The Tuite Family 
Arrival of the Tuites – 12th and 13th Centuries
Sir Richard de Tuite accompanied Richard de
Clare, the Earl of Pembroke, commonly called Strongbow, to Ireland in the year 1172.
Sir Richard was granted lands near Granard and in 1180 the manor and barony of
Sonnagh under the overlordship of Hugh de Lacy.
In 1199 Sir Richard de Tuite built the famous
Motte and bailey in Granard town. It is the largest Motte in Ireland – some 543
feet above sea level. From the top of the Motte, nine counties, five lakes and
numerous rivers can be viewed.
During the 1798 revolution there
were two battles fought in county Longford. First the Irish/French in
Ballinmuck against English/Irish and a separate local uprising by Irish (from
midland counties) against English in Granard that give details of the Motte.
Granard would have been the most
westerly point of the Kingdom of Meath (Ireland had 5 main Kingdoms at the time
Ulster, Munster, Connaught, Leinster and Meath; society would have been Clán
based (on family connection), with local Rí (King or Chief) answerable to Ard
Rí (High King). In order to secure the border with Connaught (local Irish not
under control) the Motte defensive structure was constructed by the Normans
(your family on an existing site of local importance).
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The
Anglo-Norman Conquest
In the twelfth century (the 1100s), there were many warring clans in Ireland.
Each clan had their own king. The most
powerful king was known as the high king. For example, Turlough O’ Connor, who died in 1156, was
once the high king of Ireland, just like Brian Boru. In order to become high king, a king had to fight against other powerful kings. Sometimes the king of Connacht would win, other times it might be the king of Leinster,
Munster or Ulster. These constant fights meant that kings had many enemies. The reason the Normans first came to Ireland was in fact due to this fighting. In 1169, a group of Norman soldiers and knights arrived in Wexford to
help the Irish king of Leinster, Diarmuid MacMurrough. They were invited by
Diarmuid to help him fight his enemies and regain his kingdom in Leinster.
Diarmuid MacMurrough particularly wanted to defeat Tiernan O’Rourke, the
ruler of Breffini (now Roscommon), and Rory O’Connor, the king of Connaught,
because they had joined armies and had forced Diarmuid out of his kingdom. Diarmuid
MacMurrough knew that there were Norman knights and soldiers in England and
he invited them to Ireland to help him. He first had to get permission from
King Henry II, who at the time was the king of England and also the king of
Normandy in France. In 1170, a Norman lord called Richard de Clare, nicknamed
Strongbow, came to Ireland from Wales. Strongbow brought archers, knights and
horsemen with him and helped Diarmuid to capture Waterford and Dublin.
Strongbow later married Diarmuid’s daughter, Aoife. In 1171, when Diarmuid
died, Strongbow became the King of Leinster. This meant that by 1170 AD the
Normans had taken over much of the east of Ireland. Brief history of Granard Motte Hugh de Lacy was born before 1135. In October 1171 he went
over to Ireland with Henry II, and early in 1172 was sent to receive the
submission of Ruaidrí Ua Conchobair (Roderic), High King of Ireland. This was also
carried out to stop Strongbow from taking total control of all Ireland from
Henry II (Ireland population of about 5 million and England population of
about 7 million). Before Henry's departure about the end of March Lacy was
granted Meath (Mide) by the service of fifty knights and with almost royal
authority; he was also put in charge of Dublin Castle. Henry II applied to Ireland the feudal
system of land tenure, granted Hugh de
Lacy “the land of Meath in as full a measure as Murchadh...or
anyone before or after him held it.” By this grant, known as a Liberty,
within the territory de Lacy was granted power equal to that of the king
himself, the only reservation being that the king could dispose of Church
lands anywhere. A person with this jurisdiction was known as a Count and the
territory over which he ruled was called a county. One of the privileges of a
Count Palatine such as de Lacy was that he could create barons or inferior
lords. He created at least 17 barons, one of which was Risteárd de Tiúit, who received land in
Westmeath and Longford; later Barony of Moyashell, in Westmeath. Risteárd de Tiúit (anglicised as Richard Tuite) built one
of the largest Motte and Bailey settlements in Ireland in Granard
in 1199. His death, while Lord Chief Justice of Ireland, is recorded in
Athlone by the Annals of the Four Masters under the year 1210 and his remains
lie today in Abbeylara's Cistercian abbey. King John of
England stayed in Granard in 1210 when engaged in pursuit of Hugh de Lacy. It
was burned by Edward Bruce king of Scotland during his invasion of Ireland
1315 to 1318.
The Motte and Bailey When the Anglo-Normans
conquered a fresh territory, they need to establish a strategic and secure
base as quickly as possible. To
achieve this they often built a temporary post or castle: a motte-and-bailey.
This was of a type of temporary defended structure, more like a fort than a
castle, which had been developed earlier by the The bailey, in contrast, was
much lower. It was larger in area than the motte and was usually oval or
rectangular in plan. A wooden tower was erected on
the crown of the motte and this was enclosed by a wooden palisade or stockade
that extended around the flat edge of the mound. Lower down, the bailey acted
as courtyard and, like the motte, it was also was enclosed by a wooden
palisade. The different levels of the structure were connected by a wooden
stairway and it was also protected by a palisade. In addition, a deep moat was
excavated around the entire structure. The wooden tower on the motte acted as
living quarters for the commander, while the bailey provided accommodation
and protection for the remainder of the garrison. The advantage of the
motte-and bailey was that it could be speedily erected, within a week or
less. The necessary material - the clay for the mounds and the wood for the
palisade and tower - could be drawn from the immediate landscape. In
operational terms, the moat was probably dug first. The spoil from the
excavation helped to provide clay for the mounds, although existing
topographical features such as a natural mound, or a native built ring fort,
were frequently used as a ready made base. The entire building operation
therefore required only a supply of labourers, supplemented by a few experienced
woodworkers. One of the difficulties with
the motte and-bailey, in terms of defensive strategy, was that it offered
only a limited degree of protection in times of attack. It could withstand an
assault by a lightly equipped raiding party, but the garrison could quickly
be overwhelmed in a concentrated effort. Particularly, as the wooden
structures were extremely vulnerable and could be set on fire. This was
overcome in some instances such as at Shanid County Limerick and Clonmacnoise
in County Westmeath, when the wooden structures were subsequently replaced
with stonework. Elsewhere, as the
Anglo-Norman presence was consolidated, the building of large and substantial
stone-built castles on green field sites became the common practice of both
the crown and individual Anglo-Norman families.
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Richard Tuite, was granted the lands
around Granard by Henry II and thereby diminished the power of the O’Farrells.
Cistercian monks were invited by Tuite to the area where they built an Abbey
beside the village of Abbeylara 4km south-west (2.5 miles) of Granard and near
the shore of Lough Kinale. It was plundered by Edward Bruce after the sacking
of Granard. Legend has it that Sir Richard was almost deaf from battle but
after drinking from one of the many holy wells in the vicinity he struck his
head which restored his hearing. Being a very religious man he considering this
a miracle and invited a group of Cistercian monks to establish an Abbey at the
site. Tuite is buried in the graveyard near the Abbeylara monastery after being
killed by a piece of falling masonry at Athlone Castle.
Abbeylara (Irish Mainistir Leathratha) is a village in
the easternmost portion of County Longford, Ireland, located about three
kilometres east of Granard. Its name, Mainistir Leathratha, means "Abbey
of the half rath or little rath", and is derived from a monastery, the
great Abby of Lerha, founded in 1205 by the Anglo-Norman settler Richard Tuite,
for Cistercian monks. The monastery was decommissioned in 1539, although its
ruins are still apparent on approach to the village. An ancient earthenwork,
the Duncla (Irish Dún-chlaí meaning "fortified ditch") or Black Pig's
Dyke, which runs south-eastwards from Lough Gowna to Lough Kinale, goes through
the larger parish of Abbeylara, and passes about one kilometre north of the
village.
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Moat Of Granard |
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Granard
was founded by St Patrick. It had the distinction of having as its priest, and
later as its bishop, the first of St Patrick's Irish disciples. Guasacht was
the first native Irish bishop. Guasacht was buried at Granard, where his
relics are venerated. His feast day is celebrated on the 24th January. We
do not know if Granard was ever an independent diocese. We have no record of
a successor to St Guasacht. There was also a monastery at Granard probably
founded by St Patrick. This monastery continued to exist up to the end of the
ninth century. It was situated near the spot where the old Granardkille
church later stood. Old
Cairbre, himself, remained an obstinate pagan. His brother Maine of Ardagh,
became a Christian. The tradition of St Patrick's visit to Granard is also
preserved in the veneration of a holy well named after the saint. This well
is quite near Granardkille Church. Dr O’Donovan says that the water from the
well was used for drinking only, and that, for the sake of pilgrims, an Ann
or Stabha was always left near the well. The overflow from this well splashes
out on the roadside near Granard, at a place usually called 'Spout Hill.' Old
Granard was finally destroyed by Edward Bruce. Bruce came to Ireland in 1315.
He was the brother of Robert Bruce, King of Scotland, and the victor of
Bannockburn. He tried to force a way to Dublin, but failed. He then came down
the midlands and wintered near Lough Owel. King Con O'Farrell of Granard
opposed him. Bruce attacked Granard and after two days severe fighting, took
the place, and utterly destroyed the town on the 30th November, 1315. He was
later killed near Dundalk in 1317. Old Granard was never rebuilt. The site of
the town shifted to its present position in the townland of Rathcronin. Everyone
has heard of the Moat of Granard. It stands 543 feet above sea level. The
view from its summit can only be described as superb. The question arises
when and why was it built, and how was it constructed? The commonly accepted
view is that the moat, in its present form, is a post-Norman structure thrown
up by the Tuites, during the thirteenth century, around their garrison
castle. In
the late twelfth century the Lords of Cairbre saw their territory being
steadily encroached upon and filched away by the O'Rourkes on the North and
the O'Farrells on the South. Like Diarmuid McMurrough, a generation earlier,
they sought assistance from the foreigner. They invited the Norman Tuites to
come to their aid and gave them lands as a reward for their protection and
support. Sir Richard Tuite established himself in Granard for a short time
and built his moat and bailey there about the year 1200. The same Richard
Tuite was killed, accidentally, at Athlone in 1215 by a falling tower. He was
buried in the monastery, founded by himself, at Abbeylara. All do not accept this view. Dr.
Monahan asserts that it is certain that the moat was in existence when St
Patrick visited Granard and that it does not seem impossible to suppose that
its erection was coeval with Queen Maeve. Dr. O'Donovan, writing from Granard
in May, 1837, says that “The Moate was, of course, the royal residence of
Cairbre." The moat was formed by cutting down the hill and carrying the
clay to the top. It is said that the moat itself was opened about the year
1787 and that the arches of a castle were found within it, built of beautiful
square stones, well cemented with lime mortar. Could
it be that Sir Richard rebuilt or superimposed a structure on an already
existing fortification? It is easy to see that the moat was a strong point. A handful of men could hold it
against an army. Is there a castle enclosed in the moat? Was there a castle
or bowmans tower on top of the mound? It is generally held that the moat
fortifications were taken and destroyed by Robert Bruce. There are legends in
plenty about the moat. They tell of black cats and headless horsemen guarding
the way to concealed treasures. However the moat is there, it is a more
formidable fortification than Tara. It is a puzzle and a challenge. There is
only one good way of getting at its hidden secrets and that way is judicious
excavation. In
1932, the government erected a large statue of St. Patrick on top of the moat
to commemorate the 15th Centenary of his arrival. Published
by: Teathbha, Journal Of The Longford Historical Society Year
written: 1969 Copyright owned by: Teathbha, Journal Of The Longford Historical Society Granard. |
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The 4 Masters
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The sources for this essay include
"Lectures on the Manuscript Materials of Ancient Irish History" by
Eugene O Curry and the O Cleary family web site. The Four Masters is the collective
name given to the compilers of the Annals of the History of Ireland, one of
the largest collections of history, if not the largest, ever collected in
this or any other country, and collected, in the face of great adversity, the
entire country being by then dominated by the enemies of the Gaels, who had
been defeated at Kinsale, and without which work much of the history of
Gaelic Ireland would be unknown today. The scope of the work ranges from the
first invasion of Ireland by the Gaels until the year 1616, being a period of
over 3,000 years. The leader of the group of scholars who were set the task
of compiling these annals, which later became known as the Four Masters was
one Br. Michael O Cleary (Tadhg an tSleibhe O Cleary), an antiquarian who had
become an Irish brother at the College of St Anthony in Louvain, and who had
been sent back to Ireland by his cousin, Fr. Hugh Ward, to collect materials
for a book on the lives of Irish Saints which Ward was working on (but never
managed to finish). He was engaged on this work in the year 1627, but had
been collecting old manuscripts in Ireland and elsewhere since about 1617.
Prior to the writing of the Annals of the Four Masters, the four had compiled
the Reim Rioghraidhe in 1630 (Succession of the Kings of Ireland), under the
patronage of Torloch Mac Cochalain, and the Leabhar Gabhala, or the Book of
the Invasions, under the patronage of Lord Brien Roe Maguire, Lord
Enniskillen in 1631. He conceived with Fergal O'Gara, the idea of collecting
a history of Ireland and got permission from his superiors, including Fr.
Ward, to concentrate on this important project, which he began to do under
the patronage of Fergal O Gara, M.P., for Sligo and Lord of Moy Gara and
Coolavin, whose name and descendants ought to be forever honoured for this
act, with the assistance of three colleagues, Fearfeassa O Mulchonaire,
Cuchoighriche (Peregrine) O Cleary, and Cuchoigchriche (Peregrine) O Duignan.
Fr. Colgan, a contemporary at Lovain, thus termed them the "Quator
Magistrii" or Four Masters. Other distinguished historians laboured on
the work also, namely Maurice O Maolchonaire and Conary O Cleary. He
cris-crossed the country collecting material, even visiting the library of
the Protestant Primate, Archbishop Ussher in Dublin in 1627. The task of bringing all the Annals
together commenced at the Monastery of Donegal on the 22nd January 1632 and
was finished four years later on the 10th August 1636, and was signed by Fr.
Bernardin O Cleary, Guardian of Donegal Monastery, Br. Maurice Dunleavey and
Br. Bonaventure O Donnell as witnesses. In order to get testimony as to the
integrity of these Annals, it was sent for inspection to the most
distinguished Irish scholars of the day, to obtain their signatures and
approbation. These men were Flann Mac Egan of BallymacEgan, Tipperary, Conor
Mac Brody, Ollamh of Thomond, Malachy O Kelly, Archbishop of Tuam, Boetius
Mac Egan, Bishop of Elfinn, Thomas Fleming, Archbishop of Dublin and Primate
of Ireland, and Fr. Roche, Bishop of Kildare. Copies were sent abroad to the
Irish Colleges and one was sent to Fergal O Gara, the patron of the
compilation and the man whose brainchild the idea had partly been. In 1826,
Rev. Charles O Conor translated a copy of the first section of the Annals (up
to the year 1171) which had found its way to the Duke of Buckingham's library
at Stowe, and in 1846, B. Geraghty translated the second half of the Annals.
The renowned Dr. John O Donovan edited and published the entire Annals of the
Four Masters in 7 large volumes in 1851, making the Annals accessible to
scholars everywhere. The translated Annals have been uploaded to the web by
University College Cork, and can be viewed http://celt.ucc.ie/publishd.html. |
THE AGE OF CHRIST, 1210.
The Age of
Christ, one thousand two hundred ten.
“A great war broke out between the King
of England and the King of Wales: and ambassadors came from the King of England
into Ireland for the English bishop; and the chiefs of the English of Ireland
repaired, with the English bishop, to attend the summons of the King of
England: and Richard Tuite was left in Ireland as Lord Chief Justice.”
“The Justice went to Athlone, with the
intention of sending his brothers to Limerick, Waterford, and Wexford, that he
himself might reside in Dublin and Athlone (alternately); but it happened,
through the miracles of God, St. Peter, and St. Kieran, that some of the stones
of the castle of Athlone fell upon his head, and killed on the spot Richard
Tuite, with his priest and some of his people, along with him.”
(Some records indicate the year of Sir
Richard’s death to be 1211).
Sir Richard died leaving two sons,
Richard de Tuite, surnamed “The Black”, and Maurice. Sir Richard, the elder
son, founded the monastery of Granard about the year 1210, at which time he
held the manor of Kilalton at Demar. Maurice, his brother, was Lord of
Jordanstown.
2nd
Sir Richard was given custody of Clomacnoise in 1224. He fought for the king
against Spain in the same year and was killed at Crois-sliabh near Athlone in
1289 in a battle with the O’Melaghluis. His daughter Avice de Tuite married the
Norman Nicholas de Carew of Carew a minor 9 July 1271, of Pembrokeshire
and Moulsford, Berkshire ((d. 1278/9)
son of William de Carew, a Geraldine descendant of Nesta, a Welsh princess, and
Alice Marshal) and had at least one son, also named Nicholas Baron of Carew.
Married 2ndly, Sir William de Apuldrefield, of Horsted. He died 1283-4.
THE AGE OF CHRIST, 1272.
The Age of
Christ, one thousand two hundred seventy-two.
“Richard
Tuite, the noblest of the English barons, died.”
“Meath was burned, as far as Granard,
by Hugh O’Conor. Athlone was also burned by him, and its bridge was broken
down.”
“The first
Edward was made king over the English on the 16th of November.”
THE AGE OF CHRIST, 1289.
The Age of Christ, one thousand two hundred eighty-nine.
“An army was led by Richard Tuite, the
English of Meath, and Manus O'Conor, King of Connaught, against O'Melaghlin,
who assembled his people to oppose them, and marched to Crois-Shliabh, in their
vicinity. A battle was fought between them, in which Richard Tuite, i.e. the
Great Baron, with his kinsmen, and Siecus Jacques O'Kelly were slain.”
“Fiachra O'Flynn, Chief of
Sil-Maelruain, the most hospitable and expert at arms of all the chiefs of
Connaught, went to form an alliance with the English by marriage, but was
treacherously slain by the son of Richard Finn the Fair Burke, Mac William, and
Mac Feorais Bermingham.
“An army was led by Mac Feorais
Bermingham and the English, into Leinster, against Calvagh O'Conor; and a
battle was fought between them, in which the English were defeated, and Meyler
de Exeter and many others of the English were slain; they were also deprived of
many horses and other spoils.”
“The Casey family is descended from
Milesius, King of Spain, through the line of his son, Hebner. The founder of
the family was Kiann, son of Olliol Ollum, King of Munster, A.D. 177, and
Sabia, daughter of Con of the Hundred Battles, King of Ireland. A.D. 148, thus
uniting the blood of Hebner and Heremon in this family. The ancient name was
"CATHASACH" which means
"Vigilent". This sept held possession in the present Counties of
Cork, Kerry, Clare, and Tipperary. The Casey's were also Chiefs of Rathconan in
the Barony of Pubblebrien, in the County of Lemerick. In the County of Cork they
were Chiefs of a territory near Mitchelstown. A branch of this family of the
race of Ir, Fifth son of Milesius, and founded by Laiosach Kean More of the
Clanna Rory tribe, were Chiefs of Saithne, now Sonagh, in Westmeath, where they
had been settled since the third Century. Their lands were siezed by Hugh de
Lacy after the Anglo-Norman Invasion. Later he sold them to the Tuite family.”
“In 1290, George De Fay was seized of
premises in Kilmer, Donore, and Glackmore, in the Liberty of Trim, in right of
his wife Isabella, daughter of Richard Fitz John, the fifth Baron of Delvin. In
1339, Walter Fitz George De Fay had a suit with his grandmother, Eglantine,
widow of Lord Delvin, concerning the above lands, which she also claimed as
daughter and heir of William Deweswell, of Deweswelltown, co. Dublin and
Kilmer, co. Meath.
Shortly after this, John Engelande (a
Trustee) conveyed to Richard Fitz George De Fay, the estate of Comerstown, in
the Barony of Fore, and of Mayestown, in the Barony of Moyashell, in "Tale
Male"; with remainder to Roger De Fay-which Roger De Fay succeeded; and
dying before 1380 was siezed, inter
alios, of Comerstown, Ballindinam, and Bartanstown. [II] In 1384, his son, John
Fitz Roger Fay of Dernegaran was plaintiff in a suit at Trim against George
Fitz Walter Fay and Phillip Tuite, for having unlawfully dissiezed him of the
above lands, and a verdict was given in his favour; whereupon the said George
Fitz Walter appealed, on the grounds that the Jury who tried the case had not
been fairly impaneled, "and by reason that Thomas Chamber, the Sheriff,
had taken to wife Anne Dardis, cousin of said John Fay." thereupon a new
Jury was ordered to be impanelled by the Keeper of the Kings Pleas, which
confirmed the verdict of the first-mitigating, however, the damages against
George Fitz Walter Fay, "by reason of his minority."
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Lord Chief Justice of |
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The
Lord Chief Justice of Ireland was the senior Irish judge under English rule
and later while Ireland was part of the United Kingdom. The
office under its full title was created during the Lordship of Ireland
(1171-1536) and continued in existence under the Kingdom of Ireland
(1536-1800) and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Previously the
presiding judge on the King's Bench of Common Pleas the Lord Chief Justice
from the mid 1870s, when the courts system was restructured, presided over
the High Court, the most senior of the Irish courts, which met in the Four
Courts in Dublin. With
the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922 the new government under
W.T. Cosgrave set about restructuring the Irish judicial system. The two
highest ranking judicial postings, Lord Chancellor of Ireland and Lord Chief
Justice were abolished, in 1922 and 1924 respectively. The Courts of Justice
Act, 1924 created a new courts system, with a Supreme Court as the highest
court. The president of the Supreme Court received the title Chief Justice. Thomas Lefroy, later Lord Chief Justice of Ireland (LCJ 1852-1866), was used by Jane Austen as the model for her Pride and Prejudice character Mr. D'Arcy. Lefroy and Austen had had a romance in their youths. Other prominent Lord Chief Justices of Ireland include Lord Whiteside (LCJ 1866-1876), who as a Queen's Counsel had defended Irish nationalist leader Daniel O'Connell in court, Gearoid Iarla Fitzgerald, (the Third Earl of Desmond), Hugh de Lacy, Richard Tuite, John Dougherty and Thomas Marley, James Ley and Peter O'Brien. James Henry Mussen Campbell, 1st Baron Glenavy (LCJ 1916-1918, later Chairman of Seanad Éireann and father of the satirist Patrick Campbell). One Lord Chief Justice, Lord Kilwarden, was killed by a crowd during Robert Emmet's 1803 rebellion. The final Lord Chief Justice of Ireland was Thomas F. Moloney. |
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In
1185 Prince John granted most of the county to two of his chief officials,
Bertram de Verdon and Gilbert Pipard. Although both had estates in England,
de Verdon in Staffordshire and Leicestershire, and Pipard in Oxfordshire,
they were primarily royal servants rather than great landed magnates. On the
death of Murchadh O'Carroll, Donnchadh's son, in 1189, they proceeded to take
control of their respective areas: De Verdon in Dundalk, Cooley, and the
barony of Ferrard, and Pipard in the barony of Ardee. Verdon in now
represented by a mere 6 voters and Pipard (now Pepper) by 29 but it is
probable that the majority of these latter are Peppards who came into Louth
in the seventeenth century. The majority of the knights who received grants
of land under the subin-feudation of de Verdon and Pipard came from the west
midlands of England mainly from Warwickshire and Shropshire but also from
Staffordshire, Herefordshire and Derbyshire. These included Whites (164),
Taaffes (125), Gernons/Gar(t)lands (104), Clintons (97), Bellews (89), Tuites
(86), Pentonvs (originally deepenteny) (66), Dowdalls (59), and Butterlys
(55). The Dowdalls, from Dovedale in either Staffordshire or Yorkshire, are
first mentioned in County Louth in 1280. Their deeds, described by the late
Professor Otway-Ruthven as 'that very rare thing in Ireland, the muniments of
a family of minor landlords from the thirteenth to the seventeenth centuries'
were published by the Irish Manuscripts Commission in 1960. They are an
invaluable source for local history in the county; in them can be seen the
transition of Anglo-Norman sur-names, for example, from Le Blund to White. |
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Granard |
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This
busy market town, in the east of County Longford, is a popular centre for
fishermen seeking perch, pike, roach and tench on the nearby lakes of Gowna,
Kinale and Sheelin and the Inny River which runs through here and holds
trout. Fans of Mother Nature will also delight in the beautiful creeping
willow, hedge mustard and wild pansys that grow wild here. Two rare plants -
bedstraw and stonecrop – have been found on the motte itself. At the
south-western end of town, the Moat of Granard is Ireland's highest motte, at
534 foot. During their first decades in Ireland, the Anglo- Norman's felt
control of Granard was essential to securing the northern marches of Leinster
against the Gaelic chieftains, and in about 1200 AD, they built the motte
here on a site believed to have been the royal residence of Cairbre, eldest
son of Niall of the Nine Hostages, during the 5th century. When the O'Farrell
chieftain refused to give Edward the Bruce's invading Scots army shelter
during the cold winter months of 1315, Bruce had the town sacked and burned.
In 1798, a group of insurgents who had fled to Granard in order to regroup
were surprised by the English and defeated - many of the prisoners taken were
executed on the spot which. during the War of Independence (1919 - 1921),
Granard again became a scene of confrontation. Abbeylara
Village, on the banks of Lough Kinale (trout), famous for a 13th century
abbey founded by Anglo-Norman Richard Tuite which, though plundered by Edward
the Bruce's forces after the sack of Granard in 1315, survived until the
Dissolution. Two of its abbots became bishops of Clonmacnoise. St. Patrick is
said to have founded a church north of the village in 460 AD – a
semi-circular earthwork which still survives. The Black Pig's Race, another
massive ancient earthwork, stretches some 6 miles along the shore of Lough
Kinale. |
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The Parish Of Mountnugent |
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The parish of Mountnugent extends along the eastern shore of Lough
Sheelin. It was originally called Kilbride, the name is derived from an early
Christian church site. All that now remains of the site is a disused
graveyard. It is part of the diocese of Meath, and the Barony of Clonmahon. In the pre-modern era,
Mountnugent was part of Maigh Maine, an area extending from Lough Sheelin to
the Lough Crew hills (or in Irish
'Sliabh na Caillighe', the hill of the witch) in County Meath. Meath was granted to Hugh de Lacy by King Henry 2nd in 1172. Hugh
granted a strip of land along the Meath, Cavan, Longford border to his
follower Richard de Tuite. He build several mottes in the region, including
Racraveen, a mile north of the modern After the Plantation of Ulster the Nugents owned most of the land in
the parish. The Lambert family were granted land in the parish during the
plantation. But they mortgaged their lands and within two generations, they
were practically broke, in spite of holding the title "Earl of
Cavan". Brigadier General Oliver Nugent, who commanded the famous 36th
Ulster Division at the battle of the Somme in 1916, was a Mountnugent man. Published
by: Local Copyright owned by: Kevin
Sweeney |
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The |
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In the ancient Irish legend the Tain, a Connaught army marched from
Rathcrogan in Co Roscommon, to steal a bull from Ulster. They marched to Granard,
Co Longford and then turned south-west heading for Crossakiel in Co Meath.
This route would have brought them through Finea. They were not the first
army to march through Finea, and many more armies followed them. Before the road building schemes of the last 200 years, the boglands
that lie along the Inny on its course from Sheelin to Derravaragh, were an
impassable wilderness. The two lakes formed the ends of an impregnable
natural defence line. Any army that found itself faced with this obstacle,
had to go around it, or storm Finea. North of Finea, the Erne provided a
similar natural obstacle and control of Finea was the key to controlling a
lot of south Cavan. Fiodh an Atha, means the wood of the ford, which may mean a ford
surrounded by trees, or a ford made of wood, perhaps of wooden hurdles. In the late 1100s or early 1200s
Finea was seized by the Norman de Tuite family, who held it for at least 150
years. It was an important tactical point between Norman Meath and Longford.
Prince John, marched through on In 1315 Edward the Bruce burned “the In 1644 Confederate forces
clashed with Munro’s Scottish army near the bridge. In 1651 Cromwellian
forces began the invasion of Cavan by
storming Finea. Published
by: Local Year
written: 1993 Copyright owned by: Kevin
Sweeney |
The Project Gutenberg eBook, An Illustrated
History of
www.gutenberg.org/files/14754/14754-h/14754-h.htm
Chapter XXI excerpt:
In 1289 Carbry O'Melaghlin possessed a considerable amount of power in
Meath, and was therefore extremely obnoxious to the English settlers. An army
was collected to overthrow his government, headed by Richard Tuite (the Great
Baron), and assisted by O'Connor, King of Connaught. They were defeated, and
"Tuite, with his kinsmen, and Siccus O'Kelly, were slain."
The History of The
O’Higgins:Lords of Ballynary
www.ohigginsclan.com/history1.htm
As members of the Gaelic aristocracy the
O’Higgins’ suffered under more than one English regime in Ireland. For example,
in 1414 John Stanley, the Deputy of the King of England, arrived in Ireland, a
man whom we are told “gave neither mercy nor protection to clergy, laity, or
men of science, but subjected as many of them as he came upon to cold,
hardship, and famine”.[1][8]
It was he who plundered Niall, the son of Hugh O’Higgins, at Uisneach, near
modern day Mullingar in Westmeath. However, Henry Dalton, a Gaelic-Norman Lord,
then “plundered James Tuite and the King's people, and gave the O'Higgins
out of the preys then acquired a cow for each and every cow taken from them,
and afterwards escorted them to Connaught. The O'Higgins, with Niall, then
satirized John Stanley, who lived after this satire but five weeks, for he died
of the virulence of the lampoons. This was the second poetical miracle
performed by this Niall O’Higgins, the first being the discomfiture of the
Clann-Conway the night they plundered Niall at Cladann; and the second, the
death of John Stanley.” The Annals of The Four Masters, Book
IV.