Ar m

that Macanally had a guard posted, with the result that he was

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came ui\,on them.

ag h

able to get away with his men before the surprise party actually In the resulting pursuit Macanally and one of

ÂŠ

his subordinates, called McShane1 were killed, whereupon their

heads were brought into the city and displayed in the customary

nanner on the wall of the prison - then situate in Market Street.

ÂŠ

they were part of a gang of rogues that robbed some fifteen

They had also

droves who had been their prisoner for some time.

people a few days previously and who had murdered a Captain

:onsumed a quantity of wine that was being conveyed to Armagh

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for the use of "Dean Drelincourt•s visitors".

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Shortly after that episode it was decided to erect a At t he

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barrack on Black Bank to keep such gentry in order.

same time an effort was made to induce families to settle

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Pa tent s for quarterly fairs were issued and every

there.

effort was made to found a small town around the barrack.

The barrack was built in 1700 but was deserted at some date prior to 1733 for a new site in the townland of Camly, a point

of equal distance between Armagh and Dundalk.

The first refe rence to the new barrack at Camly occurs

in Quarters of the Army in the year 1733, when a company of

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Major General Bissett•s Regiment was in occupation.

It was,

of course, a larger edifice than its predecessor on Black Bank.

A village later grew up around it and was named Johnston's

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Harris, writing of the village in 1740, states

Ar m

those days.

Fews in honour of John Johnston, one of the Tory hunters of

ag h

it was "in the middle of wild country called the Fews, not many years ago notorious for robbers, but now civilized and free

An account of a journey from Armagh to Dublin

It suggests

in 1750 gives a somewhat different impression.

The journey from Armagh to the south

hazardous undertaking.

that the trip from Armagh to Dublin in those days was a

from them".

we are told "was a perilous achievement and that when love of

gain stimulated any man to so desperate a venture, he first

made his will and piously commended his soul to God, then

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collected his friends around him, he proceeded under their

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protection through the dreaded defiles of Armaghbreague and Black

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Even thus he was alarmed at every breath of wind that

Bank.

whistled through the heather, and started with terror, when he

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casually heard the whirring of the grouses ' wings or the bleating

of the vagrant snipe, le st the me rcile ss Tories should be upon

In this state of trepidation he proceeded unti l he arrived

him.

at the residence of Johnston of the Fews".

The Johnston's were conservators who preserved the

Tories and other robbers.

mountainous districts of the county f rom the incursions of

In the Fews they were said to have

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possessed the power and name of sovereigns, and indeed there are

notable rapparees or highwaymen.

In the district t hey still

recite an old rhyme, or invocation -

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almost as many stories of their exploits as t here are tales of

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Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews, Protect us from Johnston, King of the Fews".

Local folklore links up the famous Tory hunter with the equally still

repeated in that area which says -

There is another old jingle

renowned Redmond 0 1 Hanlon.

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Johnston beyond in the Fues Has wasted eight barrels of powder Upon him and all to no use"

but like many other ballads it cannot be entirely relied upon

:insfolk, the Graham's

·or Johnston came to Ireland about the year 1700 as agent to his of Ballyheridan, whilst the ill-fated

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Redmond perished in 1681.

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Of the many Tories and Rapparees connected with the

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county, O'Hanlon is by far the most f amous and best remembered of them a ll. A pamphlet published in Dublin in 1682 informs

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us that he was the son of Loghlin 0 1 Hanlon and that he was born near Poyntzpass in the year 1640.

That coupled with the fact

townland of Aghataraghan in the vicinity of the village,

that Turlough Grome 0 Hanlon was in 1620 the tenant of the 1

strengthened by ·the local tradition of his birth in a house

whose site is now occupied by Iveagh Lodge, seems to me

conclusive proof of his close association with that neighbour-

It has often, of course, been stated that he was born

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hood.

at the base of Slieve Gullion but no support fo r the assertion

He had, however, many hiding places in

has so far been found.

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that district including at least one souterrain • subordinates ..x,i.,. With his gang of ro:bbe.rs he Kept the counties of Armagh,

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Down, and Tyrone in such subjection that none dare travel except in convoy, or armed with his personal pass.

The

farmers of the countryside were also subject to his exactions.

by any of his

Petty robbers under him were actually supplied

followers.

molested

guaranteed that they would not be

He levied from each and all of them 2/6d. per year but

with lists of all the people in his guardianship with strict

orders not to meddle with such persons or their goods.

was a favourite with the very poor and folk memory has been

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kind to his memory in that respect,

He had, however, a

On one occasion he

for jokes made at his expense .

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keen sense of his own importance and did not greatly care

deliberately forwarded a man to Armagh Jail who had robbed

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a pedlar in his name, a grim sort of return joke on

Redmond's part, knowing as he did that following the next

assizes the unfortunate man would swing on Gallows Hill

and his head . l ater decorate the Sessions House.

By 1674 the authorities had become so incensed by his

In 1676 he was again proclaimed and a reward

apprehension,

many exploits that they circulated a proclamation for his

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offered for the bringing in of his body dead or alive .

He had learned from the boy that he was on

thought to rob,

About that date he met his match in a simple lad whom he

The lad, however, was not so foolish as he

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looked.

for his master.

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his way to a nearby town to bring home a large sum of money

Before starting upon the expedition he obtained a

ÂŠ

most vicious horse and provided himself with forty shi llings

His mount was accustomed to kick and bite by which

a wallet.

in halfpence which he divided into two parcels and tied in

the rider was usually able to keep inquisitive strangers at The boy,

the money he knew to be in the lad's possession.

When Redmond put in an appearance he demanded

ÂŠ

a distance.

of course, demurred about parting with it and Remond being unable to do much about taking it by force owing to attempted

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kicks and bites, at length threatened to shoot him unless

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he handed it over at once .

The boy then threw the wallet

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of halfpennies into a deep and well-briared sheugh and told

the bold Redmond that if he wanted his master's money he 0 1 Hanlon soon alighted from his horse

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might follow it .

Whilst he was looking

and went in search of the wallet.

for it the boy dismounted also and exchanging his wicked steed for Redmond's fine horse speedily rode to safety

with the larger sum intact and an excellent horse as well.

About that time 0 1 Hanlon appeared in Armagh one

morning in the garb of a country gentleman and requested

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an officer in charge of the militar y then stationed in

the city to supply him with an escort through the Fews,

his excuse being that he had a large sum of money on his

The r equest was granted but at

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person and was afr aid he might be met by that great

villain Redmond 0 1 Hanlon.

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a certain point on the journey Redmond ' s followers who

had been apprised of the plot beforehand fell upon the

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soldiers, deprived them of their arms, money, and most of

There

ÂŠ

The stories about Redmond would fill a book.

almost naked condition.

their clothes, sending them back into the city in an

was a certain Cormack O'Murphy who began his career under

Redmond but becoming puffed up with success forsook him

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and st arted a gang of his own.

After the break O'Murphy

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plundered three men under the wing of O'Hanlon who

Later he robbed a David Mulligan of Leggacorry

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resist.

(now Richhill) who also had a pass from O'Hanlon.

Again

a continued quarrel between the two and ultimately

terminated with fatal results to O'Murphy.

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the then owner of the Tanderagee

an event that compelled the authorities to set

murdered Henry St. John

followers

In September 1679 a party of O'Hanlon's

estate

he had to restore the stolen goods. This was followed by

That

mind but he was quite powerless to

rankled in O'Murphy's

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immediately compelled O'Murphy to make restitution.

Not for some years,

about his capture in grim earnest.

earth, and even then the deed was only accomplished by his companion and

lay asleep.

Art then ran off for assistance but before

help arrived

Redmond was dead and his head had been cut

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the treachery of Arthur O'Hanlon,

however, did they succeed in running the bold Redmond to

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kinsman, who fired a blunder·b uss into his breast while he

The affair took place at

His head, however,

Hilltown, Co. Down, in April 1681.

hands of the authorities.

off by his friends to protect it from falling into the

In the mean-

Prison there to adorn a spike on the wall.

was discovered some days later and taken to Downpatrick

time the body had been brought back to Relicarn, an old

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-l!I.-

graveyard in Ballymore Parish and there laid to rest in the So ended the career of one of the most

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anc estral plot .

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celebrated of our local r apparees .

Redmond's brothe rs, Edmond and Loughlin, were members Loughlin was later killed by John Mullin who

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of his band.

got a reward of £50, but Edmond acquired a safe conduct. It

Indeed it was not unusual for the

At that period the county was

the betrayal of his chief. in a most lawles s state.

State documents disc l ose that he received £100 for

Redmond.

is not now clear what relation Arthur O'Hanlon was to

. head of a decent law-abiding countryman to be sent into

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Armagh, Dunda lk or Newry, as the head of a Tory so that

Strangers passing through

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the county in those days did so at much ri sk to their

lives.

the substantial award available for apprehending such

characters might be claimed.

Redmond appealed so strongly to Sir Walter Scott that

seventeenth century Irish affairs.

he intended to introduce him into a historical novel on

Unfortunately he never

carried his intention into effect and the material collected regarding him by Lady Olivia Sparrow of Tanderagee is now

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confirmation in fact.

Tradition credits Redmond with a descent from Sir lost. Oghie O'Hanlon, Lord of Orior, but the claim has no

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~I.

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The ei ghteenth century produced a like crop of Some specialized in cattle, sheep At the summer assizes of

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r apparees or highwaymen .

and horses, others in money alone,

1735, Macklin , a famous ho rse-thi ef , suffered the death for cow- stealing .

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penalty

At that time it was the custom

Immense crowds armed

the convicted person to the Gallows .

for the High Sheriff and a guard of military to accompany

r a ttled t heir staves in a most terrific manner .

When

with staves and clubs at tended and as they marched along

The day before he had sent out noti ces

satisfaction,

Macklin made his appearance he viewed t he crowd with great

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informing all and sundry that it would be worth their while

If the a cc ount given in the Gentl emen ' s

he had t o say,

to come ten miles t o see him upon t he gallows and hear what

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Magazine of that year is a true r eport of the procee dings,

attendance may have entailed,

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the spectators had good value for any lo ss of time t heir He began his speech by

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assuring them that he had perpetrated every crime excepting

murder, that he had received absolution for all of them and

exploits, and he returned witty answers by the score,

They then questioned him about his many

was ready to die.

His

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poor mother was present and the crowd was so pleased with

that sh~ might purchase sheets for his burial.

her son's behaviour that a collection was made for her so

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The old prison in which he had spent his last night had just then been renovated following a fire . It was a

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gruesome place, a series of underground apartments directly

under the Sessions House.

A flight of stairs led down to

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them, a nd from that arose the old Armagh proverb "they will

The walls of the building were seven

to "bad endings".

go down the nine steps" applie d to persons likely to come

Whilst it

feet thick and the cells almost devoid of li ght.

was in use, and indeed for some time afterwards , all the

hangings or executions took place on Gallows Hill, and, as

death was the punishment then for simple crimes like horse

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and sheep-stealing or the theft of linen, it was not unusual

to see several ghastly figures swinging t here after the

business of the assizes had been concluded.

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He began life as the keeper of the

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Macklin had a contemporary named Caraher - better known

as Big Charley Caraher.

Dorsey found, an enclosure that yet survives just within the Cattle

ÂŠ

northern rampart of the famous Dorsey entrenchment.

were in t he habit of disappearing from the Pound without

satisfactory explanation whilst the place was in his charge,

ÂŠ

Later he

so he was watched â&#x20AC;˘and finally caught in the act of killing a cow which caused his dismissal from the post .

another until he became a murderer.

He was assisted by a

became a general robber and progressed from one crime to

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gang of undesirables each as cruel and relentless as himself.

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He was at last taken pri soner and brought to Armagh where he was

sentenced to be hanged, beheaded and quartered . quarters was gibbeted

One of his

at Ball ' s Mills, the r emaining quarters and

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head in other places where he had engaged in murder and crime .

they were r ecaptur ed.

made their escape .

from 1739 onwards and make

Stocks were still to the fore in Armagh as

Ac counts of such episodes appear in the

early files of t he Belfast Newsletter in~eresting r eading .

Usually

Despite the thickness of the walls of the old 17th century

jail of Armagh , prisoner s sometimes

l ate as the early 19th century and a " scol d ' s bridle" used in

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the city to punish evil- tongued or quarrelsome women has been

preserved.

The most i nte r e sting local outlaw of the 18th century was a

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man of old Iri sh family, a Seamus MacMurphy of Creggan Pari sh in

we have any r ecord of.

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South Armagh. ·Hi s ancestors were the earliest chieftains of the Fews that

They had settled originally

near Caledon in the district now known as minterburn from which

From the Annals we know that the

end of the 13th century.

they were later pushed into the Fews by the 0 1 Neill 1 s a bout the

MacMurphy's were still at Minterburn as late as 1172 when the

then chieftain was killed in battle by the Clan Magennis raiding

grew stronger in

supreme in the Fews, but as the O'Neill's

The MacMurphy's soon became

from the Armagh-Down border.

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Tyrone, they in turn spread int

County

Armagh and so by the

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end of the 15th century the MacMurphy s were supplante d in that

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area also, becoming vassals of the more powerful O'Neill's.

Seamus the outlaw was born at Carnally in 1720 .

He was,

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therefore, a young man at the time of the rumour of the Young Pretender's proposed vi si t to Ireland .

He was a poet of no mean Locally he is

order and one of the handsomest men of his day.

said to have been present at a famous bardic meeting on Slieve

Gullion in the summer of 1744, an assembly also said to have

been attended by the great Tory hunter, J ohnston of the Fews .

It is difficult, however, to reconcile the presence of such

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opposite parties of that particular gathering .

He was often to be found in a shebeen at the

love-making.

MacMurphy had two besetting sins , drinkings and promiscuous

The keeper of the shebeen was a

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in the hills of South Armagh.

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Flagstaff, that beautiful view-point of mountain, lake and sea,

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certain Paddy Daker, commonly called "Paddy of the Mountain" who

His shebeen

found illicit distilling an easy way of making money . was an excellent meeting-place for robbers .

It was difficult to

approach, yet commanded a clear view of the main highways of the

district, the roads upon which MacMurphy and his friends made

more well-to-do inhabitants.

their living by raiding trave llers, or stealing stock from the

Tradition records that the shebeen•s greatest attraction for MacMurphy was the owner's handsome daughter Molly, who

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later betrayed him.

It is clear now that she was encouraged

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in her infamous conduct by Art Fearon, one of his lieutenants,

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himself anxious to marry her and who, to further his own cause, the county .

told her tales of MacMurphy•s love affairs in various parts of

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At that period there was a price of fifty pounds

on his head, but to give Mollie her due she was less interested

Her father, however, thought

in the money than in revenge .

only of the r eward and was able to persuade her to assist in

the plans for the capture of her sweetheart on a certain Sunday

by conveying a message to the authorities that he would spend

the Saturday night in her father's house and take her on

pilgrimage t o St. Bl ine •s Well at Killevy on the next morning .

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Arrangements were made by her father and Art Fearon to make

The plans were carried out

up for transportation to Armagh.

MacMurphy hopelessly drunk and whilst in that state deliver him

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with the full knowledge of Fearon, his trusted friend, a sad

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commentary on a phase of character whereby nearest friends often proved the most treacherous.

Similar disloyalty cost Redmond

0 1 Hanlon his life also.

drunken sleep to find himself under heavy guard.

According to

On the morning of his capture MacMurphy woke from his

His trial and execution did not take The actual crime

place, however, until the following March.

_apprehended in August.

a poem written whilst awaiting examination in Armagh, he was

of 'Which he was accused - there were, of course, plenty of

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'36,

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other offences - was the stealing of those days punishable by death,

. sheep eep, an act in

In it he r ecounted the various

interior of the prison,

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In his last poem we have a glimpse of the grim

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events leading up to his betrayal - "To-day I am imprisoned

I'll rise to-morrow at the

I'll

have to walk through the streets,

settled on the Public Gallows,

Guns will be held high over me without

guarded on all sides.

first break of day,

in Armagh like hundreds before me and my fate will be

The usual crowd was there armed with staves

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On the morning of St, Patrick's Day 1758 came

the execution.

the road",

counting smaller arm~ and death will await me at the end of

The procession was accompanied by

It quickly

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the Sheriff, the officers of law, and the guard.

resentful and sorrowing.

and with them mingled many a man of MacMurphy 1 s band,

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passed out of town via Market, Castle and Irish Streets

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(Thomas and Ogle Streets had not then been opened) to Gallows

ÂŠ

Hill, where he met death without fear, for giving all who had

_injured him especially his beloved Mollie.

After the body

had swung in the passing breeze for three days it was taken

down and waked and keened for two nights in his mother's barn

His burial took place in Creggan, that historic

ÂŠ

at carnally.

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parish in the Fews, last home of aany another poet as well.

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-ii£-

Though MacMurphy died so courageously he would rather have His "prison lament" for his native hills is sad reading -

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lived.

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"If I could only exist as a fern leaf in the sunshine on Ardaghy

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Hill or on the top of Fathom, or be a·blackbird flying through Dunreavy Wood". "Paddy of the Mountain" attended the execution and later Tradition says that

revisited Armagh to collect the blood money .

the authorities were so disgusted with his behaviour that they

There were no banks

to count and take away with him in a bag.

paid him the fifty pounds in copper coin which they forced him

in the city then so the unfortunate man had to carry the money

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from Armagh to the Flagstaff, a distance of twenty Irish miles.

When, within sight of his home , he collapsed and

Despite the fact that MacMurphy had forgiven

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her lover's death.

Poor Mollie was thus left alone to repent of her share in

died.

hide by day.

To avoid being molested he was compelled to travel by night, and

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her the people of the countryside taunted her and at every opportunity forced her to listen to the prison poem.

It was a tragic

ending to a pitifully sad tale.

her reason gave way and she drowned herself.

Finally

Some people say that nothing in life so well became the

handsome MacMurphy as his manner of leaving it, but I have always

thought him a much more interesting character than Redmond O'Hanlon

The two of them, however, were the stars of their particular centuries and both live still in the oral traditions of the county.

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In conclusion I shall content myself with saying

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that hours could be spent on the smaller fry who specialized in lifting cattle and horses or in

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relieving coach-passengers of jewellry and cash,

celebrated characters we have so lightly dealt with but their story is one that must wait until you

In many ways they were just as interesting as the

M ty o C

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Ar ÂŠ

C h

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come again and may that be in the very near future,

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1674, December 14

Vol.

II ,

Ulster Outlaws

O'Hanlon -

Redmona

First t Series

344

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Abstract f rom Ormonde Manuscript pages 3 -2

Council Chambe r, Dublin.

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•Es sex whereas Redmond O Hanlon of Tonderegeeee in the county of Ar magh , yeoman , Laughlin MacRedmondO'Hanlon of Killenay, yeoman, Daniel MacMurphy Mac Thorlagh Roe o Mur phy ,,eoman; Hugh Turr O' Murphy theysame yeoman Brian Moyle 0 O'Nealeof the same , yeoman; James Roe of Ballinteggar t in the said county, yeoman; J ames Mac Ni chol a s O Mur phy of' the same, yeoman; Hugh Mac Shane of t he same yeoman · Peter Pill of _~he same , yeo an; Thomas Will son of Mullaghglass of t he said county , yeoman; and Thorlagh MacPatrick Goam o O'Hanlon of Aghynecloghmullen i n the sai d county, yeoman; •••••••• • •• have of late committed sever al burgl a ries, robberi es and stealths i n t he said seve ral counties of Armagh •••••• •• and e l sewhe r e within t his Ki ngdom, besides diver s other outrage s, to the t e rror and annoynnce of hi s Majesty s l oyal an~ good Sub j ect s 1 and t o the disturbance of t he peace of t he Kingdom , upon whi ch misdemeanour s and crimes being pur sued by some of his Ma j est y ' s good sub j ects they the said Redmond O Hanlon , Laughli n Mac Redmond O O'Hanlonet c. are fled t o t he woods and mount ains, wher e t hey stand upon t heir keeping , so a s t hey are not answer abl e or amenabl e to law, but wilf ul contemners of t he same .

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And forasmuch as t he actors of t he se di sor de r s and of fen ces cannot a s yet be appr ehended, ,-,he r eby t hey may be punished by t he ordinary cour se of l aw , whence we mi ght justly be moved, accor ding t o the f ormer usage and cust om in t hi s Kingdom i n cases of like nature to cause them t o be fo rthwith proclaimed rebels and traitors, yet , in mercy to them, we t hink fit he reby to cha r ge and command them upon their duty and allegiance to his Ma j e sty tha t t hey and every of them do bef ore t he fir st day of February next, render their persons to any of his Majesty ' s justice s of the peace , and submit themselves to his Majesty 's justice t o be tried for their offence s according to t he l aws of t he land , wherein if they or any of them do f ail, we do he r eby publish and declare that he or they so failing , a r e from and immediately' after the said fir st day of Februa ry next, to be call ed reputed and taken for notorious rebels and traitors against his Majesty and accordingl y to be pr osecuted by all his Majest y ' s loving and good subj ects in all hostil e manner.

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"And we do i n his_Ma jesty •s name str aitly char ge and command all his Ma j e stie • s loyal subj ects, upon t hei r duty ~f a lle giance ~o his Ma jestie, not only to forbear to Ie ceive or r e lieve t he pe r sons afore said or any of them but al so to make diligent search and enquire in wha t place or pl a ces the said persons shall from time to time lurk or be r el ieved, and by all means possi bl e to or osecute apprehend and t ake t he bodies of t hem and- them t o bring or cause to be brought under safe custody, unto the Hi gh Sheriffs of the respective counties where any of them shall be a pprehended, to be by such Sheriffs kept in strict and safe custody, till we, upon noti ce t he r eof slia~l give further_ direc tion concerning them, or ' r esist ing or r efusing to be t aken, to ki ll them or any of them. And we do he r eby declare, that whosoever shall after t he said first day of Februa ry next, bring unto any Sheriff the body of the said Redmond O Hanlon , Laughlin Mac Redmond O Hanlon (e t c . ) or any of them ali ve, or kill any of them, and bring his head t o the She r iff of the county whe re he shall be killed, to be by such Sheriff set up in some public pl ace in that county, shall have fo r his reward for each person so brought in, or hi s head, ten pounds, for pay,nent whereof we will give war rant as occasion shall requi r e ,

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"And we declare furthe r tl t h ~tsoeve r person or pe r son s shal l comfort re lie ' them , they are and sh~l l be ve or 11 e t t hem, or an~ of t raitors in like d . _ r eputed, deemed and adJ udged r e bels t hemsel ves eg r ee ui t h t he forenamed trai ta r s and to l aw • , and to be pr oceeded against acc ording

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"And whosoever of the said procl aimed per sons , or any other, shall after t he said fi r st day of February next, appr ehend and bring unt o the High Sher iff of the county whe r e such person shall be appr ehended, or resisting, shall kill any of the said r ebels and traitors particularly named a s aforesaid eh shall, together wit h his said rewar d, receive his pardon,

"And towards t he speedy effecting of t his se rvice, all commanders of horse and foot, and all othe r his Ma jesty 's officers and loving subjects a re to be aiding and a s sisting, as t hey and every of them will answer the contrary a t their perils,

Meredith,"

"James Armachanus - Michael Dublin, Cane. - Clanbrasill Conway and Kiltta - Massereen Kingston - Carey Dillon John Povey - William Stewart - Theophilus J ones - Charles

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ORCHARDS

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Armagh

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C 0 F

h C OUNTY

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Ar m

gh THE

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91.

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In t'.ie "Brehon Laws" t'.1e apple is shown as one of the . b six eing oak , yew

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seven chieftain trees , the other

ash, pine , and hazel.

holly,

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The date of those ancient regulati ons cannot be definitel" fi"xea' , ., They are believed to have pagan times but been in being in t /:' we re no codified or

committed to writing until after the arrival of st . Patrick .

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T e wo rd "Abhall" ( fem.) is used in ancient manuscripts

to denote the apple tree and "Ubhall" (male) its fruit , a

distincti on that seems to indicate that apples may have

been i mpo rted fo r a time pr evi ous to be coming na tur alized ,

There is some eviden ce that apples have be en cu ltivated

in England from at least the time of the Roman occupa tion ,

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actually found in high latitudes in Norway .

It is , however,

distributed throughout Europe and Western Asia and is

Its

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a somewhat different type of tr ee to the apple .

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\le know that the crab - apple in its wild state is wi dely

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same period .

a theory assuming their introduction to I reland about the

branches spring upwards whilst t hose of the apple spread

One of the old legends relating to the app l e -

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outwards .

tr e e states that i t s shape is due to it having been given

o C

ÂŠ

Vi r gi n .

long bra nches be cause it bowed with its fruit to the Blessed

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Un fort unatel y there i s li ttle informat ion in old

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first local record

t' the care

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Irish literature relating ~

of fruit trees .

the

that I know of relates to the planting

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an apple tree in the neighbourh ood of Armagh and the st ory

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dates back to the days of St . Patrick who is credited with having planted it at Ceango ba east of the city.

nt y

Later , in the Annals of the Culdees, (t he mona stic or der respo n sible

in early days for the ch oral services at Armagh) we learn

that during the great festivals the brethren , though no t

permitted to increase the quantity of bread at meals, 1Âˇ1ere

In those days a pples when plucked were hoarded up

apples.

allowed certain condimen ts as an indulgence - among them

The next local reference crop s up in 1155, in which year

Ar m

as long as possible and so far as is known were eaten uncooked .

but then still on the other side of the Blackwater, died .

the head of the ,lacans, later the ruling se pt of O' lleiland,

Ar m

His obituary has been preserved and in it he is praised for

ag h

ou n

the st r ong drink made for the use of bis tribe from apples

That by the way is the first actual

gro wn in bis orchards .

Records

ÂŠ

historical evidence we have for apples in Oneilland

are silent from then down to the days of Elizabeth the First .

In the closing yea rs of her reign her contemporary,. Aenghus

of Dun Mansion

In this the MacCann

Tribes of Ireland".

ÂŠ

O Daly, a Cork poet, was induced to write a satire on "The

us eu

us eu m

and He are told

Compare no one t o Donnell the apple tree th 1· t And all are not tired d blossoms betray him - e o is accomodation

ou nt y

ou nt y appear

us eu m

o •Donovan in his annotations to Mangan s translation of

nt y

the poem in question assume d that the ,-.•ant - of fertility in :the apple tree denoted that MacCann was um1orthy of being chieftain, but elsewhere states that o Daly "had not the

did: not de serve it''.

Daly lost his life in 1617 by the

stoma ch to satirize MacCann of Clan Breasail be cause he

hand of a Tippera r y O O'Meagher to whom the knife and the

sword were e qually famili ar .

In the 17th century there are notices in the Ulster

Ar m

Plantation settlement papers regarding "the setting of

ag h

estate .

ou n

Ar m

tenants of whom there Here a very l i mited number on ea ch

co nfin ed to the free-holding

fruit trees in orchards and gardens ' circa 1611, but such

plantings we_r e v er y likely

Unfortunately we h ave no early rentals for the estates Such

-grant ed by J ames I to undertakers in 0 1 Neiland .

documents would have given particulars a s to properti e s on

which the apple - culture was being encouraged.

We do not

know, f o r in stance, wh ether in the destruction caused by the

h ag

Civil War of 1641- 42 apple - trees escaped felling when farm -

being

were

emerges

us eu m

property

'.)oHev er,

us eu

ou nt y

houses and

dest r oyed . abundance

:nc fa ct,

anc:1 t :1a t :i.s the

ou nt y

for t y years later .

of apples

s ome

tenants to plant

fruit trees, are preserved in

nt y

and the largest orchards

6 pea r tr ees.

12 cherry, and

da t e from 1666

they

c onsis t ed of 20 apple

and quick

the frui t - trees shoul d be en closed by a ditch setts of white t e- tho r n.

S,:caller leaseholdersnlanted a

lesser numbe r.

12 plum ,

The lease s covenant ed tl;at

t he records of the Brownlow est ate .

compelling

us eu m

Tl1e earliest coun t y lease s that ue are auare of

La t er in the early 18th c entury on the

sam e estate or chard clause s wer e still in being and new

instan c es t o plan t for t y trees .

Whether Cr omwell ' s troops samppledth e apples of I kn ow not , but Oliv er ' s Hill and Bat t l e Hill

Ar m

Oneilland

Ar m

tenan t s of the larger farms were being required in some

ou n

ag h

a r e l andmar k s in t he apple- gr o1·1i ng parish of Ki lmore.

Th e Rev. William Br ooke who wa s r e ct or of Drum cree f r om

1679 u ntil h is dea t h in 1700 , wr ot e an a cc ount of the

t h en a vailable in Por t ado wn a t 30/- per hogshead .

Some

p eople were manuf a ctu ring from 20 t o 30 hog sheac' s per

bar ony in 1682, f r om wh ic h we lear n t hat good cider wa s

h ag

s e ason , an d lar ge r quantities mi gh t be expe ct ed wh en their

us eu

ou nt y

us eu m

, nnd in t'.1 e following

'- ... e s

s cider maker

a cert a1· n Paul le Harper

arr i v ed in Portadown

army

ci de r f or the

· · h th e necessar y equipment to make

Wl'G

nt y

yea r King William

us eu m

new plantations . s came to perfection 1.•'r o:..:1 the sa~e sou~ ce we ga t110r that t~e farmers of tjat district were compelled by their leases t ., .f~ v plant apple trees rroportion at1.·e to t h e quantity of t ~1e·ir land Seven year s later he uas at tainted by James I and

ou nt y

orchards

Lord Drogheda who commanded a regiment stationed a t

Tanderagee , pa rt o f 1J1ich see:,s to !i av e been quarte r ed in

and its neighbour hood , has re corded that there

Portadown

was muc h ci der the r e in the spring of 1690 .

I hesitate

cider or

Ar m

t o as crib e the v ict ory at th e Boyne to Portadown

t he app les of 0 ' Neiland, but those are fa cts !

Th e be gi nni ng of th e 18t h century was rec1arkable fo r

Ar m

t he i ntrodu cti on of l inen weav ing and the consequent

ou n

ag h

neglect of ag ricu ltur e, a fe at ur e of lo cal li fe that did

not prop erly righ t itself un til wo re t han a centur y after -

from househo l ds to facto r ies .

war d s when t h e major pa rt of th at pa rticul ar industry mov ed Le a ses for t h e year 1700

enclose a plantat i on acre and plant it with fruit t ·r ees

and similar leases were being executed on properties in

show new tenants on the Cha rlemont estate covenan ting t o

time .

t he pa rish of Tullylish in County Down at about t he s ame

us eu

of the See Lands

Armagh ..made in the year account of v apple culture the Ar chbishop ' s tenants

us eu m

ou nt y

i. survey

farms

~~elL. b

ou nt y

1703 by ThomasusAshe 1-rl t,1provides a detailed

t,1cre ··,·as to ~

Parishnow

us eu m

Ballygowan forOughtra instanc0 , ( a. townland · in Drumcree known as Ballynagowan

the

west

of ti1e John

nt y

Atkinson's s farm steada good or chard of his own planting

and east of the house and stabl e a very pretty young orchard

of above one hundred trees planted by him sin ce the late

11ars, and t o the nor t h of t h e house a ver y pret t y young

nursery of crab- trees".

His brother, Edwa r d, i n the same

to,mland had two orchards , one old a,1d the ot,1e r young .

The reference to the "late wars" is soweuha t puzzling as

,le must,

Ar m

trees planted following the Civil War of 1641 - lf2 could not

very well b e described as "young" in 1703.

time and according t o

At that

Ar m

therefore, assume that the orchards in question arose after

the Revol u tion of 1688- 90.

Ballywilly

Killmakente", et c. in Oneilland

Barony

Ballyhagan , Roghan

ou n

ag h

tbe same au thority there ,rnre orchards attached to farms in "C avan, Ballytrue , Ballyossone, Money

and at various places around Armagh city such as "Drumsallan,

Ballyrath, Farmacaffley, Dromard , Ballyre a , Tyra, Cabragh ,

h ag

The latter townland now commonly called

Tyross , Ballybroll , Drumbee bee , Balli teren, Kno ckacone, Ballyherclan", et c.

us eu

ou nt y

us eu m

was then h eld by , Âˇ cne Graham family and it is re corded that " there had been a good or chard, near an acre of gr ound , but it -., as destroyed ' n ~ the wars and the tenant , has aga i n planted it wt th nea r one h hundredtrees but they

Ballyheridan

l ocal in t e r es t .

That par t i cular reference is of s pe cial

nt y

preserve them".

don 't th riv e well though all care i magi nable be taken to

The Graham s were se t t l ed ther e before t he

Civil War of 1641- 42 and their homestead ( since several

t ime s r ebuilt ) s t i ll sport s a n orcha rd, w'1i ch de spit e many

re - plru1ting s r efu ses t o pro duce an average qua lity or quantit y .

lands , fo r apa rt f rom i nforma ti on

It is a pit y tha t t h e survey i n quest lon should only

deal with the Archiepiscopal

For i n s tance it pin - poi nt s

certain tradition al mat e rial.

Ar m

on orchards it provi des d escrip tions of farm houses besi des

t he birth - place of t h e cele brated Re dmond O Hanlon .

I n his

ou n

ag h

Coote publish ed his "Surve y of County Armagh".

Ar m

In the beginning of the next century, i n t h e y ea r 1804,

report on the county he suggested t he planting of crab - apple This

ÂŠ

trees .i n fences and the use of t h e fruit for cider.

We are informed by t he same

was quite good advice as crabs when mellowed are excellent

when used wi t h sweet apples .

ÂŠ

authority that "in the centre of the county the houses were

h ag

enclosures" .

remarkably comfortabl e and surrounded with orchards and neat

us eu

ou nt y

us eu m

ou nt y

us eu m

• Recently whilst working on Place Name Books in Dublin I noted that in 1835 there were 1 r a largeo rchards at Derrycrew Ballytyrone and Li sshef field and that .. ,. , in Kincon every house had five or six · a cres of orchard . Other apple t o1ml and s were Dresoga, Boc ombra, Knock and Ballynaghy .

Tha cke ray , the novelist, visited Armagh in 1843 and

there t o join a train a t

drove from t he cit y to Portadown

He paints a very

the newly opened railway station.

purposes .

nt y

t_-v I 1.·as not, however t he n maki ng a sea rch agains t or chard s, but su ch a list would no w be interesting for comparative

pleasant pi cture of the countr yside and mentions a group

Ar m

under the trees of an orchard which " p retty adjunct to

A few yea rs later Mrs. Hall and he r husband (the

passed .

a fa r m wa s very co mon" in t he district through whi ch h e

Ar m

authors of a t h r ee vol ume acc ount of "Ireland, its scenery,

ou n

ag h

char a cter , et c .•~ , when visiting in the same area , found t he farmhouses nea t, cl eanly and comfortable and few of

Th ey also allude to t h e con ti nual

them without orch ards .

They were

click-clack of the shuttle as betokening industry and

affording humb l e luxuries to those within .

not as observant, however, as other travellers in rega rd

h ag

t o the neglect of tillage by farmers who with their sons

us eu

ou nt y

100

us eu m

made mo ney a1ore easily sitting <·ti· n_" at • _ t h eir l oo'll s .

and daughters

Ba ssett in h is "County Armagh

published

i n 1888 , s tates

ou nt y

t hat f r uit - g r owing Ha s an· exte ns ive feat ur e in the distri ct s Loughgall

and Ri chhill, and t ha t Scotch

and

us eu m

of Portadown

English buy er s c a\ile over every s eason .

Th at 1·1a s ju st before

nt y

I was born but w'.1 en I 11as a boy I rememberthe great apple markets i n Portadown

wit h linesof c arts on bot h sides of

t he str e et fr om t h e church down almos t t o t he Post Office.

The re we re t h e n considera ble quantitie s of ea t ing app les

Strawberry Ch eeks Half- pl um s Honey Comb s Codling s Doclmeys Lily fi ngers Win ter Glori e s Quince

1-1orth wh ile" app les

Foxe s whelp s Red Strokes Green Rus setts Golden Pi ppit s Black Ann etts Marygolds Angel s Bites

Ar m

Widows whelps Cane s Re d Russ etts Ba r n Hi lls White te Ann ett s Sugar Sweet Gillyflower s Beauty of Bath

of those days: -

ou n

vintag e I can supply a list of th e mo r e

available an d by ·th e a i d of fri ends of my own par t icular

ag h

A f ew apple cust oms li nge red up to about ha l f - a-c entury

ago , su ch as drinking a toast to the apple tr ee s, a practice

usually carried out under t h e best bea ring tree of the year .

At Hallow Ene e n, for i n stance, apples are

quite obsolete .

It does not seem to have been of native origin and is now

h ag

m Ar

. n other words you extract an apple from still "dipped " for , ).

ou nt y

us eu

I 01.

by the use of

the mouth onl y and by

us eu m

a tub or crock of water

the sa .ne ..1c ti1 od appless suspended

us eu m

ou nt y

a st r ing frow the ceiling The hands mu st not be used to seca re .... the apple in eit her case/ . Ano ther apple custom i n u I Oneilland w1 as the i saving of apples

nt y

follo1-r.Lng the fashioni ng of the Brigid's

were so,,etimes c2a0.e for t ha t.

festival also but they as a rule appeared on Hallow

Een

Apple dumplings

Brigid's

apple cake formed

o ccasio n old - fasbioned griddle

part of the feast crosses.

for the last night :i.n Janua r y , commonly :rnoi-m as St.

Eve, on which

en on

uhich ev e ning the man of the house was usually allowed a

So:.ietimes the apples we re roa sted,

flavou r ing of whiskey

tha t night

Ar m

sweetened wi t h sugar, flavoured with nutmeg, and served wi t h

the same beverage in the form of a sauce.

apple - peelings were thrown over the shoulder by boys and

Ar m

uere likely to marry .

girls desirous of discovering the initials of tlle person t hey

ou n

ag h

There was, and still is , a superstition t o the effect

that if at th e time of the pulling of tile apples tilere is a

ÂŠ

tree bearing fruit and flowers together t'.,ere will be a dea t h

in the family before the next gath ering of the fruit, and ,

of cours e , there is the old belief that a wet St . Swithin' s

h ag

ÂŠ

Day indicated bumper crops of really large apples . For instance a ripe There are various apple cures .

apple is part

us eu

ou nt y

102

of an old and well known

ou nt y Abhall

for certain injuries .

us eu m

Sorrel

wound .

us eu m

treatment .en t for an was gathered... and crusi.1ed ; then mixed Hi th apple juice and u_ -laced 011 Che wound It ..1'.J.S usually most effe ctive, so also \-iere er a b - apple poult ices ulcerated

nt y

or "Ubhal l" now signified · both an app le nnd

an apple - tree and the uord ent ers l argely into townland

field of the apples, in Fermanagh

Aghyowle

I n the north generally

C 11

and in Leitrim

Aghowla - meaning the same t hing .

Abhall is used in the sens e of orchard anci thus

houever,

In Wicklow there is a pl ace called Aghowle o r th e

names .

The more p roper form of the wo rd for an orchard

Ar m

apple tree .

the oakwood

of the apples and the ridge of the orchard or

of th e fort

County Armagh, Derryl is nahavil , and Drumnahavil

Ar m

County Tyrone , the mar sh of the orchard, and i n

we have Av elreagh, Count y Monaghan, the grey or chard,

Annahavel

ou n

ag h

is Oulart which al so appears i n County Armagh as a name for a house outside the city.

owe the

It has been said that the baronies of Oneiland

introduction of the apple to English plan ters of the reign

of James the First, but t h ere is the earlier evidence of

·d and also the fact that the apple cultur e links to consi er,

h ag

undertakers of those lands were not from th e orchard count ies

us eu

ou nt y

103_

!1owever' that the then settlers d - OlU1 an apple tradition and. a 1 suitable soil. l ~~i s induced 1 , landowners to encourage thei r tenants to plant fruit tree s, nt r 1· rsr · r "' in ences o.nt , t~1en i n t h e s :all plots that ha ve dev eloped into the lar ge

us eu m

ou nt y

us eu m

of England, It is true i n those t·.·m baronies f'

nt y

orchards of to - day.

To i llus trate th e present situation ,-,i th regarG to

orchards, acreages, and vari eties of cooking and ea ti ng

appl es I append a se ries of tables compiled fro:n da t a made

available to me by t h e County Agricultural Executiv e Officer.

A survey of the fruit holdings in County Araagh Ha s

carried out in 1958/59.

Actual acreage s ,-,ere r eckoned by

The ce n sus showed that the re

ou n

1353 77 23 103

2156

5745 . 8

TOTAL:

4008 . 9 1536 . 5 29.4 171.0

County

m Ar

Armagh Lurgan Newry N0 . 2 Tandragee

TOTAL Number ORCHARDS

Acreage GE

District CT

RURAL

ag h

Ar m

The figure is broken down as follo1-,s: -

are 2,156 holdi ng s 1-;i th a total fruit a creage of 5, 745 . 8.

than 0. 5 acres were omitted.

Ar m

t he officer carrying out the survey, but orchards of less

u.4

64 . ,6

4C . 5

M y

32730

..l>

Totals

trees

3026 . 7 L'59,t1 d .8 1~8.6

-·

4l136 . 5

190.646 07 ; 616 1 , 613 8 , 529

2~3220

Acres

146775 68810 1t198 6137

ag 32459

21055 9799 108 1768

22816 9007 12 624

19 . 4-

Tree Number S Under Over 10- 40 10 yrs . yrs . 40 yrs .

495 . 2 3461. 7

3.1

479 . 6

11. 7

Over 40 yrs .

325 , 5 2359. 7 140 . 0 993 , 0 o.8 d .O 28 , 9 88 . 0

341. 5 126,4

A Armagh LURGAN NEWRY No.2 Tandragee

ACRES 10- 40 yr s.

Ar m

Und er 10 yr s .

h ag

RURAL DISTRICT

0. 2

183. 05

44 . 7 3.4

11.5

52 . 7 8 . 45

30 , 5

14.4 4. 8

currants

Goosberry

238 ,409

BLACK -

Raspberrys

us eu m

---

108 . 5 61. 5 3. 2 9,9

Bramley Seedling

TOTAL:

11 . 5

ag h

5388 .6

Strawgberrys

ou nt y

26 .7 3.8

3750.6 1454.4 26 .2 157 . 4

COUNTY TOTAL :

P&RS

us eu m

Plums

Armagh LURGAN NEWRY N0 . 2 . TANDRAGEE

APPL E S

DISTRICT

Fruits

ou nt y

RURAL

m ag

ou nt y

Various

Acreage of

Over 40 yrs .

Under 10 yrs .

2. 3

5'7. 1

16 , 51t,

25 . 5

17,36';

121

356

1 , 097

1.1

J, 453

53,605

G6 . o

59 , u36

295

779

155

2.1

21. 0

Ar 246.1

1115

TOTAL :

845

3967 __ _ J~?l;

6. 3

eu us M

. ,_'rcGs

c2u. 6

45,750

38 .4

1~,~19

32 . 4

4. 6

354

7. 8

1.4

1,1,999 ll,ll;5

.;.cres

3ou4

11;u

1, 073

ou nt

747

205. 0

0. 8

us eu m

M y

-:/"..:.."S .

15.6

over l;u :, re .

10- 40

----- -- --

0. 7

under

10 yrs .

'f r ee s

totals

Ove r

40 yrs .

yrs .

numbers.w~n.O

10- 40

C tree

Acres

Under 10 yrs .

4808

543

80 . 9

1.1

4.7

us eu m G33

---

TANDRAGEE

N0. 2

40, ull1

2. 4

Newry

59 .4

---

Ar m

LURGAN

35' , 953

---

Armagh

3600

Ar m

Rural DI STRI CT

5'21

22 . 7

o.4

TOTAL:

Acre s

2, lt

TANDRAGEE

uv er l• O yr s .

0.4

ag h

Newry No.2

totals

numbers

10-i• O yrs .

ou nt y

Lurgan

tree

10-40 yrs .

ARMAGH

us eu

y Un der 10 yr s .

nt y

ag h

ACRES

ou nt

Rural

DISTRICT

Grenadier

-=-69 . 2

59 , 396

1.0

10426

680

339

---

339

-- - -0

2793

1.7

340

30%4

l16

36 . 3 16 . 5

---

5<' . 8

r;--

9015 2087 3

3li0

---

----

247.'5

eu m

5"88 89 3

15. 0

24324 5077 8 :!.11 5

11445

8033 1998

.i:rees

1.0

totals

Acres

190.9 l1l. 6

3t, 5

5804

2402

h 1.7

5"0 .1

TOTALS:

---

21927

5"'5 . 8

C ou nt

NO . 2 Tanderagee

Newry

33.6 16 . 5"

5. 5

Lambourne

Armagh LURGAN

2. 2

186 . 2

Ar m

LORD

')078 l,8') 6 235

4.0 1.?

12. 8

"'1./'Y'C

168411 4247 2 834

')2 . 5 1.1

ag h m

TOTALS:

134 . 4 39 . 0

h~ver ,, r

JQ 1ll'.Q

Superb

Armagh LURGAN Newry N0 . 2 TANDRAGEE

lO- l1CJ

us eu m

;l];'..s..._

under

h~ver

"~o

··--

us eu m

u M

10-40

ou nt y

Laxtons

7 Cl

Under

DISTRICT

TRl>E numbers

acres

RURAL

ou nt

Dessert vareties

numbers Under 10- 40 10 yrs . yr s.

11197

5454

25154 7013 243 762

191.9 6'.) . 4 2. 0 l1 . 9

33172

268 . 2

.;.

147539 ;-I 14032 287 / 1G51

19;:40

2')3

8012 2862 JO

28 .4

14423 4207 14 596

1 208

eu m

825

---

92 ,1

l1420

24 . 8 3. 6

69 . 8

1.0

71 , 3 16 ,7 1, 5 2. 6

---

52 . 8 16. 0

165

'frees

Acre s

h 106 . 3

TOTALS:

67 . 8 36 , 7 o. 5 1. 3

5278

ARMAGH LURGAN NEWRY N0, 2 TANDRAGEE

o.4

Dessert , PT Vareties 1.:s,

Ar m

Other

137 28

Ar m

ag h

---

42 8~ 7G 1 208

28 . 0

ou nt y

TOTALS:

-----

0. 4

24 . 4 3, 6

Armagh LURGAN Newry N0 . 2 TANDRAGEE

ag h

Laxtons

Fortune

totals.

Ove r 40 yrs

us eu m

tree

/ 63609

u M

Over 40 yrs .

10-40 yrs .

ou nt y

Under 10 yrs .

ACRES

RURAL

DI STRI CT

(Coo t

us eu m

ou nt

Vareties

Dessert

us eu m

ou nt y

us eu m

The a creage/ag e r ela t ionship shown · by t•1n ,. . . ccnsu · s nroves

that about 80;.; of the Bramley

acreage is ove r 40 year s old

nt y

and a lar ge ])roportion of this r;roup is over 50 years of age

1-n. t h t he co11s equence of une cononi c r eturns .

The c on clusion on e must draw fro1:1 the c ensus f i gure s

is t hat unless fruit- growers embark upon an extensive ])lant-

and is showing si gn s of de cline in fruit size anc' quality

r esult .

ing pr ogramme in th e next f ew years a ,:ap in pr oduction 1-n.ll Such a situat i on would irr e::,arabl:,1 damag e market

links 1-lh ich have been built up during t h e pas t 60 years .

Ar m

In t he late 17th. ce ntury cider makingwas the one

acres of pea rs .

There a re 30.5 a cres of plums in Co . Armagh and 11 . 5

Ar m

ou n

ag h

apple industr y i n the county, but by the beginning of the

Since

present cen tury our cider out - put baca:ne neg ligible.

then canning has t ak en its place and is an expanding busine ss . Th e p resent year resulted in the virtual f ailure of

the Bramley Seedling crop due to early frosts and the l ater

h ag

This set a problem for the county c anning continuous r-ains . companies who have 5,000 workers normally engaged in packing

us eu

ou nt y

Bramley Seedlin g has been t', . · ,.e :nainstay of t he fruit indus tr y s i·s ce apple p r oc1uction be c 3 ·,,e an intregal part of far:n policy in th e coun ty ,

- ath er t 11an let t '.1 e canning i ndust ry

us eu m

processin(:.

ir::is concerned went into conference .

close down the

ou nt y

This r esulted in the purchase of mo~e than

z~oo,ooo

uorth

us eu m

of apples from Northern It aly :rnd now pouring into the

eu us M

y ty

nt ou

ou C h

ou n

ag h Ar

Ar m

nt y

county in successive ship~ents to supple~ent our meag re

home supplies.

Ar m

us eu

ou nt y 3 nd

us eu m

us eu

ou nt y

in Pr e- Chris ti an days

us eu m

ou nt y

Arma gh was of gr ea t impo rt ance

and its tr a dition a l si gni f ic ance no doubt influ en ce d St.

Patrick in his choice of it a s t he place of supr em e

Havin g s ecured sites f or

Its growth as an education

It was, of course, one of the

regime was opened .

influence was gradual.

about the year 450 A.D., the first school of the new

churches he immedi a tely began prepar a ti on s fo r t he

education of the young p eople of t he district, and so

nt y

consequence in his mission .

earliest in foundation of the monastic schools of

Ar m

By the end of

ing in the si xth and seventh centuries.

the l atter centur y it was, however, becoming better

Ireland, but it was not by any means the most outstand-

ou n

Ar m

known and we have a pen picture of the City as it was

ag h

then in Pr in ce Al dfr id ' s "I tinerary of Ireland", a poem attributed t o the year 684, wherein the royal poet

states he "found in Ardmagh the splendid, meekness ,

wisdom, circumspection; fasting in obedience t o the Son

Its eventual

it had acquired an enviable position.

By the succeeding century

of a progressive community.

of God and noble prosperous sages", a tribute sugges tive

Ancient Schools of Armagh (Edu

us eu

ou nt y

fame as a scholastic centre has

us eu m

sometimes been attributed They were undoubtedly an important fact o r in its development but t here were other good reasons for its hi gh repute, the calibre of

us eu m

ou nt y

to its historical associations.

its teachers and the quality of its pupils.

nt y

I do not, however, propose to deal in detail with the many famous

and

pupils such as John Scotus Erigena who went to France in

845

nt ou

rank.

there to prove himself a scholar of the hi ghest

Albanius, the historian of Britain who died in 512

names associated with Arma gh , masters like Gildas

During the ninth and tenth centuries the schools of

Armagh suffered greatly through attacks on the City by

Ar m

the Norsemen, whose repeated incursions resulted in the

destruction of the scholastic establishments and their

Ar m

books, and so alarmed foreign students that they no In those

ag h

ou n

longer came to study in the same numbers .

two centuries the town was plundered in 830, 839, 850

The only local manuscript

867, 890, 893, 919 and 946

can with abso lutp certainty be dated .

sources it is one of the most precious of our Irish manuscripts, the only one indeed of early or igin that

to survive those tragic days is the so-called Book of Compiled from earlier Armagh, a relic of the year 807 •

Ill.

us eu

1 I 'l .

us eu m

ou nt y

was inspired by St . Mala chy, an Armachian chi an and a pupil Born in the City in 1095 h e was Archbishop

of Armagh .

f r om 1134 until 1137 and studied as a youth under the

his reforms i nto effect .

No doubt Malachy looked to

Armagh and its schools for priests capable of putting

In those two centuries Armagh

St. Peter and St . Paul.

nt y

famous Imar O' Hagan, head of the School of the Abbey of

maintained its supremacy and its schools their national

That they were so considered is apparent

importance.

from the fact that they received assistance at various

times from the Kings of Provinces other than Ulster,

Ar m

for instance, the King of Munster about the year 907

donated twenty ounces of gold towards their upkeep.

ou n

Ar m

Again centuries later, Roderick O'Conno r, the l ast High

That was in 1169 and was the l ast grant made

to the schools by a King of Ireland.

It was not ,

pension.

ag h

King of Ireland augmented their income by an annual

for in 1387, Ni al O' Neill, King of Ulster, built a

however, the last assistance given by a native prince ,

h ag

hostel on the outskirts of the City to further learning th many scholars who and provide accommodation f or e

us eu m

ou nt y

Education in the City d ma e st eady progress in the following century and gained a fresh impetus in the twelfth century when an amendment of the Irish Church

us eu

ou nt y

then found in Armagh a spiritual home ,

us eu m

The site of the hostel is well - known locally and the spot is still

spoken of as "The King , s House", but

ou nt y

proximity to Emain Mach a

owing to its

An ol d topographical poem written by John o •Dugan

(histo r ian and poet to 0 O'Kelly of Hy Many ) who died in

1372 states that -

"Head of Erin is great Ardmacha,

nt y

us eu m

e Assembly Place of the Kings of Ulster of the period 352 B. C. _ A. D. _ 332 local t r adition is no w inc · 1 ined to link it with earlier kings .

The men of the world have their knowledge there" .

About tha t date the Abbey of Mullynure, one of the

Ar m

lar ges t of the schools of Armagh, was destroyed by fire.

In 1830 the ruin

long with a courtyard and cloisters .

It occupied over an acre of ground and was about 320 feet

ou n

Ar m

still stood i n its entirety but by 1861 its nine fee t

ag h

t hick wall s had been completely used up as road metal

I t was, of course, also known

and bui ldi ng mat eria l.

A tr adition survives i n Ashe ' s

as Bishop's Court.

"Account of th e l ands of the Ar chbishopric " which •shows

that its i mpor tance as a school was st i l l fresh i n 1703.

Ashe states t hat an old man t old him "that i _t wa s i n ol d

times a famous school and its scholars were so nume r ou s

they handed their master's book f r om the school t o t he

/ t-:,.

us eu

ou nt y

us eu m

Cathedral Church of Armagh which is a long mile distant ,

without changing t hei r pla ces".

us eu m

ou nt y

But let us retrace our steps a little . I n 1162 at an ecc l e siastical Synod it was decreed that no person should be permitted to teach or publicly le cture on theology who had not studied at Armagh, a fact that ha s

It seems

scholas t ic establishments of Ireland .

probable, however, that t he de cree had its ori gin in an

honourable pre - eminence over the other then functioning

nt y

led many writers to a ssume for its sch ools a highly

effo r t to promote un ifo r mity of do ctrine and di scipline

throughout the island at l ar ge by means of lecturers

who had studied a t Armagh previous to exercising their

to t he An gl o- Norman conquest of Ireland after which the

r eformation of the Church passed into other hands .

That was but a f ew years previous

offices else,-, here .

Ar m

ou n

Ar m

The monastic school s were at fi r st little di sturbed

ag h

but the i r useful ness became gr adually impaired, through

con flict between English and Ir ish opinion on matters of

Th ey di d not suffer actual ext inction, educ ati on. however, unt i l the di s sol uti on of monasteries by Henr y

By t hat decr ee Ir eland was left for a VIII in 1537 time without any educ ati on facil ities whatever . Armagh

may not have be en so quickly af f ect ed as ot her pl aces

! l '°\"".

us eu m

ou nt y

possession of t h e Chu rch and mean s had been t aken t o

evade the ope r ation of the Act f or the Supp r e s si on of

In 1558 Archbishop Dowdall advised Queen Mary of

the Archbishop.

of Dean, thus brin ging the revenues under th e contr ol of

nt y

Reli gious Houses by annexing t he office of Prior to t hat

the necessity of a univ ersity and free schools in such

places as should be thought meet, and in 1583 a proposal

Both

cities had excellent backgrounds, but Armagh had sp ecial

ou n

It had long been a seat of learning, and

Ar m

of Ireland.

It was t h en, as now, the ecclesiastical capital

claims.

was made , which amongst other designs, laid plans for the

foundation of Universities at Armagh and Limerick.

Ar m

ag h

li fe and t hough t in many countries had been influenced through the teachings of its students .

Though the

proposition was never per fec ted , it is interesting to

note that i f it had been i mplemented, those two cities

was not f oun ded until 1592.

would have taken precedence of Dublin as Trinity College

In 1599 the Earl of Tyrone propo sed that a university

should be erected nwherein the sciences might be taught

us eu

ou nt y

more directly under Eng lish · i nfluen ce, but just ,m en t he last of t h e City's monastic h sc ools fi na l l y cl osed do,m is not easily ascertainable now. It s eems possibl e t ha t the school att a ched t o t he Pri· ory 1 ands r em ain ed in t he

according to the Catholic Roman Church" but that fell

us eu m

ou nt y

Elizabeth was then on t'ne throne and exertion was bein g made to establish schools in the

principal shire towns of such Irish diocese - an almost

ou nt y

similar scheme had been proposed in t h e rei gn of her

us eu m

father - but so far as Armagh is concern ed there is no

evidenc!J that any scho ols were f ounded under those Acts.

native populati on who would have strongly resented t he

necessity to speak English or study under English masters.

and such schools would have been unacceptable to the

nt y

Armagh was still definitely Irish in mind and outlook

A more successful effo rt to found schools on English

affected .

In County Armagh 720 acres were allotted for

In 1608 lands were set apa rt for the upkeep

Province .

models took place in Ulst er at the Plantation of that

of free schools in the various northern counties

Ar m

the maintenance of a free school to be erected at Armagh.

ou n

Ar m

The site chosen for it was the old Collegiate Church of

ag h

St. Columba , one of the City ' s many ecclesiastical foundations.

Like the other Royal Schools founded at

the same time it must have had a modes t beginning .

From its inception i t was probably more English in

repaired and remained in use unt il

If so, it was quickly

character than its sister institutions in counties where It was probably badly Scotch settlers predominated . damaged in 1642 in which year its headmaster was murdered.

us eu

M through al so .

'?-.

us eu

ou nt y

1708 when a n ew school was bui l t

ou nt y

us eu m

upon the same site that continued unt i l 1774 ' in whi' ch Yea r it wa s removed t o its pre sent fi ne si t uation.

us eu m

In t he cl osing ye ar s of t ha t centur y the quest i on

of t he foundation of a Universi t y a t Armagh . r'.Ilag was again

br ought to publi c no tice by Thomas Orde t he t hen Chief

ing of a second university which wa s blocked by

with t he excep t ion of the clause relating to t he found-

educa t ion all the proposals of which pas sed t he Hou se

nt y

Secret ar y fo r I reland, who on the 12th April, 1787,

i ntr odu ced in t o the Ir ish House of Commons a scheme of

opposi ti on from Trinity College, who no doubt f eared

that pa r t of its lar ge estates in Armagh and ot her ·

Ar m

Unfortuna t ely a change of Governm ent took

uni ver si t y .

Ul ster counties migh t be diver t ed to t h e proposed new

ou n

Ar m

ment so t he ma tt er wa s dr opped fo r the time being .

place short ly aft er war ds t ha t r esul ted in Orde ' s retire-

ag h

is cl ear, however, tha t it was intended to raise it

again for Archbi shop Robi ns on ' s will contained a bequest

Lord Cornwall is, t he t h en

agree to the foundation.

efforts were made to induce t h e Briti sh Gover nm ent to

of £5,000 t owar d s its e st ablishmen t as also £1 , 000 for a St r ong chapel th at might serve t he propo s ed coll ege .

Lord Lieutenant, was a keen supporter of the movement to

117 .

us eu

ou nt y

. o operation, but the Duke of Portland, the then British Prime Minister refused to commend t he applicati·on t o the Ki.ng with

us eu m

put the Archbishop's wishes int

us eu m

ou nt y

the result that the lega cy lapsed ,

The matter, however, was not allowed to drop .

In 1826 , a few years after his appointment to the

and M.P . for the Borough of Armagh 1826 -1836, who

Liverpool, however, died sho rtly

th en Prime Minister.

promised to bring the matter before Lord Liver pool the

Henry Goulbourne, Chief Secretary for I reland 1821- 1828

nt y

Archbishopric, Lord John George Beresford, approached

As a

afterwards so nothing was accomplished then .

matter of fact Goulbourne felt that the question of

Ar m

such an institution.

detriment to Trinity was likely to deprive Armagh of

When the foundation of

ou n

problems until the year 1845.

Ar m

Armagh was not again troubled by educational

ag h

Queen's Colleges was proposed the town was once more

A meeting of the chief citizens in the limelight. took place on August 7th at which Archbishop Crolly was

present and supported the City's desire for the College.

The Archbishop was a broadminded prelate beloved by all

sections of the community and six years earlier had

founded St. Patrick' _s seminary, now one of the mo st

II~.

of th e City.

us eu m

St. Patrick 's Day 1840 he l aid the

t he New Cat hedral, so to him our

foundation stone of

City owes a debt of

ou nt y

gratitude for a beautiful chur ch

us eu m

a nd a very go od school . Archbishop Lord John Ge or ge Beres for d was unable to be present at that na · rticu 1 ar mee t ing but he offered £1,000

benefactor to the town but neither archbishop foresaw

the reli gious difficulties that were so quickly to arise

Archbishop Crolly he was equally popula r and a generous

nt y

towards the establishment of a Divinity Chair Like

in Armagh .

and shatter their hopes for a revival of higher education

Later Archbishop Crolly accompanied a local

deputation to interview Lord Heytesbury, the then Lord

Ar m

Lieutenant, but that gentleman thought the building of

In Ulster generally the

ou n

Ar m

offend t he Presbyterians.

a new college for Ulster in the City of Armagh might

ag h

matter was one of interest and speculation but the contest Parti zan s in

was chiefly between Armagh and Belfast.

which hard things were written by both parties.

One

correspondent replying in the "Armagh Guardian" t o a

t ho se towns engaged in a newsp aper correspondence in

statement in the "Northern Whig" prophesied t hat Armagh

would get the college and that the Rev. Dr. P. S. Henry,

us eu

ou nt y

important educa t ional institutions

us eu

ou nt y

J;;!!,

us eu m

Minister of First Armagh Congregation would be the first pr esi dent. He was soon pr oved wrong as regards location but he had certainly picked a winner in Dr . Henry, for he

us eu m

ou nt y

wa s offered the presidency by th e 1 ord Lieutenant on

November 29, 1845, and thus one of the k eenest supporter s of the effort .to establish the institution in Armagh

On the whole, however , the proposed

with ea ch other.

Some were alarmed by the idea that

young people of t he various faiths mi gh t have to mix

Opini on was very much divided as to the usefulness

of such colleges.

nt y

became the head of the new college in Belfast.

colleges wer e considered a valuable contribution to

certainly vindicated its foundation.

From the beginning

Iri sh Educati on , and Queen 's College, Belfast, has

Ar m

it has pursued a pro gr essive and enli ghtened policy , that clearly justifies its intellectual leadership of the

ou n

ag h

Ar m

It is now, of course, a university Province of Ulster. and we in Armagh wish it well, t hough we strongly dis-

approve of the tendency to enrich Belfast at the expens e

of the rest of the Province. The more modern Armagh foundations like Drelincour t

public subscription or private indivi duals must of

Time is too limited on this

necessity be omitted.

and other 18th century schools endowed and supported by

occasion to allow them to be studied, or to discuss their

1.2. O,

us eu

ou nt y

12.

us eu m

re- birth a s Nationa l School s in the early days of the

next century, or their later

development as the Public Elementary Schools of the pr esen t century.

us eu m

ou nt y

The schools of the 18th and 19 th cen uries . often taught subjects that are now only available in Secondary Schools.

Such subjects were indeed pa rt of

Education has made great strides since then and

the schola rs of to - day ar e blessed vdth many amenities.

such a feature of Irish education in t hose centuries.

nt y

the curriculum of many of the hedge-schools that were

I am not sure , however, that they are as appreciative

Their treatment

of their good fortune as they migh t be .

of books supplied by the County Library Service, for

instance, leaves much to be desired and suggests a

Ar m

I have no wish to criticise

carelessness that is equally apparent in their attitude

to property in general.

ou n

Ar m

present day education but I strongly feel, that so long

ag h

as boys and girls are left in total ignorance of local

geography and civic hi st or y , we shall _have chalk-

disfi gured public buildings and mutilated trees t o

patriot i sm alive to the beauty and interest that is

h ag

their heritage in this most pleasant city of Armagh .

r emind us of our failure to i nspire the children with a

I 'l I -

us eu m

ou nt y

(George Leyburn, Esq., M.B.E., J .P •, in the chai r ) .

nt y

Early historical sources are far from i nformative regarding the social history of Arm ag h and the life of the ordinary inhabitants of the town. In those times our

In such a community there was little

placed them here.

ecclesiastical dignitaries and learned men, whose labours

population was largely scholastic - augmented, of course, by

scope for organized industry, and barter or exchange was

undoubtedly the method by which necessaries were obtained.

In the Middle Ages, however, a new class of town-society

Ar m

began to arise and charters were granted by which the

Under those patents merchants

inhabitants were incorporated.

prospered exceedingly in the great trading centres but such

ou n

Ar m

prosperity could not have ever been of any consequence in

We know practically nothing of the business life of

ag h

Armagh.

the city in those days excepting that its proceedings were

Apart from spoilationof

ings were of frequent occurrence.

often interrupted by strife and tragedy and that such happen-

citizens• property, town charters were also lost, so that now

possess no local material other than the Archiepiscopal

They unfortunately, are almost

knowledge on 1uch .subjects.

Registers_ beginning about 1350 - wherein to seek for

us eu

ou nt y

CITY CHARTERS, CORPORATION Records AND INCIDENTAL Matters

us eu

ou nt y

affairs, but it is in

us eu m

entirely devoted to ecclesiastical

one of them that we find the grant

ou nt y

of a charter from Edward the Fourth to Archbishop Bole on 9 th February, 1467 , a

us eu m

document pre-supposing an earlier patent, being in fact but

a confirmation of the Archbishop, s legal rights.

By it

Armagh was g ranted a weekly market and the Archbishop the The Ch a rter was attested

Whether that market

was held on a Tuesday as at present, we may never discover.

In those day s the a ffairs of the city were in the hands of a

and inspected again on 1st June, 1558 .

nt y

feudal privileges of the period.

wom there are many references in the Reg isters.

He was

Seneschal, an officer appointed by the Archbishop and to

represented the Archbishop in Parliament.

always a person of some so cial standing and on occasion

The first actual reference to a Tuesday market occurs

Ar m

in 1587, in which year on the petition of Hugh O'Neill, Earl

ou n

Ar m

of Tyrone, a grant was passed to the citizens for a market

ag h

on that day, and in 1609 an Inquisition was taken in the city

Armagh "time -out of mind".

at which it wes found that a weekly market had been held in

Following the Plantation of Ulster with English and

Scotch settlers in the opening years of t~t century, King

The new patent placed the

it became ~ Borough in 1613.

JIIJlies the First granted the city a further c h a r tby er which

· ·· th h' a·nds of a Sovereign and twelve government of the "city "in e

123

us eu

ou nt y

'-t

virtue of that arrangement two

jury of free citizens.

us eu m

Burgesses, assisted by an assembly or

parliamentary representatives

were elected from time to time to

us eu m

ou nt y

serve in Parliament, a form of representation that continued to the Union of Great

Britain with Ireland in 1800, after which one member only was allowed.

nt y

The Tuesday market was confirmed to Archbishop Hampton

That

patent vested certain curious powers in the Primate such as

and his successors in 1614, with two fairs to be held on 17th

of March and 1st of August and the day after each.

causing troublesome women to be placed in trebuchets or

cucking-stools·, confining fraudulent bakers in pillories,

In 1634 a Saturday market was granted to Archbishop

1620.

A further patent , was issued for fairs and markets in

Such was life in those days.

and the plunging of brewers who made bad ale into well-filled

dung-carts ,

Ar m

ou n

In 1753 the Corporation obtained leave to hold

ag h

following.

Ar m

Ussher with an additional fair on St. Peter' s Day and the day

extra fairs on 20th May and 20th November respectively.

that brought the total up to -what was then considered a good

·then -quite adequata, for the purpose.

MarketS quare, a space

working average. The 17th centurY fairs and markets were held in the

'l'b a..•. proce4ur• .continued t1rthe, closing days of• the 18th century about; wllicb"Unl rtbe ·inhabitants of. Market Street

I '2.

us eu

ou nt y

:2 5

us eu m

ou nt y

us eu m

successfully petitioned th e Sovereign and Burgesses regarding the removal of the fair to a more convenient site. It was eventually agreed that it should be transferred to the nor t hern end of the Mall. In those

days that district was not a residential area and Barrack

Hill and Victoria Street did not exist.

The arrangement,

properly constructed and enclosed Fair Green.

In the early 19th century individual markets like

for which the only reasonable solution seems to be a

nt y

though fairly suitable then, is again becoming a problem

The Linen Market,

the Flax, Shamble and Linen Hall were built, some of >hich later became devoted to other uses.

for instance, became the Egg and Butter Market, but is

as is now farm produced, are collected direct from the

farms and brought to town by motor transport.

now derelict owing to the fact that eggs, and such butter

Ar m

ou n

ag h

Ar m

Armagh is somewhat unlucky as regards its Corporation Those Those for the 17th century are missing. records. previous to 1642 were probably lost in the destruction of Whether the the town in the Civil War of that year.

Corporation :runctioned fully again before 1657 is doubtful.

It was, however, working in 1688, in October of which year

King James the Second, excluded the then Sovereign and

Burgesses from office; and -appointed a new Sovereign, at

the same time increasing the Burgesses to twenty-four

us eu m

James again stayed a few

days in the city on his way back f

rom Derry in 1689, and Bo e rough Seal and Re cords. In the following year the Duk O f Schomberg assumed possession e of the town and later fought at the Battle of the Boyne, an

us eu m

ou nt y

when departing took with him th

the period 1690-1732.

Williamite Wars, there are no Borough Records available for

Lists of Sovereigns and Burgesses

strangely enough despi ta the peace tha.t followed the

nt y

action that cost the unfortunate James his crown and placed a Dutch prince on the throne.

there is a detailed sequence from 1713.

Rolls of Freemen

until 1833 in which year the form of administration was

begin in the year 1732 and continue without a break

records

Surviving

are, unfortunately, only available from 1737.

of the City are very incomplete for the 17th century, but

Ar m

altered and the duties of the Sovereign and Burgesses taken

Ar m

over by a Board of City Commissioners, consisting of Chairman,

ag h

ou n

Treasurer, Clerk and twenty-one members, a form of government that continued until 1872, during which time the City

continued to send a representative to the Imperial Parliament.

ÂŠ

Though it was rather a waste having towns like Armagh ,send

representatives to Parliament it iS a fact that the city -

h ag

for ability and eloquence.

remarkable

members were nearly always notable political figures,

ÂŠ

us eu

ou nt y

instead of the original twelve.

us eu

ou nt y

us eu m

ou nt y

us eu m

The Lists of Freemen of th e city end in 1802 . They are of great local interest but their more general appeal lies in their use as a census f o occupations for the period 1737-1802. Freemen were sworn t 0 ass i st the Sovereign and

other officers of the town and "to them be obedient and attendant concerning such things as th ey mg i h t reasonably be required to do".

best of their skill, cunning, wit, and power all the

the Common Council of the town, besides maintaining to the

nt y

At the same time they were "to

observe, perform and fulfil all orders and rules made by

liberties, customs, orders and use ages of the Corporation. 11

Tbe Freemen were drawn from all ranks of society but the

lesser fry distinguished by their occupation.

Local

The socially important were shown as "gent s" and the

city.

great majority of them were merchants or tradesmen of the

Ar m

tradition states that the famous Dean Swift was complimented

ou n

Ar m

with the freedom of the city whilst the guest of Robert Cope

ag h

of Loughgall through whom he was introduced to a member of the Caulfeild family and made a Freeman of Charlemont 29th Unfortunately the Armagh Rolls for that

September, 1728,

Tanning was at

lamps was 1n operation as early as 1776.

The lighting of the streets by oil-

as to city affairs.

date are missing. The extant Corporation records provide much information

that time one of the chief industries of the town and an

appears amongst Corporation

us eu m

officials of that date.

ou nt y

Twelve Years earlier t he first local newspaper was published, but no copies of it exist to-day. It was printed by William Dickie. He was

us eu m

admitted a Freeman 18th April, 1740 .

Lists of Corporation Constables are available from

nt y

1777 - they continued down to comparatively recent times.

bye-laws were printed in 1795 forbidding, amongst other

things, the playing of Ball in the Market House, the placing

New bye-laws had been drawn up the year before and further

Publicans were no longer allowed

public might be annoyed.

of obstructions in the streets or roadways by which the

Bull-baiting and cock-fighting

Pigs were denied the freedom of the streets and

might be shot on sight.

Days.

to permit horses to be fastened to their premises on Market

Ar m

were forbidden within the Corporation, and lewd and

Ar m

disorderly women found in the Borough were. to be promptly

ou n

ag h

placed in the House of Correction to remain there until it

pleased the Sovereign to release them.

The accounts

A fire-engine is first mentioned in 1787.

A new engine was purchased

feet long.

hose pipes 32

of the following year show ~hat it was provided with leather

It w~s beught for the town by private

sums ranging from 5/- to £5.

aub~artption, the individual

£142,13,l~.

in 1815 from Hadly and Simpson of London at a cost of

us eu

ou nt y

Overseer of the Leather Market

us eu

ou nt y

An actual pipe-water supply

us eu m

ou nt y

becaine available in 1795, and sections of t he old wooden pipes of those days are still f ound f rom time to time during excavations in the streets.

business.

The most valuable and most important Corporation relics

wear his livery, great coat, and laced hat when on actual

nt y

The Corporation Staff was under the control of the High Constable of the city who with the TownSergeants mi ght only

They are prese rved in the

-Other Corporation Relics may be

Armagh Public Library.

the extant Corporation Records.

are a pair of beautiful seventeenth century silver Maces, and

seen in the County Museum - they include City Watchman's Pike

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and Crake, Corporation Seal, and Journal of the Pipe Water

Commissioners for the period 1795-1863 , an interesting

a Scold's

ag h

and other inhabitants of the city.

Another Corporation relic,

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manuscript containing signatures of Sovereigns, Burgesses,

Bridle'' may be found in t he Belfast Museum.

was formerly in use in the old Sessions House, and though a

rather inhuman sort of implement was really effective in

presentment for ~a sufficient pair of stocks and

1738, show

curbing evil tongued women. The extant Corporation Records under date 13th October,

ordered~tbat theY should be joined and fixed in the Pillory.

wells and pumps, both

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The first water supply was from

of which appear in records.

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They were made of oak , an d less than 5 0 years ago still survived in the basement 0 f the Market House to which place they had been removed when they fell into disuse.

ou nt y

I should like tom a k ea few supplementary remarks on

Charters.

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You all know th a t a b out the year 1171, in the reign of Henry II ' Ireland was annexed by England in which

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country government by Charter was then in force.

Being a long-established custom it was a

natural sequence that similar Charters should come into

of Britain.

reality such control was a $urvival of the Roman occupation

anq in actual. fact they were soon issued to

Anglo-Normans

existence in Ireland shortly afte.r the arrival of the

the more important towns especially those on navigable

the conquered areas.. 1 , Suc;h Charters gave most of the

rivers or situate on the coast, as well as to new townsin

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townsa lik,e fo,rm .of cgovernm.e nt but, of course, in certain ,,

Such patents or grants conveye~ to

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requirement and usage.

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Ar m

places there were . slight variations of form due to local .J

,the citizens the lands ·on ·'ilh:l:ch the townswere built with

some additional property outside the actual townproper,

was a part ot the Commons apd may

•By those , eti~te~s ~~e :,a

~97-1:be :l.llh&bi,.t.allt..J"' O! t!:!M •e°itJ.

11• c01:11-i••~•d. sa, · as that plot 11 :enjoyed· in common

still

In Armagh,

t :l\or ustaxice, the Mall

which lands were s~etim.es known as Commons,

cstt.~zetif 1JW,,ea~¥;~r•.4. cto ;e11,t .abl.U.h .coiµ-,ts ,;}~J2~in~ uL. e1,

us eu

I .:, LI

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and control crafts

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officers, levy tolls, collect customs

and trades within the town limits.

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It was an interesting form of town management but in so far as the smaller t owns were concerned ver y liable to

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abuse, owing to authority eventually becoming vested in a

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few influential families rather than in the inhabitants generally. There was also the fact that the chief officials

sympathetic towards reform or improvement excepting where

such things were of advantage to themselves personally.

were mo st1Y drawn from the former class and consequently less

That aspect in the end brought the old borough system into

The findings of that body

study conditions in Ireland.

disrepute, so in 1835 a Royal Commission was appointed to

resulted in the Municipal Corporations Act of 1840 being'

Ar m

passed whereby certain Corporations like Belfast, Dublin,

Cork and Limerick were preserved whilst 58 others, including

The Act strangely enough reserved

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Armagh, were dissolved.

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the right to the Crown to re-grant or incorporate boroughs

populations exceeding 3,000 citizens.

on the petition of the inhabitants of such towns as had -

Our ancient city And now may I generalize somewhat. It has been sacked by armed has had many misfortunes. band• from the neighbouring provinces, harried by cruel and

has never been utterly subdued.

"lli.gbty Anglo-Norman

lerciless Scandinavian warriors, and often pillaged by the

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phoenix-like it has always arisen again , t Hours could bes pen on details relatin g to the tow•s grovth since the mid-fifth century, on its development to

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University status, and the tale of events connected with it, records of kings, saints and warriors ors _ a tale of centuries and of raids and burnings down the years.

Many of th e incidents

recorded of Cuchulinn, and other great figures of the Irish

Armagh was already in t he forefront.

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I would, however, stress the fact that when the first

half-legendary tales began to throw some light on Ireland,

miles west of the present town.

Th e heroic exploits of the

Sagas took place at the Royal Seat of Emania, about two

champions of those days were accomplished in defence of

That

Ulster in general and against invaders from t he south.

Ar m

there is a historic basis for t hose stories is evident from

the existence of travelling earthworks in the county, one near

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Emania itself, the other on the Armagh-Downborder, constructed

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when Emania was lost in 332 A. D. - and its defenders driven into

a district now comprising the counties of Antrim and Down.

burial places carry the

and settlement_ our prehistoric

1'nat, however, is not the earliest record of local occupation

It is true it hadsbY then lost its proud position

aainence.

the seat of the Ultonian , kings, but to 1 ts hill-top

story back to about 2,000 B. C~ · ,, In the Early Christian period Armaghcontinued its pre-

132.

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settlement had cometh e greatest figure i history - the saintly Pat _ k n its chequered ric - under whose mission it . _ was later to become the cc1 ecclesiastical capital.

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ou nt y

I have a pleasant dut Y t o perform before we dine. I -wish to exhibit to you the 17th century Mace of the Sovereign of Armagh.

This I am enabled to do by the

An earlier Mace was lost in 1642.

occasion.

kindness permitted me to have it on loan for this particular

Reverend the Dean of Armagh, who has with characteristic

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courtesy of the Librarian of the , Public Library, the Very

This beautiful

specimen was made by Nathaniel Stoughton, a well-known

Dublin silversmith, in 1657, the actual year in which

Inquisition for our county that forunately never came

Cromwell's Commissioners sat in Armagh and drafted an

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The Mace was then devoid of the plate into operation. bearing the Royal Arms of the Stuarts - that was added at

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the Restoration - otherwise it is in its original condition. We have no information as to how the Mace was hidden

during the visits of King James to the City in 1688 and

He managed to secure the Borough Seal and Records

and actually installed a new Sovereign and Burgesses, but

by the absence of the Maces.

the ceremony must have been shorn of much of its dignity

Following the dissolution of Irish Boroughs this Mace,

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ou nt y

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with a smaller one of equal age, fell into the custody of

William Paton, the last Sovereign of the old order, and in

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l887 was presented by his daughter to Armagh Library. To-night I propose placing the Mace before your Chairman

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for the duration of the present meeting .

By virtue of his office he is the successor of the Sovereigns of our town,

Seneschals and Sovereigns, who in adversity and prosperity,

eu us

M y ty

nt ou

ou C h

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ag h Ar

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gave of their best to our ancient city.

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and by merit a true representative of that long line of

Ar m

l34.

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Armagh City

Charters Fairs, Markets and Corporation --------- -- Mis eel 1

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In Great Britain and Ireland the term city is, strictly speaking, an honorary distinction appli'ed tot owns which, by virtue of some particular pre-eminence, such as being

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episcopal Sees or great industrial centres, have, by

Armagh belongs t o the first group, and its official

style of "city" does not necessarily involve the possession

of municipal powers greater than those of ordinary boroughs,

traditional usage or royal ch a rter, acquired t ha t designation.

In other words,

nor indeed actual corporate possessions.

Armagh is a city by piescriptive right and has been so for

to the description.

The Medieval Registers of the Archbishops of Armagh

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many more centuries than is necessary to give legal effect

Ar m

begin about the year 1350 and are the first local documentary

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With Armagh.

ag h

evidence that we possess for the term "city" in connection They show references to -

Visitations of Armagh city and. diocese", etc.

ÂŠ

State Papers of Ireland, howe.v er, produce earlier

Armagh 1,s so described in a demand of Henry III,

entries.

The tythes of Armagh city.

The revenues of Armagh city.

ÂŠ

"The Archbishop I s rents of his city of Armagh,

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a¼,

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January 18, 1226-12 27 , requiring th th make available , e en Archbishop to a site for a c castleproposed to be erected for the better s ecurity of the city, which castle was built

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grant from Edward IV to Archbishop John Bole.

This appears

Charters, Fairs and Markets.

The first city charter of which we are aware is the

to have been a confirmation of privileges then in existence

ou nt y

in 1236 and gave name to the present Castle Street where a portion of the structure still remains embodied in the basement of a house,

and mentions among other ma tt ers a weekly market at Armagh.

It was ratified at Drogheda February 9, 1467, and again

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formally inspected and attested at Drogheda' June 1, 1558,

some few months after the accession of Queen Elizabeth I,

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died on August 15 following.

and during the Primacy of Archbishop George Dowdall who

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At that date, as had been the custom in previous

centuries and down to the beginning of the 17th century,

tbe business of the city was managed by a seneschal.

was usually a per son of some social standing and capable

of acting as proxY for the Archbishop in Parliament when

ecclesiastical matters prevented His Grace's attendance.

For instance, Sir Toby Caulfeild, founder of the frunily

,,.

fortunes of the Earls and Viscounts Charlemont, filled the

post in the open1~g- ·ie.a rs· of the 17th century and was Member

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of Pa rliament for the county of Armagh i·n

burgesses.

1613when James

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I incorp orated the city under a

The cha rt er

sovereign and twelve

ou nt y

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was confer red pursuant to Lette r s 1612 d ' , an issued March 26, 161 3 . By it Armagh was created a body corporate to be denominated the Bo rough of Armagh - that, however, did not alter its Patent of Sept ember 26

But to return to the question of markets _ Hugh O' Neill,

Earl of Tyrone, petitioned the Crown on behalf of the

nt y

standing as a city, a subJ·ect th a t will crop up again i n my

remarks.

acceded to by Queen Elizabeth I May 10, 1587;

tha t, by the

citizens of Armagh for a g r ant of a Tuesday market , a request

On August 12, 1609, the Commissioners for the Plantation

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way, being the earliest indication of a Tuesday market.

of Ulster, by an Inquisition t aken in the city on that date,

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That verdict could not very well refer to the

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of mind".

found that a weekly marke t had be en h eld in Armagh "time out

ag h

O'Neill market as it had only been in being twenty years. The 16o9 jury included twenty-t-wo jurors, members of the

chief native families of the county , people whom we must

It may,

assume to have been conversant with Armagh affairs.

Hampton surrendered the t

e'state of the See of Armagh, and

c11if with all the ancient

In 1611 Archbishop. Christopher

or change of day.

however, be that Tyrone's .application was for an extra market

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had a new patent passed February

July 3, 1620.

In the reign of Charles ar 1es I there was a confirmation or

nt y

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25 of that Year confirming him and his successors a Tu Tuesday market and two fairs on March 17 and Augus t 1 respectively, wi th t he Lordship of the city and manor, customs, t olls, etc . Thi s gr ant or charter was con firmed and renewed with further clauses

and on October 2, 5 1753 , King

to t hose already existing ·,

a Saturday market and a fair on St . Peter's Day were added

regran t on May 23 , 1634, t o Archbishop James Ushe r by which

fairs on May 20 and Novembe r 20 .

Now we have one per month.

Geo r ge II grant ed t he Corporation a patent for two addit ional

In t he l at e 18th and early 19th centur y individual

The linen,

which were l at er utilized f or other pur po ses.

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markets like t h e flax, linen , etc. came i nt o being, some of

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its turn became redundant.

for example, developed into an egg and but ter market that in

ag h

Fairs in the 17th century were hel d in the Market Square,

a space then quite adequate for the purpose and so continued

to the closing days of the 18th century, about which time the

inhabitants of that area successfully pe r suaded the sovereign

and burgesses regarding its removal t o a more convenient site.

not exist.

It was eventually agreed that they should be transferred to In those days that district the northern end of the Mall. was not built upon and Barrack Hill and Victoria Street did The a.d justment though fairly suitable then is

us eu

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again becoming a problem, f

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or which the only reasonable solution seems to be a properly constructed Fair Green on the outskirts of the city, a planned space that might also be used as an Auction Mart for cattle, t hereby improving

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the amenities of Victoria Street, Gaol Square and Barrack

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and Cathedral Road.

In 1 833 two Government Commissions examined the

various city charters from the reign of James I onwards .

The Break Up of the Borough

Street and, more particularly so, those of Edward Street

In it the two

on Municipal Corporations of 1835" .

The result of their survey was published in the "Report

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commissioners responsible entitled their survey "The

Report for the City of Armagh" and mentioned therein that

the principal town in the county was the "city of Armagh"

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and that it "was recognized as a city in several statutes",

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thus emphasizing the fact that the State then accepted

ÂŠ

Armagh a.s such. The Report coming, as it did, before the dissolution

findings as regards corporation levies state that the

of the Borough is of consequence, and the commissioners'

ÂŠ

monie~ obtained were "beneficially and honestly applied",

two factors "attested by the appearance of the town". 5

()''

,.1

The Report~~ Belfast of same date shows th at it was then

simply a

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i'tÂ§b.' '

Borough, but now it al so

.s 1

may well be proud of,

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a city, Its present rank though is recent an.d derives from industry and population rather than ancient lineage, Its growth and importance to-day is, however, something that t he Province

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You may feel that I have was t ed time unduly on Armagh's position as a city. Visitors often ask why city

There is now no record of matriculati on

armorial be a rings,

They also enquire as to the city I s

in a City Hall.

matters are here transacted by an Urban Council which meets

of arms in Ulster's Office, but that is likely due to a fire

which took place there during James II's campaign in Ireland,

in which period he dissolved t he Corporation of Armagh in

Ar m

1688 and issued a new charter, besides dismissing the then

sovereign and burgesses and appointing a new and enlarged corporate body and two new members to represent the city

His Acts were, however,

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in the Irish House of Commons.

ag h

declared null and void an 1690, and the working of the

ÂŠ

charter of 1613 was resumed. But to return to the coat of arms - the current

exemplification has been long enough in use to warrant a

ÂŠ

confirmation and it is imperative that something should be In the last twenty years we done to remedy the defect, ~ tim:e, heard rumours that the City (alias h ave, from time -uo Urban) Council is about. to attempt the revival of the

''ef.

ou nt y

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19. will ever take

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dormant charter of 1613, but whether 1. t effective action remains to be seen.

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As long ago as 1854 the subject of restoring the charter was considered by the

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Town Commissioners who were then qUi te satisfied to accept

a body composed of Mayor, Aldermen and Councillors.

The

meeting took place in October 1854 and an editorial in the

The

be achieved.

After all the Act dissolving the boroughs in

"proposal was being opposed from a political angle".

longing for borough status, however, continues and may yet

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"Armagh Guardian" of October 10 of that year states that the

1840 provided that the inhabit ants of such boroughs as

exceeded 3 ,500 inhabitants could, at any time, upon petition

Corporation Relics

.by Armagh should not have its first charter restored.

Under those circumstances there is no reason

incorporation â&#x20AC;˘

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of the majority of the residents , be given a fresh gr ant of

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In conclusion I shall discuss certain corporation

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miscellanea. Lists of sovereigns occur in partial form for the 17th

of the borough in 1840.

ÂŠ

century and more fully from the 18th century to the passing

ÂŠ

Two silver maces, bearing I rish silver marks of 1657, the Armagh Public Li brary - they were made are preserved in war of 1641-42. to replace those destroyed in the Civil roceedings are housed in the Minutes of corporat 1 on P

us eu

ou nt y

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same building and cover the period from 1738 until the termination of borough status. Earlier municipal documents were destroyed in 1642 and those of the Commonwealth and

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Restoration era in the war between James II and William III.

City watchman's pike and crake. or early 19th century.

Journal of the Pipe Water Commissioners period 1792-1863.

Valuation of houses in the city and borough 1833-34.

A. complete lis t Of th e Members of Parliament 6l until the Act of for the borough periodtwo representatives Union, ~~rigid IrishpHouse of Commons. From fs~oi~o 1886 the city ]was represented the Imperial parliiament hical particulars of all roll contains d ?gr~ important source of the members an is them information regarding .

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7. Maps Of the city, 1602, 1760, etc.

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Printed Corporation Bye Laws 1795.

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Late 18th

A seal of the borough - late 17th or early 18th century,

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Corporation miscellanea on exhibition in the County Museum includes -

.,..,

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APPENDIX I

Armagh

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The Corporation Maces

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The city was incorporated by James I in 1613 and had a

sovereign, twelve burgesses and commons, who returned two

In the year 1799 we

find that John Hill, mace-bearer, received £1 lOs. per

annum for the discharge of his office.

When the Corporation was suppressed, under the

and to appoint serjeants-at-mace.

They were empowered to have a seal

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members to Parliament.

Municipal Corporation Act, in 1832, the two maces fell

into the custody of Mr. William Paton , survivor of the old

Ar m

At his death they were presented by his

sovereigns.

daughter, in 1887, for preservation to the Public Library

Ar m

exhibited.

of Armagh, founded by Primate Lord Rokeby, where they are

respectiv"ely, 21¼ and 11¼ in.;

and 10 and

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They are in length and greatest circumference,

8¼

in."

They

are almost alike, and much resemble the Carlow maces, one

of wich was made in the saiqe year. . They are ;of silver

the bottom of 'Which is engraved:- . For the Burrough of Ardmagh.

with plain stems, a centraJ. plain knop, and a base, round

' th are divided into four panels, The heads of bo _ • .,

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2-r-.

figures, and in the

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separated in the large one by Caryatid smaller by engraved oak-leaves,

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In the panels are the "States arms", viz.' the Cross of St. George for England

and the Harp for Ireland, both alternately repeated.

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there ever was a cresting round the top it has gone.

Each bears on the head three clear Dublin hall-marks,

These initials

and (3) the mark N. s.,

(2) the harp crowned;

under a star or mullet, in a quatrefoil.

I can identify, from my MS lists extracted from the Dublin

presently);

(1) the date letter T (of which

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the same on both, viz.:-

One was in the Charter, 16 37;

Two of the name appear.

Goldsmiths' Registers, as those of Nathanael Stoughton.

1645 on.

On the flat cover of the top are the Royal Arms of

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the other was admitted in 1647, and entered much plate from

the Stuarts (with France and England quarterly in the first

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and fourth quarters), but as the date-letter, as shown in

ag h

the case of Carlow, represents 1656-7, the mace must have Perhaps the arms were been made during the interregnum.

Corporation of Armagh.

Certain it is that these added after the Restoration. maces must be Commonwealth "baubles", and not as old as the

ublic Library, Armagh. Preserved in the P i • of Irish Corporations", (Extract from "Maces and Ins Insignia Arts and Crafts craftsSociety Society of p.6O). Reprint, Journal of the Ireland • . Vol 1 No.2 o. '1898 (1)

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Data as to the

proposed revival - incidental

Hos tile entry into Armagh city.

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The Medieval Registe r s of the Archbishops of Armagh begin about the Year 1350 and are th e earlie st local documentary eviden ce that we possess f or the term "city " in connection with Armagh. They show references to _ "Th e Archbishop's rents of his city of Armagh . The revenues of Armagh city . The tythes of Armagh city .

of Charter matters in 1953 --

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of James I

Visitations of Armagh city and diocese", etc .

State Pap ers of Ireland, however, show earlier entries _

for instance, Armagh is so described in a demand of Henry III,

Ar m

Jan. 18, 1226-27 , requiring the then Archbishop to make

available a site for a castle proposed to be erected fo r t he

better security of the city, which castle was built and gave

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Ar m

name to t he present Castle Street where a po rtion of the

ag h

structure still remains embodied in the basement of a house. Still earlier notices may be found in Irish Annals.

This seems to

Edward IV to Archbishop John Bole.

The first actual Charter of which we are aware is t he

grant from

have been a confirmation of privileges then in existence and

document wa• ratified at Drogheda 9th February, 1467.

The

mentions among other matters a weekly market at Armagh.

The above Charter was again formally inspected and

e-.

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ou nt y

11+7.

attested at Drogheda 1st J

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une, 1558, some few months after the accession of Queen Elizabeth and during the Primacy of Archbishop George Dowdall who died on 15th August in same year.

At that time as had been the custom in earlier centuries and down to the beginning of the 17th century, the affairs of

nt y

the city were managed by a Seneschal, who was usually a

for the Archbishop in parliament when ecclesiastical matters

prevented His Grace's attendance.

person of some social standing and capable of acting as proxy

Later Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone, petitioned the

Crown on behalf of the citizens of Armagh for the grant of a

y nt

On 12th August, 1609, the Commissioners for the .Plantation

Ar m

Tuesday Market, a request acceded to by Queen Elizabeth 10th

May, 1587.

of Ulster, by an Inquisition taken in the city on that date

ou n

Ar m

found that a weekly market had been held in Armagh "time out

ag h

That verdict could not, however, refer to the of mind". O'Neill market has it had only been granted twenty years

ÂŠ

before_ the jury responsible included twenty-two jurors,

members of the chief native families of the county, people

for an extra market or

ÂŠ

change of daY. '

whom we must assume to have been conversant with local affairs. It may be that Tyrone's petition

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King James I by a Charter dated 26th March , 1613

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(pursuant to Letters Patent of 26 th September, 1612) created Armagh a body corpora t e to be denominated "The In the following year Archbishop

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Borough of Ardmagh" .

Christopher Hampton surrendered all the ancient estate of the See of Armagh includin g the city and had a new

This grant or Charter

and manor, customs, tolls, etc.

and 1st August respectively with the Lordship of the city

successors a Tuesday market and two fairs on 17th March

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patent passed 25th February, 1614, granting him and his

was confirmed and renewed with furthe r clauses 3rd July,

Armagh was one of the Corporations dissolved by

1620.

King_ James in 1688 and to which new Charters were issued

declared null and void in 1690.

Ar m

by that monarch, but his Acts of Parliament, etc. were

In the reign of Charles I a confirmation or regrant

Ar m

was issued 23rd May, 1634, to Archbishop James Usher by

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ag h

which a Saturday market and a fair on St. Peter' s Day were

added to the existing amenities, and on 25th October, 1753,

King George II granted the Corporation two further fairs

h ag

( See Appendi x I)·

good condition.

they are Irish silver and survive in

maces were procured -

of 1641-42 but in 1657 during the Commonwealth new

War

on 20th May and 20th November. The original Corporation Maces were lost in the Civil

us eu

ou nt y

In passing we may mention that the dates

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of the earlier Armagh fairs suggest a descent from the older assemblies. st. Patrick's festival Âˇ is a day t hat heralds the end of

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winter and the approach of better weather - it is in fac t

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It marked the

in the mists of antiquity - the annual pilgrimage to

beginning of Autumn and was a holiday whose roots are lost

importance from the "folk" point of view.

The Lammas Fair held on 1st Augu st was of equal

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the day on which, according to 1oca 1 t r adition, "the warm side of the stone turns up".

Carrickatuke, a hill some miles south of the City, is indeed

a direct link with pre-Christian times.

Its

The St. Peter' s Day Fair raises similar thoughts,

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nearness to the mid-summer festival makes one wonder whether

it was not also an inheritance from Pagan Days especially as

both celebrations followed the same ritual.

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The oldest local fair seems to have been the great

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annual gathering outside the city at Emain Macha, founded to

h ag m

ÂŠ

died about 360 B.C.

commemorate the memory of Queen Macha who is reputed to have

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III

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Appendix

The Act of 1840 empowered th e Queen upon pe tition

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received f r om the inhabitants of any town in Ireland, the

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population of which at the date of the last census exceeded

3,500 , and signed by a majority of such inhabitants as

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should be rated t o the relief of the destitute poor, to

t o the inhabitants the reof within the district set forth i n

such Charter the powers and provisions in such Act contained.

M ty

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ag h m

Ar ÂŠ

C h

ÂŠ

Ar m

under above Act.

Only Wexfo r d petit i oned for Re-incorporation

l'!o..t.11:

See ''Municipal Gove r nment in Irelan d" by Webb, page 240.

gran t a Ch arter of Incorpor ation t o such towns, extending

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{':i\.

2nd October, 1953,

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Dear Professor Newark,

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Re our conversation o f yesterday. I was sorry that I had to leave for the coun t ry without dealing with the subject

nt y

we were discussing .

The Medieval Registers of the Are hbishops of Armagh

local documentary evidence that we possess for the term "city" in connection with Armagh .

They show references t o -

begin, as you know, about the year 1350 and are the earliest

Ar m

The Archbishop's Rentals of his city of Armagh . The revenues of Armagh city . The t ythes of Armagh . city . Hos tile entries into Armagh city. Visitations of Armagh city and diocese, etc .

State Papers of Ireland, however, show earlier ent rie s - for

inst ance , Armagh is so descri bed in a document of Henry III

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18th January , 1226-27, requirin g the then Archbishop to make

ag h

ou n

available a site for a castle proposed to be erected for the

better security of the city, which castle was built and gave

ÂŠ

name to t he present Castle Street.

aJD

aware was in the

Still earlier notices may be found in Irish Annals,

The first actual Charter of which I

nature of a grant from Edward IV to Archbishop John Bole.

ÂŠ

This seems to have been a _confirmat,ion of privilege_s then in

enstence and mentions -~ong other matters a weekly market

29 .

The document was rati fied

February, 1467.

at Drogheda 9th

us eu m

ou nt y

at Armagh.

5' Z.

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The above Charter was

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again formally inspected and attested at Drogheda 1st June, 1558, some few months after the accession of Qu een E1·izabeth and

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during the Primacy of Archbishop George Dowdall who died

a Tuesday market, a request acceded to by Queen Elizabeth

10th May, 1 587 .

Crown on behalf of the citizens of Armagh for the grant of

Later Hugh O Neill, Earl of Tyrone, petitioned the

nt y

15th August of same year.

King James I by a Charter dated 26th March, 161 3

(pursuant to Let ters Patent of 26th September, 1612) created

Archbishop Christopher Hampton had a new patent

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Armagh.

Armagh a .tbody corporate to be denominated the Borough of

passed to him grantin g him and his successors a Tuesday

market and two fairs on 17th March and 1st August re spectively

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with the Lordship of the city and manor, customs, tolls, etc.

ou n

ag h

This grant or charter was confirmed and renewed with furthe r

clauses 3rd July, 1620. In the reign of Charles I a confirmation or regrant was

issued 23rd May, 1634, to Archbishop Jame s Ussher, by which a

Saturday market and a fair on St. Pater's Day were added to

the existing aJDenities, and on 25th October, 1753, George II

h ag

November.

granted the corporation two further fairs on 20th May and 20th

;w.

S ;,.

us eu

ou nt y

us eu m

Armagh was one of the corporations dissolved by James

II in 1688 and to i,,hich new charters were issued by that monarch but his Acts of Parliament , etc., were declared null

ou nt y

and void in 1690 and Armagh returned to its former status.

us eu m

Apart from recent attempts to revive Borough status in

Armagh there was a rather determined effort made in 1854 to

petition to grant charters of incorporation to towns which

I do not know very

a Mayor, Alderman and Councillors .

At that time Armagh was prepared to accept

3,500 people.

at the date of the previous census had a population of

nt y

take advantage of the Act of 1840 empowering the Queen upon

much as to why the matter then failed but I think it was

due to the proposal being blocked from a political angle.

Ar m

Now almost 100 years later it is being revived and I hope

Yours sincerely,

ÂŠ

Professor F. H. Newark, 52 Malone P ark,

ou n

T. G. F. Paterson.

ag h

Ar m

Very kindest regards.

that we may have better luck this time.

m Ar

ÂŠ

f the word city has it not been turies for the towns in which the custom down the ~ante to be so designated? Bishops' Sees are si ua

P. S â&#x20AC;˘. As regards the use o

ou nt y

us eu

us eu m

APPENmu

ou nt y

Jlxtract from "Arthur Quiller Couch ~:'1 F Brittain, MA, pages 70 _71 --

A Biographical Study Cambridge UNiversity

us eu m

In the autumn they t 00 k part in the festivities that

were held when Fowey be came a borough for th e se cond time in

The town had kep t its ancient charter of

nt y

its history.

The revival of the

been formally deprived of them in 1883 .

Q, as President of the Fowey Me rc antile Association,

charter was mainly due to the efforts of Q and Char le s Treffry.

exercise its privileges after the Reform Act of 1832 and had

incorporation until the nineteenth century but had ceased to

A Local Government Board inquiry was held early in

Ar m

again.

drafted a petition asking the Crown to make Fowey a borough

In October 1913 the Member of Parliament for South-East

Cornwall, Sir Reginald Pole-Carew, formally handed over a

1912 and the petition was granted in the autumn of that year.

tree at Place;

ou n

revived borough.

The ceremony took place under a chestnut

ag h

Ar m

new charter to Charles Treffry, t he first mayor of the

and Q made a speech in which he said

ÂŠ

"Although our streets are narrow, our minds may be broad

enough to keep our sense of proportion, and to remember that

our borough is too small to allow of quarrellings, whether

renewed.

h Guardian" Nov. 5, 1854 Meeting to claim . to have its borough status

in the service of Fowey".

ÂŠ

religious or political, or to admit any other rivalry save

us eu

Borough, seaport, market town , and water ing place

of Cornwall.

us eu m

ou nt y roWEY.

I !:iS".

It is on the west shore of Fowey estuary,

ou nt y

10 miles S. E. of Bodmin on the Great Western Railway and

M ty

ou n C h

h ag m

us M y

nt ou C

ag h m

Ar ©

M y

C h

Ar m

See Cassell' s "Gazetteer".

Population

Market Day Saturday .

nt y

property of the town. (1931) 2,382 .

Fowey Wood and headland a re t h e

pr oduction of china clay.

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Indus tries - pilcha rd fish ing and t he

bas a fine ha r bour.

]$.

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I S-C..

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ou nt y

APPENDIX YI.

The Act of 1840 empowered the Queen upon petition

ou nt y

received from the inhabitants of any town in Ireland, the

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population of which at the date of the last census exceeded

3,500, and signed by a majority of such inhabitants as

nt y

should be rated to the relief of the destitute poor, to

contained.

to the inhabitants thereof within the district set forth

in such Charter the powers and provisions in such Act

grant a Charter of Incorporation to such towns, extending

Only Wexford petitioned for Re-incorporation

ou C

under above Act.

Note:

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240.

See "Municipal Government in Ireland" by Webb, page

ou n

a royal charter.

C h

City - a cathedral town.

City _ a town having

City_ a great town.

ÂŠ

to the description.

ag h

Ar m

Armagh is a city by ll]'escrjptian - that is it has t time to give legal right been so called for suffic i en

us eu m

us eu

ou nt y

The earliest Railways t o in provide County Armagh 1841 1957 a railway in County Armagh was :nade in the cl . osin g days of t l1 e 18th century

and the f i rst printed

refe re nce to the

a wo rk published in 1804

line was intended to link the por t of Newr y with the

city of Armagh

This pa rt i cu lar

decision had been made".

110

are told that "a n iron road had been talked

\•!e

about but

nt y

Survey of Count y Armagh

wherein

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undertaking tha t I hav e so far found an. pears :t.n · Coote'ss "Statistical

No furth e r no tice of the proposed railway crops up

until William Edge worth ' s< 2 ) "Rep ort on the proposed

Ar m

Railway from Armagh to Newry" was published in 1828 wi th

and was printed by

From the introductory paragraph it

"N. Kelly and Son".

ou n

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addressed "To William Blacker Esq.

The pamphlet in question is

two years previously .

a map attach ed s howin g that the Survey had been completed

( 3)

(~)

p )80 The same authority states that a canal or an iron road from Castlebla yney to Dundalk was also determined . c Longford Son of Richard Lovell Of Edgeworthtown write ; on education and Edgeworth, the ce,, Jan . 179 4 , died 1829 . See B.L. G. inventions , born~ 7 k Co Armagh , born 1776 , died 20 Oct . 1850 . Of Elmpark Pa r , d . Blacker-Douglas of Elm Park . See B.L. G. , un er

(1)

Blacker ' s instructi ons .

out unde r Mr

ag h

is clear that the above "Survey and Report" was carried

us eu

ou nt y

On t,1e f'irs t day of March 1948

I addressed t h e

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Rotary Club on tile centenary of t h e

coming of t he railway to Armagh , and :n en tion ed that on t hat da y one hundred

us eu m

ou nt y

years earlier there was :nuch excitement and spe cul at ion in the city. Ste a'.11 a s a method of transport was ea g er l y

awaited by some of the inhabitants but hea r tily dis appro ved

Nou the r ole

The ho rse has practically disappeared

stage coaches and lon g dist an ce carriers . has been reversed .

The railway had , however, at last re a ched

nt y

of by others.

Armagh and was t h reatening to displa ce the hors e- dra,m

and the roads are a gain crowded with freight and passenge r

Such is progress.

A hundred years he nce

traffic 1./nilst one by one individual lines of railway are closing do,m .

I little thought that by 1957 the St udy group

freight will have taken to the air.

Ar m

I suppose the roads will b e deserted an d pass enge rs and

would

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be discussin g t h e history of an undertaking that served

ou n

ag h

our city long and faithful l y but, alas, is now no more .

The earliest railways were fairly primitive, horse -

operated, and primari 1 Y f or the purpose of conveying coal

and minerals from the mines to the ports, an objective

This feature was some,;hat

almost negligible quantity .

not so necessary in Ireland where such industries were an

of an en c our agement in the development of passenger traffic

· t·ion of rail amenities her e . and resu lt e d i n a quicker apprecia

us eu

ou nt y

I S-q

ln 1 825 in the

ou nt y

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sa,ne year as t he opening of the firs t railway in England, an Irish company kno,,m as the Leinster and Ulster Rail Company " was prom oted for the establishing of a railway between Dublin and Belfa st, a p roposal that

In 1836 an Act was passed fo r the building of the Dublin-

Drogh eda Rail way , a . work completed in 181.i!.i, and now also

a line from "the town of Belfas t to the city of Armagh ".

nt y

us eu m

f ailed to then ,na t e rialise . A li ne from Dublin to Kin gsto ,m was , liowcver, opened i n 1834 . . - 'i, ana, i n the fo l lowing year the "Ulster Rail Company " was formed to construct

part of t he Gre at Northern, like t he "Ulster" with ,-ihich

we are more particularly concerned.

Construction began on the Ulst e r Railway in 1837 and

In Novembe r 1841 Lurgan was reached

traffic to Lisburn .

Ar m

on t he a ppo i nted day in 1839 the line wa s opened fo r

and in January 1842 the rail - head had go t a s far as Sea goe

Ar m

where, owin g to the marshy nature of the ground from there

ou n

ag h

to Port a down , considerable delay was encountered res ulting

Th e advent of the Ulster Railway was well received

ÂŠ

in the firs t train not re a ching t h at station until September

12th of that year .

One clerical g entleman

ÂŠ

intended to run trains on Sundays .

until certain persons in Belfast learned t h at the Company

alarmed his c ongr eg ation by declaring " that every sound of

istle was answered by a shout in hell ", the railway St eam wh

us eu

lbo

ou nt y

at t:1e sac.1e time accusing

the Company of nsending souls ti c ke t - pri ces ". This was soon countered by an assertion fro:u a r . _ a11.way supporte r that "sin aboun ded less amongst traveller s by rail as trains did no t stop at publi c houses" .

:.rn e Armagh Extension Act

contractors' who believed stone or iron impossible owi ng The

t o the bog gy foundation on wi1i ch it had to rest .

nt y

wa s passed in 1845 . This addition wa s very difficult to construct ana' the bridg e over the Bann proved a sour ce of great worry to the

us eu m

ou nt y

us eu m

to the devil at

p robleJJ was e ventually solved by a timber structure i n

five spans o f t hirt y- nine feet ea ch , the finished bridg e

its elegant

being de clared " a great orna:uent to the town

Ar m

li ghtness givin g but an in ad equate idea of its solidity

and st r eng t h ", a fact well bor n e ou t by its survival until

1879 , in which yea r it was replaced by the present bridge

Ar m

to which alterations and renovations wer e made in 1908 .

ou n

ag h

According to the "Armagh Guardian " a Gove r nment

I nspector arrived in the city on Thursday, J anuary 27th ,

Rumour asserted that a favourable report

ÂŠ

1848, by rail.

would be mad e and the line soon opened to traffic .

ÂŠ

Having

February 7th, at half- pa st two o ' clock, a full t rain wi t h fourteen of the Di r ect ors arrived in t he city.

dined at the Beresford Arms they returned by rail to

Belfast after h aving arr ange d for the opening to take

us eu

us eu m

nt y

of i:Jhom were set out in the colu:nns of the Guardian

I rish Times 11 •

appear in t he

On Febr uary 28 t h the fi r st list of trains and fares

:nuch the sa:ae way a s dist i nguished visito rs to Dublin now

ou nt y

us eu m

·, or March 1st . I n passing, perhaps I should :,1e n tion tha t fr tl1 D'll e so cial point of view t h e Beresford ord Arms was then the chief hotel in the town and lists of arrivals at that est a blis hm ent in cluded the Marquess and l- ar chiones s of Downshire L ord and Lady Sandys' t he Earl of Enniskillen, Lord and Lady = Erne Lord Caledon, etc. , all

ou nt y

place on ? e bruary 28th

between Arma gh and Belfast was published with the information On week- da ys

that the line would be opened on March 1 st .

Js .O d .

It is i ntere sting to no te

and 2s.ld. according to class .

and on Sundays three each way , fares 3s 9d

Ar m

the r e were six trains up from Belfast and six doi,m from

Armagh

t hat desp ite the s peeding - up of trains the time s taken by a

ou n

Ar m

j our ney f r om Armagh to Belfast is much the sa:ne as it was in

ag h

This was, of course, due t o the fa ct that trains then

1848

proceeding to Belfast were spared the waits tha t in the

here an d Belfast were less numerous - increased halting

There is also the fact that s tatio ns between

Portadown

closing day s o f the railway 1<ere so annoying a feature at

C h

the slower trains .

places have left us pretty well as we were in the days of

Despite the importanc e of the opening ceremony the _

b 2.

us eu

long loo l[ ed fo r e vent took

cal ml y .

s comment ua s - "The

us eu m

ou nt y

"Gua r di an " t o ok th e :i:a tt e r

us eu m

proba bility of r emun era t i on ".

nt y

At the s ame time this newspaper

ca rrie d advertisments

Th e coa ch le f t th e

setting out l ink-up s f r om Monaghan and Clon e s with t h e r a il

exten sion fro m Armagh to Belfas t.

from the p r op rietors o f th e Ar magh- Mona ghan - Clones Day Coa ch

ou nt y

pla ce on Wednes day las t The first t r ain · a rri ve d h e r e a t t · en o , clo ck an d Has welcomed by crowds o f ou r fel l ow citizen s Hh o had con grega t ed to Hitness th e n ovelt y . Th e re gu l ar traffic i s no1•1 op en ed ,,,i t h every

Charlemont Arm s daily and t his e sta bli shment h ad an adve rt -

isement remindin g t he public t h at it was th e n ea r e st hotel

to the Ulster Railway St a ti on and t ha t it had pro vided an

Ar m

omnibus to carry pa s senge rs gr a tis t o an d fr om t h e st a ti on .

This omnibus, however, failed to i mp ress on e tr a veller who

complained that h e came up by the first train from Belfa st

That he considered an affront to t he coach -

ou n

in Edinburgh .

ag h

Ar m

a few da y s after the openin g and was put into a veh i cle made

de sign .

builders of Arma gh who we re indeed famous fo r ,mrk:nanship and

From th e "Guardian" of March lJth we l earn that on the

Sunday followin g the opening the crowds were so great that

on the succeedin g Sunday the non - travelling publ ic " we re

excluded fro m entering t he station enclosure " a pro ceeding

llhich earned t h e approval of the then editor who feared that

us eu

ou nt y

tlle \'l'a c t ice had

us eu m

ou nt y

us eu m

con t inued acciden t s :lligh t have occurred. The sa:1 e i ssue co nta i ned a let ter f ro:11 a t ·raveller who had t ried tbe new ~e thod of tr avel , f ound it satisfa ctory and plea san t, besides approv i ng of t he o~n ibuses beloneing to t h e di ffe r e n t hotel s . Another :i.. te~ of in'cerest at this

convenien t stop .

Two yea rs later (Ar :nagh Guar dian, J une 1850

J ones o f Enniskillen) announj ed

( in co- ope r ation wi t h Mr

t h en p r oprietor of the Beresford Arms ho t el

Wiltshire

Stonebridge uould be tt er serve th e area and be a :11ore

nt y

pe r iod was a co rr esponde n ce between cert a·1· n readers of the paper relative to ~he ~ t· " s ea ion at Ri c hh il l sug ges ting that

that a f our - horse coach would run betwe en the recently

Ar m

op en ed s ta tion a t Armagh an d Enniskillen , leavi ng Armagh

on a r ri val o f th e 9 : 15' a . m. t rain fr om Be l fa st an d rea ch i ng

Enn i s killen at 4: 30 p . m. - a simi lar coach leaving Enniskillen

Ar m

killen daily at-9 a . m., enterin g Arma gh at 4 : 5' p .m . and

ou n

ag h

linking up with the afternoon train for Belfast, an amenity

Enniskillen by two hours.

resulting in a shortening of the journey from Belfast to

The construction of the line to Armagh co:11pleted the

original scheme of the Ulster Railway Company , but the line

C h

m Ar

1863.

was l ater continued to Monaghan in 1858 and to Clones in

us eu

t· ho se d ays were ve r y

T' differ ent to the n e earli est Ulst er nd Railway carriage s a were divided into bodies or

t ra ins of to - day .

ran on four wheels

us eu m

ou nt y

Ti1e trains

·coupa r "wn s, first - class bodies

r 1ages

Th ese 1.-rere si:nply op en

The line was t i1en a sin c le track• and as it was built

on t l1e s outh side of t he railway.

Armaghthe first

roof or shelter was a g1 oomy affair li gh ted by

platform

nor t h o f the various towns all its station - ent ra nce s uere

waggon s into wh ich peop le were pa cked standing .

nt y

would be available in April

us eu m

ou nt y

holcii nrb e ig · ht passengers ~i lst s e cond- class a cco:mnodated t,.-,el vc . I n March of 1840 the company atve rtised that third- cl ass car .

a few sky - ligh ts, and t he first station - master, a l•ir .

"goods - master", a well - kno1,m bird fan ci er, famou s for his

At that time there was also a

favourite soci al ly .

Ar m

Mullholland 1-Jho live d in the Charlemon t Arms and was a

ou n

of the goods store .

ag h

Ar m

pen s of phe asants and partridges which he kep t in one end

The ticket office was a littl e roun d canist er- like

enclosure in t h e mai n hall that in times of stress or

excitemen t was liable to overturn , an accident from which

t he small boys of the neighbourhood often reaped a profi t,

Railway Str ee t had not then been opened or developed - that

Banbrook Hill was, of cours e, then in being came later. and was the only entrance to the city from that side .

us eu

9. '

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ou nt y

I n 1842 the Company dec i ded to , , i·un go ods trucks and tnird - class p assengers on a sep a rate train but i n 1848 owing to i n creased goo ds traffi c ... _. ' third class carriages were ag ain attached t o passenger trains and we re f i tted up \,it h rough seats .

About this time th e n·ire ct ors were pained to discover

carri ages be c aJl e fitted wit h roofs despite some opposi tion

on t he pa rt of certain directors and sha r eholders .

At this p eriod third- class

nt y

tha t Jlany of the p eople \,ho for 11erly travelled fi r st -c lass

had dropped down to second.

Si milar condit ions existed in England and indeed the re is

a r ecord of one c ompany employing a sweep to f requent

third- class carr i age s and rub up agai nst we l l - dressed

station i n life and t he ne cessit y of journeying in the ir

Later oi l lamps were

ou n

Ar m

interior ligh ting or heating .

The se early carria ges had, of course, no

prope r class .

Ar m

people travelling therein, t hus r emi nding them of their

ag h

int ro duc ed and various for ms of hea t ing tried out such as warmi ng - pan s filled \n t h hot water, etc .

When the railway first came to Armagh there \,as great It was alleged, consternation in the country district .

and indeed widely believed, that 'su ch speedy transit would

have a bad effect on health gene rally, that the smoke of

the engines would kill all the birds, that cows would cease

e race of horses would be come extinct,

to give milk, that th

us eu

line bei ng th ay, so at with road transport f r om ' Blayney to Armagh · h t-h our jour ney bet,.;een Dublin .. a gh an eig

Pr eviously there ha d been

and Belfast became pos sible .

us eu m

t he Dundalk-Ca stleblayney

opened on the same d

Feb rua ry 15th, 1849

us eu m

nt y

ou nt y

that fac t ories an d houses d t ha t woul d be set on fire fro'.ll sparks an ev en tually I reland as a 1mole I·IOU ld go Up in Th e f smolce. o r ma tion of the line from Belfas t to Ar:,,agh and from Dublin t o Drogheda , led to an Act be i ng obta i ned the fo llowi ng y ear to establ. h in is the Dubli n and Belfas t Junction Railwa y by whi ch approval wa s given fo r a line from Drogheda top t d This reached Dundal k on or a o1m .

a similar service fro m Drogheda station to Armagh via

Ardee and Castle blayney as well as one to Dungannon by

The next section opened was that between Dundalk and

Ar m

Newry and Armagh .

the Wellington Inn near Newry , which came into use on

Ar m

July 31st, 1 850 , whereupon an omnibus was pressed into

ou n

ag h

service for the conveyance of passengers between that point

and Portadown following which most of the Belfast traffic

The next portion was a section starting from Portadown

went that way instead of by •Blayney and Armagh.

This left only a short distance of some six

6t h , 1852 .

which was opened to Mullaghglass near Goraghwood on January

Work was

Bes sbr ook Vi a duct and intensive rock- cutting .

mile s t o be comple~ed , but it included the building of the

I b 'iL

ou nt y

us eu

11 .

quiclcly pusned ahead and on

June 10th, 1852, the gap wa s

us eu m

closed.

us eu m

ou nt y

At this time passengers passing "through Drogheda had to drive from a st ation south of the river to one on its

northern side or t h e other way round if travelling in an opposite direction .

To remedy t his it Has decided to erec t

nt y

a bridge to car ry the railway over the Boyne, accordingly a

Th is was replaced by an iron bridge in 1855 . 1

and practically rebuilt in 1930- 32.

wooden structure Has built and opened to traffic on June

22nd, 1853.

Various efforts were ma de towards uniting the "Dublin

and Drogheda Railway" wi t h the "Belfast and Dublin Junction

Ar m

Company " and in 1875 they ceased their separate existences This brought

and became the Northern Railway of Ireland.

about further amalgamations and resulted in the acquisition

of the "Irish North Western" and "Ul ster " with their

ou n

Ar m

subsidiary lines in 1876 and the regrouping of the four

of I reland " .

ag h

companies under the revised title of "Great Northern Railway

ÂŠ

In 1879 the new Comp any pur ch ased "The Newry - Armagh

Railway", a local line with an interesting history.

was

rded by the Famine events of 1846- 47.

the scheme was greatly reta

ÂŠ

Newry- Enniskillen Railway to incorpora te d in 1845 as t h e provide a link between those t own s via Armagh and Clones, but

us eu

Gor aghwo od t

Ar magh " with

Three years later its n a :n e was

,A1 ich t owo it ua s

ou nt y

Railway Station in 1865 .

o ok Place i n 1854.

us eu m

The op en i ng fro m Newry

ou nt y

l:z;.

chan ged t o t he Newry

linked up at th e Uls t er

us eu m

It was a di f ficu lt li ne to construct a n d included st . eep gradients and two t unnels. This line ' s relations with t h e Newry-War r enpoint Railwa y

t h e two Newry stations and a through service t hu s became

available between Armagh an d Warrenpoint .

place in 1861 foll o wing wh ich rails were l aid be t we en

nt y

opened in 1849 wer e at first un friendl y but a uni. on took

The "Newr y -Ar magh " line is famous in Irish Railway

annals as the scene of I reland's worst rail disast er in

1·Jhicl1 eighty people lost their lives and close on two

Ar m

hundred were injured, wh en on the 1 2th June, 1889, an

excursi on train came to grief at Killuney, less t han two 4 A detailed account of t he events mil es from the city. ( )

ou n

Ar m

leading up to t his tragic accident would take up too much

ag h

time , but in passing I should per haps mention that the

investi ga tion that followed the disaster produce d the long

and t he interlockin g of all signals .

overdue Act enforcing automatic braking, block signalling

Wnen the construction of the Armagh - Ne.wry line re.ached

Drummondmore a t emporary balt or s tation came into being

(4)

See App endix.

an d was in use whilst- th e ·deep .cutting between that point La ter when the line was and Armagh was excava ted.

us eu

ou nt y

terminus

old inhabitants

I t was ori g inally in t ended

ou nt y

ran into t h e presen t station

us eu m

co:ipleted to t :1e city th e train n

on t lrn p latfo r m lmo 1,m t 0

13 .

t: 1 e

Warrenpoint

tl1at t ,1 e Armagh - Newry l~ne

us eu m

should c ont::. nue to Enn iskillen .

The Ulster Railway by then had brough t

its line to Clones and the Dundalk and Enniskillen Company

and Derry .

was ope rating via Clones as also the line between Enniskillen

the line to Armagh

nt y

Th e cutting of th e tunnels at Loughgilly, however ' cost 11ore th a n ,-•a s ~ esti~ated and as a r esult the c apital subs cri bed was only sufficient to bring

The latest line to reach Armagh was the " Ca stleblayn ey -

It reached ' Blayney in 1910 and in the

followi ng year be came vested in the Great No rthern .

was opened i n 1909 .

Ar m

Armagh " , begun in 1903, of i;hi ch the Armagh - Keady se ction

partial closure took pla c e in 1924 , and in 1935 the tra ck

ou n

Ar m

between Keady and ' Blayn ey was lifted .

ag h

The Keady - Castleblayney se ction was a c onsiderable time

coming i n t o being due to the oppo si tion of the Great Northern

who were alarmed by t h e p as si bili t y of alternative travel

and cut tings , mos t

eicpensiva to construct.

financially and, owing to gradian s

The line was unsuccessful

however, never came int o being.

The link-up between Kingscourt and Cast leblayney,

Armagh .

fa cilities f r om Dubli n to Belfast by Navan, Kin gs cour t and

us eu

ou nt y

171.

The '.llost recent po rtion of the Du

Great Northern . ern to oe On Saturday

us eu m

affected is t h e line fr

14 .

Dundalk to Clo ne s .

ou nt y

us eu m

1 9 57 th , , . e last passenger train move d out from Dundalk on its final run . Inny people mad e t h e journey to Cl ones - indeed the train was pa cked . Leaving Dun da lk the noise was terrific . I n the ya rds t h e sirens ni ght, October 12

That portion is no t, hollever, yet closed to freight

It see:ns a pit y tha t a

and Dun dalk- Nona ghan via Clones .

and a si:nila r c on ce ssion is operati ng between Dundalk- Cavan

to the tmmlt .

nt y

of t h e eng ines wailed mournfully whilst fog signal s added

stretch .

The pa ssi ng o f our rai lways h as mos t certainly evoked

Ar m

Portadown

like arrang e:nent c ould not have been adopted on the Enniskillen-

P erh aps I am some1iaat sentimen tal but when

been r etained.

regret and :n any peop l e wonder whe t h er th ey could not have

ou n

Ar m

I think b ack upon their contribution as pioneers of comfo rt -

ag h

able travellin g conditions I do worr y a littl e over the

,Jho lesale closing doi•m o f lin es in recent years - and I must

confes s that I shall be surpr ised if an omnibus monopoly

solves our transport probl ems .

on my last ride from Armagh to Portadown a few weeks ago

had trav elled between those two towns.

It se"emed sad to me

I could not help recalli ng to my mind t h e many oc casions I

that afte r more than a century ' s active service no bett er

'==5 .

us eu

ou nt y

72 .

rro'.!l Ar::1agh the station d \·ra s crm-,<ied ..ie O\m t o say goodbye. De S1.)i te

t he fog signals and the exci ~

photographers' _

The timeca.Je t o

tile br ake s

i nto a cti on .

off but

'.ilO v e

so:ne body pulled t he c om 1un1· c a tion cord bringing

y nt

The train was :n anned by William

Thi s was c arr ied out a second ti:ne but at

last we :nov e d out .

nt y

we cro wded into the trai n .

-1.

. generally it ,,ms a s a d . ts blin ked at us as flashes , 1 igh

occasion .

Dudley ( driv er),

We soon

W. Moore fireman an d Liam Kilpat rick guard

ou nt y

ty local ::eopla who c.:=r

us eu m

On t l1 e fi nal ru.11

us eu m

us e fo r a railway could b e foun d, t· ·,1an to leave the tracks . t • de re 1 1 c · ond useless .

Ar m

reached the Retreat Halt wbe re we found a cro wd awaiting

us an d were beld up fo r a considerable tim e .

Ev entua lly

we :uo ved on wa rds in a battery of cheers to Richhill Station

wh ere 1-1e found an even lar ger concourse of people ac1ai ting

ou n

Th e r El we we re given a Royal welcome and agai n to the

Ar m

us .

Portadown

ag h

accompanimen t of fog signals and :nor e cheers,p roceeded to There we found a pra ctic ally empty s tation .

Evidently the inhabitants of the Borough were quite

i n the fact that no more trains would pas s We emerge d throug h Portadown on their way to Arma'gh .

uninterested

Thus ended our farewell journey .

t o retain our tickets.

fro:n the carriages quickly and at the barrier were allowed

us eu m

us eu

ou nt y

This was no t the f " ~ first railway accident in

us eu m

ou nt y

ti1e county. I n 1886 a· trag ic accident on the Belfast Dublin ' - as line in Brackagh i-,os s, r esultin g i n · six peop le being ki ll ed and for t y injure d, too k p lace . This was due to the negle ct of

earlier the· scene of a n a cci d ent wherein Laurence Halfpenny,

whilst engage d on the erection of sc affolding, f ell f r om a

Th e building of the Bessbr ook or Craigmore Viaduct was

nt y

the pe rmanen t way by which th e tra ck gave way and the trai n

ran off t h e line .

I n the

height of sixt y feet and was kil le d on the s pot. ( 5)

same year a second accident occurred at the sas1e pla ce

Ar m

resulting in _the death of John Hollywood, ,,ho Has pre cipitated

In the fol lo win g mon th a third accident at the Viaduct

I bid, December 18, 1 851 .

ty h

h ag m

(7)

ou n

6, 1851.

Ibid, No vember 16, 1 851 .

(6)

Newry Tele graph, Oct.

ag h

( 5)

Ar m

deprived a man named Ferrigan of his life _( ? )

6 from a height of sixty four feet and died half an hour later. ( )

us eu

ou nt y

17 .

us eu m

Portadown

Li ke Armagh the firs t rail

ou nt y

us eu m

tra ck to arrive at that was ti1 e Uls te r Railway on its way to Armagh fro:n Belfa st. It reach ed Seagoe i n J anua r)' 8 ,. 1 1842and arrived at \/atson Str ee t in Septe:nber of t hat year . town

t he "battle of the gauges".

The Ulste r u p t o then ha d

gauges .

A Boar d o f Tr ade enquiry was eventually held

whi ch resulted in a sta nda rd gauge of "f iv e foot three i nch" .

been using a "six foot two in ch " and other l i n es their own

nt y

Before co ntinuing to Armag h it beca:ne involved i n

This came i nto being be fore the track rea ched Armagh in

There was, of cours e , a level

Ar m

to Woodhouse Stre et.

March 1848 about which ti:ne the POrtadownSt ation 1·e:noved

crossing tl1ere whi ch was a source of :nuch inconvenience .

This ,-ms, however, remedied in 1859 when the co,npany was

ag h

Com:nonly called the "cut ting "

ou n

Ar m

granted per,n is sion to lower the roadway so that traffic mi gh t cross benea th a bridge .

and now better known as the "tunnel" it was opened in 1861.

ou C h

side of the river .

t a return was made to the Edenderry

congested a situation tha

However , by 1863 the Woodhouse Str eet station was in so

us eu

us eu m

ou nt y

175 Armagh Antiquities

The story of Armagh for most of us

ou nt y

begins with the arrival of St. Patrick, but be fore we deal with its

us eu m

foundation as the ecclesiastical cap_ ital of our

island, let us briefly con si d er the pre -christian history of the

now known as Navan Rath , an extensive earthwork some two

miles west of our city, stated to have received its name

old mythology and le g end of Ireland, stands Emain Macha

nt y

Chief in importance amon gst the royal sites of the

district because of its bearing on later events .

For nearly seven

er ected about the year 352 B. C.

from Queen Macha, who is reputed to have caused it to be

Ar m

centuries it was the home of the kin gs of Ulster and in

its immediate vicinity were housed the Red Branch

Ar m

of chivalry, foun ded by Connor MacNessa, one of the

ou n

ag h

most illustrious kings of Ulster •

Knights, Ulster ' s famous and Erin's most notable order

Situate on a hill not quite three hundred feet

area of some twelve high the so - called rath, encloses an ,..,~,_,., -..,, th n a great mound.are now acres but no structures other a Despite this, Visible within its earthen ramparts· . still survive in the however its bygone glories ' joy to all who traditions of the countryside a nd are a ich the dis t r 1 ct 1s so noted . l ove the folklore for wh

us eu

ou nt y

171:,,

Within, or nea r it

us eu m

ou nt y

us eu m

somewhere, lies the body of Fer gus Fo gha , t he l ast King of Ulster to be crowned upon its assembly - mound. He was buried there following his disa strous defeat by the "Three Collas " in 332 A. D. , a nd th ere, pr obably >dthin the actual mound,

nt y

besides .

There on its grassy slopes Cuchullain

excell ed in manly arts, and the old people of the

At Navan Rath was ;dtnessed the tragedy of Deir dr e

and the Sons of Usna, and a hundred other tragedie s

li es t he grea t Queen Macha herself .

district still tell the story of how he carried up the

hill each day a bull- calf and as the calf grew so his

From there also , we may be

Thirty - five

greatest cycle of I rish story- telling.

sure, evolved the epics that make t he "Tain" the

gr own bull to t he summit .

Ar m

strength increased until at last he carried the full-

ou n

Ar m

r ulers in succession were crowned upon this old assembly

upon evil days and for close on seven hundred years it and learning for all the was the centre of power, law · nce _ yet when Patrick came he fai r lands of the Prov1 saken and the seat of power found i t deso l ate and for which we are now standing , t ransfe rr ed t o t he hill O n • . .••. been~ .place of importance a hill t hat s eems t o h ave

ag h

or crownin g place of the kin gs of Ulster ere it fell

us eu

l '7 7 .

us eu m

wi t hin what

ou nt y

us eu m

. came into being t r aditionally derivin g i t s name of Ard Ma ch ' a, not from Macha of Emain Mach a, but f r o:n an earlier Macha who is Said to ha ve led hither a lit tle co 1 ony "some six hundred years after the Flood 11 • Sh e is said to have been buried. on the hill ,

ou nt y

long before the Navan Rath

are now the precincts of the Cathedral

It is very probabl e tha.t the Cathedra l Hi ll was a

No doubt some fact of that nature, coupled

raised.

pla ce of P agan worship in the days before Navan Rath wa s

nt y

gr ound s but the a c tual site of the grave is, of course,

unlrnown .

with it s nearness to Emain Macha, was the deciding

infl uence in St . P atrick ' s determin ati on to secure tha t

It was destroyed in 1830 but as no

ou n

Ar m

wester n slope .

we have any record was a stone cir cle on its south-

The last P agan monumen t on the hili of 1-ihi ch

our land .

Ar m

eminence as a site whereon to found the chief church of

ag h

scientific examination was made of the site at the time

we have now no clue as to its probable date .

We may,

however, assume that it belonged to the late Neolithic

or early Bronz e Age and may have dated back to about

Railway Station , of which one

of the monumen t near the

A ser ies of similar monument s existed around 2,000 B. C. the city but they have all disappeared, with the excep tion

us eu

ou nt y

stone only re11ains, locally

us eu m

Tara, though in the heyday of its

cha in po 1· nt

f antiquity ·

nt y

Emain

i mportance when

was considered secondary to

:&nain ·,a cha had

The g reatest

tales and figures in Irish folklore had their being

there and it had a pla ce in the hear ts of the people , not

fallen but its memory was still v'v'd. ~ ~

Patrick came to Ireland,

ou nt y

us eu m

called the Lon g St one and giving n ame to Lon gs tone House . Such monuments, however, are fairly com1ion tl 1roughout the county especially in the Slieve Gullion area .

on l y of Ulster but of Ireland as a whole .

We will now leave Paga n relics behind us and

Ar m

continue to St. Patrick's ar ri val in our city and his

reception on th i s hill by Daire, the chieftain of the

district whose entrenched abode then occupied the summit .

From the Book of Armagh we learn that Patrick

ou n

a decided r efusal .

Dai re, however, gave him a place on

ag h

Ar m

requested a site for a church on this hill but met with

the lower g round and there upon . the spot now covered by

the Bank of Ireland and its garden in Scotch Street, the

Saint , s fi r st church in Armagh was erected within the That church we bounds of an ancient Pagan cemetery · It was known as "Na Ferta". shall discuss later. The same Book tells the story of the famous bronze

us eu

ou nt y

'.7.

o and fro between Daire and

us eu m

cauldron whose adventures t

Patrick broug h t about the

us eu m

ou nt y

g reater frien dship t hat r esulted in Daire g rantin g the saint t h e whole ri ght in tha t por t ion of ground that he fi r st desired, following whi ch within Daire' s Ra th, Patri ck ' s second church aros e ,

nt y

see,n s !llor e probable that it was double-r in ged and tha t

Before pas sin g on let us visualize Daire's Rath.

Some authorities as sume that it was treble- ringed but it

destined in later days to be the chief church of All

Ireland .

the inner rin g fo llowed t he curve of the gardens at t he

ba ck of Vicar's Hill and after l eaving Callan Street

}"'rom

Ar m

crossed Abbey Stree t below t he County I nfirma r y .

From the

Castle Street to our or iginal starting- point .

ou n

Between the first and second

ring is !llost distinct.

Ar m

top of the Cathed ral tower the line of this particular

ther e it conti nued into Ma rket Str ee t and then ce by

ag h

rings there was a space of f r om 60 to 70 fe et •

latter rin g followed fairly closely the curve of

The th e

. ceable bel ow the Methodist inner r ing and is very noti Church in Abb ey Street in the form of a depression acros s at the Technical School . the r oadway and in Mar ket Square confirmed, St. Patrick The g r an t of the hill being . d amongst hiS converts was began t he new f ounda t ion an who fe ll i n love wi t h . Eranait, t h e dau ght er of Daire,

us eu

ou nt y

l',! o

us eu m

ou nt y

us eu m

Benen, Pat rick ' s favourite d"isciple . but the saint fro,med upon their affecti on and firml y insisted upon her enter ing upon a life of religious devotion . Benen and she loved each othe r deeply but they unselfishly chose to

labour for the conversion of thei·r countrymen rather than

nt y

to live unto the21 selves, so she is still remembered as

Within the rath and its enclosing rings all the Shortly after its

edifices were ecclesiastical.

the saint • s successor in Armagh.

the foundress of the pa rish of Eglish near by, and he as

conversion to religious purposes, pilgrims be gan to

arrive, some of whom remained in Armagh or settled in

Ar m

the immediate nei gh bourhood , such as Crumtheris, who

took up her abode on a hill above Kildarton Lough and

built a cell, the foundations of which yet remain within

ou n

ag h

the present modern church .

Ar m

the little circular graveyard, a field length south of

him self.

Outside the rath in St. Patrick ' s day there was but In its little one church, that known as "Na Ferta" . aint's sister, Lupita, whose burial ground was laid the S f her brother I s chariot is sad ending under the wheels o There of old Armagh• • one of the many tragic stories th great old saint too ·, his grave unmarke d, lies e

!t.

us eu

i 'b I.

ou nt y

Of the two fa:nous personal relics

us eu m

connected with that daunt l ess :nissionar y b t u one remains, the well - kno,-m

Patrick's s Bell no w in the National Collection in Dublin .

ou nt y

Beli eved to have b e en used by th

us eu m

e saint himself, it may therefore be da ted to the 5th century . It had a shrine

made fo r it by co:nmand of Don nel l O'Lochlain, King of

Archbishop

It fortunately survives and i s preserved

The second relic, the equally well- kno1-m

with the Bell .

definitely placed as having been made between the years

1091 and 1105 .

of Armagh , by whi ch inscription the shrine can be

nt y

I reland, during the Primacy of Donnell McAuley

It was

Patrick ' s Staff unfortunately no longer exists .

originally a wooden st aff with an iron spike, but fol low-

covering by St . Tassach , f r om whom it is said the

delightful li tt le valley of Tassagh outs i de the cit y takes

The staff is f irst ment i oned in an old Irish

Ar m

its name.

Ar m

ing Patrick ' s death , it was adorned wit h a precious

references to it in the Irish Annals.

ou n

ag h

poem written in the year 844 and ther e are many sub s equent It remained in

but was then forcibly safety in Armagh until the year 1179

. Fit Aldem Chief Governo r of carried away by William z ' illaged and burned the city . P Ireland, who at the same time ·t remained until the He r emoved it to Dublin where i it was in the year 1538, . Reforma t ion , follo wing which

us eu

ou nt y

car e wa s talrnn , howeve r, t o

rel i cs in t ha t city .

us eu m

publicly bur n t with othe r reli gious

re:nove the go l d with whi ch

us eu m

ou nt y

it was en ca sed and th e :nan"" gems tha t ado r ned i t . It \-/as a r a t h e r s o r ry bus in e ss _ the gr ea t cons ol a t ion t o

we Arma chians is tha t it did not hap pen i n St. Patr ick ' s o,m old city .

On e hun dred and t hi r t y

was completed in the yea r 807.

From internal evi den ce we know t hat it

attach a date .

of early ori gin to \•Jh ich we can wi t h abs ol ute c er t ai nt y

lat er date i s the f amous Book of Armagh one of the most

precious of our I rish manuscrip ts , t he on l y one i ndeed ,

nt y

An ot h er g r ea t tr ea sur e of the See of Armagh but of

The shr i ne ,

Donough, son o f Fl ann , King of Irel and .

Ar m

years l ater it was en closed i n a be autiful shr in e by

however, is now lost but a leath er sa tchel or ca se in

whi ch it wa s carried still survives .

ou n

Ar m

Owin g t o its situa t ion outside the r amparts of the

ag h

ci t y and it s distance fr om t h e t hen more densely populated cent r al p ortion of t he t o,m , Temp lena fe rtagh or Na Ferta

ction by the f ires t h at so somet i mes es c aped destru . the ci· ty proper - fo r i nstance, th e f re quen tly ra ged in th t al l Armagh was bu rne d Annal s fo r t he year 1179 re co r d a Afte r the dissol uti on exc epting Na Fer ta and St · Bri gid ' s · hi st or Y becomes somewhat obscure of reli gi ou s hou s e s i t s

us eu

ou nt y

l'!S 3 .

though , of cours e , t he I nquis it ions of the

at ta ched t o it .

period give

us eu m

pa rt i cu l ars a s t o suc c e

· ssive lay owners

of the land

Sco tch St r eet ·

St ree t - its presen t

us eu m

ou nt y

1.n i.-lii i ch it was situate

1-ias ti1 en known as Templefertagh

na11e i nde ed on l y da t e s ba ck to the late 17 th c entury .

In pr oc e ss of time the to 1-n1 wh i ch nestled ar ound

t he hill began t o gr ow .

i mmens e quantity of materi al

r el ative to t hose founda t ions occurs in our an cient

churche s aros e.

nt y

Chr is ti anity beca:rr e more

attractive s o , as t he c elebrity of Armagh extended , new

Annal s , from which su cceeding event s may be compil ed as

Fr om the,i we learn that

Ar m

mention a f ew of t h e entries.

Tim e, ho1-1ev er, will onl y per01it :ne to

f r om a di a ry .

I n 839 we read

and pillag ed it t hrice in on e mont h .

Ten year s later t he Dane s arr iv ed

670 , 678 and 770.

t he town wa s con sumed by acci dental f i re in the years

ou n

Ar m

that t h e Great Church of Armagh was bur ned by th e Danes

ag h

of Lough Neagh, who again in 890 carri ed off 700 prisoners

For l ong centuries t here was repeated destru ction ~mare commonly by t ho se f i e rce old warriors t O wuo those hundreds of attributed - wrongly so, of course hat still dot our countryside . earthen-ringed forts t

church and breaking down its orat ory .

from the city, destroyin g at th e s ame time part of the

us eu

ou nt y

-:!;C.

tragic a lly aut hen t i c lin k

us eu m

Ti1ere is' howev er' i n t h e i ,1\Jlediate neighbour hood one ·th

th o s e st ormy days , the

the town, t h at ma r k s the so_. ot

_,__ \,u ere Ki ng Ni all pe rished

accident in the year 846 after having

in a drowning

us eu m

ou nt y

old cenotaph on the bank of the Callan , jus t out s i de

defeated the Danish forces then in occupat i on of t he city.

where many othe r king s and princes lie interred .

The Danes are credited with great crueltie s for whi ch

t he r e seems ample foundat ion .

As far as records go I can

Regal Plot on the south side of the old Cathedral, a spot

nt y

His body was carried into the city and buri ed in t he

only t hink of one local instance of an opposit e nature -

Ar m

that was in the year 920 when t hey again sa cked Armagh

was then that Brian Boru, High King of

ou n

i· t

Ar m

• invaders, fo r

provides another li nk with those cruel

The year 1004

sick 11 •

but " spared the houses of prayer with the Culdees and the

ag h

I r eland, paid his memo rable visit to our city a nd before th leaving de pos ited a coll ar of gold upon th e altar of e time re- affirming to Armagh the Great Church , at t he same The entry relating ecclesiastical supremacy of Ireland survives i n the Book of Armagh. to that particular episode Ten years later Brian fell in the hour of victory after sad funeral procession and a t r outing the Danes at Clontarf where the gallant old wended its way northwa rd5 to Armagh

us eu

ou nt y

l'i!5

spot :na r ked by a memorial t h e Ca Cathedral

us eu m

ldng was lai d t o r e st, nea r t h e

t ablet in t he no rth tran s ep t of

In 8 22 and 955, Armagh \•, as burned by "t he

ou nt y

fire of . . grove perishin g , t he latter destru ction being in t he words of the Annalists

us eu m

God", its houses, bell - towers and

"a complete destr uction such as occurred not before in

La ter in

house was saved but the library. in 1112.

Again ruin enveloped

In 1121 two streets of the to,m were

the town

I n 1020 there was yet another burning in which no

steeple so that there was not such a spectacle in Ir eland ".

nt y

Erin and will not a gain occur until Doomsday".

989 there was a further burning of "church hou s es and

for from the day s of our town's foundation by St . Patrick ,

Forty- five years l a ter there was a

Hours could be spent on such details

similar burning.

off the bell-tower .

Ar m

consumed by fi re and in a great storm the cap was blown

ou n

Ar m

down to the 17th century , our history consists of a series

ag h

of sieges and burnings unequalled by any to,-m in Irel and .

I sha ll now try and deal briefly with the various

First in importance,

though possibly not in actual

enclosing ramp a rts.

buildings that arose within the ancient rath and its

eat Stone Church, an edifice date of erection, was the Gr Unfortunately nals i n the year 789 . first mentioned in the An of that particular church. nothing now exists above ground

us eu

ou nt y

us eu m

t o have been constructed of timber , t h e l ar ge size of th e chur ch not allowing of a stone r oof as was usua l on most Irish chur che s of that pe r iod 1-A1 ich ue r e, of course, of much smaller di mensi·ons . The timber r oof of this buildin g was pa rtially dest r oyed by fire in

Its roof seems

995 an d not renewed until 1125 in which year it was covered by shingles and tiles .

The archbishop added

succeede d to the Pr i macy in 1261 it was in such a state

of decay as t o require rebuil ding.

nt y

I t was agai n an d again

burned an d repair ed so tha t when Archbishop 0 ' Scanlon

transepts and a c han c el and t he shell of his church

Church stood t he Sahhall or "Barn " a Pat rican ere ction

mentioned in the Annals as early as 839 and as late as

In t h e inner rin g of the rath with the Great St one

Ar m

rest oration of 1834 .

remains en case d in t he s andstone facin gs of the so - called

ou n

Ar m

ag h

It was a small oratory and stood on a spo t now Close covered by the no rth transept of the cathedral .

1020 .

wall of th e crypt.

south-east aisle

by stood the "Church of the Elections" a building that rts· po sition is suffered in the fires of 916 an d 1020 · the cathe dral and until now occupied by the chancel of rectors of Armagh were comparatively recent times the that proje cted f rom inducted within a portion of its walls yet incorporated in the the chancel, pa.rt of which is

us eu

ou nt y

Li ke othe r old f

13 .

Within the ramp arts also were the Libr ary, the Culde e

in that unhappy period - it stood on the north side of the

Great Stone Church .

us eu m

nt y

ou nt y

us eu m

oun ations Armagh had its Round Tower to which t he re are references i·n tl19 Annal s - the earliest note being that for~ ne year 995'. We do not know whether it eventually de d caye away or was deliberately pulled do1-m like that of Downpat rick . According to Friar O'Mellan's "Narrative" 1·t was still standing in 1642 but injured, as were all the other buildings in the city

The Library called by the Annalists,

Brigid I s Church .

Priory, the Abbey of St . Peter and St . Paul anc st.

"the House of Writings " was the only building within the

This building was

which date the scholars of the famous school of Armagh

lost al l their books in their houses .

Ar m

rath that escaped destruction i n the fire of 1020 at

ou n

Ar m

situat e somewhere near the present l i brary and may have

ag h

been the actual libr ary mentioned by o•Mellan as amongs t the plac es dest r oyed in 1642

Inquisition of 1625' r elatin g to

•

waa of con s ider able extent a s

i s appa r ent f r om an

n the south east of The Culde e Prio r y was situa t e O series of gar den s in Castle the cat hedr al in wha t is now a Street - so n ame d because of the castle erected in that The earli es t Geral d i n 1236 . street by Maurice Fitzgerald The st ructure reference to the Pri or y occurs in 920 " It wa s in use at

us eu

us eu m

They had, however , a still earlier

The Abbey of St. Peter and St . Paul was situat e on

Annals in 822 .

residence within the Rat h itself th a t cr ops up in th e

as late a s 1373.

nt y

ou nt y

times as a resi d ence fo r the Archbishops of Armagh a s may be seen in the Prima tial Registers R under date 1462 . previous to that t he Archbishop , s chief resi dence see~s t . to have been at Bishop I s Court ' o herwi se t he Abb ey of Mullynure, on the outskir ts of t h e c'ty ~ which the before genti oned Registers dis close as th e Archiepiscopal seat

gr oun d stretchin g from the old Pres byterian Church in

Tr aditi onally it is said

Ar m

opposite the Armagh Li brary .

Abbey Str eet t o the Arch bishop Alexander Memorial Hall

As an abbey it owed its erection to

Abbey of Mullynure .

which later , but that is an honour to be sha red with t he

to have been the site of the famous school of Armagh of

ou n

Ar m

Ivor O' Hegan in 1126 , and the names of many of its abbots

Possessions in an I nquisition of 1614 .

ag h

ÂŠ

It eventually passe d to the survive in the Annals . There is an excellent account of its Charlemont family .

ÂŠ

Castle and Thoma s St r ee t s quite close to st . Malachy ' s do es not appear in the Anna l s Chap el. St r an g e to say it

It occupied a plot of gr ound between

the saint herself .

St . Bri gid ' s Church is said to have been founded by

ou nt y

us eu

J.-5-,

until 1085 but it was an ancient church It

us eu m

even then .

has completely d isapp eared but t he site

is well lmo,m . The entrance to all these churches was by a structure

us eu m

ou nt y

called "the Gate " whi ch appea r s from t< '"e ~~ to time in t he Annals and outside which stood an ancient sculptured stone cross .

It seems more probable,

f rom Raphoe by Bishop Pr ene when he was appointed Archbishop of Armagh in 1439 .

I n the middle of the 12th century there

such crosses .

were four, and a fifth is reputed to have been brought

nt y

It is first mentioned in the year 1121. In pass in g I may mention that Armagh was formerly rich in

however, that the Raphoe Cross was an altar cross .

''Na Ferta", St. Pa trick ' s first church - dealt wi th

Friary .

ou n

Ar m

earlier - the Church of St. Columba and the Franciscan

- already mentioned - the church of

Abbey of Mullynure

Ar m

Outside the ramparts there we r e four churches, the

ag h

The Church of St . Columba was situate in a space

It does not seem to have

botto!ll of Abbe y Stre et.

betwe en the Unionist Club and the Pr ovincial Bank at the

ssessed little endownents . attained t o any i mportance a nd po I n the Annals in 1010. It is first mentioned in th e t site was given o t h e newly rei gn of James the First its h until Armagh and occupied as sue f formed Royal School o . t osi tion 1n 1773·t s pr e sen P the school's removal to 1

ou nt y

us eu

1'ff.

us eu m

nt y

ou nt y

us eu m

The Franciscan Friary o f wh ich fai 1 . r Y extensive ruins reJJ ain ,ms bm.l t between the " • ears 1264 and 1268 . The Francisc ans r eached Armagh in 1 24 1 but th e site of their first house is unknown It was pro bably in the to,m pr ope r . Tne Fri a r y was amongst t' nose suppressed by Henry the Ei gh th in 1 542. It was orig inally surrounded

The Friary ruins are in the Archbishop ' s

demesne .

earthwork now .

by a str ong rampa rt and deep trench _ th ·ey are mention ed

in the An na ls in 1 266 but there a re no traces of the

Also outside the rath there was a hospice or Fort of

the Guests which from its position es caped the :nany

ou n

Education in our city is said to

have had its beginning with St. Patrick but the first in the town, is that of school that we have any record Of 450 which St. Ben en was head about th e year · t · n foundation e of the earlies i Though Armagh was On tian period it was by no of our Irish schools of the chris 6 th and 7th centuries• means the most important in th e

schools of Armagh .

ag h

And now may I devote a few minutes to the ancient

Ar m

now quite lost.

times durin g the 11th and 12th centuries but its site is

It is men tioned in the Annal s a number of

our city .

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burnings that were such a feature of the early days of

us eu

ou nt y

However, by the 8 th century it

us eu m

ou nt y

That the school

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had acquired th e pr oud h ac i eved p t . ar of its envi able scholastic status from its h . ist orical associations seems eviden t, but after all that was only a secondary feature ~ its great prosperity . The name s of many of t h e heads Position .

of its famous school or college are kno,m to u s

As one scans the

list do,m the cen turies other gr eat names arise and so

historian of Britain who died in 512.

One of its heads was the famous Gildas Albanius, the

nt y

and from those lists we l e arn the true secret of its gr eatness.

who beca,ne Archbishop of

down to the celebrated Ivor O' Hegan, who had amongst his pupils here, Mal achy O'Morgair

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Armagh in 1134 and is now venerated as a saint .

Irish nation but of students from every part of Christendom

Those were the days

diffuse knowledge throughout Europe.

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issued fo rth t o instruct their respective countrymen and

From this school many learned men, not only of the

ou n

ÂŠ

many students as we have now citizens. invasions of the 9th and During the Danish and Norse were often expelled and their 10th centuries the scholars lways they arose again schools and books destroyed - bu t a native princes - for those UDder the fostering care of th e _ bard was moved to write Were the days when a visiting

ag h

\/hen our student population rose to over 7,000, almoS t as

us eu

Ardmach,

us eu m

of t h e world have their kn

ou nt y

"H ead of Erin is great The men

l:8.

That the sch ool of Ar:nagh was

owl edge there".

con si dered of national

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ou nt y

importance we lmow from t h e f t t ac hat it was so of ten helped by t h e Kin g s of the different Provinces _ fo r instance, by t h e king of Munster

in 709 .

Again long

pension, and that was not the last as sistance given by

a native prince for in 1387, Niall O1 Neill built a house

King of Ireland augmenting its inco:n e by an annual

nt y

centuries l a ter we find Ro derick O'Connor the last High

on the outskirts of the city for the entertainment of

the learned men of Ireland who i n thos e days found at

Armagh a spiri t ual home .

Ar m

I n 1162 , at an ecclesiastical synod, it was decreed

that no per son should be permitted to teach or publicly

Ar m

we find the School o r University - as it was juS t as

l ectur e on theology who had not studied at Armagh, th us

ou n

By 1 513, h owever, Armagh

had become greatly reduced

Ireland.

ag h

ÂŠ

f requently c alled - Of Armagh holding a high l y honourable r scho l as t ic establishments of pr e- emin ence ove r t h e Othe

ÂŠ

between the Chur ch by va rious causes, ch i ef ly quar r els The d t i ve chi eftains . and State and t h e Church an na . Queen Eli zabe t h ' s reign, Prospect looked more pr omi sing i n advised Her Majesty to have a when Sydney , the Lord Depu t y

ou nt y

us eu

us eu m

d e ucated at this an cient Agi l bert, the first Bishop 1.s op of the \fostern

Saxons , was a pupil h e re as also P rince Aldfrid

later

about the y ear 684 states he _

King of the No rthumbrian Saxons , who in a poem written

"Found in Ardmach the splendid,

Meekness, wisdom and prudence blended" ,

nt y

school.

Many notable people were

us eu m

ou nt y

Universi ty at Armagh and another . at Limerick - but li ke Archbishop Robi n son • s att alas , emp t to found such an institution here about three t . cen ur1.es later, it came to grief .

Willibrod, Archbish op of Utrecht, was another pupil whos e

Ar m

name br ought much honour t o the roll of ol d Armachians

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Fr ance in 845 .

philosophe r, J ohn Scot us Eri gen a, who went from he re to

but the mo st famous perhaps of all its sons wa s the gre at

ou n

ag h

Our ancient ci t y lacks the clois ter ed austerity of

cathedra l cities like Canterbury and Yor k, but it has a

I ts appeal lies not so much

subtle charm a ll its own .

of communion with the pas t . We who love our ancient city like to remember that

Armagh was t h e mos t distinguish ed of all Ireland's schools nd QUeen s in its golden of l ear ning , the throne of Kin gs a

s is in a mystic feeling in what is actually to be Seen a

us eu

ou nt y

a&.

na!lles -

us eu m

nd t h e r e st ing p lace of warri ors and saints ,,mose age a " So l on g a s the sea gir de t h our isle,

eu us M

y ty

nt ou

ou C h

ou n

ag h m

Ar ÂŠ

us eu m

M y

C h

ÂŠ

Ar m

nt y

ou nt y

Sh a ll hang i n splendour o 'er i t ".

ou nt y

Roke by, Archbishop of Armagh

us eu m

us eu

ou nt y

The Observatory owes its

ori gin to Ri chard, Lord In establishing the

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Armagh Li b r ary and Observatory' tbat distin guished and

nt y

~ight again beco:ue a university to,m .

that Ar 11a~h

The Archbishop

was, no doubt, fa11i liar with the pas t history of the

town and of t h e efforts :nade in the 16th and 17th

I n 1583 a

The earliest atte'.llpt was in 1558 by Archbi shop

centuri e s to revive it as an educational centre .

Dowdall, but the times were too unsettled.

gener ous pr elate had in his 11ind t he hope

State propo s al was made that laid plans for universities

Ar m

at Armagh and Limerick which, if effected, would have

Ar m

Trinity came into bein g, the subject was raised by the

Two

ou n

Earl of Tyrone and was again conveniently shelved.

ag h

In 1599, seven years after

in Irish scholastic affairs .

resulted in those two cities taking precedence of Dublin

ril, 1787, Thomas Orde, centuries later, on the 1 2th Ap · t the Irish House the then Chief Secretary, introduce d J.n

•·n.· th the exception of the clause Which uassed the House • nd university . The • relat ing t o the foundin g of a second came from Trinity who opposition , I a'.ll sor r y to say, large estates in Ar:uagh Po s sibl y f e ared that part of its

of Commons a scheme of education, all the proposals of

us eu

9b .

und in c e r ta in other Ulster A change

t o that pur pose .

Qrde ' s retire j1 2nt and the

coun ties m· ht · lg be diverted

us eu m

ou nt y

gove r m1ent resulted in

us eu m

£1,000 fo r the erection of a College Chap el.

Strong

refused to co11mend the p ro posi tion to th e king and

consequently the lega cy lapsed.

agr ee but t he Duke of Portland , the t hen Prime Minister ,

exertions ,-,ere ,ia de to induce the British Govern'.l! ent to

nt y

ou nt y

:natter drou_ ped for the time being . It is cl ear that it was intended to renew the propo sal, for Archbishop Robinson in hi· s ,rill left a bequest of £5,000 t owa r ds it , ano a n additional sum of

The ma tter was raised once :aore in 1836, but there

We were not again troubled by

detri:nenta l t o Trinity.

Ar m

was still a feeling t hat its foundation would be

education problems until 184·5 in ,-,b ich year we were

ag h

Those events may seem to you

t 0 have lit t le to do

Tl18 y

With th e hist o ry o f the Observatory .

however ,

RORobinson to supplement 1

th e fa c tor s that induced Archbishop both were rounded with

Armagh again

act 1v1. t y .

a centre of educati onal

to e ob j ec t of making

th e Li bra r y by an Ob ser vatory a nd

University .

ou n

an institution that has since developed into Queen ' s

Ar m

defeated by Belfast in the strugg le for a Queen ' s College,

us eu

TI1e ere ct ion of th

an "ol d

He Has a skilled a astronomer and the author of

Ar m

boy " of the Ro yal Sc hoo l of Ar:nagh , became the first Di rect or .

in Armagh

of Cloyne and P rebenda ry of Mullabrack

Dean

- "The Hea vens Declare the Glory of God".

In t he follo1,rlng year James Archi bald Hamilton

appr opriate motto

othe r a representation of the south fr on t ,.Jith 'he , very

us eu m

nt y

ou nt y

us eu m

ou nt y

e Observ at ory be3an in 1789 "nd cl1os e Francis " J ohnston as his rt is, as you wi ll so ar chi t ect. ee, a pleasant "l t. three - storeyed house of t he perioo. 1·1i th it t J er e stin g in ter ior details . It wa s co'.llp l eted touards the end of 1789 as :.iay be verified by the v ery rare Mossop medal of that year , bearin g on one si de the h ead of t he founder an d on the the Archbishop

had a private obs ervatory

nst1· tut ·_i on l i nked wi tlJ Ar:n agh by

th e gift of c e rt ain ins tru:nents once

the founde r of

ou n

i·

ag h

th e 'Kew Observato r y, an

the pr operty of King

Ar m

intere s t you to know that Samuel Molyneux

at Der r y lo ran a s early as 1780 and in pas sing it :nay

Dr . Hamilton

of t he Ac ade:uy .

sever al scientifi c pape r s published in the "Trans a ctions "

privat e obse r vatory on the ancestr al estate her e on th e be th at the dome- l i ke I t may well outskirt s of th e city • ago Roubill ac's structure t h at h ou sed about a century t was in fact t hat statue of Sir Thoma s Molyneux Bart. · '

Geor ge III, i s cr edit ed by t r adition with having had a

us eu

building

us eu m

ou nt y

Molyneux was the son of William Molyneux uthor of the "C a se of Ireland ' a rel and Stated " and a ~1e:nber of a family 1-1ell kno ,-m in Dublin in t he 16th , 17th and 13th centuries . He ',ias bo r n in 1 689 and died 1728.

us eu m

the f irst D· directorof the Armagh Observat o ry, died in 1815. His peri od at the Obse rvato r y

Dr. Hamilton

Dean of Ar:nagh, and later Bi shop

a former

of Ossory .

son of

Hugh Hamilton

interestin g di a r y kep t by Alexander Hamilton

nt y

is covere d fro 11 the social histor y point of view by an

At that time Dr . Ha:nilton had an unmarried daughter ,

Jane, and two wards , Catherine and Juli ana Ti sdale ,

living with him to who'.ll he allowed the use of th e large

Ar m

dome as a place wherein to entert ain their friends.

A selfish conception of

ag h

loved and wished to me et .

ou n

Ar m

dome as "heaven'\ the reason given being that it was a pleasant p lace wherein they only met those ,-,ham t hey

Out of that fa vour grew the nami ng of that particular

resident of the Royal Irish

t 1· n his attentions to was t h en ve r y con st an ther strin gs to her bow . Jan e Hami l ton - but she had O • occurs in the diary in 1798 . A rathe r amusing incident Academy

Caulfi eld, son of the first P

Lord

·n similar ci r cumstanc es .

lllight think ourse l ves

heaven perhaps bu t not so ver y diffe rent to what we

us eu

'99 ·

ou nt y

Lord Caulfield and Alexander Hamil ton had be en up to

us eu m

the Observ ato r y t o p a ss t he

us eu m

ou nt y

evening with t he 1 ad1.. es , and on their way home found t' o e lodge ga tes locked with t he r e sul t t ha t they we re fo rced to climb "' t he'.11 . The diary tells us th a t Lord Caulfield from pr actice go t

over i:mn ediately but Hamilton found t'ne

Hamilton ' s successo r in th e Direct or ship was the

but time doe s not per mit us t o study it further t o- ni ght.

should like to quote freely f ro:n that pa rticul ar manuscript

nt y

first attemp t difficult and in the second tore his breeches . r

Rev. WilliamDavenp ort, D. D., Senior Fell ow of Trinity, who

died in 1 823, and was succeeded by the Rev . Thomas Romney

Robinson , D. D., a for mer Fellow of Trinity and in many

Un der his

Ar m

ways t he most versatile of all the Directors.

care t he Obser vatory was enlarged in 1827 by the building

ou n

George Beresford .

ag h

Ar m

of some extra rooms and a second dome, a work made pos sible through the generos ity of Archbishop Lord John

as Pr esident of the Academy .

In 1 851 Dr . Robinson

the Directorship of the He died in 1 881 after having hel d In his term of office, Obs ervato r y fo r over 58 years . M authoress, ,ras from time to time a MariaEdgeworth , the second wife . the Doctor ' s Drey er , a guest - her step - sister was by Dr . J ohn L. E. Robi n son was succeeded the 1914-1918 who resigned during distingui shed astronomer,

us eu

ou nt y war .

?.oo .

whose death in 1936 caused deep sorrow locally.

He was

The present Direct or, Dr. E. H. Lindsay, is

Telescope 11 •

a well - kn01-m lens - maker and the author of "The Amateur

The next in succession was Canon H. E. A. Ellison

nt y

live to take up duty at Armagh .

us eu m

ou nt y

us eu m

H Hardcastle, a very brilliant man and the g reat - grandson 0 1, tl1 e famous Sir Wiliam Herschell. He did good service during the war of 1914 1918 in c onne cti on vrl t h the k' wor ing out of tides at Gallipoli, without which the disembar kment of troops there mi ght never have been accomplished, but he did not •

His successor was Dr

the first native of the county to hold the post and under

manner .

Ar m

his ca re the Observatory is progressing in no uncertain

I n conclusion I shoul d like to emphasize the fact

ou n

ag h

in the li fetime of one archbishop and that it was his

Ar m

that th r ee of the establishments on our list were built

h ag m

intention to found a museum also - that was actually th Observatory e provided fo r in t h e Act establishing object was not achieved. but unfor tunately that particul ar

us eu m

us eu M

ou nt y

2ol .

us eu m

mission .

ou nt y

The tr aditiona l si gnificance of Armagh . ,. o in pre Christian days n o doubt influenced St . Pa tri ck in his choice of it as the pla c e of supreme i mportance in his

He soon s ecured sites for

church es and i mmediately beg an prepara ti ons fo r the

in struction of the young p eople of the area, and so

about the yea r 450 t he first school of the new regime

was open ed.

nt y

Acco rdin g to the Anna ls he r eached Armagh

in the year 444 A.D .

Cultural gr owt h was gradual in the sixth

and seventh centuries but by the end of the l atter

Ar m

century t h e schools of Armagh were widely reco gn ized .

ou n

ag h

Ar m

the No rthumbrian Saxons, who is reputed to have been th By e for a p eriod a pup il in one of its schools .

a poem written in 684 by Prince Aldfrid, later King of

ÂŠ

bad acquired an enviabl e succeeding cent ury Armagh and tenth centur ies the During t he ninth position. rches suffered greatly u city an d its schools and Ch repeated Norsemen , wh ose through the raids of the . f the scholastic . h destructi on o incursions resulted in t 0 foreign bo oks and so alarmed establishme nts a nd their the same came to study in students that they no longer

The city and its amenities fi gure favourably in

ou nt y

numbers

In those

cen uri e s Armagh wa s u . Th • lun a ered in 830, · e only local specimen of

us eu m

667, 890, 919 and 946

penmanship

us eu

lo 2.

to survive those tragic day s

and Daire, the

then Prince of the district, the enclosing ring s of whose

entrenched abode are still traceable, a visible re:ninder

nt y

It is our source for

the story of the c ontacts between Patrick ~

precious of

indeed of early origin

that can with certainty be dated .

us eu m

the city in the year 807' and one of t h e most our Irish manuscripts, the only one

ou nt y

is t he so -c alled Book of Ar:na gh ' compiled in one of the monastic houses of

of Patrick ' s arrival in the mid- fifth century, to 1-, hich

period belong s the celebrated P atrick 's Bell, one of two

made for it by Donnell O'Lochlan, King of Ireland, during

the Primacy of Donnell MacAu ley, Archbishop of Ar:nagh, by

Centuries later the Bell had a shrine

ever with Armagh.

Ar m

famous personal momentos of the saint, both linked fo r

venerated Bachal I sa, unfortuna t e 1Y no

longer exists.

1538 "

llhen it was publicl y burned in

1 · in Ireland It was the most reno,med ecclesiastical re ic . . n Armagh until 1179' in and r emained in safe keeping 1 off to Dublin by a force of llhich yea r it was carried the Reformation An t ined until Anglo Normans th e re to be re a

between the years 1091 and 1105.

ou n

The second, the

ag h

Ar m

which inscription it can be dated as having been fashioned

us eu

ou nt y

Lea r ni ng made steady p r ogr es s in

us eu m

ou nt y

us eu m

the tenth century , In 1020 the Li bra r y of Armagh is '.llen tioned i n the Annals, the first r e f e renc e to such an in sti tut ion in any city in Ireland. Education gained a fresh i mpetus in the 12th

century when the a::nend:nen t of the Irish chur ch wa s inspired

of Armagh, St. Celsus and St. Concord, were also of local

In those centuries the schools of Armagh

extraction and educated like St . 11alachy in our city

schools.

Two other Archbishops

was born in 109 5 and died 114 8.

nt y

by St. 1-l alachy, a fa,nous Ar :nachian , the traditional si te

of whose birthplace bears a co:nme:no rative tablet .

maintained their national impor tance and were fostered

Ar m

by the kings of other provinces besides Ulster - for

instance, by the King of Munster in 907 and Roderick

O'Connor , High King of Ireland, in 1169, the latter

last assistance given by a local prince for in

ou n

It was not, however, the

ag h

towards education in the city •

Ar m

benefaction being the last grant made by a king of Ireland 1387

Nial

llho found in Armagh a spiritual home · an ecclesiastical Synod In 1162 it was decreed at to teach or publicly th at no person should be pe rrni tted h thus studied at Armag , lecture on theology who had not

built a hostel on the outskirts O'Neill king of Ulster, y learned men of the city for the accommodation of th e man

us eu

us eu m

ou nt y

confer rin g on the schools of A Armaghpre - e:ninence the ot he r schools of Ireland and over all confirmi ng t he city i n it s claim to uni ver Si ty status . Th at Has but a f An l N e1•1 Years c on quest , by which the Irish before t h e g o - Normans

By that

Such schools did not suffer actual ext i nction

education .

until the di ssolution of :nonasteries in 1537 .

nt y

us eu m

schools were at fir t 1 s· ittle disturbed . Their us efulness , ho wever, b e c ame gradually . i mpaired through conflict between English and Irish opini on on matters of

, 0 nastic •

facilities wha t e v er .

decree I rel and was left for a time without any educational

In 15 58 Dr . Geor g e Dowdall , Archbishop of Armagh,

Ar m

petit ioned Queen Mary as to the nece s sity for a university

Ar m

acquired the prize .

and schools and i n 1583 a proposal was :n ade to establi sh

universities at Armagh and Limerick but Dublin eventually

ou n

The Earl of Tyrone made a further effor t in 1599 but

bt1ng and s till flourishe s ·

ag h

During Queen Elizabe th ' s that was likewise unsucces sful. rei. gn efforts were !llade to set up schools in the shire · Armagh been accomplishe d in . tollll s but nothing seems to have In 1608 lands were granted until th e Plantation of Ulster · f free schools the upkeep 0 by K.ing Jame s a nd s et apar t fo r the Royal School 1n counties by which the var ious no r the r n t came i nto establishmen ' ot Armagh, an i mpor t ant educ ational

us eu

'.lo~-

us eu m

nt y

ou nt y

The closi ng years of th . e ei ght eenth the question of a university ve r ty at , century brought Ar nagh again to . Lord Rokeby the t h A public notice. • ' en Archbishop,later b a legacy towar a s its foun dation h . equeathed aving durin g his lifetime founded a libr a r y an d observatory d' as a Juncts Th e scheme natl, however, to be dropped b ecause of opposition f rom various sources. An effo rt was made in 1845 t o obtain a

favourable opinion towa r ds the proposal for a college at

Queen ' s Coll eg e fo r t he city, but despite the general

Arnagh it was e rect ed in Belfast whe re it has since become

the university of the pro vince,

They are , however ,

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,ith the histo r y of the Observatory.

Those even ts may seem to you to have little to do

the facto r s that induced Archbishop Robinson to supplement

the Libra r y by an Observatory and both were founded wi th

importanc e.

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the object of making Ar magh again a place of educational

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nd The erection of the Observatory began in 1789 a in

Archi bal d Hamilton, Dean

In the followin g ye ar James

declare t he glory o f Go d" ·

that yea r a fine bronze medal was st ruck by William Mossop, edal, examples are rare th e grea t I rish medallist . The m one side the head of the and diffi cu lt to p r ocure, bears on the south front r d a representation of oun er and on the other "The heavens t motto of t he building wi t h the appr opria e

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(i,_

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of Cloy n e an d Preb endary of Mullaghbrack in

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of the Roy al Irish Academy

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Armagh an old School of A Armagh beca:ne the first Di rect or. He was a skill ed astronomer an d t he author of several s cientific p ap ers publish ed i n t he "Transactions" boy'' of the Roy a l

Dr . Hami l ton had a private observatory at Derry loran as ea rly as 1780 and

in pa ssing

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it may intere st you to know that Samuel Molyneux is

credited by t r adition with having had a private obs er vat ory

on th e an cestra l estate here on the outskirts of the city

and it is bel i e v ed that the domelike structure that about

a century ago housed Roubillac' s statue of Si r Thomas

Molyneux Bart., was in fact that buildin g.

is covered from t he s ocial hi sto r y point of view by an

interesting diary kept by Alexander Hamil t on , son of Hugh

His p eriod at t he Obs ervatory

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Dr. Hamil ton, the first Director of the Armagh

Obse r vat ory , died in 1815 .

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ÂŠ

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Hamilton, a former De an o f Ar magh, lat er Bishop of Ossory, e Royal Irish Academy . and one of the founders o f th ished in 1758, es tablishe d His work on "Conic Section s", Publ lat er publications on his fame as a mathematician llY well received. astronomical subjects were equa h first Dir ecto r of t is th e Hamilton, To return to Dr . Armagh be . of biS appointment to At the t~e dtw institution . daught er, Jane, an had living with him an unmarried who following the Juliana Ti s dale, wards, Catherine and

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:i.07 _

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Lord Caulfeild was then very

in similar circums tances .

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raising of t h e lar ge dome in 1 793 were 11 a owed the use of it at ti~ies 1-1herein to t en er t a in their friends Out of that fa vour g rew the naming f t · hat pa rticular dome as o "heaven", the reason given be i ng th t . a it was a pleasant Place wherein they ~1 et only th ose whom they loved and wished to mee t. A selfish conception f o heaven perhaps but not so very different to what we might think ourselves

A rather amusing incident

Lord Caulfeild and Alexander

occurs in the diary of 1798 .

other strings to her bow.

constant in his attentions to Jane Hamilton - but she had

Hamil ton had been up to the Observatory to pass the evening

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with the ladies and on their way home found the lodge

The diary tells us that Lord Caulfeild from climb them . practi ce go t over immediately but Hamilton found th e firS t

gates locked w:i. th the result that they were forced to

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at tempt difficult and in the second tore his breeches ·

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the Directorship was the Rev. Hami lton 's successor in Senior Fellow of Trinity who William Davenpo rt, D. D., by the Rev . Thomas Romney died in 1823 and was succeeded Tr inity, and in many Robinson, D. D. , a former Fellow of Under bis . 11 the directors • vays the mo st versat i le of a th building lar ged in 1827 by e care the Observatory was en k made possible d me a war of some extra r ooms and a second o '

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In 1851 Dr. Robinson

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t hrough t he g enerosity of Ar chbishop L ord John George Beresford .

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was elected Pre sident of the He di ed in 1881 afte r having held the Direct orship of the Obse r vatory for over 58 years. In his term of office, Maria Edgeworth, the authoress , Royal Irish Ac ademy .

Robinson was succeeded by Dr . John L. E. Dreyer, a

distinguished ast r onomer , who resi gned during the 1914 His successor was Dr . Hardcastle, a very

1918 war .

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was from time to time a guest - her step - sister was the

Doctor's1 s second wife.

He did good service during the war

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brilliant man and the great - grandson of t he famous Sir

William Her s hcell.

at Gallipoli, without ,Jhich the disembarkm ent of troops

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to take up duty at Armagh .

there might never have been accomplished, but did not live

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'·•as Canon W. E.A , Ellison whose The next in succession " He was a welldeath in 19 36 caused deep so rrow locally· f "The Amateur Telescope". known lens:nake r and the autho r O Lindsay, is a native of lhe present Dir ec t o r, Dr. E. M. University . He has . the county and a graduate of Queen ' s American and African had practical experience in this observatory directorship observatories· and under his

of 1914 -1918 in connection with the working out of tides

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M ty o C

h ag

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Ar ©

M ou

C h

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sin" in no uncertain :nanner . Unfortunately ,r ogres - ., t be with us this afternoon but we are lucky in canno . D,. Opik and Dr . Armstrong to take care of us . nng - •

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210

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Astronomical

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LOC AL

The inve n tion of pr i nt i ng in t h e

mi d 15th c en ' ury made

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literature t h e p ro pe rt y of many peopl e

to whom it had pr evio usly

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been inacc ee s i ble, t h us bring ing about

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inc reased vi gour amongs t stu 111110 of sci e nce, part_icul a rl y in r egar d to a stronoillic a l .,.__.; By the begi nni n g of the 16 t h c entur y the cu ltural

gener ally .

The s i'tuation was, however ,

,ery appur en t i n Europe

developmen t d u e to t he new method of diffusing knowl edge wa s

and t h e follo wing c entur y ,

the coun t r y i n t .:1at

Despite those

aomewhat diff erent he r e owin g to t he t h en unsettled stat e o.t·

drawback s, t h e 17th c entury produced two men wl1 oee observat i ons

on astronomy a nd k i ndr ed s ubj e c ts link Ar magh with t he gr ea t

William

r esp e ctively of Samuel Molyneux or

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end Samu e l, son .and g r ands on

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Co. Ar magh, ily to come to_ Ireland was The first memb e r of the fam en old French femilY wJ;lo came to Thomas Molyneux d escendant of i ntroducti on of t he first Dublin in 1576, si x years af ter th • Elizabeth 's nominee for the Printing preee in t hat city aTid a s He had with other

Castledillon

I r efer to t he t wo Molyneux

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the fir st t wo G·e o rge o ,

t h e more peac efu l days of queen Anne " nd

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acientif ic f i g uree , of t he perio d c overed by the Res torati on ,

the Williamite te wars

King at Chancellorship of t he Irish Exchequer, . in 1586 beo arne Ulster Issue an e lder e on, Daniel, \ffl 0 f Iriab fe.milY ool 1eotion o Arms an accurat e antiquarY who se with oth er important college hhistorynow reposes in Tr Trinity

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compiled by c e rt a i n

manuscripts

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of h is desc endan ts, lie died i n 1632 8Dd was succe eded by h ie third, but eldest Samuel Ch i ef :c'.ngineer surviving s on , of Ir e land , an expert i n ordnanc e , who purchased t he Ca stl e Dillon estate and dying i n 1692 l eft two nrY brilli a nt sons , William and Thomas, Both wer e gr aduat e s

Acco rding to Alumn i Dublinen s i e , William

lie obtained hie

Trinity Coll ege in 1 6 71 aged fifte en years,

Molyneux entered

benef actors.

nt y

of Dubli n Un i v er ei t y and gr eat grandsons of one of its chi ef

h e had no parti cu l a r lean ings towards legal practice,

devoted most of h i s t,ime t o philosophy and appli ed mathemati c s ,

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ag estate

He ir to a very consi derable

studied l aw for three years .

B,A, degree in 1 6 74 and ent ered t h e Middle Templ e where he

friendship and correspon dence wi th John Flamsteed

t he Astronomer

Hh inter e st in optics and as trono my was s timul ated by a

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;In t l 1e following

ag h

to tab refuge in England

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Royal, an i n tercourse that began in 1681 and continued until • for a nn eacri pt ion of 1692, In 1 682 he collected t h e material He ·was one of t he founders Ireland•, unf ortunately unpublished. · i ety and it• ·uret secretary. of the Dublin Ph ilosophical Soc appointed s ociety, he wa• later ailected a F ellow of the Roya l · Ireland. Chief Engineer o! Surveyor or the Kings buildings and •as ·erected ~nder his romoved 4 IODeiderable part of Dublin Castle of JIIJllee· II be••• aoeessiol'l supervision but after the of 1688 n• .! oroed th• . disturbance trea office and o,;.ing to year be began ,rorl<

7...

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..LI ~

ID Chester on hi s book on Optics

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in h w i ch he was assist ed by The work wa_ e published in London Flamsteed ndon i n 1692 , the sheets being revised by h ie fri e nd Halley, d an it was for ·a long time u,a ,tandard work o n that subject,

,After the b a ttle of the Boyne he re turned to Ireland to

that h a d me t f or 26 years, being s ummoned f or

Convention

Parliament, the f iret, with t h e exception of Tyrconnell

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rlait his fathe r wh o had persisted in r emain i ng in Dublin.

I n 1695 he was again ch osen as repr esentative.

University,

October 1692, he was returned as one of the members for Dublin

Hie wri tinge a re con s i d erable i n quanti ty and of fine

He tran sla t ed a wo r k of Evangeli sta Torricellio

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quality,

entitled "The motionof Heavy Bodie s" notable for 1ta ca r efully

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far n • I know and was disappr oved of by Flamsteed

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Tl!e di a l never came into use

• telescope to a h orizont a l dial"•

dne diagrams, a n d was author of "A new c ontrivance of adapting

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fe• however• and indeed the one '!'he great event Of hi. li

It•••

•a•

. hi name •as the publ i cation lhioh aanferrad historic int e r e st on. s ' 'The Case of Ir eland Being Bound 98 ot hi • famoue tr eatise in 1 6 , ,, ,.th work of acetateaman • '1 Acts o k Parliament 1n Engl a nd »tated honeet it has none of sua• tve and lat metaphysician Calm, per man of euch A book bY a !be 'bltterne •• of Swift wrttinge, · tU'ic ach i evemente and 11c!en . 41 •tlnot1cm ln moral quali ti•• ht before • 1111111ediatelY broug ~ to attract notio e , '

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eh Hous e of C Commons who. r epo rted the book ae dangerous to t h e Crown a nd pe op le of

Collllli ttee of t h e English

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England

)OlleVed tha t t :1e book

Molyneuxwa s i n consider ab l e dange r

the c omt,on

the f amily th at William liam

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I t i s comr..only

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and t he r e i a a t r ndi. ti on i n

hangman

was .or de red t o be bur ned by

impeachment but owi ng to

He did not t ake much part i n the verba l

tbe exerti on s of h is fr i end , Locke , the philo soph er , he was

eared t hat ind i gnity .

and pri nt ed w r t h at fo l owed publi e2tion owing to hie death in Bur i ed

the autumr. of the y ear i n whi c' , ti1e wor k was publish ed ,

at St, Audoen's s i n Dublin , a s ta t ue wa s erected whi c·1 I nte r met

in consequ ence of who s e early death it was

unfortunately lo st .

lie wa s succe e ded in the e state by his son, Samuel , a man

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with an odd f a te, b e ing r~moved f o r r epai r by his gr and- nephew , Sir Cape l Molyneux

or great disti nction, founder of the Kew Observatory, an

Ki ng George III.

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ln1truments, onc e t he p rope rt y

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!n1t1t ution linke d wi t h Ar magh by the gift of certai n ast r onomical

graduated B. A, J\ t Dubli n Samuel Molyneux was born in 1 689 ' Af t er leavi ng ' U A in 1710, university i n 1708, and took his . • • t Castle Dillon , o i mprovement• a Trinity he devoted two ye,.rs t h , an observatory t ere. th 1114 tradition c;red 1 ta ht:m ,ri having ng had l a t er housed . ke structure whio1, lt -.y well be th a t the dome like it1 fsCt thi e Molyneux ,ras Roubillac's• statue of s ir Thomas 1,ater be quitted. t be certain 'buildlng, but of that " 8 c~no ,:rord; a11d 0 Cambridge at1d Ireland for a period visiting

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21 A-

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eftntus llY r e a ohi ng An t werp, I n 1714 he waa Bent on a political ,,i,sion to t ;i e Court of Hanove r by hi s fr i end the Duke of Marlborough and J ater be c ame See r t e ary to t he Pri nce of Wales In 1717 he marri ed Lady E liz abeth Capel • da ughter o_f t l,e t hen fr om whi ch un i on t he Chri st i an

nt y

of Essex

,a11

name

of Capel

came

Af t er _h is marri age the e tudy of astronomy and opti cs engaged

Into use by later generat i ons or the famiJ.y ,

to the Prince of Wales

In 1719 , Molyneux

Bridstow i n Heref ord shire.

but t hen Vic ar of

James Bradl ey, a fterwa r de Astronomer Royal

whi1st Secretary

hie atten tion more full y arid he soon made the acquaint ance of

procured for Bradley a better living in

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Pembrokeshire, and n o doubt wr.e a lso i nterested i n s ecuring hi s

Molyneux and Br adley c ar ried out i r.lJlortant

In 1725

appointrne r, t as astron ome r a t Oxf ord in t h e fo llo 17 i ng year.

Thie

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with a e peci e lly built 2 4½ foot telescope, . Molyneux e r esolve to repeat llllion of forces c ame about thr ough The . nual parallBX, Booke•s attemp t s to determine stellar an observa tory at Kew instrumentswas mounted on Molyneux • private ••• made upon it by him and by Bradley i n the .... the observations lad to the latter'• period December 1725 to December 1727 experiments

Ille Admiralty hh

1etor at Wanstead but bY bi •

111 setting up Bradley's of the Lords ~r appointment•• one

In August 1727 Molyneux auieted

4t•o_0Tery or the aberration or ·l ight,

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tner duti '3 s, i n c lud ing h i s

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r e tu r n to t he frish Pn r 111.meut t.e one of t i10 r apr " s ent ut ivee of the Uni v ersity or Dublin , He di ed 1n t he fo llowi n g Yea r and in 1 73 0 h i s wi dow sold %ew Houue t o , rederick, Pri n c e or I a l e s , f a the r of George III , - -:;:;:;;;- 1,ouae was ' demoli shed i n 1804. A sund i a l er ect e d by Willi am IV now

nt y

oommemora t e s t h e a stronomic a l observat i ons made ther e but ,,othi ng

Accordi ng to his corlter:Ip or ar i e s , Samuel :tolyne ux wae a man

is now kn own of t he f a te of t h e ·rolyneux Sector,

of winni ng mc,.nne r ' nd ob li g i ng tel!l,p¥r who unit ed I r i sh wit with

His deo.t h

social and sci entific a ccomplish ment s of a hi gh order,

at the early age of 39 y ears was uruch regr et ted in t he worl d of

was·

Ar m

He died "!itho ut is sue and

science where it wus generally as sume d t hat he wo ul d add f ur ther

honour to the f aruily n rune .

succeeded at Cas t le DiJ l on by his uncle, Thoma• -1olynaux,

Physician-Genera l to t h e F orces in Ir·eland , who ,vas creat ed a

Ar m

. barone t in 1730, a nd was perhaps tl1e most distingui shed of all His activities, howeve r , did

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the earlier l!lilmbere of the f amily,

cannot be dea lt with here.

ag h

not lnolude a stron omy so his care er

11\lnct,

of s ir :.lrnest tha t he wa s the ancestor 1 mention i n p a ssing baronotoy beoame u~o whereupon th • llolYDeux wbo died a few ye11,ra ...,

bind it \o . in t he o,1&1n• that •---'- 'has many such links Uehor, -i tan••• Henry . tr••• For na llbono111100.l study in other cen Ueh81' kill B11lsn of Helll'Y· . tlat flr • t Director of Dunsink "'a• a her (>.rollbieh•'P I 3) and ef J'ame• U• . -boh\lebop of Armagh 1596•161

! Arma!!h, 16 25- 165 6 , the g r

aaoendant of John UsLer b

us eu m

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un ty

:2.\ t.. .

ea est schol ar of h is

ce' wa a a daughter of Jan t e l

ou nt y

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age) and dl r ect or n 1646 , died 1730 , Uaster of Chanc ery in Jrel and ( 1698-1 ? 2 1 ) whose \V i f e / li

~oJyneux, Ulster Ki ng- a t - Ar ms by h i s wi f e ,

nt y

,illialll Usher wh o s e moth e r wne Ts ob e ll -

c;.

J ane ' daugh ter of Sir

aughter of /,dam .Lof t us

(Archbishop of' Armagh 1 562 -156 7 ) l a ter f ir s t Pr ovos t of Tri nity

Bu t to ret urn to nenr y Usher, t he first

austerities of Ar t agh .

and an Ar ch bishop Vlho pr ef er red t h e f e sh- pote of J ublin to t ae

Director of Dunsink, he wae born i n 1 74 1 and di ed in 179 0 , t he

yaer follo wing the f ounda tio n · of t h e Observatory of Ar n:agh,

should p er h a p s ment ion t h c t Dr, J , L, E, Dr eyer, whose as trono,..ic al

Ar m

reeearci e s hav e , added lustre t .o t h e annals of Armagh 1bservat ory ,

wa, for a perio d a ss i stunt- a stronomer at Dun sink • whi cll

t aot its juni or, for t h e Ar lllllg h Obser vat ory grew out of t he

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obee?Tatory p re-de.tee An uagh by a few year s onl y , but i e i n poi nt

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. i n 1?80 by { he Very !levd, Dr , J .A, Prlnte_ observa tory found ed Scho ol of Armagh, who in 1790 a..-tlton, , an old boy. of t h e Royal , ineti_tution fo unded in .Aru;agh . bea1111e the first Dir e ctor of t h e , t he provision f a sob.em• for O City 'by Archbi shop Robinson !'8 part . of Ireland , north ern countie• , or I lln1Ters1 ty her e to serve t i,e itli aetronomioal link• • t intere sting l On, or Al'lllagh 1 B mos he Royal .SahoO ofllll9 to t the 0Uta14e w;orld was a small boY who old boy of tllat or ar1d find ini an ~ abo.ut the year 1.BlO • a fri endalliP whiob ,trualc up ltbto1 Dlreotor or the Ob 99 rva.t orY'

us eu m

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un ty

)atsr reeuH,ed in him b e coming

elrc l es b oth a t h o me an d abr oad ,

wel l -known f i gure

in us t r oriorJic c.. . l

It i a s a i d t :1at Joshun

cooper derive d h is f i rs t notions

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-~dw1;.tr d of a stronomy f rom ',1i s h,other • but it is fr eel y a dmi tt e d t h at he , ., wae cam i rmed i n h i s v oc a t i on bY rep eated v is i t s to f,r 1,,ag,1 Ob serva tory whil.Eft a pupil a t t he Royal Sch ool.

In 1830

means to enable him to indulge in as tro nomic a l re search .

He wu e a g r e a t tr a vell er and wee pos s es sed of suff i ci en t

Coop er l at e r l eft Armagh for Eton and from thenc e went to

Oxford,

he suoceeded to the :Jarkree pr opert y i r, Co, Sligo and deci ded to

erect an obeerva t ory t h ere, which by l 8b l had become one of the

In t h i s he worked diJi gen tl y hi msel f , but f rom 1842

Ar m

furnished,

best known priva te obe r, rvatories and i nci den t ally by f ar t he bes t

he had us an assi stant a very oapable obs erve r , k, And r ew Gr aham,

J.letrolo g ic a l obs e rva tions were continua lly kept at :Iar kr ee

In 1844 -4 5 he made an a stronomical tour t hro llfh. ]>' r anee

Ar m

from 1833,

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Germany and It al y, t a king wi. t h him as luggage t be great :.!ar kree

~ ~.-. observed and it• •h Comet of 1844 ~

refraotor, .,;ith its wood en stand, with which he and hi.s a solstant In that year Cooper 18 45 • did eome v a luabl e work a t Naples in then in progreeli in Berlin so as decided to extend t he star-maps thirteenth mngnitude, to include stare of the twelf th or reeultins begun in 1848 e,nd the O'oetrTation• for that purp ose were e,cpense in four volume•• G vernmerit •orl,: ••• l at er published at 0 comet in 1835 ,and th• He ob • srved and sketched Halley'• orbit calculated bJ

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bi~ during a vi oi t to Innabruck , h

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but was restor ed i n 18?4 w~i en

u.v;r.

Doberck .,.,as Rppo inted Director,

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d f

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In 1852 he b PU li sh ed nco1net i c i s notabJ e servicee to aotronomy he r eceived in 1858 t he Cunninghom !edal of the Roye l Iri sh Academy, l!e s a t i n P a rli ani~ nt ao a mel'lber for t he County of S l lgo f rom 1830 to 184) and_ fr om 185 7 to 185 9 and died at lfarkre e on 23r d April, 1863 • . J\rt e r lli s death hio observa t.ory b ~c ame neglected orbits" an

and t he great r efractor c ame again into use fo r t l.c s ,udy of

double stars, a ccor ding t o Coo per' s origin 1 de si gn ,

Coop e r was n. con t ributor of papers to ninny con tirk nta.1

soc i eties, ·i n c luding the PErris Ac ;i derny of Science.

So f ar· a s is

Ar m

known mo s t of his a stronomical mater ial was pr es ented to Car..bri dge

Unlverei ty by hi s daughter'B, f ollowing his death,

ou n

ag h

Ar m

ID t h e early 19th And n ow for a g roup of loc a l ast ron ome r s , d '!a ter of t he Armagh centurr, Hu gh Breen, a na t1 ve of the Ci ty a n · s figure in the vari ous llechanics Ineti t1:1te, wae a well-known . t was then nota ble, .A cultura ~ societies for which t h e own an aas is tant c.t t h e lathemat1.c i an of n o mean order, be became in ·•here in 18 40 be first appears Roral Obij ervat ory of Gr eenwi ch ~ ! Planets•• a work Observa tions o 00nneotion with t h e " Reduction of eventuallY bringing it to a .he took over fro m :.ir, I, W, Thomas, younger ,on Join•d .bim 1840 bie •uoce• atul cone 1 ue,1 on iJJ 1845 • In • ,.,re not part of t he ReductioD• •t Greenwich, Thes e •p1an e tarY . utigat1on. bUt 8 · 1 peoial 111'1' ro11t1n1 '1'01•k ~ the obeerYaitorY

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carried _out on b ehal f of t h e Br t ti eh Aeeoc iat i on of sci ence , fund s be i ng pr ovi de d by for the Adva.ncemen t . . gr a nt a tnade f r om t 1. :nc to t i me , the Lords Comm1 ss1on c r o of t · 1, ue Treasury , G • .1: . Airy, the th en Astronomer - Roya l, b e i ng r esponsible f or the investi gat lon nml staff .

»reen di ed on t he Jst April , 1848 , i n t he

57th year of h ie Hge and

nt y

at that t ime was a r egul a r member of ·the Greenwic h s taf f •

lie l ef t t hre~ sor,s keen astro11omers ' a.11 of wholtl were employed

The eldest son ,

at some time or oth er in Grdemd ch Obs e rvht ory.

Hugh , wae f or nearly t we nty year s an e.esietant a t Gr eenwi ch , but

owing to po oc health res igned bet'ore h e was pensionnbl e. Havi ng

been born in Ar mag.1-i he decided t o return und in 1860 he mnde

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He was t h e au tho r of sever al sci•snt ifi c

plane to est ablish an Ac ademy here, but a ner vo·us breakdown prevent•

the plan succ eeding ,

He l nter re t urned t o

1ork1, i n con·s eq uen c e of which , aml of h ie ser v ices to ast r onomy ,

he 11111 gr a nted a p e n e i on of £50 per annum,

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London whe re hie wire and fami ly re mai ned,

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.Jamee Breen' the se c ond son ' was appointed Aseistrm t at jie was a C1111bridge Obs erv at ory in 11)46 a nd re s i gn ed in 1858 , The younge st son, Pel101r of' the Roya l Astronomic a l s ocie t Y• tTr eenwich and was also •ohn i 1111am Breen, · wne an "Observer" at record or (eth er a11d !or a time at Cambri dge, The Bree n f81l1i1Y lb and all born in the s ame town must ' " lone, a l 1 aatron omere • tb• son• or 'such be Ae a rul e Ullique in n etronomioal annals , inherit a lov e ,or Th•Y eeld om Pto,i, ohoae other .,rof e e e ion•• enough ·eolll8 of tbe ,.. though curiouelY "''Ollo.,. from t he ir parent•,

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'2.Zo.

bril 1 i G. Dt io•t

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ou nt y

st r ono, e rs of t h e Pes t

seen.1 to hnv e cau:1ht

Thi 8 wn a p ri nted i n 1 227 b

of series",

i n Ar ma gh, comp iled · a "T

nt y

ilgblY oomrJe nded,

reE!.t ise on t )i e Summa tion

y su s cr i ut ion , nnd w:-.a

I have not by a ny means exha ust e d . my "li nks" _, but

In conclusion

nan exceede d t he time at my d isp os a l,

fear I oh .ul d

·llet reslde n t

t he

Hugh Br een, t h • elder , -

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ou nt y

infecti on from uncles or othe r relat i ves,

a_e first Dir e ctor of t h e /,rmagh 0bservatory , an old boy

1ppo\nted

Jlie to me ntion t hat w'.1e n Arch bishop Robin s on , over a. c en t ury ago ,

They felt t hat being an old boy of

t h i:s city,

the inhabitants of

of the Royal Sc h ool of Ar magh , his ch oice gave great ple a sure to

Th e pd si tion is n ow reversed and we have

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the famous School of Ar magh was t he next b Pat t hing to be ing a

oatin of the county,

11Director for the first time, a native of our county , of whom t IBJ lay wi.thout f l attery, that he has do ~ more for a a ronoll\Y in

ou n

ou C h

ag h

l?D8&h than all hie p redecessors _together,

Ar m

us eu m

us eu

ou nt y

un ty

:L'l./.

the cost of staffin g ,

Like the f ounder of Ar magh

nt y

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The stor y o f Dunsink begin s wtth t he deat h i n 1774 of Fran cis Andre ws , Pro vost of Tr ini • 1 - i;y, ·/rlo be quea t hed a sum of £ 3,00 0 to the Uni ver si ty for th e ere at i on and furnishing of an observatory wi t h £250 per year t owa rds

Observatory, the Pr ovost was a wealthy man and

sufficiently aware o f his position in li fe to feel t he

necessity of a suitable residence, so one of his

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immediate undertakin g s after assuming office was to

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exactly the same way about the old archiepiscopal

need not remind you that Archbishop Robinson felt

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consequence erected domicile in Armagh city and as a the home since then of all the present P alace in 1770 , Both dwellings have , of his successors in office, d to them but on course, had some sli gh t alterations ma e t their original state. the whole t hey r emain in almos Andrews . f Al exander and heir o . he was born 1n Andr ews was the son or County Antrim. Some authoriti es saY

build the present P r ovost ' s· House, a mansion still in

use for the purpose for which it was constructed,

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oerrY•

Educ a ted a t the FTee G

rammar Scho ol of that in 1733, aged 15 b ,. A 1740 F 1 ' ecame B A 11 1737, • • • e low 1740 LL B ' . . ' ' . . 1743, LL.D. 174 5 vas called to t he I rish Bar · 4 ' in 17 6 and served as 11 ,p. for Midl et on 17 5'8 .

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His eleva ti on to the p

rovostship of Trinity in

nt y

1758, whilst still a junior Fello w, was strongly

resented

also disapproved of

by his seniors in the university ,-no

the fact that he was a layman, which was contrary to the

college statutes, a disability quickly amended by a

ou nt y

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citY , he ent ered Trinity

King ' s Letter exempting him from taking Holy Orders,

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As a scholar he was chiefly noted for his wide clas sical

knowledge .

He sat for Derry in Parliament from 1761 until 1774,

in .llich year the representation devolved upon James

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Alexander, subsequently Earl of Cal edon , 1-hose nephew

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the Rev. Nathaniel Alexander was Precentor of Armagh . ession Bishop of in succ th Clonfert, of Killaloe, of Down, and finallY of Mea ' rkhill House , Co. Armagh, ancesto r of the Al exander' s of Fo Ar chbishop of Armagh and of William Alexan der, D.D.,

C o

incidentallY,

obtain the

4 88 at in the House of Commons and,

had managed

ProVoat of Trinity up to th0 n wbo

He was tbe only

cis Andrews. But to return to Fr an

1896-1911,

from 1796 unt il 1802, was later

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to be advan ced t 0

councillor ship .

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ou nt y

first holder of the Provostship

a Privy

Tradition credits h im Hi th being

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fashion , fond of goo d company

a man of taste and

an d

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' good li Vin g' With a keen appreciation of the arts as well as the fair sex to On e of whom, the famous beauty Dorothy Monroe, l ater

nt y

Mrs. William Richardson of Richhill, he willed his fine

collection of coloured p rints st a ting they were fitter

ornaments for he r d ressing room than his library .

During his term as Provost the west front of t he

college and part of Parliament Square was built, but his

greatest monument a r chitecturally is the Provost I s House

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commenced about 1760 and based on a design by the Earl

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Tbe Pr ovost ' s House can best be descr ibed as

named S:nyt h .

of Burlington and Cork , the architect being a Dublin man

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dignified, a t erm that may also be applied to th e Palace

.zld Primal Pr ovost o f Trinity .

former is, however, much The interior of the Th i s may be partly due to new ceilings having superior. extra storey added been n ece ssar y whe n the P alace h a d an Beresford's tenur e of about 1825 dur ing Lo r d J ohn George . ' h contain t u r ious lY enoug ' he Primacy. Both h ou se s , c · h (l562-1567) of Armag h Portraits of Adam Lof t us, Archbi S op at Armagh .

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Despite the dissatisfaction

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generously augmented the bequest so in reality the scheme

was carried to a satisfactory conclusion .

but the Board of Tr inity College

was somewhat reduced;

nt y

ou nt y

drews was perhaps the most

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folloWing his appointment popular p rovost that Tr. . He was cert . ever possessed . 1n1 ty a1n1y one of its out .. social succ esses and when he d . d . stanarng le in 1774 there was real regret in Dublin and throughout th _ very e provinces Unfortunately his Will . generally• was disputed with the result t ha t the sum total for t ' ne proposed observatory

The various lawsuits held up the foundation of the

College Observatory considerably and not until late in

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1782 was the contract placed with Mr . Graham Myers, the

to have come to Ireland about 1782 to carry out work at

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Trinity under Sir William Chambers' directions.

ultimate builder, son of an En glish architect who seems

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Vas distributed in that year .

decided observatory was . ble for finding responsi Upon by its founder who was also ThiS was not a director , an architect and appointing I n Armagh t he site for th e

At any rate it is clear that it was function observations at Dunsink ing by 17 88 , a s mate ri al based on

been 1785.

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Authorities differ as to the year in which th e work was . t seems to have fini shed, but on the evidence availa bl e 1

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circumstances , consequentl

was left to the Rev . Hen r y

o a different

y the selection

u ssher

of a site

Who chose Dunsink

and was it s f ir st director .

ou nt y

set of

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un ty

possible in Dunsink owing t

nt y

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He belonged to a family . tha t gave a num b er of re ct ors t o parishes in Armagh Diocese in t h e 17th and 18th t . cen uries and was a kinsman of Ma rcu s Ussher, first Sovereign of Armagh

bishop of Arma gh 1596 - 1613;

and of James Us sher

of Henr y Usshe r (Arch-

Parliament for the Borough;

under the Cha rt e r of J ames I in l6l 3 and Member of

(Archbishop o f Armagh 1625 - 1656), one of the great est

scholars of his age wbo, besides other better !mown

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literary achievements, published in 1648 an erudite

dissertation on the Solar Year, to which an Ephemeris

for the wbole year was annexed, s aid to have been the

The Usshers had strong links

ou n C

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ÂŠ

llith Dublin and the Ar chbishop ' s wife, Ali ce Molyneux, K'ng of Arms , came daughter of Daniel Molyneux , Uls t er 1 also associated wi th of another family in that citY C tle Dillon estate by Armagh through the purchase of as her broth er Samuel who, dying in 1692 ' left two f "The Case for author 0 brilliant so n s, William, the papers, and astronomica 1 Ireland Sta t e d" and various and correspondent of A. f r iend '.rhomas of wh om l a te r,

astronomical calendar .

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first attempt in the s e countries to frame a true

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namsteed, the Astronome r R OYal , he was f ather of Samuel Mol yneux th e f oun d er of Ke u w niversity, who died without issue in 1728, whereupon Castl e Dillon passed to his uncle Thomas ( created a baronet two Years later) ,ihose statue by Roubilliac is one of the finest sculptures in Armagh Cathedr al .

nt y

So far as we know Ussher himself planned Dunsink

and it is of interest that the earli es t paper printed

institution the Volunteer Earl of Ch arlemont was then

in the Tr ansactions of the Royal Irish Academy (of i,,hich

President) should have been a contribution compiled by

him in 1787, embellished by drawings of the proposed

Ussher was a personal friend of Dr .

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howeve r , built.

building - a main block with wings - the latter were not,

Ussher •s services

began dut ies at Armagh Observatory .

Hamilton and di ed in 1790 , the year in which Hamilton

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· ·nt title . Patent wer e issued authorizing the Joi Br inkley , a nomi nee of Ussher was suc c eeded by John The custom IIa•kiilyne, t he Engl i s h Ast r onomer Royal · ent with church pr eferm then was to suppl emen t such posts t hus i ncreased his and •o Brinkley took Hol y Orders to nunsink and man -wti an h a came 1nc0111e. He was a y oung

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wer e much appreciated , but he was never Andrews Professor Those two of Astronomy or Astronomer Royal for IrelaJld. dis t inct ion s we r e not conferred until 1791 when Letters

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the observatory was very short of

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equipment so he confined himself to ma t hematical research in which he achieved La ter he became valuable results . an authority on gcc1esiastical Law and was mad B· e lshop of Cloyne in 1826 , at which time he had been Archdeacon of Clogh er from 1808 and a Prebend of Elphin Diocese from ' 1806 which , with other pickin g s, left him comfortably provided for,

Robi nson , for instance, was

astronomers over stiles ;

Clogher indeed seems to have specialized in helping lame

i1!eD be became astronomer at Armagh,

Two years later he

Precentor of Clo gher and Recto r of Enniskillen in 1823

resigned the P recentorship and Rectorship for the

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Vicarage of Carrickm ac r os s whi ch he held until his death ,

'lith the addition of a canonry of the United Diocese of

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acquire a bishopric.

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Brinkley was the only Irish Astronomer Royal to

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Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin.

Armagh and Clo gher , and a corresponding dignity in St,

Hamil ton of Armagh was made an

s only a matter of archbishop but that, of course, wa

Proxy and for a t erm of some months. celebrated William Brinkley I s successor was the whom the years' upon ~wan Hamilton, then aged twenty-one well- merited degree . Un1vers1ty hastened t o bestow a of bis pre dec essor Ilalllilton had the whole-hear t e d assistance

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IJ;.

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and of Robinson of Ar:nagh .

wife that she left him for a period .

He did not enter Holy Orders so was obliged to act

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ou nt y

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As Profes sor of Astronomy be was no t particularly successful especially in the practical part of his dut i es, partly due no d b OU t , to want of pr evious training in instrumental d an technical \/Ork; but he was one of the finest mathematicians that Ireland has ye t produ ced and · t :i. was to that study that he devoted mos t of his time - indeed hi b . s a sorption in the subject on his honeymoon was such a worry to hi s

as a private tutor to augment his income , a method much

disapp roved of by the College Board who compromised by

We are told that he disli lrnd observational

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raising his salary from £250 to £580 and banning the

pupils.

Dr.

wrk and s o entrusted mos t of it to his sisters and

Charles Thompson , a v er y competent understudy .

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Robinson, you may als o remember, was not averse to female

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His first wife was a Miss Elizabeth d w H Rambaut, Rambaut, member of a family that produce · · 1850 until 1864 and private as sistant at Armagh from 1864- 1868 - of the same afterwar ds Assist ant Astronomer Andr ews Professor stock as Arthur Alcock Rambaut, sometime of whom mer Royal, in hiS second of Ast ronomy and Irish Astrononomer uallY lucky Robinson was eq d Presently . Dr . the renown• nter of 'life, Lucy J an e Edgewo rth , daug aid at Armagh .

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:,..,

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eaucationali st, Richard Lovell Edgeworth

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nt y

ou nt y

After she settled at Ar:,1agl1 he r stepsiste r th . . , e famous novelist was fro:n time t o time a gues t and later ' st ill her sister Harri ett , widow of Richa r d Bu tler, D ean of Trim , took up her abode at the Observatory . Mrs Robinson and Mrs . Butler were both highly edu cated but the former was less interested in the observatory _ she "loved astronomy only as impers onated in t i1 e a astronomer On the other hand

Mrs Butler p roved an effici ent he lp and many duties

Both Robin son an d. Hamilton dabbled in poetry.

devolved upon he r when Dr . Robinson ' s sigh t began to fail.

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a mor e mature d evelopm en t.

They were each fond of

was an early craze wi t h Robinson but in Hamilton 's case

literary s o ci et y and Ma r ia Edgeworth among st ot he r such

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as at Armagh .

notabilities wa s just as warmly appreciated at Dunsink

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Hamilton was the ch ief actor in an astronomical drama

ÂŠ

ermined to discover the At that t im e it Was det establishments of Dunsink .exact geo graphi cal pos iti on s of th e chronometers were and Armagh and no less th an fifteen i n time between the two required t o measure the difference some months later by The findin gs were v erified Pla ces, observatories and observing rocke ts fired from th e two y He was, of course, ver from positions half- way between, of 1818

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ou nt y

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,,,fortun ate in a l a t e r i nci dent a t "" Armagh Observatory servatory and ersonallY conc e r ns d in the ac . d P ci ental destruction of a "ost delicate micrometer of ext • r elle tenuity made f rom platinum wire spe ci a lly treated, a pet invention of Dr . Robinson ' s and po ssibly the only one of its kind that was ever put toge th er . When Hami lton d ied in 1865 t he apparatus a t Dunsink

almost for t y years bu t in that time no new instruments

had been procured and little other than repairs had been

In other words Hamilton

1ade t o those o r dered by Us sher .

He had been i n charge fo r

ias somewhat out of date .

left the Obse r vatory in much th e same condition as he

Things worked out differently at Armagh where

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found it .

prelate, Archbishop Lord John George Beresford, who be tween

Robinson had the active support of that most generous

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1827 and 1862 expended almost £2,500 on the provision of a

new v.i.ng and necessary astronomical fit tings .

Robinson and Hamilton were each third i n sequence of

th e di r ect ors of the ir resp ective observatori es a nd that roll, st1angely enough their immedia t e pr edecessors on tb t i k and Armagh, are a i s t he se cond di rectors at Dunsink ghosts but that rtputed to haun t the t wo inst itu t ions as kin se arate study• d of phen om en a must b e l eft for p " . k by Francis Brunnow, Hamilton was s u c c eede d a t Dunsink a t the Ann Arbor Germanwho rec eived hi s train i ng

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'2. 3 l.

un ty

observatory in Michig an, f rom Whence

nt y

definitely well-equip ped for i ts si ze.

Br\inow was followed by Rober t Sta well Ball _ the

second Dublin- born holder of t h e office - Wi lliam Rowan

Ball belon ged to a Devon

Hamilton being th e first .

us eu m

ou nt y

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he even t ua lly ijthdrew to his homeland . He was h . ' , owever , persuaded o accept DunsinK and in t he ninet t een Years he was i n charge he not only installed new instruments but made excellent use of them . He relinquished hi s nos t through ill-health in 1874 at which ti:n e the observatory was

family and was des cended from a Robert Ball who came to

He was not,

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established himself at Yougha l, Co . Cork.

Ireland as an officer in the army of Charles II and

however, related in any way to the Balls of Ballsmill ,

Co. Armagh, who were of No rfolk extr a ction and descendants

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reached Ireland with the Cromwellian

army , later obtaining

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of Thomas Ball, a captain in Fleetwods Horse, said to have

lands in Armagh , Louth and Kilkenny•

bi, gtneration,

nd Ball of Dunsink was mu ch in demand as a lecturer a astronomy but he vai the author of many popular works on '· k · 1 t rainin g . His "'c 8d the advanta g es of professiona ! b based on his work 'PUtation must, therefore, rather e as one of the two a, 1 mathematician, in which he ranked that subject in 0 ' three greatest British exponents of

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,rter leaving Trinity he t "' spen two years at Pa rsons tutor to Lord Rosse ' s younger s tollll 8 son, · Lord Rosse friend of Robinson of Armagh and O vas a died in 1867 , 0

ou nt y

)llereupon his son, Laurence, inherited the title and

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estates, and in 1869 in a debate in the House of Lords on

aclause in the Irish Church Act was one of th e supporters

nt y

of a motion designed to assist the finances of Armagh

Observatory, to which his father had presented a duplicate

;irror in 1843 for use in the east dome, and in 1850

induced the Royal Society to di vert portion of a Gove rnmen t

1rant towards pri nt in g observations at Ar:nagh .

Ball took over as Andrews Professor of Astronomy and

His two elder

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Sir Valentine Ball and author of a biography of his

sons, Robert St ee le Ball and William Valentine Ball (later

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Astronomer Royal in 1874 and during his period of residence

Dunsink was a p lac e of much hospitality.

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father) were both pupils a t the Royal School of Armagh ,

ibere they had as a schoolfellow, Oliver Murphy, son of

Isaac James Murphy of Armagh, who took up law, be came a

bair1ster and married their c ousin Nina Ball , daughter of

811 Bent Ball, Honorary Surgeon to the King and Regius

Sir Bent was created a baronet in

the astronomer.

!uJ., l9lJ.,

Professor of Surgery at Trinity, youngest brother of R.S.

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There was a fu r ther Ball alliance

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ou nt y

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l·li th Cou..rity Armagh t . 1903 when Mary Agnetta Ball the Youn in ' g es daughter of astr onomer, 'llarried J oseph Bar croft ( ft the a erwards Sir one of the :nost brilliant , f Joseph men o hi s day , son of

Henry Barcroft, D. L ., of The Glen , Co . Armagh

1883 Ball ' s eye s ight was beginning to trouble him .

Six years later he moved to

science and education .

nt y

in 1886 he was knighted in recognition of his services t o

Cambridge to take over Professorship of Astronomy there,

tbus causing the promot i on of his assistant Arthur Alcock

Rambaut a very ta lented old boy of the Roya l Sch ool of

Armagh who then became the sixth guardian of Dunsink .

Aft er

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His reign, unfo r tunately, was of sho rt duration.

Ball di ed in 1913 and Rambaut in

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Charles Jaspe r J ol y , a distinguished Fellow of

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1923

Observatory at Oxford .

holding the pos t fo r five y ear s he transfer re d t o Radcliffe

Trinity, took over Dunsink in 1897 and died there in 1906.

~, next occupant was Edmund Taylor Whit taker, one of the

He was

than any of his ei gh t predecessor 5 .

astronomer

Plumme r, a ver y live personality and much more of

His suc c essor in 1912 was Henry

~st for six yea r s .

Crozier

great mathematici ans of the present century who held th e

lh1 •on of t he s eni or assist an t at Oxford and had been

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ou nt y

Upon his arrival a t Dunsink

h e t ri ed t o

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trained there .

14 .

,btaiP better equipmen t but wa s v ery di s appoin ted by

ou nt y

' f support in h is efforts t owa r d s t ha t end . 11ck o

I n t he

He re si gned i n 1 921 t o

of maPY astronomical p ap ers .

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oille years that he re tain ed t h e office he wa s th e author

take up a mathematical po s t at Wool wi ch , 1,h ich he gave up

,.11 unsettled in the south an d the observatory I s i nc om e

The Dire ct orship lap sed but Charles

,•icb decreased.

M artin , the assistant-astronomer, remained and kept

At the date of Plum:ner ' s retirement condit ion s were

nt y

in1940 and died at Oxford fo u r years later .

certain services going until his d eath in 1936, from which

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,ate the observatory yearly grew more derelict .

Plummer the last Irish Astronomer Royal, Dunsink was

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Institute of Advanced Studies and Dr. H. A. Bruck, an

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landed over to the School of Cosmic Physics of the Dublin

In 1947, twenty-six years after the resi gnation of

eilnent astronomer, installed .

Once in its history Dun sink supplied Armagh with a

director, that wa s in 1882 when John Louis Dreyer who had

lllcceed Dr, Ro bi n son .

~en been an assistant there for four years came north to

Observatory in September of that year .

the preface of which was date d from Armagh

Obaer

or Tycho Brahe

i1gbt years later, i n 1890, he published a biography

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ou nt y

---

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Dreyer who was the t hird - son of Lieut . Ge

Jc F. Dreye r of t he Dan ish Ar

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ou nt y

Society to pr e pa re an editi on of the collected wor ks of

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nera1 :ny came to I rel" d t th ' an as astronomer o e Earl of Rosse ; n - 1 874, and in 1878 reached Dunsink He took out British natur alization in 1885, whilst resj_ den t at Armagh, Apart from his monograph on Ty cho Brahe he also eng aged i·n other similar Fo r instance, he was a membe r of studies . a committee organized by the Royal Society and the Roy al Astr onomi cal , •

Sir William Herschel and accepted the tas k of writing a

biographical introducti on for 1-.hich pur pose he wa s

The Royal Soci ety also

deposited at Armagh Herschel ' s original observation books

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autobi ographi cal memoranda .

entrusted by the He rschel family with a grea t mass of

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and other miscellanea connected with them so that Dreyer At the migh t revise He r schel' s recordin gs on nebulae. he for which m anuscripts 5~e time he was busy on Tycho Bra had been sent acro ss. from the Royal Library at Copenhagen A. Har dcas tle, great Ha was suc ceeded at Armagh by Dr . J . of the plan et Uranus . grandson of Her s chel , the di scover er lean t imes btlt Dunsink , li k e Armagh , ha s had its we have . ng steadil Y• fortuna tely bo t h a r e now pr ogressi st ant worTY f the con O st0 the not dealt in detai l with rY we bave tn and requi s ites , each r egar,din g fi nan ce

un ty

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23 b .

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d confined our selves t o a sli gh t survey of Dunsink ~stea and dire ct or s , wi t h occasiona l ref e rences t o its rounder

ou nt y

lt:agh .

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It is a curious fa ct that bo t h obse r vatori es owe An drews ,

weir origin to two very eligible bachelors .

nt y

ooiever, did not have t he p leasur e of seein g his

Arch -

,r alocation, choice of arch i te ct, or director .

bishop Robinson had pe r hap s less nece ssity to conserve At anyrate he ha d t he satisfaction of

Ms wealth.

observatory built nor had he any pa rt i n the selection

selecting the ar chitect and the site, s ee ing his observatory

oipleted and appointing th e primary astr onomer.

Both observatories are cr edited

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The first and second direct ors of each observatory

~rein Holy Orders .

uth a ghost and in each case the reputed spirit is said to

Pe rsonally I have not seen the

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~ the second astronomer.

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IUticuJ.ar eXperience .

ag h

illagh ghost nor do I know of any person who has had that

I f the spirit is s till around when

Tr adit ion tells

to appear a t stat e d tim es .

known t o clank ch ains, emit blood-curdling

'or carry

its head in its arms - it walks inst ea d in

"111 been

it has always been a quiet kind of ghost - it has

be Zad 8

~ lbat

I;!

~•Planetar ium is built it may prove an additional ·tti ' action especially i f by mathemati cal calcul a tions i t

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refusing to tal k

Th e Dunsink gh ost, I am told, behaves in a

to anybody .

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ober attire gazing a t t h e heavens and

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similar ag r eeable f a shion.

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The t h ird astronomers at Dunsink and Arm agh were

both addicted t o verse but neither were like ly t o have set the world on fire as poet s.

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Wordsworth is credited

Ro bins on evidently found that out

stick t o science.

with persuading Hamilton tha t there was li t tle li keli ho od

of hi s making good in p oetry and t here fo re he had better

for himself for he c eased to write poetic effusions

before he entered Trinity.

The fou rth directors at ea ch place were of foreign

Dreyer at Armagh .

parenta ge _ a German and a Dane - Brunow at Dunsink and

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·rectors have so far achi eved Non e of Armagh I s dl. ' superint endents had knighthoods, but two of Dunsinkk s Rowan Hamilton in that honour thrust upon them - William l in 1886. 1835 and Robert Stawell Bal f s the continuity 0 Dunsink does not, however, posses is a blank from 1921 to Armagh. It s list of directors hi new governors P· i. • t passed into d d 11947 in which year i Armagh was in ee "" . the roll here. . l.·n Ireland, •11ere is .no such gap in runctiomng observatorY 1n t hose years the onlY well be proud. a distinction of ;ihich we ma.Y

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and sixty-six 66 x years since its O f eleven d" irectors .

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In the one hundred

foundation Dunsink h

as had a total Ar mag h has been in eXistence for

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Dun sink ' s first director was a parson and the second

his nomination.

Such cle rical assistance was an

holder of the office took Holy Orders immediately after

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one years and in that period has one hundred and sixty had only seven one of whom died directors shortly after being appointed, Dunsink ' s record for a director is thirty-six 36 years; Armagh's best effort is fifty-nine 59 years .

essential in those days, o th erwise . the astronomership

would not have furnished the necessaries of life.

The

Hamilton, but at Armagh the custom remained and its

same conditions prevailed in Armagh and continued longer.

At Dunsink the practice was broken by William Rowan

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directors were supplied with church livings down until 1882, in which year Dr. Dreyer became Director.

his resignation in 1916 he was replaced by a layman, Dr .

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J . A. Hardcastle, who died 10th November, 1917, and was

followed in 1918 by the Rev . Willi am Frederick Archdall

Ellison, M. A. , B.D., father of Mervyn Archdall Ellison,

now Director of Dunsink - the second old boy of Armagh

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the important post - who I am sure Royal School to hold mical studies in the ancient astrono sometimes re calls hiS father and his wonderful city just a.s we remember

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abstrusive subjects

Mr . Ellison, as all old memb ers of this Society will know, was given · charge of the Parish of

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interesting .

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gift for making difficult

Kildarton on comin g to Armagh .

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Afterwards he was

honoured with a Prebendship of Armagh Cathed ra, 1 a

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token of regard th at gave great satisfacti·on to his :nany

friends, clerical and otherwise .

I would like to again digress for a few moments on

the subject of the founders of the two observatories.

Archbishop Robinson and the Provost of Trinity were

We may assume that the Archbishop ' s

official occasions .

contemporaries and must frequently have met on social and

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plans for the revival of university status in Armagh had

by then become kno,m in Trinity circles, as he built and

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endowed a justly celebrated Library in 1771 , just three rd year s previou s to Andrews' death - the first step towa s

the proposed universi t y . I n 1777 the Archbishop was riased to the peerage as the history of the Baron Rokeby of Armagh, fully aware of d 1 acquainted with ci ty as an early seat of learning an a so of Elizabeth the First , the fact tha t in 1583 in the reign , . founda t ion of universities mad e for the p r oposal s ha d been rurther consider ation , Upon t Armagh an d Li merick. a mo r e conveni ent a d t hat Dublin was h owever, it wa s decide

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situation and thus Trin i ty came into

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being in 159 2 , Limerick seems t o h ave accepted the de cision but

in Ar:nagh t he subject cropped up again in 1787 when

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Thoma s Orde (cr eat ed Baron Bolton 1797) , the then Chief

Se cre t ar y , brough t an educational scheme before the

Irish Hous e of Commons .

All the pro posals passed except-

The on l y opposition arose from Trinity

;.hose r epresentative believed that such an institution

in Armagh was likely to dep ri ve Dublin of students from

univ e rsi ty,

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in g the clause relating to the foundin g of a second

Evidently Trini ty had doubts about

Northern c ounties .

whether some of the huge areas of land i n Ulster that

had bee n granted in the rei gn of J ames I towards it s

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upkeep mi ght n ot be diverted to some extent to an estab-

lishment within that Province , Armagh al on e supplying

It is c1 ear,

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so the matter dr opped fo r

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resulting in Orde 1 s retirement t h e time being .

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some 2 2,000 a cres. A change of Government took place shortly afterwards

however, that it was

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intended to re-raise the matter, for following Lord d that his will Rokeby , s death in 179 4 it was foun towards the project with a embodied a handsome bequest towards a College Chape l. further legacy t in hiS founded t he Observatory orY He had, of course, of the university in the possibility own lifetime, with intentions were warmlY though hiS his mind btit alas,

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supported by Lord Cornwallis they were eventually blocked by the Duke of Po rtland, the then British Prime Hinister,

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who refused to recom'.li end t he plan to the King .

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The question was afterwards revived in 1826 by

Archbishop Lord J ohn George Beresford but again the cry of possible detriment to Trinity arose .

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in 1845

ideal situation .

was chosen though Armagh would indeed have been the more

Subsequently,

when Queen's Colle ge came into being Be lfast

Personally I feel sorry that Archbishop Robinson's

Had they materialized the founder of

plans miscarried .

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university as well.

Armagh Observatory would have been responsible for a

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· · th Dun sink is Yet another interesting connec t ion WJ. ev' s mothe r was the sister of the fact that Provos t Andr , andowner , the Very Rev . John an Armagh clergyman and l C Armagh ' 1765-1770, Averell, D.D., Prebendary of Tynan, o . a considerable property in the head of a fami ly holding builder of a very fine th the city and vicinity a nd e . f .Armachians earlier generations o group of houses known to ted the seven Houses now designa as the Seven Sisters but . of brotherly a memoria 1 the nephew of a a ter r ace that remains as the . ding us that t of TrinitY, affection besides remin t d provos eldest of the seven rector of Tynan was a celebra e the son of t he founder of Dunsink and

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Averell sisters, each of whom had a home , nere in this ancient city whose lin k s with Ireland generally are so Pleasing a feature of its heri·tage as ecc 1 esiastical capital.

I n conclusion I must apologize for these rather gossipy remarks r egardi n g Ireland ' s two observatories .

the two observatories and are certainly not as compre -

in which we discussed the affinities and contrasts of

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hensive as they might be, but they do illustrate the old

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m Ar

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should be and long may it continue so.

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That is as it

will find associations with Armagh

assertion that no matter where we travel in Ireland we

They are the outcome of a talk with Brigadier Pap worth

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DI Directors

2. Rev .

1815-1823 .

w. Davenpor t

1. Rev . J.A. Hamil ton 1790-1815 .

2. Rev . John Brinkl ey 1790- 1826 .

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1. Rev . Henry Ussher 1785- 1790 .

3. William R. Ham ilton 1826 - 186 5. 3 . Rev . T.R. Robinson 1823-1 882. 4. Francis Brunow 1865- 187 4. 4 . J . L. E. Dreyer 1882-1916 . 5. Robert S. Ball 1874-1 89 2. 5. J .A. Hardcastle 1917 .

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12. Dr. P. A. Waym an 1963-

11. M.A . Ellison 1955 .,.1963.

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9. H. C. Plummer 1912- 1921 .

10 . H.A. Bruck 1947- 1957 .

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8, E.T . Whittaker 1906- 1912 .

7. E.M. Lindsay 1937 ,

7. Cha rles J. Joly 1897- 1906.

6 . Rev . W. F.A. Ellison 1918- 1936 .

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6, A. R. Rambaut 1892- 1897,