Sunday, October 30, 2016

Dungarvan Castle: an outline history

Dungarvan Castle: an outline history

Niall C.E.J. O’Brien


The present layout of Dungarvan castle in County Waterford possibly began in the late twelfth century. Earlier stone castles, like Trim, had the keep in the middle of the courtyard. At Dungarvan the keep is incorporated into the curtain wall. Similar layouts are at the castles at Carrickfergus, Carlingford, Cahir and Nenagh to name but a few. Stone castles that came after Dungarvan were of a curtain wall without a keep inside. Instead the accommodation buildings within the castle were provided by the circular corner towers or as a lean-to building off the curtain wall. Examples of this type of castle include Kilkenny, Roscommon, Ballymoon and Swords.[1] But viewing the present layout of Dungarvan castle can be deceptive as to its structural history as we shall see below. The historical account of Dungarvan castle is also rich and varied from royal castle to private castle and royal castle again to military barracks followed by police barracks and police station to the present tourist attraction.

The gatehouse of the present Dungarvan castle

Origins of the castle

By the Treaty of Windsor in October 1175 the Normans kept Waterford city and all the land between it and Dungarvan.[2] This was possibly shortly after the time when a motte and bailey castle was built on Gallow’s Hill at the landward entrance to the promontory upon which Dungarvan town sits. In 2015-6 an archaeological project began to investigate the Gallow’s Hill motte which some believe was built upon a Bronze Age burial mound.[3] The stone castle at the present site in the north-east corner of Dungarvan town was possibly started in the late twelfth century or early thirteenth.

The castle in the thirteenth century

In 1204 Domhnall O Faolain, last Prince of the Decies, granted the cantred of Dungarvan to King John by gift or coercion. In September 1205 a grant of one of five burgage plots was made to Conall Priory and Llanthony Abbey. These burgage plots point to a town already in existence at that time.[4]

In 1210 the Bishop of Waterford was in dispute with the Bishop of Lismore over who had the better authority. The Bishop of Waterford entered the Diocese of Lismore and committed great damage and came to Lismore where he put the Bishop of Lismore under arrest. The Bishop of Lismore was then taken to Dungarvan castle and kept for a time in the dungeon.[5] This would seem to be an early reference to the stone castle.

In 1215 Maurice Fitzgerald made a fine of sixty marks with the King to have the lands in Ireland belonging to his father Gerald along with the castles of Crumech and Dungarvan. On 5th July 1215 King John wrote to the justiciar of Ireland to grant Maurice’s request having found security for the sixty marks.[6] Meanwhile on 3rd July 1215 King John granted to Thomas Fitz Anthony custody of County Waterford and the castles of Dungarvan and Waterford along with custody of the County of Desmond with the city of Cork. For this Thomas Fitz Anthony was to pay the Crown 250 marks per year. Thomas was to pay at his own cost for the maintenance of the two king’s castles while he would be reimbursed for any expenses at fortifying castles in the King’s escheats that came under his custody.[7] This grant to Thomas Fitz Anthony was until King John or his heirs paid a fine to Thomas and his heirs for recovery.[8] For more on Thomas Fitz Anthony see http://celtic2realms-medievalnews.blogspot.ie/2015/02/thomas-fitz-anthony-thirteenth-century.html

Also in 1215 King John granted a charter to three seaports in Ireland, namely, Dublin, Waterford and Dungarvan. This was the beginning of the corporate existence of the town although the actual town existed for many years before that. Dungarvan was given the same liberties and free customs as Breteuil in Normandy. It was probably around 1210/15 that the new Dungarvan castle was built within the town boundary. This replaced or was contemporary with the old motte and bailey castle on Gallow’s Hill to the west of the town.[9] The stone castle formed the north-east corner of the new town with the parish church on the south-east corner. A wall was built around the town in the sixteenth century although in 1356 provision to fund a stone wall was given to the burgesses and in the 1460s provision to fund a town wall was given to the Earls of Desmond.[10]

In 1223 Thomas Fitz Anthony lost the Counties of Waterford and Cork along with Dungarvan because he failed to show proper title deeds when asked by the government of Henry III.[11] In December 1226 King Henry III granted to Richard de Burgh custody of the Counties of Waterford and Cork along with Dungarvan castle. In September 1232 Dungarvan castle was granted to Peter de Rivall along with many other royal castles in Ireland, the prisage of the wines along with the offices of treasurer and chamberlain of the Exchequer. Peter de Rivall was one of a group of Poitevin courtiers who had taken control of the government from the English administrators of King Henry III including Hubert de Burgh, uncle of Richard de Burgh. In January 1233 Richard de Burgh was told to deliver Dungarvan castle and the King’s castles at Limerick, Drogheda, and Rinndun to the agents of Peter de Rivall. Following the fall from power in England of Peter de Rivall the royal castles were restored to crown control.[12]

In 1235 the sheriff of County Waterford, Maurice de Porta, made payments to the constable of Dungarvan castle. Unfortunately the amount paid was not stated but was part of a figure of £128 which also included payments for harvest operations and buying canvas for the sail of a new boat among other items. In 1242 Henry III granted a yearly fair (31 July-7 August) to the King’s manor of Dungarvan.[13] In 1257 carpenters at Dungarvan made brattices to take to Wales for English castles there. The brattice was a small wooden structure, sometimes temporary, that projected out beyond the main part of a castle wall, so as to give flanking fire along that wall whilst still offering some degree of protection.[14] In 1258 John le Poer was keeper of Dungarvan castle for the Crown and was paid £6 16s 10d for the Hilary term or a quarter of the year with the same fee for the Easter term.[15]

On 7th November 1259 John Fitzgerald, known as John of Callan, was made constable of Dungarvan castle and custody of the caste remained with the Fitzgerald family until the sixteenth century with a few breaks in between. The grant by Prince Edward contained some conditions. If war occurred in Ireland or the King suspected John of disloyalty the castle must be surrendered to royal officials. The castle should also come under royal control if John left a female heir and would return to Fitzgerald control on the succession of a male heir or if the female should marry.[16]

At the inquisition post mortem for John Fitzgerald held in 1282 the jury said that John held Dungarvan castle at the time of his death and 3½ cantreds of Decies with the shrievalty of Waterford.[17] But John’s acquisition of Dungarvan and the land of Decies was termed illegal as the royal writ granting him the land was not executed before John took control. This was because King Henry had entrusted the land of Ireland to his under-aged son, Prince Edward and the counties, castles, lands and tenements of Ireland were not to be separated from the Crown. Thus the grant to John Fitzgerald should not have happen or at least until King Henry approved it. John Fitzgerald refused to attend the Dublin council to sort out his claim as he regarded the Decies as his inheritance from Thomas FitzAnthony, his father-in-law, and in February 1260 formerly annexed the Decies to his Fitzgerald lordship. John’s death in battle at Callan near Kenmare in 1261 along with his son, Maurice Fitzgerald left a one year old child as heir, Thomas Fitzmaurice Fitzgerald.[18] During his long minority the Crown assumed control of Dungarvan castle.

Evolution of the castle structure

Dungarvan castle is normally included with the group of medieval castles that have the keep as part of the curtain wall but this is misleading as to the structural history of the castle. Excavations in the 1990s by Dave Pollock and others has shown a castle which evolved over many centuries into the layout we see today. The first part of the stone castle was the shell keep which was built in what was then the sea. The polygonal shell keep was thus surrounded by water. The shell keep contained the great hall with apartments above. The keep was connected to the mainland by a wooden bridge. On the mainland there a was small yard enclosed by a low wall.[19]

This layout remained in place until about 1260. In 1262-3 money was spent constructing new buildings. By 1298 the round tower was built in the north-west corner of the yard where it stands today. The surrounding wall was raised and made thicker at about the same time. In the same late thirteenth century period the corner gatehouse with the two D-shaped towers was built with a vaulted passage overhead along with portcullis grove and a murder-hole.[20]

The shell keep was still surrounded by the sea filled moat in the late thirteenth century which made the yard between the walls and the moat very small. In the fourteenth century as the curtain wall was complete it is possible that the moat was then filled in. at some time a square tower was built in the north-east angle of the curtain wall and this was later superseded by a round tower which no longer survives.[21] The now completed medieval castle remained as built throughout the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries with advances in gun powder and the quality of cannon changes were made to the castle. Port holes for hand guns were made in the walls and the entrance to the shell keep was widened to take gun carriages. A gun platform was made on top of the gate house and a clay bank was placed inside the curtain wall to absorb cannon shot.[22] 

In the late seventeenth century the north curtain wall was rebuilt and in the eighteenth century two projecting wings facing southwards was built onto the east-west barrack building erected in the late seventeenth century. After the 1922 fire the east projecting wing was demolished to leave the L shaped building of today. By 1840 the seaward side of the castle was filled in by the present roadway and buildings were erected up against the west curtain wall on the land side some of which still survive.

Dungarvan castle c.1350 by Dave Pollock

Royal control of Dungarvan castle in thirteenth century

Meanwhile back at the history of Dungarvan castle we find that from at least 1261, if not before, the castle was in the custody of the royal government. In 1261 William le Ercedeacne and in 1262 Robert son of Warin were in charge of the Honor of Dungarvan. In their filed accounts to the Dublin Exchequer no mention is made of Dungarvan castle but it is very likely that they also had the custody of the castle.[23]

In the next sheriff accounts for County Waterford we get very exciting information on Dungarvan castle. In the year from April 1262 to April 1263 William de la Rochelle was sheriff of County Waterford. In that year he accounted for 40 marks delivered to Robert Brun and William Fitz Peter, wardens of the works at Dungarvan castle. The overseers of the payments were Audoen Map, Geoffrey Map and Roger le Servant. The castle was at that time the property of Prince Edward (the future King Edward I) as Lord of Ireland. in 1254 King Henry III had granted all of Ireland except the cities of Dublin and Limerick and Athlone castle to his eldest son, Edward. In the same year of 1262-3 Prince Edward ordered the sheriff to spent 50s upon ten thousand shingles to cover the roof of the castle. Prince Edward also ordered 68s to be spent on building a house within the castle on what appears to be the site of a ruined building.[24]

In about 1270, during the time of John D’Audeley as justiciar of Ireland, William of London was constable of Dungarvan castle and sheriff of County Waterford. In July 1276 an order was sent by King Edward to the justiciar and Exchequer at Dublin to allow William all the expenditure he spent on Dungarvan castle and to pay the arrears of his fee as sheriff of County Waterford. This was a reward for the past good service of William to the King.[25]

William of London was not the only constable at Dungarvan to wait for his fees. His successor, John de Baskerville, also had problems. John de Baskerville was employed as constable of the castle from 27th October 1271 until 27th October 1272. John de Baskerville was paid some money for his time but had to wait nearly ten years before receiving his full salary. In 1281-82 his attorney, Thomas de Sallow, got £10 from the Dublin Exchequer towards the arrears of John’s fee. This was because no set fee was established to Baskerville for holding Dungarvan. In July 1281 the Dublin Exchequer was told to pay Baskerville the same fee as the constables of other royal castles received. By May 1282 John de Baskerville was still out of pocket and King Edward directed the justiciar to pay his fee for Dungarvan as John de Baskerville incurred great expense on the King’s service in Wales.[26]

Yet John de Baskerville didn’t get his full wages for Dungarvan. In 1286 his widow, Joan de Baskerville petitioned for the 40 marks due and got a writ to pay the amount. The writ to pay said that Joan’s children were left almost destitute by their father’s death and that Joan needed the money to support her children. But Nicholas de Clare, the treasurer of Ireland wouldn’t execute the writ. Instead he told the merchants of Lucca to pay Joan the 40 marks. But still nothing happened and the matter dragged on until 1289 when Joan finally got the money.[27]

On 29th January 1274 Walter de la Haye was allowed, as constable of Dungarvan castle, to have the issues of his bailiwick as previous constables were allowed to have. A letter was sent to the Barons of the Dublin Exchequer to make this happen. But the Dublin Exchequer were slow at implementation and before Easter 1274 Walter de la Haye wrote to the Chancellor (of England?) seeking his due allowances and that he had rendered his account for the Michaelmas term.[28] During this same period Walter de la Haye was also sheriff of County Waterford.

On 14th June 1275 King Edward granted that Walter de la Haye should continue as sheriff of County Waterford and constable of Dungarvan castle until further orders. This was by way of reward for Walter regularly answering for his activities in Waterford. In December 1275 King Edward instructed to the justiciar to retain Walter de la Haye as sheriff and constable because he again continued to act properly and faithfully in the discharge of his duties. The Justiciar of Ireland, Geoffrey de Geneville had previously written to the King about Walter’s good conduct and that the King’s officers who act properly should not be removed.[29] In 1276-7 Walter de la Haye accounted for £164 17s 4 ½ d collected as sheriff. He paid £60 3s 7 ½ d to the Dublin exchequer and was allowed the balance for his custody of Dungarvan castle and expenditure spent on same.[30]

But changes elsewhere in the government of Ireland meant that Walter de la Haye had his job under threat. In June 1276 Robert de Ufford was made the new justiciar of Ireland. On 26th July 1276 Walter de la Haye was ordered to deliver up Dungarvan castle to the new justiciar. Walter’s good administration helped him get credit with the new justiciar and he kept his job as sheriff of Waterford until the 1280s. Like other Dungarvan constables Walter de la Haye had to wait a long time for his full wages. In October 1282 a writ was sent to the Dublin Exchequer to pay Walter the same fee as other constables were allowed in previous times.[31] Yet this could have been difficult if as in the Baskerville case when no set fee was established. The fee at other royal castles at the time were; Roscommon £60, Athlone £40, Dublin £1 5s, Limerick £6 13 4d and Drogheda £5.[32] 

While Dungarvan was in royal control, Thomas Fitzmaurice Fitzgerald and his guardians filed their claim that the castle should be in Fitzgerald control. But King Edward recovered the castle from Thomas Fitz Maurice following a court case. This was based on the acquisition of Dungarvan and the land of Decies by Thomas’s grandfather, John of Callan before the royal writ was executed.[33] But a few years later the King changed his mind and in June 1284 King Edward granted Thomas Fitzmaurice Fitzgerald custody of Cork prison and Dungarvan castle but he was to maintain both buildings at his own cost.[34] In 1290 Reginald Brun was threaten with prison in Dungarvan castle by Robert de Stapleton, sheriff of Waterford, for a debt of 20 marks.[35]

In February 1292 King Edward granted Dungarvan castle to Thomas Fitz Maurice and Margaret de Berkeley his wife along with the homages, rents and services of all tenants, both English and Irish, belonging to the lands of Decies and Desmond to hold at farm for 200 marks per year. In 1300 the manor of Dungarvan and the land of Decies was worth £137 5s beyond the rent.[36]

At his death of Thomas Fitz Maurice in 1298 he had seisin of Dungarvan castle along with many properties across Munster. But the castle was not in good condition with the main shell keep unroofed with walls nearly levelled to the ground. A new tower nearby was also unroofed and a stone house beyond the gate was in poor condition and badly roofed. The inquisition jury said that the castle was in need of ‘great improvement’ with big expenditure to maintain it.[37] For more on Thomas Fitz Maurice Fitzgerald see http://celtic2realms-medievalnews.blogspot.ie/2015/02/thomas-apa-fitz-maurice-of-desmond_28.html

After the grant of Dungarvan castle to Thomas Fitz Maurice later sheriffs of County Waterford do not include any reference to the castle in their accounts. This absence from the government records is not made good by the Fitzgerald archive as much of their records were destroyed in numerous wars and rebellions. Our account of Dungarvan castle thus enters a dark-age period in which we only get snap shots on its history until the sixteenth century.

South curtain wall Dungarvan castle looking towards gatehouse

The castle in the fourteenth century

When Maurice Fitzgerald became first Earl of Desmond in 1329 he was given remission of the yearly rent due to the Crown for Dungarvan and was granted the advowson of Dungarvan church.[38] But when he rebelled against the Crown and the English settlers of Munster the castle of Dungarvan was seized by the Crown. In the 1330s John de Staplitoun (sheriff of Waterford), Adam le Poer of Ballydoun and Hamund de Gascoigne were at various times constable of Dungarvan castle. But unlike the earlier Walter de la Haye the three musketeers were not good at sending their accounts to Dublin. They were fined £2 which they paid before 1335.[39]

In the 1340s it appears that the Crown still held Dungarvan castle. In 1348-49 Walter de Nerford received £21 4s 10d from the Dublin Exchequer because his account as constable of Dungarvan was in surplus.[40]

In 1369 the castle and manor of Dungarvan along with the Black Castle were granted to William of Windsor, the viceroy of Ireland, and his heirs.[41] In 1373-4 Dungarvan castle was regarded as a royal castle under Crown control. An Exchequer document of that time said that Edward Fitz John le Poer was obliged to pay 2s in annual rent at Dungarvan castle for a messuage and one carucate of land at Ballylagh which he held of the King in capite.[42]

Shortly after Dungarvan castle had passed to Gerald Fitz Maurice Fitzgerald, 3rd Earl of Desmond.[43] On the first visit to Ireland by King Richard II (October 1394) the question of Dungarvan castle came up for discussion. In January 1395 Gerald Fitzgerald, 3rd Earl of Desmond was called on to prove his rights to the castle, town and manor of Dungarvan.[44]

The castle in the fifteenth century

In 1420 John Fitzgerald, Earl of Desmond, held the manor and town of Dungarvan which was worth 100s and no more because it was wasted by the Irish enemies of the King. The inquisition post mortem taken at his death doesn’t specifically say that he held Dungarvan castle but it is presumed that he did.[45] Yet some contemporaries doubted the Desmond title to the Decies. In 1444-5 James Fitzgerald, 6th Earl of Desmond, was pardoned for intrusion upon the land of the Decies.[46]

In 1463 a statute was enacted (Roll’s Office, 3rd Edward IV, No. 8) which stated that the town and castle of Dungarvan was in a great state of decay and should be seized into the King’s hand. Once seized the town and castle would be leased to Thomas Fitzgerald, 8th Earl of Desmond, for sixty years. The Earl was empowered to receive the customs of the town and with this money repair the walls of the town and castle. At the same time another act of Parliament incorporated the own with new government of a portreeve and commons.[47]

Despite these Acts of Parliament the Earls of Desmond found it hard to control Dungarvan, particularly after the execution in 1468 of Thomas Fitzgerald, 8th Earl of Desmond. In 1495 Maurice Fitzthomas Fitzgerald, Earl of Desmond, supported the political and military campaign of Perkin Warbeck to become King of England. In that year the Earl landed vessels at Youghal and attacked Dungarvan before proceeding up the River Blackwater to attack the Fitzgeralds of Dromana.[48] Perkin Warbeck failed to become King and Dungarvan continued to resist the Earl of Desmond to gain control.

The castle in the sixteenth century

Due to the destruction and elimination of the Earldom of Desmond towards the end of the sixteenth century the documentary archive of that Earldom suffered considerable loss. The First and Second Desmond rebellions were the most destructive period for the archive but there were possible losses at other times. The absence of an archive like that at Kilkenny castle belonging to the Earldom of Ormond means that apart from a mention or two in government documents we have little in the way of detailed information on Dungarvan castle in medieval times. In the sixteenth century the Tudor re-conquest of Ireland produced a lot of documents relating to Dungarvan castle and after the government took over control we get even more information. As much of the information relating to Dungarvan castle after 1600 is still in manuscript form, the published archive of the sixteenth century makes that century stand out in the history of the castle in a disproportional manner.

At the start of the sixteenth century Dungarvan castle was still part of the property of the Earls of Desmond. In 1513 an act was passed confirming ownership of the castle to the Crown but this proved ineffective in the execution and so the Earls of Desmond retained possession.[49] With much of the ancient Fitzgerald inheritance in County Waterford in the hands of the Fitzgeralds of Dromana, a junior branch of the Earls of Desmond, Dungarvan castle was an important fort to control the junior branch and other gentry. But the Dromana Fitzgeralds wanted more freedom and not greater control. In the early 1520s the Dromana Fitzgeralds refused to accept paying for the food and lodging for the Earl’s galloglass. The Earl of Desmond went into County Waterford with a large force to impose his will but instead he was met by a larger force that included the Earl of Ormond, MacCarthy Muskerry and Sir Thomas Fitzgerald. The Earl was forced to retreat into Dungarvan castle where he was besieged by his enemies. With no sign of a relief force, the Earl had to escape from the castle by the sea with much difficulty.[50]  

In 1529 the new Earl of Desmond, Thomas Fitzgerald made a treaty with the Fitzgeralds of Dromana. By its terms the Fitzgeralds of Dromana were relied from entertainment expenses whenever the Earl entered County Waterford. The Fitzgerald tenants in County Waterford were also relieved of the practice of assembling in military formation when the Earl came to visit. The Dromana Fitzgeralds were also given the right to defend Dungarvan castle against the Earl’s forces and take a third of the port income.[51]

Meanwhile in 1528 King Henry VIII had different plans for Dungarvan castle. In that year he granted to Sir Piers Butler, Earl of Ossory, all the lands, castles, tenements, meadows, pastures, woods, and lordships that he could conquer in the land of Ossory. Henry VIII also granted Sir Piers Butler the castle, manor and lordship of Dungarvan. The defeat by the Earl of Ossory of Richard Power, an ally of the Earl of Desmond in County Waterford, had opened the road to taking Dungarvan.[52] The King said that James Fitzgerald, Earl of Desmond, wrongfully detained the castle and manor. This was because the sixty year lease made by the Crown to the Earls of Desmond in 1463 had expired and wasn’t renewed.[53] If Piers could recover the castle then he could be seneschal, constable and governor of the castle and manor. After capturing the castle Sir Piers Butler was allow £100 from the annual rents and profits of the manor above which he was to given account at the Dublin Exchequer. The grant of Dungarvan and the office of constable were given to Sir Piers Butler, his son James Butler and his son when it would revert to the crown. But the whole grant was not to take effect until Sir Piers Butler could capture Dungarvan castle from the Earl of Desmond.[54]

As the Butlers prepared to set out for Dungarvan with a military force to take the castle they didn’t always come with hostile intend. Some years before 1532 Edmund Butler, elder brother of Sir Piers Butler, travelled to Dungarvan to meet Ellen, niece of Gerrot, with the intention of marrying her. Edmund Butler stayed three nights in Dungarvan before going on to Gerrot’s house and brought Ellen back to Carrick-on-Suir. Together they had a son, Theobald Butler. In 1532 Sir Piers Butler produced witnesses to say that Edmund and Ellen never married and that Theobald was an illegitimate child and thus, even though he was earlier in the succession to the Earldom of Ormond, had no valid claim to the title and lands.[55]

There was also a time when the government had few problems visiting Dungarvan without using military force. In 1532 the prise wines collected at the ports of Youghal and Dungarvan were claimed by both the Earl of Ormond and the Earl of Desmond. Commissioners travelled to Waterford city where they met the Earl of Ormond (then using the title Earl of Ossory) and examined his royal letters for collecting the amounts due. The Commissioners waited twenty-one days in Waterford but the Earl of Desmond, nor his attorney, showed up. The Lord Deputy directed the Commissioners to go to Dungarvan and there they met the Earl of Desmond and stayed two days and two nights examining his documentation. On returning to Waterford the Commissioners judged that the Earl of Ormond had the better claim to the prise wines.[56]

In May 1534 Sir Piers Butler, Earl of Ossory, and his son promised King Henry VIII that they would, among other things, ‘do their best, with all their possible power, to attain to the King’s possession his castle and manor of Dungarvan’.[57] This was the time of the Kildare rebellion. In the initial phase of the rebellion the Kildare Fitzgeralds scored victories against the Dublin government and the Earl of Ossory in Kilkenny. Although the Earl of Ossory did have some victories against the Fitzgeralds he was restricted by the attacks of the Earl of Desmond on Butler properties in County Tipperary. Dungarvan castle was a powerful platform from where to launch these attacks. For the Dublin government and the Earl of Ossory the capture of Dungarvan castle from the Earls of Desmond was essential to maintain peace in Counties Tipperary and Waterford.[58]

In September 1535 Sir William Skeffington, the Lord Deputy of Ireland, James Butler and others (including Edmund Sexton, then mayor of Limerick) went to Dungarvan to take the castle by water and land but the constable would not surrender it. James Butler was prepared to attack the castle with cannon but the cost of rebuilding afterwards would bring displease to the King. Nevertheless a six hour cannon attack was mounted and breached the east wall of the castle. Sir John St. Lowe asked to take his foot company on an assault which was granted. But an earthen rampart inside the castle prevented entry. Instead the Lord Deputy entered negotiations with the constable who, at 4 o’clock, agreed to yield up the castle without further action. The Lord Deputy delivered the castle to the Earl of Ossory. By October 1535 Sir Thomas Butler was constable of the castle.[59]

Later, at some unknown date, King Henry VIII granted the office of seneschal, constable and governor of Dungarvan castle and manor to James Butler, Earl of Ormond, with an annual revenue from the rents and profits. But just as the crown wanted the Earls of Desmond to be removed from Dungarvan castle for unpaid rents to the Crown, it seems the Butlers were no better at paying what rents were due from Dungarvan. By 1540 James Butler, Earl of Ormond, owned £450 for three years unpaid rent. The rent for the castle and manor of Dungarvan was £150 per annum. In July 1544 Henry VIII remitted and pardoned the Earl of Ormond for the arrears due to the Crown for Dungarvan manor. But an order was made to the sheriff of Dublin on 12th May 1544 to distrain the Earl for the arrears.

This seemingly disloyal action by the Dublin government in going against the wishes of the King was due to the ongoing actions by the Lord Deputy of Ireland, Sir Anthony St. Leger, to curb the power of the Earl of Ormond in Ireland. By one of the means of curbing Ormond’s power, St. Leger took away Dungarvan castle from him and gave it to his brother, Robert St. Leger, governor of Carlow. Even after taking possession of the castle St. Leger continued to pursue Ormond for the unpaid rent arrears. The sheriff dually distrained the Earl of Ormond. In reply the Earl sent his attorney, Richard Hopwood, to show the royal pardon. On 4th July 1545 the Dublin Barons of the Exchequer, after ‘mature deliberation’, agreed that the Earl should be exonerated from payment of the £450 in arrears.[60] If Dungarvan castle was subsequently restored to the Earl of Ormond it was only for a brief time as the Dublin government took command of the castle as an important fort to project royal authority in Counties Waterford and Tipperary. In April 1547 Robert St. Leger received a new appointment as constable of Dungarvan castle with the manor and all its appurtenances.[61] 

In the time of Sir Edward Bellingham, Lord Deputy of Ireland, (1548) the castle at Dungarvan was described as in ruins. The office of constable was then held by a man named Stephenson, who was described by others as a common pirate. Under Stephenson the castle fell into further disrepair. Sir Edward Bellingham appointed Matthew King as constable and the latter also held the parsonage of Dungarvan. Matthew King spent £400 on repairs to the castle. In the time of King Edward VI (August 1550) the office of constable was granted to James Walsh, the Lord Protector’s man, whereby Matthew King was at a loss of over £1,000. In compensation Matthew King was granted the abbey of Abbeyleix but lost it in a rebellion of the O’Mores of Laois. In May 1566 Matthew King wrote to Sir William Cecil seeking compensation for his loss.[62]

At the appointment of James Walsh as constable he was to hold for life with the service of eight gunners.[63] In 1558 James Walsh, son of Nicholas Walsh of Waterford, was still constable of Dungarvan castle. In about 1548 James Walsh acquired the Great Island in Wexford and in 1581 it was sold by Patrick Walsh, his heir, to Paul Sherlock.[64] In 1559 the inhabitants of Dungarvan received royal permission to transport out of England 200 quarters of wheat and malt and a grant of such liberties as Wexford town had. This was made in return for a promise of the inhabitants to repair the town wall.[65]

By 1558 Henry Stafford was constable of Dungarvan castle and in January 1558 was directed to excised martial law throughout the whole of County Waterford.[66] On 6th January 1561 a pardon was issued to Captain Henry Stafford, constable of Dungarvan and also the sheriff of County Waterford.[67] But he was removed as constable of Dungarvan castle. A document of 1566 says that Stafford was dismissed because he colluded with pirates and was found guilty at a trail. He was replaced by March 1566 by Ralph Morton as constable.[68]

But Henry Stafford was not for accepting this demotion and went to England to petition the government for restoration of his position. On 28th May 1566 Sir Warham St. Leger wrote to Sir Henry Sidney, Lord Deputy of Ireland, saying that Henry Stafford was a gentleman of good service. But this didn’t affect any change.[69]

Instead Lord Deputy Sidney pressed on with his own choice for constable. In a letter to Sir William Cecil on 9th June 1566, Lord Deputy Sidney said that he had written to the English Privy Council recommending Ralph Morton for the job for life. Lord Deputy Sidney further asked that the parsonage of Dungarvan be given to Morton as it formerly went with the job although it was in recent times alienated from it. Sidney also asked for £40 from the English treasury to help Morton to buy furnishing for the castle. Ralph Morton (the bearer of the letter to Cecil) had faithfully served the Queen and was commended by the locals of Dungarvan.[70]

On 20th October 1566 Queen Elizabeth wrote to Sir Henry Sidney concerning the situation of Henry Stafford. The Queen said she could find no justifiable reason why Stafford was removed from office and informed Sidney that Stafford’s appointment was not by any authority of the Lord Deputy. The Queen told Sidney that she was restoring Henry Stafford to the job of constable of Dungarvan castle and that if Sidney had any objections he was ‘with speed to advertise us (English Privy Council) at good length’. Henry Stafford delivered the letter to Sidney which must have been an interesting meeting.[71]

Lord Deputy Sidney still didn’t give up on Ralph Morton. On 23rd November 1566 Sidney wrote to Sir William Cecil that Captain Morton served as ‘an honest valiant gentleman’ in the service against the rebel Shane O’Neill. Sidney acknowledged the command of the Queen of 20th October to deliver to Henry Stafford the job of constable of Dungarvan castle. Yet Sidney still requested favour from Cecil to appoint Morton, or to help find another means of reward, if impossible to get the job for his man.[72] It would seem that Lord Deputy Sidney’s representations were unsuccessful. On a visit to Dungarvan in the spring of 1567 Lord Deputy Sidney found the place in need of repair.[73] On 19th May 1567 Queen Elizabeth wrote to Lord Deputy Sidney requiring that he place Ralph Morton in a position in the Irish government or army where he could be of good service.[74] Later records show that by July 1568 Ralph Morton was in recipient of a pension of 4s per day.[75]

After the removal of Sir Henry Sidney as Lord Deputy in October 1567 Sir William Cecil wrote a draft memorial in December 1567 recommending changes in the government of Ireland with the establishment of more shires in Ulster along with a President and council to govern Munster and Connacht. Cecil suggested that Dungarvan may serve as a residence for the Munster President with the parsonage retain as a residence. Presumingly the castle would also serve the President but Cecil didn’t mention the castle while at the same time saying that the Connacht President should live in Athlone castle.[76] This recommendation was not immediately acted upon and the Munster President petitioned London on a few occasions to have Dungarvan castle. Another 1567 document recommended a President’s council to meet at Dungarvan but that Lismore castle would provide the local garrison with forty soldiers.[77]

The departure of Sir Henry Sidney removed any obstacles that Henry Stafford experience in recovery the job of constable of Dungarvan castle. It seems that by June 1567 Henry Stafford was constable.[78] By August 1567 Henry Stafford was also involved in victualing the Irish army.[79] In the period November 1568 to 20th March 1569 Henry Stafford was recorded as constable of Dungarvan castle and had thirteen men (including Henry) with an overall salary bill of £16 6s per month. His own salary was £7 16s per month.[80]

South curtain wall and S-W round tower at Dungarvan castle

By 18th April 1569 Henry Stafford had died and the castle was without a commander. Nicholas White wrote to Sir William Cecil that the castle was reserved for the Lord President of Munster and so the Queen was discharged from appointing a new constable. The cost of maintaining the castle was £200 per year and White said that the manor around Dungarvan had ‘good domain lands, customs and fines to maintain’ the castle. Another letter from Patrick Sherlock said that the Dungarvan garrison cost £100 per year but it is unclear if this is just for the soldier’s wages or does it include a bill for castle maintenance.[81] An anonymous document, said to date to about 1569, on the establishment of the Munster Presidency said that ‘it is necessary for him (the President) to have the castle of Dungarvan and the constable there to be bound to put in so much hay as may find 100 horse for the President’s use, and to have pasturing for his beefs and muttons for his own provision during the time of his abode there’.[82]

But the management of Dungarvan castle didn’t automatically transfer to the new Presidency of Munster. By 24th January 1570 Lord Deputy Sidney had appointed Henry Davells from Devonshire as the new constable. Henry Davells had previously served as sheriff of County Carlow (1568) and was later constable of Leighlin and the lands of the Kavanagh (1571).[83] In 1567 Henry Davells was listed among the unpaid pensioners of the government.[84] In a letter to London, Lord Deputy Sidney asked that Davells may have an estate for life to maintain himself in Dungarvan. Yet there was uncertainty about the appointment of Henry Davells and as of April 1570 his position as constable was still unconfirmed by London.[85] On 17th May 1570 Queen Elizabeth wrote to Lord Deputy Sidney that although London had nothing against Henry Davells as to his qualifications to be constable the choice of constable should be at the command of the Lord President of Munster.[86] Therefore the position was left vacant.

Yet the Lord President of Munster had difficulty in asserting his authority to appoint as constable at Dungarvan. A few months later, in November 1570, Sir John Perrot wrote to the London government requesting troops, supplies, income and lands for the Presidency of Munster. He also asked for a number of abbeys and castles across the province for the use of the Presidency as local offices including the castle and parsonage of Dungarvan.[87]

But London turned down his request for Dungarvan castle and in a change of policy instead confirmed Henry Davells as the new constable and he was mentioned as such in an inventory of the garrisons of Ireland made on 31st March 1571. The inventory does not mention separately how many troops were in Dungarvan castle at that time. Instead we are told that Dungarvan and Ballymartyr castle had between them thirty-four soldiers costing £36 17s 4d per month.[88] An another inventory for April 1571 says there were thirteen soldiers at Dungarvan castle and thirty-two in Leighlin castle where Henry Davells was also constable. In May 1571 there were twenty foot soldiers at Dungarvan and thirty at Leighlin. By January 1572 the numbers had returned to thirteen and thirty-two respectively and were the same in March, June and November 1572 and in February 1573.[89]

In March 1572, as part of a reform of the Irish government and reducing the cost of the army, it was again proposed to transfer responsibility for Dungarvan castle to the President of Munster who would be responsible for its cost. Another document calls for the discharge of two horsemen belonging to Henry Davells at Dungarvan castle to reduce costs. The government of Queen Elizabeth was always interested in ways to govern Ireland on the cheap. In December 1574 the annual cost of the standing army was over £26,436. Much of this cost often went unpaid and by December 1574 there was £30,629 of wages in arrears. Addition costs were incurred by campaigning armies such as the Earl of Essex campaign in Ulster which cost £,360 per month.[90]  

The President of Munster was interested in having Dungarvan castle but turned it down when he realised that he would have to pay the running costs. On 5th May 1572 Lord Deputy Fitzwilliam wrote to Lord Burghley to reappoint Henry Davells as constable of Dungarvan with twelve men. The previous Lord Deputy, Sir Henry Sidney, had made Davells constable after the Munster President refused to take it but the position needed confirmation. This letter may have been sent because Fitzwilliam heard rumours of another document produced on 8th May 1572 which suggested discharging the twelve men in Dungarvan and leave the castle empty.[91]

While constable of Dungarvan Henry Davells also acted as collector of the customs for Youghal and Dungarvan. The money he collected in that job went in December 1572 to pay Sir John Perrot, then President of Munster.[92] In late 1573 Henry Davells was possibly more concerned about 120 men belonging to Rory McGrath who were pilfering the Dungarvan area but with only thirteen men he couldn’t do a whole lot.[93]

Following the end of the first Desmond rebellion, Gerald Fitzgerald, Earl of Desmond, entered into a number of undertakings to have peace with the government. By 1574 the manor of Dungarvan, which for generations was the property of successive Earls of Desmond, was in government hands. In March 1574 Gerald Fitzgerald asked to have first option on the manor if the government decided to grant it to another. The Earl was particularly concerned that it would be granted to his enemies.[94] In April 1574 Henry Davells was still constable of Dungarvan with thirteen men. He was no longer constable of Leighlin which was held by Sir Peter Carew. On 20th April 1574 Queen Elizabeth issued letters patent for Henry Davells to retain Dungarvan and to have it ‘during pleasure, with such wages and entertainment as he now receives’.[95]

In August 1574 and January 1575 Henry Davells was at Dungarvan with his twelve men. In October 1574 these thirteen (including Henry) were broken down as the constable along with six horsemen and six foot soldiers. Later in October 1574 the garrison consisted of one constable (Davells), six horsemen, three harquebusiers and three archers. The wages of the soldiers was £16 16s which presumingly is the monthly charge.[96] After leaving Dungarvan castle Henry Davells became sheriff of Cork and was scandalously murder in 1579 at Tralee by Sir John of Desmond, brother of the 15th Earl of Desmond.  

The castle was badly damaged in the Second Desmond Rebellion which begun in 1579. In 1580 Dungarvan castle was described as being in an extremely ruinous condition. Yet it was 1582 before repairs were ordered.[97] In February 1583 there were twenty-one soldiers at Dungarvan castle as part of the English army in Munster.[98] On 20th April 1583 a fiant was made for Anthony Hungerford, a captain in the army, to become constable of Dungarvan castle following on the queen’s letter of 11th February. His fee was 4s per day and he was to hold the office as Henry Davells and William Morgan held it. Hungerford was to pay each of his three archers 6d per day while the fifteen footmen got 8d each per day.[99] In 1586 Anthony Hungerford was still at Dungarvan when he and his wife Margaret received a lease on Kellistown, Co. Carlow, for 61 years at £15 per year in rent payable to Sir Edmund Butler of Cloghgrenan, Co. Carlow.[100]

In April 1591 Thomas Butler, Earl of Ormond, was granted numerous castles and lands in County Tipperary as a reward for his efforts to settle English people there who would be ‘civil, loyal and dutiful subjects’. The Earl was to hold these lands in fee farm as of the castle of Dungarvan by fealty and paying £8 6s 8d per year for three years and £16 13s 4d thereafter to the Dublin Exchequer.[101]

At some time in 1592 a yeoman from Dungarvan named Thomas Fay was committed to the goal at Dungarvan castle on suspicion of murder. Henry Green was vice-constable of the castle at the time and as such was in charge of prisoners. By his own means or aided by others, inside or outside the castle, Thomas Fay made a successful escape. Henry Green was indicted and attainted for allowing Fay to escape. Henry Green therefore lost his job and all hope of a life in Ireland. But he had some friends in influence places such that on 10th January 1593 he received a pardon.[102]

In 1594 Henry Dockway was appointed constable of Dungarvan castle with a salary of 4s per day. At that time the castle garrison consisted of six archers at 6d per day and fifteen foot soldiers who were paid 8d per day.[103] On 20th June 1599 the Earl of Essex went ‘somewhat out of the way’ to visit the port and castle of Dungarvan. This was on the occasion of the long march through Munster by the Earl. When he visited Dungarvan he had come from Affane and was heading for Waterford.[104]

The castle in the seventeenth century

In 1607 Dungarvan castle was garrisoned by the constable, Sir George Cary (4s per day), a porter (12d per day) and twenty warders (8d each). But some in government felt that the castle was of no strategic importance and the garrison should be reduced. In September 1606 it was suggested that a constable, a porter and ten warders would be sufficient but by 1607 this idea was reduced to a constable, a porter and a housekeeper. Some of the warders would be sent to other forts, mainly in Ulster, while others would get a pension. The land attached to the castle had been sold off and so the castle was costing money rather than providing its own income. In October 1605 Lord Deputy Chichester said Dungarvan castle could be closed without much trouble as coastal forts like Dungarvan were poor bastions against pirates. In January 1607 the Lord Deputy of Ireland issued an order to reduce the garrison by eight warders.[105] These recommendations were not acted upon and in 1610 and 1611 Dungarvan castle was still held by a constable, a porter and twelve warders. The constable was Sir George Cary. The castle was one of four military forts in Munster.[106] The rest of the army of Munster was composed of horsemen and foot soldiers attached to mobile units.

In 1615 Sir George Cary was still constable of Dungarvan castle. His salary was paid out of the English treasury like many more government, army personal and pensioners in Ireland at the time.[107] Sir George Cary was in need of some salary as he was involved in a protracted and eventually abandoned case against him during his time as treasurer-at-war where he created debts of £32,000.[108]

On 18th July 1605 King James issued a grant in reversion to Edward Cary, nephew of Sir George Cary of the constableship at Dungarvan castle. Edward Cary was to succeed after the death or retirement of Sir George Cary. The grant to Edward Cary was as reward for his considerable time in the service of the King.[109] In 1622 Edward Cary was constable of Dungarvan castle at a salary of £91 5s per year. Edward Cary had the castle by letters patent and was his own house. The Commissioners for the Reform of Ireland in 1622 said that this should not continue and the castle should be for the army.[110] In 1623 Edward Carew (Cary?) was constable of Dungarvan castle. At that time the castle was in great decay and it was estimated that £1,000 was needed to restore the structure.[111]

Early in the Confederate War (1641-1653) the Irish/Confederate army took Dungarvan and the castle. But in March 1642 the Lord President of Munster retook the castle and left Lieutenant Rossington as constable. But the English only held it for a short time. On one night all the English in the town were plundered by Sir Nicholas Walsh and his followers. While the garrison was thus distracted scaling ladders were placed between the gate and the wall and the castle was taken. John Butler was appointed as constable of the castle for the Confederate government.[112] The Confederates held Dungarvan castle until 1647 and made considerable use of the port from bringing in supplies from the Continent. This ease of access was facilitated by an effective Confederate navy and the ineffective effort made by the English/Parliamentary navy.[113]

On 3rd May 1647 Lord Inchiquin took a considerable English/Parliamentary army of 5,000 foot and 1,500 horse troops across the Blackwater River and invaded the Confederate controlled area of County Waterford. He captured Cappoquin and Dromana castle before proceeding to Dungarvan. Following a four day siege in which the town walls were pounded by cannon Lord Inchiquin invested the town after a bastion tower was knocked down. Once in the town he attacked the castle while also pounding it with cannon from the Abbeyside area across the harbour. But the castle was not taken. Instead on 10th May the garrison surrendered. For what of provisions Lord Inchiquin was prevented from advancing on East Waterford and instead returned to Cork. After getting supplies from England Lord Inchiquin marched north into Tipperary taking Cahir, Fethard and Cashel with the so termed massacre on the Rock of Cashel. At the same time the Confederates could only put an army of 3,300 into the Munster theatre and so could not recover Dungarvan.[114]

On 3rd April 1648 Lord Inchiquin decided to change affiliation from Parliament to supporting the Royalist cause. Some of his officers resisted but they were imprisoned before they could muster a revolt. In this unease situation Lord Inchiquin was eager to make a truce with the Confederate Council. On 22nd April 1648 Lord Inchiquin travelled to Dungarvan to meet representatives of the Confederate Council to discuss a truce. The proposed document was vetoed by the papal nuncio, Cardinal Rinuccini, but negotiations continued and on 20th May a truce was signed.[115] But the execution of King Charles in January 1649 ended the Royalist cause. Parliament was now in charge and its chief general, Oliver Cromwell prepared to take an army to Ireland.

When Oliver Cromwell came to Dungarvan in December 1649 the Royalist town and castle made a resistance for a few days before surrendering to the far larger army. As punishment for resisting Cromwell was said to have ordered the massacre of the inhabitants but when a woman called Nagle brought out a tankard of beer for the main man and drank to his health. More beer was brought out for Cromwell’s troops and in their merry mood Cromwell changed his mind and spared the inhabitants or so the story goes.[116] The reality was that while Cromwell was still at Kilmacthomas the town and castle of Dungarvan were captured by Roger Boyle, Lord Broghill. Dungarvan provided comfortable winter quarters for Cromwell’s army as the area around Waterford Harbour still had resistance forces.[117]

In May 1662 Major James Dennis and his foot company was stationed at Dungarvan castle the company consisted of one captain (James Dennis) along with one ensign, two sergeants, three corporals, two drummers and eighty-five soldiers.[118] In August 1662 Major James Dennis was still at Dungarvan but with only sixty-seven soldiers besides the eight officers. Some of the reduction in the troop numbers is accounted by the fact the Major Dennis had a sergeant and eighteen soldiers stationed at Cappoquin. In November 1667 Major James Dennis and his foot company were based at Wexford with no troops recorded at Dungarvan. By September 1672 Major Dennis’s foot company had returned to England. The foot company soon returned and in 1675 was at Wexford and in 1680 at Waterford.[119] After c.1665 the castle seems to be left vacant and no subsequent entry appears showing troops garrisoned within. A report in 1685 of the number of cannon at each military base in Ireland mentioned such places as Waterford, Duncannon, Youghal, Haulboline Island and Cork but no Dungarvan.[120]

The castle in the eighteenth century

In 1721 and 1722 money was spent on works and repairs to Dungarvan castle. The exact amount was not stated as Dungarvan was included with Dublin, Belfast, Cork, Trim and Athlone in a share of the £336 spent in that year.[121]

In October 1725 John Shaw, the barrack-master at Dungarvan, was paid £5 6s 11½d for repairing the castle wall. The wall was washed away by the sea and the expenses seem mostly to be securing the remaining wall from further collapse.[122] At a later date the sea wall was rebuilt.[123]

The castle in the nineteenth century

In the nineteenth century the old Dungarvan castle was used as a military base and later as a police barracks. In 1812-3 the castle garrison consisted of six officers and ninety-six men.[124]

Like in many a garrison town drink and boredom played on the discipline of the officers and soldiers. In 1836 a detachment of the 53rd Regiment of Foot (King’s Shropshire Light Infantry) were stationed at the castle. In late August Lieutenant Stewart of the Regiment had a disagreement with a certain Andrew Carbery, a prominent Catholic businessman and benefactor of the poor. On the night of 25th August Lieutenant Stewart had a drunken party with two Dungarvan men, Edward Kennedy and Edward Dower. The three men left the castle and stopped at certain houses were they shouted at the occupants. On returning to the castle they crossed the street to the house of Andrew Carbery, which was opposite the castle gate. They broke down the front door and carried it away. Lieutenant Steward ordered the corporal of the guard to use the door for firewood.

A complaint was sent to Thomas Drummond, Under-Secretary of State for Ireland, who on 7th September 1836 wrote to Richard Jones, the Resident Magistrate in Dungarvan, for information. Two months later Lieutenant-General Shaw Kennedy, Inspector-General of the Constabulary, replied that he had heard rumours of a trespass on Andrew Carbery’s property. Eventually a full report was sent by Major-General Arbuthnot to Thomas Drummond on the affair. He described Lieutenant Steward’s drunken caper as ‘an act of thoughtless folly’ and that he would be place on the Service Companies of the 53rd Regiment at the first opportunity. He also said that Andrew Carbery had received compensation for the damage.[125]

Up until the 1860s it appears that the Duke of Devonshire was the owner of Dungarvan castle until it was purchased by the government.[126] In 1882 the King’s Own Borders were the last soldiers to occupied Dungarvan castle as a military barracks. It was then taken over by the Royal Irish Constabulary who occupied the complex until March 1922.[127]
 
The castle in the twentieth century

At the start of the twentieth century the castle was still occupied by the Royal Irish Constabulary. After the adoption of the Anglo-Irish Treaty and the formation of the Irish Free State the R.I.C. departed. In March 1922 the West Waterford brigade of the Irish Republican Army took possession of the castle. But they were against the Treaty and in the Civil War held Dungarvan castle against the new State. When Free State troops advanced on Dungarvan the Anti-Treaty forces found their position un-defendable and left the castle and the town. Before they left they set fire to the castle so as to make it unusable for the Free State army. When peace was restored the castle was rebuilt and given over to the new Garda Siochana as their police station.[128]  

The Garda Siochana occupied Dungarvan castle until 1987 when a new police station was built on Rice Street. The castle was then totally given over to the Office of Public Works. The O.P.W. had been in charge of repairs and maintenance with the Gardaí were in the castle but now they had it all to themselves. Over the next decade archaeological work and repairs to the castle occurred before in 2002 the castle was opened to the public.[129] As of 2016 Dungarvan castle is open to the public during the summer months and closed in the winter time. It is well worth a visit if you can to see a castle with over eight hundred years of history and people.



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[1] Pat Dargan, Exploring Irish Castles (Nonsuch Publishing, Dublin, 2009), pp. 30, 36
[2] Goddard H. Orpen, Ireland under the Normans 1169-1333 (Four Courts Press, Dublin, 2005), vol. III, p. 350
[4] A.F. O’Brien, ‘The Development and Evolution of the Medieval Borough and Port of Dungarvan, County Waterford, c.1200 to c.1530’, in the Journal of the Cork Historical and Archaeological Society, Vol. XCII, 1987, p. 85
[5] Joseph Hansard, History of Waterford (Waterford County Council, edited edition by Donal Brady), p. 244
[6] H.S. Sweetman (ed.), Calendar of Documents relating to Ireland (5 vols. Kraus reprint, 1974), vol. 1, 1171-1251, nos. 586, 598
[7] J.S. Brewer & William Bullen (eds.), Calendar of the Carew Manuscripts at Lambeth (Kraus reprint, 1974), vol. 5, Books of Howth Miscellaneous, p. 438; H.S. Sweetman (ed.), Calendar of Documents relating to Ireland, vol. 1, 1171-1251, nos. 576, 584
[8] H.S. Sweetman (ed.), Calendar of Documents relating to Ireland, vol. III, 1285-1292, no. 1051
[9] Patrick C. Power, A history of Dungarvan Town and District (De Paor, Dungarvan, 2000), pp. 18, 19; A.F. O’Brien, ‘The Development and Evolution of the Medieval Borough and Port of Dungarvan, County Waterford, c.1200 to c.1530’, in the J.C.H.A.S., Vol. XCII, 1987, p. 86
[10] Dave Pollock, Medieval Dungarvan above and below ground (Archaeografix, Stradbally, 2013), pp. 35, 37; https://chancery.tcd.ie/document/patent/30-edward-iii/42 accessed on 30 October 2016; A.F. O’Brien, ‘The Development and Evolution of the Medieval Borough and Port of Dungarvan, County Waterford, c.1200 to c.1530’, in the J.C.H.A.S., Vol. XCII, 1987, p. 87
[11] David Beresford, ‘Fitz Anthony, Thomas’, in Dictionary of Irish Biography, edited by James McGuire & James Quinn (Cambridge University Press, 2009), Vol. 3, p. 813
[12] H.S. Sweetman (ed.), Calendar of Documents relating to Ireland, vol. 1, 1171-1251, nos. 1462, 1976, 2009, 2569; A.J. Otway-Ruthven, A history of Medieval Ireland (Ernest Benn, London, 1980), p. 96; H.S. Sweetman (ed.), Calendar of Documents relating to Ireland, vol. 1, 1171-1251, no. 2569
[13] Thirty-Fifth Report of the Deputy Keeper of Public Records in Ireland (Stationery Office, Dublin, 1903), p. 36
[16] H.S. Sweetman (ed.), Calendar of Documents relating to Ireland, vol. II, 1252-1284, no. 629; Anthony M. McCormack, The Earldom of Desmond 1463-1583: The Decline and Crisis of a Feudal Lordship (Four Courts Press, Dublin, 2005), p. 54
[17] H.S. Sweetman (ed.), Calendar of Documents relating to Ireland, vol. II, 1252-1284, p. 425
[18] Gerald O’Carroll, The Earls of Desmond: The Rise and Fall of a Munster Lordship (author, 2013), p. 4; H.S. Sweetman (ed.), Calendar of Documents relating to Ireland, vol. III, 1285-1292, no. 1051
[19] Dave Pollock, Medieval Dungarvan above and below ground, pp. 10, 11, 12, 13; Michael Moore (ed.), Archaeological Inventory of County Waterford (Stationery Office, Dublin, 1999), pp. 213, 214, no. 1562
[20] Dave Pollock, Medieval Dungarvan above and below ground, p. 14; Michael Moore (ed.), Archaeological Inventory of County Waterford, pp. 213, 214, no. 1562; H.S. Sweetman (ed.), Calendar of Documents relating to Ireland, vol. IV, 1293-1301, p. 261 
[21] Michael Moore (ed.), Archaeological Inventory of County Waterford, p. 214, no. 1562
[22] Dave Pollock, Medieval Dungarvan above and below ground, p. 15
[23] Thirty-Fifth Report of the Deputy Keeper of Public Records in Ireland, p. 39
[24] Edmund Curtis, ‘Sheriff’s accounts of the Honor of Dungarvan, of Tweskard in Ulster and of County Waterford, 1261-63’, in Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy, Vol. XXXIX, 1929-1931, section C, p. 4; H.S. Sweetman (ed.), Calendar of Documents relating to Ireland, vol. II, 1252-1284, no. 326
[25] John T. Gilbert, History of the Viceroys of Ireland (James Duffy, Dublin, 1865),  pp. 107, 108; H.S. Sweetman (ed.), Calendar of Documents relating to Ireland, vol. II, 1252-1284, no. 1242
[26] Philomena Connolly (ed.), Irish Exchequer Payments (Irish Manuscripts Commission, Dublin, 1998), p. 72;  H.S. Sweetman (ed.), Calendar of Documents relating to Ireland, vol. II, 1252-1284, nos. 1839, 1922
[27] H.S. Sweetman (ed.), Calendar of Documents relating to Ireland, vol. III, 1285-1292, no. 216, pp. 426, 427
[28] H.S. Sweetman (ed.), Calendar of Documents relating to Ireland, vol. II, 1252-1284, no. 996
[29] H.S. Sweetman (ed.), Calendar of Documents relating to Ireland, vol. II, 1252-1284, nos. 1125, 1185
[30] Thirty-Sixth Report of the Deputy Keeper of Public Records in Ireland (Stationery Office, Dublin, 1904), p. 38
[31] H.S. Sweetman (ed.), Calendar of Documents relating to Ireland, vol. II, 1252-1284, nos. 1239, 1259
[32] Philomena Connolly (ed.), Irish Exchequer Payments, p. xxiii
[33] Gerald O’Carroll, The Earls of Desmond: The Rise and Fall of a Munster Lordship, p. 4
[34] H.S. Sweetman (ed.), Calendar of Documents relating to Ireland, vol. II, 1252-1284, no. 2231
[35] Philip H. Hore, ‘Extracts from the Great Roll of the Irish Exchequer Relating to Waterford and Ross, A.D. 1273-1483’, in the Journal of the Cork Historical and Archaeological Society, Vol. XXIV, 1918, p. 18
[36] Bridget Wells-Furby (ed.), A catalogue of the medieval muniments at Berkeley Castle (Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Society, Gloucestershire Record Series, Vol. 17, 2004), p. 573; Goddard H. Orpen, Ireland under the Normans 1169-1333, vol. III, p. 145; H.S. Sweetman (ed.), Calendar of Documents relating to Ireland, vol. IV, 1293-1301, no. 727
[37] J.S. Brewer & William Bullen (eds.), Calendar of the Carew Manuscripts at Lambeth, vol. 5, Books of Howth Miscellaneous, p. 439; H.S. Sweetman (ed.), Calendar of Documents relating to Ireland, vol. IV, 1293-1301, p. 261 
[38] Gerald O’Carroll, The Earls of Desmond: The Rise and Fall of a Munster Lordship, p. 8
[39] Forty-Fourth Report of the Deputy Keeper of Public Records in Ireland (Stationery Office, Dublin, 1912), pp. 25, 26
[40] Philomena Connolly (ed.), Irish Exchequer Payments, p. 428
[41] J.S. Brewer & William Bullen (eds.), Calendar of the Carew Manuscripts at Lambeth, vol. 5, Books of Howth Miscellaneous, p. 395
[42] James Lydon, ‘Survey of the memoranda rolls of the Irish Exchequer, 1294-1509’, in Analecta Hibernica, No. 23 (1966), p. 63
[43] A.F. O’Brien, ‘The Development and Evolution of the Medieval Borough and Port of Dungarvan, County Waterford, c.1200 to c.1530’, in the J.C.H.A.S., Vol. XCII, 1987, p. 87
[44] Gerald O’Carroll, The Earls of Desmond: The Rise and Fall of a Munster Lordship, p. 14; A.J. Otway-Ruthven, A history of Medieval Ireland, pp. 327, 338 – the second visit to Ireland by Richard II was in 1399; https://chancery.tcd.ie/document/close/18-richard-ii/3 accessed on 30 October 2016
[45] Edmund Curtis (ed.), Calendar of Ormond Deeds, volume III, 1413-1509 A.D. (Stationery Office, Dublin, 1935), p. 32
[46] A.F. O’Brien, ‘The Development and Evolution of the Medieval Borough and Port of Dungarvan, County Waterford, c.1200 to c.1530’, in the J.C.H.A.S., Vol. XCII, 1987, p. 87
[47] Charles Smith, The Ancient and Present State of the County and City of Waterford (2008 edition edited by Donal Brady), pp. 51, 52
[48] Gerald O’Carroll, The Earls of Desmond: The Rise and Fall of a Munster Lordship, p. 29
[49] Charles Smith, The Ancient and Present State of the County and City of Waterford, p. 51
[50] D.B. Quin, ‘Irish Ireland and English Ireland’, in A new History of Ireland, II, Medieval Ireland, 1169-1534, edited by Art Cosgrove (Oxford University Press, 2008), p. 630
[51] Gerald O’Carroll, The Earls of Desmond: The Rise and Fall of a Munster Lordship, p. 35
[52] D.B. Quin, ‘English policy in Irish affairs, 1520-34’, in A new History of Ireland, II, Medieval Ireland, 1169-1534, edited by Art Cosgrove, p. 677
[53] Charles Smith, The Ancient and Present State of the County and City of Waterford, p. 51
[54] Edmund Curtis (ed.), Calendar of Ormond Deeds, volume IV, 1509-1547 A.D. (Stationery Office, Dublin, 1937), pp. 127, 128
[55] Edmund Curtis (ed.), Calendar of Ormond Deeds, volume IV, 1509-1547 A.D., p. 151
[56] Edmund Curtis (ed.), Calendar of Ormond Deeds, volume IV, 1509-1547 A.D., p. 154
[57] J.S. Brewer & William Bullen (eds.), Calendar of the Carew Manuscripts at Lambeth, vol. 1, 1515-1574, p. 55
[58] David Edwards, The Ormond Lordship in County Kilkenny 1515-1642: The Rise and Fall of Butler Feudal Power (Four Courts Press, Dublin, 2003), pp. 162, 163
[59] J.S. Brewer & William Bullen (eds.), Calendar of the Carew Manuscripts at Lambeth, vol. 1, 1515-1574, pp. 76, 79, 152; Dave Pollock, Medieval Dungarvan above and below ground, p. 16
[60] Edmund Curtis (ed.), Calendar of Ormond Deeds, volume IV, 1509-1547 A.D., pp. 192, 270, 271; David Edwards, The Ormond Lordship in County Kilkenny 1515-1642, p. 170
[61] Charles Smith, The Ancient and Present State of the County and City of Waterford, p. 52
[62] Bernadette Cunningham (ed.), Calendar of State Papers Ireland: Tudor Period 1566-1567 (Irish Manuscripts Commission, Dublin, 2009), no. 132; Charles Smith, The Ancient and Present State of the County and City of Waterford, p. 55
[63] Fiants of Edward VI, no. 558
[64] Edmund Curtis (ed.), Calendar of Ormond Deeds, volume V, 1547-1584 A.D. (Stationery Office, Dublin, 1941), pp. 28, 29, 31
[65] J.S. Brewer & William Bullen (eds.), Calendar of the Carew Manuscripts at Lambeth, vol. 1, 1515-1574, p. 284
[66] Charles Smith, The Ancient and Present State of the County and City of Waterford, p. 55
[67] Fiants of Elizabeth, no. 295
[68] Bernadette Cunningham (ed.), Calendar of State Papers Ireland: Tudor Period 1566-1567, no. 65
[69] Tomás Ó Laidhin (ed.), Sidney State Papers 1565-70 (Stationery Office, Dublin, 1962), no. 26
[70] Bernadette Cunningham (ed.), Calendar of State Papers Ireland: Tudor Period 1566-1567, no. 151
[71] Tomás Ó Laidhin (ed.), Sidney State Papers 1565-70, no. 26; Bernadette Cunningham (ed.), Calendar of State Papers Ireland: Tudor Period 1566-1567, no. 265
[72] Bernadette Cunningham (ed.), Calendar of State Papers Ireland: Tudor Period 1566-1567, no. 299
[73] Bernadette Cunningham (ed.), Calendar of State Papers Ireland: Tudor Period 1566-1567, no. 400
[74] Tomás Ó Laidhin (ed.), Sidney State Papers 1565-70, no. 39
[75] Bernadette Cunningham (ed.), Calendar of State Papers Ireland: Tudor Period 1568-1571 (Irish Manuscripts Commission, Dublin, 2010), no. 155
[76] Bernadette Cunningham (ed.), Calendar of State Papers Ireland: Tudor Period 1566-1567, no. 582
[77] Bernadette Cunningham (ed.), Calendar of State Papers Ireland: Tudor Period 1566-1567, no. 600
[78] Bernadette Cunningham (ed.), Calendar of State Papers Ireland: Tudor Period 1566-1567, no. 566
[79] Bernadette Cunningham (ed.), Calendar of State Papers Ireland: Tudor Period 1566-1567, nos. 525, 531
[80] Bernadette Cunningham (ed.), Calendar of State Papers Ireland: Tudor Period 1568-1571, nos. 235.2, 361
[81] Bernadette Cunningham (ed.), Calendar of State Papers Ireland: Tudor Period 1568-1571, nos. 375, 381
[82] J.S. Brewer & William Bullen (eds.), Calendar of the Carew Manuscripts at Lambeth, vol. 1, 1515-1574, p. 392
[83] Bernadette Cunningham (ed.), Calendar of State Papers Ireland: Tudor Period 1568-1571, nos. 208, 675
[84] Bernadette Cunningham (ed.), Calendar of State Papers Ireland: Tudor Period 1566-1567, no. 531
[85] Bernadette Cunningham (ed.), Calendar of State Papers Ireland: Tudor Period 1568-1571, nos. 559, 569
[86] Tomás Ó Laidhin (ed.), Sidney State Papers 1565-70, no. 75 (13)
[87] Bernadette Cunningham (ed.), Calendar of State Papers Ireland: Tudor Period 1568-1571, no. 616
[88] Bernadette Cunningham (ed.), Calendar of State Papers Ireland: Tudor Period 1568-1571, no. 675
[89] Mary O’Dowd (ed.), Calendar of State Papers Ireland: Tudor Period 1571-1575 (Public Record Office, London and Irish Manuscripts Commission, Dublin, 2000), nos. 1, 55, 182, 199, 275.2, 367.1, 449.1
[90] Mary O’Dowd (ed.), Calendar of State Papers Ireland: Tudor Period 1571-1575, nos. 208, 223, 1255.1
[91] Mary O’Dowd (ed.), Calendar of State Papers Ireland: Tudor Period 1571-1575, nos. 245, 247
[92] Mary O’Dowd (ed.), Calendar of State Papers Ireland: Tudor Period 1571-1575, no. 400
[93] Mary O’Dowd (ed.), Calendar of State Papers Ireland: Tudor Period 1571-1575, nos. 449.1, 801.1
[94] Mary O’Dowd (ed.), Calendar of State Papers Ireland: Tudor Period 1571-1575, no. 872
[95] Mary O’Dowd (ed.), Calendar of State Papers Ireland: Tudor Period 1571-1575, nos. 928, 934.1, 939
[96] Mary O’Dowd (ed.), Calendar of State Papers Ireland: Tudor Period 1571-1575, nos. 1084.2, 1147, 1225; J.S. Brewer & William Bullen (eds.), Calendar of the Carew Manuscripts at Lambeth, vol. 1, 1515-1574, p. 456
[97] William Fraher & William Whelan, Dungarvan: Historic Guide & Town Trail (Waterford County Museum, 2012), p. 23
[98] Edmund Curtis (ed.), Calendar of Ormond Deeds, volume V, 1547-1584 A.D., p. 322
[99] Fiants of Elizabeth, no. 4130
[100] Edmund Curtis (ed.), Calendar of Ormond Deeds, volume VI, 1584-1603 A.D. (Stationery Office, Dublin, 1943), p. 24
[101] Edmund Curtis (ed.), Calendar of Ormond Deeds, volume VI, 1584-1603 A.D., p. 47
[102] Fiants of Elizabeth, no. 5776
[103] William Fraher & William Whelan, Dungarvan: Historic Guide & Town Trail, p. 23
[104] J.S. Brewer & William Bullen (eds.), Calendar of the Carew Manuscripts at Lambeth, vol. 3, 1589-1600, p. 308
[105] Rev. C.W. Russell & John P. Prendergast (eds.), Calendar of the State Papers relating to Ireland of the reign of James 1, 1603-1606 (Kraus reprint, 1974), pp. 342, 511, 581; Rev. C.W. Russell & John P. Prendergast (eds.), Calendar of the State Papers relating to Ireland of the reign of James 1, 1606-1608, pp. 87, 91
[106] Rev. C.W. Russell & John P. Prendergast (eds.), Calendar of the State Papers relating to Ireland of the reign of James 1, 1608-1610, p. 508; Rev. C.W. Russell & John P. Prendergast (eds.), Calendar of the State Papers relating to Ireland of the reign of James 1, 1611-1624, p. 9
[107] Rev. Charles W. Russell & John P. Prendergast (eds.), Calendar of the State Papers relating to Ireland of the reign of James 1, 1615-1625, p. 11
[108] Victor Treadwell, Buckingham and Ireland 1616-1628: A Study in Anglo-Irish Politics (Four Courts Press, Dublin, 1998), 355, note 82
[109] Rev. C.W. Russell & John P. Prendergast (eds.), Calendar of the State Papers relating to Ireland of the reign of James 1, 1603-1606, p. 306
[110] Victor Treadwell (ed.), The Irish Commission of 1622: an investigation of the Irish Administration 1615-22 and its Consequences 1623-24 (Irish Manuscripts Commission, Dublin, 2006), p. 194
[111] Rev. Charles W. Russell & John P. Prendergast (eds.), Calendar of the State Papers relating to Ireland of the reign of James 1, 1615-1625, pp. 406, 430
[112] Charles Smith, The Ancient and Present State of the County and City of Waterford, p. 55
[113] Rev. Samuel Hayman, The hand-book for Youghal (Field, Youghal, 1973 reprint), pp. 34, 38
[114] Rev. Samuel Hayman, The hand-book for Youghal, p. 42; Dave Pollock, Medieval Dungarvan above and below ground, p. 16; Padraig Lenihan, Confederate Catholics at War 1641-49 (Cork University Press, 2001), p. 104
[115] Patrick J. Corish, ‘Ormond, Runuccini and the confederates, 1645-9’, in A new History of Ireland, III, Early Modern Ireland 1534-1691, edited by T.W. Moody, F.X. Martin & F.J. Byrne (Oxford University Press, 2009), p. 329
[116] Charles Smith, The Ancient and Present State of the County and City of Waterford, p. 56
[117] Patrick J. Corish, ‘Ormond, Runuccini and the confederates, 1645-9’, in A new History of Ireland, III, Early Modern Ireland 1534-1691, edited by T.W. Moody, F.X. Martin & F.J. Byrne, p. 343
[118] John T. Gilbert (ed.), The Manuscripts of the Marquis of Ormonde preserved at the Castle, Kilkenny (Historical Manuscripts Commission, 1895), vol. 1, p. 351
[119] John T. Gilbert & Rosa Gilbert (eds.), The Manuscripts of the Marquis of Ormonde preserved at the Castle, Kilkenny (Historical Manuscripts Commission, 1899), vol. II, pp. 178, 190, 192, 200, 202, 224
[120] John T. Gilbert & Rosa Gilbert (eds.), The Manuscripts of the Marquis of Ormonde preserved at the Castle, Kilkenny, vol. II, pp. 334, 335
[121] Journal of the House of Commons of Ireland, vol. V, 1723-1731 (Dublin, 1753), pp. 80, 90
[122] Journal of the House of Commons of Ireland, vol. V, 1723-1731 (Dublin, 1753), pp. 342
[123] Dave Pollock, Medieval Dungarvan above and below ground, p. 17
[124] Patrick C. Power, A history of Dungarvan Town and District, p. 143
[125] Patrick C. Power, A history of Dungarvan Town and District, pp. 143, 144
[126] Joseph Hansard, History of Waterford (Waterford County Council, edited edition by Donal Brady), p. 194
[127] William Fraher & William Whelan, Dungarvan: Historic Guide & Town Trail, p. 24
[128] Dave Pollock, Medieval Dungarvan above and below ground, p. 19
[129] William Fraher & William Whelan, Dungarvan: Historic Guide & Town Trail, p. 24

1 comment:

  1. Hi Niall,

    We've been in touch before now to discuss Mocollop Castle. I have just scanned your full list of articles, bookmarking several of particular interest, and I must say your output is very impressive.

    Last time you kindly permitted me to use your images of Mocollop castle published on the blog. I wanted to include Mocollop as an excursion on a conference I am organising, but in the end I got a reluctant no (at this time) from Richard, the owner.

    We are, however, going to Dungarvan Castle, and I am writing to ask if I could use your images from that blog too (30 October 2016).

    The aerial image is of particular interest for its view into the shell keep, and might be reproduced also - you permitting - in the next issue of the Castle Studies Group journal.

    Thanks in advance,

    Dan

    Daniel Tietzsch-Tyler, Limerick
    email: dantt@eircom.net

    ReplyDelete