JOURNAL
OF
THE
ARCHAEOLOGICAL
SOCIETY OF THE COUNTY OF KILDARE
AND
SURROUNDING
DISTRICTS.
HISTORICAL NOTES ON THE O’MORES AND
THEIR TERRITORY OF LEIX
By
LORD WALTER FITZGERALD.
Excerpt from Volume 6. 1909-1911
Found, saved
and brought to the Clan O'More Society by Michael More. Thanks to you Michael
for all your hard work in gathering our history.
“For without those who care, all is surely lost”. Seamus O'More
Dr. Joyce, in
his work, “The Origin and History of Irish Names and Places,” explains that
in ancient times the O’More tribe-name of Ui Laoighis (Pronounced Leesh) was
applied to their territory, and that it is derived from a famous Ulster ancestor
named Lughaidh Laeighseach (Lewy Leesagh), son of Laeighseach Canvore, son of
the renowned Conall Cearnach, chief of the Red Branch Knights of Ulster in the
first century.
Dr. Geoffrey Keating, D.D.,
in his “History of Ireland,”[1]
gives the following description of the events which led up to the granting of
this territory to the Ulster hero during the reign of Cormac Mac Art, Monarch of
Erin from A.D. 227 to 266: --
“Eochaidh Fionn, the
second son of Feidhlimi Reachtmar, Monarch of Ireland, went into Leinster at the
time when Cuchorb, son of Modhachorb, was King of that Province.
Laoighseach Cean More, the son of Connall Cearnach, had his education
with the Prince Eochaidh Fionn, and at this time (it was) that the inhabitants
of Munster made incursions into Leinster,
and conquered a large portion of that Province; and by the success of their Arms
they were in possession of Ossery and Laoigheis,
as far as the top of Maistean.[2]
“Cuchorb then reigned in
Leinster, and preceiving that the forces of Munster had got footing in his
province, and were not easily to be expelled by his own strength, he intreated
the assistance of Eochaidh Fionn to drive them back to their own territories.
Eochaidh complied with his request, and sent commissions to his friends
and allies to attend upon him with a competent number of troops to engage in
this Expedition. His orders were
faithfully obeyed, and he advanced his companion Laoighseach Cean More, who was
bred up with him, to be the General of his forces. Cuchorb put himself at the head of what men he could engage
to follow him, and joined his ally, who thought it proper that his friend
Laoighseach sound be Commander-in-Chief of the whole army.
“Thus united they marched
towards the Momonians or Men of Munster, who, apprehending they should be
attacked, prepared to receive them. The
two armies soon engaged, and a bloody action followed, where both sides fought
with great vigour and bravery; and it was difficult for some time to judge which
way the victory would incline. But
Fortune, after a sharp dispute, declared in favour of the confederate Army, who
broke the Ranks of the enemy with terrible slaughter, and routed them from the
top of the Maistean to the River Bearbha (Barrow).
The battle was fought at a place called Athtrodain, known now by the name of Athy,[3] situated upon the River
Bearbha, now called the Barrow; and the Momonians in this engagement were
defeated, and the flower of their troops lay dead upon the spot.
“The Lagenians, or Men of
Leinster, animated with success, pursued the chace, and preceiveing that a
strong body of the enemy had rallied, and were drawn up in order at Caithine
on Magh Riada,[4]
the victors fell upon them with desperate fury and put them to flight; then
pursued them to Slighe Dhala, now called Beallach
More Ossery,[5] where the forces of
Leinster made so dreadful a slaughter of the Momonians that they were forced to
desist from want of enemies to kill; which victory resulted the state of that
Province, and so discouraged the Men of Munster that they never attempted to
enlarge their bounds, but were glad to confine themselves within their own
Territories.
“Cuchorb, being
reinstated in his dominions by the assistance of Eochaidh Fionn, out of
gratitude though himself obliged to make a recompense for his services, and
therefore he generously bestowed upon him the seven
Forthortuaghs,[6]
and confirmed this donation by perpetuating the right to his posterity for ever.
“Laoighseach, the General
of the confederate army, who had his education with Eochaidh Fionn, he rewarded
with the seven Laoighises, to be enjoyed by him and his heirs, for he
confessed that the success of the expedition was owing to the valour and conduct
of the General, whose military experience gave him the advantage over the
incapacity of the commanding officer in the enemy’s army, which he made that
use of to obtain a complete victory. From
this insistence of gratitude to Laoighseach, the posterity of this General took
upon themselves the Title of Kings of Leix or Leise.”
The warrior Leesagh
“Cean-vore” (Ceann-mhor), or “of the big head,” was also known as
Leesagh “Leann-Mhor,” or “of the large mantle,” and as Leesagh “Lann-mhor,”
or “of the great sword.”
Pervious to the arrival of
the Anglo-Normans a dun on the Rock of Dunamase appears to have been the chief
stronghold in Leix; the name means Masg’s fort.
In ancient times Leix,
according to O’Donovan,[7]
was a territory consisting of the present Queen’s County Baronies of East and
West Maryborough, Stradbally, and Cullenagh, to which in after years were
annexed the Baronies of Ballyadams and Slievemargy. After the establishment of surnames the chief family of Leix
assumed that of O’Mordha or O’More, from Mordha, an illustrious warrior, who
was twenty-sixth in descent from the Ulster hero Connal Cearnach, mentioned
above.
In the Leix of the later
period there were large sub-districts known as:
Ui Criomhthannain or
Cinel Crimthainn, which lay in the Barony of East Maryborough, and extended
around the fortress of Dunamase. The
sept of this district was that of Ua Duibh, or O’Deevy.
Laoighis-Reata, or Magh
Riada, the names of a district lying in the northern portions of the
Baronies of East Maryborough and of Stradbally.
The sept was that of Ua Mordha, or O’More.
Possibly the name is still preserved in that of Morett, which lies close
to “Frughmore,” or (as the name means) “The Great Heath” of Maryborough;
and if that is so, “Magh-Riada” may have been the ancient name of “the
Heath,” which was then of vastly greater dimensions.
Tuath-Fiodhbhuidh, a
district that has not been identified according to O’Donovan;[8]
but as the Irish form of MacEvoy (one of the seven Septs of Leix) is
MacFhiodhbhuidh, this territory, afterwards called “Clandibui,” belonged to
them, and was situated around Mountrath and Clonenagh in the Barony of West
Maryborough.
Magh Druchtain,
which comprised most of the Barony of Stradbally, and belonged tot he O’Kelly
Sept (Ua Ceallaigh).
Gailine, comprising
the southern portion of the Barony of Cullenach.
The Sept of O’Kelly occupied it. The
old name is still preserved in the Parish name of Dysart-Gallen.
Ui Buidha and Crioch
O’Muighe, now the Barony of Ballyadams, and the southern extremity of that
of Stradbally. The Sept name was
UaCealluidhe or O’Kealy. This
place-name survives in that of the Parish of Tullamoy (Tulach O’Muighe); as
late as the seventeenth century Castletown, in the Parish of Killabban, is
called in the Inquisitions “Castleto-Omoye,” alias
“Ballycaslane O’Moy.”
Laoighis Reata,
of it I speak,
Belongs to
O’Mordha with bulwark of battle
Of the golden
shield of one colour.
Under Dun Masg
of Smooth land,
O’Duibh is
over Cinel-Crimthainn,
Lord of the
territory which is under fruit,
Land of
smoothest mast-fruit.
The old
Tuath-Fiodhbhuidhe of fair land
Is a good
lordship for a chief;
The Miuntir
Fiodhbhuidhe are its inheritors,
The
yellow-haired host of hospitality.
Over
Mash-Druchtain
of the fair fortress
Is
O’Ceallaigh of the salmon-full river;
Similar is the
smooth surface of the plain
To the fruitful
land of promise.
Cailine of the
pleasant streams,
To
O’Ceallaigh is not unheriditary;
Mighty is the
tribe at hunting
On the sunny
land of Gailine.
Crioch
O-mbhuidhe
of the fair sod,
Along the
Bearbha[9]
of the bright pools
To
O’Caollaidhe the territory is fair,
A shepherd
prepared to encounter enemies.
The territory
of the Ui Barrtha of the fine glebe,
Of the race of
the melodious Daire Barrach;
O’Gormain
received the lands,
Rapid was he in
the battle meeting.
Coming to the period after the arrival of the Anglo-Normans, the
territory of Leix is to be found divided up among seven Septs or Clans--those
of:--
O’More (Ua Mordha), O’Kelly (Ua Ceallaigh), O’Deevy (Ua Duibh),
O’Doran (Ua Deorain), O’Lalor (Ua Leathlobhair), O’Dowling (Ua
Dunlaing), and
In 1561 the Crown appointed
a commission to define the bounds and limits of the recently annexed Irish
districts of Leix, Slivemargy, Irre, Clanmaliere, and Offaly (the latter three
belonging to the O’Connors); to divide them into baronies; and to select a
place where a goal shall be in each of the Kings’s and Queen’s Counties, as
enacted by Statutes of the 3rd and 4th year of Philip and Mary.[10]
To this period belongs a
coloured, hand-drawn map of the territories of Leix and Offaly, now in the
British Museum. A fac-simile of it
(not in colours) was reproduced in the volume for the year 1862-63 of the
Journal of the (present) Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland.
It shows the territory of Leix to have been, previous to that time,
divided up into several bus-districts or “lordships,” many of which are also
named in the grants of land during the reign of Edward VI.
The following is a list of
these “lordships,” with as far as possible an identification of their
positions:--
Cashmone-rwoen (or rivol),
consisting of the Parishes of Moyanna an Curraclone.
Though not marked on the Old Map, the Fiants refer to this lordship.
The Fiants of Edward VI,
Nos. 683, 710, and 741, place the following townlands in this lordship.
The castle and lands of Derrybrock, the lands of Ballymanus, Ballywicar alias
Vicarstown, Moyanna, Garrymaddock, Bawn, Monaferrick, Ballecowlyn (Ballycoolen).
Caladibui (?Clan
MacEvoy), comprising the southern portion of the Parish of Clonenagh, and
perhaps the northern portion of the Parish of Clonagheen.
The Old Map of Leix places
Clonenagh in the heart of this district.
The Sept name of
“Clandeboys” (i.e., the MacEvoys) is made use of in the Calendar of State
Papers, 1606-8, p. 467.
Eughterhis alias
Eightertyry, including the Parishes of Stradbally and Ballyadams.
The Old Map places Ballyadams, Ballintubber, Oughaval, Stradbally, and
Blackford within the limits of this lordship; and Ed. VI Fiant No. 736, gives in
addition Derrinroe (now Kellyville), “Kyleclere,” and “Kiltegan.”
The Fiants frequently mention this lordship in conjunction with that of
Cashmone-rwoen.
Fasagh-reban (i.e.,
the wilderness or uncultivated land of Reban).
This district is now the Parish of Churchtown (Reban), in the Barony of
Narragh and Reban West, and County Kildare, and contains about 7,500 acres,
formerly in the Queen’s County.
The Old Map marks the
following place-names in this locatlity:--Balacha[s]lun (i.e. Castletown [-Reban]),
Churchtown, “Roorenagh” (?Raheenadeeragh), Woodstock, Dunbrin, Shanganagh,
and “Melon,” which corresponds with Kilmorony.
Feranamanach (i.e.,
the Monk’s land), consisting of the Parish of Abbeyleix.
Feranclandidonnil (?Farran-Clan-mac-Donnell),
including the Parishes of Tankardstown, Monk’s Grange, and the northern
portion of Killabban.
The Old Map shows the
churches of “Tankerston,” “Graungeomanagh” (i.e., Monk’s Grange,
formerly belonging to the Abbey of Baltinglass), and “Kiliban” as lying in
it.
Feranclandikedoh (?Farran-Clan-mac-Kedagh),
the Parishes of Tecolm and part of Rathaspick.
The Old Map shoes the
churches of Tecolm and Rathaspick in it. The
Fiants of Edward VI, Nos. 697 and 704, call this lordship “Farynklynekedd”
in the former and “Farryn Clonlyshemcedo” int he latter.
In 1567 a Sept of the O’Mores called “the Clan Kedagh” is mentioned
in the Calendar of State Papers (Ireland), 1509-75, p. 348.
Feran-odoulin (i.e.,
O’Dowling’s land). This large
district occupies the upper portion of the Barony of West Maryborough and the
western portion of the Barony of East Maryborough.
It takes in the northern portion of the large Parish of Clonenagh in the
former, and the Parish of Borris in the latter Barony.
The Old Map shoes this
territory as extending from Conlawn Hill, near Ballyfin, on the West, to
Maryborough (included) on the East; and from Clonygowan and Knocknagroagh on the
North to Clonaddadoran on the South.
See the Fiants of Edward
VI, Nos. 701, 713, 736, where the territory is misnamed “Ferrynonalan.”
Feranokelle (i.e.,
O’Kelly’s land), consisting of the Parishes of Timogue and Tullomoy.
Edward VI Fiant No. 741
gives the names of the following townlands, among others, as lying in this
lordship:--”Corraghe” (Luggacurran), “Powkiscastell” (Clopook),
Tomoclavin, Timogue, Ballinteskin, Ballyprior, and Fallowbeg.
Feranolauler (i.e.,
O’Lalor’s Land), includes the Parish of Kilcolmanbane and the Western
portion of Dysart-Enos, lying in the Barony of Maryborough East.
The Old Map shows the
following places as situated in this district:--Ballyknockan, Kilcolman,
“Crochedongan” (?Croshyduff), “Carigmban” (Cremorgan), and Dysart.
See Edward VI Fiant No. 716.
Feranoprior (i.e.,
the Prior’s land) contains the Parishes of Kilcolmanbrack and of Timahoe or
Fossy.
The Fiants of Edward VI,
Nos. 830 and 1131, give the names of several townlands in this district,
including Kryworgan (Cremorgan), etc.
Edward VI Fiant No. 684
gives a number of townlands in this territory.
At the southern extremity
of this district lies Doonan, from which, in all likelihood, Kildownan takes its
name.
“Kildunane in Leix” is
mentioned in Hamilton’s Calendar of State Papers, 1588-92, p. 286.
On the Old Map, besides the
name, are shown a group of buildings, including a Round Tower.
This represents Killeshin, though the name is not marked down.
In a Fiant of Edward VI, No. 249, among the names in this locatlity are
those of “Ballyhide, Ballyntobber, Killyshin, Keppencheyle, Killehidd,” etc.
The mearings of this
lordship are given in Edward VI Fiant No. 249, and Elizabeth Fiant No. 6786.
They will not be detailed here, as they appear in the Appendix.
Touachole, Twoaghclowe,
(Tuath.....), including the Parish of Ballyroan.
This Parish includes
Cullenagh, from which the Barony takes its name.
See Edward VI Fiants No.
685, 830, 838.
In the Fiant of Elizabeth,
No. 3597, pardons are recorded of individuals belonging to “Clanlowe”; and
another Fiant (No. 166) mentions a Patrick mac Lowe (?O’More), showing that
the last syllable is the name of this district is derived from a Christian name.
The Old Map shoes the
following places as situated in this district:--Colt, “Killinec” (.....),
Chloenkine (?Clonagheen), Kyletabreeheen, Killeany, “Dirrayik” (.....), and
Shanahoe.
See Edward VI Fiant Nos.
696, 725, 736, 944.
The Old Map located in this
district the Great Heath of Maryborough, which it calls by its Irish name of
“Frugh-more” (i.e., Freagh-more), of which the English name is a
translation. Other names given are
Shean, Straboe, Kilmurry, Ballymaddock, The Park, Grange Upper and Lower, and
Loughteeog. The Rock of Dunamase is also shown in this district.
See Edward VI Fiants No.
686, 709, 896, 694.
In Dowling’s “Irish
Annals,” p. 7, Cucogry O’More, who founded the monastery at Abbeyleix in
1183, is styled “Principalis de Clanmeloghlen in Lasca.”
This name also occurs in the Fiants of Elizabeth, No. 3597 and 3959.
Greggf.
Should be Owvegf:, Foke should be Fossy; Cunolocn
should be Curraclone; Stradbesx
should be Stradbally; Woodfhik
should be Woodstock; Peahuchetowne
should be Y Churchetowne, etc.
It is only by comparison
with the six-inch Ordnance Survey Maps that the proper form of the names can be
recovered. The Old Map gives one
the idea that it was copied form a rough sketch, and that the copyist was in
many cases unable to dicipher the handwriting.
In several of the names an m or an n has been left out, and the omission
is rectified by the contraction equivalents - over the word.
A noticeable feature on the map is the number of short sets of parallel
lines which run in various directions; these are intended to represent passes
cut in the forests of those times.
The Queen’s County of the
present day includes the whole of Leix and portions of two other large
territories, Offaly and Ossory. To
the former belonged:--
1. The Barony of Tinnahinch,
formerly the territory of I Regan, belonging to the sept of O’Dunne.
2. The Barony of
Portnahinch, which formed part of the O’Dempsey territory of Clanmaliere.
Both these territories owed
allegiance to O’Connor Faly (so called by the Annalists to distinguish him
from O’Connor Don, O’Connor Concomroe, O’Connor Kerry, O’Connor Roe, and
O’Connor Sligo, between whom the O’Connor Faly ther was no connexion).
To the MacGillapatrick
territory of Ossory belonged three Baronies of Upper Woods, Clandonagh, and
Clarmallagh, known as Upper Ossory. These
three Baronies were not annexed to the Queen’s County until July, 1600.[12]
Leix is by no means
frequently mentioned in “The Irish Annals”; and when an entry does occur,
it, as a rule, records either a hostile incursion from a neighboring clan, or
(later on) a Government force, or else refers to some cattle-lifting foray, or
internal feud between rivals for the Chieftainship.
As these entries are short, and they illustrate the life and state of
society of these times, they will be noted here, and, unless othersie stated,
the information has been gathered from “The Annals of the Four Masters”:--
A.D.
843.
Dun-Masg (i.e., the Rock of Dunamase) was plundered by the foreigners.
864.
Sruthair (Shrule) and Sleibhte (Sleaty) were plundered by the men of
Ossory.
875.
Kennedy, son of Gahan, lord of Leix, plundered the district of Hy
Kinshellagh.
886.
Kenny, son of Kennedy, Tanist (i.e., the appointed successor to the
Chieftainship) of Leix, was slain.
903.
Kennedy, son of Gahan, lord of Leix, died (“Annals of Ulster”).
906.
Gahan, son of Aughran, Tanist of Leix, died.
915.
Aughran, son of Kennedy, lord of Leix, was slain at the Battle of
Ceannfuait (now Confey, Co. Kildare).
919.
The plundering of Clonenagh, and the burning of the Oratory of St. Mochua
(i.e., Timahoe).
926.
Kenny, son of Aughran (or Oghran), lord of Leix, was killed.
931.
Cathal, son of Aughran, lord of Leix, died.
958.
Farrell, son of Aughran, lord of Leix, died. In the same year his son, Faelan mac Farrell, Tanist of Leix,
was slain.
980.
A victory was gained over the people of Leix and the people of Offerrilan
by Toole mac Ugary, King of Leinster, in which many were slain, and Cuilen mac
Gusan was taken prisoner. [Offerrilan,
formerly a district in Upper Ossory, is not a parish in the Queen’s County
Barony of Upper Woods.]
1012.
The Leinstermen and foreigners (i.e., Danes) were at war with Brian (Boru),
Monarch on Ireland; and Brian encaped at Slieve Margy to defend Munster; and
Leinster was plundered by him as far as Ath-Cliath (Dublin).
1014.
Kennedy, son of Farrell, lord of Leix, died.
1016.
Gahan O’More was slain.[13]
1018.
Gillakevin, son of Dunlaing, son of Toole, royal heir of Leinster, was
slain by the Leinstermen themselves, i.e., by the people of Leix.
1024.
A slaughter was made of the men of Munster by Donough, son of Hugh (?MacGorman),
lord of Ui Bairrche in Gleann Uisean (now Killeshin), through the miracles of
God and St. Comhdhan.
[Ui
Bairrche was a district corresponding with the present Barony of Slieve Margy;
it belonged to the Clan MacGorman. St.
Comhdhan, or Comgan, the Patron-Saint of Killeshin, was venerated on the 27th of
February.]
1026.
Aimergin (mac Kenny Mac Kennedy Mac More) O’More, lord of Leix, and
Cuduiligh O’Beargdha, lord of Idough, were mutually slain by each other; and
the people of Idough and of Leix were mutually slaughtered, but the former were
defeated.
[Idough
(Ui Duach), now the County Kilkenny Barony of Fassaghdineen, was the territory
of the O’Brennans; it borders of Slieve Margy.]
1041.
Faelan O’More, lord of Leix, was blinded by Murrough mac Dowling (King
of Leinster), after having been delivered to him by Donough mac Hugh (?MacGorman),
lord of Ui Bairrche, for it was he that took him first.
[Fealan
O’More, son of Aimergin, died at Aghaboe, in Ossory, in 1069.
Donough mac Hugh was slain in 1042.]
1041.
Cuciche O’Dowling, lord of Leix (?), and his son, and his wife Caileoc,
were slain by MacConin at Teach-Mochua mic-Lonain (i.e. Timahoe); and MacConin
was himself killed on the following day by O’Brennan for this act; and this
was a great miracle by St. Mochua.
[Timahoe is situated in the Barony of Cullenagh.
It was founded by St. Mochua, who was venerated on 24th of December; the
only Round tower now existing in the Queen’s County stands here.
The O’Dowlings were one of the seven septs of Leix.]
1041.
Gleann Uisean (now Killeshin, Barony of Slieve Margy) was plundered by
the son of Mael-na-mbo (i.e., by Dermot mac Donough), lord of Hy Kinsellagh (a
district which comprised the County Wexford, part of County Wicklow, and the
northern portion of the County Carlow); and the oratory was demolished, and
seven hundred persons were carried off as prisoners from thence.
1042.
Cucogry O’More, lord of Leix, and others, defeated and slew Murrough
mac Dowling, King of Leinster, and Donough mac Hugh, lord of Ui Bairrche, at the
battle of Magh Muilceth (unidentified) in Leix.
1063.
Lisagh mac Faelan O’More, lord of Leix, was slain.
1069.
Faelan “an Dall” (i.e., the Blind), son of Aimergin O’More, died at
Aghaboe.
1069.
Gillamary son of Dubh (O’Deevy), chief of Ui Crimthannan, was slain by
Macraith O’More in the doorway of the oratory of Timahoe, they having
previously mutually sworn upon the Caimmin, which was in the possession of
Gillamary son of Dubh, that the blood of the son of Dubh is now and ever will
remain upon the Caimmin.
Macraith O’More was afterwards killed at Mullin-na-Crossan, in the
vicinity of Aghaboe, having the Caimmin with him, in revenge of St. Fintan (of
Clonenagh), St. Mochua (of Timahoe), and St. Colman (? of Oughaval).
[The
Caimmin was a relic; its name means “The little curved or bent one,” and in
O’Donovan’s opinion it was a saint’s crozier.
The district of Ui Crimthannan corresponded with the present Barony of
East Maryborough, and belonged to the O’Deevy sept.
Mullin-na-Crossan, or the mill of the Crossan family, was situated in
Upper Ossory.]
1077.
Gleann Uisean (now Killeshin) with its yews was burned.
1091.
Kenny O’More, lord of Leix, and the son of Mulroony mac Cucoirne
O’Carroll, lord of Ely-O’Carroll, mutually fell by each other in the house
of O’Brien at Cashel.
[Ely-O’Carroll
was a district comprising the present Baronies of Clonlisk and Ballybritt in the
King’s County.]
1097.
Aimergin O’More, lord of Leix, died.
1098.
The son of Gahan O’More, lord of Leix, was killed by his own people.
1141.
An army was led by Conor mac Dermot O’Brien (King of West Munster) to
Ath-cliath (Dublin), and the foreigners submitted to him as their king.
Some of his people died on their return from the east, after having eaten
the green corn at a certain place in Leix.
1041.
A Predatory excursion was made by Dermot MacMurrough, King of Leinster,
into Leix; and the people of Leix defeated him after he had carried off a great
prey from them.
1142.
An army led by Turlough O’Conor, King of Connaught, accompanied by the
men of Meath and Leinster, to march into Munster; but they returned without cows
or hostages, after having traversed Ossory and Leix and destroyed some of their
corn.
1149.
Lisagh O’More (mac Aimergin Mac Faelan), lord of Leix, died after
penance.
1152.
The daughter of O’Kelly, wife of Lisagh O’More, died.
1153.
Neill O’More, lord of Leix, was released from fetters by Dermot Mac
Murrough, King of Leinster, after he had been blinded against the guarantee of
the laity and clergy.
1158.
An army was led by Rury O’Conor, King of Connaught, as far as Leighlin
(County Carlow), and he took hostages of Ossory and Leix; and he fettered
Macraith O’More, lord of Leix. (According
to “The Annals of Ulster,” Macraith was still living in 1165.)
1183.
The Cistercian Abbey “de Lege Dei,” alias the Monastery of Leix, or
Abbeyleix, was founded by Cucogry O’More, lord of Leix.
This Abbey was a daughter of the Abbey of Baltinglass, founded by Dermot
MacMurrough, King of Leinster, in 1148 or 1151.
(See Father Carrigan’s “History of the Diocese of Ossory.”)
1196.
Mahon, the son of Conor “Moinmoy” O’Conor, Roydamna (i.e., Prince)
of Connaught was slain by O’More (Donnell) and the men of Leix, who attempted
to prevent him from bearing off the spoil he had taken from the English; but
O’More was killed by Mahon’s brother, Cathal “carrach” (i.e., the
scabbed) O’Conor, in revenge of him.
1200.
A grant from the Crown was made to Geoffrey de Constantine of a Cantred
in Connaught called “Tirieghrachbolthi,” in exchange for “the land of Leis
and Houkreuthenan” (?Ui Crimhthannan), which King John, by the desire of
Geoffrey, gave to Meyler FitzHenry, a grandson of Henry I, by Nesta, daughter of
Rhys apGruffyth, Prince of South Wales. (Sweetman’s
“Calendar of Documents, Ireland,” p. 22.)
About this time Hugh de
Lacy, Governor of Ireland, built a Castle at Timahoe in Leix for Mayler
FitzHenry.
1227.
Gilla-Colum O’Molloy, lord of Fircall (a district in the King’s
County), was slain by O’More.
1246.
On the death without issue of Anselme le Marshal, sixth Earl of Pembroke
(fifth and youngest son of William le Marshal, first Earl of Pembroke, lord of
Leinster, in right of his wife, Isabel de Clare, daughter and heiress of
Strongbow), the lordship of Leinster was divided up between Anselme’s five
sisters; and to the youngest, Eva, was assigned, as her fifth (roughly
speaking), Leix, including the Honour and Manor of Dunamase.
she married William de Braose, Lord of Brecknock, and had a daughter,
Maud or Maltida, wife of Roger de Mortimer, lord of Wigmore, into whose family
the property thus passed. (Sweetman’s
“Calendar of Documents, Ireland,” p. 160.)
1288-9.
The Irish of Offaly and “Leys” being at war with the English, the
Justiciary, John Comyn, Archbishop of Dublin, proceeded to the borders of those
territories to organize forces for the protection of the Pale; among other
appointments, he ordered the Seneschal of Carlow to guard to Marshes from
“Mayrath” (? Morett, Barony of Portnahinch) to “Calcet of Leys” (.....),
and the Seneschal of Kilkenny to continue the defence from Calcet to
“Dunselach” ( ),
and there to remain till peace was restored.
In the month of September,
1289, as the Irish were still unsubdued, the Justiciary summoned all the loyal
men of the Pale to meet him at “Butavaunt” (
) in Leix, and from thence proceeded to so harass and destroy the native
territories, that by the end of the year, the enemy submitted and came to the
King’s peace. (Sweetman’s
“Calendar of Documents, Ireland,” pp. 265-276.)
1309.
Dermot mac Neill O’More, a prisoner, was ordered to be detained either
in the Castle of Dublin or of Kildare. (“Cal. Canc. Rot, Hib.,” p. 12b.)
1310.
Lisagh O’More was appointed by the King custodian of the lands of
“Kildebrenyn” in “Leix,” formerly belonging to Patrick Rochfort.
(“Cal. Canc. Rot. Hib,” p. 16b.)
1315.
A great slaughter of the Irish, viz., the O’Mores; and about 300 of
them were slain near “Balilathan” (Ballylehane) at the Feast of the
Epiphany. (Clyn’s “Annals.”)
1319.
Shane, the son of Donough O’More, and his brothers, were slain (? by
the English). (Friar Clyn’s
“Annals of Ireland.”)
1335.
On Thursday, at the Feast of the Finding of the Holy Cross (3 May), the
lord Raymond le Archdekin and many of his name were slain by Lisagh O’More at
Clar-Goly (? in the County of Kilkenny). (Clyn’s
“Annals.”)
1336.
A war was waged on Lisagh O’More, by the lord Fulco de la Freyne and
the English of Ossory, in revenge for the slaughter of the Archkekins.
(Clyn’s “Annals.”)
1342.
Shortly before Christmas, Lisagh O’More died; he was killed by one of
his own drunken servants. He was a
man of wealth, and one honoured by his clan.
By him the English were banished from his territory, for in one night he
set on fire eight of their castles; and he destroyed the important Castle of
“Dunmaske” (Dunamase), belonging to the lord Roger de Mortimer; and he then
assumed the lordship of the country to himself.
(Friar Clyn’s “Annals.”)
1346.
The Castles of Ley (Lea), Kylmehyde (now Ballyadams), and Balylethan (Ballylehane)
were captured and dismantled by the O’Mores, O’Connors, and O’Dempseys, on
Thursday after the Feast of the Holy Cross (?14 Sept.).
(Clyn’s “Annals.”)
1346.
In the month of September, Rory, son of O’More, was made prisoner by
the English of Ossory.
1346.
Sir Roger Darcy, the Justiciary, and the Earl of Kildare, invaded the
territory of O’More, who had burned the Castles of Lea and of Kilmekedy (now
Ballyadams); they compelled him to submit, although he resisted obstinately.
[Grace’s “Annals of Ireland.”]
1348.
Likewise, on Tuesday, the morrow of the Purification of the Blessed
Virgin Mary (2nd Feb.), Connell O’More, prince and lord of his country, was
slain by his brothers in whom he trusted, together with whom he banqueted in
confidence that very day, and whose sons he then held as hostages for their
remaining faithful and subject to him. They
did not dread the slaying of their sons, and did not fear to fall into the crime
of perjury; ambition to rule disjointed and broke up the fraternal tie; and
having broken the bond of brotherhood, spurned love and the tie of blood, they
slew him treacherously. All that
land and country could not receive those whom the womb of one mother bore.
Nor was punishment taken away of deferred even, for on the 8th day the
English of Ossory who cherished the side of Connell, having entered the country,
his first begotten son, Rory, was elected and accepted as prince by the common
consent of the people; and David O’More, full brother of the deceased, with
certain English of the Country Kildare and Carlow, withstood the English of
Ossory when returning home in a narrow pass, and captured some horses which
carried the baggage and arms of the men of Ossory.
And David himself was slain there, a man powerful, rich, and discreet,
having no kinsmen his equal after Connell; and so he lost life,sway,and brother.
The other brothers who had all conspired were forced to leave the
district as exiles. [Clynn’s
“Annals of Irelands.”][14]
1354.
Rory O’More, lord of Leix, was slain by his own kinsman and household.
1358.
A great defeat was given to the English of Dublin by O’More; and two
hundred and forty of them were killed by him on the field of battle.
1368.
Lisagh, son of David O’More, died. [“Annals of Lough Key.”]
1370.
Cahir O’Conor, heir of Offaly, and Murtough O’More, were killed on a
predatory excursion by the English of Leinster.
1377.
Fachtna, son of David O’More, royal heir to Leix, died.
[“Annals of Lough Key.”]
1394.
The Earl of Ormond mustered a force and marched into Leinster (?Leix) to
spoil it; and he burned and spoiled Gailine (now the Barony of Cullenagh) and
the territory of O’Kelly of Magh Druchtain (now the Barony of Stradbally), and
then returned home.
1394.
On the 16th of February, Thomas, Earl of Nottingham, Marshal of England,
accompanied by his retinue, proceeded to a place called Ballygory (?Kilgorey)
near Carlow, on the side of the mountain of Slieve Margy, and caused Edmund Wall
(or de Valle)[15]
to translate into the Irish tongue certain Letters Patent of King Richard II, to
an assemblage of the native chiefs, empowering the said Earl to receive the
Irish chiefs to the king’s fealty and obedience; then Art MacMurrough, Garrett
O’Byrne, Donnell O’Nolan, Murrough O’Connor Faly, Tiege O’More, Rory oge
and Shane, sons of Maurice Boy O’More of Slieve Margy, chiefs of their septs,
removing their girdles, swords, and caps, on bended knees, with uplifted hands,
took an oath, in their native tongue, of allegiance to the king, or in default
to pay 20,000 marks to the Papal chamber. The
submission of Gillapatrick “reogh” O’More is also recorded in this year.
[Brewer’s “Cal. of Miscellaneous Carew MSS.,” pp. 378-381.]
1398.
The son of Maurice Boy (i.e., the yellow) O’More, lord of Slieve Margy,
fosterer of the learned and destitute of Ireland, died.
[This son may have been either Rory oge or Shane, mentioned in the
previous extract for the year 1394.]
1398.
Melaghlin O’More, King of Leix, died.
[“Annals of Lough Key.”]
1404.
The victory of Ath-Dubh (now Blackford, between Athy and Stradbally) was
gained by Gillapatrick O’More, lord of Leix, over the English, where many
persons were slain, and great spoil was taken in horses, arms, and armour.
The daughter of O’Conor Faly (i.e., Murrough), and wife of Gillapatrick
O’More, died.
1405.
The son of Fachtna O’More slew Richard “hard foot” Butler.
[“Annals of Lough Key.”]
1415.
Lord Furnival (i.e., Sir John Talbot, Lord Talbot of Furnival), came to
Ireland as Lord Justice. Leix, O’More territory, was devastated by him; and he took
the castle of the son of Faghtna macDavid O’More.
1421.
MacGillapatrick (?Fineen), lord of Ossory, and the son of Libned Freyne,
one of the English, made a predatory excursion into Leix with twelve score
soldiers, and did not halt until they reached the Monastery of Leix (i.e.,
Abbeyleix); but O’Conor Faly (i.e., Murrough) happened to meet them there, and
attacked and slaughtered them, and this people obtained a great spoil in arms
and armour from the English.
1440.
O’Conor Faly (i.e., Calvagh), his sons, and his brother Cahir, went
upon a predatory incursion into Leix, O’More’s territory; but they were
overthrown by (Thomas), 6th Earl of Desmond, and by MacGillapatrick, who
defeated O’Conor, and killed his son Con, together with sixty of his soldiers.
1447.
The Monastery of Leix in Leinster, in the diocese of Leighlin, was
founded, in honour of St. Francis, by O’More, who selected a burial-place for
himself and his descendants in it. [Father
Carrigan identifies this monastery with the one at Stradbally; and states that
O’More, Chief of his Name, was probably Kedagh O’More.]
1452.
David O’More, son of the lord of Leix, was killed by a fall.
1464.
Kedagh O’More, lord of Leix, died of the plague.
1467.
Donnell O’More, King of Leix, died.
[“Annals of Lough Key.”]
1468.
O’More and MacGillapatrick died of the plague.
1477.
The son of Owny O’More was slain at “Baile-Daithi” (now Ballydavis,
Parish of Straboe) by MacPierce Butler (?James, son of Edmond, son of James, son
of William, son of MacPierce butler) and Art O’Conor (?son of Con, son of
Calvagh O’Conor Faly).
1489.
Rory, son of David O’More, Tanist of Leix, died on the 29th April.
Ross, the son of Owney O’More, was slain by Cahir, the son of Lisagh
macCahir O’Dempsey.
1493.
O’More, i.e., Connell, the son of David, lord of Leix, was slain at the
Castle of Baile-na-mBachlach in Crioch Bulbach (that is at “The town of the
shepherds” in the Bulby’s country, which was situated in the Parish of
Kilberry, County Kildare, on the east bank of the river Barrow), by a party of
the people of the Earl of Kildare.
1493.
Neill, son of Donnell O’More, was made O’More.
Such are some of the
scattered references to the O’Mores and their territory of Leix; but they only
give one a faint idea of the almost continual state of warfare or turmoil that
existed in these times. The notices
of Leix would have probably been much fuller at this period, but unfortunately
there is a break in the Calendars of Irish State Papers, which were published
down to the year 1307, and then discontinued till they recommenced with the year
1509, leaving two centuries untouched.
At the commencement of the
sixteenth century the Chief of the O’More Sept appears to have been Melaghlin
mac Owny O’More; his tomb still exists, and it is about the only relic
remaining of the Cistercian Monastery of Abbyleix, founded by Cucogry O’More
in 1183. This tomb consists of the
covering slab of an alter tomb (the sides of which are wanting) bearing the
effigy of a knight in armour; it is now placed on a base of mason-work in Lord
de Vesci’s garden at Abbyleix. An
inscription in the “black letter” runs round the edge of the slab, and it
has at last been correctly deciphered by the Rev. William Carrigan, C.C., as
follows:
Vic iacet malacias omouer fili’
eugenthii cui (sic) tamba fieri fecit amno dni mcccccii cui’ aie ppiciet’
de’ amen.[16]
Father Carrigan translates
this thus:-- Here lies Melachlin,
son of Owny O’More, who caused this tomb to be made, A.D. 1502.
On whose soul God have mercy, Amen.
The date 1502 may have been
the year that Malaghlin O’More died in; no mention of him occures in the Irish
Annals, though his son Con, or Connell, was some years afterwards Chief of his
Name. In the interval a Kedagh mac Lisagh O’More was lord of Leix,
as the Four Masters record his death in 1523; and, in the same year, they report
that a great army, led by Gerald, 9th Earl of Kildare, the English of Meath, and
O’Neill (Con mac Con mac Henry mac Owen O’Neill), invaded the territory of
Connell (mac Melaghlin mac Owny) O’More, who apparently was elected Chief on
the death of Kedagh mac Lisagh O’More.
In 1514 “the Annals of
Ulster” state that the Castle of Cuilentrach (?Cullenagh) was broken down, the
Goil-more (i.e., the Great Wood) cut, and the country of Leix-O’More pillaged
by Gerald, 9th Earl of Kildare.
Ware in his “Annals of
Ireland” states that Gerald, 9th Earl of Kildare, while Justiciary of Ireland,
was in 1519 summoned to England to answer charges of maladministration brought
against him by his enemies. Before
leaving the country he appointed his kinsman, Sir Maurice FitzGerald, Kt., of
Lackage, to succeed him in the office. In
the following year (i.e., in 1520) “Maurice fitzThomas, of Lackage, Kt.”
(Ware adds), “for a reason I cannot explain, was curelly slain by O’More in
Lexia or Leasia.” To avenge this
dead the Lord Deputy, Thomas Howard, Earl of Surrey, assembled, in 1521, not a
few of the nobles and others of English origin, including Thomas Tiew, Mayor of
Dublin, and the armed men of the city, and then proceeded into Leix.
In this expedition, while they Lord Depury was engaged in devastating the
country with fire and sword, a musketeer fired a bullet at him, which struck him
on the helmet, but by the grace of God caused no wound or hurt.
The musketeer who fired at him from a wood in the vicinity was shortly
after captured and put to death.[17]
This tragic event is thus referred to in the “Annals of the Four Masters” under the year 1520:
Maurice, the son of Thomas,
son of the Earl (of Kildare), the choice of the English family of the Geraldines,
was slain by Con (?Connell), the son of Melaghlin O’More, as were also many
others along with him.
Ware is incorrect in
stating that this affray took place in Leix, as it occurred in the County
Kildare portion of Offaly, near Lackagh. A
wayside cross was erected to Sir Maurice’s memory at the spot, and from it the
townland of Cross Morris took its name.[18]
During the rebellion of the Silken Thomas, 10th Earl of Kildare, the chief of the O’Mores, Connell mac Melaghlin, appears on the side of the Government forces, though only in a half-hearted way, as Chief Justice Gerald Aylmer in reporting on the battle of Allen in August, 1535, in which the Silken Thomas’s men would have been completely surrounded, but that the northern Irish troops had left their position to pursue a prey, thus describes his conduct:[19]
“On the Tuesday after our
arryvall (about the 2nd of August) Mr. Thesaurer (Brabason), intending a jornie
into Allon, and thois parties where the traitor was socoured, sent for Omore
unto him, and his company. And ther
went with him William Sentlow (or Saint Loe) and all his brodirs cumpany, for
Sir John Sentlow liethe sicke. Sir
William Brertons cumpany; Dacres, Musgrave, Thomas Eustace (afterwards Viscount
Baltinglass), Sir James FitzGerald, his broder Walter (two of the uncles of the
Silken Thomas, and diverse other of the gentills of the Countie of Kildare.
After they had entred into Allon, and brent and riffeld the countrie,
Omore caused all the Inglishmen to departe, as though they were goint homeward,
and assigned every of the cumpanies, both horsemen and footemen, how they shulde
divide and keape standingis in the valleis and stritis; and he sent a certen
(number) of his kerne to skirmishe upon the moore’s (bog’s) side with Thomas
and his cumpany, and they foloid the trayne into the playne.
And in the meane tyme Omore lighted on foote with all his men, and came
on the backe side of them, betwixt them and ther fastnes, so as he and our
cumpany, had him and all his, to the number of 3 or 400, in the playnes amonge
them, that ther culde never have escaped a man, if our partie had doon ther
devors. For our northern men,
whiles the trayne was making, left ther standingis, and ranne away with the
bottie, leving ther gapp at large, and in that waie escaped the most of them;
and, as for Sir James, Walter his broder, and all the Geraldines, sufferd them
to passe by them. Omore wold kill
never oon of Thomas’ men, but of Ochonor’s (O’Conor’s), yet many was
killed, and the most of them by Mr. Thesaurer and soche of his awne cumpany as
strode with him; and by Thomas Eustace diverse prisoners were taken and let goo
agayne by the said Geraldines and by the Dempcies (O’Dempseys), being in Omore
cumpany, among whom the traitour him self was taken, as the common reporte is,
and let goo agayne.”
In July, 1536, Thomas Alen,
of Kilteel (County Kildare), wrote to Thomas Cromwell, the Secretary of State,
that the Irish Privy Council had come to terms with O’More, who had consented
to allow the re-edifying and fortifying of the Manor of Woodstock and the Bridge
of Athy, on condition that his chaims thereunto, which he had of the gift of
Matthew St. Michael, Baron of Reban, and of the traitor, Thomas FitzGerald,
(10th Earl of Kildare), should be settled by arbitration of certain impartial
persons.[20]
Though O’More (Connell
mac Melaghlin) was assisting the Crown forces, yet his sons Kedagh, Rory and
Gillapatrick (“foster brethern to the traitor Thomas FitzGerald”)[21]
were amongst the latter’s stauchest adherents.[22]
On the death of Connell O’More, in 1537, the clan elected as their
chief, Pierce mac Melaghlin O’More, his brother.
This slection appears to have been strongly opposed by the late chief’s
sons, who during his short rule as “Chief Captain of his Nation,” “did not
cease to commytte invasion in all O’Mores tenautes, burnynge and desturynge
and breking downe the ditches and fastness of their townes, and by that meane
have that parhe of Leys waste.”[23]
They also invaded the Earl of Ormonde’s lordship of “Woghtour Inne (Oughterany),
within thre myles of Maynothe,” and preyed and spoiled his tenants, carrying
off the booty under the guidance of Edmond Archbold, a servant of the Lord
Deputy, Lord Leonard Grey,[24]
who was afterwards, among other charges, accused of favouring the outlaws and of
sending the Earl of Ormonde’s friend, Pierce O’More, Chief of his Name, in
handlocks to Maynooth Castle.
On the 24th March, 1541,
the Fiants[25]
record a pardon of Edmund Asbolde, of Maynothe, yeoman, servant of Lord Leonard
Grey, late Deputy, for having raised Kedogh O’More, of Stradbally, in Leix,
Gent., Shane mac Coyn, of Kylchene (or Kildare) horseman; Neill O’Lalor, of
Disert, horseman, and other Irish, to make war upon Pierce Butler, Earl of
Ormond and Ossory, Alexander mac Tirlagh (?MacDonnell) of the Great Grange, and
other English.
At this period one of the
chief recreatons of the lords of the Pale, when duty did not engage them
elsewhere, was the sport of hawking. There
were very strict regulations laid down for the preservation of hawks, and in
those times a nest of young hawks was a present worth accepting.
A clause was usually inserted in the old leases reserving this valuable
prequisite to the landlord. As a
proof of the value placed on a nest of young hawks, the following extract from a
letter written from Callan on the 15th July, 1538, by Pierce, Earl of Ormond, to
Robert Cowley, Master of the Rolls, will be given here:
“I have writin to my
Lorde Privie Seale that oon of the late O’Mores sonnes, at my beinge at
Dublin, toke a neste of hawkes, which I boghte in Leyse of O’More that now is,
his brother (i.e., Pierce, brother of Connell, late O’More), to be sent to his
Lordshipe, and gave the same hawkes to my Lord Deputie (Lord Leonard Grew).
I dud provide for half a dossen nestes this yere to recompence his
Lordshipe for his awne hawkes, whiche he presentide to the Kinges Grace, in my
name, the laste yere; but the yere was so evill, that they have not well
provide, and nowe I have but oon gassoke of the laste yere, whiche as yet lieth
in mewe, to be sent, God willinge, hastly to his Lordshipe.”
The partridge was the
principal bird hawks were employed to kill.
Further references to hawks
are made in a diary kept in 1595, by Sir William Russell, the Lord Deputy.
On the 3rd of August occurs the following entry:
“Martin went with the
hawks to England--a cast to Sir Robert Cicill, a cast to the Countess of
Warwick, a cast to the Lord Thomas Hayarde, one goshawk to Fulke Grivill, a cast
of marlians (merlins) to young Lord Essex, a cast of marlians to the young Mr.
Morrison, and a goshawk to the Countess of Essex; in all 12”[26]
On the 24th August, 1538,
an agreement[27]
was entered into between Pierce O’More, “sue nacionis capitaneum principalem,”
of he one part, and Lord Leonard Grey, Lord Deputy, of the other part, wherein
the said Pierce O’More binds himself and his successors t pay a yearly subsidy
of 20 marks to the Crown, and agrees to waive all claims to certain lands in the
barony of Reban, as well as elsewhere in Leix,[28]
late belonging to the Earl of Kildare attainted; he renounces all title to the
king’s castle and lordship of Dunamase; he agrees to maintain 120 Scots
(Galloglasses) in the service of the Crown yearly for 40 days; he undertakes not
to disturb farmers and servants of the Crown resident in his territory; and he
agrees to attend hostings, or risings out, when summoned thereto from time to
time. As a guarantee that he will
carry out these (and other) conditions, he will hand over his son (the name is
left blank) to the Lord Deputy as a hostage.
As Pierce O’More is not
again mentioned after this transaction, he probably died about this time, as he
was succeeded in the chieftainship of the clan by his nephew, Kedagh “roe,”
son of Connell O’More. On
Kedagh’s death, in 1542, the succeeding Chief of Leix was his brother Rory,
known as Rory “caech,” or the oneyed, who was loyal to the English
Government, and so was slain three years later by this brother Gillapatrick and
a force of the O’Connors of Offaly. An
Inquisition, taken some years afterwards, found that this Rory O’More,[29]
as chief of the clan, held and was entitled to “only the towne of Stadballye
with thappurtenance, being unto hym yerly worth ten pounds lawfull monye of
Ireland; and further that hthe customes duties prequisites & profits that
the laid Rorye had in right & belonging to his Captainshipe of Leise
aforesaid was to hym every yeare worth one hundrith pounds currant & lawfull
monye of Ireland.” 100 pounds in
those times was of far greater value than it is at present.
In a Report on the strength
of the Irish clans in Leinster in the year 1546, the Lord Deputy wrote:
“As to the streingth of
Irisshenmen, I ame suer they were never so weke; the Byrnes not half the
horssemen they have byn; the Tooles no streingh; the Kavanaghes, that were wont
to make 8 or 9 score horssemen, not nowe hable to make 40.
Oulde Omore wold ride everie day in the weik with moore horssemen than
all Omores cuntrie is nowe hable to make. Mulrony
Ocarwell had moore horssemen than nowe all the Omores and Ocarwells together
have. Oconor had at my comming into
the land, 4 horssemen to the one he hath nowe.”[30]
In spike of this Report,
the next thing we hear of is that the O’Mores are again in revolt.
The Annals of the Four Masters, under this same year 1546, describe how
“many disaffected persons of the Geraldines rose up against the Saxons in
revenge f their expulsion from their patrimony, and did indescribable damages in
the Pale” [this was in consequence of their participation in the Silken
Thomas’s Rebellion]. “O’Conor
himself (Brian) and O’More (Gillapatrick) afterwards rose up to join in this
insurrection.”... “O’More, and the son of O’Conor (Rory), attacked the
town of Athy, and burned the town and monastery, and destroyed many persons,
both English and Irish, both by burning and slaying, on this occasion . . . the
Lord Justice (Ahtony St. Leger) proceeded with his great army into Leix; they
remained for fifteen days plundering that country; and they took Ballyadams, a
castle belonging to O’More, and left warders in it . . . O’Conor and
O’More were proclaimed traitors, and their territories transferred to the
king.” In 1547 the revolt
continued, and “an irruption was made by O’More (Gillapatrick) and the sons
of Cahir O’Conor into the County of Kildare, and they burned and plundered the
greater part of the territory of the Eustaces (comprising most of the Baronies
of North and South Naas). They
remained in that country until the Lord Justice overtook them.
These Irish were defeated on this occasion, with the loss of two hundred
foot soldiers . . . O’More and O’Conor went over to the English to make
submission to them upon their own terms, under the protection of an English
gentleman (Lieutenant Francis Bryan). This,
however, was a bad protection.:” . . . “1548.
O’Conor and O’More went to England with the Lieutenant, at the
King’s mercy. The King, however,
gave their patrimonial inheritances, namely, Offaly and Leix, to the Lieutenant
and his kinsmen, who build to large courts (or forts) in these territories,
namely, the Campa (now Maryborough) in Leix, and Dagan (now Philipstown) in
Offaly; and they proceeded to let these at rents to the English and Irish, as if
they were their own lawful patrimonial inheritances, after having banished and
expelled their own rightful, original inheritors.
O’Conor and O’More, from thence, with all their adherents and
descendants.” . . . “O’More (Gillapatrick) died suddenly in England, and
he would have been a lamentable loss, were it not for the power of the
English.”
Gillapatrick O’More was
succeeded in the chieftainship of the clan by his brother Connell “oge”.
During Connell
“oge’s” rule the subjugation and plantation of Leix were energentically
carried out by the English Government, the planters being either officials,
officers, or soldiers of the Crown. Some
of the native Irish of the district, who had submitted, were also allowed to
rent certain lands under the same terms as the new planters; but their grants
had to be in localities where they could do the least harm supposing that they
in the future did not adhere to the conditions of the leases.
Among the mere Irish appear the names of Connell oge O’More and others
of that name, Donnell mac Shane (?FitzPatrick), Murrough O’Dowling, Robert
O’Fahy, Turlough MacEvoy, and Felim mac Neill boy ( ).[31]
The Conditions of the lease
were that:
1. The lesse and his successors should dwell upon the premises.
2. No Irish exacton, such as coyne, livery, etc., should be levied upon
the tenants.
3. The tenants should be always fully armed for their own defense, and
for the king’s service.
4. The lands should bear all cesses, as is done in other districts.
5. The rent should be a fixed one, and not paid in customs.
6. The assignment of alienation of lands should be made to persons of
English nationality,
and that only with the sanction of the Lord Deputy and Council.
7. All passes, fords, and roads should be kept up in serviceable repair.
8. All great Hawks breeding on the premises should be reserved tot he
King’s use.
9. The lessee should bear his proportion of all cesses for the safeguard
and furniture of the
King’s Fort, called “The Protector of Leix”[32]
(afterwards called Maryborough).
&nbs