their best heroes were wounded in a sharp conflict. The gates were instantly forced open by the host, who pressed forward to the centre of the castle; and proceeded to break open the stores, the well-guarded apartments, and strongly secured bed-chambers. They remained in the castle until they stripped it of all the riches and treasures which it contained. They destroyed the entire fortress; but the people of the Queen made great havoc of those who attacked that royal castle. Numerous and invaluable were the spoils of every kind taken in that fortress, of riches and treasures of brass and iron, of armour and cloathing, and of every thing necessary and useful to the people therein, which they had previously collected. O'Donel and his host remained in the town that night, and evacuated it in the morning, after stripping it of every thing valuable. And they then sent their scouts and scouring parties to prey Clanrickard, on both sides of the river." See also the Annals of the Four Masters at the same year. The day after O'Donnel had thus stormed and plundered Athenry, the Earl of Clanricarde dispatched the following report to the Lord Deputy: "MY VERY GOOD LORD, "Lough Reogh, Jan". 16th 1596. "May it please your lordship to be advertised, that this 15th of January Hugh Roe O'Donnell, Tibbott Bourke Mc Walter Kyttagh, with many others of their adherents of Ulster, and of this province, came into this countrie of Clanricard, with 3000 foot and 200 horse, and burned and spoyled thone half of the country, and assaulted divers castles therein, but wone none of any account as yet, and divers of their men were killed and hurt about the castles; they have entered Athenree, where they encamped the last night, whether they got the castle or not, is more than I yet heard. They report that they will remain in Clanricard until after shrafetyde, which they may well perform if forces be not sent presently by your lordship to resist their violence. The poor country is so ruinated and brought to such desolation that they no not how to live for want of releife. The enemy's do bragge that they will laie seidge to my owne howses, which I hope shal be to little effect; although I doubt divers other holds in the country maie be lost for want of reliefe. Doubtless they will not leave any corn or cottage unburnt in three days within the whole country, the which we beare, and God willing will most contentedly, in respect that we sustain the same for our daily service and due obedience to our natural and most gracious prince's, from whom we will never swerve, for any losses or afflictions whatsoever. I have sent to my Lord Thomond for his ayde, whose coming I expect daily, although not yet come; but God knoweth our forces both are nothing in respect to theirs, but God willing our best endeavours shall not want, and still as occasion shall be ministered your lordship shall be advertised thereof; within the meane time I leave to your lord ship careful and most honourable consideration; and humbly take leave from Lough Reogh the xvi. of January, 1596. "Your Lordship's most humble at command, "CLANRICARDE." [From the original in the British Museum, Cotton. Lib. Titus B. xiii.] The Mayor of Galway also made the following communication: "My most humble duty remembered, may it please your lordship, Hugh Roe O'Donell, and other the rebells of Tyrconell, coming of late to this province of Connaght, assembleth with them, Tibbott McWalter Kittagh Bourke, whom he made Mr. William, with all the rebells and renagates of Connaght, wasted, burned, and destroyed this last week, almost this whole countie of Galway; wherein, on Saturday last, they sallied Athanrie, burnt the gates thereof, and having entered the same, after continuing there one night, in the morning sallying the castle there, and being withstood, took all the wall-towers, and as manie of the inhabitants as waited them they withhould prisoners, and put to ashes all the rest of the towne, besides the said castell that resisted them, and the bodies of the abbey and churche; and thence afterwards upon Sunday last at twilight, came to our subburbs, and sent a priest and another layman to our gates, then being shut, offering that they would do no harm, if we will relieve them with wine and other necessaries, to which we answered for that night, that we mistrusted, O'Donnell himself was so nigh, and if so was, our auncient custome hath been not to open our gates at night for any affairs, with which the messengers departed. The next morrowe O'Donnell sent a line under his own hand, praying to send him victuals and other necessaries for his money, except powder and ammunition, otherwise he should annoy us the best he could: whome wee aunsweareth he did pick a quarrell for himself and the rest of his associates, breaking their allegiance to their natural prince, destroying townes, contrie and goods, of her maties loyall subjects; that unless they would revert to goodness, to God, their prince, and neighbours, we could not afford them no relief. Upon return of which answer he staid our messanger till he caused divers houses of our subjects to be fired; and the wind being at east north-east, right against that side of our town, hindered us much in not discovering the enemies till the flame was up, and then O'Donell, Tibott Bourke McWilliam, M'Dermoud, and all the chieftaines that were with them, being in the Abbey-hill, began to retire, and sent some loose shott to play upon our town, and being confrunted with like loose shott, as the inimies thronged on this side of the hill, a greate piece of ordinance was by us discharged, which scattered them, and clustering again another greater peece was let flie, which utterly daunted them, that they retired so farr that our our loose shott gained the hight of the ridg of the hill, and saved the houses that were not burnt, and we heare the rebells had then wounded and killed some vi. persons, and that night camping in the farther part of our ffranchises, sent some bands to fire the houses that before were rescued from them; but before that afternoon we discovered them, so that saving one house, lying beyond the greene, they missed of their purpose, and the day following they burnt every vilage down to the county of Mayo, and . . . . . . very well even to the poole of Loghcoirbe to leave nothing undesturbed, amongst which about twenty villages appertaining to us were not pretermitted. Their speeches, as wee understand, are very blasphemous against us and all the rest of her majesties constant subjects, threatening they shall shortly be worse used by the Spaniards, then the poor inhabitants of Athenry hath been used by them, whom they left mother naked without anie whitt in the world to live on. And thus, &c. Galway the xixth of Januarie. Your L. most humble at command, ...... "Oliver oge FRENCH, MAIOR." [From the original in the British Museum, ut supra.] Athenry never recovered from the effects of these repeated outrages. After this time it was that the "blind prophesie” noticed by our author, p. 84, ante, was applied to it. In A. D. 1634, the following petition (now first printed from the original draft in the Editor's possession) was presented to the Parliament then sitting in Dublin. "To the honorable the Knights, Cittizens and Burgesses in Parliament assembled. "The humble petition of the Portriffe, Burgesses and Comonaltie of Athenry. Shewinge, that wheras the Towne of Athenry, being scituated in the midest of the countie of Galway, was built and fortified for defence in the very beginning of the conquest of this kingdome, by the first plantators of the said county, and continued in greate wealth and power, untill that in ye tyme of the late Rebellion, ye same was by the Rebells taken by suddayne assalte, and was then burned and sacked, and soon after was infested with the contagious sicknes of the Plague which then visited most partes of this Kingdome, since wch tyme the said Towne decayed in trade and was dispeopled, untill y' by direction of yo state and by the consent of all y° inhabitantes of the sd county, both for the convenience of the scituation, for the ease of the people, and for the restoringe of that Towne to its former state and condicion, it was appoynted that the comon Gaole of the shire should bee built and kept there; and that the Assizes, Quarter Sessions and County courts should be alsoe houlden and kept there, which accordingely for awhile continued therein, in wch tyme though very short that Towne recovered soe much of its former beauty y' without doubt it would by this have beene beene in a fayer and florishing estate, but by reason y' the sheriffs, for gratuities or some privat consideration, hould theire countie courts in divers obscure villages, where neyther lodginges nor entertaynments can bee expected; and that, by the favor of the Custos Rotulorum and of the Justices of the peace, the quarter sessions are kept at other places in the said countie, and y generall Assizes are alsoe removed to Gallway, and yet the said Gaole and prisoners being still left in the said Towne of Athenry, the poore inhabitants thereof, bearinge the charge and danger of the prisoners, and havinge noe benefitt by the courte, the said towne is fallen againe into its fformer misery and desolation, out of wch there is but smale hope of rayseinge it, unles yo' honnors favor bee expended towards it. For as much, therefore, as it is equall and just that they that feele the burthen of the Gaole, should tast of the bennefitt of som of the said courts; and for that by the statute the county courts should be kept in some one certeyne place; and for that the said towne is well waled and fortified, and seated in the most convenient place of the said county; and for that it would much conduce to the weale publique of the whole county aforesaid, for encresinge of trade and comerce, to have the said towne well peopled and frequented; your petitioners most humbly pray that the said quarter Sessions, Assizes and county courts, by your honors comaund, may bee continually kepte in the said Towne of Athenry, or els that the said Gaole may bee removed to some of the townes where the said Courtes are kepte, And youre petitioners will ever pray," &c.-Orig. See p. 196, ante, for a deed of feoffment by Philip, the son of William Erla, of premisses in Athenry, in A. D. 1391. A coeval indorsement on this deed, states that the grantor was called Bermingham, "Carta de Bremigham dicto Phillipo Erla." This indorsement seems to prove the truth of an old tradition that the sept of "Erla" was a branch of the Berminghams, formerly barons of Athenry, and the most ancient Anglo-Norman barons of Ireland. The title is now extinct, or perhaps only in abeyance. Mr. Kilroy of Galway, the respectable proprietor of the hotel there, is maternally descended from the Erla family. Some individuals of the name Erla, may still be traced in the vicinity of Athenry, but sunk in poverty. The old "Cittie" itself, once the bulwark of the Anglo-Normans in Connaught, is now reduced to the state of an insignificant village. O'Heyn and De Burgo have collected all the information, probably extant in Ireland, respecting this old foundation; but it is also probable that further particulars may yet be discovered in the Irish Monastic Records preserved in Rome, and other parts of the Continent of Europe. Belonging to the same order as Tombeola, IRISH ARCH. SOC. NO. 15. 2 N viz. viz., that of the Dominicans, was "Our Lady's Church" mentioned by our author, p. 39, ante. The following unique compact relating to this latter foundation has been transcribed by the Editor, from the Original still preserved in the convent. “A. D. 1651. "This Indenture witnesseth, that whereas Saint Dominick's abbey near Gallway in the Weast Francheses of the same, commonly called Our Lady's church, in theise combustious and warlicke tymes, is found noisome and of dangerous consequence to the safety and preservation of this Toune of Gallway, if possessed by the enemies, as late experience declared when the same was possessed by The Lord Forbous, and the Parleiment partie under his conduct. Whereupon, the Mayor, sherifs, free Burgesses and Commonaltye of the said Towne of Gallway, and the Countie of the said Towne of Gallway, conceaved it necessary to pull downe and demolish the said Abbey for the preservation and safty of the said Toune. Whereunto they craved the consent of father Pierce Buthler now prior of the religious Order of the Dominicans in Gallway, and the rest of the said convent, who for the good and securitie of the said Toune and Corporacion, their freinds and benefactors, have thereunto consented; the said Toune and Corporacion promissing, assumeing, and undertaking, in tyme of peace to re-edifie soe much thereof, as appears in the scedule hereunto annexed to have beene by them broken downe, and leave the said abbey in as good case as they have found it when they pulled it doune, or as much woorke as the same may come into in true vallue, within their francheses, as to the prior and convent of the said abbey, for the tyme beeing, shalbe tought meete and required: in consideration and pursuance whereof, wee Oliver French Knight, mayor of his Maties towne of Gallway, James French Fitz Edd. and Peeter Lynch Fitz Anthony sheriffes and free burgesses, and coumonality of the said Toune of Gallway, doe by theise presents promisse, covenant, undertake and assume to and with the prior and convent of the said Abbey of St. Dominick's Order and their successors, that the Corporation of Gallway shall after theise warrs in hand, and peace established in this Kingdome, build, erect and re-edifie the said Monasterie, and leave the same in as good condition, plight, manner and forme as the same was at the tyme of pulling doune and demolishing of the same, and alsoe to performe all such covenants, provisos and undertakeings, as the said Corporation of Gallway have formerly engadged themselves, under their common seale, for or concearning the re-edifieing of the said Monasterie; and that wee the said Corporacion shall build and erect as much woorke as the same will come unto, there or any where else without this Towne, or in the liberties thereof, on their owne ground, for the said prior for the tyme being, in dischardge of our consciences, the honnor of our B. Lady and advanceing of Holly Church, and y' before any other woorke shall be donn |