Rochfortbridge, Co. Westmeath - Recently Updated Pages

Rochfortbridge Community WorldWide

Belvedere — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 17:55:54 CST

Welcome to Rochfortbridge Community Website
Rochfortbridge, Co.Westmeath, Ireland.

Interactive website for the community of Rochfortbridge.

Several pages where you can post your news. Browse the navigation bar and click into the page you want to view or edit.

Most pages can be edited by clicking the "Easy Edit" button.
e mail rochfortbridge@hotmail.com

Rochfortbridge Community Website.

Brief History of Rochfortbridge.

The village of Rochfortbridge lies on the “Slí Mór” on the northern side of the "Esker Riada", midway between Tara in Meath and Uisneach in Westmeath.
The pass of Kilbride as it was then known was heavily guarded in medieval times as the land on both sides of the village was impassable.
The first crossing of what is now the river Derry was beside the castle at Castlelost.
This crossing was a Ford crossing with no bridge.
Now don’t get confused by the word “Ford” it has nothing to do with the name of the village.

Fact vs Fable

The romantic fable that a dead beggar man was found at the crossing with enough money to build a bridge on his person etc. is just that, a fable that was told to newcomers to romanticise the village. There is absolutely no record of such a happening in any historical records. This story has been told and re-told and altered through time but the fact is that a beggar was employed by Robert Rochfort as he was the only qualified architect to be found in the area and his circumstances had demoted him to begging for a living. The "beggar" designed and oversaw the construction of the new bridge financed by Robert Rochfort, MP. the bridge was erected over the river Derry at Farthingstown. The facts have been altered from the original beggar man being paid handsomely to build the bridge to a beggar man having enough money to build the bridge through the passage of time and for the making of a better story. There are also romantic ramblings in some media that Robert Rochfort 1st Earl of Belvedere renamed the village from Beggars Bridge to Rochfortbridge in his own honour. Again untrue. The village was created by Robert Rochfort OK but it was the grandfather of the 1st Earl of Belvedere.

Birth of Rochfortbridge

The Village was set out in the year 1700 by Robert Rochfort, (1651 – 1727) MP for Westmeath. See the history of the Rochfort family to fill in the rest of his life. The wooden bridge at Farthingstown (already in place but in bad repair) was replaced by the newly designed "beggars bridge". The "new" bridge was called "beggars bridge" not the village (as there was no village as yet) and it was called thus as it was indeed designed and built by a beggar and the fact that it was also a toll bridge, with a toll of one farthing to cross either way imposed by Robert Rochfort. This toll also gave the town land of Farthingstown its name. The location of the first crossing at Farthingstown and the town land of Oldtown being the location of the first “transit” settlement was the first post Celtic settlement and thus the first "Village" in the area. The "New" bridge was nick-named “Beggars Bridge” as not only was it built by a beggar but beggars often gathered there to beg from the wealthy. (It was only the wealthy that used the bridge as the peasants crossed through the river with their wears in their bare feet.) Robert Rochfort, MP. built the first stone "permanent" dwellings in 1700 and designed the street scape to give the settlement "Village" status. unfortunately none of the original buildings remain intact as the street scape was re-designed in famine times to its present state. the transit settlement at Oldtown and the toll bridge were both replaced by Josias Cooper as famine relief projects in the late 1840's

Bear in mind that the river Derry didn’t flow on its present course in those days as it was not until 1846/7 that Lady Cooper of Dunboden re-routed the river and built the road from the village to Kilbride, all as famine relief work.

Rochfortbridge Today

At present the village has a growing young population with new housing developments bringing new residents out of the cities. The majority of the new housing estates are built to standard "Housing Estate" design. The Parish of Rochfortbridge consists of all the village of Rochfortbridge and its hinterland, The Village of MilltownPass and part of its hinterland and the Hamlet of Dalystown and the surrounding area. The Parish Roman Catholic Church is the Church of The Sacred Heart, Meedin, the village of Rochfortbridge and the village of MilltownPass each have a Roman Catholic Church. There are no other religious denonination churches/places of worship in use in the parish. The postal address for the village is Rochfortbridge, Mullingar, Co. Westmeath. The geographical address is, Village of Rochfortbridge in the town land of Rahanine/Castlelost in the barony of Fartullagh in the county Westmeath. The nearest major towns are Mullingar, Moate, Killbeggan, Tullamore(Offaly) and Edenderry (Offaly). The Village of Rochfortbridge has two national schools and one second level(secondary) school, MilltownPass has one national school and Dalystown has one national school, giving the parish a total of four national and one secondary schools. The villages of Rochfortbridge and MilltownPass are on the (old N6) while Dalystown is on the Mullingar - Tyrrellspass road.
Rochfortbridge village is one of the "newest" villages in the county, being pre-dated by its neighbours Tyrrellspass and Milltownpass, the village was established in 1700 by Robert Rochfort MP., to replace a shanty settlement that had developed around the river crossing.

Site Notices

May I wish a very Happy Christmas 2009 and peaceful New Year 2010 to all.
Thank you for your support through the year and looking forward to spending another year in your company.

We will be closing for our Christmas Holidays on Tuesday 22nd December (midnight) and will be back on Thursday 7th January 2010

any very urgent requests or problems please contact rochfortbridge@hotmail.com

coming soon

Gaulstown Chapel forum - what to do with it now?

More from Joseph North

Rochfortbridge Exiles - more pictures

For all your comments or questions contact

rochfortbridge@hotmail.com

TV, CINEMA, MUSIC and VIDEO

Anonymous — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 15:22:45 CDT

Please wait while the player downloads - this could take a few moments on dial up - once it downloads open the link to a world of free music, video, photos blogs and much more.

CLICK THIS LINK

http://groups.imeem.com/epIjtYy1,rochfortbridge_community_website

Then upload your music, video, photos & comments

The "Rochfortbridge Community Website" Group

Home Group Blog Create Post Forums Create Thread Photos Upload Photos Music Upload Music Video Upload Video Members

Whats on in the cinema

click into the link to see whats on in IMC Mullingar

http://entertainment.ie/cinemas/IMC_Mullingar/Westmeath/211/30.htm

Whats on TV

Soap watch, Sky, All Irish stations, News, Weather Forcast and Much More

http://entertainment.ie/tv/default.htm

The Short History of Calypso Music

Origin of Calypso

Calypso rhythms can be traced back to the arrival of the first African slaves brought to work in the sugar plantations of Trinidad. Forbidden to talk to each other, and robbed of all links to family and home, the African slaves began to sing songs. They used calypso, which can be traced back to West African kaiso, as a means of communication and to mock the slave masters.

Trinidad was colonized by the Spanish, received large numbers of French immigrants, and was later ruled by the British. This multi-colonial past has greatly impacted the development of calypso in Trinidad. Many early calypsos were sung in a French-Creole dialect called patois ("pat-was"). These songs, usually led by one individual called a griot, helped to unite the slaves.

Calypso singing competitions, held annually at Carnival time, grew in popularity after the abolition of slavery by the British in the 1830s. (It was the French who brought the tradition of Carnival to Trinidad.) The griot later became known as the chantuelle and today as the calypsonian.

The Golden Age of Calypso

The year 1914 was a landmark year in the history of calypso. This is the year that the first calypso recording was made. The late 1920s gave birth to the first calypso tents. Originally, calypso tents were actual tents where calypsonians would practice before Carnival. Today calypso tents are showcases for the new music of Carnival season.

By the late 1930s, exceptional calypsonians such as Atilla the Hun, Lord Invader and the Roaring Lion were making an indelible impression on the calypso music world. Lord Kitchener rose to prominence in the 1940s and dominated the calypso scene until the late 1970s. Lord Kitchener continued to make memorable hits until his death in 2001.

In 1944, the Andrews Sisters (an American trio) did a cover version of Lord Invader's hit Rum and Coca Cola. Since then the United States and the rest of the world has identified calypso with the Caribbean.

In 1956, Harry Belafonte recorded his Calypso album containing the famous Banana Boat Song ("Day-O") - probably the most internationally well known calypso song.

His Calypso album also became the first album ever to sell over one million copies. This was also the year the Mighty Sparrow burst onto the scene and took the calypso world by storm with his legendary hit Jean and Dinah.

Jean and Dinah, which celebrated the departure of US troops from Trinidad, ushered in a new era of politically charged calypso. This politicized form of calypso, allying itself with the People's National Movement (PNM) party, facilitated Trinidad's independence from Britain in 1962. Socially and politically conscious calypso has had a major influence on many of Trinidad's most important social and political movements.

Together with Lord Kitchener, Mighty Sparrow dominated the calypso scene until the late 1970s. The Mighty Sparrow has continued to record and to date has produced some 90 albums. The National Carnival Commission (NCC) declared Carnival 2001 as "The Sparrow Carnival" in honor of his contributions. Also, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) has awarded the Mighty Sparrow with the Caribbean's highest award, the Order of the Caribbean, for outstanding contribution to the development of the region.

Calypso typically involves social commentary, oftentimes laced with humorous satire on current events. Calypso is the voice of social conscience. However, not all calypsos are socially conscious calypso has always had its risqué side too.

Most of the top calypsonians from the golden age have been male; The Growling Tiger, Lord Executor and Lord Pretender, just to name a few. However, the 1960s saw the rise of Calypso Rose, the undisputed "Queen of Calypso." Over the years, Calypso Rose has written and performed songs with themes ranging from political commentaries to party songs, and has won numerous awards. Her 1996 hit Fire In Me Wire has become a calypso anthem. Calypso Rose has managed to excel in this otherwise male dominated genre.

Decline of Calypso

The 1970s saw a decline in the popularity of calypso due to outside musical influences. Jamaican reggae made its presence known as did disco and R&B from the US. Musical fusions were bound to happen. As a result, the 1970s gave birth to a more uptempo, less socially conscious version of calypso called soca. While calypso is the voice of social conscience, soca is party music. Rapso, with its calypso style lyrics and rhythms influenced by American hip-hop has also become popular. Other styles such as soca-chutney and ringbang give listeners even more musical choices.

Does this mean that calypso is a dying musical form? On the contrary, contemporary calypsonians such as David Rudder have very successfully combined calypso lyrics with dance rhythms - making the music accessible to a larger audience. There's also the annual resurgence of calypso at Carnival time lets us know that calypso is very much alive and vibrant with a bright future.

1. Welcome to Rochfortbridge

Belvedere — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 19:50:00 CDT

Rochfortbridge Community Website

Hello and welcome to this site.
Add this site to your "Favorites" or google "Rochfortbridge Website" you'll find us at the number one spot at the top of the page.

Please feel free to use this site. you wont do any harm if you make a mistake so feel free to edit any page where you see the "EasyEdit" button.

To add text to any page just CLICK the EasyEdit button. wait for the edit toolbar to appear then just click into the article and start typing, upload photos, upload videos or just correct a typo. anyone can edit or contribute and all contributions or edits will be treated with the same degree of censorship, edits or contributions of an explicit or slanderous nature will be deleted - the editors will make every effort to patrol this site on a regular basis.

Please note - photos posted on this site are thumbnail versions and some photos can not be downloaded - down-loadable photos will loose quality if enlarged - if you want the original photos, jpg, gif, jpeg bmp or any format image - contact the site and where possible we will email or zip the file to you. all photos are the property of the site. some photos contain images of persons living or deceased and are not for use in any other context.

This site is a non profit venture and is free to all users

(ISP charges as normal internet surfing still apply)

This site is your site and it's up to you to keep the content as accurate and "clean" as possible so have fun and join in. Become an editor or just browse the site.

If you have a problem with any aspect of this site, dont hesitate to contact any site moderator ASAP or e mail

rochfortbridge@hotmail.com

Pages to visit

Rochfortbridge Past - Irish History - Short Stories - News and Views - The Connaught Ranger

As the editor of the site I can not take responsibility for any advertisements placed on the side or top bars of any pages of this site, any competitions advertised or prizes offered on these areas are entered or opened at the users risk.
This site is considered a public place:
Any user can post any material of any nature. This site is patrolled on a regular basis to ensure the content is within the ethos of the site.
Any content not within the general ethos of the site to include posts, threads, photographs or comments will be deleted and the IP address of the poster noted...any future inappropriate post from that IP address will result in a ban on that IP address from any further editing A.S.A.P.

As we do not own this site and are not responsible for every post our only method to reduce such content is to ban such editors from further editing.

I will do my best to keep a daily watch to ensure you are able to browse all the sites content in comfort.

The Connaught Ranger

Belvedere — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 18:25:08 CDT

The Connaught Rangers.

An Irish regiment of the British army, formed in 1793 by General deBurgh

Earl of Clonrickard

It wore on its colours and appointments a harp and a crown with the motto Quis Separabit – "Who shall divide us". They first saw service in 1794 in Flanders in the disastrous Walcheren campaign against Napoleon's troops and, despite their inexperience, the troops fought well, but hundreds perished in the British Army’s winter retreat that year. The regiment later foght in the West Indies, Egypt, India and South America before it joined Wellington’s army in the Peninsular War in 1808. It was during the Peninsular campaign that the 88th distinguished itself as one of the finest regiments in what Wellington himself was later to describe as "that most astonishing infantry".

This photograph shows members of the 5th Battalion, The Connaught Rangers, holding prisoners. circa 1915

Brief history Of

“The Connaught Rangers”.

The Connaught Rangers were formed from two original regiments, the 88th and the 94th Regiments of Foot. Both regiments bore the number 88 until in 1793 a third was raised and became known as The Connaught Rangers. The first 88th was the Royal Highland Volunteers, known as Campbell's Regiment, raised in 1760. The second was the 88th Foot, known as Keating's Regiment, which was in existence from 1779 to 1783. The Connaught Rangers were raised in Ireland's western province of Connaught. Their badge from the time of their formation was the Irish Harp.

This regiment became part of The Duke of York's Army, and in the year following its formation, its men were dispersed into other units. In place of this 94th regiment, King George III in 1793 commanded that a new regiment be raised in Glasgow, Scotland by officers with previous experience with the Old Scots Brigade in Holland. This 94th regiment was a Highland Corps and wore the Mackay tartan. It served in Gibraltar from 1795, The Cape Province (South Africa) from 1796, and in India from 1798 to 1807. In 1808, then 94th. returned to England and recruited new troops before taking part in campaigns on The Continent of Europe in Portugal, Spain and France. In 1814, The Highland Corps 94th. Regiment returned to England in 1814, then went to Ireland and was disbanded in Belfast in 1818.

A new 94th. regiment was then raised in Glasgow, which went to Gibraltar soon after its formation. In 1837, the 94th. were stationed in Birr Barracks, County Offaly, Ireland (then known as Queen's County). New colours were presented to the 94th. in 1862 at Jullundur by Major-General Sir Sidney Cotton. The regiment returned to England in 1868, and then spent 10 years on Home Service in The British Isles, mostly in Ireland. From 1879 to 1882 the 94th. saw service in Zululand, the South African Transvaal and The Boer War.

Three men of the 94th. regiment won the Victoria Cross for heroism during the campaigns in South Africa. Private Thomas Flawn and Private Francis Fitzpatrick were awarded the V.C. for on 28 November 1879 saving the life of a Lieutenant of the First Dragoon Guards under fire when their native troops and bearers deserted. Lance-Corporal James Murray of Cork City was awarded The Victoria Cross for saving a severely wounded Private at Elandsfontein on 16 January 1881, during which gallant escapade he was himself severely wounded. The 94th. Regiment returned home in March 1882, having whilst abroad been designated the Second Battalion of a new regiment The Connaught Rangers, the First Battalion of which was formed from the previous 88th.Regiment.

From Ireland in 1888 the Second Battalion of The Connaught Rangers went to barracks in Portsmouth, England; before going to Malta in 1889.

In 1891, the First Battalion of The Rangers returned from service in India, spent several years in England and then in 1899 went to South Africa as part of an Irish Brigade under the command of Major-General Hart. Casualties in The South African Campaign were heavy, and the First Battalion returned to Ireland to recuperate, re-train and recruit until 1908. In 1908, the First Battalion embarked for India. Shortly afterwards, the Second Battalion returned from its tour of duty on the Indian sub-continent to be stationed in Tipperary Town Barracks from 1908 to 1910.

Both battalions of The Connaught Rangers received new colours from King George VI in 1911, the 1st.Battalion at that time being in Delhi, India, and the 2nd Battalion in Dublin, Ireland. From 1908 to 1910, the 94th. Regiment had been quartered in Tipperary Town Barracks, County Tipperary.

At the outbreak of The First World War in 1914, the 1st. Battalion of The Connaught Rangers was in India and the 2nd. Battalion was in Aldershot Barracks, Hampshire, England. The 1st. Battalion was recalled from India, and joined with the 2nd. at Le Touret, near Bethune. These two regular battalions of The Rangers served together for the entire 1914-1918 War. During that war, the Rangers' strength was supplemented by the 3rd. (Reserve) Battalion, the 4th. (Extra Reserve) Battalion and the 5th. & 6th. (Service) Battalions. After serving on The Western Front in France during 1914 and 1915, the 1st. and 2nd.Battalions in December 1915 embarked for The Middle East theatre of war, where they saw service in Palestine, Mesopotamia and Turkey. Their place on The Western Front was taken by the 6th. Battalion, which fought in France and Flanders (Belgium) until The Armistice in November 1918.

In October 1916, Private Thomas Hughes of Carrickmacross, County Monaghan, was awarded The Victoria Cross for his action in single-handedly putting out of action an enemy machine gun and taking several prisoners. (Details of his citation can be found on “The Victoria Cross Reference” website.)

The First World War Battle Honors of The Connaught Rangers are:- 'Mons', 'Retreat from Mons', 'Marne 1914', 'Aisne 1914', 'Messines 1914, 1917', 'Armentieres 1914', 'Ypres 1914, 1915, 1917', 'Festubert 1914', 'Givenchy 1914', Neuve Chapelle', 'St. Julien', 'Aubers', 'Loos', 'Somme 1916, 1918', 'Guillemont', 'Ginchy', 'Cambrai 1917, 1918', 'St.Quentin', 'Bapaume 1918', 'Hindenburg Line', 'Selle', 'France and Flanders 1914-1918', 'Kosturino', 'Struma', 'Macedonia 1915-1917', 'Sulva', 'Sari Bair', 'Scimitar Hill', 'Gallipoli 1915', 'Gaza', 'Megiddo', 'Sharon', 'Palestine 1917-1918', 'Tigris 1916', 'Kut al Amara 1817', 'Baghdad', 'Mesopotamia'.

Outside military circles, the 'claim to fame' of The Connaught Rangers which is best-known worldwide is their singing of their favorite marching song "It's a Long Way to Tipperary". The 2nd. Battalion sang this song on 13 August 1914 as they marched in parade order through the streets of the French port of Bologna on their way to The Front as part of The British Expeditionary Force. This incident was witnessed by War Correspondent George Curnock, and his report of it was printed in The Daily Mail Newspaper on 18 August 1914. From that day, that music-hall song, written by Jack Judge in 1912, gained popularity amongst all the troops during The Great War and gave lasting fame to the town of Tipperary, Ireland.

After World War I was over, both battalions of The Connaught Rangers returned to the Army Depot at Dover, Kent, England; where their numbers were made up to full strength once more. The 1st. Battalion then went to India in October 1919; and the 2nd. Battalion went to Upper Silesia (Poland) in May 1921. When news of the atrocities committed in Ireland by "The Black and Tans" reached the 1st. Battalion in Jullundur and Solan, India; a mutiny arose amongst the Irish troops and 69 men were court-martialled. At Solan, 2 mutineers died whilst attacking the armoury, and 14 were sentenced to death. However, only the ring-leader of this rebellion, Private J. Daly, was finally executed. No doubt the Army leadership realised the extreme provocation under which the rebellion was mounted by those Irishmen, hearing of the fate of their fellow-Irishmen at home at the hands of British soldiers of another regiment. Following the mutiny, the entire 1st. Battalion was sent to Rawalpindi and saw service there, with no further rebellion.

In June 1922, both the 1st. and 2nd. Battalions returned to Britain. Their colours were then laid up at Windsor, Berkshire. The Connaught Rangers were disbanded as a regiment on 31 July 1922, after an outstanding record of uniformed military service over almost 230 years. The Rangers' links to Tipperary Town still exist, immortalised worldwide in the words and music of the song "It's a Long Way to Tipperary".

The Mutiny

The mutiny began when news of the Irish War of Independence, and Black and Tans and Auxiliary reprisals reached the Connaught Rangers 1st Battalion at Jullundur. Five men from C Company refused to take orders from their officers on 28 June 1920, declaring their intent not to serve the British King until the British forces left Ireland. The Union Flag at Jullundur in the Punjab was replaced by the flag of the Irish Republic.

The mutiny ended after three days. The mutineers were imprisoned at Dagshai. At Solan in the Rangers detachment rumors spread that the Irish prisoners had been executed. Private James Daly led about 70 Rangers who joined the mutiny and stormed the armoury. They were unsuccessful. Privates Sears and Smyth were shot dead and other mutineers were taken prisoner. In all, about 400 men had joined. Eighty-eight were court martialled, fourteen sentenced to death and the rest sentenced to up to 15 years. A few were acquitted. Thirteen of those sentenced to die had their sentences commuted to life imprisonment. James Joseph Daly, C Company 1st Battalion, born in Tyrrellspass County Westmeath had claimed to be the leader of the mutinous soldiers at Solon and while this was true, he had not in fact instigated the protest. This had begun 200 miles away at Wellington Barracks, Jullundur, in the Punjab on Sunday, June 27, 1920. That night, a small group of Rangers, among them Daly's brother, William, had been discussing the appalling state of affairs at home and they had decided to make a protest against British military atrocities in Ireland: they would "ground arms" and refuse to soldier. They were quickly joined by several hundred other Rangers, including at least one Englishman. Joseph Hawes, from Kilrush, Co. Clare, a veteran of the Western Front and Gallipoli, who was the prime mover at this stage. Smoking a cigarette, Private Hawes informed his Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Colonel Deacon, that the men would not return to their duty until all British soldiers had left Ireland, and he then had the Tricolour run up the flag post. At this point, Hawes and his fellow-mutineers took the fateful decision to spread the protest to the Connaught Ranger companies at Jutogh and Solon. Emissaries were dispatched to these garrisons and though the men at the Jutogh hill-station remained loyal, the Rangers of Solon, led by James Daly, like Hawes, told his captain that they would soldier no more until all British soldiers had been withdrawn from Ireland. Under pressure from the Catholic chaplain at Solon, Fr. Benjamin Baker, the mutineers agreed to return all their weapons to the magazine for safe-keeping. That night, however, a party of men led by Daly made an attempt to recover their arms and in the engagement two of them, Patrick Smythe and Peter Sears, were killed. Within a few days, both garrisons at Jullundur and Solon were occupied by loyal regiments, without incident, and the mutineers were marched off to face court martial. The "summer madness," as the regimental historian called it, was officially over.

James Daly’s brother William had indeed been active at the beginning of the protest but he had backed away from it within 24 hours. In his last letter to his mother, James remarked that, "I wish to the Lord I had not started on getting into this trouble at all," but he concluded the note by claiming that "it is all for Ireland."

21-year-old Daly was shot by a firing squad in Dagshai prison on 2nd November 1920. He has the rare Irish distinction to be the last member of British Forces executed for mutiny. Privates Sears and Smyth were buried at Solan. Daly and John Miranda (a mutineer who died in prison) were buried at the Dagshai graveyard.

The Dail passed the Connaught Rangers (Pensions) Act in 1936. It provided for the payment of pensions, allowances, and gratuities to or in respect of certain former members of the 1st Battalion, the Connaught Rangers. The effect was to give the Mutineers parity of esteem with veterans of the Anglo-Irish War.

In 1970, the remains of Sears, Smyth and Daly were taken back to Ireland and given a military funeral with full honors. A monument stands to the memory of the mutineers in Glasnevin Graveyard. Daly was buried at Tyrrellspass and the others were re-interred at Glasnevin. A fourth mutineer, John Miranda, had died in prison in India. Born in Liverpool to a Spanish father and an Irish mother his bones remained in India. Joseph Hawes, then aged 77, was present at Daly's re-interment and pronounced him to be "as brave a man as ever stood before a firing party."

James J. Daly “The Connaught Ranger” The Man Shot at Dawn for mutiny

on behalf of his fellow Irishmen

buried as a prisoner in India and never to be remembered now has three memorials

In India he is remembered thus

In Memory of
Private JAMES JOSEPH DALY

7144396, 1st Bn., Connaught Rangers
who died age 20
on 02 November 1920
(Now buried in Ireland).
Remembered with honor
KIRKEE 1914-1918 MEMORIAL

In Glasnevin Dublin

And In his home in Tyrrellspass where he is now laid to rest. Buried in his family plot in Tyrrellspass next to his mother Kathleen.

Connaught Rangers

To the tiny homesteads of the West
The recruiting sergeant came
He promised all a future bright
So the brave young men went off to fight
For the empire and her might
And man’s the victory they had won
Many the hardships they had seen
They fought and died, side by side
Their enemies they had defied and for a foreign king

And the drums they were a beating time
While the pipes did loudly play
When Daly died, the drums did beat
That morning in the Dagshai heat
Now we'll beat the drums no more

While serving in a far off land
The news had come from home
Of a peoples' fate it did relate
Of the tans and their campaign of hate
And we're fighting on their side
Arise young Daly cried
Come join along with me
We'll strike a blow for Liberty
Our regiment will mutiny and support our friends at home

And the drums they were a beating time
While the pipes did loudly play
When Daly died, the drums did beat
That morning in the Dagshai heat
Now we'll beat the drums no more

And the Colonel stood before his troops
Those men who mutinied
He told them of those honors won
But the men stood in the blazing sun
Saying we'll fight your wars no more
For cannon fodder we had been
For the French at Waterloo at Suva and Sod Elba
We fought your every bloody war
And we'll fight you wars to more

And the drums they were a beating time
While the pipes did loudly play
When Daly died, the drums did beat
That morning in the Dagshai heat
Now we'll beat the drums no more

Those men got penal servitude
And Daly's condemned to die
Far from his home in Tyrrellspass
This young man's died in Ireland's cause
Far from his native land

And the drums they were a beating time
While the pipes did loudly play
When Daly died, the drums did beat
That morning in the Dagshai heat
Now we'll beat the drums no more

THE ROCHFORT FAMILY

Anonymous — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 20:32:59 CDT

The Earl of Belvedere

By Denis O’Neill

A collection of poems and history about The Rochfort Family Of Gaulstown, Rochfortbridge

Written and compiled by Denis O’Neill, Beechwood Lodge, Gaulstown, Rochfortbridge,

further information or authentication available by E-Mailing rochfortbridge@hotmail.com

The Background to the Rochfort Family.

The first mention of the Rochfort family was in the year 1243, when a family of French nobility named “de Rupe-Forti“settled in Ireland. The family name was hyphenated at that time as it was the result of a co-joining of two wealthy French houses, the house of de Rupe (now Roche) and the house of Forti (now Ford or Forde). The area around Avignon in France appears to be where the family name "de Rupi" originated though other sources place it further north. Avignon is not confirmed but the most likely origin of the Roche or "de Rupe" branch...little is known of the "Forti" family .
An Intresting detail is the Irish version of the townland wherein they settled now called Gaulstown or in Irish "Baile na nGall" translates as "town of the Galls". Perhaps Gaul is the seat of the "de Rupi-Forte" family
The new family coat of arms shows clearly this union, with elements from both family arms merged to form a new family name,
the name "de ROCHFORT"

The first recorded names to bear the "de Rochfort" surname were Sir Richard de Rochfort and Sir John de Rochfort, who were Lords of Crom and Adare in or about 1243. In heraldic records we see the coat of arms of all three families. After the partition of the County Meath in the late sixteenth century the County of Westmeath was formed. Grants for the confiscation of land are well documented, notable names that were issued grants in this area include Pakenham, Cooke, Handcock, Middleton, Rochfort, Swift and Featherston. All of these names are in some way connected to the Gaulstown saga and contribute to the history of Gaulstown, long before the village of Rochfortbridge existed.

The next mention of the Rochfort family in history was Sir John Rochfort, Lord of Crom, who was living in the year 1269, as was Henry Rochfort, who in the year 1300, surrendered to the King of England, the manors of Maynan, Rathcoffey, and Belgrene, in the County Kildare. Sir Maurice Rochfort was Lord Justice of Ireland in 1302
(disputed as John Logan is stated as Lord justice from 18th october 1295 but with no end date and Roger de Mortimer 1st Earl of March is credited as Lord chief justice from 1285 - 1330, perhaps John Logan as Lord Justice was subordinante to Roger de Mortimer and passed his seat in 1302 to Sir Maurice Rochfort)

The new family coat of arms shows clearly this union, with elements from both family arms merged to form a new family name,
the name "de ROCHFORT"
and The new family coat of arms shows clearly this union, with elements from both family arms merged to form a new family name,
the name "de ROCHFORT"
in 1309 Sir Mills Rochfort was living in Kildare and had issue three sons, Mills, William and Walter.

William the second son of Sir Mills was knighted to the manor of Kill. He had two sons, Edmund, his heir, and Gerlad. Gerlad was summoned as Baron to the parliament that was held in Dublin in the year 1339. Gerlad died (reported to have contracted the plague) in 1349.

Edmund was the father of John, Lord of Tristledelan. John married Margy Berford and had two sons, John and Edmund, both living in or about the year 1409. John the eldest son was the first of the Rochfort clan to settle in “Kilbryde” in the year 1415. He married Genet Evers by whom they had issue, one son and one daughter. Thomas, their son, married Elizabeth D’Arcy.
Robert, the eldest son of Thomas and Elizabeth became his heir and successor of Kilbryde. He received a discharge in 1463 for the payment of rent at Brownstown Castle.

Robert Rochfort married Jane St. John, by whom they had issue a son, Christopher, from whom continued the family at Gaulstown, Kilbryde. In the year 1651,
Lt. Col. Prime Iron Rochfort, challenged Major Turner, a fellow officer to a duel which was staged in the grounds of Gaulstown House. Afterwards, it was discovered that the charge in Major Turner’s pistol was tampered with and Lt. Col. Rochfort was accused of his murder. Lt. Col. Rochfort was found guilty and executed in May 1651, just days before the birth of his son Robert.

During this turbulent era in Irish history, Lt. Col. Rochforts widow fled Gaulstown to the safer surroundings of the pale, where she and her family remained until her son Robert renovated the old house and re-occupied the ancient family home.
Robert and his new wife, Lady Hannah Handcock, restored the grounds and turned Gaulstown House into one of the finest houses in the County.
In 1707 Robert was appointed Baron of the exchequer by Queen Anne, this meant many long and lonely months working in London and only returning to his beloved Gaulstown during periods of leave.
Robert retired his position as MP in the early 1720s and lived out his years in the company of his wife, children and grand children. In 1726, Robert commissioned the building of a chapel at Gaulstown but sadly never saw its completion. Robert died in 1727, leaving in his will among other things £200 for the completion of Christ Church chapel at Gaulstown, £10 for the poor of the parish and £100 for the children residing at Gaulstown House. At this time Robert’s wife, his son George, together with his wife Lady Elizabeth Moore, daughter of the Earl of Drogheda, with their thirteen children, Robert’s youngest son, his wife and children and perhaps more of Robert’s siblings and family, all lived in the big house.

George inherited his fathers position as baron of the exchequer, leaving his wife and mother to care for his family, while he too spent long months in England. George died suddenly on the 8th July 1730, just three years after his father, pre deceasing his mother and wife, passing his seat in parliament to his eldest son Robert.

Robert Rochfort 1st Earl of Belvedere

At the age of twenty three and a single man, Robert was now the MP for Westmeath and had major plans to climb the ladder of success. Robert would have known from an early age that all the Gaulstown estate would one day be his, if he were alive today I think the sudden deaths in his family, clearing the way for his future, would be questioned, for example:

1730, the death of his father and transfer of power to him at age twenty three.
1731, as MP for Westmeath married Elizabeth Tenison.
1732, the death of his first wife Elizabeth Tenison, diagnosed as smallpox.
1733, created Lord Belfield by King George II.
1734, met with Mary Molesworth the daughter of Viscount Molesworth.
1734, the death of his grandmother.
1736, married Mary Molesworth much to the disapproval of his mother.
1736, at age 50 the death of his mother.
1737, 1st Baron Belfield.
1737, saw the birth of his first child, a girl called Jane, later to become Countess of Lanesborough, Robert did not return to Gaulstown.
1749, Privy Counsellor (P.C.) [Ireland] on 12th December 1749.
1751, Viscount Belfield on 5th October 1751.
1757, 1st Earl of Belvedere 29th November 1756 inaugurated spring 1757.

However, in 1738 his first son was born. The celebrations went on for weeks. King George II was godfather by proxy to the child that was to be named George after his grandfather or most likely the king himself.
Three more sons were to follow George Augustus. In 1740 Richard was born, in 1743 Robert, then in 1744 Arthur was born.
The trouble then began. Robert’s brother Arthur, who lived in Belfield house, was rightly or wrongly accused of adultery, and said to be the father of “Bobby Bán”. Robert charged his pistol and proceeded to settle the matter the old fashioned way. After a brief confrontation Arthur, bleeding heavily, fled to England never to be seen again.

Robert then confronted his wife who claimed that both parties were innocent. Mary, under suspicion, pleaded for mercy to her father Viscount Molesworth, who, under pain of embarrassment, disowned Mary as an illegitimate child and whereupon conviction, he agreed she should be transported to the west Indies as a vagabond.

The trial went ahead and Arthur in his absence was charged with adultery and fined £2,000. Mary was also found guilty even though many say the trial was a farce and testimony was tainted. Mary was spared transportation and handed over to her husband to “do with as he wished”. Mary was locked in a room in Gaulstown House only to be released for brief periods and not allowed to converse with the staff or even her children, having to apply to Robert for permission to walk the grounds.

Mary would be granted such permission after the route was declared and a footman employed to travel the route ahead, whilst ringing a bell and calling out obscenities about her. After fifteen years, Mary, with the help of a coachman, escaped the boundaries of her confines and travelled to Dublin, where she had secretly arranged a meeting with Arthur. The couple had planned to flee Ireland and sail to France where they would live the rest of their lives, as husband and wife. Mary thought the plan was working but unknown to her, all the secret letters to Arthur were intercepted by the housekeeper at Gaulstown, Catherine Coyne, who had passed them on to Robert.

Robert was to let the couple meet and have Arthur arrested. Mary, on hearing of Arthur’s arrest before she had time to meet him, fled to her father, he, once again disowned her and arranged for her to be returned to Gaulstown. While Robert was involved with the arrest of Arthur, Mary and the coachman returned to Westmeath under escort. They convinced the strange guard that Tudenham house was Gaulstown House.

Mary was now in the safe hands of her brother-in-law George Rochfort. George and Robert were enemies almost since birth, but on confrontation by the all-powerful Robert, George reluctantly handed her back to her husband on the condition that the coachman is exonerated of all charges. Mary was incarcerated once again in Gaulstown House where she would spend the following years walking the corridors and talking only to herself and the portraits on the walls. Meanwhile Arthur was locked up in the debtors’ jail in Dublin for non payment of the £2,000 fine; there he would remain until his death.

Gaulstown House was now a prison. Unkempt and dreary; it was seldom visited; only a few groundsmen were employed to watch over the house and its occupant. Mary was refused leave to exit the house and was confined to her bedroom and the gallery room. Robert now returned to Ireland to his new home at Lough Ennell, Belvedere House. In the spring of 1757 Robert was created 1st Earl of Belvedere with much celebration. Everybody thought that this would be the end of Mary’s imprisonment as she was still his wife and now the Countess of Belvedere.

Robert did not succumb to the wishes of the gentry and Mary remained a prisoner. As Robert had more enemies than friends and the hatred among the family was well known. It came as no surprise that when, in 1773, George was visited by Sir James Caldwell, sheriff of Fermanagh, who wrote in his account of his visit that Tudenham was the finest house in the district, although Tudenham was dwarfed by Gaulstown and lacked much of the splendour that Gaulstown had. Robert was inconsolably jealous and commissioned the renowned architect Barradette, with the assistance of the equally renowned stone mason Thomas Wright of Durham, to build what Robert was to claim to visitors as the “original house”, though built as a ruin it still stands today and earned the title of “The Jealous Wall”.

Roberts’ death in 1774 has many different versions, one being that a boat from across the lake came ashore at Belvedere House in the dead of night and the occupants of the boat murdered Robert. Others say that while on a moonlit walk in the grounds of Belvedere House, he was either attacked by wild dogs or fell and struck his head on a rock and bled to death. Whatever story is true it was the ending of the reign of a tyrant. On hearing the news of her husbands’ death from her son George, who had come to free her, Mary did not show any remorse and instructed her son to destroy all that belonged to him, even Gaulstown House. Robert was laid to rest in the family crypt at Christ Church, Gaulstown, on the 19th November 1774.

Mary, now aged 54, looked haggard and old. Despite his best intentions, George, now the 2nd Earl of Belvedere could not convince his mother to stay in Gaulstown. George demolished Gaulstown House and built a smaller house in the grounds of the old one. Mary, after a brief stay with her daughter Jane, set sail for France, where it is said she became a nun and lived the rest of her life as a hermit. This fact is disputed but Mary is buried in a convent graveyard in France.

Mary’s family:

Grandfather: Molesworth, Robert, Viscount Molesworth 1st

Born: 1656 Acceded: 16th July 1716. Died: 22nd May 1725

Mother: Bysse, Judith. Grandmother Coote, Letitia, Hon. Father: Molesworth, Richard, Viscount Molesworth 3rd Born 1656 Acceded: 1726 Died: 12th Oct 1758

Uncles Molesworth, John, Viscount Molesworth 2nd Molesworth, William, Capt., MP
Molesworth, Edward, Major
Molesworth, Hamilton Walter
Molesworth, Coote, M.D., b. 1697
Molesworth, Bysse, MP

Aunts Molesworth, Mary
Molesworth, Charlotte Amelia
Molesworth, Letitia

Mother Lucas, Jane Sister 1: Molesworth, Letitia

Sister 2: Molesworth, Amelia Step mother 7th Feb 1743 Usher, Mary Step sisters: Molesworth, Melosina
Molesworth, Mary
Molesworth, Henrietta
Molesworth, Louisa
Molesworth, Elizabeth
Step brother: Molesworth, Richard Nassau, Viscount Molesworth 4th, b. 4 NOV 1748

Mary Rochfort 1st Countess of Belvedere was the second wife of Robert Rochfort and mother of George Rochfort 2nd Earl of Belvedere. Mary can be linked directly to the present Queen of England and in her own right deserves a full page but for now I will just post the link and let you figure out how many of the present day Royal Family she is related to. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~lomas/Chandler/Molesworth.html

George Augustus Rochfort,

2nd Earl of Belvedere.

George was the first Worshipful Master of the Mullingar Lodge of Masons in December 1765. He also formed the first Volunteer Corps in the County at Mullingar in 1777. George restored once again the finest house in the County at Gaulstown, George had botanists employed to plant the bog land with exotic plants and formed three artificial lakes linked by a canal throughout the estate. He walled in a portion of the estate and had the finest herd of fallow deer therein. This area is still known today as “the Park”. Shortly after the death of his first wife, George married Lady Jane Belvedere and moved into Belvedere House. In 1784 George sold Gaulstown to Sir John Browne M.P. 1st Lord Kilmaine. George died without issue in 1814 thus ending the title Earl of Belvedere. The estate was divided between his wife Lady Belvedere, and his sister Jane, Countess of Lanesborough. Jane Countess of Lanesborough died in 1828. The estate passed to her grandson Lord Brinsley 4th Earl of Lanesborough. With Gaulstown House now under new management, its new owner Lord Kilmaine was now the landlord for much of the area around Gaulstown. The years to follow were trouble free until the famine struck, although not harshly in this area, it still had its effect. Sir John Cavendish Browne, 3rd Lord Kilmaine, chaired a meeting of the landlords in the barony that was attended by gentry and peasantry alike. Work was provided in the area to give some relief. This George Augustus Rochfort, 2nd Earl of Belvedere together with grain imported by Lady Cooper of Dunboden House, and the construction of a wall around Dunboden Park, the straightening of the road to Rochfortbridge and the re- routing of the Derry river, all made life easier during the famine in this area. In the O.S. land survey of 1844, we see that the main road from Rochfortbridge to Mullingar takes the route along the Dalystown road, turning at “Lambs Crossroads”, to Kilbride House and then through Gaybrook into Mullingar. This was a major undertaking of work and may have contributed in a large way to the saving of lives of the hungry in the greater Rochfortbridge area.

The Facts about George.

George Rochfort, 2nd Earl of Belvedere was the son of Robert Rochfort, 1st Earl of Belvedere and Hon. Mary Molesworth. He was born on 12th October 1738. He married, firstly, Dorothea Bloomfield, daughter of John Bloomfield and Jane Jocelyn, on 20th August 1775. He married, secondly, Jane Mackay, daughter of Reverend James Mackay, on 10th November 1803. He died on 13th May 1814 aged 75, at Great Denmark Street, Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland, without issue.

He was styled as Viscount Belfield between 1756 and 1774. He held the office of M.P. for Philipstown between 1758 and 1761. He held the office of M.P. for County Westmeath between 1761 and 1774. He held the office of Sheriff of County Westmeath in 1762. He held the office of a Governor of County Westmeath between 1772 and 1814. He held the office of Grand Master of the Freemasons [Ireland] between 1774 and 1776. He succeeded to the title of 2nd Earl of Belvedere, of Co. Westmeath [I., 1756] on 13th November 1774. He succeeded to the title of 2nd Viscount Belfield, of Co. Westmeath [I., 1751] on 13th November 1774. He succeeded to the title of 2nd Baron Belfield, of Co. Westmeath [I., 1738] on 13th November 1774. On 7th June 1776 he obtained a pension of £800 per year for his and his father's services. On his death, his three peerages became extinct.

Poetry By Denis O’Neill

The first poem “Arthur’s Dream” is the thoughts that Arthur Rochfort had for Mary Molesworth while he sat alone in prison cell. “Plea for freedom” is the plea from Mary to be free from the confines of her room. “To France my love” was a thought Mary had, she wanted to leave Robert and live in safety though unknown in France. “Mary’s Prayer” accounts for the thoughts Mary had when she heard of the death of Robert. “Arthur the Barons young brother” is the gossip that led to Roberts actions. “The Earl of Belvedere” is an account of the Gaulstown saga as told by a storyteller . “The galloping Earl” should be read to the beat of a horse galloping while “the death of Robert” is an account of the Earls lonely and suspicious death at the lake shore in Belvedere House

Arthur’s Dream

Though parted by walls of stone,
I know for us to join is just a dream.
In prison cell alone,
I dream ‘till crows come home.
Alas ‘tis but another lonely dream.

Should I hath life again
Beginning when our loving hearts entwined
‘Twould then my Queen be, then.
That moment we had when,
I ever will my soul and heart remind.

Laws of King deny
For us in life a couple ever be.
This prison is where I
Will live until I die,
And dream of life eternal spent with thee.

When this prison falls
Stone by stone around me like a tomb.
And when the Lord he calls
With joy from hallowed halls
To place me in another mothers’ womb.

That I may live new life,
For life I’m living now is but a dream.
Then in that different life
I’d take you for my wife
And live together like a King and Queen

But dawn it breaks once more
This prison still surrounds me like a mist
A day of toil and chore
Until the day is o’er
Then dream of that first moment when we kissed

God give me strength I need
I beg of thee this love if mine abstain
Dispel me from my greed
Commandments I must heed
But loyal friends forever shall remain

Goodbye my precious Queen
One kiss within this mortal world we share
The rest is but a dream
And parted we’ll remain
Until we reunite in heavens care.

By Denis O’Neill

Plea for freedom

Wild and free, I long to be, not cooped up in this house so cold.
Waltz and dine and taste the wine, not talking to some paintings old.
Hold and kiss, is what I miss, I am a gentle human being.
Winters snow or moons full glow, not through a window, I miss seeing.

All in vain I bare this pain, we were good friends, but lovers not
By God above I swear I love thee e’en though thou hast sealed my lot.
Please forgive this sin I live, release me from this wretched place.
With God above and all my love, I swear I rid thee of this disgrace.

All alone this pain I own, for three decades the price I paid
One fleeting chance of old romance shattered by your loyal maid
Why so cruel this house you rule why keep me here the past to see
If thou hast heart then let me part, my days I’ll end in praise of thee.

By Denis O’Neill

To France my love

My Arthur dear ‘tis love that’s placed this child within my womb
Your son my love inside me grows ‘twill place me in my tomb.
For seven months ‘tis been since I have lay by Roberts side
And five or less times moons I’ve missed, your child it grows inside.

We must abandon kin and kind, let love be all our wealth
Come sail with me to France my love, beneath a cloak of stealth.
A noble son and heir we’ll raise and happy we shall dwell
As man and wife we’ll live our life and no one there we’ll tell.

My secret love ‘tis you I crave, lets flee this wretched place
Come take a chance, let’s sail to France where no one us can trace.
We must go soon for in one moon the child within will grow.
If we go now we’ll take a vow that none shall ever know.

By Denis O’Neill

Mary’s Prayer

A bell tolls,
As footmen cry “behold un-clean, un-clean”.
Shameful strolls.
For thirty years no friendly soul I’ve seen.
For one kiss,
A lifetime locked within these palace walls.
Things I miss
As I wander through the lonely hollow halls.
A solemn vow
Till death we part was what we both declared.
Abandoned now,
Though still alive no bed in years we’ve shared.
Rest in peace
While you look down and see the pain I bore.
Now hell lease
That you may cry my pain forever more
Why Lord,
This shameful life was given unto me
Forgive Lord
And I will end my days in praise of thee.

By Denis O’Neill

Arthur the Barons young brother

(typical "come-all-ya" type ballad)

Come listen to me ‘tis the truth I will say

A row it is stirring in Gaulstown today

The Baron came home after three months away

And found that his wife loves his brother

Young Bobby ‘s the spit of his father for sure

But Bob has an ailment no doctor can cure

The Baron has declared his own wife a whore

And Bobby belongs to his brother

The Lady herself has been locked in her room

It looks like the tall ship to India soon

The Baron wants justice, her life he will ruin

Then ruin the life of his brother

The Baron won’t rest till his brother is dead

And for his misfortunes the Baron will be paid

They say that a price has been put on the head

Of Arthur the Barons young brother

Denis O’Neill

The Earl of Belvedere

As I roved out through Gaulstown bog,
I stopped to rest upon a log.
And light my dúgín for a smoke,
and ponder on a different folk.

A Baron who lived just o’er the way
in stately home, with gardens gay.
A finer lad no lass could meet,
then Tenisons daughter became sweet.

Bellfield wed, but woe betide
his Lady, she a barren bride.
A year went by and still no heir,
So off to London she did repair.

Just days went by “she’s dead” said he,
“From the chains of wedded bliss I’m free”.
Then up to Dublin town did ride
to find himself another bride

Then there she was upon the stage
and she just fourteen years of age,
His heart was won could love no other
but she the actress for her mother.

Her father chief of all in arms
was smitten by his grace and charms,
And he of rank, a noble peer,
would wish them wed within the year.

But Molesworths daughter Mary fair
would have to wait another year
Then off to Gaulstown like a Queen,
Was married by the poet Dean.

The Lilliputian a sermon gave
to join young Mary with the Knave.
The wedding sparked the Dean to prose,
Behold the words the pastor chose.

“Beneath an oak in stormy weather,
I joined this rogue and wench together,
And only he who rules the thunder,
can pull this rogue and wench asunder”

Robert now had plans in hand,
become an Earl and rule the land.
Fartullagh was his goal to own
so London town became his home.

In Gaulstown where he housed the Dean,
As he played chess with King and Queen,
A different story there did spark
of Mary and Arthur after dark.

The Earl returned in furious rage
and locked his wife up in a cage.
And charged with that his last sons Mother
begot a bastard by his brother.

Now Bellfield with a pistol charged
To kill his brother out he barged.
But Arthur out of danger slipped,
and off to England he was shipped.

Mary charged, was guilty found
and to West Indies she was bound.
A spark of kindness Bellfield showed
and locked her in his own abode.

The quest began for Arthur’s pay
to answer for his sinful way
Two thousand pounds alive or dead,
The price upon young Arthur’s head.

By secret message and some deceit
Mary and Arthur said they’d meet
And join as would a man and wife,
then sail to France to live their life.

But Robert heard of such a plan
and up to Dublin town he ran.
As Arthur could not pay his bail,
was left to rot in Dublin jail.

Then Mary to her peers made haste
but they declared she was un-chaste
So George from Ennell he stepped in
to try and quieten down the din

But George accosted by the knave
that he could also be a slave,
“your house and land as Belvedere
are under thumb of Brother dear”

The stately home at Gaulstown Park
now so lonely cold and dark
Abandoned by her kind and kin,
imprisoned Mary for her sin.

For thirty years she roamed the ground
at Gaulstown where the only sound
Was ringing of a lonely bell,
her whereabouts the Earl to tell

Then Arthur passed through heavens door
with wings on prison clothes he wore
To god confessed his love was true,
but only one on this earth knew.

Then when the wicked Earl died
the haggard Mary never cried
She placed him next his own first wife,
then sailed to France to end her life.

While Mary on her deathbed lay
the priest invited her to pray
Confess thy sins I beg of you,
but Mary to the Earl was true.

Two ghosts in Gaulstown bog do dwell,
I still can hear the ringing bell
The Earl an empty painful shrill,
While Mary cries for Arthur still.

By Denis O’Neill

Mary and Arthur

Behold my love I give unto thee my heart
Though in secret, for if this love affair ever did be known
This country I would flee and we must part.
Never to reap the crops from this seed of love we’ve sown.

By Denis O’Neill

The Galloping Earl

Down from Dublin town he did ride
Galloping, galloping, race like the tide
Your brothers was seen with your wife by his side
The message delivered to Robert

Frothing and foaming the horse gallops on
Galloping endlessly galloping on
I’ll kill my own wife if the man he is gone
The choices that lay before Robert

Turning his thoroughbred into his house
Pillows of foam on the thoroughbred’s mouth
Arthur has been and has left with your spouse
The stable boy had to tell Robert

Back on the steed after water and hay
Got to get back up to Dublin today
For this impertinence Arthur will pay
And his wife again locked up by Robert

By Denis O’Neill

The Death of Robert

November moon casting a silver gleam upon the lake
Cold crisp air rustling through the crimson leaves, just loud enough to hear
The shore gently splashed with the ebb and flow of shimmering water
“Surly this is my beautiful place, my home, my Belvedere”.

“What breaks this tranquility, who dares enter my dream?
I have made my peace with my maker. Is this how I must abandon life?
Live and die by the sword is fine, till its time to die
Die then I will, maybe now the hurting will end, if not for me then for my wife”.

“How much longer can this mortal body endure pain?
The sun is rising behind me but alas I am too weak to turn
I am lying in my own lake now, a lake of scarlet blood
I know now that when my body dies, my soul is destined to burn”

“Before the sun rises fully on this my last day on earth
Lord forgive me for I did not hear your compassionate plea
With this my last breath, let me into your kingdom of glory
I have suffered as you did now let me die, let me die, let me….....”

By Denis O’Neill

Rt. Hon. George Rochfort,

Father of the 1st Earl of Belvedere.

Robert Rochfort (Grandfather of the first Earl) and his new wife, Lady Hannah Handcock, were the first inhabitants of the old Norman castle since its abandonment in 1651. Robert restored the house and grounds and turned “Gaulstown” into one of the finest houses in the County. In 1707 Robert was appointed Baron of the exchequer by Queen Anne. Working in London and only returning to his beloved Gaulstown during periods of leave, Robert retired his position as M.P. in the early 1720s and lived out his years in Gaulstown, in the company of his wife and family. In 1726, Robert commissioned the building of a chapel at Gaulstown, together with a bronze bell inscribed with his name.
Robert died in May 1727, leaving in his will among other things, £200 for the completion of Christ Church, Gaulstown, and £10 for the poor of the parish and £100 for the children residing at Gaulstown House. His son George, (born in 1682) married Lady Elizabeth Moore, daughter of Henry Moore, 3rd Earl of Drogheda and Mary Cole, daughter of Sir John Cole, Bt. on 24th January 1704. George held his fathers seat in parliament and was also a member of the privy council of Ireland. In 1730 he was granted permission to hold a weekly market in Tyrrellspass. George also entertained royalty and gentry at Gaulstown among them King George, Jonathan Swift, the Earl of Drogheda and the Earl of Spencer to mention but a few.
As a regular visitor to the house, Swift mentions it many times in his works, some cryptic forms can be linked to Gaulstown but one passage is directed at George to rebuild the old Norman castle as a Norman castle, or, knock it down and build a new house in its footprint. The passage describes Gaulstown thus:-

‘Tis so ugly, so useful, so big and so little,

‘Tis so staunch, and so crazy, so strong and so brittle,

‘Tis at one time, so hot and another so cold, ‘

Tis part of the new and part of the old,

‘Tis just half a blessing and just half a curse,

I wish then George, it was better or worse.

George and his brother John, aka Nimrod, were dedicated to the task of making Gaulstown House one of the finest in the Kingdom, employing the most renowned gardeners and architects. George laid out the network of canals and artificial lakes in the grounds and cleared the oak wood to the west of the estate to allow the sunset to be seen on the lake. Much was the work in Gaulstown during the reign of George that Swift himself was roped in to help out, Swift, in his “letters to Vanessa” penned a verse telling of his labours at Gaulstown. Gaulstown, Near Kinnegad, July 5th 1721. (Swift opened with his usual poetic ramblings) What is this world, without being as easy in it as prudence and fortune can make it? I find every day more silly and insignificant, and I conform myself to it for my own ease.
I am here as deep employed in other folks plantations and ditchings as if they were my own concern, and think of my absent friends with delight, and hopes of seeing them happy and of being happy with them. (Swift ended as he began with connotations and ovations to his recipient.) Swift also writes of George and John (Nimrod) or as Swift calls him “Nim”

“At seven the Dean in night gown drest

Goes round the house to wake the rest:

At nine the Nim and George facetious,

Go to the Dean to read Lucretius,

At ten my Lady comes and hectors

And kisses George, and ends our lectures

And when she has him by the neck fast

Hauls him and scolds us down to breakfast”

The celebrated “cartwheel of roads” that were the centre piece of the estate grounds had in its “Hub”, a larger than life sized bronze statue of George, on horse back, and dressed in the ancient family armour, bearing the Rochfort crest. The statue was on a plinth of granite that stood waist high to the admirer. The Lady that Swift refers to in his poetry was Lady Elizabeth Moore, daughter of the 3rd Earl of Drogheda and not to be confused with the wife of George Rochfort jnr. (his son) who also married Lady Elizabeth Moore (his cousin) daughter of his mothers’ brother Capel Moore. Lady Elizabeth (Moore) Rochfort is an ancestral relation of Diana Frances Spencer, known to us all as Diana, Princess of Wales. The link is as follows:- Lady Elizabeth Moore was daughter of Hamilton, Henry, Moore; 3rd Earl of Drogheda, Her grandfather was Henry Moore, 1st Earl of Drogheda.
Henry was married to Countess Alice Spencer. (Her Grandmother) Countess Alice Spencer (her grandmother) came from a family of royalty. Her sister Margaret was a Countess, her Brother Robert was a Viscount and her brother was

Henry Spencer 1st Earl of Sunderland.
Henry was the father of Robert 2nd Earl of Sunderland
Robert was the father of Charles 3rd Earl of Sunderland
Charles was the father of John of Althorp Hon MP
John of Althorp MP was the father of John 1st Earl of Spencer
John 1st Earl of Spencer was the father of George John 2nd Earl of Spencer
George John 2nd Earl of Spencer was the father of Fredrick 4th Earl of Spencer
Fredrick 4th Earl of Spencer was the father of Charles Robert 6th Earl of Spencer
Charles Robert 6th Earl of Spencer was the father of Albert Edward 7th Earl of Spencer
Albert Edward 7th Earl of Spencer was the father of Edward John 8th Earl of Spencer Edward
John 8th Earl of Spencer was the father of Diana Frances Princess of Wales

Several other links to royal families are traceable back to George and though George himself only entered the peerage as Rt. Hon, he is the first Rochfort of Gaulstown to marry into “Royal” bloodlines thus opening the door for future members of the clan to enter the peerage. His first son Robert being created 1st Earl of Belvedere in 1756. Robert was a callous and dangerous man and local folklore, or common sense will see how he climbed from nothing to Earldom. It is un-written and un-proven, but many of the fireside stories of my grandfather tell of how the “Wicked Earl” killed his father to gain his seat in parliament. George died on July 8th 1730, at the age of 48, not in itself enough to convict the Earl but think of the motive, then look at the following deaths in the Rochfort family. 1730 Death Of George and transfer of power to Robert. 1731 As Seated MP for Westmeath, Robert married Elizabeth Tenison. 1732 Death of Elizabeth Tenison and start of courtship with the daughter of Viscount Molesworth. 1733 Created “Baron Belfield” by King George. 1734 Death of his grandmother (who disapproved of the courtship so soon after the death of his first wife). 1736 Married Mary Molesworth, daughter of 3rd Viscount Molesworth. 1736 Death of his mother at age 50.

Where are they all now?

At least two of the children of George and Elizabeth died at birth or soon after. Most records show George as having six girls and five boys in his family making a total of eleven. Other records show thirteen children. It is reasonable to assume that two died at birth or in infancy. George’s father Robert, who commissioned the building of the chapel at Gaulstown, died in 1727, and was the first burial in the crypt at Gaulstown. If you look back at the deaths of the Rochfort’s of Gaulstown, it is reasonable also to assume that this was the order in which they were placed in the crypt, although, an extended family of Rochfort’s lived in the “Big House” at this time, so, more than immediate family may be interred the crypt also.

List of people interred in the crypt:

1727 Robert Rochfort (1651 – 1727).
1730 Rt.Hon. George Rochfort son of Robert.
1732 Elizabeth, First wife of Robert 1st Earl. 1
734 Lady Hannah Wife of Robert (1651-1727).
1736 Lady Elizabeth Wife of Rt. Hon. George.
(other members of the Rochfort family)
1774 Robert, 1st Earl of Belvedere, was the last to be interred in the crypt.

The bell tower was constructed by George 2nd Earl of Belvedere as a memorial to his father. The bell tower was constructed out of the ruins of the prison house at Gaulstown, on the instructions of Mary, Countess of Belvedere. After the 1st Earls burial in 1774, the crypt was sealed with a lead door and was unopened until the “Black and Tan” era of Irish history, when local volunteers were captured in an attempt to steal the lead door for the purpose of producing bullets. The authorities of the day built a stone wall in front of the crypt door and filled the stairwell with mortar, to prevent further attempts to rid the Earl or his family of their lead caskets.

Arthur Rochfort

The Countess stole his heart then the Earl stole his freedom.

Arthur lived in Belfield House near Milltownpass. He was married to Sarah Singleton of Drogheda, and they had eight children, four boys and four girls. Arthur held the office of M.P. for Westmeath taking over the seat from his brother Robert on his entry to the peerage. He was rightly or wrongly accused of adultery, and said to have had a love affair with Mary Molesworth and accused of being the father of Mary’s last child. Robert, the husband of Mary, charged his pistol and proceeded to settle the matter but after a brief confrontation Arthur fled to England. Robert then confronted his wife who claimed that both parties were innocent. Mary was found guilty at trial even though many say the trial was a farce and testimony was tainted, but Mary was spared transportation and handed over to her husband to “do with as he wished”. Arthur was not involved in the first trial as he was a “fugitive”. Arthur is said to have pleaded for his brothers’ forgiveness, claiming innocence of both parties, and begged to be allowed to return to Belfield where his estate was now a shambles. Arthur returned in 1754 where he visited Belfield and is said to have assisted in Mary’s escape. Robert and Arthur quarrelled continuously for the next few years until Robert finally had Arthur charged on 12th May 1757. Mary was again called as witness as were Dean Delaney and the Dean’s wife, Arthur was found guilty and since his neglected estate was unable to pay the £2,000 damages awarded to Robert, Arthur was sent to the Marshalea debtor’s prison. Why didn’t Robert transport Mary and challenge Arthur to a duel? In the 1700’s it was common place for an offended party to challenge the offender to a duel.
Arthur, as the offender, would not be allowed challenge Robert. Why didn’t Robert challenge Arthur? Why didn’t Robert have his wife transported to the West Indies? Why didn’t Mary end it all for herself and commit suicide? Many questions can be answered by two words. Religion and Politics. The King or Queen of England was also the head of the church. It was crucial to obey laws of God as well as King; also unwritten laws of chivalry had to be adhered to. Mary being accused had been confined to Gaulstown. The trial had not yet taken place. It is recorded by Mrs. Delaney, wife of Dean Patrick Delaney, in a letter to Mrs. Dewes, of Charges Street London, dated March 10th 1744. Quote from within the letter “they say he has come to England in search of him,(Arthur) to kill him whenever he meets him; but I hope this resentment will cool, and not provoke him so desperate an action, and he does not appear to have any such rash design, but is more cheerful and composed than one could expect him to be; he is very well bred, and very well in his person and manner; his wife being locked up in one of his houses in Ireland, with a strict guard over her, and they say he is so miserable as to love her even now”. This would suggest they were still together, albeit under duress, and Robert was still in love with Mary at this stage, it was Arthur who was the culprit. Misguided by others, Mary changed her plea to guilty, thinking it would free her for divorce as Robert’s hatred had spilled over onto their marriage. Instead of divorce, which was costly and by special decree from the King, Robert had Mary charged with adultery. Robert was now in a position to challenge Arthur to a duel. Arthur had already challenged Dillon Pollard, for defamation of character. Arthur shot and killed Pollard under strict rules of engagement. Arthur also challenged a noted solicitor, Mr Edmund Prey, to a duel when Prey declined to represent him in clearing his name, saying he couldn’t acquit a guilty man, but Prey denied saying this and demanded an apology. Arthur Apologised.
Robert knew that a duel was to death, and being aware of Arthur’s previous experience on the duel lawn, never challenged him, instead he pursued him through the courts.
This may have been the start of legal settlement over duelling. Arthur was arrested on May 12th 1757, in his residence in Sackville Street, Dublin, and tried with adultery. A sum of £2,000 damages was assessed or Arthur deported, and quit the Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Arthur refused to leave and was unable to pay this amount. Arthur was lodged in jail, his estate sold and titles removed. Arthur was sentenced to twenty years hard labour, but only served little over sixteen years. Arthur died on 22nd April 1774. He is buried in St. Audeon’s Church, Dublin.

Jane Rochfort, Countess of Lanesborough.

Born 1737, in Gaulstown House, she was the first of five children born to Robert and Mary Rochfort, and their only daughter. Jane Rochfort grew up in the family home at Gaulstown where her mother was incarcerated. She led a sheltered life and seldom socialised, oblivious to the fact that she was said to be the most beautiful of the Rochfort family. At the age of nineteen, Jane married Brinsley Butler 2nd Earl of Lanesborough . Brinsley, a widower was the father of a two year old girl called Mary. The marriage was held on 22nd June 1754. Jane, now a Countess, and her newly wed husband were soon blessed with a son and heir.
On the 10th July 1776, Augustus Richard was born. On the death of her brother George, the 2nd Earl of Belvedere, Jane inherited part of the Belvedere estate including Belvedere House. Her sister in law and widow of the late 2nd Earl, also called Jane, was the Countess of Belvedere and are often misidentified. Jane lived at Belvedere House for a short period before her death in February 1828, at the ripe old age of 91. Her estate was passed to her surviving children and grand children with the house at Belvedere passing to her grandson Lord Brinsley, 4th Earl of Lanesborough, Lord Brinsley Died in 1847 though not from any famine related illness and the house at Belvedere passed to his cousin Charles Brinsley-Marlay. An Interesting fact about Robert 1st Earl of Belvedere.
Robert dearly loved Mary and also his home in Gaulstown, so much was his love for his home that when created Earl he chose the title Earl of “Belvedere” and not Earl of Gaulstown or Earl of Fartullagh or even Earl of Westmeath. The word “Belvedere” comes from the Latin words “Belle Videre” meaning “Beautiful Place” and takes its name from the Belvedere, a villa constructed between 1485 and 1487 for Pope Innocent VII to serve as a retreat from the Vatican palace. It was the first such villa to be built in Rome since the fall of the Roman Empire Gaulstown past and present.

Who lives in Gaulstown Today?

The 1854 valuation of tenements show only ten families living in Gaulstown. Twenty one families live there now and with the current building boom more families may decide to live here. Only two names on the 1854 valuation of tenements still live in Gaulstown today, the list is as follows; Lord Kilmaine. “Unoccupied”. Peter Slevin. Elizabeth Neigh. Patrick Hamilton. Matthew Cully.Thomas Harford. Hugh O’ Neill. James Garland. John Corrigan. James Kilmurry.

The first peasant to break the reign of landlords in the Gaulstown area was Denis O’Neill, where under the terms on the new land act of 1903, Denis bought the land from Sir John Edward Dean Baron 5th Lord Kilmaine.

Today’s inhabitants reading the map from the Gibbonstown side, (The Park) to the boundary of Gortumblo on the Dublin road, are as follows:
Anne (Nan) Cleary.
Denis O’Neill.
Gerard (Gerry)Byrne.
Hugh O'Neill. jnr.
P Kirby (for sale)
Seán Robbinson.
Mary-Joe Gorman. R.I.P.
Aidan Cleary.
Edward Cully.
Noel McCabe.
Enda Cully.
Gregory Byrrell.
Thomas Cleary.
Enda Wynne.
Desmond McGuire.
Philip Cullen.
(R.P.Flynn recently sold).
Patrick McGuire.
Denis McGuire.
Patrick Geraghty.
Mary (May) Curran.

Description from Lewis's Topographical Directory of Ireland, 1837

CASTLELOST, a parish, in the barony of FARTULLAGH, county of WESTMEATH, and province of LEINSTER;

containing with the post-town of Rochfort-Bridge, 1909 inhabitants.

This place was celebrated at a very early period from an extensive monastery, founded at Rathyne or Rathenin, (now Rahanine) by St. Carthag or Mochuda, in which he presided for more than 40 years over 867 monks, who supported themselves and the neighbouring poor by their labour.

There was also a very eminent school under the direction of St. Carthag, in connection with the monastery; but in the Easter holidays of 630, he and his monks were driven from the Abbey by King Blathmac, and the saint took refuge at Lismore, in the County of Waterford, where he died in 636. He is said to have been succeeded by St. Constantine, King of Britain, who resigned his Crown; and the names of succeeding abbots are preserved till the year 783, from which date there are no further records of the monastery.

The parish is situated on the road from Dublin to Athlone and is bounded on the south by part of the Bog of Allen: comprising 10,794 statute acres, of which 5932 are applotted under the tithe act. The surface is gently undulating, with a few hills of considerable elevation, the highest of which is Gnewbane: the lands are principally under tillage, and the system of agriculture is improving.
In Gnewbane are some quarries of a species of marble, and also of black-stone; and at the foot of the hill is an extensive tract of bog separating this parish from King’s County.(Offaly)

The principal seats are
Sidebrook, that of J. Rochfort, Esq.,
Heathfield of Dr. Fergusson;
Farview of D. North, Esq.;
Gortumloe, of J. H. Shiel, Esq.;
Cottage of Mrs. Shiel; and
Drummond Lodge of T. M. Carew, Esq.

The living is a rectory, in the diocese of Meath, and in the patronage of Lord Kilmaine:
the tithes amount to £221 10s. 8¾d. The rector also receives tithes from the townlands of High and Low Baskin, in the parish of Drumraney.

The church, a neat, modern edifice was erected in 1815, by aid of a gift of £800 from the late Board of First Fruits.

The glebe-house was built by aid of a gift of £400 and a loan of £400 from the same board in 1810: the glebe copmprises 22 acres, subject to a rent of £24 per annum.

In the R.C. divisions, this parish forms the district of Miden and Milltown.

The parochial school is aided by an annual donation from the incumbent; t
here are about 24 boys and 13 girls in the school. A national school at Rochfort Bridge is also in progress; and there are three pay schools, in which are about 128 children.

There are still remaining some ruins of the old castle, and of an ancient mansion-house, which were for successive ages the residences of the Tyrrell family, whose possessions were forfeited in the war of 1641. There are also, on the castle lands, the remains of the ancient parish church; it contains vestiges of various monuments to that family, among which is an altar tomb with the recumbent figure of a knight in armour.

After the decay of the old church, another was erected on the demesne of Gaulstown by Robert Rochfort; it was used for more than 100 years previously to the erection of the present church, and is now a venerable ruin, forming an interesting and picturesque feature in the scenery of Gaulstown, the seat of Lord Kilmaine.

Iin the adjoining parish of Kilbride-Pilate. There are several Danish forts, one of the largest of which is in the townland of Gortumloe, the estate of J. H. Shiel, Esq., whose labourers, in 1836, discovered in the adjoining field four perfect human skeletons.

Coming Soon - more information on Robert Rochfort 1st Earl including his last will and testament, stories and accounts of his funeral, funny story about Earl of Belvedere and Lord Burlington about a venture they tried involving Turkeys ( might leave that one till nearer Christmas)...plus evidence to suggest that the architect Cassels did not design Belvedere House but was accredited for it at a later date........the plot has thickened...stay tuned

Anyone with any local stories are welcome to post them.
(1285 – 1330) Justiciar of Ireland

Rochfortbridge News and Views

Belvedere — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 18:55:07 CDT

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*****

MISSING

MARGARET MAWHINNEY

Photo available on request only at
rochfortbridge@hotmail.com

LAST SEEN ON TUESDAY, 3RD MARCH’09 ON THE TRIM ROAD, NAVAN.

reported to be heading in the direction of Rochfortbridge

INFORMATION TO NAVAN GARDAI: 046/9079930 or any Garda station.

*********

Tuesday 20th of January is the 90th Anniversary of the First Dáil

The first Dáil was formed from the successful Sinn Féin candidates for the UK General Election of December 1918 (voting took place in most constituencies on 14 December). Of the 105 seats in Ireland, 73 were won by Sinn Féin (25 unopposed), 22 Unionists, 6 Nationalists, 3 "Labour Unionists", 1 Independent Unionist. Three Sinn Féin candidates were elected in two different constituencies (Arthur Griffith, Eamon de Valera and Liam Mellows) so the numerical strength of the first Dáil was only 70 TD's.

The first Government was Cathal Brugha, Priomh Aire (President). Professor Eoin MacNeill, Finance. Michael Collins, Home Affairs. George Noble Count Plunkett, Foreign Affairs. Richard Mulcahy, National Defence.

This first cabinet all resigned on 1 April 1919 to be replaced by:

Eamon de Valera, Priomh Aire (President). Arthur Griffith, Home Affairs. Cathal Brugha, Defence. George Noble Count Plunkett, Foreign Affairs. Countess Markievicz, Labour. Eoin MacNeill, Industries. Michael Collins, Finance. William T. Cosgrave, Local Government. Ernest Blythe, Trade & Commerce. Sean O'Ceallaigh, Minister for Irish.

The constituency of Westmeath at that time had a population of 56,326 and an elecorate of 24,014. Laurence Ginnell of Delvin (Sinn Féin) won the seat.

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In 2009 Guinness proudly celebrate their 250th Anniversary

In 1752 Arthur Guinness was left £100 in the will of his Godfather Archbishop Price. Three years later he set up business as a brewer in Leixlip, County Kildare. In 1757 construction began on the Grand Canal at James’s Street, Dublin, allowing access by water to Shannon Harbour and Limerick. The canal was used to transport casks and raw materials directly to and from the Brewery site.

On the 31st of December 1759 Arthur Guinness signed a 9,000 year lease on a disused brewery at St. James’s Gate, Dublin for an initial £100 and an annual rent of £45. The brewery covered four acres and consisted of a copper, a kieve, a mill, two malthouses, stabling for 12 horses and a loft to hold 200 tons of hay. In 1769 the first export shipment of six-and-a-half barrels of Guinness beer left Dublin on a sailing vessel bound for England.

- long may they continue!

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First U.S. presidential election on Jan 7, 1789

As the USA prepares to vote for their next President on Tuesday, I wonder if they will elect that Offaly man O'Bama?

Anyway it all began on January the 7th 1789.

On the 7th of January 1789, the United States, having recently adopted its Constitution, held its first presidential election.Only white men who owned property voted. They choose electors who in turn voted for the candidates.
Unsurprisingly, the winning candidate proved to be George Washington, the Virginia landowner who had led the patriotic forces in the war against the British.

Washington was sworn into office in New York on April 30, 1789.

Washington was a delegate to both constitutional congresses. He was unanimously named both as commander in chief of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War and as president of the constitutional convention that drafted the Constitution.

His popularity cut across the political spectrum, including those who advocated a strong central government (the Federalists, with whom Washington agreed), and those who sought to reserve most governmental powers to the states. (This group came to known as the Democratic-Republicans.)

Washington finished first with 69 votes, followed by his fellow Federalist, John Adams of Massachusetts, whose 34 votes propelled him into the vice presidency. (Prior to the ratification of the 12th Amendment in 1804, the candidate who received the most electoral votes became president while the runner-up became vice president.)

Federalists dominated the balloting.

The other presidential candidates were John Jay of New York (9 votes); Robert Hanson Harrison of Maryland (6 votes); John Rutledge of South Carolina (6 votes); Samuel Huntington of Connecticut (2 votes); John Milton of Georgia (2 votes); James Armstrong of Pennsylvania (1 vote); Benjamin Lincoln of Massachusetts (1 vote); and Edward Telfair of Georgia (1 vote). Forty-four electors failed to cast their ballots.

As it did in 1789, the United States still employs the Electoral College. The president and vice president are the sole elected federal officials chosen by the Electoral College instead of by direct popular vote.

Another published poet for the Rochfortbridge Community

Congratulations to our latest "soon to be published" poet.

Miss Ailish O'Neill aged 11 and a native of Gaulstown, Rochfortbridge has just scooped a top prize in the National schools all Ireland "write a poem" contest. The winning poem (that will be published in a book of poetry), and an interview with this talented young girl will be posted here in the near future.

Death of Dr Patrick Hillery

Irelands sixth President, Dr Patrick Hillery died yesterday (12th April 2008) at the age of 84 following a short illness. Dr Hillery, originally from Co Clare, served two seven-year terms as President of Ireland from 1976 to 1990. His long and distinguished career in public life began in 1951 when he was elected alongside Eamon deValera as a Fianna Fail TD for Clare. He held a number of ministerial posts (Education, Industry and Commerce, Labour and Foreign Affairs) prior to being appointed Ireland's first EEC Commissioner in Brussels in 1973. He held the post of vice president of the then Commission of the European Communities, with special responsibility for social affairs until 1976, when he was inaugurated as President of Ireland on December 3,1976. Patrick Hillery was born in 1923 at Milltown Malbay, Co Clare. He received his secondary education at Rockwell College, Co Tipperary. He went on to study medicine at UCD where he qualified as a doctor in 1947. He was elected to Dail Eireann in 1951 and was to remain a TD for Clare until taking a post in Brussels 21 years later. May he rest in peace.

Now, for the American friends, its Thanksgiving - but where did this festival originate?

First Thanksgiving

In 1621, the Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Indians shared an autumn harvest feast which is acknowledged today as one of the first Thanksgiving celebrations in the colonies. This harvest meal has become a symbol of cooperation and interaction between English colonists and Native Americans. Although this feast is considered by many to the very first Thanksgiving celebration, it was actually in keeping with a long tradition of celebrating the harvest and giving thanks for a successful bounty of crops. Native American groups throughout the Americas, including the Pueblo, Cherokee, Creek and many others organized harvest festivals, ceremonial dances, and other celebrations of thanks for centuries before the arrival of Europeans in North America.

Food preparation

Historians have also recorded other ceremonies of thanks among European settlers in North America, including British colonists in Berkeley Plantation, Virginia. At this site near the Charles River in December of 1619, a group of British settlers led by Captain John Woodlief knelt in prayer and pledged "Thanksgiving" to God for their healthy arrival after a long voyage across the Atlantic. This event has been acknowledged by some scholars and writers as the official first Thanksgiving among European settlers on record. Whether at Plymouth, Berkeley Plantation, or throughout the Americas, celebrations of thanks have held great meaning and importance over time. The legacy of thanks, and particularly of the feast, have survived the centuries as people throughout the United States gather family, friends, and enormous amounts of food for their yearly Thanksgiving meal.

What Was Actually on the Menu?

What foods topped the table at the first harvest feast? Historians aren't completely certain about the full bounty, but it's safe to say the pilgrims weren't gobbling up pumpkin pie or playing with their mashed potatoes. Following is a list of the foods that were available to the colonists at the time of the 1621 feast. However, the only two items that historians know for sure were on the menu are venison and wild fowl, which are mentioned in primary sources. The most detailed description of the "First Thanksgiving" comes from Edward Winslow from A Journal of the Pilgrims at Plymouth, in 1621:

"Our harvest being gotten in, our governor sent four men on fowling, that so we might after a special manner rejoice together after we had gathered the fruit of our labors. They four in one day killed as much fowl as, with a little help beside, served the company almost a week. At which time, among other recreations, we exercised our arms, many of the Indians coming amongst us, and among the rest their greatest king Massasoit, with some ninety men, whom for three days we entertained and feasted, and they went out and killed five deer, which they brought to the plantation and bestowed upon our governor, and upon the captain, and others. And although it be not always so plentiful as it was at this time with us, yet by the goodness of God, we are so far from want that we often wish you partakersof our plenty.

Did you know that lobster, seal and swans were on the Pilgrims' menu? Learn more...

The pilgrims didn't use forks; they ate with spoons, knives, and their fingers. They wiped their hands on large cloth napkins which they also used to pick up hot morsels of food. Salt would have been on the table at the harvest feast, and people would have sprinkled it on their food. Pepper, however, was something that they used for cooking but wasn't available on the table.

In the seventeenth century, a person's social standing determined what he or she ate. The best food was placed next to the most important people. People didn't tend to sample everything that was on the table (as we do today), they just ate what was closest to them.

Serving in the seventeenth century was very different from serving today. People weren't served their meals individually. Foods were served onto the table and then people took the food from the table and ate it. All the servers had to do was move the food from the place where it was cooked onto the table.

Pilgrims didn't eat in courses as we do today. All of the different types of foods were placed on the table at the same time and people ate in any order they chose. Sometimes there were two courses, but each of them would contain both meat dishes, puddings, and sweets.

More Meat, Less Vegetables

Our modern Thanksgiving repast is centered around the turkey, but that certainly wasn't the case at the pilgrims's feasts. Their meals included many different meats. Vegetable dishes, one of the main components of our modern celebration, didn't really play a large part in the feast mentality of the seventeenth century. Depending on the time of year, many vegetables weren't available to the colonists.

The pilgrims probably didn't have pies or anything sweet at the harvest feast. They had brought some sugar with them on the Mayflower but by the time of the feast, the supply had dwindled. Also, they didn't have an oven so pies and cakes and breads were not possible at all. The food that was eaten at the harvest feast would have seemed fatty by 1990's standards, but it was probably more healthy for the pilgrims than it would be for people today. The colonists were more active and needed more protein. Heart attack was the least of their worries. They were more concerned about the plague and pox.

Surprisingly Spicy Cooking

People tend to think of English food at bland, but, in fact, the pilgrims used many spices, including cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, pepper, and dried fruit, in sauces for meats. In the seventeenth century, cooks did not use proportions or talk about teaspoons and tablespoons. Instead, they just improvised. The best way to cook things in the seventeenth century was to roast them. Among the pilgrims, someone was assigned to sit for hours at a time and turn the spit to make sure the meat was evenly done.

Since the pilgrims and Wampanoag Indians had no refrigeration in the seventeenth century, they tended to dry a lot of their foods to preserve them. They dried Indian corn, hams, fish, and herbs.

Dinner for Breakfast: Pilgrim Meals:

The biggest meal of the day for the colonists was eaten at noon and it was called noonmeat or dinner. The housewives would spend part of their morning cooking that meal. Supper was a smaller meal that they had at the end of the day. Breakfast tended to be leftovers from the previous day's noonmeat.

In a pilgrim household, the adults sat down to eat and the children and servants waited on them. The foods that the colonists and Wampanoag Indians ate were very similar, but their eating patterns were different. While the colonists had set eating patterns--breakfast, dinner, and supper--the Wampanoags tended to eat when they were hungry and to have pots cooking throughout the day.

An Irish Mile

It seems Europe had given up on enforcing the metric system on us and now the good old pint is back on the menu, two pound of sugar and a half pound of butter will be back on the shopping list again and the old adage "I wouldn't go within an Irish Mile of that person" always sounded better in imperial but did you ever wonder where the saying "Irish Mile" came from?

Well, back in the time when our good friends the English were helping themselves to our land, the Irish mile was an actual measurement. it was slightly longer than the statute mile as was the Irish acre larger than the statute acre, but when leasing it back to the tenants the English reduced the length of the mile/acre in order to charge more rent, it was as simple as that and the Irish mile/acre was declared obsolete.

so what length was a mile in the good old days?

some of the older folk would remember reciting the tables in school,

12 inches 1 foot

3 feet 1 yard

5 and a half yards 1 Perch

40 perch 1 Furlong

8 Furlongs 1 Mile

but we were hoodwinked...an Irish Perch was 7 yards.

Statute Measure in Yards
Irish
Measure in Yards

1 Perch 5.5

7

40 perch 220

280

8 Furlongs 1760

2240

so the Irish Mile is 480 yards longer than the statute mile...if you look again at the table, the Irish measurement was more even and rounded with whole numbers in each dividend....shall we try Europe to re-instate the Irish Mile???

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Johnny Cash – 26th Feb 1932 to 12th Sept 2003
Part Irish – Part Native American Indian – All Legend

Johnny’s fore fathers emigrated from Ireland during the famine of 1845/47 and settled in Nova Scotia, Canada.
From there they gradually moved south to Arkansas where in February 1932, J.R. Cash was born
"To millions of fans, Johnny Cash is “the Man in Black,” a country music legend who sings in an authoritative baritone about the travails of working men and the downtrodden in his country. Lesser known is the fact that Johnny Cash was present at the birth of rock and roll by virtue of being one of the earliest assignees to Sam Phillips’ Sun Records back in 1955.
Cash was part of an elite club of rock and roll pioneers at Sun that included Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis. The four were collectively referred to as “the Million Dollar Quartet” after an impromptu gathering and jam session at the Sun recording studio on December 4, 1956. What Cash and his group, the Tennessee Two, brought to the “Sun Sound” was a Spartan mix of guitar, stand up bass and vocals that served as an early example of rockabilly. Cash recorded a string of rockabilly hits for Sun that included “Cry, Cry, Cry,” “Folsom Prison Blues” and “I Walk the Line.” The latter was first of more than a dozen Number One country hits for Cash and also marked his first appearance on the national pop singles charts.
Straddling the country, folk and rockabilly idioms, Johnny Cash has crafted more than 400 plainspoken story-songs that describe and address the lives of coal miners, sharecroppers, Native Americans, prisoners, cowboys, renegades and family men. Cash came by his common touch honestly, having been born in Kingsland, Arkansas, during the Great Depression on February 26, 1932. At age three, he moved with his family to Dyess, Arkansas, where he worked the cotton fields. Cash’s roaming days included laboring at an auto plant in Michigan, serving in the Air Force in Germany, and working as an appliance salesman in Memphis. Cash became a full-time musician after his two-sided hit—“So Doggone Lonesome"/"Folsom Prison Blues”—shot to Number Four on the Billboard country chart in 1956. From Sun, he jumped to Columbia Records in 1958, where he recorded such favorites as “Ring of Fire,” “Understand Your Man,” “Don’t Take Your Guns to Town” and “Tennessee Flat-Top Box.” But Cash never forgot his roots, nor did he leave hard times behind. A prototype for the black-clad rebel rocker, Cash cultivated a serious drug problem in the Sixties, which ended when he met his second wife, June Carter, whom he married in 1968.
Some of Cash’s best work includes live albums recorded, quite literally, for captive audiences at Folsom and San Quentin prisons. Johnny Cash at San Quentin included the 1969 hit “A Boy Named Sue,” which went to Number Two. In 1969, Cash cut a duet with Bob Dylan for the latter’s Nashville Skyline, and Dylan returned the favor by appearing on The Johnny Cash Show, a successful TV variety hour that premiered in 1969. All the while, the rugged simplicity and uncut honesty of Cash’s approach was steadily seeping into rock and roll by way of the burgeoning country-rock scene. Cash has remained a stalwart figure and working musician to the present day. His career received a shot in the arm in the mid-Nineties when he released what many consider to be his finest album to date, a stark study for guitar and voice entitled American Recordings.”
Some Dates to remember
February 26, 1932: Johnny Cash was born in Kingsland, Arkansas.
1955: Johnny Cash signs contract with Sun Records.
June 1, 1955: Sam Phillips signs aspiring country singer Johnny Cash and releases his debut single, “Cry! Cry! Cry!"/"Hey! Porter.”
May 1, 1956: Sun releases John Cash’s “I Walk the Line.”
December 4, 1956: The “Million Dollar Quartet"—Presley, Perkins, Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis—records old gospel, country and pop songs at an impromptu session. The recordings aren’t officially released until the mid-Eighties.
December 4, 1956: Four legendary past and present Sun Records recording artists—Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and Johnny Cash—gather at Sun for an informal jam session. Later dubbed the Million Dollar Quartet, the stars (sans Cash, who stays only briefly) perform gospel standards and recent hits in relaxed, impromptu fashion.
January 1, 1958: Carl Perkins and Johnny Cash sign with Columbia Records. Perkins leaves Sun immediately, Cash leaves in August when his contract is up.
1992: Johnny Cash inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
September 12, 2003: Johnny Cash passes away.

Luciano Pavarotti 1935 – 2007

Pavarotti was born in Modena, Italy, on October 12, 1935, the first child and only son of a baker. As a boy, sports occupied much of his time. In fact, he earned his first local fame as a member of the town's soccer team, excelling at the game he has followed passionately ever since. He first sang in the Modena chorus with his father, a fervent lover of opera and gifted amateur tenor. When the chorus won first prize in an international competition, the youngster was hooked. His debut came on April 29, 1961, as Rodolfo in La Boheme, at the opera house in Reggio Emilia. That success led to engagements throughout Italy and the World, where he conquered audiences in Amsterdam, Vienna, Zurich, and London. His American debut came in February 1965, in a Miami production of Lucia di Lammermoor with Joan Sutherland, the beginning of what would become their historic partnership. Debuts in La Boheme, at La Scala, San Francisco, and New York won the hearts of fans around the world. But it wasn't until February 17, 1972, that the Pavarotti phenomenon was born, in a production of La Fille du Regiment at New York's Metropolitan Opera. Responding to Pavarotti's aria containing nine effortless high Cs, the audience erupted in a frenzied ovation, and the young tenor's reputation soared into the stratosphere. Long associated with London/Decca Records, his recordings are consistent best sellers, and include collections of arias and recital programs, a live concert from Carnegie Hall, and anthologies of Neapolitan and other Italian songs. The most recent is Verdi's Il Trovatore. His frequent television appearances in performance as well as in documentaries and on talk shows continue to add to his musical renown. His performance as Rodolfo thrilled America in the first Live from the Met telecast in March of 1977, which attracted one of the largest audiences ever for a televised opera. And from that same stage, he and Plácido Domingo together celebrated their 25th anniversaries with an Opening Night Gala performance in the fall of 1993. He consistently draws record-breaking audiences to sold-out arena concerts in many countries and shares his music with huge audiences in the great public parks of the world. His televised concert in London's Hyde Park, in the presence of Charles and Diana, the Prince and Princess of Wales, was the first concert in the history of the park featuring classical music and drew a record attendance of some 150,000 people. In June 1993, more than 500,000 fans gathered to enjoy his performance on the Great Lawn of New York's Central Park, while millions more around the world watched on television. The following September, singing here in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower, he thrilled the hearts of an estimated 300,000 music lovers. Maestro Pavarotti is also dedicated to the development of the careers of young singers, and conducts standing-room-only master classes at conservatories around the world. In 1982, he initiated an ongoing international vocal competition culminating with prestigious final performances in Philadelphia. The second competition in 1986 coincided with the 25th Anniversary of his career. To celebrate, he brought the winners of that competition to Italy for gala performances of La Boheme in Modena and in Genoa that resulted in his historic visit to China, chronicled in the film Distant Harmony.

Illuminated by his radiant personality and propelled by his zest for life Luciano Pavarotti's golden voice transcended the walls of the opera house to reach inside every human heart and mind.

Pavarotti died of cancer in the early hours of 6 September 2007.

Luciano Pavarotti's voice rang out a final time inside Modena's cathedral in northern Italy today (8 Sept 2007), as a recording of the great tenor singing with his father highlighted his funeral which was attended by family, dignitaries and close friends.

Silly Laws (Some to avoid by our TDs in the Autumn)

Here is a collection of some of the most stupid laws ever made (Mostly from the USA)

Silly Laws
Arkansas
The Arkansas legislature passed a law that states that the Arkansas River can rise no higher than to the Main Street bridge in Little Rock.

Canada
In Calgary there is a by-law that is still on the books that requires businesses within the city to provide rails for tying up horses.

California
In 1930, the City Council of Ontario passed an ordinance forbidding roosters to crow within the city limits. In Los Angeles, you cannot bathe two babies in the same tub at the same time. It is illegal to drive more than two thousand sheep down Hollywood Boulevard at one time. In California, animals are banned from mating publicly within 1,500 feet of a tavern, school, or place of worship. In Los Angeles, a man is legally entitled to beat his wife with a leather belt or strap, but the belt can't be wider than 2 inches, unless he has his wife's consent to beat her with a wider strap.

Colorado
In Denver it is unlawful to lend your vacuum cleaner to your next-door neighbor.

Connecticut
In Devon, Connecticut, it is unlawful to walk backwards after sunset. In Hartford, Conn., you aren't allowed to cross a street while walking on your hands.

England
In the England it is illegal to sell most goods on a Sunday, (this law is mostly ignored), it is however legal to sell a carrot. It is also legal to sell it at any price and to give free gifts with it, such as anything else one might want to buy on a Sunday!

Florida
In Miami, it's illegal for men to be seen publicly in any kind of strapless gown.

Georgia It is illegal to say "Oh, Boy" in Jonesboro, Georgia.

Idaho
Idaho state law makes it illegal for a man to give his sweetheart a box of candy weighing less than fifty pounds. In Pocatello, Idaho, a law passed in 1912 provided that "The carrying of concealed weapons is forbidden, unless same are exhibited to public view."

Illinois
It is against the law for a monster to enter the corporate limits of Urbana, Kirkland, Illinois, law forbids bees to fly over the village or through any of its streets. In Zion, Ill., it is illegal for anyone to give lighted cigars to dogs, cats, and other domesticated animals kept as pets.

Indiana
Back in 1924, a monkey was convicted in South Bend of the crime of smoking a cigarette and sentenced to pay a 25 dollar fine and the trial costs. In Gary, Ind., persons are prohibited from attending a movie house or other theater and from riding a public streetcar within four hours of eating garlic.

Iowa
Horses are forbidden to eat fire hydrants in Marshalltown, Iowa. In Ottumwa, Iowa, "It is unlawful for any male person, within the corporate limits of the (city), to wink at any female person with whom he is unacquainted."

Kansas
Kansas state law requires pedestrians crossing the highways at night to wear tail lights. No one may catch fish with his bare hands in Kansas.

Kentucky
Frankfort, Kentucky, makes it against the law to shoot off a policeman's tie. In Lexington, Kentucky, it's illegal to carry an ice cream cone in your pocket. A Kentucky statute says: "No female shall appear in a bathing suit on any highway within this state unless she is escorted by at least two officers or unless she be armed with a club." Later, an amendment proposed: "The provisions of this statute shall not apply to any female weighing less than sixty pounds nor exceeding 200 pounds; nor shall it apply to female horses."

Massachusetts
There is a Massachusetts law requiring all dogs to have their hind legs tied during the month of April. It is illegal to take more than 2 baths a month within Boston confines.
Michigan

In Clawson, Mich., there is a law that makes it LEGAL for a farmer to sleep with his pigs, cows, horses, goats, and chickens. In Detroit, couples are banned from making love in an automobile unless the act takes place while the vehicle is parked on the couple's own property. In Michigan, a woman isn't allowed to cut her own hair without her husband's permission.

Missouri
Minors in Kansas City, Missouri, are not allowed to purchase cap pistols; they may buy shotguns freely, however. In St. Louis, it's illegal to sit on the curb of any city street and drink beer from a bucket.

New Hampshire
New Hampshire law forbids you to tap your feet, nod your head, or in any way keep time to the music in a tavern, restaurant, or cafe.

New Mexico
In Carrizozo, N.M., it's forbidden for a female to appear unshaven in public (includes legs and face).

New York In Greene,
New York, it is illegal to eat peanuts and walk backwards on the sidewalks when a concert is on. In Carmel, N.Y., a man can't go outside while wearing a jacket and pants that do not match.

Ohio
In Ohio, if you ignore an orator on Decoration day to such an extent as to publicly play croquet or pitch horseshoes within one mile of the speaker's stand, you can be fined $25.00. In Bexley, Ordinance number 223, of 09/09/19 prohibits the installation and usage of slot machines in outhouses. In Oxford, Ohio, it's illegal for a woman to strip off her clothing while standing in front of a man's picture.

Oklahoma
In Tulsa, Oklahoma, it is against the law to open a soda bottle without the supervision of a licensed engineer. Harthahorne City Ordinance, Section 363, states that it shall be unlawful to put any hypnotized person in a display window.

Pennsylvania
The state law of Pennsylvania prohibits singing in the bathtub. In certain sections of Pennsylvania many years ago, the Farmer's Anti-Automobile society set up some "rules of the road." In effect, they said: "Automobiles travelling on country roads at night must send up a rocket every mile, then wait ten minutes for the road to clear." "If a driver sees a team of horses, he is to pull to one side of the road and cover his machine with a blanket or dust cover that has been painted to blend into the scenery." "In the event that a horse refuses to pass a car on the road, the owner must take his car apart and conceal the parts in the bushes." In Pennsylvania, "any motorist driving along a country road at night must stop every mile and send up a rocket signal, wait 10 minutes for the road to be cleared of livestock, and continue."

Tennessee
In Memphis, Tennessee, it is illegal for a woman to drive a car unless there is a man either running or walking in front of it waving a red flag to warn approaching motorists and pedestrians. In Tennessee, it is illegal to shoot any game other than whales from a moving automobile.

Texas
It is Texas law that when two trains meet each other at a railroad crossing, each shall come to a full stop, and neither shall proceed until the other has gone. Texas law forbids anyone to have a pair of pliers in his possession.

Utah
It is against the law to fish from horseback.

Virginia
Virginia law forbids bathtubs in the house; tubs must be kept in the yard.

Washington
In Seattle, Washington, it is illegal to carry a concealed weapon that is over six feet in length. It's illegal in Wilbur, Washington, to ride an ugly horse. There is/was a law on the books in Washington state that stated that a motorcar driven at night must be preceded by something like 100 yards by a man carrying a lantern.

West Virginia
In Nicholas County, W. Va., no member of the clergy is allowed to tell jokes or humorous stories from the pulpit during a church service.

Prose by Nanda

I’ve Learned

I've learned that you cannot make someone love you. All you can do is be someone who can be loved. The rest is up to them. I've learned that no matter how much I care, some people just don't care back. I've learned that it takes years to build up trust and only seconds to destroy it. I've learned that it's not what you have in your life, but who you have in your life that counts. I've learned that you can get by on charm for about fifteen minutes, after that, you'd better know something.

I've learned that you shouldn't compare yourself to the best others can do, but to the best you can do. I've learned that it's not what happens to people, it's what they do about it. I've learned that no matter how thin you slice it, there are always two sides. I've learned that you should always leave loved ones with loving words. It may be the last time you'll see them. I've learned that you can keep going long after you think you can't.

I've learned that heroes are the people who do what has to be done when it needs to be done, regardless of the consequences. I've learned that there are people, who love you dearly, but just don't know how to show it. I've learned that sometimes when I'm angry I have the right to be angry but that doesn't give me the right to be cruel. I've learned that true friendship continues to grow even over the longest distance same goes for true love.

I've learned that no matter how good a friend is, they're going to hurt you every once in a while and you must forgive them for that. I've learned that it isn't always enough to be forgive by others, sometimes you have to learn to forgive yourself. I've learned that no matter how bad your heart is broken, the world doesn't stop for your grief. I've learned that just because two people argue, it doesn't mean they don't love each other and just because they don't argue, it doesn't mean they do.

I've learned that sometimes you have to put the individual ahead of their actions. I've learned that two people can look at the exact same thing and see something totally different. I've learned that no matter the consequences, those who are honest with themselves get farther in life. I've learned that your life can be changed in a matter of hours when a friend cries out to you, you will find the strength to help.

I've learned that writing, As well as talking, Can ease emotional pains. I've learned that the people you care most about in life are taken from you too soon. I've learned that it's hard to determine where to draw the line between being nice and not hurting people's feelings and standing up for what you believe. I've learned to love and be loved. I've learned.

To Believe – By Nanda

To believe... is to know that every day is a new beginning.
It is to trust that miracles happen,
And dreams really do come true.

To believe... is to see Angels dancing among the clouds,
To know the wonder of a stardust sky,
And the wisdom of the man in the moon.

To believe... is to know the value of a nurturing heart,
The innocence of a child's eyes and the beauty of an aging hand,
For it is through their teachings we learn to love.

To believe... is to find the strength
And courage that lies within us.
When it is time to pick up the pieces and begin again.

To believe... is to know we are not alone,
That life is a gift and this is our time to cherish it.

To believe... is to know that wonderful surprises
Are just waiting to happen,
And all our hopes and dreams are within reach.
If only we believe.

***************************************************************

Change your course now
This is the transcript of an actual radio conversation of a US naval ship with Canadian authorities off the coast of Newfoundland in October, 1995.

Radio conversation released by the Chief of Naval Operations on November 10, 1995.

Americans: Please divert your course 15 degrees to the North to avoid a collision.

Canadians: Recommend you divert YOUR course 15 degrees to the South to avoid a collision.

Americans: This is the Captain of a US Navy ship. I say again, divert YOUR course.

Canadians: No. I say again, you divert YOUR course.

Americans: THIS IS THE AIRCRAFT CARRIER USS LINCOLN, THE SECOND LARGEST SHIP IN THE UNITED STATES' ATLANTIC FLEET. WE ARE ACCOMPANIED BY THREE DESTROYERS, THREE CRUISERS, AND NUMEROUS SUPPORT VESSELS. I DEMAND THAT YOU CHANGE YOUR COURSE 15 DEGREES NORTH, THAT'S ONE FIVE DEGREES NORTH, OR COUNTER-MEASURES WILL BE UNDERTAKEN TO ENSURE THE SAFETY OF THIS SHIP.

Canadians: This is a lighthouse. Your call.

***************************************************************

So you said I was scare mongering when I mentioned the flood

mid August 07 - OK well i did say August would be the hot and dry - but I did say Europe, most of Europe is in the depths of a heatwave. the warmest August to date has been recorded in southern Spain, parts of Italy, Romania, Greece and many other Mediterranean countries or Islands - Ireland and North Western Europe however remain in the wet zone and to this I say it will only get wetter - clear you gutters and perforate your lawns, the worst is yet to come for us.

where do I get my Info? - Watch Nature - or have you forgotten how to. did you know that our summer avian visitors are one of the best weather forecasters of all.

*****

what will the future hold for the small islands off the west coats of Europe?

By the way - it was 28 degrees in full sun last April when I posted the article below. it is now late June and northern England is under threat of flooding - most of Ireland has had the wettest June on record and many crops are facing destruction unless the weather improves.

so you want the weather forecast do you?

well OK. August, September and October will be the warmest and driest months on record in Ireland and most of western Europe.

Gilgamesh

I bet you never heard of him...But I wager you have heard of Noah, well it seems that there is a tablet of stone cut by Gilgamesh that tell a tale of a flood of global proportions with the Gods asking for a raft to be built to hold the seed of all mankind and all its animals, birds and insects and even a dove and a raven in fact the whole story - except for the face that Gilgamesh released a swallow after the raven - is word for word the bible tale of Noah's Arc. if anyone can clarify which tale came first - the tale written in stone by Gilgamesh - or the King James Bible version of Noah's Arc we all know.

Epic of Gilgamesh

The Epic of Gilgamesh may be the oldest written story unearthed to date. It depicts the adventures of the historical King Gilgamesh of Uruk in Babylonia on the Euphrates River in modern-day Iraq. The Epic of Gilgamesh dates to about 2700 BC and was originally written on 12 clay tablets in the cuneiform script of ancient Sumeria.

Tablet 11 of the Epic of Gilgamesh contains an extensive flood story that’s similar in many ways to the biblical account in Genesis.

Tablet eleven of twelve written by Gilgamesh, tells of the Flood

Noah receives instructions from God to build an Arc and prepare for a flood

******************************

Climate Change - What will it mean to us

As the music world gears up for 07-07-07 the worlds biggest concert since "Live Aid". Organised to highlight climate change but what will it mean to us here in Ireland or even here in the Parish. Some might say "bring it on" we could do with a few good summers - true but what are the long term effects? if you ask me, i know you didn't but it is my opinion that "sea level rise" will be the single most disastrous effect of climate change. the fact that we might loose some plants or flowers (snowdrops, daffodils, alpines etc) will be compensated by the ability to grow plants like Vines, Oranges and other exotic fruit, Cacti, but no one said it would be hot and dry, it may very well be hot and wet, similar to the climate of eastern Asia. Rice may well take over from barley, this would give the Paddy Field a whole new meaning. If we look back (as I do as a historian) we can see all to clear what sea level rise will mean. just look at the town lands in the area that were once ISLANDS. Enniscoffey, Carrick, Caran etc. They may become Islands again.

Report out today on the hazards of mobile phone masts to public health

According to the experts there is no adverse affects to public health due to the exposure or close proximity to mobile phone masts. The report goes on to say that the signal strength omitted by mobile phone masts is lower than television signal strength.......we all have our TV dishes bolted to the gables of our houses, while signing petitions to prevent mobile phone masts from being erected - we even text our friends on our mobiles to tell them to sign the petition.......well if any mobile phone company wants a location to erect a mast - give me a shout - if the price is right of course.....mmmmm think i have an idea there.....

History in the Making

Our children and grandchildren and future generations of Irishmen and women will look back at the historic meeting of Rev. Ian Paisley and Mr Gerry Adams at Stormont Castle earlier today - perhaps this is the dawn of a new Ireland, an island of peace and prosperity.

GREAT MISTAKE

JUST ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF HOW HISTORY GETS DISTORTED - PICKED UP BY USER "GENEONEILL"

For the information of the owners "Apache Pizza" (I thought the Italian Mafia invented Pizza, however,...) I had a pizza from your store (nice too I must say, quick etc., in fact the nicest pizza in Mullingar) but 1 thing bugged me... the picture of Chief Sitting Bull... he was from the Dakota Sioux, read on......

Sitting Bull, whose real name was Tatanka Iyotake, was born in the Grand River region of present-day South Dakota in approximately 1831. His nickname was Hunkesi, meaning "Slow" because he never hurried and did everything with care. Sitting Bull was a member of the Sioux tribe, and he joined his first war party against the Crow at age 14. The Sioux fought against hostile tribes and white intruders. Soon, Sitting Bull became known for his fearlessness in battle. He was also generous and wise, virtues admired by his tribe.
Sitting Bull became a leader of the Strong Heart warrior society, and he successfully increased Sioux hunting grounds. However, the U.S. army continually invaded this territory, creating problems within the native economy. From 1863 to 1868, the Sioux fought the army's encroachment. In approximately 1867, Sitting Bull became the first principal chief of the entire Sioux nation. Shortly thereafter peace was made with the U.S. government, although Sitting Bull refused to attend the peace conference or sign the treaty. The Fort Laramie treaty promised the Black Hills would remain in Sioux possession forever.

However, in the mid-1870s, gold was discovered, and press reports brought a rush of prospectors. By 1875, more than a thousand prospectors were camping in the Black Hills. The government ordered the Sioux to their reservations. They were given a deadline of January 31, 1876, and anyone who did not comply was considered hostile. The demand was ignored by the Sioux and in March, General George Crook set up a camp in order to attack the natives.
Sitting Bull and the Sioux realized they could not defeat the army alone, and they must stand with other tribes. They were joined by the Cheyenne and Arapaho, and on June 17, they forced a retreat of U.S. troops at the Battle of the Rosebud, then set up camp at Little Bighorn. After the battle, Sitting Bull performed an important religious ritual called a Sun Dance. The Sun Dance was a type of self-torture which included a loss of consciousness. When Sitting Bull emerged from his trance, he told of his vision of soldiers falling from the sky.
Sitting Bull's prediction came true on June 25 when Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer led his soldiers into the village along the Little Big Horn River. By the end of the day, Custer and his army of more than 200 soldiers were dead. Sitting Bull thought by winning this battle, the U.S. government would leave him alone, but the fight had just begun. As the battles continued, many of Sitting Bull's followers surrendered. However, Sitting Bull would not give up. Soldiers chasing him found a note that read "You scare all the buffalo away. I want to hunt in this place. I want you to turn back from here. If you don't, I will fight you again."
In 1877, Sitting Bull and his followers escaped into Canada. However within four years, famine forced them to surrender. Sitting Bull was held as a prisoner of war for two years, before he was sent to join other Sioux at Standing Rock Agency in North Dakota. In 1885, Sitting Bull joined Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show and traveled throughout the United States and Canada. Some believe he was allowed to join the show to keep him away from the reservation.
When Sitting Bull returned to the reservation in 1889, many natives had joined a new religion called the Ghost Dance. They believed an Indian messiah would return their lands and remove the whites. Because of this new religion, Indian police arrested Sitting Bull on December 15, 1890 as a precaution. They planned to send him to prison, but when his warriors attempted to rescue him, Sitting Bull was killed. He was buried at Fort Yates. In 1953, his remains were moved to Mobridge, South Dakota.
(Extracted from US Native American History, Fourth Grade Studies, North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana , Colorado.)

Do I get a free pizza or what? (any day bar Sunday cos d missus makes a big effort)

WE SAY - WELL DONE GENEONEILL AND WE WILL PASS YOUR RESEARCH ON TO APACHE PIZZA, PERHAPS IF MORE OF US PAID ATTENTION TO OUR PAST WE MIGHT SEE WHERE WE WENT WRONG THUS NOT REPEATING THE SAME MISTAKE - PS DID YOU KNOW THAT THE NATIVE AMERICAN INDIANS WERE AMONG THE FEW OUTSIDE CONTRIBUTORS THAT IRELAND RECEIVED FINANCIAL AID FROM DURING THE GREAT FAMINE (THE CHOCTAW TRIBE SENT $710.00 IN 1847 AND MANY OTHER TRIBES SENT CASH OR FOOD/CLOTHING IN THE SAME YEAR - INCLUDING THE SIOUX NATION)......IN THAT LIGHT LETS PUT SITTING BULL WHERE HE BELONGS - AND ITS NOT ON A PIZZA BOX FOR APACHE PIZZAS

for more info on the Sioux try http://www.sioux.org/ Gene O'Neill

ROCHFORTBRIDGE PAST

Anonymous — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 15:11:00 CDT

Rochfortbridge Community Website

Boys School - Rochfortbridge - Christmas 1910

Back Row:
Left to Right: Tom Frayne. Frank O'Neill. Rodge Anderson. Joe McDonald. Tom O'Neill. Jack O'Neill. Mick Dunne. Paddy Hill. out of picture left and right unknown.

Middle Row;
Left to Right: Kit Newe. Tom Ward. Mick Staunton. Mick Frayne. Tom Caddell. Peter Boyhan. Tim McGill. Jim Leogue. Jack Dowd. Jack Coleman.

Front Row:
Left to Right: Mick Carley. Dick Quinn. Jim McCabe. Jim Carley. Mick Sheerin. Jack McCabe. Tom Boyhan. Joe McCabe. Paddy Gavin.

Class sizes:
6th Class - 5 - repeat sometimes called 7th Class
6th Class - 4
5th Class - 6
4th Class - 4
3rd Class - 4
2nd Class - 5
Total - 28

Nedín Garland & Jack Keogh at a Christmas Old Folks Party - Date Unknown

Nedín was possible the first owner of a tractor in the parish - his put-a-puting single cylinder "STEYR" was the trade mark of Nedín.

Jack Daly (RIP) Sidebrook & Gneevebawn with his wife Bridget (nee Healy) (RIP) Rochfortbridge pictured about 1941 with their daughter Anne

As you ponder upon your 300 acre farm

or gaze from your window at your new garden, you are amoung the elite club of landowners in Ireland.

Listed below is a list of landowners in the county Westmeath in the year 1870

Keep in mind that most land holdings listed here were just part of the overall landholding of the owner.

LAND HOLDINGS IN THE COUNTY WESTMEATH - 1870

Rev. Edward Batty, Ballyhealy, Delvin, - 1,215 acres.

Willoughby Bond, Farra, Longford, - 1,057 acres.

Samuel A. Reynell, Archerstown, Killucan, - 1,566 acres

B. Burton, Reps. of, no given address - 1,542 acres.

Alphonso Busby, 4, Burlington-road, Dublin, - 1,408 acres.

H. Carey, Reps. of, no given, - 1,316 acres.

Thomas L. Carter, Hattington Park, Telsworth, Staffordshire, - 1,335 acres.

William Henry Carter, Castlemartyr, Co. Cork, - 1,137 acres.

Samuel A. Reynell, Archerstown, Killucan, - 1,566 acres

Miss Chaigneau, Bunowen, - 1,050 acres.

Henry M. Pilkington, Tore, Tyrrellspass, - 1,683 acres.

"Church Temporalities, Commissioners of," Upper Merrion-street, Dublin, - 1,116 acres.

Harriet and Frances Conolly, Coolure, Castlepollard, - 1,146 acres.

Alexander Montgomery, Kilmer, Meath, - 1,697 acres.

Robert George Daniel, Newforest, Tyrrellspass, - 1,559 acres.

William Dopping, Australia, - 1,171 acres. F. Ellis, no given, - 1,167 acres.

Colonel Joshua Henry Cooper, Dunboden Park, Mullingar, - 1,785 acres.

Capt. Charles Eustace, London, - 1,036 acres.

Nicholas Evans, Lough-park, Killucan, - 1,011 acres.

R. M. Tighe, Reps. of, no given, - 1,809 acres.

Fetherston H., Godfrey, Dublin, - 1,106 acres.

Lord Oranmore, Castlemargaret, Claremorris, Co. Mayo, - 1,818 acres.

Thomas Clibborn, Moate, - 1,883 acres.

Fetherston H., Wm., Grouse Lodge, Moate, - 1,075 acres.

Marcus and Jonathan Goodbody, Clara, King's Co., - 1,087 acres.

W. Barlow Smythe, Barbavilla, Collinstown, - 2,108 acres.

John D. F. Grace, Gracefield, Athy, - 1,329 acres.

Richard Gradwell, Dowth Hall, Drogheda, - 3,169 acres.

William H. Gray, Dorrington, Drumraney, - 1,421 acres.

Col. Andrew Nugent, Portaferry, Co. Down, - 2,137 acres.

Capt. William Grogan, Baltinglass, Co. Wicklow, - 1,141 acres.

Charles Wm. Hamilton, Dominick-street, Dublin, - 1,031 acres.

Robert Holmes, Kildare Club, Dublin, - 1,298 acres.

Fetherston H., Rev. John, Reps. of, Griffinstown, Kinnegad, - 2,234 acres.

Paget, (first name and not given), - 2,241 acres.

Lord Kilmaine, Gaulstown, Rochfortbridge, - 2,122 acres.

William Perry Bond, Arglass, Rathowen, - 2,292 acres.

Francis Hume Kelly, Glencarra, Mullingar, - 2,381 acres.

John Devenish Meares, Mearescourt, Moyvore, - 2,398 acres.

John Longworth, Glenwood, Athlone, - 6,547 acres.

John F. H. Lowry, Ballymore, - 1,328 acres.

John Charles Lyons, (a minor), Ladistown, Mullingar, - 1,357 acres.

Cornelius M'Loughlin, Farmers' Club, Dublin, - 1,175 acres.

Lord Vaux of Harrowden, Rosmead, Delvin, - 2,464 acres.

Edmond W. F. Whitney, Newpass, Rathowen, - 2,538 acres.

Mrs. Anna Maria Tottenham, Rochfort, Mullingar, - 2,588 acres.

John Kelly, Lunestown, Mullingar, - 2,596 acres.

Laurence B. Molloy, Parsonstown, - 1,421 acres.

Fetherston H., Richard, Rockview, Killucan, - 2,709 acres.

William Ormsby Gore, Derrycarney, Dromod, - 2,794 acres.

Henry Murray, Mount Murray, Mullingar, - 1,377 acres.

Hon. Henry W. Parnell, Anneville, Mullingar, - 2,900 acres.

Lieut-Colonel John J. Nugent, Clonlost, Killucan, - 3,140 acres.

William Wilson, Salthill, Dublin, - 3,145 acres.

John Wilson, Street, Rathowen, - 3,720 acres.

Hon. Leinster Curzon Smyth, Drumcree, - 4,431 acres.

"Trustees of Wilson's Hospital," Agent, Chas. W. Hamilton, Esq., 40, Dominick-street, Dublin, - 4,495 acres.

Adolphus Cooke, Cookesboro', Mullingar, - 4,557 acres.

Lady Nugent, Ballinlough, Delvin, - 4,692 acres.

George Nugent Purdon, Lisnabin, Killucan, - 1,063 acres.

Wellington Purdon, Joristown, Killucan, - 1,275 acres.

William Chapman, Southhill, Delvin, - 4,707 acres.

Fetherston H., Cecil, (a minor), Bracklyn Castle, Killucan, - 4,711 acres.

Capt. Charles Gustavus Rochfort, Ballytore, Co. Kildare, - 1,434 acres.

Hon. R. T. H. Temple, Waterstown, Glasson, - 4,863 acres.

George Nugent Purdon, Lisnabin, Killucan, - 1,063 acres.

Wellington Purdon, Joristown, Killucan, - 1,275 acres.

Hon. L. H. King-Harman, Newcastle, Ballymahon, - 1,239 acres.

Right Hon. W. F. F. Tighe, Woodstock, Kilkenny, - 5,211 acres.

D. W. Pollard Urquhart, Kinturk, Castlepollard, - 5,363 acres.

Mrs. Georgina Magan, Killyon, Hill of Down, - 5,604 acres.

William Wilson, Street, Rathowen, and Rathmines, Dublin, - 1,264 acres.

Robert Smyth, Gaybrook, Mullingar, - 6,287 acres.

Rt. Hon. Earl of Longford, Pakenham Hall, Castlepollard, - 15,014 acres.

Sir Walter Nugent, Donore, Multyfarnham, - 7,218 acres.

Henry Tuite, (a minor), Sonna, Mullingar, - 1,490 acres.

Joseph Tuite, Sonna, Mullingar, - 7,391 acres.

Charles Tuthill, Newstead Abbey, Milltown, Co. Dublin, - 1,065 acres.

Sir John Ennis, bart., Ballynahown, Athlone, - 8,774 acres.

Chas. Brinsley Marley, Belvedere, Mullingar, - 9,059 acres.

Geo. A. Rochfort-Boyd, Middleton Park, Castletown-Geoghegan, - 9,431 acres.

Sir Benjamin Chapman, bart. Killua Castle, Clonmellon, Co. Westmeath, - 9,516 acres.

Patk. Edwd. Murphy, Ballymacloon, Multyfarnham, - 9,693 acres.

Capt. Thomas Smyth, Ballynagall, Mullingar, - 9,778 acres.

Lord Greville, Clonyn, Delvin, - 9,783 acres.

Wm. Edward Smyth, Glananea, Drumcree, - 1,256 acres.

Lord Castlemaine, Moydrum, Athlone, - 11,444 acres

John Malone, Baronstown, Ballyncargy, - 12,554 acres.

Sir Rich. Levinge, bart., Knockdrin Castle, Mullingar, - 5,017 acres.

Most Common Surnames in Rochfortbridge in 1854

taken from the Griffiths Land Survey of 1854 - the most common names were often misspelled due to the anglacization of some Irish names. in a lot of cases the English Census or Survey documents show family names like O'Connell as Connell or McGowan as Gavin or Smith etc. it wasn't until the Land act of 1923 that landholders were "allowed" use Irish names.

Castlelost

Surname No. of households

Gavin 12

Geraghty 12

Kelly 12

Connell orse O'Connell 10

Eighan 8

Rochfort 6

Sheeran 6

Whelehan 6

Boyan orse Boyhan 5

Caddle 5

Most common surnames in Carrick in 1854

Surname No. of households

Byrne 4

Fetherston Haugh 4

Killeen 4

Quinn 3

Cary orse Carey 2

Daly 2

Donaher 2

Larkin 2

Wheeler 2

Bonny 1

Most common surnames in Clonfad in 1854

Surname No. of households

Somers 7

Duffy 5

Kelly 5

McDonnell 5

Connor orse O'Connor 4

Lawler 4

North 4

Reynolds 4

Ryan 4

Austin 3

Most common surnames in Enniscoffey in 1854

Surname No. of households

Banan 4

Flynn 4

Fox 4

Conlon 3

Curran 3

Flanagan 3

Keenan 3

Keogh 3

Coakly 2

Keyes 2

Most common surnames in Kilbride in 1854

Surname No. of households

Whelehan 6

Hope 5

Bradburn 3

Gowran 3

Keogh 3

Sheeran 3

Bradley 2

Brennan 2

Corrigan 2

Cunningham 2

Most common surnames in Pass of Kilbride in 1854

Surname No. of households

Cole 6

Neill orse O'Neill 6

Oulahan orse Houlahan 5

Brien 3

Clarke 3

Connell 3

Curran 3

Geraghty 3

Kelly 3

Walsh orse Walshe 3

The Village Butcher

Mal Gavin - The Village Butcher - Served the public for generation with prime Irish Beef and always a smile

Rochfortbridge Clipboard

Beechwood — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 18:36:10 CDT

IF YOU ARE UNSURE WHERE TO POST AN ARTICLE.

Use this page to add your snip bits of information for the editors to edit.

post pictures, articles etc in any format or size and we will edit and post them.

if your edit is not here the next time you visit, it has been moved to another page

START HERE.

Sad to see the Palm Club burned to the ground, thank God no one was hurt.

The end of an era in the Bridge.

April 24th 2009

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Squatters Rights aka Adverse Possession

The recent RTE celebrity battle over a piece of ground led me to ask:

WHAT IS THE LAW IN RELATION TO SQUATTERS RIGHTS AND HOW DOES ONE CLAIM SQUATTERS RIGHTS ON A PIECE OF LAND OR PROPERTY?

The Concept of Adverse Possession

Adverse possession (Squatters rights) represents a way in which an individual can gain de facto rights (claim ownership) through long use of someone else’s land.
In Ireland the limitation period is twelve years.

Thirty years for a state authority as set out in section 13 of the Statute of Limitation Act, 1957.

Essentially, if a trespasser or squatter enjoys adverse and exclusive possession of land for twelve years, which is inconsistent with the title of the true owner, then she or he may oust the registered owner and gain registered title, subject to certain rules for the registration of land.
(see Irish Land Registry for more details on registering land gained through adverse possession)

In Irish law, title to land is relative, land titles being secure only if and to the extent that no other person can assert a better title.

Adverse possession means that the registered owner does not know that his/her land has been occupied by another person and that no monitory or "other means of payment" have been agreed for such occupation and that the occupation has been adverse for a period of 12 years.
Subject to the rules of the Irish Land Registry Office, this land may be registered to the adverse possessors if no title dispute is entered in the period allowed for such appeals.

- or -

The registered owner does not have in his/her possession, or is not capable of providing the state, with the legal registration/title deeds or any other sales or lease agreement documents in trust or mortgage or any other freehold or leasehold title, or proof of use of the land for a period more than 12 years prior to the commencement of the adverse possession, or any other written bill of sale or sale agreement that prove his/her interest in the land that the ownership of which has been disputed by the possessor in situ, and that such adverse possession can prove that he/she has had unlimited access and use of the land, uninterrupted and undisputed for a period not less than 12 years.

Registered land will remain in the ownership of the title holder or his/her beneficiaries on the death of the title holder and will become the property of the next of kin of the title holder or his/her beneficiaries.

Non registered land (apart from land subject to turbury rights - see Irish Land Registry) is the property of the state and can only be registered to a private owner through adverse possession. Land is determined as any area of ground above the high tide mark and not being part of a river or lake, the determination of land in beeches, flood plains or lakes/rivers is more complicated and best left to the experts.

Is this how you feel at work?, then you need a holiday

Irish Folklore

Belvedere — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 05:23:59 CDT

Red sky at night, shepherds delight.

find a pin and pick it up all day long you'll have good luck.

the list is endless. pisharogues, old Irish sayings, weather lore, etc.etc.etc.

Wanted - Old Irish Sayings, and their meanings - post them here.

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WANTED

Lyrics of a song I heard years ago and it goes like this:

"There was a little man and he had a little Ass and he bridled him and saddled him and threw his leg across"

anyone who can finish this song can you contact me please.

I remember one man singing it in Lysters Bar Rochfortbridge about 30 years ago.

Finish it here or send it by email - thanks.

The Cuckoo An Cúach

The Cuckoo comes in April She sings her song in May In the middle of June She changes her tune In July she flies away.

We all grew up with this short poem the author of which is as elusive as the common cuckoo. Remember years ago when the relentless cuck oo, cuck oo of this aptly named bird would fill the air no matter where you were. Today it seams that the bird that gave its name to many an adage, dance, film and even weather lore has all but disappeared from most areas. Will the cuckoo join the ever growing list of birds such as the corncrake, the curlew and believe it or not, the common wood pigeon. What is the main cause of this decline? There is no singular cause but an amalgamation of several unrelated events that has led to the decline of the cuckoo. Without facing the wrath of any sector of the listed below, the following activities are the main actions responsible for the decline of not only the cuckoo, but other wild birds and animals.

Development – Housing, Roads, Factories etc. ruthlessly clear land of all its natural nesting places for many birds and animals. This reduces the nesting places for birds like the wood pigeon the thrush etc. and small mammal’s such as mice voles even hedgehog’s foxes and rabbits. This deforestation of the landscape reduces the food source and nesting sites of many of the birds that the cuckoo uses as “foster parents”. Major development also hinders such birds from nesting in the locality of such development.
Reduction and trimming of hedge rows. Whether for development of aesthetics is a major contributor to bird decline. Removing or trimming the hedge is removing the nesting site or the food source of many birds. Bushes like hawthorn and blackthorn play a major role as a food source for over wintering birds. Trimming these hedgerows while still bearing fruit is actually taking food out of the mouths of our prospective cuckoo foster parents and other birds and small mammals.
Humans. We are encroaching upon the habitat of many wild birds and animals at an alarming rate. In the case of the cuckoo, it is a very shy bird and rarely enters our domain, so why should we enter hers. We need national sanctuaries for such birds as the cuckoo and corncrake; land zoned as wildlife friendly areas, removed from all public and private development from all public and private bodies. Prime farm land has been taken up by the network of motorways and landowners got some compensation but where the motorways cut across wildlife rich areas, virtually cutting off the lifeline of many animals and birds, no compensation or reconciliation was ever made.

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Where did the Custom of “Trick or Treat” come from?

There could hardly be a better example of the way that language and traditions migrate over time and across different cultures than trick or treating. This is well-known to be an American tradition, but its origins lie in medieval Europe. There are myriad Christian and pagan rituals and celebrations that have taken place on or about the 1st of November each year. These occurred in virtually every English-speaking and/or Christian country. They have evolved and merged over the centuries and continue to do so. Common features of these traditions are - asking for food, dressing in disguise and a connection to the spirits of the deceased. The language of these traditions is heavily influenced by the naming of days in the Christian calendar. The central date of the rituals that herald the beginning of winter is the 1st of November, called All Saints Day or All Hallows Day. The following day is All Souls Day and the 31st of October is All Hallows Eve - shortened to Hallowe'en (i.e. the evening before All Hallows Day). The practice of souling - going from door to door on or about All Souls Day to solicit gifts of food in return for prayers for the dead - evolved from a pagan ritual that was practiced all over Europe, possibly as early as the 10th century. As a Christian tradition it goes back to at least the 14th century, when it is mentioned by Chaucer. It is still commonplace in many Catholic countries, notably Ireland, where soul-cakes are left out for the departed. The first reference to the practice under that name in England is John Brand's Popular Antiquities of Great Britain, 1779: "On All Saints Day, the poor people go from parish to parish a Souling, as they call it." The tradition has altered so that it is now children, usually dressed in disguise, who go about asking for gifts around the beginning of November. Some examples of this are from: England, where we have requests for 'a penny for the guy'. This derives from the bonfire celebrations that began to celebrate the thwarting of the Gunpowder Plot in 1605. Guy Fawkes was the explosives specialist of the plot. He was scheduled to be hanged, drawn and quartered, but escaped that fate by prematurely hanging himself by jumping from the scaffold with the noose around his neck. He is now symbolically executed each year on 5th November (Bonfire Night), when effigies of him, called guys, are burned on bonfires all over England. The 'pennies' that children collect are traditionally spent on fireworks. This had a secular and political rather than religious or supernatural motivation, but it clearly inherited much from souling. The USA, where the tradition is trick or treating. This 20th century tradition has many of the features of the earlier rituals, a knowledge of which were of course brought to the USA by immigrants from Europe. Scotland, where it is called guising. This is a clear predecessor of trick or treat. The main difference between the two was that the children performed small entertainments before being given gifts - poems, jokes etc. This is now merging into trick or treating, with sweets being expected without the party piece. The earliest known citation of trick or treat in print is from an item in the Oregon newspaper The Oregon Journal, 1st November 1934, headed 'Halloween Pranks Keep Police on Hop': "Other young goblins and ghosts, employing modern shakedown methods, successfully worked the 'trick or treat' system in all parts of the city." Trick or treating spread across the USA in the 1930s and is cited then in newspapers from many states. For example, the Indiana paper The Vidette-Messenger, October 30th 1937: "Trick or treat. This seems to be the popular pastime among the younger folk and Valparaiso people... will hear it many times tonight, for it is Hallowe'en." From Washington state we have The Centralia Daily Chronicle item for 1st November 1939: "Pranksters were bought off when oldsters complied with their 'trick or treat' demand..." It seems that the practice wasn't universally popular amongst adults when it appeared in the 1930s. Many of the early references to trick or treating feature 'what's the world coming too' type comments by outraged residents and police. The Reno Evening Gazette, 1st November 1938, alludes to Nevada children using methods similar to the protection rackets of the Mafia. Its piece was headed 'Youngsters Shake Down Residents': "Trick or treat was the slogan employed by Halloween pranksters who successfully extracted candy fruit from Reno residents. In return the youngsters offered protection against window soaping and other forms of annoyance." Trick or treating was well-enough established in Montana by the end of the 1930s for The Helena Independent newspaper to be advertising a 23 cent "Trick or Treat Mix" of candies. It isn't clear how many they sold though. On 2nd November 1938, the same paper reported that some of their readers had not taken kindly to being given 'an offer they can't refuse' by small mask-wearing ghosts and ghoulies and, although they were threatened with little more than some impromptu window soaping, they expressed their annoyance in no uncertain terms - by shooting at the little devils. "Hallowe'en pranksters in several sections of the nation carried home loads of buckshot last night.
Most persons are not in favor of shotgun treatment, but they are in favor of some chastisement." A ring on the doorbell, followed by "trick or treat?", is heard in households in many countries around the world each 31st October. There are several reasons for the international spread. Partly it is due to the migration of US families and partly to the cultural dominance of the USA (what child with a television set can have failed to have seen Spielberg's ET or at least one of The Simpsons' seventeen Treehouse of Horror Halloween Specials?). Probably more significant though are the commercial interests of the media and manufacturers. If you can get away with spending just a few cents this Hallowe'en you'll have done well.

Leprechauns and Cluricauns

Leprechauns

The leprechaun is a solitary creature avoiding contact with mortals and other leprechauns--indeed the whole fairy tribe. He pours all of his passion into the concentration of carefully making shoes. A leprechaun can always be found with a shoe in one hand and a hammer in the other.
Most leprechauns are ugly, stunted creatures, not taller than boys of the age of ten or twelve. But they are broad and bulky, with faces like dried apples. They have a mischievous light in their eyes and their bodies, despite their stubbiness, usually move gracefully.
They possess all the earth's treasures, but prefer to dress drab. Usually grey or green colored coats, a sturdy pocket-studded apron, and a hat---sometimes green or dusty red colored.
They have been know to be foul-mouthed and they smoke ill-smelling pipes calld 'dudeens' and they drink quite a bit of beer from ever handy jugs. But the other fairies endure them because they provide the much needed service of cobblery.
Leprechauns guard the fairies' treasures. They must prevent it's theft by mortals. They, alone, remember when the marauding Danes landed in Ireland and where they hid their treasure. Although, they hide the treasures well, the presence of a rainbow alerts mortals to the whereabouts of gold hordes. This causes the leprechauns great anxiety---for no matter how fast he moves his pot of gold, he never can get away from rainbows.
If a mortal catches a leprechaun and sternly demands his treasure, he will give it to the mortal. Rarely does this happen.
Occassionally, especially after a wee too much beer, he will offer a mortal not only a drink but some of his treasure.
Female leprechauns do not exist.

Cluricauns

There is much debate over whether cluricauns are actually leprechauns or their close cousins. Except for a pink tinge about the nose, they perfectly resemble leprechauns in all their physical characteristics. But they never wear an apron or carry a hammer, nor do they have any desire to work. They have silver buckles on their shoes, gold laces their caps and pale blue stockings up to the calves. They like to enter rich men's wine cellars, as if they were their own, and drain the casks dry.
To amuse themselves they harness sheep and goats and shepherds' dogs, jump from bogs and race them over the fields through the night.
Leprechauns sternly declare that cluricauns are none of their own. But some suspect they are really leprechauns on a spree, who, in the sobering morning, deny this double nature.

Oisín

Oisín was the son of the legendary warrior Fionn Mac Cumhail. Oisín was a poet and one of the Fianna warriors, who recounted the tales and legends of the Fianna. The main legend surround Oisín is the story of his journey to Tír na N’óg – the mythical land of Eternal Youth. The story tells of how Ireland’s ancient warriors the Fianna, where hunting on the shores of Lough Leane, when Oisín instantly fell in love with a beautiful blond riding a white horse; Niamh Cinn iir (Niamh of the Golden Hair). She invited him to her land of Tír na N’óg under the waters of Lough Leane in Killarney, where nobody grew old and spring was eternal. Though Oisín was very happy in Tír na N’óg with Niamh, after what he thought to be three years, he wished to visit his family. But Niamh warned him that in the land of mortals he had been away 300 years and that if he touched the land again all those years would return to him. So Oisín set off on horse back careful not to step on the ground. He discovered the land much changed, there was no trace of the Fianna anywhere and all around the island, Saint Patrick was converting people to Christianity and churches were being built. On his return to Lough Leane, Oisín came across a group of men trying to clear a boulder from the path, along what is known locally as the Bealach Oisín Pass – Oisín’s Path in the mountains close to Killarney. As one of the mighty Fianna, Oisín claimed he could move it with one hand and took up the challenge from the men. Oisín remained on his horse and to the wonder of the mortals began moving the huge rock with one hand. But as he did so, the stirrup on Oisín’s horse broke sending Oisín falling to the ground and the mighty warrior was instantly transformed into an old man.

Not Necessarily Irish, but these two superstitious days fall this week!

1. Friday the 13th

In the Western world, a significant chunk of the population suspect bad things will happen whenever the 13th day of a month occurs on the Friday of the week. Like many human beliefs, the fear of Friday the 13th (known as paraskevidekatriaphobia) isn't exactly grounded in scientific logic. But the really strange thing is that most of the people who believe the day is unlucky offer no explanation at all, logical or illogical.
As with most superstitions, people fear Friday the 13th for its own sake, without any need for background information.

The superstition does have deep, compelling roots, however, and the origins help explain why the belief is so widespread today. In this article, we'll look at some of the interesting stories behind this unluckiest of days.

The Christian Tradition

The fear of Friday the 13th stems from two separate fears -- the fear of the number 13 and the fear of Fridays. Both fears have deep roots in Western culture, most notably in Christian theology. Thirteen is significant to Christians because it is the number of people who were present at the Last Supper (Jesus and his 12 apostles). Judas, the apostle who betrayed Jesus, was the 13th member of the party to arrive. Christians have traditionally been wary of Fridays because Jesus was crucified on a Friday. Additionally, some theologians hold that Adam and Eve ate from the forbidden fruit on a Friday, and that the Great Flood began on a Friday. In the past, many Christians would never begin any new project or trip on a Friday, fearing they would be doomed from the start. Sailors were particularly superstitious in this regard, often refusing to ship out on a Friday. According to unverified legend (very likely untrue), the British Navy commissioned a ship in the 1800s called H.M.S. Friday, in order to quell the superstition. The navy selected the crew on a Friday, launched the ship on a Friday and even selected a man named James Friday as the ship's captain. Then, one Friday morning, the ship set off on its maiden voyage... and disappeared forever. A similar, entirely factual story is the harrowing flight of Apollo 13. Some historians suggest the Christian distrust of Fridays is actually linked to the early Catholic Church's overall suppression of pagan religions and women. In the Roman calendar, Friday was devoted to Venus, the goddess of love. When Norsemen adapted the calendar, they named the day after Frigg, or Freya, Norse goddesses connected to love and sex. Both of these strong female figures once posed a threat to male-dominated Christianity, the theory goes, so the Christian church vilified the day named after them. This characterization may also have played a part in the fear of the number 13. It was said that Frigg would often join a coven of witches, normally a group of 12, bringing the total to 13. This idea may have originated with the Christian Church itself; it's impossible to verify the exact origins of most folklore. A similar Christian legend holds that 13 is unholy because it signifies the gathering of 12 witches and the devil. The number 13 could also have been considered pagan because there are 13 months in the pagan lunar calendar. The lunar calendar also corresponds to the human menstrual cycle, connecting the number to femininity.

Other Traditions

The Christian perspective on Friday and 13 is the most relevant today, but it's only one part of the Friday the 13th tradition. Some trace the infamy of the number 13 back to ancient Norse culture. In Norse mythology, the beloved hero Balder was killed at a banquet by the mischievous god Loki, who crashed the party of twelve, bringing the group to 13. This story, as well as the story of the Last Supper, led to one of the most entrenched 13-related beliefs: You should never sit down to a meal in a group of 13. Another significant piece of the legend is a particularly bad Friday the 13th that occurred in the middle ages. On a Friday the 13th in 1306, King Philip of France arrested the revered Knights Templar and began torturing them, marking the occasion as a day of evil. Check out this site to learn more. Both Friday and the number 13 were once closely associated with capital punishment. In British tradition, Friday was the conventional day for public hangings, and there were supposedly 13 steps leading up to the noose. Ultimately, the complex folklore of Friday the 13th doesn't have much to do with people's fears today. The fear has much more to do with personal experience. People learn at a young age that Friday the 13th is supposed to be unlucky, for whatever reason, and then they look for evidence that the legend is true. The evidence isn't hard to come by, of course. If you get in a car wreck on one Friday the 13th, lose your wallet, or even spill your coffee, that day will probably stay with you. But if you think about it, bad things, big and small, happen all the time. If you're looking for bad luck on Friday the 13th, you'll probably find it.

2. St Swithens Day (Sun July 15th)

“St Swithin’s Day, if it does rain

Full forty days, it will remain

St Swithin’s Day, if it be fair

For forty days, t’will rain no more.”

We’ve had such a bad summer here in Ireland so far this year, but let us hope it doesn’t rain on Sunday 15th July – here’s the legend:

St. Swithin was an early Saxon Bishop of Winchester who died in 861 AD and legend says that as he lay on his deathbed, he asked to be buried in the common graveyard, “where the rain would fall on him and the feet of ordinary men could pass over him.” For nine years, his wishes were followed, but then, the monks of Winchester attempted to remove his remains to a splendid shrine. The work began on July 15th, but it couldn’t be finished then, or for many years afterwards. Torrential rains prevented it on the first day and these continued for forty days and forty nights. It was said that St. Swithin, who had detested any outward display or ostentation, was weeping in protest. The countryside was flooded and the monks beseeched St. Swithin to intercede for them. It’s said that he appeared to one of his monks and revealed to him how displeasing it was to God to spend their time in useless expenditures of time and money which might easily be spent with more advantage in the relief of the poor and needy; he also forbade the monks to ever interfere with his remains thereafter. In AD 963, the work on the mausoleum was finally completed, but, by then, the legend of St. Swithin as a rain-saint was firmly established. Oddly enough, while most of us would rather not see rain on July 15th, apple-growers hope for it on this day, as well as on the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul (June 29) for it is believed that the saints are watering the crops. If they fail to do so, the apple-crop will be a poor one. Furthermore, no apple should picked or eaten before July 15th and all apples growing at this time will ripen. Wherever you are, if you are hoping to be drenched with sunshine, may it be so. On the other hand, if you’re in an area of drought, may you be blessed with a wet St. Swithins Day!

No fairy is more feared in Ireland than the pooka. This may be because it is always out and about after nightfall, creating harm and mischief, and because it can assume a variety of terrifying forms. The guise in which it most often appears, however, is that of a sleek, dark horse with sulphurous yellow eyes and a long wild mane. In this form, it roams large areas of countryside at night, tearing down fences and gates, scattering livestock in terror, trampling crops and generally doing damage around remote farms.
In remote areas of County Down, the pooka becomes a small, deformed goblin who demands a share of the crop at the end of the harvest: for this reason several strands, known as the 'pooka's share', are left behind by the reapers. In parts of County Laois, the pooka becomes a huge, hairy bogeyman who terrifies those abroad at night; in Waterford and Wexford, it appears as an eagle with a massive wingspan; and in Roscommon, as a black goat with curling horns. The mere sight of it may prevent hens laying their eggs or cows giving milk, and it is the curse of all late night travellers as it is known to swoop them up on to its back and then throw them into muddy ditches or bogholes.

The pooka has the power of human speech, and it has been known to stop in front of certain houses and call out the names of those it wants to take upon its midnight dashes. If that person refuses, the pooka will vandalise their property because it is a very vindictive fairy. The origins of the pooka are to some extent speculative. The name may come from the Scandinavian pook or puke, meaning 'nature spirit'. Such beings were very capricious and had to be continually placated or they would create havoc in the countryside, destroying crops and causing illness among livestock. Alternatively, the horse cults prevalent throughout the early Celtic world may have provided the underlying motif for the nightmare steed. Other authorities suggest that the name comes from the early Irish poc meaning either 'a male goat' or a 'blow from a cudgel'. However, the horse cult origin is perhaps the most plausible since many of these cults met on high ground and the main abode of the pooka is believed to be on high mountain tops.
There is a waterfall formed by the river Liffey in the Wicklow mountains known as the Poula Phouk (the pooka's hole), and Binlaughlin Mountain in County Fermanagh is also known as the 'peak of the speaking horse'. In some areas of the country, the pooka is rather more mysterious than dangerous, provided it is treated with proper respect. The pooka may even be helpful on occasion, issuing prophecies and warnings where appropriate. For example, the folklorist Douglas Hyde referred to a 'plump, sleek, terrible steed' which emerged from a hill in Leinster and which spoke in a human voice to the people there on the first day of November. It was accustomed to give "intelligent and proper answers to those who consulted it concerning all that would befall them until November the next year. And the people used to leave gifts and presents at the hill..."
Something similar seems to have occurred in south Fermanagh, where the tradition of gathering on certain high places to await a speaking horse was observed on Bilberry Sunday until quite recently.
Only one man has ever managed to ride the pooka and that was Brian Boru, the High King of Ireland. Using a special bridle containing three hairs from the pooka's tail, Brian managed to control the magic horse and stay on its back until, exhausted, it surrendered to his will. The king extracted two promises from it; firstly, that it would no longer torment Christian people and ruin their property and secondly, that it would never again attack an Irishman (all other nationalities are exempt) except those who are drunk or abroad with an evil intent. The latter it could attack with greater ferocity than before. The pooka agreed to these conditions. However, over the intervening years, it seems to have forgotten its bargain and attacks on property and sober travellers on their way home continue to this day.
Variants: phouka, puca.

The Bean-Sidhe anglicised to"The Banshee"
The bean-sidhe (woman of the fairy or woman ghost) may be an ancestral spirit appointed to forewarn members of certain ancient Irish families of their time of death. According to tradition, the banshee can only cry for five major Irish families: the O'Neills, the O'Briens, the O'Connors, the O'Gradys and the Kavanaghs. Whatever her origins, the banshee chiefly appears in one of three guises: a young woman, a stately matron or a raddled old hag. These represent the triple aspects of the Celtic goddess of war and death, namely Badhbh, Macha and Mor-Rioghain.) She usually wears either a grey, hooded cloak or the winding sheet or grave robe of the unshriven dead. She may also appear as a washer-woman, and is seen apparently washing the blood stained clothes of those who are about to die. In this guise she is known as the bean-nighe (washing woman). Although not always seen, her mourning call is heard, usually at night when someone is about to die. In 1437, King James I of Scotland was approached by an Irish seeress or banshee who foretold his murder at the instigation of the Earl of Atholl. This is an example of the banshee in human form. There are records of several human banshees or prophetesses attending the great houses of Ireland and the courts of local Irish kings. In some parts of Leinster, she is referred to as the bean chaointe (keening woman) whose wail can be so piercing that it shatters glass. In Kerry, the keen is experienced as a "low, pleasant singing"; in Tyrone as "the sound of two boards being struck together"; and on Rathlin Island as "a thin, screeching sound somewhere between the wail of a woman and the moan of an owl". The banshee may also appear in a variety of other forms, such as that of a hooded crow, stoat, hare and weasel - animals associated in Ireland with witchcraft.

Rochfortbridge Short Stories

Anonymous — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 19:14:25 CDT

Gerard K. O'Neill (1927–1992) was an American physicist and space
activist. As a faculty member of Princeton University, he invented a
device called the particle storage ring for high energy physics
experiments. Later he invented a magnetic launcher called the mass
driver. In the 1970s he developed a plan to build human settlements in
outer space, including a space habitat design known as the O'Neill
cylinder. He founded the Space Studies Institute, an organization
devoted to funding research into space manufacturing and colonization.
In 1965 at Stanford University he performed the first colliding beam
physics experiment. While teaching physics at Princeton, O'Neill became
interested in the possibility that humans could live in outer space. He
researched and proposed a futuristic idea for human settlement in
space, the O'Neill cylinder in "The Colonization of Space", his first
paper on the subject. He held a conference on space manufacturing at
Princeton in 1975. Many who became post-Apollo-era space activists
attended. O'Neill built his first mass driver prototype with professor
Henry Kolm in 1976. He considered mass drivers critical for extracting
the mineral resources of the Moon and asteroids. His award-winning book
The High Frontier: Human Colonies in Space inspired a generation of
space exploration advocates. He died in 1992 after a seven year fight
against leukemia.

Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerard_K._O%27Neill>

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videos or slide shows. have fun - Belvedere.

***

Poem by Ailish O'Neill

Published in "Write a Poem 2008"

published by

Athlone Education Centre

Saint Patrick

A boy was brought accross the waves,

By Niall the Celtic King.

To Live and work among the slaves,

But Patrick, more did bring.

On Slieve Mish high he spoke to God,

Who set him this demand.

"Free the Irish from pagan Gods,

And Christianise the land".

Interview with our youngest published poet Ailish O'Neill.

Interviewer - Ailish, what inspired you to write this poem?

Ailish - Well my Daddy is a poet and loves history, he told us that we were "princesses" as we were once kings of all Ireland, he told us that "Nial" is the King we are named after and that it was Nial that brought Saint Patrick to Ireland.

Interviewer - Are you proud to have your poem published?

Ailish - Yes of course, it is hard to get a poem published and to have a poem about Saint Patrick published is the best.

Interviewer - Will you continue to write poems?

Ailish - Yes, as long as my Dad is alive and probably years after he is dead I will always hear him preach about how poetry and song is part of our culture,

Interviewer - What would you say to other children your age about Ireland and what it is to be Irish?

Ailish - I am lucky that I have a very famous Irish name but I would like more of my class to respect our culture - we are Irish and we should be proud of it but some people think it isnt "cool" so kids sometimes make fun of our culture and copy what they see on TV...thats not culture, thats "Monkey see - Monkey do"

*************

Today in History - What a mixture American, French, English and of course Irish!

October 19th 1781

British general Charles Cornwallis formally surrendered his British army to a combined French and American force outside the Virginia tobacco port of Yorktown. Cornwallis’ second-in-command, Charles O’Hara, attempted to deliver Cornwallis’s sword to French general, Comte de Rochambeau. But Rochambeau directed O’Hara to American General George Washington, who coolly steered the British officer to Washington’s own second in command, Major General Benjamin Lincoln.

The Summer Solstice

Humans in prehistoric times built monuments to commemorate both the winter and the summer solstices throughout the world. Solstice comes from the Latin words sol meaning sun and sistere meaning to cause to stand still. As the days lengthen, the sun rises higher and higher until it seems to stand still in the sky.

Nature and religions, both ancient and modern, hold the solstices in great esteem. Modern day druids perform rituals based on old beliefs at Stonehenge each year. In the Americas, Machu Picchu and the Sun Dagger of Chaco Canyon, New Mexico show evidence of ancient astronomical design.

Legends and Lore

June has long been associated with marriages, and much midsummer lore has arisen from the greening time. The act of silently gathering nine kinds of flowers and placing them under a pillow is supposed to reveal in dreams the identity of the person to be wed. The honeymoon to follow was originally a time when the newly-weds would share foods prepared with honey so that their lives together might be sweet.

In the Catholic Church, St. John is associated with Midsummer and is believed to be the protector of lovers.

Shakespeare took the fairy legends and lovers' traditions and crafted them into A Midsummer Night's Dream where quarreling lovers, both mortal and otherworldly, madden each other through a potion brewed of magical herbs.

Herbs and flowers harvested on Midsummer Day were believed to have magical qualities. Specially gathered fern seed was believed to make people invisible and guide them to buried treasure, and wreaths and garlands of flowers were devised to bring health to households and ward off evil.

April Fools Day - How Did It Begin?

Unlike most of the other non-foolish days, the history of April Fool's Day, sometimes called All Fool's Day, is not totally clear. There really wasn't a "first April Fool's Day" that can be pinpointed on the calendar. Some believe it sort of evolved simultaneously in several cultures at the same time, from celebrations involving the first day of spring. The closest point in time that can be identified as the beginning of this tradition was in 1582, in France. Prior to that year, the new year was celebrated for eight days, beginning on March 25. The celebration culminated on April 1. With the reform of the calendar under Charles IX, the Gregorian Calendar was introduced, and New Year's Day was moved to January 1. However, communications being what they were in the days when news traveled by foot, many people did not receive the news for several years. Others, the more obstinate crowd, refused to accept the new calendar and continued to celebrate the new year on April 1. These backward folk were labeled as "fools" by the general populace. They were subject to some ridicule, and were often sent on "fools errands" or were made the butt of other practical jokes. This harassment evolved, over time, into a tradition of prank-playing on the first day of April. The tradition eventually spread to England and Scotland in the eighteenth century. It was later introduced to the American colonies of both the English and French. April Fool's Day thus developed into an international fun fest, so to speak, with different nationalities specializing in their own brand of humor at the expense of their friends and families. In Scotland, for example, April Fool's Day is actually celebrated for two days. The second day is devoted to pranks involving the posterior region of the body. It is called Taily Day. The origin of the "kick me" sign can be traced to this observance. Mexico's counterpart of April Fool's Day is actually observed on December 28. Originally, the day was a sad remembrance of the slaughter of the innocent children by King Herod. It eventually evolved into a lighter commemoration involving pranks and trickery. Pranks performed on April Fool's Day range from the simple, (such as saying, "Your shoe's untied!), to the elaborate. Setting a roommate's alarm clock back an hour is a common gag. Whatever the prank, the trickster usually ends it by yelling to his victim, "April Fool!" Practical jokes are a common practice on April Fool's Day. Sometimes, elaborate practical jokes are played on friends or relatives that last the entire day. The news media even gets involved. For instance, a British short film once shown on April Fool's Day was a fairly detailed documentary about "spaghetti farmers" and how they harvest their crop from the spaghetti trees. April Fool's Day is a "for-fun-only" observance. Nobody is expected to buy gifts or to take their "significant other" out to eat in a fancy restaurant. Nobody gets off work or school. It's simply a fun little day, but a day on which one must remain forever vigilant, for they may be the next April Fool!

Who Was Saint Patrick?

Even though Saint Patrick the patron saint of Ireland and one of the most celebrated religious figures around the world, the factual information about his life and times is quite vague. Most information about St. Patrick has been twisted, embellished, or simply made up over centuries by storytellers, causing much ambiguity about the real life of St. Patrick. However, there are some elements of his story about which most scholars accept to be true. Saint Patrick is traditionally thought to have lived between 432-461 A.D., but more recent scholarship moves the dates up a bit. At the age of sixteen he was kidnapped from his native land of the Roman Britains by a band pirates led by Niall of the Nine Hostages (who was the father of the great O’Neill Clan of Ulster), and sold into slavery in Ireland. Saint Patrick worked as a shepherd and turned to religion for solace. After six years of slavery he escaped to the Irish coast and fled home to Britain. While back in his homeland, Patrick decided to become a priest and then decided to return to Ireland after dreaming that the voices of the Irish people were calling him to convert them to Christianity. After studying and preparing for several years, Patrick traveled back to Ireland as a Christian missionary. Although there were already some Christians living in Ireland, St. Patrick was able to bring upon a massive religious shift to Christianity by converting people of power. St. Patrick is credited with converting the nobles; who set an example which the people followed. But Patrick's desire to spread of Christianity was not met without mighty opposition. Patrick ran into trouble with the local pagan priesthood, the druids: and there are many stories about his arguments with them as well as his survival of plots against them. He laid the groundwork for the establishment of hundreds of monasteries and churches that eventually popped up across the Irish country to promote Christianity. Saint Patrick is also credited with bringing written word to Ireland through the promotion of the study of legal texts and the Bible. Previous to Patrick, storytelling and history were reliant on memory and orally passing down stories. Patrick's mission in Ireland is said to have lasted for thirty years.
It is believed he died in the 5th century on March 17, which is the day St. Patrick's Day is commemorated each year.

The worlds first official St. Patrick's Day parade was held in New York City in 1766.

Other Irish Saints

Saint Colmcille (Feast Day 9th of June)

St Colmcille was born in Gartan, near Letterkenny in Co. Donegal in 521 A.D. He was a decendant of Niall of the Nine Hostages, his father was a prince of Tir Conaill and his mother was a princess of Leinster. He was christened Criomhthann, and placed under the care of the priest who baptised him. He was permitted to play with children from the neighbouring village on one day per week, and when he came into sight, they shouted: "here comes Colmcille". [Colmcille means the dove of the Church]. When the priest heard this name, he decided that it was God's will that the child should be called this name, and that his baptismal name should be forgotten. Colmcille was sent to the monastery of St Finian at Moville to further his education, and then he learned the art of poetry in Leinster from Gemman, his master. He visited the monastery of Clonard in Co. Meath and he was ordained a priest. After his ordination, he studied for a time at the monastery of St Moibhí at Glasnevin. He returned to Donegal and was given a grant of land on the shores of Lough Swilly where he built a church and founded the monastery of Doire Colmcille. After seven years, he set about founding other monasteries in places such as Kells, Durrow and Lambay. Colmcille came to Swords in the year 560 A.D. and chose a site for an abbey overlooking the river where St Columba's now stands. The Abbey lands took in all of the modern River Valley parish, Brackenstown, Balheary as well as Swords. It consisted of a large church, with separate cells for the monks to live in. There was also a school, a mill, grain house and guesthouse. The Book of Kells (left) was written in honour of St Columcille. His feast day is celebrated on 9 June, and when 600 years after his death, the privilege of holding a fair in Swords was granted to the Archbishop of Dublin by King John, the day chosen was the feast day of St Colmcille.

St Brigid (Feast Day 1st of February)

Brigid was born at Fochairt, near Dundalk around 452. Her father (Dubhtach) was a pagan chieftain and her mother (Brocessa) a Christian slave in his household. Although Brigid's mother died when Brigid was a young girl she never forgot the Christian faith she had learned from her as a child. As she grew up Brigid herded sheep, pigs and cattle for her father and helped about the house. Brigid grew into a very beautiful girl whom many young noblemen wished to marry, but she refused them all because she wanted to serve God as a nun. Brigid showed love and kindneess to the poor as well as the animals she tended in her father's house. However this love of the poor often got her into trouble. A story is told of how Dubhtach, angry with her because she would not get marry decided to sell her as a servant to the king of Leinster. While he was bartering with the king, Brigid took pity on a passing beggar and gave him a valuable sword which her father had left with her. Her father was in a fierce temper when he found out his sword was gone. But the king thought that Brigid was good and kind and asked him to forgive her. Brigid's father eventually let her leave his house and herself to do God's service, in whatever way her bishop thought best. Brigid and some friends received the religious veil from St. Mel who said: "You shall be called Sisters of Mercy," gave them the white robes of nuns, and made them promise to give up their lives to serving God by prayer and works of charity. Bridget and her companions chose as their first home a house under a great oak tree, which they called Cill Dara "the Church of Oak" and which later grew into the town of Kildare. Her convent soon became the centre of religion and learning. She also founded a school of art, where metalwork and illumination of manuscripts was taught. Brigid was soon joined by several other women who formed themselves into a religious community, which branched out into several other nunneries throughout Ireland. All of these communities acknowledged her for their mother and founder. The courage and honesty with which Brigid challenged the selfishness of the rich and the purity of her way of life inspired many to become Christians. It was during one such conversation that the traditional St. Brigid's Cross came into being. Brigid was called to the bedside of a dying chieftain. While she sat by his bedside nursing him she picked up some rushes from the floor and began to plait them into the shape of a cross. The chieftain woke as she worked and asked her what she was doing. When Brigid explained to him the story of Jesus and his crucifixion and told him of the love and forgiveness of God, the man repented of his lifestyle up to then and became a Christian. Since then the simple rush cross has become a symbol of Brigid's love of God and people. The fame of Brigid spread far and wide. Bridget died in 524 an old woman still leading her community and actively involved with the poor and the needy. She was known as Patroness of Ireland and "Queen of the South". She is also invoked as a patron of scholars, poets, blacksmiths, healers, cattle, dairyworkers, newborn babies, and fugitives.

A Short Mother's Day History

(Sunday 2 March in case you've forgot!)

Contrary to popular belief, Mother's Day was not conceived and fine-tuned in the boardroom of Hallmark Cards. The earliest tributes to mothers date back to the annual spring festival the Greeks dedicated to Rhea, the mother of many deities, and to the offerings ancient Romans made to their Great Mother of Gods, Cybele. Christians celebrated this festival on the fourth Sunday in Lent in honor of Mary, mother of Christ. In England this holiday was expanded to include all mothers and was called Mothering Sunday.

In the United States, Mother's Day started nearly 150 years ago, when Anna Jarvis, an Appalachian Indian homemaker, organized a day to raise awareness of poor health conditions in her community, a cause she believed would be best advocated by mothers. She called it "Mother's Work Day."

At first, people observed Mother's Day by attending church, writing letters to their mothers, and eventually, by sending cards, presents, and flowers. With the increasing gift-giving activity associated with Mother's Day.

St. Valentine

Patron Saint of Love, Young People, Happy Marriages

Valentine was a holy priest in Rome, who, with St. Marius and his family, assisted the martyrs in the persecution under Claudius II. He was apprehended, and sent by the emperor to the prefect of Rome, who, on finding all his promises to make him renounce his faith in effectual, commended him to be beaten with clubs, and afterwards, to be beheaded, which was executed on February 14, about the year 270. Pope Julius I is said to have built a church near Ponte Mole to he memory, which for a long time gave name to the gate now called Porta del Popolo, formerly, Porta Valetini. The greatest part of his relics are now in the church of St. Praxedes. His name is celebrated as that of an illustrious martyr in the sacramentary of St. Gregory, the Roman Missal of Thomasius, in the calendar of F. Fronto and that of Allatius, in Bede, Usuard, Ado, Notker and all other martyrologies on this day. To abolish the heathens lewd superstitious custom of boys drawing the names of girls, in honor of their goddess Februata Juno, on the fifteenth of this month, several zealous pastors substituted the names of saints in billets given on this day.

The Origin of St. Valentine

The origin of St. Valentine, and how many St. Valentines there were, remains a mystery. One opinion is that he was a Roman martyred for refusing to give up his Christian faith. Other historians hold that St. Valentine was a temple priest jailed for defiance during the reign of Claudius. Whoever he was, Valentine really existed because archaeologists have unearthed a Roman catacomb and an ancient church dedicated to Saint Valentine. In 496 AD Pope Gelasius marked February 14th as a celebration in honor of his martyrdom.

The first representation of Saint Valentine appeared in a The Nuremberg Chronicle, a great illustrated book printed in 1493. [Additional evidence that Valentine was a real person: archaeologists have unearthed a Roman catacomb and an ancient church dedicated to Saint Valentine.] Alongside a woodcut portrait of him, text states that Valentinus was a Roman priest martyred during the reign of Claudius the Goth [Claudius II]. Since he was caught marrying Christian couples and aiding any Christians who were being persecuted under Emperor Claudius in Rome [when helping them was considered a crime], Valentinus was arrested and imprisoned. Claudius took a liking to this prisoner -- until Valentinus made a strategic error: he tried to convert the Emperor -- whereupon this priest was condemned to death. He was beaten with clubs and stoned; when that didn't do it, he was beheaded outside the Flaminian Gate [circa 269].

Saints are not supposed to rest in peace; they're expected to keep busy: to perform miracles, to intercede. Being in jail or dead is no excuse for non-performance of the supernatural. One legend says, while awaiting his execution, Valentinus restored the sight of his jailer's blind daughter. Another legend says, on the eve of his death, he penned a farewell note to the jailer's daughter, signing it, "From your Valentine."

St. Valentine was a Priest, martyred in 269 at Rome and was buried on the Flaminian Way. He is the Patron Saint of affianced couples, bee keepers, engaged couples, epilepsy, fainting, greetings, happy marriages, love, lovers, plague, travellers, young people. He is represented in pictures with birds and roses.

Joe Dolan and The Drifters The Story Dedicated to the memory of Joe Dolan (1939 – 2007) With thanks to http://www.irish-showbands.com/Bands/driftersf.htm Although Brendan Bowyer and Dickie Rock fans may argue, Joe Dolan is regarded as the greatest international star produced by the showband era. He has had numerous hits in Ireland and Europe, including the U.K. His career started in his native Mullingar with a band that would create two major musical forces in Irish music...The Drifters and The Times. The story of The Drifters started when the two Dolan brothers Joe and Ben, got together with some friends and entered a local talent contest which they won. The brothers knew they could make a go of music and quit their day jobs (Ben as a carpenter and Joe as a compositor) and formed The Drifters in 1964 with Ben on Sax and Joe as guitarist and lead singer. The other members of the band were: Sid Aughey (drums), Jimmy Horan (bass), Tommy Swarbrigg (trumpet), Joey Gilheaney (trombone), and Des Doherty (keyboards). The band's first record was an an old Del Shannon song, "The Answer To Everything," which went to No. 4 in the Irish Charts. With a hit single under their belts, the boys took the dancehalls and ballrooms by storm. In the following years, Joe released a string of hits, including "I Love You More And More Everyday", "My Own Peculiar Way", "Aching Breaking Heart", "Pretty Brown Eyes", "Tar And Cement", "The House With The Whitewashed Gable", "Love Of The Common People", and "The Westmeath Bachelor". In mid 1968, a crisis hit the band when Tommy Swarbrigg and the younger members of the band decided it was time for a change in direction and left to form The Times. Tommy contacted his brother, Jimmy, who was living in London, and he returned to front the new pop band. This move left Joe and Ben alone, and they went about rebuilding a new band, that would eventually go on to even greater success at home and abroad. They recruited: Frankie McDonald (trumpet), Gordon Coleman (guitar), Maurice Walsh (drums), Kieran Mc Donnell (keyboards), Seamus Shannon (trombone), and Patrick Hoye (bass). After adding a guitarist, Joe set down his six string and focused all his energy on singing. Joe Dolan and the "New" Drifters' first international chart success came in July, 1969, when they reached no. 3 in the UK charts with "Make Me an Island." Following this, the floodgates opened and Joe and the band continued to record hit after hit. During the Seventies, Joe continued to have hits in Ireland, Europe, South Africa and Australia. In the early seventies, the band suffered a couple of minor setbacks when Seamus Shannon left to join Brendan Shine's Superband, and was replaced by Liam Meadeand a year later Patrick Hoye left the band and journeyed to the United States to study at the Berklee School of Music, where he studied with the likes of Paul Ashford (who would return to form Stepaside) and John Farrell (of the Dazzle Band). Pat was replaced by Mick Bagnell (who also played with Margo for a spell). In 1974, Joe and the band hit another high when "Sweet Little Rock n' Roller" won the European Pop Jury. In 1979, the song would be covered by English group, Showaddywaddy and would become one of their most famous songs and their last top twenty hit. In 1975, long time drummer Maurice Walsh left the band to study music and was replaced by Jimmy Walsh, who would in turn be replaced by Tony Newman. In December, 1977, the band was changing again. Patrick Hoye had returned from the States and Ben asked him to join the band for an eight week tour of South Africa. He ended up staying with the band for the next eight years. A few months later, in 1978, Joe and the band became the first Western based band to play in Russia. [Tony Newman, who would go on to play with Joe for many years, sadly passed away in 2000.] The early eighties were a time of growth and transition for the band. Joe's fame was growing so quickly that it started to overshadow the importance of "The Drifters" as a separate entity. The band was touring constantly: Las Vegas, Russia, South Africa, Canada, Germany, etc. They even abandoned a tour of the Middle East (Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Egypt) because the Ayatollah came back to Iran and changed everything. Joe Dolan's son, Ray, joined the band around this time and was added on percussion. Gerry Kelly, who had replaced Gordon Coleman on lead guitar headed off to the United States in the early 1980's and was replaced by Joe Meehan. By the time the mid 1980's rolled around the "Drifters" had more or less ceased to exist. What had started as The Drifters Showband, and then became "Joe Dolan and the Drifters," ended up as Joe Dolan (and his band). Pat Hoye left in 1985 to return to Boston. Joe died on St Stephens Day 2007 and his funeral was the largest seen in Mullingar, it was attended by family, friends and neighbours, fans, peers and press. Joe brought his native Mullingar to a standstill once again. "your fans cried for more at every show, but cried for you at your funeral"

Why are there the Twelve Days of Christmas?

The Twelve Days of Christmas is actually a catechism song. Between the years 1558-1829, English Catholics were not permitted to practice their faith openly. Without regular mass, sacraments, or catechism lessons from the priest, there was little parents could do to help their children learn and remember all out their faith. This song was created to keep the Catholic faith in their lives, even though hidden for the time.

Instead of referring to a suitor, the "true love" mentioned in the song refers to God Himself. The "me" who receives the presents symbolises every baptized person.

'A partridge in a pear tree' is Jesus Christ. A mother partridge will feign injury to decoy predators from her helpless nestlings. The children hearing this song would know that, and would understand the parallel between the acts of a mother bird, also as the partridge was considered the "King" of game birds and the pear tree was a common tree found in every garden, a partridge in a pear tree would be an unusual sight and likened to the birth of Christ in a stable and willing to sacrifice himself for others.

The other symbols continue the symbolism:

2 turtle doves----the Old and New Testaments;

3 French hens--Faith, Hope and Charity;

4 calling birds---the Four Gospels;

5 golden rings---the first five books of the Old Testament, which give the history of man's fall from grace;

6 geese a laying-the six days of creation;

7 swans a swimming-seven gifts of the Holy Spirit;

8 maids a milking-the eight Beatitudes;

9 ladies dancing--nine choirs of angels;

10 lords a leaping-the Ten Commandments;

11 pipers piping--the eleven faithful Apostles;

12 drummers drumming-the twelve points of belief in the Apostles' Creed.

The Christmas Tree

The Christmas tree is a bundle of symbols showing what creation has to offer: light and the movement of angels, the gifts of orchard and field, forest and sea, all topped off by the star that pointed to the end of the journey, the place of peace.

During Advent in the 11th century, scenes called mysteries, including one about Paradise, were very popular. A tree decorated with red apples symbolized the tree of Paradise. During the 15th century, the faithful began to put up trees in their own houses on December 24, the feast day of Adam and Eve.

However, the first Christmas tree as we know it, but without lights, appeared in Alsace (France) in 1521. It was introduced in France by the Princess Hélène de Mecklembourg who brought one to Paris after her marriage to the Duke of Orleans. In the 18th century, the custom of decorating a Christmas tree was well established in Germany, France and Austria.

In 1841, Prince Albert (originally from Germany), husband of Queen Victoria, set up a Christmas tree at Windsor Castle in England. From the royal court, the custom of Christmas trees spread quickly to the middle class and then to working people. For Victorians, a good Christmas tree had to be six branches tall and be placed on a table covered with a white damask tablecloth. It was decorated with garlands, candies and paper flowers.

The Christmas tree was introduced to the New World around the end of the 18th century even before it became a common practice in England. The various ornaments with which it was decorated were first made at home before being commercially produced. In the middle of the 18th century, Christmas20th century by electric bulbs. Other variations like outdoor and artificial Christmas trees as appeared around the beginning of the 20th century.

The Christmas Tree II

Why do we have an angel on top of the tree?

(Belvederes alternative view!)

When four of Santa's elves got sick, the trainee elves did not produce toys as fast as the regular ones, and Santa began to feel the Pre-Christmas pressure.

Then Mrs Claus told Santa her Mother was coming to visit, which stressed Santa even more.

When he went to harness the reindeer, he found that three of them were about to give birth and two others had jumped the fence and were out, Heaven knows where.

Then when he began to load the sleigh, one of the floorboards cracked, the toy bag fell to the ground and all the toys were scattered.

Frustrated, Santa went in the house for a cup of apple cider and a shot of rum. When he went to the cupboard, he discovered the elves had drunk all the cider and hidden the liquor. In his frustration, he accidentally dropped the cider jug, and it broke into hundreds of little glass pieces all over the kitchen floor. He went to get the broom and found the mice had eaten all the straw off the end of the broom.

Just then the doorbell rang, and irritated Santa marched to the door, yanked it open, and there stood a little angel with a great big Christmas tree. The angel said very cheerfully, "Merry Christmas, Santa. Isn't this a lovely day? I have a beautiful tree for you. Where do you want me to stick it?"

And so began the tradition of the little angel on top of the Christmas tree.

The Three Wise Men

We three kings of Orient are

Bearing gifts we traverse afar

Field and fountain, moor and mountain

Following yonder star.

The Christmas carol "We Three Kings" tells the story of the Wise Men from the East who brought gifts to the baby Jesus. But who were the Three Kings, otherwise known as the Magi or Wise Men, and were they really royal?

According to tradition dating back to medieval times, their names were Balthasar, Gaspar (or Casper), and Melchior. They are often depicted as representing the three races. The Bible says they came from the East, but exactly where is not known. Arabia, Babylon, and Persia are popular choices. According to one tradition, Balthasar was king of Arabia, Gaspar was king of India, and Melchior was king of Persia.

An 8th century saint, Bede the Venerable, described the kings this way: "The first was called Melchior; he was an old man, with white hair and long beard; he offered gold to the Lord as to his king. The second, Gaspar by name, young, beardless, of ruddy hue, offered to Jesus his gift of incense, the homage due to Divinity. The third, of black complexion, with heavy beard, was called Baltasar; the myrrh he held in his hands prefigured the death of the Son of man."

The Bible, however, does not describe the kings or reveal their names. In fact, it does not call them kings at all, but simply Magi, or Wise Men. The Magi were a Median priestly caste who rose to power in ancient Persia (today's Iran). Their religion, Zoroastrianism, was founded around the 6th century BC by a Median man named Zoroaster. The Magi were held in awe as highly educated scientists and scholars who could interpret dreams and even control demons.

The Magi of the Nativity were probably important men in their own country and may well have been of noble or royal birth, but there is no evidence to back this up. The idea that they were kings arose in the Middle Ages and was based on earlier Biblical prophecies about kings bearing gifts.

We can't even say for sure how many Magi visited Jesus. The Bible does not specify three. According to Eastern tradition, the number was 12. The Western tradition of three wise men probably arises from the three gifts they brought to Jesus.

Tradition has it that in later years the Wise Men were baptized by St. Thomas the Apostle; all three became bishops and spent the rest of their lives spreading Christianity, and at the end of their lives they each saw the Star of Bethlehem again and were reunited. One legend says that they were over 100 years old when they met to celebate Christmas, then died within a few days of each other.

Their purported remains were brought to Constantinople by St. Helena, mother of the 4th century Roman emperor Constantine the Great, and later moved to Milan. In the 12th century they fell into the hands of Holy Roman emperor Frederick Barbarossa, who gave them to the Archbishop of Cologne, Germany. The archbishop built a cathedral for the relics in Cologne, where they remain to this day.

The carol "We Three Kings" was written in 1857 by an American minister, John Henry Hopkins Jr., for use in a Christmas pageant.

The Origins of Santa Claus - St Nicholas

The true story of Santa Claus begins with Nicholas, who was born during the third century in the village of Patara. At the time the area was Greek and is now on the southern coast of Turkey. His wealthy parents, who raised him to be a devout Christian, died in an epidemic while Nicholas was still young. Obeying Jesus' words to "sell what you own and give the money to the poor," Nicholas used his whole inheritance to assist the needy, the sick, and the suffering. He dedicated his life to serving God and was made Bishop of Myra while still a young man. Bishop Nicholas became known throughout the land for his generosity to the those in need, his love for children, and his concern for sailors and ships. Under the Roman Emperor Diocletian, who ruthlessly persecuted Christians, Bishop Nicholas suffered for his faith, was exiled and imprisoned. The prisons were so full of bishops, priests, and deacons, there was no room for the real criminals—murderers, thieves and robbers. After his release, Nicholas attended the Council of Nicaea in AD 325. He died December 6, AD 343 in Myra and was buried in his cathedral church, where a unique relic, called manna, formed in his grave. This liquid substance, said to have healing powers, fostered the growth of devotion to Nicholas. The anniversary of his death became a day of celebration, St. Nicholas Day. Through the centuries many stories and legends have been told of St. Nicholas' life and deeds. These accounts help us understand his extraordinary character and why he is so beloved and revered as protector and helper of those in need. One story tells of a poor man with three daughters. In those days a young woman's father had to offer prospective husbands something of value—a dowry. The larger the dowry, the better the chance that a young woman would find a good husband. Without a dowry, a woman was unlikely to marry. This poor man's daughters, without dowries, were therefore destined to be sold into slavery. Mysteriously, on three different occasions, a bag of gold appeared in their home-providing the needed dowries. The bags of gold, tossed through an open window, are said to have landed in stockings or shoes left before the fire to dry. This led to the custom of children hanging stockings or putting out shoes, eagerly awaiting gifts from Saint Nicholas. Sometimes the story is told with gold balls instead of bags of gold. That is why three gold balls, sometimes represented as oranges, are one of the symbols for St. Nicholas. And so St. Nicholas is a gift-giver One of the oldest stories showing St. Nicholas as a protector of children takes place long after his death. The townspeople of Myra were celebrating the good saint on the eve of his feast day when a band of Arab pirates from Crete came into the district. They stole treasures from the Church of Saint Nicholas to take away as booty. As they were leaving town, they snatched a young boy, Basilios, to make into a slave. The emir, or ruler, selected Basilios to be his personal cupbearer, as not knowing the language, Basilios would not understand what the king said to those around him. So, for the next year Basilios waited on the king, bringing his wine in a beautiful golden cup. For Basilios' parents, devastated at the loss of their only child, the year passed slowly, filled with grief. As the next St. Nicholas' feast day approached, Basilios' mother would not join in the festivity, as it was now a day of tragedy. However, she was persuaded to have a simple observance at home—with quiet prayers for Basilios' safekeeping. Meanwhile, as Basilios was fulfilling his tasks serving the emir, he was suddenly whisked up and away. St. Nicholas appeared to the terrified boy, blessed him, and set him down at his home back in Myra. Imagine the joy and wonderment when Basilios amazingly appeared before his parents, still holding the king's golden cup. This is the first story told of St. Nicholas protecting children—which became his primary role in the West. Another story tells of three theological students, traveling on their way to study in Athens. A wicked innkeeper robbed and murdered them, hiding their remains in a large pickling tub. It so happened that Bishop Nicholas, traveling along the same route, stopped at this very inn. In the night he dreamed of the crime, got up, and summoned the innkeeper. As Nicholas prayed earnestly to God the three boys were restored to life and wholeness. In France the story is told of three small children, wandering in their play until lost, lured, and captured by an evil butcher. St. Nicholas appears and appeals to God to return them to life and to their families. And so St. Nicholas is the patron and protector of children. Several stories tell of Nicholas and the sea. When he was young, Nicholas sought the holy by making a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. There as he walked where Jesus walked, he sought to more deeply experience Jesus' life, passion, and resurrection. Returning by sea, a mighty storm threatened to wreck the ship. Nicholas calmly prayed. The terrified sailors were amazed when the wind and waves suddenly calmed, sparing them all. And so St. Nicholas is the patron of sailors and voyagers. Other stories tell of Nicholas saving his people from famine, sparing the lives of those innocently accused, and much more. He did many kind and generous deeds in secret, expecting nothing in return. Within a century of his death he was celebrated as a saint. Today he is venerated in the East as wonder, or miracle worker and in the West as patron of a great variety of persons-children, mariners, bankers, pawn-brokers, scholars, orphans, laborers, travelers, merchants, judges, paupers, marriageable maidens, students, children, sailors, victims of judicial mistakes, captives, perfumers, even thieves and murderers! He is known as the friend and protector of all in trouble or need. Sailors, claiming St. Nicholas as patron, carried stories of his favor and protection far and wide. St. Nicholas chapels were built in many seaports. As his popularity spread during the Middle Ages, he became the patron saint of Apulia (Italy), Sicily, Greece, and Lorraine (France), and many cities in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Russia, Belgium, and the Netherlands. Following his baptism in Constantinople, Vladimir I of Russia brought St. Nicholas' stories and devotion to St. Nicholas to his homeland where Nicholas became the most beloved saint. Nicholas was so widely revered that more than 2,000 churches were named for him, including three hundred in Belgium, thirty-four in Rome, twenty-three in the Netherlands and more than four hundred in England. Nicholas' tomb in Myra became a popular place of pilgrimage. Because of the many wars and attacks in the region, some Christians were concerned that access to the tomb might become difficult. For both the religious and commercial advantages of a major pilgrimage site, the Italian cities of Venice and Bari vied to get the Nicholas relics. In the spring of 1087, sailors from Bari succeeded in spiriting away the bones, bringing them to Bari, a seaport on the southeast coast of Italy. An impressive church was built over St. Nicholas' crypt and many faithful journeyed to honor the saint who had rescued children, prisoners, sailors, famine victims, and many others through his compassion, generosity, and the countless miracles attributed to his intercession. The Nicholas shrine in Bari was one of medieval Europe's great pilgrimage centers and Nicholas became known as "Saint in Bari." To this day pilgrims and tourists visit Bari's great Basilica di San Nicola. Through the centuries St. Nicholas has continued to be venerated by Catholics and Orthodox and honored by Protestants. By his example of generosity to those in need, especially children, St. Nicholas continues to be a model for the compassionate life. Widely celebrated in Europe, St. Nicholas' feast day, December 6th, kept alive the stories of his goodness and generosity. In Germany and Poland, boys dressed as bishops begged alms for the poor—and sometimes for themselves! In the Netherlands and Belgium, St. Nicholas arrived on a steamship from Spain to ride a white horse on his gift-giving rounds. December 6th is still the main day for gift giving and merrymaking in much of Europe. For example, in the Netherlands St. Nicholas is celebrated on the 5th, the eve of the day, by sharing candies (thrown in the door), chocolate initial letters, small gifts, and riddles. Dutch children leave carrots and hay in their shoes for the saint's horse, hoping St. Nicholas will exchange them for small gifts. Simple gift-giving in early Advent helps preserve a Christmas Day focus on the Christ Child.

Merry Christmas Everybody!

Ireland's most Haunted Castle

By Gearóid Ó Broin
taken from Ireland's Own Summer Annual 1988 Leap Castle, between Ballybritt and Clareen on the road to Kinnitty is regarded as Ireland's most haunted castle. The O'Carrolls, princes of Ely, built it as their main stronghold in 1250 A.D. It was erected on a most commanding site facing the Great Pass through the Slieve Bloom Mountains to the province of Munster. It has a massive tower and walls nine feet thick. The earliest recorded name of the locality is Léim UÍ Bhanáin (O'Bannon's Leap). The Bannons were the "secondary chieftains" of the territory, being subject to the ruling O'Carrolls. Gory murders are said to have taken place there - notably at a window high up in the tower. The Annals of the Four Masters record that the Earl of Kildare tried unsuccessfully to seize the castle in 1513 A.D. Fiercely attacking it three years later he managed to partially demolish it. But by 1557 the O'Carrolls regained possession. Some years later the Earl of Essex besieged it. But greater misfortunes were yet to come! Following the death of Mulrooney O'Carroll in 1532, bitter internecine struggles plagued the O'Carroll clan. Horrid fratricide murders took place through bitter rivalry for the chieftainship. Brother treacherously slayed brother within the castle confines. The "Agents of the Crown" were not slow to take full advantage of the O'Carroll's deplorable disunity, and promptly annexed their lands to the "territories of the Crown". According to local tradition a daughter of the O'Carroll Chieftain fell in love with an English Captain named Darby who was held prisoner in the O'Carrolls in the castle dungeon. She smuggled supplies of food to him, and eventually arranged his escape. As the lovers stealthily made their way out her brother chanced to meet them on the narrow staircase, and noisily raised the alarm. Darby promptly plunged his sword through the body of the youthful O'Carroll. The escapers then leapt to freedom from the battlements. Through the death of her brother she became heiress of Leap Castle which thus came into the possession of the Darby family, following her marriage to the English captain. Jonathan Darby, their son, who eventually became "Titulado of Leap" in 1659, was an avowed Royalist. During the Civil War he is said to have hidden his precious treasures in the grounds of the castle, aided by two servants whom he subsequently murdered to prevent them revealing the hiding place. From 1674 Darby served as. High Sheriff of Co. Offaly, and eleven years later he died at Leap. His descendants continued to maintain possession of it. During the mid 18th century his great grandson, also named Jonathan Darby, had the castle remodelled, giving a Gothic appearance to the windows and doorways of the medieval keep. The castle was badly burnt during the turbulent era of 1922. Leap Castle now has a weird reputation for frightening hauntings. An evil-smelling creature, half human and half beast, exuding an abominable stench, is said to roam its lower regions. Curious locals are said to have experienced them unwittingly. Moreover, the gruesome discovery of heaps of human bones on the floor of the wailed-up dungeon or oubliette, and of hooks (used for executions or hangings) in an adjacent field, known locally as "Hangman's Acre", have given added credence to the tales of these manifestations. There is certainly an extraordinary eeriness about the place which intrudes on the senses as one approaches the tower. Leap Castle now belongs to an Australian who plans to restore it and so dispel the obnoxious spectre. It was inevitable that the descendants of the Derby-O'Carroll elopement would find themselves in action on a wider stage than the Slieve Bloom Mountains and so they did. Henry Desterre Derby (above left) probably a great grandson of the original Derby of Leap, became an Admiral in command of H.M.S. Bellerophon which saw action under Nelson against Napoleon's fleet in the Battle of the Nile in 1798 where he was wounded. Nelson's personal get-well letter is an interesting sidelight to the Offaly man's reputation. Henry Desterre Derby's nephew John Nelson Derby who lived from 1800 to 1882, was a deeply religious man and a devotee of Cardinal Newman to such an extent that he founded the Plymouth Brethren

Padre Pio

Born: May 25, 1887 Died: September 23, 1968 Canonized: June 16, 2002 Feast Day: September 23 Patron Saint of: civil defense volunteers St. Padre Pio (Francesco Forgione) was born on May 25, 1887 in Pietrelcina, Italy. Even as a child, Francesco had already shown signs of extraordinary gifts of grace. At the age of five, he dedicated his life to God. From his early childhood he showed a kind of recollection of spirit and a love for the religious life. His mother described him as a quiet child who, from his earliest years loved to go to church and to pray. Because he was able to see and communicate with, not only his guardian angel but also with Jesus and the Virgin Mary, as a young boy, Francesco assumed everyone had the same experiences. Once a woman who noticed his spiritual demeanor asked him, "When did you consecrate your life to God? Was it at your first holy communion?" and he answered, "Always, daughter, always." When he was fifteen years old, he was admitted to the novitiate of the Capuchin friars of Morcone and was admired by his superiors and his fellow students for his exemplary behavior and his piety. One of the novices stated, "There was something which distinguished him from the other students. Whenever I saw him, he was always humble, recollected, and silent. What struck me most about Brother Pio was his love of prayer." On August 10, 1910, at the age of twenty-three, Padre Pio was ordained to the priesthood. The celebration of the Holy Mass was for Padre Pio, the center of his spirituality. His Mass could last one and a half hours or more, due to the long pauses of contemplative silence into which he entered at various parts of the Holy Sacrifice. Everything about him spoke of how intensely he was living the Passion of Christ. The parish priest in Pietrelcina called Padre Pio's Mass, "an incomprehensible mystery." When asked to shorten his Mass, Padre Pio replied, "God knows that I want to say Mass just like any other priest, but I cannot do it." His parishioners were deeply impressed by his piety and one by one they began to come to him, seeking his counsel. For many, even a few moments in his presence, proved to be a life changing experience. As the years passed, pilgrims began to come to him by the thousands from every corner of the world, drawn by the spiritual riches which flowed so freely from his extraordinary ministry. To his spiritual children he would say, "It seems to me as if Jesus has no other concern but the sanctification of your soul." Padre Pio is understood above all else as a man of prayer. Before he was thirty years old he had already reached the summit of the spiritual life known as the "unitive way" of transforming union with God. He prayed almost continuously. His prayers were usually very simple. He loved the Rosary and recommended it to others. To someone who asked him what legacy he wished to leave to his spiritual children, his brief reply was, "My child, the Rosary." He had a special mission to the souls in Purgatory and encouraged everyone to pray for them. He used to say, "We must empty Purgatory with our prayers." Padre Agostino Daniele, his confessor, director, and beloved friend said, "One admires in Padre Pio, his habitual union with God. When he speaks or is spoken to, we are aware that his heart and mind are not distracted from the thought and sentiment of God." Padre Pio suffered from poor health his entire life, once saying that his health had been declining from the time he was nine years old. No doctor was ever able to give a satisfactory explanation for the illnesses that plagued him throughout his life. He was afflicted with extremely high and frequent fevers, chest pains, serious respiratiory and digestive problems, severe headaches, extreme weakness, crippling rheumatism, and more. Although the cause of his prolonged and debilitating illnesses remained a mystery, he did not become discouraged. He offered all of his bodily sufferings to God as a sacrifice, to help save souls. He experienced many spiritual sufferings as well. "I am fully convinced that my illness is due to a special permission of God," he said. Shortly after his ordination he wrote a letter to his spiritual director, Padre Benedetto Nardella, in which he asked permission to offer his life as a victim for sinners. He wrote, "For a long time I have felt in myself a need to offer myself to the Lord as a victim for poor sinners and for the souls in Purgatory. This desire has been growing continually in my heart so that it has now become what I would call a strong passion. . .It seems to me that Jesus wants this." The marks of the stigmata, the wounds of Christ, appeared on Padre Pio's body, on Friday, September 20, 1918, while he was praying before a crucifix and making his thanksgiving after Mass. He was thirty-one years old and became the first stigmatized priest in the history of the Church. With resignation and serenity, he bore the wounds for fifty years. In addition, God endowed Padre Pio with many extraordinary charisms including the gift of healing, bilocation, prophecy, miracles, discernment of spirits, the gift of conversions, the ability to read hearts, the gift of tongues (the ability to speak and understand languages that he had never studied), the ability to abstain beyond man's natural powers from both sleep and nourishment and the fragrance which emanated from his wounds and which frequently announced his invisible presence. When a friend once questioned him about these charisms, Padre Pio said, "You know, they are a mystery to me, too." Although he received more than his share of spiritual gifts, he never sought them, never felt worthy of them. He never put the gifts before the Giver. He always remained humble, constantly at the disposal of Almighty God. His day began at 2:30 a.m. when he would rise to begin his prayers and to make his preparation for Mass. He was able to carry on a busy aposotlate with only a few hours of sleep each night and an amount of food that was so small (300-400 calories a day) that his fellow priests stated that it was not enough food even to keep a small child alive. Between Mass and confessions, his workday lasted 19 hours. He very rarely left the monastery and never took even a day's vacation from his grueling schedule in 51 years. He never read a newspaper or listened to the radio. He cautioned his spiritual children against watching television. Padre Pio' CellIn his monastery in San Giovanni Rotondo, he lived the Franciscan spirit of poverty with detachment from self, from posessions, and from comforts. He always had a great love for the virtue of chastity, and his behavior was modest in all situations and with all people. In his lifetime, Padre Pio reconciled thousands of men and women back to their faith. The prayer groups that Padre Pio established have now spread throughout the world. He gave a new spirit to hospitals by founding one which he called "The Home for the Relief of Suffering." He saw the image of Christ in the poor, the suffering, and the sick and gave himself particularly to them. He once said, "Bring God to all those who are sick. This will help them more than any other remedy." Serene and well prepared, he surrendered to Sister Death on September 23, 1968 at the age of eighty-one. He died as he had lived, with his Rosary in his hands. His last words were Gesú, Maria–Jesus, Mary, which he repeated over and over until he breathed his last. He had often declared, "After my death I will do more. My real mission will begin after my death." In 1971, Pope Paul VI, speaking to the superiors of the Capuchin order, said of Padre Pio, "What fame he had. How many followers from around the world. Why? Was it because he was a philosopher, a scholar, or because he had means at his disposal? No, it was because he said Mass humbly, heard confessions from morning until night and was a marked representative of the stigmata of Our Lord. He was truly a man of prayer and suffering." The Pope at the tomb of Padre PioIn one of the largest liturgies in the Vatican's history, Pope John Paul II canonized Padre Pio on June 16, 2002. During his homily John Paul recalled, how, in 1947, as a young priest he journeyed from Poland to make his confession to Padre Pio. "Prayer and charity–this is the most concrete synthesis of Padre Pio's teaching," the Pope said. Drawing approximately 8 million pilgrims each year, San Giovanni Rotondo, where St. Padre Pio lived and is now buried, is second only to the shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico in its number of annual visitors. St. Padre Pio's whole life might be summed up in the words of St. Paul to the Colossians, "Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the Church." [Thanks to Padre Pio Devotions (http://www.padrepiodevotions.org/) for this contribution]

William Joyce - Lord Haw-Haw

Julius Streicher, who was executed at Nuremburg in 1946, had given himself the title "Jew-Baiter Number 1." If there was ever a figure in British politics who deserved the title it was William Joyce, alias Lord Haw-Haw. Dismissed by many historians as a comical, almost pathetic, figure in reality his life was far more complex. Joyce was born in New York of an Irish father and an English mother on 24 April 1906, but when he was only three the family moved to Ireland, settling in County Mayo. Joyce was educated at a convent school in Galway – the College of St. Ignatius Layola. It was here that during a fist fight with another boy that Joyce had his nose broken. He kept quiet about the injury and his nose never properly set – giving him the nasal broken drawl so familiar in his later broadcasts from Germany. The Joyce family were in Ireland at the time of the Sinn Fein insurrections and because they were Conservative and pro-Union they were very unpopular with the rebels. Joyce's early life was marked by violence, including an attack on his father's business and attacks on the family home by Sinn Feiners. When the British Prime Minister Lloyd George announced the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921 and the creation of the Irish State the Joyce family left for England. Joyce was then 15 years old. Far from being the puny figure described by the press during World War II, William Joyce was of average height and strongly built. During his youth he excelled at boxing, swimming and fencing. This was to hold him in good stead later when he was involved in many street battles. In 1923 at the age of 17, the same year as Hitler's attempted putsch in Munich and 9 years before Mosley formed the BUF, Joyce joined the 'British Fascisti Ltd' – a movement based on its Italian big brother. At a Conservative meeting at Lambeth's Bath Hall the following year a squad of fascists under the control of William Joyce became involved in a fracas with left-wing agitators. It was here that Joyce received the famous scar that ran down the right side of his face from the lobe of his ear to the corner of his mouth. The scar was received during fighting in the meeting and Joyce had no doubt that the perpetrators were "Jewish Communists." This incident had a marked bearing on his outlook. He was reminded of his hatred of "the enemy" every time he looked in the mirror until the day he died. Joyce left British Fascisti Ltd in 1925 seeing no way forward through their policies. He joined the Conservative Party, but left after a short period in 1931. He called the old men of the Conservative Party weak, grasping and dishonest men, who were betraying the nation to the agents of International Finance. When Sir Oswald Mosley launched the British Union of Fascists on 1 October 1932, Joyce was quick to join. He made a name for himself as a dedicated activist and a good speaker very quickly. A. K. Chesterton described Joyce as a "brilliant writer, speaker who addressed hundreds of meetings... always revealing the iron spirit of Fascism." In 1934 Joyce was promoted to the BUF's Director of Propoganda. With his savage anti-semitism and shrill voice at meetings Joyce began to alarm some members of the BUF. When asked about Jewish involvement in class war in 1934 Joyce snapped "I don't regard the Jews as a class I regard them as a privileged misfortune." It was during this time that the numbers protesting at major BUF meetings increased from a few dozen to a few thousand. Some of the enemies of the BUF came equipped with knuckle-dusters, metal bars and potatoes encrusted with razor blades. William Joyce gained the reputation of a savage fighter and was always the first to dive into a fracas with knuckle-duster at the ready.† The image of "Jewish Communists" who scarred his face was always in the back of his mind and he wanted revenge. Standing on his soapbox in Blackshirt battledress – a buttoned black suit with a high-necked pullover – his left hand in his pocket and his right clutching the microphone – he fed on the tension and heckling like a drug. The June 1934 Olympia conference which turned into a bloody fight and the violent rhetoric of Joyce destroyed the image of respectability that Mosley and the BUF were striving for. But this did not prevent Joyce from being appointed Deputy Leader of the BUF. Mosley and Joyce were completely different in character. Mosley was relaxed, humorous and charming whereas Joyce was impatient, intense and bad-tempered. Joyce's departure from the BUF in April 1937 came as a result of Joyce being dismissed from the salaried staff of the BUF. Bad election results, falling support and lack of money led to a BUF staff reduction of 143 to approximately 30. This and Joyce's personal differences with Mosley led Joyce to form the British National Socialist League. Despite Joyce having been Deputy Leader of the BUF between 1933 and 1937 and a brave fighter and powerful orator, Mosley snubbed him in his autobiography and denounced him as a traitor because of his wartime activities. When Joyce left the BUF in April 1937 he took approximately 60 members with him; the numbers dwindled quickly to about 20. Although the membership was very small they were loyal and worked extremely hard, and the League survived. It held many street-corner meetings, which resulted in many fights – fights which Joyce never shrunk from. Joyce made no effort to hide his admiration for Adolf Hitler and praised him whenever possible. Joyce had made up his mind long before World War II that it was the result of provocation by Jewry and International Finance. On 26 August 1939, approximately a week before the outbreak of war, Joyce and his family fled to Berlin after a tip-off that, under the soon to be introduced emergency powers, he would be interned for the duration of the war. It was an act that would lead eventually to his death and denouncement by many, including Mosley, as a traitor. Rightly or wrongly Joyce was adamant that Britain was being led into another pointless war and Neville Chamberlain's, and subsequently Winston Churchill's, governments were betraying their people. Friends in Germany put Joyce in contact with Dr. Erich Hetzler – Private Secretary to Germany's Foreign Minister von Ribbentrop. Two weeks after the outbreak of war he was appointed Editor and speaker for the German transmitters for Europe at Berlin's Charlottenburg. Joyce was still only 33 years old. His wartime broadcasts to England became infamous – he was nicknamed 'Lord Haw-Haw' by a Daily Express journalist because of his aristocratic nasal drawl. Unknown to the public at this time, his image was very different from the scar-faced fascist thug he was usually portrayed as. Although it was illegal to listen to his broadcasts in Britain they became very popular with British listeners. They always began with the words "Germany calling Germany calling," which because of Joyce's broken nose sounded like: "Jarmany calling, Jarmany calling." During his heyday Joyce had almost as many listeners as the BBC – and he caused alarm with his tales of a Fifth Column in Britain and his talks on how to treat bombing wounds. He caused panic with his apparently accurate descriptions of Town Hall clocks that had stopped and how many steps there were in a particular church steeple. After the Battle of Britain and the invasion of Russia, Joyce's broadcasts lost more and more listeners in Britain – but he still remained the number one broadcaster in Berlin and his anti-semitism never faded in its virulence – continuing to blame the war on "Jewish International Finance." For his efforts Joyce continued to live a comfortable life in Berlin and in September 1944 was awarded the Cross of War Merit 1st Class with a certificate signed by Adolf Hitler. As the war worsened he began to drink heavily and his marriage became a joke with both his wife and he having numerous affairs. During the final stages of the war, with the Red Army approaching Berlin, Joyce moved to Hamburg. He made a final broadcast on 30 April 1945 – warning that the war would leave Britain poor and barren now that she had lost all her wealth and power in 6 years of war, leaving the Russians in control of most of Europe. He signed off with a final defiant "Heil Hitler." Joyce was captured while going through a wood near Flensburg after the war; he received a bullet wound to the leg in the process. Joyce's fate at the gallows was then merely a formality and the British press whipped up all the hysteria they could – reminding people that he was a snarling traitor. The British Government passed the Treason Act 1945 the day before Joyce was flown back to Britain. Although Joyce was born in the USA, brought up in Ireland and took German nationality on 26 September 1939, he was charged with treason from 3 September 1939 to 2 July 1940, the date his British passport ran out, and sentenced to death. Joyce was confined in a death cell at London's Wandsworth Prison. In the cell next door was John Amery, the son of a British lord and the man who had tried to form British expatriates and sympathetic British POW's into a Freicorp to fight on the German side. Joyce was executed five days after Amery on 3 January 1946. He was adamant and defiant to the end. He showed no emotion when confronted by news and scenes from the concentration camps, blaming the deaths on starvation and disease caused by Allied bombing of communication lines. He also scratched a swastika on the wall of his cell whilst awaiting sentence. His last public message reported by the BBC was "In death as in life, I defy the Jews who caused this last war, and I defy the powers of darkness they represent." He was not yet 40 years old when executed. He was buried in an unmarked grave in the grounds of the prison.

Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)

Oscar Wilde was an Irish poet and dramatist whose reputation rests on his comic masterpieces Lady Windermere's Fan (1892) and The Importance of Being Earnest (1895). Among Wilde's other best-known works are his only novel The Picture of Dorian Gray (1891) and his fairy tales especially "The Happy Prince."

Wilde was born on October 16, 1854 in Dublin to unconventional parents - his mother Lady Jane Francesca Wilde (1820-96), was a poet and journalist. His father was Sir William Wilde, an Irish antiquarian, gifted writer, and specialist in diseases of the eye and ear. Wilde studied at Portora Royal School, Enniskillen, County Fermanagh (1864-71), Trinity College, Dublin (1871-74) and Magdalen College, Oxford (1874-78).

In 1878 Wilde received his B.A. and in the same year he moved to London. His lifestyle and humorous wit soon made him the spokesman for Aestheticism, the late 19th century movement in England that advocated art for art's sake. He worked as art reviewer (1881), lectured in the United States and Canada (1882), and lived in Paris (1883). Between the years 1883 and 1884 he lectured in Britain. From the mid-1880s he was a regular contributor for Pall Mall Gazette and Dramatic View. In 1884 Wilde married Constance Lloyd (died 1898), and to support his family Wilde edited in 1887-89 Woman's World. In 1888 he published The Happy Prince and Other fairy tales written for his two sons. Wilde's marriage ended in 1893. He had met a few years earlier Lord Alfred Douglas, an athlete and a poet, who became both the “love” of the author's life and his downfall.

Although married and the father of two children, Wilde's personal life was open to rumors. His years of triumph ended dramatically, when his intimate association with Alfred Douglas led to his trial on charges of homosexuality (then illegal in Britain). He was sentenced to two years hard labor for the crime of sodomy.

Wilde was first in Wandsworth prison, London, and then in Reading Gaol.

(Reading Gaol)

During this time he wrote De Profundis (1905), a dramatic monologue and autobiography, which was addressed to Alfred Douglas.

After his release in 1897 Wilde wrote "The Ballad of Reading Gaol", revealing his concern for inhumane prison conditions. Wilde died of cerebral meningitis on November 30, 1900, penniless, in a cheap Paris hotel at the age of 46.

His last word were – “either that wallpaper goes or I do”

THE RUSH TO OKLAHOMA

William Willard Howard
Harper's Weekly 33 (May 18, 1889):
edited by Gene O'Neill

Watching "Far and Away" again with Tom Cruises bad Irish accent prompted me to give you this story - its true and really happened in 1889

In 1889 the opening to white settlement of a choice portion of Indian Territory in Oklahoma set off one of the most bizarre and chaotic episodes of town founding in world history. A railroad line crossed the territory, and water towers and other requirements for steam rail operation were located at intervals along the tracks that connected Arkansas and Texas. Two places--Oklahoma Station and Guthrie Station--seemed particularly well located for eventual urban development. In the months before the territory was opened, individuals and groups representing townsite companies scouted these locations and prepared town plans for these sites. Congress had failed to provide for any form of civil government. Although the area had been surveyed into the standard system of 6-mile square townships and mile-square sections of 640 acres each, no sites for towns had been designated let alone laid out in streets and lots. The rules simply provided that at noon on April 22 persons gathered at the Arkansas or Texas borders would be permitted to enter, seek a parcel of unclaimed land, and file a claim of ownership in accordance with the applicable Federal laws governing the disposal of the public domain. Federal marshals, railroad personnel, and other persons lawfully in the territory before the opening ("legal sooners") were prohibited from filing land claims--a provision that was more violated than observed. This account is by a trained observer who was present on the day the territory was opened and who remained there for some time afterwards. It appeared less than a month later in the pages of Harper's Weekly and provides a vivid picture of what occurred. It documents the massive stupidity of federal policy with regard to the disposal of the public domain, but it scarcely more than hints at the tragic consequences to follow for the Indian tribes who had been forcibly relocated to Oklahoma under solumn promises that their land would be theirs forever. In some respects the recent settlement of Oklahoma was the most remarkable thing of the present century. Unlike Rome, the city of Guthrie was built in a day. To be strictly accurate in the matter, it might be said that it was built in an afternoon. At twelve o'clock on Monday, April 22d, the resident population of Guthrie was nothing; before sundown it was at least ten thousand. In that time streets had been laid out, town lots staked off, and steps taken toward the formation of a municipal government. At twilight the camp-fires of ten thousand people gleamed on the grassy slopes of the Cimarron Valley, where, the night before, the coyote, the gray wolf, and the deer had roamed undisturbed. Never before in the history of the West has so large a number of people been concentrated in one place in so short a time. To the conservative Eastern man, who is wont to see cities grow by decades, the settlement of Guthrie was magical beyond belief; to the quick-acting resident of the West, it was merely a particularly lively town-site speculation. The preparations for the settlement of Oklahoma had been complete, even to the slightest detail, for weeks before the opening day. The Santa Fe Railway, which runs through Oklahoma north and south, was prepared to take any number of people from its handsome station at Arkansas City, Kansas, and to deposit them in almost any part of Oklahoma as soon as the law allowed; thousands of covered wagons were gathered in camps on all sides of the new Territory waiting for the embargo to be lifted. In its picturesque aspects the rush across the border at noon on the opening day must go down in history as one of the most noteworthy events of Western civilization. At the time fixed, thousands of hungry home-seekers, who had gathered from all parts of the country, and particularly from Kansas and Missouri, were arranged in line along the border, ready to lash their horses into furious speed in the race for fertile spots in the beautiful land before them. The day was one of perfect peace. Overhead the sun shown down from a sky as fair and blue as the cloudless heights of Colorado. The whole expanse of space from zenith to horizon was spotless in its blue purity. The clear spring air, through which the rolling green billows of the promised land could be seen with unusual distinctness for many miles, was as sweet and fresh as the balmy atmosphere of June among New Hampshire's hills. As the expectant home-seekers waited with restless patience, the clear, sweet notes of a cavalry bugle rose and hung a moment upon the startled air. It was noon. The last barrier of savagery in the United States was broken down. Moved by the same impulse, each driver lashed his horses furiously; each rider dug his spurs into his willing steed, and each man on foot caught his breath hard and darted forward. A cloud of dust rose where the home-seekers had stood in line, and when it had drifted away before the gentle breeze, the horses and wagons and men were tearing across the open country like fiends. The horsemen had the best of it from the start. It was a fine race for a few minutes, but soon the riders began to spread out like a fan, and by the time they had reached the horizon they were scattered about as far as eye could see. Even the fleetest of the horsemen found upon reaching their chosen localities that men in wagons and men on foot were there before them. As it was clearly impossible for a man on foot to outrun a horseman, the inference is plain that Oklahoma had been entered hours before the appointed time. Notwithstanding the assertions of the soldiers that every boomer had been driven out of Oklahoma, the fact remains that the woods along the streams within Oklahoma were literally full of people Sunday night. Nine-tenths of these people made settlement upon the land illegally. The other tenth would have done so had there been any desirable land left to settle upon. This action on the part of the first claim-holders will cause a great deal of land litigation in the future, as it is not to be expected that the man who ran his horse at its utmost speed for ten miles only to find a settler with an ox team in quiet possession of his chosen farm will tamely submit to this plain infringement of the law. Some of the men who started from the line on foot were quite as successful in securing desirable claims as many who rode fleet horses. They had the advantage of knowing just where their land was located. One man left the line with the others, carrying on his back a tent, a blanket, some camp dishes, an axe, and provisions for two days. He ran down the railway track for six miles, and reached his claim in just sixty minutes. Upon arriving on his land he fell down under a tree, unable to speak or see. I am glad to be able to say that his claim is one of the best in Oklahoma. The rush from the line was so impetuous that by the time the first railway train arrived from the north at twenty-five minutes past twelve o'clock, only a few of the hundreds of boomers were anywhere to be seen. The journey of this first train was well-nigh as interesting as the rush of the men in wagons. The train left Arkansas City at 8:45 o'clock in the forenoon. It consisted of an empty baggage car, which was set apart for the use of newspaper correspondents, eight passenger coaches, and the caboose of a freight train. The coaches were so densely packed with men that not another human being could get on board. So uncomfortably crowded were they that some of the younger boomers climbed to the roofs of the cars and clung perilously to the ventilators. An adventurous person secured at great risk a seat on the forward truck of the baggage car. In this way the train was loaded to its utmost capacity. That no one was killed or injured was due as much to the careful management of the train as to the ability of the passengers to take care of themselves. Like their friends in the wagons, the boomers on the cars were exultant with joy at the thought of at last entering into possession of the promised land. At first appearances of the land through which the train ran seemed to justify all the virtues that had been claimed for it. The rolling, grassy uplands, and the wooded river-bottoms, the trees in which were just bursting into the most beautiful foliage of early spring, seemed to give a close reality of the distant charm of green and purple forest growths, which rose from the trough of some long swell and went having away to meet the brighter hues in the far-off sky. Throughout all the landscape were clumps of trees suggesting apple orchards set in fertile meadows, and here and there were dim patches of gray and white sand that might in a less barbarous region be mistaken for farm-houses surrounded by hedges and green fields. Truly the Indians have well-named Oklahoma the "beautiful land." The landless and home-hungry people on the train might be pardoned their mental exhilaration, when the effect of this wonderfully beautiful country upon the most prosaic mind is considered. It was an eager and an exuberantly joyful crowd that rode slowly into Guthrie at twenty minutes past one o'clock on that perfect April afternoon. Men who had expected to lay out the town site were grievously disappointed at the first glimpse of their proposed scene of operations. The slope east of the railway at Guthrie station was dotted white with tents and sprinkled thick with men running about in all directions.

Martin Luther King, Jnr

(15 January 1929 - 4 April 1968)

Martin Luther King, Jnr was born on the 15th January 1929, his grandfather began the family's long tenure as pastors of the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, serving from 1914 to 1931; his father has served from then until the present, and from 1960 until his death Martin Luther acted as co-pastor. Martin Luther attended segregated public schools in Georgia, graduating from high school at the age of fifteen; he received the B. A. degree in 1948 from Morehouse College, a distinguished Negro institution of Atlanta from which both his father and grandfather had graduated. After three years of theological study at Crozer Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania where he was elected president of a predominantly white senior class, he was awarded the B.D. in 1951. With a fellowship won at Crozer, he enrolled in graduate studies at Boston University, completing his residence for the doctorate in 1953 and receiving the degree in 1955. In Boston he met and married Coretta Scott, a young woman of uncommon intellectual and artistic attainments. Two sons and two daughters were born into the family. In 1954, Martin Luther King accepted the pastorale of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama. Always a strong worker for civil rights for members of his race, King was, by this time, a member of the executive committee of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the leading organization of its kind in the nation. He was ready, then, early in December, 1955, to accept the leadership of the first great Negro nonviolent demonstration of contemporary times in the United States, the bus boycott described by Gunnar Jahn in his presentation speech in honor of the laureate. The boycott lasted 382 days. On December 21, 1956, after the Supreme Court of the United States had declared unconstitutional the laws requiring segregation on buses, Negroes and whites rode the buses as equals. During these days of boycott, King was arrested, his home was bombed, he was subjected to personal abuse, but at the same time he emerged as a Negro leader of the first rank. In 1957 he was elected president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, an organization formed to provide new leadership for the now burgeoning civil rights movement. The ideals for this organization he took from Christianity; its operational techniques from Gandhi. In the eleven-year period between 1957 and 1968, King traveled over six million miles and spoke over twenty-five hundred times, appearing wherever there was injustice, protest, and action; and meanwhile he wrote five books as well as numerous articles. In these years, he led a massive protest in Birmingham, Alabama, that caught the attention of the entire world, providing what he called a coalition of conscience. and inspiring his "Letter from a Birmingham Jail", a manifesto of the Negro revolution; he planned the drives in Alabama for the registration of Negroes as voters; he directed the peaceful march on Washington, D.C., of 250,000 people to whom he delivered his address, "l Have a Dream", he conferred with President John F. Kennedy and campaigned for President Lyndon B. Johnson; he was arrested upwards of twenty times and assaulted at least four times; he was awarded five honorary degrees; was named Man of the Year by Time magazine in 1963; and became not only the symbolic leader of American blacks but also a world figure. At the age of thirty-five, Martin Luther King, Jnr., was the youngest man to have received the Nobel Peace Prize. When notified of his selection, he announced that he would turn over the prize money of $54,123 to the furtherance of the civil rights movement. On the evening of April 4, 1968, while standing on the balcony of his motel room in Memphis, Tennessee, where he was to lead a protest march in sympathy with striking garbage workers of that city, he was assassinated.

Heard about the time an Irishman stole the English Crown Jewels?

One of the greatest rogues in history was Colonel Thomas Blood, known as the 'Man who stole the Crown Jewels'.

Col Thomas Blood

Thomas Blood was an Irishman, born in County Meath in 1618, the son of a prosperous blacksmith. He came from an Anglo Irish Protestant family, his grandfather who lived in Kilnaboy Castle was a Member of Parliament. The English Civil War broke out in 1642 and Blood went to England to fight for Charles I, but when it became apparent that Cromwell was going to win, he promptly changed sides and joined the Roundheads. When Charles I was defeated in 1653 Blood was made a Justice of the Peace and was granted a large estate, but when Charles II returned to the throne in 1660 Blood fled back to Ireland with his wife and son. Here he joined a plot with the disgruntled Cromwellians and attempted to seize Dublin Castle and take the Governor, Lord Ormonde prisoner. This plot failed and he had to flee to Holland, now with a price on his head. in spite of being one of the most wanted men in England, Blood returned in 1670 taking the name Ayloffe and practised as a doctor in Romford! After another botched attempt to kidnap Lord Ormonde in 1670, where Blood narrowly escaped capture, Blood decided on a bold scheme to steal the English Crown Jewels. The Crown Jewels were kept at the Tower of London in a basement protected by a large metal grille. The Keeper of the Jewels was Talbot Edwards who lived with his family on the floor above the basement.

The Tower of London

One day in 1671 Blood, disguised as a 'parson' went to see the Crown Jewels and became friendly with Edwards, returning at a later date with his wife. As the visitors were leaving, Mrs. Blood had a violent stomach-ache and was taken to Edward's apartment to rest. The grateful 'Parson Blood' returned a few days later with 4 pairs of white gloves for Mrs. Edwards in appreciation of her kindness to his wife. The Edwards family and 'Parson Blood' became close friends and met frequently. Edwards had a pretty daughter and was delighted when 'Parson Blood' proposed a meeting between his wealthy nephew and Edward's daughter. On 9th May 1671, 'Parson Blood' arrived at 7am. with his 'nephew' and two other men. While the 'nephew' was getting to know Edward's daughter the others in the party expressed a desire to see the Crown Jewels.

The English Crown Jewels

Edwards led the way downstairs and unlocked the door to the room where they were kept. At that moment Blood knocked him unconscious with a mallet and stabbed him with a sword.. The grille was removed from in front of the jewels and the crown, orb and sceptre were taken out. The crown was flattened with the mallet and stuffed into a bag, and the orb stuffed down Blood's breeches. The sceptre was too long to go into the bag so Blood's brother-in-law Hunt tried to saw it in half! At that point Edwards regained consciousness and began to shout "Murder, Treason!". Blood and his accomplices dropped the sceptre and attempted to get away but Blood was arrested as he tried to leave the Tower by the Iron-Gate, after unsuccessfully trying to shoot one of the guards. In custody Blood refused to answer questions, instead repeating stubbornly, "I'll answer to none but the King himself". Blood knew that the King had a reputation for liking bold scoundrels and reckoned that his considerable Irish charm would save his neck as it had done several times before in his life. Blood was taken to the Palace where he was questioned by King Charles, Prince Rupert, The Duke of York and other members of the royal family. King Charles was amused at Blood's audacity when Blood told him that the Crown Jewels were not worth the £100,000 they were valued at, but only £6,000! The King asked Blood "What if I should give you your life?" and Blood replied humbly, "I would endeavour to deserve it, Sire!" Blood was not only pardoned, to the disgust of Lord Ormonde, but was given Irish lands worth £500 a year! Blood became a familiar figure around London and made frequent appearances at Court. Edwards who recovered from his wounds, was rewarded by the King and lived to a ripe old age, recounting his part in the story of the theft of the Jewels to all the visitors to the Tower. In 1679 Blood's phenomenal luck ran out. He quarreled with his former patron the Duke of Buckingham. Buckingham demanded £10,000 for some insulting remarks Blood had made about his character. As Blood became ill in 1680 the Duke never got paid, as Blood died on August 24th of that year at the age of 62.

No-one has attempted to steal the Crown Jewels since that day - as no other thief had the audacity of Colonel Blood!

Brian Boru - The Last Great High King of Ireland

The lines between Irish Legend and Irish Myth have often been blurred, especially as the retelling of heroic deeds has been passed on through generations.

Brian Boru was no legend although his life deeds were legendary. He was very much a real man and was in fact the last great High King of Ireland and perhaps the greatest military leader the country has ever known.

Brian Boru was born Brian Mac Cennétig. He mother was sister to the mother of Conor, the King of Connaught.

His brother, Mahon, had become King of Munster in 951, upon the death of their father, Cennétig. Together they fought against the invading Norsemen, who had imposed taxes in Munster. This struggle eventually led to the murder of Mahon in 975 Mahon by the Ostermen (Norse). Brian avenged his brother's death by killing the King of the Ostermen of Limerick, King Ímar.

From this point onwards Brian held Munster as his own, including the pivotal trade-centre of Limerick. He marched into Connaught and Leinster and joined forces with Mael Sechnaill II in 997. Together they divided Ireland between them.

The Norse settlers in Dublin especially ranged against Brian but were defeated at Glen Máma where the King of Leinster was captured. The King of Dublin, Sitric Silkenbeard, was soon defeated too.

In 1002 Brian demanded of his comrade Mael Sechnaill that he recognize him as King of Ireland. Mael agreed, partially because many of his own people viewed Brian as a hero who had restored Ireland to greatness after the Viking invasions. The rule of the UíNéill's was thus at an end as a non-O'Neill was proclaimed as King. The O'Neill's had been rulers for over 600 years.

He earned his name as 'Brian of the Tributes' (Brian Boru) by collecting tributes from the minor rulers of Ireland and used the monies raised to restore monasteries and libraries that had been destroyed during the invasions.

The Norsemen were not done yet however, and once more waged war on Brian Boru and his followers at Clontarf in Dublin in 1014. The King of Connaught, Tadhg O'Conor refused to ally with Brian against the Ostermen although Uí Fiachrach Aidne and Uí Maine did join with him.

Despite the lack of backing from the men of Connaught, the Munstermen won the day but lost Brian Boru in the battle. This battle was a major turning point as it finally subjugated the Norse presence in Ireland who were henceforth considered subordinate to the Kingships of Ireland. Their military threat had been ended and they retreated to the urban centres of Dublin, Waterford, Limerick, Wexford, and Cork. They eventually became completely hibernicized and integrated into Gaelic culture.

After his death and the death of one of his sons, his remaining sons, Tadg and Donnchad, were unable to assume the kingship which was assumed by Mael Sechnaill. He died in 1022 after which the role of High King of Ireland became more of a position in name only, rather than that of a powerful ruler.

Perhaps the best that should be said of Brian Boru therefore, is that he was the last great High King of Ireland.

As tomorrow is the 4th of July, here is a quick one for our American friend and families (and history students)

Why the 4th of July is Celebrated

Most people in the United States celebrate the 4th of July, but do you know exactly why the holiday is so important to their country? Imagine how you would feel if someone older than you (maybe an older sister or brother) kept telling you what to do all of the time and kept taking more and more of your allowance. That is how the colonists felt in the years leading up to 1776. Great Britain kept trying to make the colonists follow more rules and pay higher taxes. People started getting mad and began making plans to be able to make their own rules. They no longer wanted Great Britain to be able to tell them what to do, so they decided to tell Great Britain that they were becoming an independent country. The Congress met in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and they appointed a committee to write a formal document that would tell Great Britain that the Americans had decided to govern themselves. The committee asked Thomas Jefferson to write a draft of the document, so he worked for days, in absolute secret, until he had written a document that he thought said everything important that the committee had discussed. On June 28, 1776, the committee met to read Jefferson's "fair" copy (he put his best ideas together and wrote them neatly.) They revised the document and declared their independence on July 2, 1776. They officially adopted it on July 4, 1776. That is why it is called "Independence Day." Congress ordered that all members must sign the Declaration of Independence and they all began signing the "official" copy on August 2, 1776. In January of the next year, Congress sent signed copies to all of the (13) states.

(the original "Old Glory" being made for George Washington)

The Declaration of Independence is more than just a piece of paper. It is a symbol of the United States independence and commitment to certain ideas. Well, the signers of the Declaration of Independence wanted the citizens of the United States to have a document that spelled out what was important to our leaders and citizens. They wanted to be able to look at the Declaration of Independence and immediately think of the goals they should always be working for, and about the people who have fought so hard to make these ideas possible. The people who signed the Declaration risked being hanged for treason by the leaders in Great Britain. They had to be very brave to sign something that would be considered a crime! So if you ever look at the Declaration of Independence, think about all of the effort and ideas that went into the document, and about the courage it took for these people to stand up for what they knew was right -- independence!

Turf

If green is the color of Ireland, and a soft day the touch, and Guinness the taste, and traditional music the sound, then a turf fire must be the scent of Ireland. Poets love the Irish bog for its metaphoric possibilities; archeologists, for its preservation of the past; the government, for its exploitable natural resources; and the rural Irishman, for its source of free fue (especially true around the 'bridge, Milltownpass, Dalystown/Meedin).

Turf, known also as peat, is partially decomposed vegetable matter, an early form of coal. Farmers who cut their own turf must devote about a week each spring to harvest enough sod to last a winter. A culture has arisen around turf cutting. Sleans (turf-spades) differ from area to area and a person's religion, we are told, can be determined according to whether he digs with the right foot or left. A turf cutter is expected to leave a "straight face" in the cutting bank for the next cutter, reinforcing a sense of community responsibility. The entire family takes part in turf cutting, the weaker members stacking the heavy sods on their ends to dry. A broken back, a girl from Kerry alleges, was preferable to a broken sod. After a summer of drying, the turf sods are hauled on the back of a donkey to the east side of the home for protection from the elements. Before turf was made available commercially, a wet summer meant a cold winter, for 50 days of clear weather are needed to dry the turf harvest.

The bogs of Ireland have yielded some remarkable archeological discoveries. Since the bogs are cool, wet, dark and slightly acidic, they alter the effects of bacteria and fungi so that materials in bogs decay only slowly. One farmer found ten foot wide antlers from an Irish elk, estimated by experts to be 10,000 years old. Even butter stored in a wooden container was found amazingly intact, more useful to grease an axle, however, than to butter a scone. In Mayo, archeologists have studied plank roads built of trees that used to flourish in Ireland, oak, ash, alder, dating back to 148 B.C. The oldest plank road unearthed dates to 1450 B.C., the Middle Bronze Age. One of the most precious bog-preserved discoveries is the Moylough Belt Shrine, which dates to the 8th century. Uncovered during turf-cutting in Sligo in 1944, the belt is on exhibit at the National Museum, Dublin. Seamus Heaney's comment about peat is more than poetic metaphor: "The peat is the dark casket where we have found many of the clues to our past and to our cultural identity." Like so many rich natural resources around the world, the peat bog is threatened. Today peat fuel accounts for 20% of Ireland's energy needs and it is used to produce 21% of its electrical needs. In the West, there is still much evidence of blanket bogs, stacks of peat, blue smoke from chimneys, and the sweet smell of a slow, even-burning turf fire. But in the last 40 years, 200,000 acres of bogland have been drained away. What took 10,000 years to create, modern technology can eradicate in a lifetime. At the end of World War II, the Irish government formed Bord na Mona to industrialize the peat industry. Using machines to harvest and dry the turf, the project has succeeded in creating a market for bricks and pulverized turf and has provided fuel for electrical generating plants. Bord na Mona may have done its job too well. Mechanical harvesting is "no respecter of antiquity" and it harvests turf more efficiently than an Irish family, so efficiently that the Midlands bogs are expected to be depleted in a decade. Conservationists worry about the fact that only 5% of the original 3 million acres of bogland survive in their natural state. Turf, so much a part of everyday life in Ireland, may in our lifetime be preserved only in song and story.

This one is for our Austrailian relatives and friends

NED KELLY

(1854 - 1880)

edited by Gene O'Neill

On a cold June morning, more than 100 years ago a bushranger called Ned Kelly fought his final battle.
He was an outlaw who rode a horse, put on a suit of armour and fought police. Today, Ned Kelly is an Australian legend.
Ned, the eldest of eight children, was born to Irish parents in Victoria in 1854.
He was just twelve years of age when his ex-convict father died and his family settled near relatives at Greta, two hundred and forty kilometres northeast of Melbourne.
In Ned's time it was wild, rugged country and life was hard.
The best land was held by a handful of wealthy so called squatters.
But Ned's family was poor and the only opportunity they had to own land was as 'selectors'.Under the selection system families took up areas of land set aside by the government and paid them off bit by bit.
As part of the scheme they also had to improve the property by clearing it, building a house, putting up fences and growing a crop. If they didn't the land could be taken away.
For many it was an impossible situation with the plots of land too small, and the soil too poor for them to make a living.
Faced with poverty, selectors often stole horses and cattle from the wealthy squatters.
Ned was just aged sixteen, when he was convicted of receiving a stolen horse and served three years in prison before being released in 1874.
Whether or not he was set for a life of crime is hard to say, but one event had a dramatic effect on determining his future.
In April 1878, a police officer called Fitzpatrick accused Ned's mother of attacking him and Ned of shooting him in the wrist.
The first feature film ever made shows a version of events in which Fitzpatrick brings on the attack by assaulting one of Ned's sisters.
But whatever actually happened, the end result of Fitzpatrick's claims was that Mrs. Kelly was sent to prison for three years and a one hundred pound reward was offered for the capture of Ned.
From that time on Ned and his brother Dan kept to the bush.
On the 26 October 1878, together with friends, Joe Byrne and Steve Hart, they came across police camped at Stringy Bark Creek.
Ned believed the police intended to kill him and Dan so he called on them to surrender.
But three of the officers resisted, and in the fight which followed Kelly shot them dead.
The reward for Kelly and his gang rose to two thousand pounds and would later rise to an amazing eight thousand pounds, the equivalent, today, of nearly two millions dollars!
But Ned had many supporters and for almost two years they helped the gang dodge police.
During this time the Kelly gang robbed two banks.
The robberies were important in the making of the Kelly legend.
In defying authority, robbing the rich and by not taking any more lives the gang fitted the popular image of brave and bold bushrangers.
The robberies also give us an idea of how Ned saw himself.
At each robbery he gave one of his hostages a letter in which he explained to the government how he'd been persecuted by police.
He called Constable Fitzpatrick a liar and explained his killing of police at Stringy Bark as self defence.
He also called for justice for the poor, writing...

"I have no intention of asking mercy for myself of any mortal man, or apologising, but I wish to give timely warning that if my people do not get justice and those innocents released from prison, I shall be forced to seek revenge of everything of the human race for the future."

In June 1880 Ned made his last stand.

The Kelly gang was at the Glenrowan Hotel when they were surrounded by police. Prepared to fight, the four bushrangers wore suits of armour made from steel.
During the battle, Ned escaped through the police lines. But rather than fleeing into the bush, he returned a number of times to fight police. He was trying to rescue his brother and friends.
Eventually, he collapsed with more than twenty-eight bullet wounds to his arms, legs, feet, groin and hands.
Beneath his armour a green sash he wore was stained with blood. It was a sash he'd been given many years earlier for saving a drowning boy.
Ned was the only survivor of the siege. Joe Byrne had been shot early on and after Ned's capture police set fire to the Inn and the charred remains of Dan Kelly and Steve Hart were removed.
After Ned recovered he was convicted of the murder of one of the police officers at Stringy Bark, and despite protests by thousands of supporters, was sentenced to death.

In Melbourne Jail, on 11 November 1880 Ned Kelly was hanged. He was twenty-five years old.

Today Ned is everywhere. His giant form welcomes visitors to what is still called Kelly Country, where every ten years the Glenrowan siege is reenacted.
For many, the making of Ned Kelly the legend, raises questions about how Australians see themselves.

For some he's no more than a criminal but for others he continues to be seen as brave and daring and , a bit of a larrikin, someone distinctly Australian.

Edited by Gene O'Neill

17th Century - the Reformation and the burgeoning new "religion" of science was a spreading influence across the face of Europe. The Church of England knew something had to be done to counter a world that might reach beyond its influence. If not now, perhaps sometime in the future. And what better counter to the world of reason, than the world of the supernatural. And what represented the world of the supernatural on this earthly plain? Well, witches of course (and perhaps the Catholics as well for good measure). The call against these women (and men) reached a fiery pitch during this century, perhaps brought originally to fore by King James. His fevered persecutions of those suspected of dabbling in the black arts and their supposed attempts upon his life saw no previous equal in Britain. Indeed, witch trials (and executions) in Scotland alone were second only to those of Germany (with its much larger population). The trial of the North Berwick Witches is particularly notorious. James accused a group of witches and warlocks of trying to sink his ship as he journeyed with his new queen from Denmark to Scotland by casting spells that brought up terrible storms (that did manage to sink his wedding/treasure ship). The tenor of the prosecution and subsequent trial set the stage for what was to come in the decades ahead. 15th Century Touchstone Pope Innocent VIII (pictured below)

issued his notorious Papal bull of 1484: Summis Desiderates. So salacious and shocking was it, that it was used as a preface to the book Malleus Maleficarum (The Hammer of Witches), published by two German Catholic Inquisitors in 1486. In it, it described in detail ritual satanic and sexual aberrations as practiced by witches - women in particular. In fact, pointedly and deliberately so. What else were all these people afraid of? A changing world? Women's place within it? A power structure altering away from the Churches of Europe (the largest landowners on the continent)? 1645-1647 The Reign of Matthew's Terror For such a notorious character, surprisingly little is k nown of Matthew Hopkins prior to his moving onto the bloody stage as (self-appointed) Witchfinder General.
The Civil War was still raging in England at that time and even in areas unaffected by direct military activity, the severity of the times and events carried tremendous weight - fear and economic upheaval are deadly, self-promoting friends, and in the countryside of England, sectarian fears (at the least) unleashed deadly men consumed with a dread focus - the rooting out of witches. There is a notion that Hopkins may have been a lawyer, or at least had some training in the profession, but no one really know. There are rumors and some documentation that he was the son of a minister. What prompted this singularly cruel man? The question begs to be answered, but there are just no good answers. It could have been the lure of money and cheap opportunism; a viscous nature uncluttered by remorse, decency or a bad conscience; perhaps even a misapplied and misinterpreted religious conviction - but that might be giving him far too much the benefit of the doubt. He certainly wasn't alone in his profession - there were others so inclined roving the countryside. We will probably never know. One of the first documented cases instigated by Hopkins was against a woman named Elizabeth Clarke. She was a one-legged widow, or so the story says (many women who came under suspicion of witchcraft were widows, or women who had no strong men or family to protect them), and the Witchfinder General soon had a confession out of her which stated she was a little too familiar with her "familiars" - generally considered to be demons in the guise of earthly beasts (cats, goats, etc.). The women were often searched for a third teat as proof of satanic connections (woe be it to anyone who had a not terribly uncommon superfluous third nipple) - it was this which "nurtured" the demon. Other signs and symbols were various marks found upon the body - any of what we now refer to as beauty marks, or even boils, and other slight skin imperfections (including dry skin splotches) made the witch finders highly suspicious - these were viewed upon as signs of unholy alliance and contracts with the Devil. To prove his case, Hopkins would insert a needle into the spot causing immense pain. In England, witches were often kept awake for days on end

till they confessed. Sleep deprivation is still a technique used by secret police and military forces, as well as in religious cults, in order to break down a person's will. Another well know method to discover a witch, was to bind the suspect and lower (or drop) them into water. If they drowned, they were proven to be innocent. If, by some miracle they did not drown, they were considered guilty - and then drowned deliberately. Other forms of actual execution were hanging, burning, and

drowning. In all it is suspected that Hopkins was directly or indirectly associated with perhaps as many of 200 executions - if not by his direct "examinations", then by his murderous, and seemingly omnipotent influence. He even published a pamphlet explaining how one would uncover a witch. Finally, some influential people and institutions began to tire of Hopkins and his ilk. Parliament itself published their own pamphlet questioning the practices of witch finder's in general. Even some brave clergymen went on record denouncing the rather ridiculous and arbitrary methods used to find these followers of Satan. They even hinted that Hopkins himself might be a witch! Stories vary as to whether or not Hopkins benefited financially from his evil activities - some say he did, others that he was on a holy quest, and monies obtained were slight. The End of the Witchfinder General . As might be expected, there are two conficting stories about the demise of Matthew Hopkins. One states that he returned to his home village, discredited, where he may have died in 1648 of consumption. The other tale - probably, dubious, but wonderfully fitting if true - is that he himself was accused of witchcraft, tied and "floated" - and of course drowned, which proved he wasn't a witch after all!

Americas Most Evil Serial Killer - The Night Stalker - Richard Ramirez

Richard Ramirez career started in June 1984 when he broke into a house and raped then killed a 79 year old woman, Jennie Vincow, in a suburb of Los Angelos.

In February of 1985 he abducted two girls in separate incidents. The first was a six year old girl, taken from a bus stop near her school in a laundry bag, then molested and dumped at a nearby location. Two weeks later Richard took another girl, a nine year old, from her bedroom and raped, then dumped her, nearby.
On March 17 Ramirez was described by the survivor of the first "Valley Intruder" attack. Dayle Okazaki was murdered and her roommate, Maria Hernandez, was badly injured. While leaving the scene of this first killing Ramirez dragged Tsa Lian Yu from her car and proceeded to shoot her several times. Lian Yu was pronounced dead the next day.
Ramirez seemed so impressed with these attacks that he abducted another young girl 2 days later, raping her repeatedly before allowing her to leave, in what would seem like a celebration of the earlier attacks.
March 27 : The Zazzara murders. Ramirez beat 64-year-old Vincent Zazzara to death, then stabs his wife, Maxine ,44, to death. Ramirez proceeded to carve out her eyes and take them with him. The bodies were found two days later by their son.
On May 14 Ramirez broke into another house and killed the owner, William Doi, with a bullet to the head. Doi was able to make it to a phone first though, not allowing enough time for Ramirez to get his wife.
Just two weeks later, on May 29, Ramirez had some fun with an 84-year-old, Mabel Bell, and 81-year-old, Florence Lang(an invalid). Ramirez violently beat them and then scratched satanic symbols over them, and their house. The two were not found until June 2. Bell died on July 15, but Lang survived the attack.
On June 27 Patty Higgins had her throat cut, dying, in another "stalker" attack in her own home. And on July 2, Mary Cannon,77, was killed in similar style. Cannon lived less than two miles from Higgins.
July 7, Joyce Nelson, 61, was beaten to death at her home.
On July 20 Ramirez decided to do a double. First off he killed Chainarong Khovanath, 32, then beat and raped his wife. Not content with that he took their 8-year-old son into the next room with a bottle of baby oil. Mrs. Khovanath was forced to listen as Ramirez raped him, then he stole about $30,000 in cash and jewellery. Ramirez then drove to a neighbouring suburb and murdered Max Kneiding, 69, and his wife Lela, 66. The couple didn't even have time to get out of their bed.
On August 6 Ramirez screwed up and left both his victims wounded. Christopher Peterson,38, and his wife Virginia, 27, where able to give a description of their attacker, which matched that of all other survivors.
August 8, Ramirez strikes again. He kills Elyas Abowath, 35, shooting him then brutally beating his wife. It is after this attack that police announce that they are after a serial killer, linking six of the murders. The press dub Ramirez as "The Night Stalker".
On August 17 Ramirez struck in San Francisco, his first attack outside L.A., killing the amusingly named Peter Pan, 66, and badly beating and then shooting his wife. She survived her wounds and identified the 'stalker' from police sketches taken from the earlier survivors.
August 24, Ramirez wounds Bill Carns, 29, with three bullets to the head. He then raped Carn's fiancee, Inez Erickson, twice. As Ramirez drove away Erickson seen his car. It was an orange Toyota station wagon. A local teenager also noticed the car and it's driver. He took down then number plate and gave it to police. The end was near.
On August 30 police found the car abandoned. From it they lifted a single finger print. Ramirez was identified. They issued a APB for Ramirez and his mug shots were shown on national TV.
The next day Ramirez's picture was on the cover of every major newspaper in the state, and on every TV news bulletin. Ramirez had no idea of this until he walked into a liquor store and seen himself staring at him from that days newspaper. Ramirez panicked as other customers realised that it was him. He ran 2 miles in the next 12 minutes, then decided to steal a car. Unfortunately for Ramirez he was in a particularly tough neighbourhood and ended up being rescue by the police as he was being beaten badly by the local thugs. The 'Night Stalker' was caught.

Ever wonder where they got their names from?

(a) The days of the week and (b) The months of the year. Well now. Monday is from the Latin dies lunae, "day of the moon". Tuesday is modelled on the Latin dies Martis, "day of Mars". Mars was the Roman god of war, but this name did not appeal to the Germanic people, who substituted the name of their own god, Tiu. Wednesday was modelled on Latin dies Mercurii, "day of Mercury". Once more, the Germanic people didn't like the idea of a Roman god giving his name to their week-day, so they substituted the name of their own god, Wotan (or Odin). Thursday followed the pattern. The Romans called the day dies lovis, or the day of Jupiter; the Germanic people equated Jupiter with their own thunder God, Thonar, and called the day after him. Friday was called by the Romans dies Veneris, "the day of Venus", goddess of love; this did not satisfy their northern neighbours, who gave the day the name of their own love goddess, Friya or Frigg. Saturday was a literal translation of dies Saturni, "day of Saturn"; neither it nor Sunday, dies soiis, "day of the sun", was changed by the warlike northerners who gave us the English language.

As for the months, January is from Latin Januarius, from the name of the Roman god of doors and beginnings, Janus. February is from Latin Februarius, based on Februa, the name of an ancient purification ceremony held during this month. Mars is from Latin Martins mensis, "the month of Mars", Roman god of war. April is from Latin Aprilis, probably from Greek Aphro, a shortened form of Aphrodite, Greek goddess of love. May is from Latin Maius, based on Maia, a Roman goddess of bounty and growth. June is from Latin Junius, named from the Roman goddess Juno. July is from Latin Julius, Julius Caesar in fact. August is named from the first Roman emperor, Augustus Caesar. September is from Latin September, from septem, seven. October is from Latin October, based on octo, eight. November is from Latin November, based on novem, nine. And December is from Latin December, based on decem, ten.

Ever wonder where they got their names from (part 2 - more useless info)

For centuries, until about 1550, writers of English didn't know what to call an egg. There were two words for what the hen laid, and there was quite a battle for superiority until in the end egg won the day. The Anglo-Saxons called the thing an aeg By the Middle Ages this had been transformed into an eye, and its plural was eyren. The trouble was that a group of unwelcome visitors had brought with them from Scandinavia another word for the oval-shaped food people liked with their breakfasts: an egg. For hundreds of years people couldn't make their minds up about what to call the blessed thing. Indeed, as late as the end of the 15th century, the printer William Caxton couldn't sleep at night as he worried about which word to use in his books; one way or the other he was bound to upset his readers. Egg finally won the day. The other word, the verb found in to egg on, to encourage somebody by daring him or her to do something, is not related, but it also comes from Scandinavia, from the Old Norse eggja, to incite.

Eamon De Valera (1882-1975)

Eamon de Valera was born in Manhattan, New York, on 14th October 1882. His father was Juan de Valera, a Spaniard who had studied to be a sculptor but due to ill-health he had reverted to teaching music. In September 1881, Juan de Valera had married Kate Coll from Knockmore, near Bruree, Co. Limerick, a young girl who had emigrated to America two years earlier. His father died when de Valera was only two years old and his mother decided that her son would be better off at home in Ireland. She sent him to be reared by his grandmother, Elizabeth Coll, who lived in a labourer’s cottage at Knockmore. De Valera attended the national school at Bruree and from there went to the Christian Brother’s School at Charleville. He walked the seven miles there and back everyday since the Coll’s could not afford a bicycle. At 16, he won a scholarship to Blackrock College, Co. Dublin. He went on to become a professor of mathematics and lectured part-time at Maynooth and various Dublin colleges. At school and later he was a keen rugby player. In 1908, he joined the Gaelic League, the beginning of his life-long devotion to Irish. One of his teachers was Sinead Flanagan, herself a teacher and four years his senior. They fell in love and were married in January 1910. De Valera joined the Irish Volunteers at their first meeting in 1913. He took part in the landing of guns from the Asgard in July 1914. He commanded the Boland’s Mills garrison during the 1916 rising. After the surrender he was sentenced to death, but later it was decided to sentence him to life imprisonment instead. In prison, de Valera began to show his leadership qualities. De Valera was released from prison in June 1917 and was elected Sinn Fein deputy for East Clare. At the Sinn Fein Ard-Fheis in October 1917, de Valera was elected President of the party and at the end of the same month he was elected President of the Irish Volunteers. When the British Government proposed to extend conscription to Ireland in early 1918, de Valera led the successful opposition to this proposal. On 17 May 1918, De Valera was arrested and deported for internment to England, where he was to remain up to February 1919.

While he was in jail he was elected for East Clare in the general election. On 21 January 1919, the assembled deputies met in the Mansion House, Dublin, and formally set up the Government for the Irish Republic. After his escape from Lincoln Jail on 3 February 1919, de Valera returned briefly to Ireland and was elected President of the Dail. Early in June 1919, he travelled to the U.S.A. to seek financial and political support for an independent Ireland. He returned to Ireland in December 1920 to take his place as the President of Ireland. From the very start the Dail had to face a number of serious problems, the lack of experience of the new government. The War of Independence was raging at this time with the regular British forces being assisted by the “Black and Tans”. The “Black and Tans” were ex-army men brought into Ireland to assist the British in the War of Independence. A truce was declared on 11 July and negotiations were opened with the English Prime Minister, Lloyd George, and his government leading up to the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty on 6 December 1921. The Treaty was accepted in the Dail, 64 in favour and 57 against. Arthur Griffith was elected President in the place of de Valera. Under the Public Safety Act of 1923, the Minister for Home Affairs, O’Higgins, had the power to arrest anybody the Government thought to be a threat to law and order. De Valera was arrested in Ennis on 15 August 1923 and not released until July 1924. Despite this, Clare elected de Valera top of the poll in the general election on 27 August 1923. De Valera continued to represent Clare for the rest of his active political career. As part of the Anglo-Irish Treaty which ended the War of Independence all members of the Oireachtas were obliged to take an oath of allegiance (swear loyalty) to the King of Great Britain. Towards the end of 1925, de Valera and the I.R.A. found that they were on opposite sides on this issue and Sinn Fein was split in two. De Valera had made remarks which suggested that if the oath were removed, he would sit in Dail Eireann. In March 1926, he resigned as President of Sinn Fein over this issue and decided to launch a new party. In May 1926 at a meeting in Dublin, de Valera founded a new political party called Fianna Fail. The aims of the party were: A united Ireland as a Republic. To restore the Irish Language and develop the Irish culture. To develop a social system where there is an equal opportunity for all. To have a fair system of land distribution in Ireland. To make Ireland as self-sufficient as possible, with a proper balance between agriculture and other industries. In November 1926, Fianna Fail held its first Ard-Fheis and de Valera was elected President of the new organisation. In the general election of June 1927, his party won 44 seats and Cumann na nGaedhael won 47 seats which was a large drop for them. When de Valera and his fellow Fianna Fail deputies arrived at Leinster House, they were refused permission to take their seats unless they first took the oath. They then retired and Cumann na nGaedhael formed the government. Fianna Fail, however, continued to campaign for the removal of the Oath. In order to spread their ideas, the Fianna Fail party founded a daily newspaper, the Irish Press, in September 1931. Fianna Fail, supported by the Labour Party, formed a Government in 1932, having earlier overcome their objections to the Oath by simply signing a book containing the oath, which they declared an “Empty Formula”. In office, the party finally removed the oath by legislation in 1933. On 1 September 1939, Germany invaded Poland and began the Second World War. On 2 September in Dail Eireann, de Valera declared that the 26 counties would remain neutral. This policy was generally accepted. Many people, while disliking the Nazi regime in Germany, still distrusted Britain and resented the partition of Ireland. The war years became commonly known in Ireland as “The Emergency”. Each person was given a special ration-book due to the shortages of everyday items. The post-war years brought continued economic problems with rising prices, emigration and growing unemployment. This did not make de Valera and his government very popular. When a sudden general election was called by de Valera in 1948, Fianna Fail gained only 68 seats out of 147 and the anti-Fianna Fail parties came together to form a coalition government. In June 1959, he was elected President of Ireland. He received many visitors including Presidents Charles de Gaulle and John Kennedy. He was re-elected President in 1966 at the age of 83. He received honorary degrees from universities in Ireland and abroad. After 14 years as president (the longest time allowed), he retired from office in June 1973.

Eamon de Valera died on 29 August 1975 at the age of ninety-two. He was buried in Glasnevin cemetery after a state funeral.

Following todays historic meeting between Bertie Ahern and Ian Paisley at the site of the Battle of the Boyne - here is a very short history of the battle:

The Battle of the Boyne 1690

On the first of July 1690 near Oldbridge, then a small village five miles East of Drogheda, King William of Orange and King James II fought in one of the most well-known battles in Irish (and European) history. Twenty-six thousand, mainly Irish and French catholic troops under King James, fought against the thirty-six thousand Dutch and English protestant soldiers of King William.

Prior to the battle King James' army had marched through Drogheda and they took up position on the northern face of Donore hill just south of the river. James spent the night in the little church there. On 30th June 1690, William's army arrived from Ardee and set themselves up along the northern side of the river stretching from King William's Glen up towards Drogheda. Before the battle itself King William was riding close to where the obelisk is now and was wounded slightly by James' soldiers. Late in the evening of the first of July the Williamite army, better trained and equipped, began to take control. King James and his army retreated to Dublin through the Pass of Duleek. They were finally defeated at Aughrim in 1691. That defeat decided the fate of Catholicism in Ireland with the introduction of the penal laws. The obelisk erected in 1736 marks the most important point in the battle field.

By Special Request - one for the girls

The Real Story of Princess Pocahontas

Pocahontas was born about 1595-96, a daughter of the Chief over some forty Algonkian Indian villages; these were spread about the shores of the rivers now called the James and the York, which flow into Chesapeake Bay. Her father called Powhatan after his chief village named her Meto-aka and later "Pocahontas", meaning "Playful little Girl". Powhatan’s rule was threatened by the arrival of the Spanish, French and English mariners, exploring for a NorthWest passage to the (East) Indies. After the death of Elizabeth 1, the end of England’s struggles with Spain and Scotland released capital and manpower for trade, and the conversion of the "savages". The English claim to North America was split between two companies; one based in Bristol, took North Virginia. In spring 1607, three London ships appeared in Chesapeake Bay and though permitted to land, Powhatan discouraged their would-be settlers from staying. When they started to build a fort the Indians attacked, but were repulsed by ship’s cannon. The ships sailed home before the winter, leaving 105 men – no women having been brought – who were only saved from starvation by the success of Captain John Smith in obtaining corn from more distant Indians. John Smith was exploring and seeking trade when one of Powhatan’s chiefs captured and killed his two companions. About December 29th 1607, he was brought before Powhatan, and afterwards reported that tribal chiefs held a long consultation. Then two big stones were brought in, and tribal chiefs held him. He was forced down on them with executioners apparently ready to kill him with clubs. At this point, a young girl ran from Powhatan’s side and placed her head over his. He was released and given to understand that he and Powhatan were to be friends and he would be free to return to his base. It seems possible that Powhatan arranged this "sparing of his life" ritual as a prelude to Smith’s being recognised as a friend and being received into the tribe. John Smith recorded that Pocahontas had saved other lives by giving warning of Indian attacks. In 1609, John Smith was elected President of the Jamestown Council. He was badly injured by an explosion of gunpowder, and was put on a ship for home; it was widely believed that he had died. Readers who are familiar with the plot of the Disney cartoon film will note that this is roughly the point at which the story is left. In reality the story of Pocahontas’ life is worth telling further. The settlers' numbers rose to 600 that winter. Then all but 60 died of starvation: but in 1610 a further 150 arrived. That year Pocahontas, when 16 was married to Kocoum, an Indian about whom nothing is known; apparently he died within the next three years. In 1612 the colony was in surprisingly good shape when another Captain, Samuel Argall brought reinforcements, and went exploring for food among Indians on the River Potomac. Hearing that Pocahontas was visiting those tribes he resolved to ransom her for eight English held by Powhatan. Argall used a friendly Indian Chief and his wife to persuade Pocahontas aboard his ship and took her to Jamestown in March 1613. There she was treated as an honoured guest, and assured that she would be in a position to bring back friendship and faith between Powhatan and the English. During the next year, she was in the care of Alexander Whitaker, a Calvinist minister, who began to instruct her in the Christian faith. She also met John Rolfe, then 28, who had arrived with his wife in 1610, possibly from Heacham, Norfolk. On the outward voyage their child, Bermuda, was born and died on that island, and his wife died after arrival in Jamestown. Rolfe brought tobacco seed from Trinidad to produce a leaf more palatable than the coarse local variety. Tobacco saved the colony: in 1616, it exported 2,500 lbs., 1617, 20,000 lbs., and in 1618, 50,000 lbs. John Rolfe fell in love with Pocahontas and obtained permission from the Governor to marry her. Powhatan consented and sent his two sons to witness the marriage. She was first baptised Rebecca, and then the wedding took place in April 1614. They left for England with the Governor, and a dozen Indians, in April 1616. At this stage they had an infant son Thomas. While in England, Pocahontas and her entourage of Indians was the subject of much curiosity. She was presented at the court of King James as "the first Christian ever of the Virginian nation". She also met John Smith again, but it is known that the meeting was a disappointment to her, Smith denying the close association with her father. She was presented to the Bishop of London, at which point it was noticed that that Pocahontas was unwell. In March 1617, the Rolfes prepared to leave London on Argall’s ship the "George". They were to return with Virginia’s Governor and his family. At this stage Pocahontas’ health was deteriorating. She was suffering from tuberculosis, to which the Indians appeared rather prone. Pocahontas was brought ashore at Gravesend, either dead or dying. She is thought to have been buried in the vault beneath the chancel of the local parish church - St. George’s. Her son, Thomas returned to Virginia where he is understood to have numerous descendants. The original church was destroyed by fire on 24th August 1727 and later rebuilt.

Above is the actual entry recoding the burial of Princess Pocahontas at Gravesend, England

Custer's Last Stand Battle of the Little Big Horn

Located in Southern Montana Territory on the banks of the Little Big Horn River, the Battle of the Little Big Horn also known as Custer's Last Stand took place on 25th June 1876.

Historians generally agree that Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer (Custer is often wrongly referred to as General Custer, he had been promoted to acting Brigadeer General during the American Civil War and reverted to Lt Col in 1865) disobeyed General Alfred Terry's orders and split his command of the 7th Regiment of the U. S. Cavalry which numbered over 650 men total into three battalions: A, M, and G were commanded by Major Reno, D, H, and K were under Captain Benteen's command and C, E, F, I and L Cavalry were under Custer's leadership. Custer chose to ignore his scouts' reports about the size of the Indian encampment Located on the banks of the Little Big Horn River was the largest concentration of Indians from six tribes that history has ever recorded. Present were the Cheyenne, Sans Arcs, Miniconjoux Sioux, Oglala Sioux, Blackfeet and Hunkpapa Sioux. It has been estimated that there were anywhere between ten to fifteen thousand Indians with over 2,500 warriors. Captain Benteen and his Cavalry were sent to the west to scour the southern bluffs for Indians, Major Reno was to cross the river and attack the southern end of the Indian camp and Custer was originally going to support Major Reno but later decided to attack the middle of the encampment with his Cavalry. Major Reno never succeeded in attacking the village as he realized an Indian trap was set for him. Major Reno ordered his Cavalry dismounted and went immediately into a defensive formation instead of an offensive attack as ordered by Custer. Losing a third of his Cavalry in the timber and in a running fighting river crossing struggled for survival. The Indians waged an outstanding battle. Major Reno did not regain control of his resources until reaching a bluff on the other side of the river. Major Reno's Cavalry were able to regroup and fight a pitched battle. Survival was being held by together by a thread. Captain Benteen realizing that he had been sent on a fool's mission returned and found Major Reno's men in desperate straits. Regrouping and sharing information, neither Captain Benteen or Major Reno understood why Major Reno had not been supported by Custer's Cavalry as had originally been planned. Satisfied just to hold the bluff for the next three hours Major Reno and Captain Benteen Cavalry held off the Indians until nightfall. The Indians swarmed from everywhere, coming across the river and up into the gullies. Custer never reached the river but was forced to higher ground downstream by the Indians. Offensive position in the front with a defensive rear guard was assumed in the high open ground. Sioux chief, Gall attacked and over ran the rear guard, L and I Companies while Crazy Horse attacked the offensive commanded by Custer himself. In the end all 197 men on the hill were killed that day in less than 20 minutes. The next day, Captain Benteen and Major Reno Cavalry were hammered again by the Indians. The time was midday when suddenly all was quiet and the Indians were gone. On June 27th , General Terry and his Cavalry found Custer and his Cavalry men on the hill. Captain Keogh's horse Comanche severely wounded, was the only survivor.

Genghis Khan

In 1206, a man known as Temujen was crowned Genghis Khan - "emperor of all emperors". His mounted Mongol army swept
out of the steppes of Asia in an apocalyptic wave to conquer two thirds of the known world. Recent finds in the arid lands
of Inner Mongolia are casting a new light on Genghis Khan. Although he was a conquering emperor, Genghis Khan was also a
supreme military strategist and clever politician. He was the product of a rich cultural and artistic heritage dating back 6000 years.

Genghis Khan – The man
Genghis Khan was born in the early 1160's (it has been argued between 1162 and 1167,
but recently agreement has been made for 1167), the son of the Kiyat-Borjigid chieftain Yisugei.
He was named Temujen because, at the time of his birth, his father had captured a Tatar chieftain of the same name.
Legend says that the newborn Temujen had a bloodclot in the palm of his hand, an omen that he was destined to be a hero.
When Temujen was a boy, his father was poisoned by a group of Tatars, and the Kiyat tribe broke up and scattered,
abandoning their chief's family and leaving Temujen's mother, Ho'elun, to raise her children alone.
Accounts of Temujen glorify him as intelligent, brave, and an adept fighter, even from an early age,
and as such a potential threat to the leaders of other tribes of the steppe. As a young man, despite extreme hardships,
he repeatedly met perils and endured crises through force of character and willpower.
In 1189, after he was elected the new leader of the Kiyat, he embarked on a series of military campaigns to unify the peoples of the steppe. In 1206, after a series of skilful victories, Temujen was acknowledged as supreme leader of the steppe at a khuriltai,
a traditional meeting of tribal leaders to decide upon the future military and state matters.
He was given the title of Genghis Khan meaning "emperor of all emperors" or "oceanic ruler".
Genghis Khan's campaigns and those of his descendants led to the creation of an immense empire that stretched from Hungary to Korea.
According to legend, Genghis Khan passed through the Ordos area during his final battle campaign and
was so taken with the beautiful grasslands that he dropped his horsewhip. When attendants went to fetch it,
Genghis told them to let it be and expressed a desire to be buried in the Ordos grasslands.
The attendants buried the horsewhip on the spot and erected a ceremonial stone mount over it. Since the early Qing dynasty (1614-1911), there has been a shrine to Genghis Khan's memory located at the site where this event is purported to have occurred.
Genghis and his army defeat the Tangut kingdom of Xi Xia; the capital of the Jin empire, Zhongdu; and, in 1218, the Kara-Khitai empire.
In 1221, a caravan of Khan's traders were executed. When a Mongol ambassador seeking justice was killed, a bloody war ensued with Khan's army slaughtering entire populations.
In the year 1226,Western Turkistan now belonged to Genghis. He devastated the Xi Xia state. Near the end of the assault on its capital city, Ningxia, the ailing Genghis Khan died - August 18, 1227. Soldiers transported their dead leader back to Mongolia, killing all those who crossed their path. His remains have still not been found.

The Mongolian Empire stretched from Hungary to Korea. It included most of Asia and extensive parts of eastern Europe. It was the second largest land Empire in human history.

Gulliver's Travells

By

Jonathan Swift

Swift was a regular visitor to Gaulstown and indeed wrote a few short verses about his stay there during the reign of George "Nimrod" Rochfort. Swift also concelebrated the wedding mass of Robert 1st Earl of Belvedere, but did you know - it was while sitting on the shore of Lough Ennell (near Mullingar) at the beach in Ladeston, gazing at the folks on the Dysart shore on the beach at Lilliput, that Swift saw his first image of the land of the little people. the folks at Lilliput looked so small from the shore at Ladeston and the greatest works ever produced by Swift were born - Gullivers travells. rather that tell the story here I'll just give you a link to possibly the best Swift site on the web.

http://www.jaffebros.com/lee/gulliver/

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THE CHILDREN OF LIR: AN IRISH LEGEND

There was a time in ancient Ireland when the people believed in magic and in druids and spells. These were the days of the Tuatha De Danann tribe, the Goddess Dana and of Lir, the Lord of the sea.

Lir's wife, Eva, had given him four beautiful children Fionnuala, Aodh, Fiachra and Conn. One day the two eldest, Fionnuala and Aodh, went swimming in Lough Derravaragh a small lake in the beautiful Kingdom of Meath. They met a messenger who told them that they were wanted by their father. When they went home they found their father upset and very disturbed.
'What is wrong father?' they enquired
'Your mother is not of this world anymore....she has gone to rest'
'What do you mean father?' they asked
Lir explained that this was what humans called 'death' but that since they were immortal that their mother had gone to recover, possibly for a thousand years or more. The elder children were to look after their young brothers, Fiachra and Conn.
The children kissed their mother for the last time and then left.
As the children grew Lir's spirits declined until one day he met Aoife, the sister of his wife. Aoife was possessed of magical powers and soon enough it was known that she and Lir would marry. The new family thrived under the influence of their new mother but not for long as guilt and jealousy about the children's real mother took its toll on Aoifes health. She fell into sickness for a year but recovered only to start to become old before here time.
Aoife was a changed woman now and one day suggested that she and the children should visit their grandfather. On the journey they stopped by a lake and she encouraged the children to go for a swim. The four children played happily in the water, not noticing that their stepmother was now standing at the waters edge wearing her fathers magic cloak.
'For too long you children have stood between your father and I, but not for much longer!' she cried.

'We cannot be killed by you...' Aodh replied,
'...we are the Children of Lir and if you harm us our ghosts will haunt you!'

'I’m not going to kill you.....' she shouted
'......but I am going to change you!'

At this she bowed her head and started an incantation. The children looked at each other in fear as they saw a red and gold circle envelope them on the water. They saw Aoife open up her cloak from which the great light of a fireball emerged and hurtled towards them, burning all in its wake.
The fireball hit the water and caused masses of steam to rise about the children and they soon lost all feeling in their legs, arms, shoulders and head. They soon regained their sight only to see Aoife laughing at them. Aodh tried to attack her and flailed his arms about furiously but nothing happened except the splashing of water. He turned to look at his brothers and sister only to see that they had all been turned into the most beautiful swans ever seen.
Aoife scowled at them again and told them that they were to spend nine hundred years as swans, three hundred on Lough Derravaragh, three hundred on the Straits of Moyle and three hundred on the Isle of Inish Glora. To end the spell they would have to hear the bell of the new God.
'I leave you with your voice however, and the most beautiful singing ever heard' she said.
Lir searched for his children that day, but Aoife told him that they had been attacked and killed by wild boars. Fionnuala, now in swan form, approached her father and told him what Aoife had done. Lir was furious and banished Aoife into exile as an evil demon of the air.

Lir faithfully visited his children and the power of his love ensured that their time on the lake was one of bliss. He knew though that the 300 years of the first phase had passed and that the next phase of the spell was about to begin. The swans left for the Straits of Moyle, never to see their father again.
Their time on the Northern Straits of Moyle were not so joyous, with frequent storms separating them, only for they to join up again. Another 300 years passed but they had survived together.
They departed the cold straits and made their way towards Lough Derravaragh. They flew over the land, hoping to find their father's fort, but it was now nothing more than ruins. They wept because they knew the time of the Tuatha De Danann was gone.
They travelled West to the waters of Inish Glora and found refuge on a small saltwater lake where time passed slowly. One day an old man named Mochua visited the lake and the children enquired of him if he was a follower of the new God. The startled man asked if they were the children of Lir and they told him that they were.

'Are you a holy man?' asked Fiacra.
'I am...' came the reply.

The children knew that to break the spell that they would have to hear the bell of a new God toll in their own land.
Mochua told them all about his new God and all about Saint Patrick who had brought his faith to their country.
The children became excited as they knew that this was the new God their stepmother had told them of. They stayed with Mochua for many years who gave them sanctuary in a small chapel which he had built. He intended to make a bell and collected old swords, shields and other metal to make it. The bell was now completed and was about to be rung when another disaster occurred.
A Warrior dressed in armour entered the chapel. He had come for the children who were famed for their wonderful singing.

'I am Liargren, King of Connaught' he shouted,
'My wife desires those swans and I will have them.
Give them here or I will tear this building down.'

Fionnuala looked at Mochua and then said that they would agree to go away with this King. Liargen was amazed to hear her speak but soon composed himself and ordered his men to take the children away. They were being loaded onto a carriage when suddenly, the church bell tolled loudly.
Time seemed to stand still, but in another instant a great white mist had been blown off the nearby lake and enveloped the children as it had done 900 years before. The mist changed into all of the colours of the rainbow before a great wind gusted it away.
The children had at last been transformed back into human form.
Liagren fled immediately, never to return. Mochua baptized the beautiful children who had begun to age rapidly and so it was that the children of Lir, the last of the Tuatha De Danann died soon afterwards, their legend to live on forever.

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The Enduring Mystery of Jack the Ripper

The name 'Jack the Ripper' has become the most infamous in the annals of murder. Yet, the amazing fact is that his identity remains unproven today. In the years 1888-1891 the name was regarded with terror by the residents of London's East End, and was known the world over. So shrouded in myth and mystery is this story that the facts are hard to identify at this remove in time. And it was the officers of Scotland Yard to whom the task of apprehending the fearsome killer was entrusted. They may have failed, but they failed honourably, having made every effort and inquiry in their power to free London of the unknown terror. Over the years the mystery has deepened to the degree that the truth is almost totally obscured. Innumerable press stories, pamphlets, books, plays, films, and even musicals have dramatised and distorted the facts to such a degree that the fiction is publicly accepted more than the reality.

Suspects
Suffice to say genuine suspects are far fewer than the prolific authors of the genre would have us believe. In fact, to reduce them to only those with a genuine claim having been nominated by contemporary police officers, we are left with a mere four. They are:

Kosminski, a poor Polish Jew resident in Whitechapel;
Montague John Druitt, a 31 year old barrister and school teacher who committed suicide in December 1888;
Michael Ostrog, a Russian-born multi-pseudonymous thief and confidence trickster, believed to be 55 years old in 1888, and detained in asylums on several occasions;
Dr Francis J. Tumblety, 56 Years old, an American 'quack' doctor, who was arrested in November 1888 for offences of gross indecency, and fled the country later the same month, having obtained bail at a very high price.
The first three of these suspects were nominated by Sir Melville Macnaghten, who joined the Metropolitan Police as Assistant Chief Constable, second in command of the Criminal Investigation Deptment (C.I.D.) at Scotland Yard in June 1889. They were named in a report dated 23 February 1894, although there is no evidence of contemporary police suspicion against the three at the time of the murders. Indeed, Macnaghten's report contains several odd factual errors.
Kosminski was certainly favoured by the head of the C.I.D. Dr. Robert Anderson, and the officer in charge of the case, Chief Inspector Donald Swanson. Druitt appears to have been Macnaghten's preferred candidate, whilst the fact that Ostrog was arrested and incarcerated before the report was compiled leaves the historian puzzling why he was included as a viable suspect in the first place.
The fourth suspect, Tumblety, was stated to have been "amongst the suspects" at the time of the murders and "to my mind a very likely one," by the ex-head of the Special Branch at Scotland Yard in 1888, ex-Detective Chief lspector John George Littlechild. He confided his thoughts in a letter dated 23 September, 1913, to the criminological journalist and author George R Sims.
For a list of viable suspects they have not inspired any uniform confidence in the minds of those well-versed in the case.
Indeed, arguments can be made against all of them being the culprit, and no hard evidence exists against any of them. What is obvious is the fact that the police were at no stage in a position to prove a case against anyone, and it is highly unlikely a positive case will ever be proved. If the police were in this position in 1888-1891, then what hope for the enthusiastic modern investigator?
To clear the confusion for the new student of the case we have to return to factual basics. Just who was 'Jack the Ripper,' and what were the 'Whitechapel murders'?
The crimes
What has to be understood is the fact that the 'Ripper' murders and the 'Whitechapel murders' are not the same thing, although the latter does include the 'Ripper' murders. So to set the scene, the list of the eleven Whitechapel murders, (all of which at some stage have been looked upon as 'Ripper' murders), was as follows:
Date Victim Circumstances

Tuesday 3 April 1888 Emma Elizabeth Smith Assaulted and robbed in Osborn Street, Whitechapel.

Tuesday 7 August 1888 Martha Tabram George Yard Buildings,
George Yard, Whitechapel.

Friday 31 August 1888 Mary Ann Nichols Buck's Row, Whitechapel,

Saturday 8 September 1888 Annie Chapman Rear Yard at 29 Hanbury Street,
Spitalfields.

Sunday 30 September 1888 Elizabeth Stride Yard at side of 40 Berner Street,
St Georges-in-the- East.

Sunday 30 September 1888 Catherine Eddowes Mitre Square, Aldgate, City of London.

Friday 9 November 1888 Mary Jane Kelly 13 Miller's Court,
26 Dorset Street Spitalfields.

Thursday 20 December 1888 Rose Mylett Clarke's Yard,
High Street. Poplar.

Wednesday 17 July 1889 Alice McKenzie Castle Alley,
Whitechapel.

Tuesday 10 September 1889 Unknown female torso Found under railway arch in Pinchin Street, Whitechapel,

Friday 13 February 1891 Frances Coles Under railway arch, Swallow Gardens, Whitechapel.

Throat cutting attended the murders of Nichols, Chapman, Stride, Eddowes, Kelly, McKenzie and Coles. In all except the cases of Stride and Mylett there was abdominal mutilation. In the case of Chapman the uterus was taken away by the killer; Eddowes' uterus and left kidney were taken; and in Kelly's case, evidence suggests, the heart.
The murders were considered too much for the local Whitechapel (H) Division C.I.D, headed by Detective Inspector Edmund Reid, to handle alone. Assistance was sent from the Central Office at Scotland Yard, after the Nichols murder, in the persons of Detective Inspectors, Frederick George Abberline, Henry Moore, and Walter Andrews, together with a team of subordinate officers. Reinforcements were drafted into the area to supplement the local men. After the Eddowes murder the City Police, under Detective Inspector James McWilliam, were also engaged on the hunt for the killer.
Every one of these murders remained unsolved, no person was ever convicted of any of them. Thus It must be said that we simply do not know which of them for certain were the work of a single killer. Over the years, mainly as a result of Macnaghten's beliefs, the 'Ripper'-victims have been listed as

Nichols
Chapman
Stride
Eddowes
Kelly,
with Tabram having gained favour more recently as a possible sixth in the opinion of some historians.
Non-Ripper murders
Certainly the evidence indicates that Smith was murdered by a group of three young hoodlums. The police investigated a suspicion that Tabram was murdered by a soldier. Mylett, who was not even murdered according to the Assistant Commissioner Robert Anderson, was probably strangled by a client.
McKenzie's wounds indicated yet a different killer.The 'Pinchin Street torso' was undoubtedly an exercise in the disposal of a body, and Coles was possibly murdered by a male companion, James Thomas Sadler, who was arrested and, certainly for a while, suspected of being the Ripper.
The name
Almost certainly the one single reason for the enduring appeal of this rather sordid series of prostitute murders is the name Jack the Ripper. The name is easy to explain. It was written at the end of a letter, dated 25 September, 1888, and received by the Central News Agency on 27 September, 1888. They, in turn, forwarded it to the Metropolitan Police on 29 September.
The letter was couched in lurid prose and began "Dear Boss......" It went on to speak of "That joke about Leather Apron gave me real fits......'' ('Leather Apron' was a John Pizer, briefly suspected at the time of the Chapman murder). "I am down on whores and I shant quit ripping them till I do get buckled..."; and so on in a similar vein. The appended "trade name" of Jack the Ripper was then made public and further excited the imagination of the populace.
The two murders of 30 September 1888 gave the letter greater importance and to underline it the unknown correspondent again committed red ink to postcard and posted it on 1 October. In this communication he referred to himself as 'saucy Jacky...' and spoke of the "double event......." He again signed off as Jack the Ripper. The status of this correspondence is still being discussed by modern historians.

The message on the wall
Immediately after the Eddowes murder a piece of her bloodstained apron was found in a doorway in Goulston Street, Whitechapel. Above the piece of apron, on the brick fascia in the doorway, was the legend, in chalk, "The Juwes are The men that Will not be Blamed for nothing." A message from the murderer, or simply anti-Semitic graffiti? Expert opinion is divided.
The hype
It was at this time that the panic was at its height and the notoriety of the murders was becoming truly international, appearing in newspapers from Europe to the Americas. Even at this early stage the newspapers were carrying theories as to the identity of the killer, including doctors, slaughterers, sailors, and lunatics of every description.
A popular image of the killer as a 'shabby genteel' man in dark clothing, slouch hat and carrying a shiny black bag was also beginning to gain currency. The press, especially the nascent tabloid papers, were having a field day. With no Whitechapel murders in October there was still plenty to write about. There were dozens of arrests of suspects "on suspicion" (usually followed by quick release); there was a police house to house search, handbills were circulated, and Vigilance Committee members and private detectives flooded the streets.
The discovery of a female torso in the cellars of the new police building under construction at Whitehall added to the air of horror on 2 October, 1888. The floodgates to a deluge of copy cat 'Jack the Ripper' letters were opened, and added to the problems of the police.
An unpleasant experience befell the Chairman of the Whitechapel Vigilance Committee, builder George Lusk, on 16 October, 1888, when he received half a human kidney in a cardboard box through the post. With this gruesome object was a letter scrawled in a spidery band and addressed "from Hell ....." It finished. "signed Catch me when you can Mishter Lusk." The writer claimed to have fried and ate the other half of the "kidne," which was "very nise." The shaken Lusk took both kidney and letter to the police. The police, and police surgeon felt it was probably a hoax by a medical student, although others believed it was part of Eddowes' missing organ.
Inquests fuel press speculation
Popular and lengthy inquests were held by Coroner Wynne Baxter on the victims falling under his jurisdiction, which was the majority of them, and he fuelled the press coverage to fever pitch. He was not grudging in dishing out his criticism of witnesses. By the time the murders came to an end in 1891, the proprietors of the Working Lads' Institute had had enough of the noisy, unruly, proceedings and informed Baxter that he could find a different venue for his next inquest.
The murder of Mary Kelly, in November 1888, was accompanied by mutilation of such ferocity that it beggared description, and, for once, left the press short of superlatives. The murder had been committed on the day of the investiture of the new Mayor of London and the celebrations were soon overshadowed by the news of the Ripper's latest atrocity.
The Metropolitan Commissioner of Police, Sir Charles Warren, resigned at the time of the Kelly murder, after a long history of dispute with the Home Office, and was replaced by James Monro.
The panic subsides
After the Kelly murder, and many more abortive arrests, the panic began to die down a little and a more quiescent atmosphere began to reign. In early 1889 lnspector Abberline left, to take on other cases, and the inquiry was handed over to Inspector Henry Moore. His last extant report on the murders is dated 1896, when another 'Jack the Ripper' letter was received. There were brief flurries of press activity and wild suggestions that the 'Ripper' had returned on the occasions of the subsequent murders. However, Sadler was the last serious suspect arrested, and his seafaring activities obviated him from blame for the 1888 murders.
It will be seen from the foregoing that this is a mystery, when stripped of its fictional trappings, which provides all the raw material the imaginative writer or armchair detective could hope for. So popular is the subject that meticulous and scholarly research is carried out on the background of all the characters named in the story. Detailed plans are drawn and Victorian census returns and post office directories are consulted. The newspapers of the time are trawled for every scrap of information. Every minor detail revealed and added is hailed as a major triumph of research, sometims even justifying a book.
The files and other source material
New Scotland Yard have no files on the murders, nor details of the inquiry. The documents have been transfered over to the Public Record Office at Ruskin Avenue, Kew.

MEPO 1/48 Commissioner's letters, confidential and private, 1867-91.

MEPO 1/54 Out Ietters, 1890-1919.

MEPO 1/55 Letters to Home Office etc., 1883-1904.

MEPO 1/65 Letters from Receiver to Home Office etc., 1868-91.

MEPO 2/227 Police reinforcements for Whitechapel after Pinchin St. murder 1891.

MEPO 31140 Files on each of the Whitechapel murders (that on Emma Smith missing).

MEPO 3/141 Whitechapel murders, miscellaneous correspondence and suspects.

MEPO 3/142 'Jack the Ripper' letters.

MEPO 3/3153 Documents on the Whitechapel murders returned to Yard in 1987.

MEPO 3/3155 Photographs of Whitechapel Murder victims (original of Stride missing).

MEPO 3/3156 Copy of photograph of Elizabeth Stride

There is much material to be seen in these files though probably as much again is now missing, some as a result of petty pilfering and others were simply destroyed in past years.
Many books have been written on the subject, and they vary in quality. Some concern individual suspects, whilst others are aimed more for the student and researcher, and contain most of the facts available, thus avoiding expensive and time-consuming research.
However, the serious historian is directed to the primary Metropolitan Police (MEPO) sources listed above, as well as the Home Office files which are also available at the Record Office.
For recommended further reading:

'The Ultimate Jack the Ripper Source book', by Stewart P Evans and Keith Skinner, published by Robinson, 2001.
'Jack the Ripper: The Facts', by Paul Begg, published by Robson Books, 2004.
'The Jack the Ripper A-Z' by Paul Begg, Martin Fido and Keith Skinner, published by Headline, 1996, with a new edition due to be published in 2007.

Borrowed from the Metropolitan Police archives

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Do you remember when you were a kid, with one TV Channel (RTE, it didn’t even start until about five or six in the evening), but the best programmes were

Laurel and Hardy and the cartoons.

Remember when we were eating dinner every evening Bugs Bunny saying he should have turned left at Albuquerque.

Well if he had turned left…….

The LincolnCountyWar – A Very Short History of Billy The Kid

The Territory of New Mexico, in the mid-1870-80s, experienced a wave of rampant lawlessness, unparalleled in the

history of the United States. One must walk a mile in their shoes before coming to conclusions about the lives of men and boys in that era.

Henry McCarty, alias Kid Antrim, alias William H. Bonney, alias Billy The Kid, born in the eastern United States, went to New Mexico in the

1870's and started out on his own from Silver City.

(Billy The Kid)

In Lincoln, he became involved in the famous Lincoln County War. This was a time of political strife and financial power struggles. In most cases,

one must kill or be killed. Upon the death of John Tunstall, Billy vowed vengeance on every man who participated in that cruel, wanton murder.
Later, the Kid was involved in the death of Morton, Baker, McCloskey, Brady, Hindman and Beckwith. The vendetta led him through the heart of
New Mexico. At Blazer's Mill, near Mescalero, Brewer and Buckshot Roberts met their destiny. The Rio Ruidoso took them to
Dowlin's Mill, the Hondo Valley led to the Chisum South Springs Ranch near Roswell (The 1950s UFO sightings area). The Pecos River trail
winds up to Old Fort Sumner, where Joe Grant caused his own demise. A dim trail off east to Los Portales Springs hideout. Seven Rivers crossing,
near Carlsbad, once tallied 200,000 head of cattle from Texas following the Goodnight-Loving, Chisum trail in a day. Patrick Floyd Garrett,
born in Alabama, led a successful life as a buffalo hunter in Texas, before drifting into New Mexico. His election as Sheriff of Lincoln County drew him into
this legend. He was a dedicated Sheriff at the time New Mexico needed such a man. The White Oaks skirmish on December 1, 1880 caused an accidental
shooting at the Greathouse Stage Station, near Corona. The trail goes on to Anton Chico, Puerto de Luna, Sunnyside Spring and Old Fort Sumner,
where Tom O'Folliard fell in an ambush. The connections of Wilcox-Yerby ranches and Brazil Spring played a part in the surrender at Stinking Springs,
and the end of Charlie Bowdre. On to Las Vegas, by wagon, to Santa Fe by railcar, through Albuquerque, on to Old Mesilla for trial.
Under heavy guard they trudged through La Luz, Alamogordo, and back to Lincoln, where Billy performed his daring escape, after the death of
Bell and Olinger. Now, with a wanted poster for Billy The Kid, Pat Garrett was hot on the trail back to Old Fort Sumner. There, on July 14, 1881,
Pat Garrett, in the Maxwell house, killed the the Kid, and certainly, he is buried there, in Old Fort Sumner. Garrett left his mark on New Mexico in many ways;
one of significance is, his daughter Elizabeth wrote O Fair New Mexico, the state song. So the Legends live on!!!

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Hemingway:

Did you know that the shortest story published was by Ernest Hemingway, world famous writer and poet and author of books
such as "For Whom the bell tolls", "The torrents of spring" etc. also wrote and published the shortest story ever published by a
recognised author. the book was entitled baby's shoes and the entire text of the book was:-

for sale, baby's shoes - never worn...

a total of six words that says more than a novel to anyone who has ever lost a baby at childbirth or miscarriage.

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Chrildrens short stories - follow the link below

http://www.eastoftheweb.com/short-stories/childrenindex.html

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The Gunfight at the OK Corral - By Geneoneill

Newspaper coverage of the fight. The Gunfight at the O.K. Corral was a gunfight that has been portrayed
in numerous Western films. It has come to symbolize the struggle between law-and-order and
open-banditry and rustling in frontier towns of the Old West where law enforcement was often thin,
and where some of the urban -vs.- rural and North -vs.- South tensions of the American Civil War were
still very much active.
The actual event occurred on Wednesday afternoon, October 26, 1881, in a vacant lot, known as lot 2,
in block 17, behind the corral in Tombstone, Arizona Territory, United States.
Some of the fight also occurred in Fremont Street in front of the vacant lot. Some thirty shots were fired
in thirty seconds. Although only three people were killed during the gunfight, it became more famous than
many other gunfights that resulted in larger numbers of people killed,
Wyatt Earp, Morgan Earp, Virgil Earp, and Doc Holliday fought against Frank McLaury, Tom McLaury,
Ike Clanton, Billy Clanton, Billy Claiborne, and Wes Fuller.

Ike Clanton, Billy Claiborne, and Wes Fuller ran away from the fight, unharmed.

Both McLaurys and Billy Clanton were killed, while Holliday, Morgan Earp, and Virgil Earp were wounded.
The key incident leading up to the shooting was an attempted stagecoach robbery on March 15, 1881, in
which two people were killed and a prime suspect escaped from jail afterward.
In the aftermath, accusations about who was involved in the robbery floated about, with Doc Holliday made a
suspect after his girlfriend Big Nose Kate accused him, but then later recanted.
After the gunfight, Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday (the two men not formally employed as law officers, and also
the two least wounded) were charged with murder. After extensive testimony at the preliminary hearing to decide
if there was enough evidence to bind the men over for trial, the presiding Justice of the Peace Wells Spicer ruled
that there was not enough evidence to indict the men.

Later, a grand jury followed Spicer's finding, and also refused to indict.
Spicer, in his ruling, criticized City Marshal Virgil Earp for using Wyatt and Doc as backup temporary deputies,
but not for using Morgan, who had already been wearing a City Marshal badge for 9 days.
A few weeks following the grand jury refusal to indict, Virgil Earp was shot by hidden assailants from an unused
building at night – a wound causing him complete loss of the use of his left arm.
Three months later Morgan Earp was murdered by a shot in the back in Tombstone by men shooting from a dark alley.
After these incidents, Wyatt, accompanied by Doc Holliday and several other friends, undertook what has later
been called the Earp vendetta ride in which they tracked down and killed the men whom they believed had been
responsible for these acts.
After the vendetta ride, Wyatt and Doc left the Arizona Territory in April 1882 and parted company,
although they remained in contact.
Billy Claiborne was killed in a gunfight in Tombstone in late 1882 by gunman Franklin Leslie. In less than six years,
Doc Holliday died of tuberculosis in Colorado.
Virgil lived without the use of his arm, although continued as a lawman in California, and died of pneumonia at
age 62 in 1905, still on the job as a peace officer.
Wyatt Earp traveled across the Western Frontier for decades in the company of Josephine Marcus, working mostly as
a gambler, and eventually died in Los Angeles of infection, in 1929, at the age of 80.

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This could be fact or maybe fiction any way its an Irish legend

How Cuchulainn got his Name.

When Setanta was small he lived with his mother in Dundalk. When he was still very small he said
he was going to join the Red Branch Knights, the army of the king of Ulster, Conor Mac Nessa.
But he had to get into the boys army called the "Macra" first, so one day he set off on foot to
Eamhain Macha,
where the king lived. While he was on his way, he would hit the ball, run as it was landing and then
he would hit again. When he got there the Macra boys were playing a game of hurling so he joined in.
He was the best and he was always getting goals. He was the best so everybody turned on him.
But he was able to fight them off. The King said to Setanta, "I am putting you into the Macra". One day,
Culann who was the king's blacksmith, was holding a great feast, and Setanta was invited.
The King was going but Setanta was playing hurling. He said he would follow him there.
So when the game was over he went to the feast. When he got there the Culann's hound
attacked him. Setanta hit the ball at the hound with his hurley and it went right down his
throat and he was nearly dead. So he hit the hound's head off the pillar. When the guests
heard the noise they came out to see what was happening. They were surprised to see
Setanta had killed the hound. Culann said, " Who will mind my house?". So Setanta said,
"I will guard your house", so he was called Cuchulainn which means the hound of Culann.
Story wrote by a 3rd class student from Newry Co Down, this means the kids up there in
the 6 counties still have an interest in things Irish.

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Choctaw Indian Nation and the Great Famine in Ireland

By "geneoneill" - Fact-

It was good to see this link (on Links page) about the famine, useful and factual information there!, a little
known fact about the same famine was that that Choctaw tribe of Mississippi donated their whole tribes
yearly economy of US$710 to the Irish Famine Refief fund.

The background to this was that :

1. Mississippi became a state of the union in 1817. this undermined the Choctaw huntings ground and led
to hostilities until 1830.

2. The treaty of Dancing Creek of 1830 "guaranteed" Choctaw hunting grounds but most of what was
guaranteed by the US govt wasn't even in Mississippi. This led to disputes and most of the tribe moved
on foot, through harsh conditions, to the Indian Nations (modern day Oklahoma) where they got jobs on the
railroad along with Irish and Chinese immigrants.

3. In 1847, midway through the famine, a group of Choctaws collected $710 and sent it to help starving
Irish men, women and children. It had been just 16 years since the Choctaw people had experienced near
extinction themselves on the march of death to the Indian Nations, and they had faced starvation.
The Choctaw understood what was happening to their Irish co-workers families back home
… It was an amazing gesture. By today's standards, it might be over a million Euro.

4. By the end of the US Civil war in 1865 the Choctaw were considered part of the "5 civilised indian tribes"
(Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek and Siminole) by the US Govt especiaclly around the circles of
Boston and the Irish US community in New England.

5. On 23 May 1995 President Mary Robinson visited the Choctaw Nation in Oklahoma to thank them on
behalf of the Irish people.

Photo shows part of the crowd watching Irish Dancing when President Robinson visited the Choctaw Nation
in Oklahoma in 1995.

The Choctaw march

There is no food,

where do we hunt?

United States says "believe"... we can't:
We have to move to promised land to the nations, sixteen months,
many dead braves,

the United States lied

WE died.

By White Eagle

*******************************************************************************************

Lament for the Death of Eoghan Ruadh O’Neill

By Thomas Davis

“DID they dare, did they dare, to slay Eoghan Ruadh O’Neill?”
“Yes, they slew with poison him they feared to meet with steel.”
“May God wither up their hearts! May their blood cease to flow,
May they walk in living death, who poisoned Eoghan Ruadh.”

“Though it break my heart to hear, say again the bitter words.
From Derry, against Cromwell, he marched to measure swords:
But the weapon of the Sassanach met him on his way.
And he died at Cloch Uachtar, upon St. Leonard’s day.

“Wail, wail ye for the Mighty One. Wail, wail ye for the Dead,
Quench the hearth, and hold the breath—with ashes strew the head.
How tenderly we loved him. How deeply we deplore!
Holy Saviour! but to think we shall never see him more!

“Sagest in the council was he, kindest in the hall,
Sure we never won a battle—’twas Eoghan won them all.
Had he lived—had he lived—our dear country had been free:
But he’s dead, but he’s dead, and ’tis slaves we’ll ever be.

“O’Farrell and Clanricarde, Preston and Red Hugh,
Audley and MacMahon—ye valiant, wise and true:
But—what are ye all to our darling who is gone?
The Rudder of our Ship was he, our Castle’s corner stone.

“Wail, wail him through the Island! Weep, weep for our pride!
Would that on the battlefield our gallant chief had died!
Weep the Victor of Beinn Burb—weep him, young and old:
Weep for him, ye women—your beautiful lies cold!

“We thought you would not die—we were sure you would not go,
And leave us in our utmost need to Cromwell’s cruel blow—
Sheep without a shepherd, when the snow shuts out the sky—
O! why did you leave us, Eoghan? Why did you die?

“Soft as woman’s was your voice, O’Neill! bright was your eye,
O! why did you leave us, Eoghan? Why did you die?
Your troubles are all over, you’re at rest with God on high,
But we’re slaves, and we’re orphans, Eoghan!—why did you die?”

*********************************************************************************************

Where did the time go?

By Belvedere - Prose-

The loving starts as soon as you see the colour of pregnancy test.

Yes you are going to be a daddy, your wife tells you with mixed feeling of how you will react.

You wait patiently for nine months through every mood change and weird longings for food not yet invented.

In a moment of thought you ask the Lord to forgive your sins and let the child be normal.

You get the call one night that this is it.

All the reading of women’s needs and wants at this time are forgotten.

All the names you chose don’t seem right.

Will it have ten fingers and ten toes? Will it be alright?

Will I have a son or daughter only God knows?

Will it be born tonight?

The midwife calls you into the delivery room after walking the hall for what seems like forever.

You see you wife in the pain of childbirth, oblivious to the moment with gas and pain.

The head appears. Then the midwife says “push hard”

At last you are a daddy, but is everything ok?

“Congratulation” says the nurse you have a beautiful baby girl.

For the next few days you are on top of the world

Every one you meet says “well done” Then down to raising the child

First tooth,

First word,

First step,

First holiday,

First day at school,

First Holy Communion,

First period,

First boyfriend.

First time she didn’t come home for Christmas.

First grandchild.

First at the chapel for your funeral.

Where did the time go?

Traditional Irish Recipes

Belvedere — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 20:52:04 CDT

The traditional Irish dishes we grew up on

Feel free to add your own recipe or correct any mistakes

*

Nettles (as a substitute to cabbage)

Spring is the time to use nettles as a substitute to cabbage, cook in the same way as cabbage but just a few tips.

1. Take only the top few leaves of young nettles.
2. Take more than you might think you need, the full of a 2 gallon bucket will serve about 4 people.
3. Do not take nettles from the roadside or any areas where weedkiller has been used in the past.
4. Use boiled nettles alone - mix with cabbage or kale only after they are cooked.

Nettles are full of Iron and are very healthy to eat, they do not sting your mouth when they are cooked. Nettles are possibly more healthy than forced store bought cabbage - no herbicides, insecticides or sprays on wild nettles.

*************

Rook Pie

This dish was not confined to famine or war time menus but was a dish served to mark the start of summer and served with pride, not poverty.

INGREDIENTS:
Fledgling rook (1 per person)
Potatoes (2 per person)
Carrots 1 large per person
Onions half large per person
Stock quarter pint per person
Pastry to cover
Stout quarter pint per person

Per Serving Two Rook Breast, rooks should be feathered but unable to fly, skinned and breast removed, place breasts on a hot pan and fry for two minutes each side, remove and allow to "rest" keep juice in pan.
Prepare Potatoes, Carrots ond Onion:
Dice raw potato into inch cubes, slice carrots and finely chop onions. Place half the potato and the rest of the vegatables in the juice of the rook, season with salt and pepper and gently fry for about five minutes. Add about a quarter pint of chicken stock per serving and quarter pint of stout and bring to the boil. Dice rook breast into large cubes and add to the stew, allow to simmer for half an hour. Make enough pastry to cover top and bottom of a pie dish big enough to hold the stew. Line the bottom and sides of the greased pie dish with one unbroked sheet of pastry with enough to overlap the sides, pour stew into dish and add remainder of diced potato, cover with pastry and seal the edges, pierce the lid to release steam and place the pie in a moderate oven. Bake for 40 minutes or until pastry is dark golden. Serve piping hot with brown bread and stout or milk as desired.

********************

TRADITIONAL IRISH BACON AND CABBAGE

With Parsley Sauce

INGREDIENTS:

1 Traditional Slab of Bacon (1 ¼ - 2lb)
1 green cabbage (Greyhound is the best, if you can’t get it anymore, try Savoy)
8 potatoes (peeled)
Salt and pepper

METHOD:

Cover bacon with cold water. Bring to boil and drain. Cover with fresh cold water. Bring to boil and then simmer for 25 minutes per 1lb plus 25 minutes over. Remove outer leaves of cabbage. Cut in half, add to the saucepan and simmer for the last 20 minutes. Remove bacon to chopping board and carve into thin slices. Drain cabbage, season with salt & pepper, chop and add a knob of butter. Serve the bacon with the cabbage and boiled potatoes and parsley sauce.

PARSLEY SAUCE INGREDIENTS:

¼ cup butter
3 tablespoons flour
¼ cup cabbage stock
1¼ cups milk
½ cup finely chopped parsley
Salt & Pepper

METHOD:

Melt butter in saucepan and stir in flour to make roux. Cook without browning over medium heat for 1 or 2 minutes. Gradually add cabbage stock, then milk. Bring to boil and stir for a few minutes. Add parsley and season to taste with pepper. Makes about two and a half cups.

Serves 4 Foreigners or 1 to 2 hungry Irishmen!

Dublin Coddle Recipe

Not particularly popular in Westmeath, this one is for our new neighbours and friends from Dublin

From A Taste of Ireland in Food and Pictures by Theodora Fitzgibbon (Pan Books)

The classic Irish coddle recipe is basically a ham, sausage, potato, and onion stove-top casserole. It makes an easy and hearty meal.

INGREDIENTS: 1-1/2 pounds pork sausage, cut into 1-inch pieces 1-1/2 pounds smoked ham, cut into 1-inch dice 2 pints of boiling water 2 large onions, peeled and thinly diced 2 pounds potatoes, peeled and thickly sliced 4 tablespoons chopped parsley Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

PREPARATION: Place the sausage and ham in the boiling water and boil for 5 minutes. Drain, but reserve the liquid. Put the meat into a large saucepan (or an oven-proof dish) with the onions, potatoes, and parsley. Add enough of the stock to not quite cover the contents. Cover the pot and simmer gently for about 1 hour, or until the liquid is reduced by half and all the ingredients are cooked but not mushy. You may need to remove the lid during the last half of the cooking process. Season with salt and pepper. Serve hot with the vegetables on top and fresh Irish Soda Bread and a glass of stout.

Makes 8 servings

ROCHFORTBRIDGE EXILES

Anonymous — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 18:30:13 CDT

Coming soon, The tale of the Hunchback of Rochfortbridge

as told by Mr Alford from Wales, yet another Rochfortbridge Exile.

Many Rochfortbridge Exiles have contacted this site and require information on families or friends still living in the area.

no personal information will be given to the requesters without the permission of the families involved.

please help the exiles by co-operating with their derth of knowledge and allow us to give them back the family their fore Fathers reluctantly left behind.

*********

I was delighted to make contact with someone from the beautiful country of Lebanon, a country that holds many fervent memories and has a special place in my heart. This unspoiled land has its beauty and majesty mentioned in the Bible and the cedars of Lebanon and spectacular views of Mount Lebanon and the Golan Heights are indeed breathtaking. This Biblical and beautiful land even though it has had it share of troubles is the home of a Rochfortbridge girl who has shared her memories with us.

With special thanks to Bríd

"Memories of a 70's Bridge Girl"

30+ years later and from 3,000+ miles away.

The world's a small place after all! Although I grew up in Rochfortbridge, Derrygreenagh Park to be exact, I live to the north east of Beirut and would like to share with you some of my childhood memories from my life in the Bridge. Poor old Ms Molloy R.I.P. tucked away in her little huckster shop on the corner of the main road and the "Bog" road, she never really converted to decimal and used L.S.D. (pounds, shillings and pence of course - not any counter band version of the acronym) We used to call in to her shop for "Lucky Bags" where every bag would be ruffled to the point of opening and held up against the light to ensure we got the desired gift inside. Handing over our prized "thrupenny bit" for our purchase, even though the same lucky bag was probably twice the price in Mullingar, poor old Ms. Molloy would probably throw in a few 'Bulls eyes' into the bargain.

My school days were innocent to say the least, life in the Bridge was humble and what was considered "danger on the street" was roller-skating down "Swans Hill" across the main road and back up the other side, all the more exciting if one made the trip without grazing the skin of one’s knees on the pavement. I entered the Convent of Mercy School at "Baby Infants" and in those days it was a convent school with the Sisters in charge. The nuns who taught me were Sr. Marie-Therese (infants), Sr. Concepta (1st class), Sr. Assumpta (2nd, 3rd, 4th class) and Sr. Stanislaus (5th class). After that I left Rochfortbridge. Teaching attitudes and techniques were quite different in the 70’s! The wooden ruler was used in some classes as a deterrent and disciplinary tool and the big green metric ruler was used now and again to keep older classes in order. The latter was actually less painful than the former because of its width but the sheer size of it would strike fear into Gulliver, of Lilliputian fame. On one occasion, I remember a boy about to receive a slap on the hand. Each time he would quickly pull back his hand and the third time he took off like a flying bullet over chairs and tables with the Sister in flight behind him. In the end it was so hilarious, we were all in stitches laughing and thankfully the lad got away with it, a rare event in those days. He was the funny guy of the class.

There were some good times too with volleyball tournaments at lunchtime. Sr. Assumpta was a calm and patient soul in spite of having three grades to teach. We always had a nature table in her class where peas and beans grew in jars of soaked blotting paper. Sr. Acquin was very old (to us anyway) and she was the best arts and crafts teacher I ever had. When we changed schools we were one grade ahead of the rest of the new class, so I guess that says a lot for the dedication of the Sisters and teachers in Rochfortbridge. Remember Fr. Mac Manus bringing the shiny cans of boiled sweets into the classroom? We'd make a cone out of a sheet of paper and fit it into the inkwell holder and the teacher would give each student 5 or 6 sweets. It made our day! Anything for a change of routine! He asked us one day to spell the word “February” and whoever got it right, would get a prize. None of us could figure out that there was an extra ‘r’ after the ‘b’ but I never forgot the lesson! Fr. Mac Manus would sometimes call by the houses in Derrygreenagh Pk. and with about 10 kids crammed into his car, off we'd go to see the rabbits in the countryside and he'd point out to us the blind ones stricken with myxamatosis ... and comment on how unfair it was to have introduced this disease to the rabbits in Ireland. A couple of times he brought us to Mullingar and gave us a few pence to spend. He was always very kind to us, although such outings would scarcely happen today I think. There was a Miss Alford, a pretty teacher with blonde hair. She took us for band practice (tin whistle, melodica, accordion and so on) and then each year we'd take off to Athlone for a competition...a 'battle of the bands'...so to speak! That was a great day out, a day to spend money, not that we had much either. We never knew if we came first or last, but that didn't seem to matter. Another event in school was the queue for the yearly photograph. Sr. Concepta would comb through everyone's hair to make sure they were looking presentable for the 'big flash'. The photographer would call out 'sausage' and we thought this was hilarious and so we looked reasonably happy in the school picture! "Tons" of sandwiches were tossed over the school wall each day and the frenzied birds had a party. My sister used to bring home her sandwiches and throw them in the coal room. When the coal or briquettes were depleted, we'd find loads of moldy sandwiches everywhere. In the evening after homework we might get to watch black and white TV. We were compelled to watch "Buntus Cainte" on TV, following it on the school book for extra homework before An Nuacht with Charles Mitchell at 8 O’clock. Then there was Daithi Lacha and Wanderly Wagon every Saturday. Some of the more grown-up TV programmes I recall were Mannix, Doctor Welby MD, Ironside, Barnaby Jones , Hawaii Five-O (with Jack Lord)! Those were the days.

I remember too how as children, we used to love scouting around the dry river-bed for lizards in the summer time. On hot days we'd head off in the car for Loch Ennell or Loch Owel with its green-tinged water. We thought our Dad was the 'bees-knees' diving from the diving board into the water. Once we went to Loch Ennell and there was a sign saying it was off limits for swimmers due to pollution. It was disappointing but the good news was that there was ice-cream at the shop. That was a great pick-me-up... the answer to just about every problem and frustration! Dad was an electrician and wired the newly built St Josephs Hall, Mom was a nurse so all our cuts and bruises were dealt with, together with some of the casualties from neighboring kids escapades, too many to mention here or maybe too embarrassing to spill the beans on some of my peers! Although I left Rochfortbridge 30 odd years ago, the Bridge and its inhabitants has never left my mind, I really enjoyed my childhood and have very many treasured memories of my early years in the cosmopolitan metropolis (as we thought it was) and the wilderness and wonderful hinterland that surrounded Derrygreenagh Park.

Bríd Gemayel.

***********************************

The Wild Geese

One night as Festus Conroy of Murvey, Galway, lay dying, he called out to his son for water. After a brief exchange about nothing in particular, the dying man abruptly asked that he be buried in Gorteen Cemetery, Galway. The last thoughts of Festus Conroy, like those of many of the Wild Geese of Ireland, were of going home.

The term "Wild Geese" to many brings to mind the flight of Canadian Geese, their long necks extended, flying in a V formation at the close of an autumn day. But to the Irish, "Wild Geese" are the young men of Ireland who left their native land for service in the armies of Europe and America and, by extension, the Wild Geese are all of the men and women who have left and will leave Ireland for that which they cannot achieve at home.
The first of the Wild Geese took flight after the Battle of the Boyne. In the late 1600's the Irish supported King James II, Catholic King of England, in his losing struggle with William of Orange. Allied with James and the Irish was the Catholic King of France, Louis XIV, who had promised to send aid to Ireland to help James stave off the powerful Orangemen. Before the aid arrived, James was defeated at the Battle of the Boyne on July 12, 1690. James fled to France.
The Irish forces under Patrick Sarsfield continued the Jacobite war for another year, but after losing their stronghold at Limerick on October 3, 1691, the Irish forces surrendered. The rules of warfare being different in those days, the victorious William gave Sarsfield the choice of returning-to his lands in Ulster and swearing allegiance to Parliament and the new king, or taking his army and leaving Ireland forever. He departed Ireland with 10,000 soldiers for service in France. The flight of the Wild Geese had begun. For the next hundred years, until the French Revolution, the Wild Geese and their descendants served France as the Irish Brigade. Fighting on a foreign battle field, Sarsfield was killed two years after his flight, his dying words setting the theme of the Wild Geese, "Oh, that this were for Ireland."
The Wild Geese served not only in the French army but also in the Spanish, Austrian, English, and even Russian armies. The O'Rourkes are a case in point. After the defeat of James, Owen O'Rourke emigrated to France to rise to the rank of Viscount and Baron of Breffny. Count John O'Rourke was created a peer of France by Louis XV. Cornelius settled in Russia where his son General Count Joseph Kornilievitch O'Rourke distinguished himself as one of the generals who defeated Napoleon. Other Irishmen thrived in exile. Maria Theresa of Austria appointed Ulrich Maximilian Count Brown (b. Limerick 1705) as Generalissimo of all Austrian forces in 1752. In our own War for Independence, Marquis de Lafayette brought at least one Irish regiment, commanded by Lt. Col. Barthelemy Dillon (b. Ireland 1729). These troops were part of the force which defeated Lord Cornwallis at the Battle of Yorktown Heights.
Another of the Wild Geese gave his name to Jones Beach. Major Thomas Jones, who fought with King James at the Battle of the Boyne, received what is now Jones Beach as part of a grant from his father- in-law Thomas Townsend in 1696. Major Jones is buried in Grace Church graveyard on Merrick Road in Massapequa.
Although the Wild Geese left their native land to serve in foreign armies, they never forgot they were Irish. As Gaelic began to decline in Ireland, it survived as the language of the Irish brigades with orders, pass words, and the speech of officers being in Gaelic. For many of these soldiers their fondest dream was to return to Ireland with a large army to drive out the English invader. As an 18th century poet put it: The Wild Geese shall return
and we'll welcome them home

So active, so armed, so flighty a flock

was never known to this land to come

Since the days of Prince Fionn the Mighty.
Although the English have now departed from part of Ireland, the Wild Geese continue to fly. As Thomas O'Hanlon said in his book The Irish (1975): "The Irish are citizens of the world. When the time is propitious, they migrate with the natural instincts of wild geese, travelling ancient routes to Boston, London, Vancouver or Sydney." But wherever they travel, and no matter how long they have been away, whenever a few gather together, like Festus Conroy, the talk always turns to talk of home.

With special thanks to Sheila Perino-Sapienza, New York, USA. and J.J. O'Neill, Melbourne, Australia.

***

In times of strife and dearth of wealth they sailed across the foam

With little more than what they held they sailed to the unknown

But as they docked in far off lands a vow they did declare

That even though now far away to Ireland they would swear

***

Unfortunately many exiles never returned, here are a few clips sent to me by Shelia Perino-Sapienza, New York USA, who is seeking answers to questions that only those that caused the exile can answer. Why is there such a lack of records on this side of the water. we all know that the PRO burned down but surely all our records weren't held there...were we that un-important that we didn't warrant recording???. Bit by bit and with every little help possible we will fill in the Penal years void and post famine Exodus and regain our Family History.

***

PAGE UNDER CONSTRUCTION

STAY TUNED LOADS TO FOLLOW

THANKS TO SHEILA.

***

A glimpse of the life of a Rochfortbridge Exile

***

Many Irish found employment as Firemen or Cops. this Photo shows Sheilas Grandfather in the Firehouse, trying to "supplement his income" Pictured 3rd from left (smoking a dúgín) Joseph North from the High Park.

***

Joseph North and his wife Julia nee Collins, New York, USA.

***

Joseph was a lovely poet and loved his mother dearly, he was so saddened by the loss of his mother that he wrote one of the most beautiful poems that I have ever read.

Before you read it - just think of what you might write on the death of your own mother.

take a moment

***

In loving memory of

my mother, Elizabeth North (nee Keogh)

Who departed this life October 22, 1918

Aged 80 years

By her loving Son, Joseph North, New York City, N.Y.

*** *** *** ***

She sleeps the sleep of all that’s grand and great,

Full ripe in years, and to her God has turned,

‘tis fitting now she’d claim the grand estate,

Who to my infant lips my prayers has learned;

Before the throne angelic choirs sing,

They bear a soul all safe in God her King.

***

Oh saintly soul, all free from earthly guile,

Triumphant borne before the throne of God,

Chastened by years of hard and honest toil,

There but remains thy casement ‘neath the sod;

Thy body pure that must be glorified,

Oh God! For this thy loving son hath died.

***

When youth was mine, I well remember now,

You watched beside the seething bed of pain,

With loving hand you smoothed the fevered brow,

And never once accepted proffered gain;

And when the time grew ripe for parting breath

You softly closed those tired eyes in death.

***

Oh! Were I now to number all thy deeds

For others done, by always willing hand,

How faithfully you followed him who leads,

And now before you looms the promised land;

Thy time has come, go forth for which you’re born,

Thy soul enraptured greets the blissful morn.

***

In old Kilbride, where golden oaks and pine,

Their leaflets blend above the holy mound,

And ivied walls date back to Bridget’s time,

And Patrick blessed the sanctuary and ground;

’Twas here they brought thee loving mother mine,

And placed thee low beside thy kindred line.

***

And now the chimes of eve peal out the hour,

The call to prayer, our duty to our God,

I bare my head beneath the stately tower,

And kneel in supplication on the sod;

That Christ in mercy now dost make thee whole,

With crown of bliss, a halo round thy soul.

***

Requiescant in pace. Amen.

Letter to Mrs North from N.J Neary, Nashville, Tennessee, USA in reply to hearing of the death of Joseph North

***

Joseph North also wrote some cryptic poetry in his day and it might take a little understanding of the heart of the man before you can fully understand the meaning of his poetry, unlike the poem on the death of his mother, which has an almost musical ring to it and seem to be influenced by Welsh religious type gospel hymns, this next poem is only for those that know the history of Rochfortbridge to fully understand.

**********************************

Many families emigrated "en mass" and although many miles away from home they had the comfort of family and neighbours around them - the great Australian song "If we only had old Ireland over here" rang out in many a bar from Perth to Melbourne - pictured below are three North Sisters and their brother, all from the Parish of Rochfortbridge.
picture taken in 1938, not at a wedding or wake in Ireland but in Brisbane Australia.

Left to Right

Isaac North and Elizabeth Caffery (nee North) wife of Paddy Caffery Coachman, Gaulstown estate,
seated: Margaret McGrath (nee North) and Ann O'Neill (nee North) Ann was the wife of William O'Neill - son of Charles O'Neill and Catherine Gowran, The Park, Rochfortbridge. This Little gathering in Brisbane, 1938, was a typical gathering in far off lands - the Irish found refuge in USA, Australia, the Argentine, the West Indies, England and by choice as not before, Van Demons land - AKA New Zealand

***

UNDER CONSTRUCTION - MORE TO FOLLOW

Questions or Queries

Belvedere — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 18:13:29 CDT

Got a question you need answered - Ask Belvedere

Ask Belvedere and we at this site will do our best to provide an answer on whatever topic you want. Family tree problems, where to stay in Westmeath, Town land or Barony questions or just general questions about people, places or problems you might want to ask.

Try and keep your questions in the "answerable realm" and try to be as specific as possible. it's not a table quiz page and "sports results" type questions should be directed to the sports page.

If we genuinely can not answer your question we at this site will try our best to supply you with a name, place, book or website where your question can be answered.

Questions	Answers
i believe there was a book published on milltownpass past. does anyone know where i can obtain a copy.thanks in anticipation tonysheff	I dont think it is still in print, I have or should I say had a copy, I thought too that Jacks photo may be in it. I will root it out and post it to you (if I find it - if not) perhaps there are other copies gathering dust elsewhere if so let me know. I know it was on sale in Grennans, perhaps Shay has a few copies that were un sold! Mrs Wright may also have a copy or two - her book on the religious men and women was printed in or about the same time. Belvedere
many thanks for that, i will gladly pay any cost involved.if successful i will email my address.
church of Ireland primary schools in locality?	All Saints School, Mullingar is a COI School
My great grandfather on my mother's side was Thomas Rochfort, born in 1851 in Ireland and emmigrated to New York City in 1863 - I suppose with some older family members. Anywhere I can check to see where in Ireland he came from?	It looks like you are about to join the hundreds of family tree searchers. its not easy and the more information you seem to get, the more you seem to need. You could start with where he entered the US. ships logs etc. that may give an address or at least County. from there you will start the long haul through records of births/deaths/marriages. Chances are you will find him as 1863 is quiet recent in historical records. - So to begin with check the main ship carriers (trans-Atlantic) and determine which port he landed at and with any luck they will have an Irish address, or maybe a number of Thomas Rochforts landed for that year and then you have to filter through marriages, birth etc. which one is your g-g-grandfather
Could anybody tell me if they know anybody in the local area who knows anything about fixing a problem with Computer/Printer.I have Dell Computer and Dell A.I.O Printer/Fax/Scanner for approx 2years now and everything went fine until a couple of weeks ago.I tried to copy Photo from Computer and it told me it wasnt connected to printer, so i tried all the trouble/shooting things it told me to no avail inc getting new leads. The Scanner still worked no problem for a week or so but now that dosent work either it just says an error occurred.So if you know of anyone would you please contact me Tony Kendrick 0449224124 or 0876914651 or E-mail me tkendrick19@gmail.com .Thanking You Tony.	Sounds to me like a "DRIVER" problem but I'm not a computer expert. I would uninstall the hardware first (leaving it all attached to the pc) and reboot the computer. you should then get a new hardware found dialog box. Using the hardwares cd supplied, try to reload the printer/scanner, make sure the printer is "ENABLED" by clicking into "PRINTERS AND SCANNERS" icon in the control panel, and working properly. Failing that try downloading suitable/updated drivers for your hardware. There are several websites where drivers can be downloaded free, just google "DRIVERS" or allow your control panel to connect to the web to search for updates for your hardware. It doesn't sound to hard to fix and unless the printer/scanner is "banjaxed" it should be easy enough to reinstall. As for fixing it, if it's not a software problem or connection problem and it is actually the internal workings of the printer/scanner, they can be fixed if under guarentee but if the guarentee is out it would me probably cheaper to "recycle it" and buy a new one. The parts and labour cost of a repair could be more than the cost of a new "guarenteed" one - thats my opinion - Belvedere.

Irish History

Geneoneill — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 10:08:27 CDT

Easter Rising of 1916

On 24 April 1916, Patrick Pearse stood outside the General Post Office in Dublin and read a proclamation announcing the establishment of an Irish republic under a provisional government. Among the seven signatories of the proclamation was James Connolly, head of the para-military Irish Citizen Army, who had earlier led a successful occupation of the building. Elsewhere in Dublin, armed men had taken over key points such as the Four Courts, the College of Surgeons overlooking St Stephen's Green, and Boland's Mills. It was Easter Monday, and there were few people in the centre of Dublin to witness the rising. Many army officers had gone to the Fairyhouse races. Almost all the revolutionary leaders were members of the secret Irish Republican Brotherhood. The outbreak of war had persuaded them that in England's difficulties lay Ireland's opportunity. As earlier rebels had looked to France for help, they now turned to Germany, which promised to send arms. In addition to the small Irish Citizen Army, formed in 1913 to defend workers against police harassment, there were thousands of Irish Volunteers, a body formed in response to the Ulster Volunteer Force. Like the UVF, the Volunteers carried out a successful gun-running exploit, landing arms at Howth, near Dublin, a few days before war was declared. The Volunteers had been infiltrated by members of the IRB, which had secretly fixed Easter Sunday as the date for the rising. The Volunteers' leader, Eoin MacNeill, only discovered the plan on 20 April. Two days later, he learned that a German ship bringing arms had been scuttled. Realising that a rising was doomed to failure, he cancelled all Volunteer manoeuvres. Despite this setback, and knowing that their forces would be limited to a modest number of Dublin Volunteers as well as the ICA, Pearse and Connolly decided that a rising must take place, if only as a 'blood sacrifice' to arouse the Irish people. In different circumstances the rebels might have been treated more mercifully, but Britain was at war, and the army and police had suffered geater casualties than Pearse's men. Ireland was still under martial law, and Maxwell was at liberty to inflict retribution. On 3 May, just four days after the surrender, a terse announcement was made that Pearse and two other signatories of the republican proclamation had been tried by court martial and shot. By 12 May the total of executions had reached fifteen, including Connolly and the three other signatories. Another seventy-five rebels had the death penalty commuted to penal servitude, including Countess Constance Markievicz, who would later become the first woman elected to the Westminster parliament. In halting the executions, the government was responding to a wave of public revulsion, but the damage had been done. Ireland had a new gallery of martyrs, and earlier apathy or even hostility towards republicanism was replaced by sympathy for the independence cause. Of some 3 ,400 arrested following the surrender, more than half were imprisoned or interned in England, where they plotted a new onslaught on British rule.

Leaders of Ireland

Ireland has had a long list of rulers, from the ancient Kings of the provinces, the High Kings, the current polititians and of course, the British. Some dates overlap, for example King George vi was officially still King of all Ireland until 1949 while at the same time we has our first President in 1938.

Presidents
1938 - 1945 Douglas Hyde

The first President - Dr Douglas Hyde

1945 - 1959 Sean Thomas O'Kelly
1959 - 1973 Eámon de Valera
1973 - 1974 Erskin Childers
1974 - 1976 Cearbhall O'Dalaigh
1976 - 1990 Patrick Hillery
1990 - 1997 Mary Robinson
1997 - Mary McAleese

Chairmen of the Provisional Government
1922 Michael Collins
1922 William Cosgrave

Taoisaigh
1922 - 1932 William Cosgrave
1932 - 1948 Eámon de Valera
1948 - 1951 John Costello
1951 - 1954 Eámon de Valera (2nd term)
1954 - 1957 John Costello (2nd term)
1957 - 1959 Eámon de Valera (3rd term)
1959 - 1966 Sean Lemass
1966 - 1973 Jack Lynch
1973 - 1977 Liam Cosgrave
1977 - 1979 Jack Lynch (2nd term)
1979 - 1981 Charles Haughey

(in 1992 local TD Albert Reynolds was elected Taoiseach)

1981 - 1982 Garret FitzGerald
1982 Charles Haughey (2nd term)
1982 - 1987 Garret FitzGerald (2nd term)
1987 - 1992 Charles Haughey (3rd term)
1992 - 1994 Albert Reynolds
1994 - 1997 John Bruton
1997 - 2008 Bertie Ahern
2008 - Brian Cowen

From the 1528 to our independence in 1922 we were ruled by a Lord Lieutenant (sometimes called Viceroy or Lord Deputy) who were the King/Queens representative in Ireland (Lord Justices ruled when there was no one appointed to the post).

They were: The Kingdom of Ireland 1528 Piers Butler, 1st Earl of Ossory (Lord Deputy) 1529 Henry Fitzroy, 1st Duke of Richmond and Somerset 1534 William Skeffington (Lord Deputy): 30 July 1534 1536 Lord Leonard Grey 1540 Lords Justices 1540 Anthony St Leger (Lord Deputy): 1548 Edward Bellingham (Lord Deputy) 1549 Lords Justices: 27 December 1549 1550 Anthony St Leger (Lord Deputy) 1551 James Croft (Lord Deputy) 1552 Lords Justices 1553 Anthony St Leger (Lord Deputy) 1556 Thomas Radcliffe, Lord Fitzwalter (Lord Deputy) 1558 Lords Justices 1559 Thomas Radcliffe, 3rd Earl of Sussex (Lord Deputy) 1565 Henry Sidney (Lord Deputy) 1571 Lord Justice: 1 April 1571 1571 William Fitzwilliam (Lord Deputy) 1575 Henry Sidney (Lord Deputy) 1570 Lord Justice: 27 April 1578 1580 Arthur Grey, 14th Lord Grey de Wilton (Lord Deputy) 1582 Lords Justices 1584 John Perrot (Lord Deputy) 1588 William Fitzwilliam (Lord Deputy) 1594 William Russell (Lord Deputy) 1597 Thomas Burgh, Lord Burgh (Lord Deputy) 1597 Lords Justices 1599 Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex 1599 Lords Justices 1600 Charles Blount, 8th Baron Mountjoy (Lord Deputy) 1604 Sir Arthur Chichester (Lord Deputy) 1615 Sir Oliver St John: 2 July 1615 1622 Henry Cary, 1st Viscount of Falkland (Lord Deputy) 1629 Lords Justices 1633 Thomas Wentworth, 1st Viscount Wentworth (Lord Deputy) 1640 Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford 1641 Robert Sidney, 2nd Earl of Leicester 1643 James Butler, 1st Marquess of Ormonde 1646 Philip Sydney, Lord Lisle 1648 James Butler, 1st Marquess of Ormonde 1649 Oliver Cromwell 1650 Henry Ireton (Lord Deputy) 1652 Charles Fleetwood (Commander-in-Chief) 1657 Henry Cromwell (Lord Deputy) 1659 Edmund Ludlow (Commander-in-Chief) 1660 George Monck, 1st Duke of Albemarle 1662 James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde 1668 Thomas Butler, Earl of Ossory (Lord Deputy) 1669 John Robartes, 2nd Baron Robartes 1670 John Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley of Stratton 1672 Arthur Capell, 1st Earl of Essex 1677 James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde 1685 Lords Justices 1685 Henry Hyde, 2nd Earl of Clarendon 1687 Richard Talbot, 1st Earl of Tyrconnell (Lord Deputy) 1689 King James II himself in Ireland 1690 King William III himself in Ireland 1690 Lords Justices 1692 Henry Sydney, 1st Viscount Sydney 1693 Lords Justices 1695 Henry Capell, 1st Baron Capell (Lord Deputy) 1696 Lords Justices

The eloquently titled Charles Stewart Vane-Tempest-Stewart, 6th Marquess of Londonderry

1700 Laurence Hyde, 1st Earl of Rochester 1703 James Butler, 2nd Duke of Ormonde 1707 Thomas Herbert, 8th Earl of Pembroke 1708 Thomas Wharton, 1st Earl of Wharton 1710 James Butler, 2nd Duke of Ormonde 1713 Charles Talbot, 1st Duke of Shrewsbury 1714 Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl of Sunderland 1717 Charles Townshend, 2nd Viscount Townshend 1717 Charles Paulet, 2nd Duke of Bolton 1720 Charles Fitzroy, 2nd Duke of Grafton 1724 John Carteret, 2nd Baron Carteret 1730 Lionel Cranfield Sackville, 1st Duke of Dorset 1737 William Cavendish, 3rd Duke of Devonshire 1745 Philip Dormer Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield 1746 William Stanhope, 1st Earl of Harrington 1750 Lionel Cranfield Sackville, 1st Duke of Dorset 1755 William Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire 1757 John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford 1761 George Montague-Dunk, 2nd Earl of Halifax 1763 Hugh Percy, 3rd Earl of Northumberland 1765 Thomas Thynne, 3rd Viscount Weymouth 1765 Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st Earl of Hertford 1766 George William Hervey, 2nd Earl of Bristol (did not assume office) 1767 George Townsend, 4th Viscount Townsend 1772 Simon Harcourt, 1st Earl Harcourt 1776 John Hobart, 2nd Earl of Buckinghamshire 1780 Frederick Howard, 5th Earl of Carlisle 1782 William Henry Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland 1782 George Nugent-Temple-Grenville, 3rd Earl Temple 1783 Robert Henley, 2nd Earl of Northington 1784 Charles Manners, 4th Duke of Rutland 1787 George Nugent-Temple-Grenville, 1st Marquess of Buckingham 1789 John Fane, 10th Earl of Westmorland 1794 William Wentworth-Fitzwilliam, 2nd Earl Fitzwilliam 1795 John Jeffreys Pratt, 2nd Earl Camden 1798 Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland 1801 Philip Yorke, 3rd Earl of Hardwicke 1805 Edward Clive, 1st Earl of Powis (did not serve) 1806 John Russell, 6th Duke of Bedford 1807 Charles Lennox, 4th Duke of Richmond 1813 Charles Whitworth, 1st Viscount Whitworth 1817 Charles Chetwynd Talbot, 2nd Earl Talbot 1821 Richard Wellesley, 1st Marquess Wellesley 1828 Henry William Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey 1829 Hugh Percy, 3rd Duke of Northumberland 1830 Henry William Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey 1833 Richard Wellesley, 1st Marquess Wellesley 1835 Thomas Hamilton, 9th Earl of Haddington 1835 Constantine Henry Phipps, 6th Earl of Mulgrave 1839 Hugh Fortescue, Viscount Ebrington 1841 Thomas Philip de Grey, 2nd Earl de Grey: 11 September 1841 1844 William à Court, 1st Baron Heytesbury 1846 John William Ponsonby, 4th Earl of Bessborough 1847 George William Frederick Villiers, 4th Earl of Clarendon 1852 Archibald William Montgomerie, 13th Earl of Eglinton 1853 Edward Granville Eliot, 3rd Earl of St Germans 1855 George William Frederick Howard, 7th Earl of Carlisle 1858 Archibald William Montgomerie, 13th Earl of Eglinton 1859 George William Frederick Howard, 7th Earl of Carlisle 1864 John Wodehouse, 3rd Baron Wodehouse 1866 James Hamilton, 2nd Marquess of Abercorn 1868 John Poyntz Spencer, 5th Earl Spencer 1874 James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Abercorn 1876 John Winston Spencer-Churchill, 7th Duke of Marlborough 1880 Francis Thomas de Grey Cowper, 7th Earl Cowper 1882 John Poyntz Spencer, 5th Earl Spencer 1885 Henry Howard Molyneux Herbert, 4th Earl of Carnarvon 1886 John Campbell Hamilton-Gordon, 7th Earl of Aberdeen 1886 Charles Stewart Vane-Tempest-Stewart, 6th Marquess of Londonderry 1889 Lawrence Dundas, 3rd Earl of Zetland 1892 Robert Offley Ashburton Milnes, 2nd Baron Houghton 1895 George Henry Cadogan, 5th Earl Cadogan 1902 William Humble Ward, 2nd Earl of Dudley 1905 John Campbell Hamilton-Gordon, 7th Earl of Aberdeen 1915 Ivor Churchill Guest, 2nd Baron Wimborne 1918 John Denton Pinkstone French, 1st Viscount French of Ypres 1921 Edmund Fitzalan-Howard, 1st Viscount Fitzalan of Derwent

From 1922 to 1938 the Crown Representativeof the Irish Free State was a Governer General – appointed by the British Parliament until 1927 and by the Dáil from 1927 to 1938 Holders of the post were
1922 Tim Healy, KC
1928 James McNeill
1932 Domhnall Ua Buachalla

Now lets go tho the Kings of Ireland (this record is widely disputed and can only be considered fairly accurate from the time of Niall of the Nine Hostages onwards)

1	Heber and Heremon	1700 B.C.	Heber and Heremon were the sons of Milesius of Spain and shortly after the death of their father, along with their six brothers, with a numerous fleet well manned and equipped, set forth from Breoghan's Tower or Brigantia (now Corunna) in Galicia, in Spain, and sailed prosperously to the coasts of Ireland or lnis-Fail, where they met many difficulties and various chances before they could land: occasioned by the diabolical arts, sorceries, and enchantments used by the Tuatha-de-Danann, to obstruct their landing; for, by their magic art, they enchanted the island so as to appear to the Milesians or Clan-na-Milé in the form of a Hog, and no way to come at it (whence the island, among the many other names it had before, was called "Muc-Inis or "The Hog Island"); and withal raised so great a storm, that the Milesian fleet was thereby totally dispersed and many of them cast away, wherein five of the eight brothers, sons of Milesius, lost their lives. That part of the fleet commanded by Heber, Heremon, and Amergin (the three surviving, brothers), and Heber Donn, son of Ir (one of the brothers lost in the storm), overcame all opposition, landed safe, fought and routed the three Tuatha-de Danann Kings at Slieve-Mis, and thence pursued and overtook them at Tailten, where another bloody battle was fought; wherein the three (Tuatha-de-Danann) Kings and their Queens were slain, and their army utterly routed and destroyed: so that they could never after give any opposition to the Clan-na-Milé in their new conquest; who, having thus sufficiently avenged the death of their great uncle Ithe (who had been slain by the inhabitants of Ireland), gained the possession of the country foretold them by Cachear, some ages past. Heber and Heremon, the chief leading men remaining of the eight brothers, sons of Milesius aforesaid, divided the kingdom between them (allotting a proportion of land to their brother Amergin, who was their Arch-priest, Druid, or magician; and to their nephew Heber Donn, and to the rest of their chief commanders), and became jointly the first of one hundred and eighty-three Kings or sole Monarchs of the Gaelic, Milesian, or Scottish Race, that ruled and governed Ireland, successively, for two thousand eight hundred and eighty-five years from the first year of their reign), Anno Mundi three thousand five hundred, to their submission to the Crown of England in the person of King Henry the Second; who, being also of the Milesian Race by Maude, his mother, was lineally descended from Fergus Mór MacEarca, first King of Scotland, who was descended from the said Heremon - so that the succession may be truly said to continue in the Milesian Blood from before Christ one thousand six hundred and ninety-nine years down to the present time.
2	Heremon		Heber and Heremon reigned jointly one year only, when, upon a difference between their ambitious wives, they quarrelled and fought a battle at Ardeath or Geshill (Geashill, near Tullamore in the King's County), where Heber was slain by Heremon; and, soon after, Amergin, who claimed an equal share in the government, was, in another battle fought between them, likewise slain by Heremon. Thus, Heremon became sole Monarch, and made a new division of the land amongst his comrades and friends, viz.: the south part, now called Munster, he gave to his brother Heber's four sons, Er, Orba, Feron, and Fergna; the north part, now Ulster, he gave to Ir's only son Heber Donn; the east part or Coigeadh, Galian, now called Leinster, be gave to Criomthann-sciath-bheil, one of his commanders; and the west part, now called Connaught, Heremon gave to Un-Mac-Oigge, another of his commanders; allotting a part of Munster to Lughaidh (the son of Ithe, the first Milesian discoverer of Ireland), amongst his brother Heber's sons. From these three brothers, Heber, Ir, and Heremon (Amergin dying without issue), are descended all the Milesian Irish of Ireland and Scotland, viz.: from Heber, the eldest brother, the provincial Kings of Munster (of whom thirty-eight were sole Monarchs of Ireland), and most of the nobility and gentry of Munster, and many noble families in Scotland, are descended. From Ir, the second brother, all the provincial Kings of Ulster (of whom twenty-six were sole Monarchs of Ireland), and all the ancient nobility and gentry of Ulster, and many noble families in Leinster, Munster, and Connaught, derive their pedigrees; and, in Scotland, the Clan-na-Rory - the descendants of an eminent man, named Ruadhri or Roderick, who was Monarch of Ireland for seventy years (viz., from Before Christ 288 to 218). From Heremon, the youngest of the three brothers, were descended one hundred and fourteen sole Monarchs of Ireland: the provincial Kings and Hermonian nobility and gentry of Leinster, Connaught, Meath, Orgiall, Tirowen, Tirconnell, and Clan-na-boy; the Kings of Dalriada; all the Kings of Scotland from Fergus Mór MacEarea, down to the Stuarts; and the Kings and Queens of England from Henry the Second down to tile present time. The issue of Ithe is not accounted among the Milesian Irish or Clan-na-Milé, as not being descended from Milesius, but from his uncle Ithe; of whose posterity there were also some Monarchs of Ireland and many provincial or half provincial Kings of Munster: that country upon its first division being allocated to the sons of Heber and to Lughaidh, son of Ithe, whose posterity continued there accordingly.
3	Muimhne		Joint rule by Muimhne, Luighne, and Laighne, sons of Heremon.
4	Luighne
5	Laighne
6	Er	1681 B.C.	Joint rule of four sons of Heber for one-half of a year. They were slain by Irial Faidh, son of Heremon.
7	Orba
8	Fearon
9	Ferga
	Nuadhat Neacht	1681 B.C.	Ruled for one-half a year.
10	Irial Faidh	1680 B.C.	Son of Heremon. This was a very learned King; could foretell things to come; and caused much of the country to be cleared of the ancient forests. He likewise built seven royal palaces, viz., Rath Ciombaoith, Rath Coincheada, Rath Mothuig, Rath Buirioch, Rath Luachat, Rath Croicne, and Rath Boachoill. He won four remarkable battles over his enemies: - Ard Inmath, at Teabtha, where Stirne, the son of Dubh, son of Fomhar, was slain; the second battle was at Teanmhuighe, against the Fomhoraice, where Eichtghe, their leader, was slain; the third was the battle of Loch Muighe, where Lugrot, the son of Moghfeibhis, was slain; and the fourth was the battle of Cuill Martho, where the four sons of Heber were defeated. Irial died in the second year after this battle, having reigned 10 years, and was buried at Magh Muagh.
11	Eithrial	1670 B.C.	Son of Irial Faidh. Slain by Conmaol, the son of Heber Fionn, at the battle of Soirrean, in Leinster, B.C. 1650. This also was a learned King, he wrote with his own hand the History of the Gaels (or Gadelians); in his reign seven large woods were cleared and much advance made in the practice of agriculture.
12	Conmael	1650 B.C.	The fifth and youngest son of Heber. He was the first king of Ireland from Munster. Having been thirty years in the sovereignty of Ireland, fell, in the battle of Aenach Macha, by Tighernmas.
13	Tighernmas	1620 B.C.	Son of Follach (Follaig) (Foll-Aich), son of Eithrial (11). Reigned 77 years; according to Keating, he reigned but 50 years; he fought twenty-seven battles with the followers of the family of Heber Fionn, all which he gained. In his reign gold was mined near the Liffey, and skilfully worked by Inchadhan. This King also made a law that each grade of society should be known by the number of colours in its wearing apparel: - the clothes of a slave should be of one colour; those of a soldier of two; the dress of a commanding officer to be of three colours; a gentleman's dress, who kept a table for the free entertainment of strangers, to be of four colours; five colours to be allowed to the nobility (the chiefs); and the King, Queen, and Royal Family, as well as the Druids, historians, and other learned men to wear six colours. This King died, B.C. 1543, on the Eve of 1st of November, with two-thirds of the people of Ireland, at Magh Sleaght (or Field of Adoration), in the county of Leitrim, as he was adoring the Sun-God, Crom Cruach (a quo Macroom). Historians say this Monarch was the first who introduced image worship in Ireland.
14	Eochaidh Eadghadhach	1536 B.C.	Son of Daire. He was called Eochaidh Eadghadhach because it was by him the variety of colour was first put on clothes in Ireland, to distinguish the honour of each by his raiment, from the lowest to the highest. Thus was the distinction made between them: one colour in the clothes of slaves; two in the clothes of soldiers; three in the clothes of goodly heroes, or young lords of territories; six in the clothes of ollavs; seven in the clothes of kings and queens. Killed by Cearmna, son of Ebric, in the battle of Teamhair Tara.
15	Cearmna Finn	1532 B.C.	Joint rule by two sons of Ebric, son of Heber, son of Ir, son of Milesius. They divided Ireland between them into two parts: Sobhairce resided in the north, at Dun Sobhairce; and Cearmna in the south, at Dun Cearmna. These were the first kings of Ireland of the race of Ir.
16	Sobhairce	1532 B.C.
17	Eochaidh Faebhar Ghlas	1492 B.C.	Son of Conmael (12).
18	Fiacha Labhrainne	1472. B.C.	Descended from Heremon, slew Eochaidh Faobharglas, of the line of Heber, at the battle of Carman. During his reign all the inhabitants of Scotland were brought in subjection to the Irish Monarchy. Fiacha at length (B.C. 1448) fell in the battle of Bealgadain, by the hands of Eochaidh Mumho, the son of Moefeibhis, of the race of Heber Fionn.
19	Eochaidh Mumho	1448 B.C.	Son of Mofebis (Mafebbis), son of Eochaidh Faebhar Ghlas (17).
20	Aengus Olmucadha	1427 B.C.	Son of Fiacha Labhrainne. In his reign the Picts again refused to pay the tribute imposed on them 250 years before, by Heremon, but this Monarch went with a strong army into Alba and in thirty pitched battles overcame them and forced them to pay the required tribute. Aongus was at length slain by Enna, in the battle of Carman, B.C. 1409.
21	Enna Airgtheach	1409 B.C.	Son of Eochaidh Mumho (19).
22	Roitheachtaigh	1382 B.C.	Son of Maen (Moen), son of Aengus Olmucadha (20). Slain, B.C. 1357, by Sedne (or Seadhna), of the Line of Ir.
23	Sedna	1357 B.C.	Son of Art, son of Airtri, son of Eibhric, son of Heber, son of Ir. Slew Rotheacta and, mounting his throne, became Monarch. It was during his reign that the Dubhloingeas or "pirates of the black fleet" came to plunder the royal palace of Cruachan in Roscommon, and the King was slain, in an encounter with those plunderers, by his own son and successor, who mistook his father for a pirate chief whom he had slain and whose helmet he wore.
24	Fiacha Fionn Scothach	1352 B.C.	Son of Sedna (23). So called from the abundance of white flowers with which every plain in Erinn abounded during his reign; was born in the palace of Rath-Cruachan, B.C. 1402; and slain, B.C. 1332, in the 20th year of his reign, by Munmoin, of the Line of Heber.
25	Muineamhón	1332 B.C.	Son of Cas Clothach, son of Fear Arda, son of Roitheachtaigh (22), son of Rossa, son of Glas, son of Nuadha, son of Eochaidh Faebhar Ghlas (17). Died of the plague.
26	Faildeargdoid	1327 B.C.	Son of Muineamhon (25). He was the first king that ordered his nobility to wear gold rings on their fingers,
27	Eochaidh Ollamh Fodhla	1317 B.C.	Son of Ficha Finscothach (24). It was this Monarch who first instituted the Feis Teamhrach (or "Parliament of Tara"), which met about the time called "Samhain" (or 1st of November) for making laws, reforming general abuses, revising antiquities, genealogies, and chronicles, and purging them from all corruption and falsehood that might have been foisted into them since the last meeting. This Triennial Convention was the first Parliament of which we have any record on the face of the globe; and was strictly observed from its first institution to A.D. 1172; and, even as late as A.D. 1258, we read in our native Annals of an Irish Parliament, at or near Newry. He built Mur Ollamhan at Teamhair (which means "Ollamh's fort at Tara"); he also appointed a chieftain over every cantred and a brughaidh over every townland. According to some chroniclers, "Ulster" was first called Uladh, from Ollamh Fodhla. His posterity maintained themselves in the Monarchy of Ireland for 250 years, without any of the two other septs of Heber and Heremon intercepting them. He died at an advanced age at his own Mur (or house) at Tara, leaving five sons.
28	Finnachta	1277 B.C.	Son of Ollamh Fodhla (27). Died of the plague.
29	Slanoll	1257 B.C.	Son of Ollamh Fodhla. Died in the banqueting hall at Tara.
30	Gedhe Ollghothach	1240 B.C.	Son of Ollamh Fodhla (27).
31	Fiacha Finnailches	1230 B.C.	Son of Finnachta (28).
32	Bearnghal	1208 B.C.	Son of Gedhe Ollghothach (30).
33	Oilioll	1196 B.C.	Son of Slanoll (29).
34	Sírna Saoghalach	1180 B.C.	Son of Dian, son of Deman. He obtained the name "Saoghalach" on account of his extraordinary long life; slain, B.C 1030, at Aillin, by Rotheachta, of the line of Heber Fionn, who usurped the Monarchy.
35	Roitheachtaigh	1030 B.C.	Son of Roan, son of Failbhe, son of Cas Ceadchaingneach, son of Faildeargdoid (26).
36	Elim Oillfinshneachta	1023 B.C.	Son of Roitheachtaigh (35).
37	Giallchaidh	1022 B.C.	Son of Olioll Olchain, son of Sirna (34). Killed by Art Imleach, of the Line of Heber Fionn, at Moighe Muadh, B.C. 1013.
38	Art Imleach	1013 B.C.	Son of Elim Oillfinshneachta, (36).
39	Nuadhat Finnfail	1001. B.C.	Son of Giallchaidh (37). Slain by Breasrioghacta, his successor, B.C. 961
40	Breas	961 B.C.	Son of Art Imleach (38)
41	Eochaidh Apthach	952 B.C.	Son of Fionn, son of Oilill, son of Flann Ruadh, son of Rothlan, som of Mairtine, son of Sithceann, son of Riaghlan, son of Eoinbhric, son of Lughaidh, son of Ioth, son of Breoghan.
42	Finn	951 B.C.	Son of Blatha, son of Labraidh, son of Cairbre, son of Ollam Fodla (27).
43	Sedna Innarraigh	929 B.C.	Son of Breas (40). The first who, in Ireland, enlisted his soldiers in pay and under good discipline. Before his time, they had no other pay than what they could gain from their enemies.
44	Simon Breac	909 B.C.	Son of Aedhan Glas, son of Nuadhat Finnfail (39). He inhumanly caused his predecessor to be torn asunder by tying his limbs to four horses; but, after a reign of six years, he met with a like death, by order of Duach Fionn, son to the murdered King, B.C. 903.
45	Duach Finn	903 B.C.	Son of Sedna Innarraigh (43)
46	Muireadhach Bolgrach	893 B.C.	Son of Simon Breac (44)
47	Enda Dearg	892 B.C.	Son of Duach Finn (45). In the twelfth year of his reign he died suddenly, with most of his retinue, adoring their false gods at Sliabh Mis.
48	Lughaidh Iardonn	880 B.C.	Son of Enda Dearg (47).
49	Sirlamh	871 B.C.	Son of Finn, son of Bratha.
50	Eochaidh Uaircheas	855 B.C.	Son of Lughaidh Iardonn (48).
51	Eochaidh Fiadhmuine	843 B.C.	Joint rule by two sons of Congall Cosrach, son of Duach Teamrach, son of Muireadhach Bolgrach (46). Eochaidh ruled the south, Conaing the north.
53	Conaing Begeaglach	843 B.C.
52	Lughaidh Laimhdhearg	838 B.C.	Son of Eochaidh Uaircheas (50).
53	Conaing Begeaglach	831 B.C.	Son of Congal.
54	Art	811 B.C.	Son of Lughaidh Laimhdhearg (52), son of Eochaidh Uaircheas (50).
55	Fiacha Tolgrach	805 B.C.	Son of Muireadhach (46)
56	Oilioll Finn	795 B.C.	Son of Art (54)
57	Eochaidh	784 B.C.	Son of Oilioll Finn (56)
58	Airgeatmhar	777 B.C.	Son Siorlamh, son of Fionn, son of Bratha, son of Labraidh, son of Cairbre, son of Ollamh Fodhla (27). After a reign of 30 years, was slain by Duach Ladhrach. He left four sons: - 1. Fiontan, whose son, Ciombaoth, was the 63rd Monarch; 2. Diomain, whose son, Dithorba, became the 62nd Monarch; 3. Badhum, who was father of Aodh Ruadh, the 61st Monarch, who was drowned at Eas Ruadh (or Assaroe), now Ballyshannon, in the county of Donegal, and grandfather of Macha Mongruadh, or "Macha of the Golden Tresses," the 64th Monarch, and the only queen Ireland ever has had, who laid the foundation of the Royal Palace of Emania, in the county of Armagh, where her consort Cimbath, died of the plague; the fourth son of Argeadmar was Fomhar.
59	Duach Ladhgrach	747 B.C.	Son of Fiacha Tolgrach (55).
60	Lughaidh Laighdhe	737 B.C.	Son of Eochaidh (57).
61	Aedh Ruadh		Aedh Ruadh, son of Badharn, after having been seven years in the sovereignty of Ireland, left the sovereignty to Dithorba, son of Deman, after having spent the first period himself, for there were injunctions upon him to resign it to Dithorba at the end of seven years; and on Dithorba, also, to resign it to Cimbaeth at the end of seven years more; and so in succession to the end of their reigns lives. The reason that they made this agreement respecting the sovereignty was, because they were the sons of three brothers. Thus they rotated the Monarchy between them, each in turn resigning every seven years, each of them serving three terms.
62	Diothorba
63	Cimbaeth
64	Macha Mongruadh (Queen)	660 B.C.	Daughter of Aedh Ruadh (61). Macha, daughter of Aedh Ruadh said that her father's turn to the sovereignty was her's. Dithorba and Cimbaeth said that they would not give the sovereignty to a woman. A battle was fought between them; Macha defeated them, and expelled Dithorba, with his sons, into Connaught, so that he was slain in Corann. She afterwards took to her Cimbaeth as husband, and gave him the sovereignty. She afterwards proceeded alone into Connaught, and brought the sons of Dithorba with her in fetters to Ulster, by virtue of her strength, and placed them in great servitude, until they should erect the fort of Eamhain, that it might always be the chief city of Uladh Ulster.
65	Reachtaidh Righdhearg	653 B.C.	Son of Lughaidh Laighdhe (60). was called "Righ-dearg" or the red king, for having a hand in a woman's blood: having slain queen Macha of the line of Ir, and, the only woman that held the Monarchy of Ireland. He was a warlike Prince and fortunate in his undertakings. He went into Scotland with a powerful army to reduce to obedience the Pictish nation, then growing refractory in the payment of their yearly tribute to the Monarchs of Ireland; which having performed, he returned, and, after twenty years' reign, was slain in battle by his Heremonian successor.
66	Úgaine Mor	633 B.C.	Son of Eochaidh Buadhach, son of Duach Ladhgrach (59). This Ugaine was called Mór on account of his extensive dominions, - being sovereign of all the Islands of Western Europe. Was married to Cæsair, daughter to the King of France, and by her had issue - twenty-two sons and three daughters. In order to prevent these children encroaching on each other he divided the Kingdom into twenty-five portions, allotting to each his (or her) distinct inheritance. By means of this division the taxes of the country were collected during the succeeding 300 years. All the sons died without issue except two, viz: - Laeghaire Lorc, ancestor of all the Leinster Heremonians; and Cobthach Caolbhreagh, from whom the Heremonians of Leath Cuinn, viz., Meath, Ulster, and Conacht derive their pedigree. In the early ages the Irish Kings made many military expeditions into foreign countries. Ugaine Mór, called by O'Flaherty, in his Ogygia, "Hugonius Magnus," was contemporary with Alexander the Great; and is stated to have sailed with a fleet into the Mediterranean, landed his forces in Africa, and also attacked Sicily; and having proceeded to Gaul, was married to Cæsair, daughter of the King of the Gauls. Hugonius was buried at Cruachan. The Irish sent, during the Punic wars, auxiliary troops to their Celtic Brethren, the Gauls; who in their alliance with the Carthaginians under Hannibal, fought against the Roman armies in Spain and Italy. Ugaine was at length, B.C. 593, slain by Badhbhchadh, who failed to secure the fruits of his murder - the Irish Throne, as he was executed by order of Laeghaire Lorc, the murdered Monarch's son, who became the 68th Monarch.
67	Badhbhchadh	593 B.C.	Was King for a day and a half when he was slain by Laeghaire Lorc, son of Ugaine Mor, in revenge for his father.
68	Laeghaire Lorc	593 B.C.	Son of Ugaine Mor (66). Having been two years in the sovereignty of Ireland, was killed by Cobhthach Cael Breagh, at Carman (Wexford).
69	Cobhthach Cael Breagh	591 B.C.	Son of Ugaine Mor (66), and brother of Laeghaire Lorc. It is said, that, to secure the Throne, he assassinated his brother Laeghaire; after a long reign he was at length slain by Maion, his nephew, B.C. 541.
70	Labhraidh Loingseach	541 B.C.	Son of Oilioll Aine, son of Laeghaire Lorc (68). Labhraidh is said to have had the ears of a horse. So much was his embarrassment that he had his hair cut only once a year and immediately slew the barber lest his secret became known. One year he selected a youth to cut his hair, who so entreated the king not to kill him that Labhraidh spared his life on condition that he never reveal the secret. The stress of keeping the king's secret so troubled the boy that he fell ill. His mother sent for a druid whose wisdom was such that he was able to determine that the cause of the illness was a terrible secret that could not be told. He told the boy to go to a deep wood and whisper the secret to a tree in order to relieve himself of the burdon. This the boy did and immediately felt better. Some time later, a famous harper felled the tree to create a new harp for himself. Summoned to court, when asked to play a tune for the king, instead of notes, the harp sang "King Labhraidh has horses' ears" and the secret was out.
71	Melghe Molbhthach	522 B.C.	Son of Cobhthach Cael (69). Having been seventeen years in the sovereignty of Ireland, fell in the battle of Claire, by Modhcorb. When his grave was digging, Loch Melghe burst forth over the land in Cairbre, so that it was named from him.
72	Modhcorb	505 B.C.	Son of Cobhthach Caemh, son of Reachtaidh Righdhearg (65). Having been seven years in the sovereignty of Ireland, was slain by Aengus Ollamh.
73	Aenghus Ollamh	498 B.C.	Son of Oilioll, son of Labhraidh Loingseach (70). Slain by Irereo, son of Melghe
74	Irereo	480 B.C.	Son of Melghe Molbhthach (71)
75	Fearcorb	473 B.C.	Son of Modhcorb (72).
76	Connla Caemh	462 B.C.	Son of Irero (74).
77	Oilioll Caisfhiaclach	442 B.C.	Son of Connla Caemh (76).
78	Adamair	417 B.C.	Son of Fearcorb (75).
79	Eochaidh Ailtleathan	413 B.C.	Son of Oilioll Caisfhiaclach (77)
80	Fearghus Fortamhail	395 B.C.	Son of Breasal Breac.
81	Aenghus Tuirmheach Teamhrach	384 B.C.	His son, Fiacha Firmara (so called from being exposed in a small boat on the sea) was ancestor of the Kings of Dalriada and Argyle in Scotland. This Aongus was slain at Tara (Teamhrach). He was called Aenghus Tuirmheach because the nobility of the race of Eireamhon are traced to him.
82	Conall Collamhrach	325 B.C.	Son of Ederscel Teamhrah, son of Eochaidh Ailtleathan (79)
83	Nia Sedhamain	319 B.C.	Son of Adhamair (78). In his time the wild deer were, through the sorcery and witchcraft of his mother, usually driven home with the cows, and tamely suffered themselves to be milked every day.
84	Enna Aighneach	312 B.C.	Son of Aenghus Tuirmeach (81). Of a very bountiful disposition, and exceedingly munificent in his donations. This King lost his life by the hands of Criomthan Cosgrach.
85	Crimhthann Cosgrach	292 B.C.	Son of Feidhlimidh, son of Fearghus Fortamhail.
86	Ruadhraighe	288 B.C.	From him the "Clan-na-Rory" were so called. He left, amongst other children - 1. Bresal Bodhiobha, and 2. Congall Clareineach, who were respectively the 88th and the 90th Monarchs; 3. Conragh, the father of the 105th Monarch Eiliomh; 4. Fachna Fathach, the 92nd Monarch, who, by his wife Neasa was father of Conor; 5. Ros Ruadh, who by his wife Roigh, the father of the celebrated Fergus Mór; and 6. Cionga, the ancestor of the heroic Conal Cearnach, from whom are descended O'Moore, MacGuinness, M'Gowan, and several other powerful families in Ulster and Conacht.
87	Innatmar	218 B.C.	Son of Nia Sedhamain (83).
88	Breasal Boidhiobhadh	209 B.C.	Son of Rudhraighe (86). Brother of Congal (90).
89	Lughaidh Luaighne	198 B.C.	Son of Innatmar (87).
90	Congal Claroineach	183 B.C.	Son of Rudhraighe (86).
91	Duach Dallta Deadhadh	168 B.C.	Son of Cairbre Lusc, son of Lughaidh Luaighne (89). Except for Crimthann (125) the last of thirty-three Monarchs of the line of Heber that ruled the Kingdom; and but one more of them came to the Monarchy - namely, Brian Boroimhe, the thirty-first generation down from this Duach, who pulled out his younger brother Deadha's eyes (hence the epithet Dalladh, "blindness," applied to Deadha) for daring to come between him and the throne.
92	Fachtna Fathach	158 B.C.	Son of Rossa, son of Rudhraighe (86).
93	Eochaidh Feidhleach	142 B.C.	Son of Finn, son of Finnlogha, son of Roighnen Ruadh, son of Easamasn Easmhna, son of Blathacht, son of Labraidh Lorc, son of Enna Aighneach (84). His daughter Maeve was the first wife of Conor Mac Nessa, King of Ulster and later Queen of Connacht. m Clothfionn, dau. of Eochaidh Uchtleathan, who was a very virtuous lady. By him she had three children at a birth - Breas, Nar, and Lothar (the Fineamhas), who were slain at the battle of Dromchriadh; after their death, a melancholy settled on the Monarch, hence his name "Feidhlioch." This Monarch caused the division of the Kingdom by Ugaine Mór into twenty-five parts, to cease; and ordered that the ancient Firvolgian division into Provinces should be resumed, viz., Two Munsters, Leinster, Conacht, and Ulster. He also divided the government of these Provinces amongst his favourite courtiers: - Conacht he divided into three parts between Fiodhach, Eochaidh Allat, and Tinne, son of Conragh, son of Ruadhri Mór, of the Line of Ir; Ulster (Uladh) he gave to Feargus, the son of Leighe; Leinster he gave to Ros, the son of Feargus Fairge; and the two Munsters he gave to Tighernach Teadhbheamach and Deagbadah. After this division of the Kingdom, Eochaidh proceeded to erect a Royal Palace in Conacht; this he built on Tinne's government in a place called Druin-na-n Druagh, now Craughan (from Craughan Crodhearg, Maedhbh's mother, to whom she gave the palace), but previously, Rath Eochaidh. About the same time he bestowed his daughter the Princess Maedhbh on Tinne, whom he constituted King of Conacht; Maedhbh being hereditary Queen of that Province. After many years reign Tinne was slain by Maceacht (or Monaire) at Tara. After ten years' undivided reign, Queen Maedhbh married Oilioll Mór, son of Ros Ruadh, of Leinster, to whom she bore the seven Maine; Oilioll Mór was at length slain by Conall Cearnach, who was soon after killed by the people of Conacht. Maedhbh was at length slain by Ferbhuidhe, the son of Conor MacNeasa (Neasa was his mother); but in reality this Conor was the son of Fachtna Fathach, son of Cas, son of Ruadhri Mór, of the Line of Ir. This Monarch, Eochaidh, died at Tara, B.C. 130.
94	Eochaidh Aireamh	130 B.C.	Brother of Eochaidh Feidhleach (93). Having been fifteen years in the sovereignty of Ireland, was burned by Sighmall, at Freamhainn.
95	Ederscel	115 B.C.	Son of Eoghan, son of Iar, son of Oilioll.
	Clann Eimhir Finn		Reigned jointly for one-half year.
96	Nuadha Neacht	110 B.C.	Son of Sedna Sithbhaic.
97	Conaire Mor	109 B.C.	Son of Ederscel (95). It was in the reign of Conaire that the sea annually cast its produce ashore, at Inbhear Colptha. Great abundance of nuts were annually found upon the Boinn Boyne and the Buais during his time. The cattle were without keepers in Ireland in his reign, on account of the greatness of the peace and concord. His reign was not thunder producing or stormy, for the wind did not take a hair off the cattle from the middle of Autumn to the middle of Spring. Little but the trees bent from the greatness of their fruit during his time.
98	Lughaidh Sriabh nDearg	34 B.C.	Son of Breas-Nar-Lothar, son of Eochaidh Feidhleach (93). He entered into an alliance with the King of Denmark, whose daughter, Dearborguill, he obtained as his wife; he killed himself by falling on his sword. Other annalists claim he died of grief.
99	Conchobhar Abhradhruadh	8 B.C.	Son of Finn File, son of Rossa Ruadh, son of Fearghus Fairrghe, son of Nuadha Neacht (96).
100	Crimhthann Niadhnair	7 B.C.	Son of Lughaidh Sriabh nDearg (98). Crimthann's death was occasioned by a fall from his horse. Was married to Nar-Tath-Chaoch, dau. of Laoch, son of Daire, who lived in the land of the Picts (Scotland). Crimthann Niadh Nar: This Monarch and Conaire Mór (or Conary the Great), the 97th Monarch of Ireland, respectively made expeditions to Britain and Gaul; and assisted the Picts and Britains in their wars with the Romans. Crimthann was married to Bainé, daughter of the King of Alba, and the mother of Feredach Fionn Feachtnach. O'Flaherty in the Ogygia says, "Naira, the daughter of Loich, the son of Dareletus of the northern Picts of Britain, was Crimthann's Queen, after whom, I suppose, he was called Nia-Nair." This Crimthann died at his fortress, called "Dun-Crimthann" (at Bin Edar now the Hill of Howth), after his return from an expedition against the Romans in Britain, from which he brought to Ireland various spoils: amongst other things, a splendid war chariot, gilded and highly ornamented; golden-hilted swords and shields, embossed with silver; a table studded with three hundred brilliant gems; a pair of grey hounds coupled with a splendid silver chain estimated to be worth one hundred cumal ("cumal:" Irish, a maid servant), or three hundred cows; together with a great quantity of other precious articles. In this Crimthann's reign the oppression of the Plebeians by the Milesians came to a climax: during three years the oppressed Attacotti saved their scanty earnings to prepare a sumptuous death-feast, which, after Crimthann's death, was held at a place called "Magh Cro" (or the Field of Blood), supposed to be situated near Lough Conn in the county of Mayo. To this feast they invited the provincial Kings, nobility, and gentry of the Milesian race in Ireland, with a view to their extirpation; and, when the enjoyment was at its height, the Attacots treacherously murdered almost all their unsuspecting victims. They then set up a king of their own tribe, a stranger named Cairbre (the 101st Monarch of Ireland), who was called "Cean-Cait" from the cat-headed shape of his head: the only king of a stranger that ruled Ireland since the Milesians first arrived there.
101	Cairbre Cinncait	10 A.D.	Became King after he had killed the nobility, except a few who escaped from the massacre, in which the nobles were murdered by the Aitheach Tuatha. Three nobles escaped: Fearadhach Finnfeachtnach, from whom are sprung all race of Conn of the Hundred Battles; Tibraide Tireach, from whom are the Dal Araidhe; and Corb Olum, from whom are the kings of the Eoghanachta, in Munster. And as to these, it was in their mothers' wombs they escaped. Baine, daughter of the king of Alba, was the mother of Fearadhach Finnfeachtnach; Cruife, daughter of the king of Britain, was the mother of Corb Olum; and Aine, daughter of the king of Saxony, was the mother of Tibraide Tireach.
102	Fearadhach Finnfeachtnach	15 A.D.	Son of Crimhthann Niadhnair (100). The epithet "feachtnach" was applied to this Monarch because of his truth and sincerity. In his reign lived Moran, the son of Maom, a celebrated Brehon, or Chief Justice of the Kingdom; it is said that he was the first who wore the wonderful collar called Iodhain Morain; this collar possessed a wonderful property: - if the judge who wore it attempted to pass a false judgment it would immediately contract, so as nearly to stop his breathing; but if he reversed such false sentence the collar would at once enlarge itself, and hang loose around his neck. This collar was also caused to be worn by those who acted as witnesses, so as to test the accuracy of their evidence. This Monarch, Feredach, died a natural death at the regal city at Tara. Good was Ireland during his time. The seasons were right tranquil. The earth brought forth its fruit; fishful its river mouths; milkful the kine; heavy headed the woods.
103	Fiatach Finn	37 A.D.	From whom the Dal hFhiatach are named. Son of Daire, son of Dluthach, son of Deitsin, son of Eochaidh, son of Sin.
104	Fiacha Finnfolaidh	40 A.D.	Son of Fearadhach Finnfeachtnach (102). Reigned 17 years, and was slain by Eiliomh MacConrach, of the Race of Ir, who succeeded him on the throne. This Fiacha was married to Eithne, daughter of the King of Alba; whither, being near her confinement at the death of her husband, she went, and was there delivered of a son, who was named Tuathal.
105	Elim	57 A.D.	Son of Rossa Ruadh, son of Ruadhraighe (86). Having been twenty years in the sovereignty of Ireland, was slain in the battle of Aichill, by Tuathal Teachtmhar
106	Tuathal Teachtmhar	77 A.D.	Son of Fiacha Finnfolaidh (104). When Tuathal came of age, he got together his friends, and, with what aid his grandfather the king of Alba gave him, came into Ireland and fought and overcame his enemies in twenty-five battles in Ulster, twenty-five in Leinster, as many in Connaught, and thirty-five in Munster. And having thus restored the true royal blood and heirs to their respective provincial kingdoms, he thought fit to take, as he accordingly did with their consent, fron each of the four divisions or provinces Munster, Leinster, Connaught, and Ulster, a considerable tract of ground which was the next adjoining to Uisneach (where Tuathal had a palace): one east, another west, a third south, and a fourth on the north of it; and appointed all four (tracts of ground so taken from the four provinces) under the name of Midhe or "Meath" to belong for ever after to the Monarch's own peculiar demesne for the maintenance of his table; on each of which several portions he built a royal palace for himself and his heirs and successors; for every of which portions the Monarch ordained a certain chiefry or tribute to be yearly paid to the provincial Kings from whose provinces the said portions were taken, which may be seen at large in the Chronicles. It was this Monarch that imposed the great and insupportable fine (or "Eric") of 6,000 cows or beeves, as many fat muttons, (as many) hogs, 6,000 mantles, 6,000 ounces (or "Uinge") of silver, and 12,000 (others have it 6,000) cauldrons or pots of brass, to be paid every second year by the province of Leinster to the Monarchs of Ireland for ever, for the death of his only two daughters Fithir and Darina. (See Paper "Ancient Leinster Tributes," in the Appendix). This tribute was punctually taken and exacted, sometimes by fire and sword, during the reigns of forty Monarchs of Ireland upwards of six hundred years, until at last remitted by Finachta Fleadhach, the 153rd Monarch of Ireland, and the 26th Christian Monarch, at the request and earnest solicitation of St. Moling. At the end of thirty years' reign, the Monarch Tuathal was slain by his successor Mal, A.D. 106. This Monarch erected Royal Palace at Tailtean; around the grave of Queen Tailte he caused the Fairs to be resumed on La Lughnasa (Lewy's Day), to which were brought all of the youth of both sexes of a suitable age to be married, at which Fair the marriage articles were agreed upon, and the ceremony performed. Tuathal married Baine, the dau. of Sgaile Balbh, King of England. It is worthy of remark that Tacitus, in his "Life of Agricola," states that one of the Irish princes, who was an exile from his own country, waited on Agricola, who was then the Roman general in Britain, to solicit his support in the recovery of the kingdom of Ireland; for that, with one of the Roman legions and a few auxiliaries, Ireland could be subdued. This Irish prince was probably Tuathal Teachtmar, who was about that time in Alba or (Caledonia). Tuathal afterwards became Monarch of Ireland, and the Four Masters place the first year of his reign at A.D. 76; and as Agricola with the Roman legions carried on the war against the Caledonians about A.D. 75 to 78, the period coincides chronologically with the time Tuathal Teachtmar was in exile in North Britain; and he might naturally be expected to apply to the Romans for aid to recover his sovereignty as heir to the Irish Monarchy.
107	Mal	107 A.D.	Son of Rochraidhe, son of Cathbhadh, son of Giallchaidh Fionn. Having been four years king over Ireland, he was slain by Feidhlimidh Rechtmhar.
108	Feidhlimidh Reachtmhar	111 A.D.	Son of Tuathal Teachtmhar (106). He was so called as being a maker of excellent wholesome laws, among which he established with all firmness that of "Retaliation;" kept to it inviolably; and by that means preserved the people in peace, quiet, plenty, and security during his time. He reigned nine years; and, after all his pomp and greatness, died of thirst, A.D. 119. He married Ughna, dau. of the King of Denmark.
109	Cathaeir Mor	120 A.D.	Son of Feidhlimidh Firurghlais, son of Cormac Gealta Gaoth, son of Nis Corb, son of Cu Corb, son of Mogh Corb, son of Conchubhar, son of Seadna Siothbac, son of Lughaidh Loithfhionn, son of Breasal Breac.
110	Conn Ceadcathach (or Conn of the Hundred Battles)	123 A.D.	Son of Feidhlimidh Reachtmhar (108). This Conn was so called from hundreds of battles by him fought and won: viz., sixty battles against Cahir Mór, King of Leinster and the 109th Monarch of Ireland, whom he slew and succeeded in the Monarchy; one hundred battles against the Ulsterians; and one hundred more in Munster against Owen Mór (or Mogha Nua-Dhad), their King, who, notwithstanding, forced the said Conn to an equal division of the Kingdom with him. He had two brothers - 1. Eochaidh Fionn-Fohart, 2. Fiacha Suidhe, who, to make way for themselves, murdered two of their brother's sons named Conla Ruadh and Crionna; but they were by the third son Art Eanfhear banished, first into Leinster, and then into Munster, where they lived near Cashel. They were seated at Deici Teamhrach (now the barony of Desee in Meath), whence they were expelled by the Monarch Cormac Ulfhada, son of Art; and, after various wanderings, they went to Munster where Oilioll Olum, who was married to Sadhbh, daughter of Conn of the Hundred Battles, gave them a large district of the present county of Waterford, a part of which is still called Na-Deiseacha, or the baronies of Desies. They were also given the country comprised in the present baronies of Clonmel, Upper-Third, and Middle-Third, in the co. Tipperary, which they held till the Anglo-Norman Invasion. From Eochaidh Fionn-Fohart decended O'Nowlan or Nolan of Fowerty (or Foharta), in Lease (or Leix), and Saint Bridget; and from Fiacha Suidhe are O'Dolan, O'Brick of Dunbrick, and O'Faelan of Dun Faelan, near Cashel. Conn of the Hundred Battles had also three daughters: 1. Sadhbh (or Sabina), who m. first, MacNiadh, after whose death she m. Oilioll Olum, King of Munster. 2. Maoin; and 3. Sarah (or Sarad), m. to Conan MacMogha Laine. Conn reigned 35 years; but was at length barbarously slain by Tiobraidhe Tireach, son of Mal, son of Rochruidhe, King of Ulster. This murder was committed in Tara when Conn chanced to be alone and unattended by his guards; the assassins were fifty ruffians, disguised as women, whom the King of Ulster employed for the purpose.
111	Conaire	158 A.D.	Son of Modh Lamha, son of Lughaidh Allthach, son of Cairbre Cromcheann, son of Daire Dornmhar, son of Cairbre Fionnmhor, son of Conaire Mor (97). This Conaire married Saraid, daughter of Conn (110) and had three sons, Cairbre Musc, from whom the Muscraighe are called; Cairbre Baschaein, from whom are the Baiscnigh, in Corca Baiscinn; and Cairbre Riadal, from whom are the Dal Riada.
112	Art	166 A.D.	Son of Conn of the Hundred Battles (110). This Art, who was the 112th Monarch of Ireland, had three sisters - one of whom Sarad was the wife of Conaire Mac Mogha Laine, the 111th Monarch, by whom she had three sons called the "Three Cairbres," viz. - 1. Cairbre (alias Eochaidh) Riada - a quo "Dalriada," in Ireland, and in Scotland; 2. Cairbre Bascaon; 3. Cairbre Musc, who was the ancestor of O'Falvey, lords of Corcaguiney, etc. Sabina (or Sadhbh), another sister, was the wife of MacNiadh [nia], half King of Munster (of the Sept of Lughaidh, son of Ithe), by whom she had a son named Maccon; and by her second husband Olioll Olum she had nine sons, seven whereof were slain by their half brother Maccon, in the famous battle of Magh Mucroimhe [muccrove], in the county of Galway, where also the Monarch Art himself fell, siding with his brother-in-law Olioll Olum against the said Maccon, after a reign of thirty years, A.D. 195. This Art was married to Maedhbh, Leathdearg, the dau. of Conann Cualann; from this Queen, Rath Maedhbhe, near Tara, obtained its name.
113	Lughaidh	196 A.D.	Son of Maicniadh (MacNiadh) and Sadbh, daughter of Conn of the Hundred Battles (110). Stepson of Olioll Olum. Having been thirty years in the sovereignty of Ireland, he fell by the hand of Feircis, son of Coman Eces, after he had been expelled from Teamhair Tara by Cormac, the grandson of Conn.
114	Fearghus Duibhdeadach	226 A.D.	Son of Iomchadh, son of Fionnchaidh, son of Oghaman, son of Fiatach Finn (103). King over Ireland for the space of a year, when he fell in the battle of Crinna, by Cormac, grandson of Conn, by the hand of Lughaidh Lagha. There fell by him also, in the rout across Breagh, his two brothers, Fearghus the Long Haired and Fearghus the Fiery, who was called Fearghus Caisfhiaclach of the Crooked Teeth.
115	Cormac	227 A.D.	Son of Art (112). King Cormac Mac Art called "Ulfhada," because of his long beard. He was the wisest, most learned, and best of any of the Milesian race before him, that ruled the Kingdom. He ordained several good laws; wrote several learned treatises, among which his treatise on "Kingly Government," directed to his son Carbry Liffechar, is extant and extraordinary. He was very magnificent in his housekeeping and attendants, having always one thousand one hundred and fifty persons in his daily retinue constantly attending at his Great Hall at Tara; which was three hundred feet long, thirty cubits high, and fifty cubits broad, with fourteen doors to it. His daily service of plate, flagons, drinking cups of gold, silver., and precious stone, at his table, ordinarily consisted of one hundred and fifty pieces, besides dishes, etc., which were all pure silver or gold. He ordained that ten choice persons should constantly attend him and his successors - Monarchs of Ireland, and never to be absent from him, viz. - 1. A nobleman to be his companion; 2. A judge to deliver and explain the laws of the country in the King's presence upon all occasions; 3. An antiquary or historiographer to declare and preserve the genealogies, acts, and occurrences of the nobility and gentry from time to time as occasion required; 4. A Druid or Magician to offer sacrifice, and presage good or bad omens, as his learning, skill, or knowledge would enable him; 5. A poet to praise or dispraise every one according to his good or bad actions; 6. A physician to administer physic to the king and queen, and to the rest of the (royal) family; 7. A musician to compose music, and sing pleasant sonnets in the King's presence when there-unto disposed; and 8, 9, and 10, three Stewards to govern the King's House in all things appertaining thereunto. This custom was observed by all the succeeding Monarchs down to Brian Boromha [Boru], the 175th Monarch of Ireland, and the 60th down from Cormac, without any alteration only that since they received the Christian Faith they changed the Druid or Magician for a Prelate of the Church. What is besides delivered from antiquity of this great Monarch is, that (which among the truly wise is more valuable than any worldly magnificence or secular glory whatsoever) he was to all mankind very just, and so upright in his actions, judgments, and laws, that God revealed unto him the light of His Faith seven years before his death; and from thenceforward he refused his Druids to worship their idol-gods, and openly professed he would no more worship any but the true God of the Universe, the Immortal and Invisible King of Ages. Whereupon the Druids sought his destruction, which they soon after effected (God permitting it) by their adjurations and ministry of damned spirits choking him as he sat at dinner eating of salmon, some say by a bone of the fish sticking in his throat, A.D. 266, after he had reigned forty years. Of the six sons of Cormac Mac Art, no issue is recorded from any [of them], but from Cairbre-Lifeachar; he had also ten daughters, but there is no account of any of them only two - namely, Grace (or Grania), and Ailbh [alve], who were both successively the wives of the great champion and general of the Irish Militia, Fionn, the son of Cubhall [Coole]. The mother of Cormac MacArt was Eachtach, the dau. of Ulcheatagh. Cormac was married to Eithne Ollamhdha, daughter of Dunlang, son of Eana Niadh; she was fostered by Buiciodh Brughach, in Leinster.
116	Eochaidh Gonnat	267 A.D.	Son of Fiach, son of Iomchaidh, son of Breasal, son of Siorchaidh, son of Fiatach Finn (103).
117	Cairbre Liffeachair	268 A.D.	Second son of Cormac (115). Was so called from his having been nursed by the side of the Liffey, the river on which Dublin is built. His mother was Eithne, daughter of Dunlong, King of Leinster. He had three sons - 1. Eochaidh Dubhlen; 2. Eocho; and 3. Fiacha Srabhteine, who was the 120th Monarch of Ireland, and the ancestor of O'Neill, Princes of Tyrone. Fiacha Srabhteine was so called, from his having been fostered at Dunsrabhteine, in Connaught; of which province he was King, before his elevation to the Monarchy. After seventeen years' reign, the Monarch Cairbre Lifeachar was slain at the battle of Gabhra [Gaura], A.D. 284, by Simeon, the son of Ceirb, who came from the south of Leinster to this battle, fought by the Militia of Ireland, who were called the Fiana Erionn (or Fenians), and arising from a quarrel which happened between the; in which the Monarch, taking part with one side against the other, lost his life.
119	Fothadh Cairptheach	285 A.D.	Son of Lughadh (113). Fothadh Cairptheach was slain by Fothadh Airgtheach.
118	Fotadh Airgtheach	285 A.D.	Son of Lughadh (113). Fothadh Airgtheach was afterwards slain in the battle of Ollarba, in Magh Line, by Caeilte.
120	Fiacha Sraibhtine	286 A.D.	Son of Caibre-Lifeacher (117). Married Aoife, daughter of the King of Gall Gaodhal. This Fiacha, after 37 years' reign, was, in the battle of Dubhcomar slain by his nephews, the Three Collas, to make room for Colla Uais, who seized on, and kept, the Monarchy for four years
121	Colla Uais	323 A.D.	Son of Eochaidh Doimhlen (Dubhlen), grandson of Cormac (115), and nephew of Fiacha Sraibhtine (120). The three Collas being very valliant, warlike, and ambitious princes, combined against their uncle King Fiacha, and aspired to the Monarchy; they collected powerful forces, and being joined by seven catha (or legions) of the Firbolg tribe of Connaught, they fought a fierce battle against the army of the Monarch Fiacha, at Criogh Rois, south of Tailtean, in Bregia, in which the royal army was defeated, and many thousands on both sides, together with King Fiacha himself, were slain. This was called the battle of Dudhcomar, from "Duchcomar,"he chief Druid of King Fiacha, who was slain there; and the place where the battle was fought was near Teltown, between Kells and Kavans, near the river Blackwater in Meath. After gaining the battle, Colla Uais became Monarch and regined nearly four years; when he was deposed by Fiacha's son, Muiredach Tirecah, who then became Monarch of Ireland. The three Collas and their principal chiefs, to the number of three hundred, were expelled from Ireland (hence the name "Colla:" Irish, prohibition; Gr. "koluo," I hinder), and forecd to take refuge among their relatives in Alba; But, through the friendly influence of their grandfather, the King of Alba, and the mediation of the Druids, they were afterwards pardoned by their cousin, then the Irish Monarch, who cordially invited them to return to Ireland.
122	Muireadhach Tireach	327 A.D.	Son of Fiacha Srabhteine (120). Married Muirion, daughter of Fiachadh, King of Ulster; and having fought and defeated Colla Uais, and banished him and his two brothers into Scotland, regained his father's Throne, which he kept for 30 years.
123	Caelbhadh	357 A.D.	Son of Crunn Badhrai (Crunnbhadroi), King of Ulster. After one year in the sovereignty of Ireland, he was slain by Eochaidh Muighmheadhoin.
124	Eochaidh Muighmheadoin	358 A.D.	Son of Muiredach Tireach (122). King of Meath. In the 8th year of his reign died a natural death at Tara leaving issue four sons. By his first wife Mong Fionn: - I. Brian; II. Fiachra; III. Olioll; IV. Fergus. And, by his second wife, Carthan Cais Dubh (or Carinna), daughter of the Celtic King of Britain, - V. Niall Mór, commonly called "Niall of the Nine Hostages." Mong Fionn was daughter of Fiodhach, and sister of Crimthann, King of Munster, of the Heberian Sept, and successor of Eochaidh in the Monarchy. This Crimthann was poisoned by his sister Mong-Fionn, in hopes that Brian, her eldest son by Eochaidh, would succeed in the Monarchy. To avoid suspicion she herself drank of the same poisoned cup which she presented to her brother; but, notwithstanding that she lost her life by so doing, yet her expectations were not realised, for the said Brian and her other three sons by the said Eochaidh were laid aside (whether out of horror of the mother's inhumanity in poisoning her brother, or otherwise, is not known), and the youngest son of Eochaidh, by Carthan Cais Dubh, was preferred to the Monarchy. I. Brian, from him were descended the Kings, nobility and gentry of Conacht - Tirloch Mór O'Connor, the 121st, and Roderic O'Connor, the 183rd Monarch of Ireland. II. Fiachra's descendants gave their name to Tir-Fiachra ("Tireragh"), co. Sligo, and possessed also parts of co. Mayo. III. Olioll's descendants settled in Sligo - in Tir Oliolla (or Tirerill). This Fiachra had five sons: - 1. Earc Cuilbhuide; 2. Breasal; 3. Conaire; 4. Feredach (or Dathi); and 5. Amhalgaidh.
125	Crimhthann	366 A.D.	Son of Fidhach or Fiodach, son of Daire Cearb. After thirteen years as king over Ireland, he died of a poisonous drink which his own sister gave him.
126	Niall of the Nine Hostages	379 A.D.	Son of Eochaidh Muighmheadhoin (124). He was twice married: - his first Queen was Inne, the daughter of Luighdheach, who was the relict of Fiachadh; his second Queen was Roigneach, by whom he had Nos. I., II., III., IV., V., VI., and VII., as given below. This Niall Mór succeeded his Uncle Crimthann. He was a stout, wise, and warlike prince, and fortunate in all his conquests and achievements, and therefore called "Great." He was also called Niall Naoi-Ghiallach or "Niall of the Nine Hostages," from the royal hostages taken from nine several countries by him subdued and made tributary: viz., - 1. Munster, 2. Leinster, 3. Conacht, 4. Ulster, 5. Britain, 6. the Picts, 7. the Dalriads, 8. the Saxons, and 9. the Morini - a people of France, towards Calais and Piccardy; whence he marched with his victorious army of Irish, Scots, Picts, and Britons, further into France, in order to aid the Celtic natives in expelling the Roman Eagles, and thus to conquer that portion of the Roman Empire; and, encamping on the river Leor (now called Lianne), was, as he sat by the river side, treacherously assassinated by Eocha, son of Enna Cinsalach, king of Leinster, in revenge of a former "wrong" by him received from the said Niall. The spot on the Leor (not "Loire") where this Monarch was murdered is still called the "Ford of Niall," near Boulogne-sur-mer. It was in the ninth year of his reign that St. Patrick was first brought into Ireland, at the age of 16 years, among two hundred children brought by the Irish Army out of Little Brittany (called also Armorica), in France. Niall Mór was the first that gave the name of Scotia Minor to "Scotland," and ordained it to be ever after so called; until then it went by the name of "Alba." Niall had twelve sons: - I. Eoghan; II. Laeghaire (or Leary), the 128th Monarch, in the 4th year of whose reign St. Patrick, the second time, came into Ireland to plant the Christian Faith, A.D. 432; III. Conall Crimthann, ancestor of O'Melaghlin, Kings of Meath; IV. Conall Gulban, ancestor of O'Donnell (princes, lords, and earls of the territory of Tirconnell), and of O'Boyle, O'Dogherty, O'Gallagher, etc.; V. Fiacha, from whom the territory from Birr to the Hill of Uisneach in Media Hibernioe (or Meath) is called "Cineal Fiacha," and from him MacGeoghagan, lords of that territory, O'Molloy, O'Donechar, Donaher (or Dooner), etc., derive their pedigree; VI. Main, whose patrimony was all the tract of land from Lochree to Loch Annin, near Mullingar, and from whom are descended Fox (lords of the Muintir Tagan territory), MacGawley, O'Dugan, O'Mulchonry (the princes antiquaries of Ireland), O'Henergy, etc.; VII. Cairbre, ancestor of OFlanagan, of Tua Ratha, "Muintir Cathalan" (or Cahill) etc.; VIII. Fergus (a quo "Cineal Fergusa" or Ferguson), ancestor of O'Hagan, etc.; IX. Enna; X. Aongus or Æneas; XI. Ualdhearg; and XII. Fergus Altleathan. Of these last four sons we find no issue.
127	Dathi	406 A.D.	Son of Fiachra, son of Eochaidh Muighmheadhoin (124). Killed "by a flash of ligthning" on the Alps during a Continental expedition. He was the last pagan King.
128	Laeghaire	428 A.D.	Son of Niall of the Nine Hostages (126). The first Christian King although he may have lapsed back into paganism before he died. He was converted by St Patrick. In his reign Pope Celestinus the First sent Palladius to Ireland, to propagate the faith among the Irish, and he landed in the country of Leinster with a company of twelve men. Nathi, son of Garchu, refused to admit him; but, however, he baptized a few persons in Ireland, and three wooden churches were erected by him, namely, Cell Fhine, Teach Na Romhan, and Domhnach Arta. At Cell Fhine he left his books, and a shrine with the relics of Paul and Peter, and many martyrs besides. He left these four in these churches: Augustinus, Benedictus, Silvester, and Solinus. Palladius, on his returning back to Rome (as he did not receive respect in Ireland), contracted a disease in the country of the Cruithnigh, and died thereof.
129	Oilioll Molt	459 A.D.	Son of Dathi (127), son of Fiachra. Slain in the battle of Ocha, by Lughaidh, son of Laeghaire, Muircheartach Mac Earca, Fearghus Cerrbhel, son of Conall Cremththainne, Fiachra, son of Laeghaire, King of Dal Araidhe, and Cremhthann, son of Enna Cennsealach, King of Leinster. It was on this occasion that the Lee and Cairloegh were given to Fiachra as a territorial reward for the battle
130	Lughaidh	479 A.D.	Son of Laeghaire (128). During his reign, Fergus Mor MacEarca moved the throne of the Dal Riada to Scotland. After twenty five years in the sovereignty of Ireland, he was killed at Achadh Farcha, being struck by a flash of lightning, by the miracles of God, on account of the insult which he had offered to St. Patrick.
131	Muircheartach Mór Mac Earca	504 A.D.	Son of Muireadhach. Reigned 24 years; and died naturally in his bed, which was rare among the Irish Monarchs in those days; but others say he was burned in a house after being "drowned in wine" (meaning that he was under the influence of drink) on All-Halontide (or All-Hallow) Eve. Married Duinseach, daughter of Duach Teangabha, King of Conacht. He had issue - I. Donal Ilchealgach; II. Fergus, who became the 135th Monarch; III. Baodan (or Boetanus), who was the 137th Monarch of Ireland, and was the father of Lochan Dilmhain, a quo Dillon, according to some genealogists; IV. Colman Rimidh, the 142nd Monarch; V. Néiline; and VI. Scanlan.
132	Tuathal Maelgarbh	528 A.D.	Son of Cormac Caech (Caoch), son of Cairbre, son of Niall of the Nine Hostages (126). Slain, at Greallach Eillte, by Maelmor, son of Airgeadan, who was the tutor of Diarmaid mac Cearbhaill; and Maelmor fell in revenge of it thereof immediately.
133	Diarmaid	539 A.D.	Son of Fearghus Ceirrbheoil, son of Conall Creamhthaine, son of Niall of the Nine Hostages (126). The last Ard Rí to sit at Teamhair (Tara) as it was cursed by St Rhodanus and St Colum Cille / Columba when Diarmuid broke the Right of Santuary. After Diarmuid "each Ard Rí dwelt in his own ancestral territory, at Aileach in the north and Dún-na-Sciath (in Midhe)" or in the case of Brian Bórú - Ceann Coradh in Dál gCais.
134	Domhnall	559 A.D.	Joint rule by the two sons of Muircheartach (131). These princes were obliged to make war on the people of Leinster; fought the memorable battle of Gabhrah-Liffé, where four hundred of the nobility and gentry of that province were slain, together with the greater part of the army. In this reign Dioman Mac Muireadhach, who governed Ulster ten years, was killed by Bachlachuibh. Donal and Fergus both died of "the plague," in one day.
135	Fearghus	559 A.D.
136	Eochaidh	562 A.D.	Joint rule by Eochaidh, son of Domhnall (134) and Baedan, son of Muircheartach (131)
137	Baedan	562 A.D.
138	Ainmire	564 A.D.	Son of Sedna, son of Fearghus Ceannfhoda, son of Conall Gulban, son of Niall of the Nine Hostages (126).
139	Baedan	567 A.D.	Son of Ninnidh, son of Fearghus Ceannfhoda, son of Conall Gulban, son of Niall of the Nine Hostages (126).
140	Aedh II	568 A.D.	Son of Ainmire (138). Granted Dál Riada independence from Ireland at the Convention of Druim Ceat in what is modern day county Derry. Dál Riada subsequently went on to dominate Scotland but it wasn't until 843 that Cionaodh Mac Ailpín unified the Dál Riada and Pictish crowns becoming the first King of Alba (Scotland).
141	Aedh Slaine	595 A.D.	Joint rule by Aedh Slaine, son of Diarmaid (133) and Colman Rimidh, son of Baedan (139)
142	Colman Rimidh	595 A.D.
143	Aedh Uairidhnach	601 A.D.	Son of Domhnall Ilchealgach (134).
144	Maelcobha	608 A.D.	Son of Aedh (140).
145	Suibhne Meann	611 A.D.	Son of Fiachna, son of Fearadhach, son of Muircheartach (131).
146	Domhnall	624 A.D.	Son of Aedh (140).
147	Ceallach	640 A.D.	Sons of Maelcobha (144). Ruled jointly
148	Conall Cael	640 A.D.	Sons of Maelcobha (144). Ruled jointly
149	Diarmaid	657 A.D.	Joint rule by two sons of Aedh Slaine (141)
150	Blathmac	657 A.D.	Joint rule by two sons of Aedh Slaine (141)
151	Seachnasach	665 A.D.	Son of Blathmac (150).
152	Ceannfaeladh	670 A.D.	Son of Blathmac (150).
153	Finnachta Fleadhach	674 A.D.	Son of Dunchadh, King of Ulidia, son of Aedh Slaine (141).
154	Loingseach	694 A.D.	Son of Aenghus macDomnail O'Neill, son of Domhnall, son of Aodh (140).
155	Congal of Ceann Maghair	702 A.D.	Son of Fearghus of Fanaid
156	Fearghal	709 A.D.	Son of Maelduin, son of Maelfithrigh, son of Aodh Uairidhnach (143). Was slain by Moroch, King of Leinster. Married Aithiochta, daughter of Cein O'Connor, King of Conacht. This Feargal had four sons: I. Niall Frassach; II. Connor (or Conchobhar), who was ancestor of O'Cahan; III. Hugh Allan (or Aodh Olann), the 160th Monarch, and ancestor of O'Brian, of Ulster; and IV. Colca, a quo Culkin.
157	Fogartach	719 A.D.	Son of Niall, son of Cearnach Sotal, son of Diarmid (149).
158	Cinaeth	720 A.D.	Son of Irgalach, son of Conaing Cuirri, son of Conghal, son of Aedh Slaine (141).
159	Flaithbheartach	723 A.D.	Son of Loingseach (154).
160	Aedh Allan	730 A.D.	Son of Fearghal (156).
161	Domhnall	739 A.D.	Son of Murchadh, son of Diarmaid, son of Airmeadhach Caoch, son of Conall Guithbinn, son of Suibhne Meann, son of Colman Mor, son of Diarmaid (133).
162	Niall Frosach	759 A.D.	Son of Fearghal (156). Married Bridget, daughter of Orca, son of Carrthone; was called "frassach" from certain miraculous showers that fell in his time (a shower of honey, a shower of money, and a shower of blood). After seven years' reign, retired to St. Columb's Monastery at Hye, in Scotland, A.D. 765, where he died in A.D. 773; issue: Aodh Fearcar, and Aodh Ordnigh.
163	Donnchadh	766 A.D.	Son of Domhnall (161).
164	Aedh Oirdnidhe	793 A.D.	Son of Niall Frosach (162). After 25 years' reign, was slain in the battle of Fearta. Was married to Meadhbh, daughter of Ionrachtach, King of Durlus. In his reign prodigious thunder and lightning occurred, which killed many men, women, and children all over the Kingdom, particularly in a nook of the country between Corcavaskin and the sea in Munster, by which one thousand and ten persons were destroyed. In his reign occurred many prodigies - the forerunner of the Danish Invasion, which soon after followed. This Monarch had four sons: I. Naill Caille; II. Maoldoon, a quo "Siol Muldoon;" III. Fogartach, ancestor of Muintir Cionaodh or Kenny; and IV. Blathmac.
165	Conchobhar	818 A.D.	Son of Donnchadh (163).
166	Niall Caille	832 A.D.	Son of Aedh Oirdnidhe (164). He fought many battles with the Danes and Norwegians, in most of which although the Danes were worsted, yet the continual supplies pouring unto them made them very formidable; so much so that in this reign they took and fortified Dublin and other strong places upon the sea-coasts. Married Gormfhliath, daughter of Donogh, son of Donal. This Monarch had five sons: I. Aodh Finnliath; II. Dubhionracht, a quo O'Dubhionrachta; III. Aongus; IV. Flahertach, ancestor of O'Hualairg or Mac Ualairg, anglicised Mac Golderick, Goderick, Golding, Goulding, Waller, etc.; V. Braon, a quo Clan Braoin of Mogh Ithe (Moy Ith).
167	Maelseachlainn (Malachy I)	845 A.D.	Son of Maelruanaidh, son of Donnchadh (163). Maoilsheachlainn I who, as King of Midhe, killed the hated Viking Thorgils (who had conquered much of Ireland at the time.) When he was Ard Rí he "vigorously attacked the invaders and was ably seconded by some of the provincial kings. The Danes were defeated in Westmeath, losing 700 in battle; in Tipperary they lost 240; at Balrothery, 200; at Rathmullen, near Duleek, 300; they were also defeated at Farragh............ they were much weakened and discouraged by their losses and abandoned several of their conquests."
168	Aedh Finnliath	861 A.D.	Son of Niall Caille (166). Reigned for sixteen years, during which time he fought and defeated the Danes in several battles and was worsted in others; he died at Drom-Enesclann. This Aodh married Maolmare or Mary, daughter of Keneth, the son of Alpin - both Kings of Scotland. He had two sons: I. Niall Glundubh; and II. Donal, who was King of Aileach, and ancestor of the family of MacLaughlin, some of whom were Monarchs of Ireland; and of O'Donnelly, whose chief was, A.D. 1177, slain at Down by Sir John de Courcey, first "Earl of Ulster."
169	Flann Sinna	877 A.D.	Son of Maelsechlainn (167).
170	Niall Glundubh	915 A.D.	Son of Aedh Finnliath (168). Grandson of Kenneth MacAlpin of Scotland. He had many conflicts with the Danes, in which, generally, he was victorious. At length, making up a great army, in order to besiege Dublin, a great battle was fought between them, wherein the Monarch lost his life, and after great slaughter on both sides, his army was routed. He revived the great Fair at Tailtean. From this Monarch the sirname O'Neill or "Clan-na-Neil," are derived. Niall Glundubh left issue: I. Muriartach na-Cochall, Prince of Ulster, who left no issue; and II. Murchertach.
171	Donnchadh	918 A.D.	Son of Flann Sinna (169).
172	Conghalach III	942 A.D.	Son of Maelmithigh, son of Flanagan, son of Ceallach, son of Conaing, son of Conghal, decendant of Aedh Slaine (141). Conghalach's mother was Muire, daughter of Kenneth Mac Alpin, King of Scotland. Defeated the Vikings in 944 at Dublin and who in 948 inflicted heavy loss on the them "Blacar being among the slain". He defeated them again at Muine Breacain but was eventually killed in battle with the Vikings.
173	Domhnall	955 A.D.	Son of Muircheartach of the Leather Cloaks, son of Niall Glundubh (170). Died at Armagh, after 24 years' reign. During his long reign we find but little progress by him (made) against the encroaching Danes; he wholly bent his arms against his subjects; preying, burning, and slaughtering the people of Conacht, whether deservedly or otherwise we know not, but we know it was no reasonable time for them to fall foul upon one another, while their common enemy was victoriously triumphing over them both.
174	Maelseachlainn Mor (Malachy II)	979 A.D.	Son of Domhnall, son of Donnchadh (171). The last Ard Rí of the Uí Néill Dynasty and who was also one of it's best. Maoilsheachlainn when "announcing his accession, issued a noble proclaimation "Let all the Irish who are suffering servitude in the land of the stranger return home to their respective houses and enjoy themselves in gladness and in peace" To this end he went about smashing the power of the Vikings- "The very year he became Ard Rí he defeated them at Tara, were Regnall, son of Olaf, King of Dublin was killed......... he followed up his successes at Tara by attacking and capturing the city of Dublin." However in 988 he was forced to recognise Brian (Bórú) as King of Leath Mhogha (Southern half of Ireland). By that stage Brian had become supreme ruler of Munster and Leinster. But Brian did not stop there and when the Ulster Kings refused to support Maoilsheachlainn he was forced to acknowledge Brian as Ard Rí in 1002. When Brian Bórú was killed at Clontarf in 1014 he re-assumed the High Kingship and shortly before his death "he entered a lonely retreat- Cro-Innis........ where he spent his last years in penance and mortification. "
175	Brian Boroimhe [Boru]	1002 A.D.	Son of Ceinneidigh, King of Thomond), son of Lorcan macCorc, son of Corc, son of Annluan, son of Mathgamhain, son of Toirrdhealbach, son of Cathal, son of Aodh Caomh, son of Conall, son of Eochaidh Bailldhearg, son of Farthann Fionn, son of Blod, son of Cas, son of Conall Eachluaith, son of Lughaidh Meann, son of Cas, son of Conall Eachluaith, son of Lughaidh Meann, son of Aonghus Tireach, son of Fear Corb, son of Mogh Corb, son of Cormac Cas, son of Oilill Olum. Fell by the hand of Brodar, the Danish admiral, at the Battle of Clontarf, on Good Friday, the 23rd April, 1014, in the 88th year of his age. This Brian ("Brian:" Irish, very great strength), was the ancestor of O'Brien, Kings of Thomond. He had eleven brothers, of whom only four left issue, viz. - I. Mahoun, the eldest brother, who was King of Munster, before Brian, and from whom sprang many families. II. Donchuan, who was the ancestor of, among other families, Eustace, O'Kennedy, O'Regan, (of Thomond), O'Kelleher, O'Beollan (or "Boland" ), O'Casey, Power, Twomey, etc. III. Eichtigern (a quo Ahearne, Hearne, Heron), who was ancestor of MacCraith, (or MacGrath), of Thomond, etc. IV. Anluan, who was the ancestor of Quirk, etc. Brian Boroimhe was four times married; his first wife was Mór (more), daughter of Flan O'Hyne, Prince of Hy-Fiachra Aidhne, in Galway, by whom he had three sons of whom Murrough, who fell at the Battle of Clontarf, was one. Brian was secondly married to Eachraidh, daughter of Cearbhall, son of Olioll Fionn, and had: 1. Teige 2. Donal, who distinguished himself at Clontarf, and was slain by the Siol Murray in a battle fought by the Dalcassians against the Conacians. His third wife was Gormliath, the "Kormloda" of Icelandic history; sister of Maolmora, King of Leinster: and relict of Aulaf, the Danish King of Dublin, to whom she bore the celebrated Sitric, who succeeded his father as King of the Danes of Dublin. By Gormliath Brian had Donogh, the 176th Monarch of Ireland, who was the ancestor of Plunkett, and of the O'Briens of Coonagh, in Limerick, and of Aherlow, in Tipperary; and a daughter Sabh, who married Cian by whom she had Mathgabhuin, the founder of the family of O'Mahony, in the county Cork. Brian's fourth wife was Dubhcobhla, who d. s. p. 1009; she was daughter of Cathal O'Connor, King of Connaught.
174	Maelseachlainn Mor (Malachy II)	1014 A.D.	Upon the death of Brian he was restored to the kingship that he had abdicated.
175	Corcran Claireach	1022 A.D.	Joint rule.
	Conn O Lochlain	1022 A.D.	Joint rule.
176	Donnchadh	1024 A.D.	Son of Brian Boru (173) and Gormflaeth ingen Murchada MacFinn. Only two of Brian Bórú's sons survived the battle of Clontarf; Donnchadh and Tadhg. However in 1023 Donnchadh had Tadhg killed and he became King of Mumhain and in 1024 he also became Ard Rí. Donnchadh's reign is described here: "He enacted salutory laws, sternly repressed robbery, caused the Sabbath to be observed". In his old age he went on a pilgrimage to Rome and died there.
177	Diarmaid	1042 A.D.	Son of Donnchad Mael na mBo.
178	Toirdhealbhach Ua Briain	1055 A.D.	Son of Teig O'Brien, who was the second son of Brian Boru (173). Under the guardianship of Diarmuid, King of Laighin, Toirdealbach Ó Briain, son of Tadhg, son of Brian (175), became Ard Rí. When he died "he was the foremost in power and influence among the Irish kings, in ability and energy, both in peace and war, not unworthy of the grandson of Brian. Abroad also his fame was great. By Lanfranc, Archbishop of Canterbury, who corresponded with him, he is styled the magnificent King of Ireland, and he congradulated the people of Ireland that God had given them such a king."
179	Domhnall Mac Lochlainn	1083 A.D.	Son of Ardgar macLochlain, King of Ailech.
180	Muircheartach Ua Briain	1101 A.D.	Son of Toirdhealbhach (178). A struggle between the Ó Briain and Ó Lochlainn clans for the High Kingship of Ireland ensued. However Muircheartach was not easily subdued "he was equally ambitious and equally powerful as Domhnall, and between the two chiefs- both men of the highest capacity- a life long struggle, fierce, bitter, and persistent, and which, at the close of their lives, was undecided still."
181	Toirdhealbhach Ua Conchobhair	1106 A.D.	Son of Ruaidri na Saide Buide mac Aeda Gai, King of Connaught, son of Aed in Gai Bernaig. He sternly punished injustice..... he was liberal to the monasteries, especially to Clonmacnoise (Cluain Mhic Nóis); he set up a mint and coined money; he built bridges over the Shannon; the Abbey of Cong, the picturesque ruins of which still stand on the Corrib, was built and endowed by him, and the stone cross of Tuam and the processional cross of Cong show that he encouraged Irish art. No King since Brian Bórú had such influence or power. Sometimes he has been called Turlogh the Great (Toirdealbach Mór) and if we remember the age in which he lived and compare him with his contemporaries, we may allow that he has some title to the name. In 1156 Toirdealbach Mór died and was buried beneath the High Altar of St. Ciarán at Clonmacnoise (Cluain Mhic Nóis).
182	Muirchertach macNéill macLochlainn	1156 A.D.	Son of Niall, son of Domnall (179).
183	Ruaidri Ua Conchobair	1166 A.D.	Son of Toirdhealbhach Ua Conchobhair (181). The native chiefs no longer looked to Tirowen for a leader and with singular unanimity, they agreed to give to Roderick O'Connor (Ruaidhrí Ó Conchubhair) the hostages which he sought. Tirconnell, Brefny, Meath and the Dublin Danes submitted to him and at Dublin (Duibhlinn), whither he had marched, Roderick (Ruaidhrí) was inaugurated King, "as honourably as any King of the Gael was ever inaugurated." Ossory, and Leinster and all Munster at once recognised him". During his rule "he convoked at Athboy (1167) a great council of princes and ecclesiastics, where many useful regulations for the government of the entire country were made." He also celebrated the last Fair of Tailteann in 1168 at which 13,000 horsemen attended. However Ruaidhrí Ó Conchubhair was a bad choice as Ard Rí and when the deposed King of Laighin (Leinster), Diarmuid Mac Murchadha / Diarmuid na nGall (Dermot Mac Murrough), sought Anglo-Norman aid to regain his kingdom from Murchadh na nGael, Ruaidhrí proved himself to be an "imbecile and a coward."
		1171	Monarchy ceded to Henry II of England.
	Éadbhard I	1315	In 1315 Edward Bruce (Eideard de Brus), brother of Robert the King of Scotland (Roibeirt de Brus), was invited to Ireland by the King of Ulster Domhnall Ó Néill in the hope that he would drive the English invaders out of Ireland as his brother had done in Scotland. In 1316 he was crowned King of Ireland under the title of Éadbhard I or Edward I. "He set up his Headquarters at Dundalk (Dún Dealgan) and there on the 1st of May 1316, in the presence of the Scotch and Irish, he was crowned King of Ireland". After early successes at Connor, Cells and Arscoll (near Athy in county Kildare) de Brus failed to capture Dublin or Limerick and was forced back north where he was killed at the Battle of Faughart in 1318 never having ruled the entire country. "While the battle raged , a powerful English knight, Sir John de Maupas, rushed into the Scottish ranks, sought out Edward Bruce (de Brus) with whom he engaged in single combat, and both fell mortally wounded." The British Rule English Lords of Ireland (1171–1541) Prince Henry (I), Lord of Ireland (1171–1189) (King of England as Henry II, and Duke of Normandy, from 1154) Prince Richard (I), (1189–1199) (King of England as Richard I "Lionheart") Prince John, (1199–1216) (In England, King John; in Normandy, Duke John) Prince Henry (II), (1216–1272) (King of England as Henry III) Prince Edward (I), (1272–1307) (King of England as Edward I) Prince Edward (II), (1307–1327) (King of England as Edward II) King Edward, (1315–1318) (Edward Bruce in opposition to Edward II) Prince Edward (III), (1327–1377) (King of England as Edward III) Prince Richard (II), (1377–1399) (King of England as Richard II) Prince Henry (III), (1399–1413) (King of England as Henry IV) Prince Henry (IV), (1413–1422) (King of England as Henry V) Prince Henry (V), (1422–1461 and 1470–1471) (King of England as Henry VI) Prince Edward (IV), (1461–1470 and 1471–1483) (King of England as Edward IV) Prince Edward (V), (1483) (King of England as Edward V) Prince Richard (III), (1483–1485) (King of England as Richard III) Prince Henry (VI), (1485–1509) (King of England as Henry VII) Prince Henry (VII), (1509–1542) (King of England as Henry VIII) English Kings and Queens of Ireland (1541–1801) Henry VIII claimed the title "King of Ireland" in 1542.Henry (I), King of Ireland (1542–1547); previously Prince Henry (VII), Lord of Ireland, (1509–1542). (Although universally known as "Henry VIII," he was technically Henry I in Ireland, as the first of the English kings Henry to be King of Ireland; and the same principle applies to his successors until 1801.) Edward (I), (1547–1553) (Edward VI of England, I of Ireland) Jane, (1553) Mary (I), (1553–1558) Elizabeth, (1558–1603) James (I), (1603–1625) (James VI of Scotland, I of England and Ireland) Charles (I), (1625–1649) The infamous Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (1649–1660) (Lord Protector) Charles (II), (1660–1685) James (II), (1685–1688) William (I), (1689–1702) & Mary (II), (1689–1694) (William III of England, III of the Netherlands, II of Scotland, I of Ireland; and Mary II of England, II Scotland, II of Ireland.) Anne, (1702–1714) George (I), (1714–1727) George (II), (1727–1760) George (III) (1760–1801)

Sports Updates

Belvedere — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 09:05:23 CDT

U14S FALL AT LAST HURDLE
After loosing to Caulry in the Feile semi- final R.Bridge faced a very strong Kinnegad team in the shield final.After 3 minutes Rochfortbridge like many others would have thought it was going to be their day and nothing could stop them!Full forward Johnny Daly send in a beautiul ball into the edge of the parallelogram for corner forward Tom Farrell to finish but all the work was done in the pass!After a 12 minute none stop Kinnegad attacks a point was finally scored by Fergus Murtagh!By the end of the half it was 2-6 to R.Bridges goal!In the second half a spirited display by St.Marys Made it look like it there was a surprise in store but a goal rush and a point made it unlikely.Final score was 5-8 to 3-3.The score line does not tell the full story but inept finishing and lack of forward confidence was the downfall of St.Marys.2 goals by Ian Hyland.,1 well taken after hard work from Johnny Daly and a penalty after he was up-ended by Ryan Cafferry,a point from play after a lovely pass from J.Daly meant Hyland could tap over,his other point a 25 yard free.But Johnny Daly's Last minute point was but a mere constellation for the St.Marys boys.

Rochfortbridge Notable Buildings

Belvedere — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 09:04:33 CDT

Notable local buildings

From the

Glebe House, Rochfortbridge, County Westmeath

15320001

Detached three-bay two-storey former Church of Ireland rectory, built c.1800. Now out of use and ruinous. Original roof now collapsed having a central pair of red brick chimneystacks and a projecting eaves course. Roughcast rendered walls, now partia...
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Bridge House Bar and Restaurant, Rochfortbridge, County Westmeath

15320003

Attached three-bay two-storey former house, built c.1860, having a later single-storey extension to the rear (southeast) having a barrel-vaulted corrugated metal over. Now forms part of a commercial premises with the building to the northeast. Pitche...
FULL RECORD for Bridge House Bar and Restaurant, Rochfortbridge, County Westmeath >>

Sycamore House, Rochfortbridge, County Westmeath

15320004

Detached three-bay two-storey house, built c.1830. Formerly in use as a telephone exchange. Hipped natural slate roof with clay ridge tiles, cast-iron rainwater goods and central two red brick chimneystacks. Roughcast rendered walls over projecting s...
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Rochfortbridge, County Westmeath

15320005

Attached four-bay two-storey house, built c.1820, having a shallow single-bay flat-roofed entrance porch to the front elevation and a two-storey outbuilding attached to the southwest gable end. Pitched natural slate roof with cast-iron rainwater good...
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Rochfortbridge Post Office, Rochfortbridge, County Westmeath

15320006

Corner-sited three-bay two-storey end of terrace house, built c.1820. Now in use as a post office and shop with living accommodation over. Modern shopfront to the northeast end of the main façade (southeast) and extensions to the rear (northwest). Pi...
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Rochfortbridge, County Westmeath

15320007

Detached five-bay single-storey vernacular house, built c.1820, having a three-bay extension/outshoot to the west end of the main façade (north). Steeply pitched corrugated metal roof with raised verges and a rendered chimneystack to either gable end...
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Convent of Mercy, Rochfortbridge, County Westmeath

15320008

Freestanding single-bay single-storey gable-fronted former oratory/shrine associated with the Convent of Mercy, Rochfortbridge (15320011), erected c.1910. Currently out of use. Steeply pitched decorative natural slate roof with raised clay ridge cres...
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Convent of Mercy, Rochfortbridge, County Westmeath

15320010

Attached four-bay two-storey building to rear of Convent of Mercy (15320011), built c.1896, having advanced gable-fronted bays to either end of the main elevation (north) and having single-storey ranges to the rear (south) adjoining main body of conv...
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Convent of Mercy, Rochfortbridge, County Westmeath

15320011

Attached seven-bay two-storey convent building, built c.1896, having an advanced gable-fronted section to the east end of the main elevation (south), a single-bay two-storey entrance bay to the centre of the main façade, a five-bay single-storey chap...
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Meedin Parish Church, Rochfortbridge, County Westmeath

15320012

Freestanding Roman Catholic church on cruciform-plan, built c.1850, having a two-bay nave to the south, a shallow chancel to the rear (north) and single-bay transepts with cat-slide roofs over to the east and the west, added c.1980. Tower on square-p...
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Convent of Mercy, Rochfortbridge, County Westmeath

15320013

Detached three-bay two-storey former house, built c.1830 and altered c.1900, having an advanced gable-fronted bay to the centre of the main façade (south). Now in use as a school hall associated with the Convent of Mercy (15320011) with a large moder...
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Rochfortbridge, County Westmeath

15320014

Detached two-storey four-bay house, built c.1820, having a projecting single-bay flat-roofed entrance porch to the front elevation (south). Pitched slate roof with three red brick chimneystacks and a number of remaining sections of cast-iron rainwate...
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Castlelost Parish Church, Rochfortbridge, County Westmeath

15320015

Freestanding Church of Ireland church, built c.1815, comprising two-bay hall with attached three-stage tower on square-plan to the west having a raised parapet with English-style crenellations. Now in use as a private house. Pitched natural slate roo...
FULL RECORD for Castlelost Parish Church, Rochfortbridge, County Westmeath >>

Rochfortbridge, County Westmeath

15320016

Freestanding cast-iron vent pipe, erected c.1900, comprising a fluted pedestal with moulded necking, and cylindrical shaft over having splayed saw tooth-profiled parapet. Located to the northeast end of Rochfortbridge.
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Rochfortbridge, County Westmeath

15320017

Detached six-bay single-storey house, built c.1820, having a projecting single-bay flat-roofed entrance porch to the main façade (northeast). Extended to the east end. Pitched slate roof with a mix of natural and artificial slate having three rendere...
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Rochfortbridge Post Office, Rochfortbridge, County Westmeath

15320023

Wall-mounted cast-iron post box, c.1890, with 'VR' royal cipher and raised crown motif. Set into northwest gable wall of Rochfortbridge Post Office (15320006) at a corner site to the centre of Rochfortbridge.
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Gaybrook Cross Roads, County Westmeath

15402632

Freestanding cast-iron water pump, erected c.1885, comprising banded cylindrical shaft with fluted head having fluted spout, 'cow tail' curvilinear handle, and fluted ogee-dome cap with finial. Located adjacent to rural cross road junction within a r...
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County Westmeath

15402633

Former entrance gates serving Gaybrook House (now demolished), erected c.1790, comprising four ashlar limestone gate piers, on square-plan, with stepped pyramidal capstones over. Piers to either side (northeast and southwest) linked by sections of co...
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County Westmeath

15402634

Detached five-bay single-storey former estate worker's house(s) with attic storey associated with Gaybrook House (demolished), built c.1800, with a single-bay entrance porch to the centre of the main façade (south) and a two-storey elevation to the r...
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County Westmeath

15402635

Triple-arch road bridge spanning ornamental river/lake associated with Gaybrook House (demolished), built c.1800. Built of dressed limestone having dressed limestone voussoirs to round-headed arches and ashlar limestone coping over dressed limestone ...
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County Westmeath

15402636

Detached three-bay single-storey former gate lodge associated with Gaybrook House (demolished), built c.1790, with canted bay projection to the centre of the main elevation (north). Now out of use and a roofless ruin. Hipped natural slate roof, now p...
FULL RECORD for County Westmeath >>

County Westmeath

15402637

Complex of two-storey outbuildings and a stable block arranged around a central courtyard to the rear of Gaybrook House (demolished), built c.1790, with remains of walled garden to the northeast. Hipped natural slate roofs with projecting cut stone e...
FULL RECORD for County Westmeath >>

County Westmeath

15402638

A pair of three-bay single-storey former estate worker's houses associated with Gaybrook House (now demolished), built c.1810, each with a central single-bay entrance porch to the centre of the main façade (west). Now renovated and in use as private ...
FULL RECORD for County Westmeath >>

County Westmeath

15402639

A pair of three-bay single-storey former estate worker's houses associated with Gaybrook House (now demolished), built c.1810, each originally with a central single-bay entrance porch to the centre of the main façade (west). Now derelict and out of u...
FULL RECORD for County Westmeath >>

County Westmeath

15402667

Main entrance gates serving Gaybrook House (now demolished), erected c.1790, comprising a central pair of decorative cast-iron piers supporting cast-iron gates, flanked to the north and south by curved sections of ashlar limestone plinth walling with...
FULL RECORD for County Westmeath >>

Rochfortbridge, County Westmeath

15320002

Detached gable-fronted single-bay single-storey former forge/smithy, built c.1830. Now out of use. Pitched natural slate roof with clay ridge tiles. Squared rubble stone walls having a square-headed carriage arch to the main elevation (east) with tim...
FULL RECORD for Rochfortbridge, County Westmeath >>

Rochfortbridge, County Westmeath

15320018

Detached single-bay single-storey house, built c.1800, having a projecting single-bay entrance porch to the centre of the main elevation (east). Steeply pitched corrugated metal roof with cast-iron rainwater goods and no chimneystacks. Roughcast rend...
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Sidebrook House, Rochfortbridge, County Westmeath

15320019

Detached four-bay two-storey house on L-shaped plan, built c.1815, having a projecting single-bay single-storey porch with modern conservatory over to the main elevation (south). Possibly containing the fabric of an earlier house. Hipped natural slat...
FULL RECORD for Sidebrook House, Rochfortbridge, County Westmeath >>

Sidebrook House, Rochfortbridge, County Westmeath

15320020

Complex of single and two-storey outbuildings associated with Sidebrook House (15320019), built c.1815 and c.1850. The buildings are arranged around a courtyard to the east side of the house, built c.1850, with three additional outbuildings, built c....
FULL RECORD for Sidebrook House, Rochfortbridge, County Westmeath >>

Sidebrook House, Rochfortbridge, County Westmeath

15320021

Main entrance gates serving Sidebrook House (15320019), erected c.1835, comprising a pair of roughcast rendered gate piers (on square-plan with cut stone capping over) supporting a pair of cast-iron gates. Entrance flanked to either side (northwest a...
FULL RECORD for Sidebrook House, Rochfortbridge, County Westmeath >>

Sidebrook House, Rochfortbridge, County Westmeath

15320022

Field gate, erected c.1820, comprising a pair of rubble limestone gate piers (on circular-plan) supporting a pair of wrought-iron flat bar gates. Located adjacent to the northwest of the main entrance gates to Sidebrook House (15320021). Single-arche...
FULL RECORD for Sidebrook House, Rochfortbridge, County Westmeath >>

Rochford Bridge, Alberta Canada

Rochfort Bridge Rochfort Bridge is the longest wooden trestle bridge in Western Canada, spanning some 736 m (2,414 feet).
Rochfort Bridge Trading PostBoth a restaurant and gift shop, the Trading Post has a licensed dining room where you can enjoy homestyle cooking. The gift shop features unique gifts and crafts something for everyone. Step outside and feed the miniature donkeys or play a round of golf on the par 3, nine hole course.

Please feel free to add video or slideshow to this page.

just click the "EasyEdit" button above and share your

videos or slide shows. have fun - Belvedere.

Countess Alice Spencer

Belvedere — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 15:57:05 CDT

The Earl of Spencer

Lady Elizabeth (Moore) Rochfort is an ancestral relation of Diana Frances Spencer, known to us all as Diana, Princess of Wales. The link is as follows:- Lady Elizabeth Moore was daughter of Hamilton, Henry, Moore; 3rd Earl of Drogheda, Her grandfather was Henry Moore, 1st Earl of Drogheda. Henry was married to Countess Alice Spencer. (Her Grandmother) Countess Alice Spencer (her grandmother) came from a family of royalty. Her sister Margaret was a Countess, her Brother Robert was a Viscount and her brother was

Henry Spencer 1st Earl of Sunderland. Henry was the father of Robert 2nd Earl of Sunderland Robert was the father of Charles 3rd Earl of Sunderland Charles was the father of John of Althorp Hon MP John of Althorp MP was the father of John 1st Earl of Spencer John 1st Earl of Spencer was the father of George John 2nd Earl of Spencer George John 2nd Earl of Spencer was the father of Fredrick 4th Earl of Spencer Fredrick 4th Earl of Spencer was the father of Charles Robert 6th Earl of Spencer Charles Robert 6th Earl of Spencer was the father of Albert Edward 7th Earl of Spencer Albert Edward 7th Earl of Spencer was the father of Edward John 8th Earl of Spencer Edward John 8th Earl of Spencer was the father of Diana Frances Princess of Wales

Several other links to royal families are traceable back to George Rochfort and though George himself only entered the peerage as Rt. Hon, he is the first Rochfort of Gaulstown to marry into “Royal” bloodlines thus opening the door for future members of the clan to enter the peerage. His first son Robert being created 1st Earl of Belvedere in 1756.

SPORTS FIXTURES

Anonymous — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 17:27:38 CDT

MAJOR SPORTS FIXTURES

For all major sports fixtures contact

http://www.westmeathsports.ie/home

MINOR SPORTS FIXTURES

****

please give date, venue and time of fixture on this page. click "EasyEdit" then click into the next blank field - click accross the page to enter your details

***

Event	Venue	Date and Time	more info from
Final	Cusack Park	Sunday 27/4/08 starting at 12:00	1st time out from the new jerseys

Joseph North

Belvedere — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 20:28:04 CST

Born and bred to wear the green, all Irish to the core.
Alas by way of circumstance he sailed from Éire's shore.
This ode to one who loved his home will show you all his worth.
Swift or Yeates can only bow to our own Joseph North.
by
Belvedere

This page is dedicated to the memory of Joseph North, the High Park, Rochfortbridge.
below you can read some of his poems, with grateful thanks to Shelia from New York.

Joseph North was a poet of high regard, his poems were never published but that is about to change

With the permission of Sheila who has sent me his work, I can at last post all his poems on this site.

Posting of the work of Joseph North will not affect the copy write of his work, but will show the world that he was among the best poets ever born. publication of his work from this site is prohibited without permission.

When summer comes again

By

Joseph North

***

Away from the throngs of the city,

Far away from the haunts of men;

Down where the bubbling brooklet

is winding along through the glen.

there by the falling of waters

I'll weave me a sweet refrain,

that I will sing to a loved one

when summer comes again.

Adown where the pigeons are cooing

and wooing the live-long day,

I'll hark to the notes of the robin

as she sings in the woodland gay.

I'll sit myself down by the posies

that scatter abroad o'er the plain,

and weave a nice wreath for my loved one

when summer comes again.

But what if she should refuse them

and laugh in her whimsical way,

And then if she will not listen

to the sweet loving words I may say,

well, then I will discard her,

when I find that my suit is in vane;

I'll seek me another much fairer

when summer comes again.

Where is the use of complaining,

I'd laugh at all troubles and care,

I'll fashion a bright happy future

in the dreamland of luxury there;

Where there's nothing to mar or disturb me,

no traces of sorrow or pain,

and life will be pleasure and sweetness

when summer comes again.

When fancies arise to our vision,

in the distance far sweeter they seem;

Too soon we awake from our slumbers

to find that 'twas only a dream.

How many there are in their yearning

have wished some bright goal to attain;

They sigh for the total of summer,

the summer that ne'er comes again.

***

Note from Belvedere - this poem is perhaps the second most beautiful poem i have ever read - the most beautiful being the poem to his mother written by Joseph North...I have read the works of Swift, Hemingway, Yeats and many others and I must admit that they didn't move me as much as the poems of North, read them with care.

Coming next

My Lass of long ago

although this poem was sent to me illustrated, this site can only host small pixel pictures, but I will try to do it justice with one or two images. I will try my best to have it in full colour and posted here this week.

alas technical issues are still preventing the illustrated version. as it was written in ink in calligraphic style over the illustrations, it remains unreadable when posted here as a picture scan - until we resolve this issue or retype the poem we will keep this page active with a beautiful poem by Joe

O'Boyce of Donnegal

Joseph North

In pensive mood adreaming

and seated in my chair

The world and all its seeming

rolled on unnoticed there.

But hark the day bell ringing

thrilled thro' my lone contur

the mail-man quickly bringing

bright stanza's of Old Moore.

I scanned it's mystic pages

some verse then caught my eye

"Culled by sage of sages

in ethereal reams high."

I sat as if enchanted

'mid rhythm sense and all

and saw the soul I wanted

O'Boyce of Donegal.

Hail thou our sweetest singer,

bright star of minstrelsy

Fair Banba thou didst bring her

true hopes of liberty.

Thy deeds of worth and daring

relayed from coast to coast,

shows the bard who loves his Erin

would die e'er she'd be lost.

And thou dear mother Grannie,

in thine own Isle may rest.

No wolf hounds of Britannia

shall sully thy pure breast.

Be proud of him, brave, manly,

who gave his life and all

and sang thy praises blandly

O'Boyce of Donegal.

An animal in station

a conjunction set in place.

Blind both parts in rotation,

the answer you can trace.

And while the parts you're blenching

in summer spring or fall,

'tis posies I'll be sending to

O'Boyce of Donegal

Candid Camera

Anonymous — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 20:06:27 CST

Statute Measure	in Yards	Irish Measure	in Yards
1 Perch	5.5		7
40 perch	220		280
8 Furlongs	1760		2240

Rochfortbridge, Co. Westmeath - Recently Updated Pages

Rochfortbridge Community WorldWide

Welcome to Rochfortbridge Community WebsiteRochfortbridge, Co.Westmeath, Ireland.

Interactive website for the community of Rochfortbridge.

Several pages where you can post your news. Browse the navigation bar and click into the page you want to view or edit.

Rochfortbridge Community Website.

Brief History of Rochfortbridge.

Fact vs Fable

Birth of Rochfortbridge

Bear in mind that the river Derry didn’t flow on its present course in those days as it was not until 1846/7 that Lady Cooper of Dunboden re-routed the river and built the road from the village to Kilbride, all as famine relief work.

Rochfortbridge Today

TV, CINEMA, MUSIC and VIDEO

Please wait while the player downloads - this could take a few moments on dial up - once it downloads open the link to a world of free music, video, photos blogs and much more.

CLICK THIS LINK

http://groups.imeem.com/epIjtYy1,rochfortbridge_community_website

Then upload your music, video, photos & comments

Whats on in the cinema

http://entertainment.ie/cinemas/IMC_Mullingar/Westmeath/211/30.htm

Whats on TV

http://entertainment.ie/tv/default.htm

The Short History of Calypso Music

1. Welcome to Rochfortbridge

Hello and welcome to this site. Add this site to your "Favorites" or google "Rochfortbridge Website" you'll find us at the number one spot at the top of the page.

Please feel free to use this site. you wont do any harm if you make a mistake so feel free to edit any page where you see the "EasyEdit" button.

(ISP charges as normal internet surfing still apply)

The Connaught Ranger

The Connaught Rangers.

An Irish regiment of the British army, formed in 1793 by General deBurgh

Earl of Clonrickard

Brief history Of

“The Connaught Rangers”.

The Mutiny

buried as a prisoner in India and never to be remembered now has three memorials

In Memory of Private JAMES JOSEPH DALY7144396, 1st Bn., Connaught Rangerswho died age 20on 02 November 1920(Now buried in Ireland).Remembered with honorKIRKEE 1914-1918 MEMORIAL

Connaught Rangers

THE ROCHFORT FAMILY

A collection of poems and history about The Rochfort Family Of Gaulstown, Rochfortbridge

Written and compiled by Denis O’Neill, Beechwood Lodge, Gaulstown, Rochfortbridge,

further information or authentication available by E-Mailing rochfortbridge@hotmail.com

The Background to the Rochfort Family.

Robert Rochfort 1st Earl of Belvedere

Mary’s family:

Grandfather: Molesworth, Robert, Viscount Molesworth 1st

Born: 1656 Acceded: 16th July 1716. Died: 22nd May 1725

Aunts Molesworth, MaryMolesworth, Charlotte AmeliaMolesworth, Letitia

George Augustus Rochfort,

2nd Earl of Belvedere.

Rt. Hon. George Rochfort,

Arthur Rochfort

The Countess stole his heart then the Earl stole his freedom.

Description from Lewis's Topographical Directory of Ireland, 1837

Rochfortbridge News and Views

Read all the latest news from Rochfortbridge on

*****

MISSING MARGARET MAWHINNEY Photo available on request only at rochfortbridge@hotmail.com LAST SEEN ON TUESDAY, 3RD MARCH’09 ON THE TRIM ROAD, NAVAN. reported to be heading in the direction of Rochfortbridge INFORMATION TO NAVAN GARDAI: 046/9079930 or any Garda station.*********

Tuesday 20th of January is the 90th Anniversary of the First Dáil

****

First U.S. presidential election on Jan 7, 1789

Death of Dr Patrick Hillery

Now, for the American friends, its Thanksgiving - but where did this festival originate?

First Thanksgiving

Food preparation

What Was Actually on the Menu?

Did you know that lobster, seal and swans were on the Pilgrims' menu? Learn more...

In the seventeenth century, a person's social standing determined what he or she ate. The best food was placed next to the most important people. People didn't tend to sample everything that was on the table (as we do today), they just ate what was closest to them.

Pilgrims didn't eat in courses as we do today. All of the different types of foods were placed on the table at the same time and people ate in any order they chose. Sometimes there were two courses, but each of them would contain both meat dishes, puddings, and sweets.

More Meat, Less Vegetables

Surprisingly Spicy Cooking

Since the pilgrims and Wampanoag Indians had no refrigeration in the seventeenth century, they tended to dry a lot of their foods to preserve them. They dried Indian corn, hams, fish, and herbs.

Dinner for Breakfast: Pilgrim Meals:

Welcome to Rochfortbridge Community Website
Rochfortbridge, Co.Westmeath, Ireland.

Hello and welcome to this site.
Add this site to your "Favorites" or google "Rochfortbridge Website" you'll find us at the number one spot at the top of the page.

In Memory of
Private JAMES JOSEPH DALY

7144396, 1st Bn., Connaught Rangers
who died age 20
on 02 November 1920
(Now buried in Ireland).
Remembered with honor
KIRKEE 1914-1918 MEMORIAL

Aunts Molesworth, Mary
Molesworth, Charlotte Amelia
Molesworth, Letitia

MISSING

MARGARET MAWHINNEY

Photo available on request only at
rochfortbridge@hotmail.com

LAST SEEN ON TUESDAY, 3RD MARCH’09 ON THE TRIM ROAD, NAVAN.

reported to be heading in the direction of Rochfortbridge

INFORMATION TO NAVAN GARDAI: 046/9079930 or any Garda station.

*********