Armachiana Volume 15

ARlVJAGH MI SCELLAl\fEA

VOL.XV Lurgan Pages Derivation of name The town of Lurgan

2-25

The pari s h of Shankill

26-33

Antiquities of Lurgan area

34-37

The depositions of 1641

38-44

The Brownlow Election of 1753

45-52

References to people mentioned in Election of 1753

53-54

The Brownlows

55-61

Linen

62-64

Sources for genealogical information

65

Interesting persons associa ted with Lurgan

66-70

Links between Armagh and Lurgan

71-81

Lurgan relic in County Museum

82

The Rev. Richard Ba rton

83-85

Coursing in County Armagh in the 17th century and Master McGrath

86-104

Lurgan Cucking Stool

105

Brownlow House

106

The Lurgan Spade

107-108

2.

ARNAGH MI SCELLANEA VOL.XV DATA ON PRESBYTERIAN CONGREGATIONS Benburb

109-113

Clare

11 4-1 25

Drumhil lery

1 26 -135

Lisloone y

136-144

Loughgal l

145-158

Vinecash

159-163

Richhill

1 64-165

Ahorey

16 6-171

Ahorey notes fro m a r ent a l of 1778-178 2

17 2-179

Presbyte ria nism in Mourne

180-1 87

Firs t Drwnbana gher - List of Minister s

188

Drumban agher Se cession or Second Congrega tion

189

Tyrones Ditches - Lis t of Mini sters

1 90

The cont ents of these volumes l a belled Armachiana

are simply notes for t alks to

local and visiting societies in search of

material relating to it s historical background and ancient monuments .

They a re not of any

great i mportance but may provide a gui de to students seeking da t a on the county g enerally or on their own distri ct s i n particular .

TGF Paterson

Armachiana Volume 15 The contents of this digital resource is openly licensed via Creative Commons licence CC BY-NC 4.0 enabling reusers to copy and distribute the material for noncommercial purposes and only so long as attribution is given to the creator.

If any of the material is reproduced, in any form and in any medium, Armagh County Museum should be acknowledged as the source and the reference below cited.

Armachiana Vol1 (Armagh County Museum ARMCM.28.2014.44)

l.

LURGAN. Derivation of name, Derives from Lurga the shin.

Lurraga means the

same and is a common form in t he south.

Lurgan is ·

the name of about thirty townlands in the north and west and is part of about sixty other place names.

The town is commemorated in Dublin by a street called Lurgan Street, near the site of the old Dublin Linen Hall, and is honoured in Pennsylvania by having a township named after it.

2.

THE TOWN OF LURGAN The wars between Elizabet h and the northern Irish Chieftai ns r esulted in their eventual de f ea t and the confisca tion of their lands.

This was not achieved ,

however, until t he openin g years of the reign of her successo r, King James the First.

The sum~ er of 1608 was a memorable one in this Province .

The exciteme nt and constern ation crea ted by

the fli ght of the Earls in the precedin g autumn had barely subsided ·when the project for the Plantati on of Ulster by British settlers was put into being.

By that

scheme the northern counties beca:ne peopled with inhabita nts of English, Welsh and Scotch extractio n.

The escheate d lands - tha t is the lands that had devolved upon the Crown were thereupo n divided into proporti ons of 2,000 acres, 1,500 acres and 1,000 acres, and it was decid,ed that the undertak ers of such lands should be of three classes - firstly, En glish and Scottish , who were to plant their lands with British tenants, secondly , servitor s in Ireland who might have Irish

tenants also, and thirdly, natives of Ireland who were to · be made freehold ers.

Un der that scheme John and William Brownlow obtained

grants in O Neiland Barony, securing 1,500 and 1,000

3. acres respective ly .

The lands in question we re of a

:uixed nature, s ome to wnlands excellent, others chiefly :u arsh and bog but with much timber that afterwards proved a valuable asset.

John Brownlow• s grant was dated 29 May, 1610, and his lands were for med into a Manor called Doughcoron , with a demesne of 450 acres.

The various towmlands

for ming it are carefully set out and there is a reference to the balliboe of Shankill and the half balliboe of Aghneclog hie being excepted though situate within the grant.

That was due, of course, to the

fact that they were glebe lands.

His son, William,

obtained his patent on 13th June of same year f or adjoining lands.

They were er ected into a Manor known

as Ballynemon y but the balliboe of Kinere ganbe g was excepted, being church property.

Carew in his Re port of 1611 gives both Brownlow'ss resident and dwellin g in an Irish house.

They had

brought over six carp enters, one mason, one tailor and six wor km en and had placed one freeholder and six tenants upon their lands.

Preparatio ns were being

made to build two bawns and they had some muskets and other arms in readiness for defence of the prop erties.

By 1619 John Brownlow was dead and William in possession of the two manors.

Pynnar' s 11 Survey" of

4. that year tells us that there was

11

upon Ballynemony a

strong stone house ·within a g ood island and at Dough coron a fair house of stone and bri ck with a bawn of timber and earth wi th a pallazado about it and in readine ss limeand stone to make a bawn thereof in the summer 11.

We also le a rn that there ·was then a very

fair tovm consisting of fo rt y -two houses, all inhabited

by Engli sh fa milies, \d th streets paved clean through.

There were also two water mills

and a windmi ll, all for

corn, and a store of arms in the manor

By then

there were five fre eho lders upon t he estate and fiftytwo tenants holdin g leases for years, in a ll 57 families 1d tl1 divers other tenants under t lrn:n , all of whom had taken the oa th of supremacy an d were able to 'Jluster one hundred :n en

\'Ii th

a r ms.

Th e re '.-ra s th en a

g ood store of tillag e on the property but not one Irish family upon all t he land.

William

Brownlow must, however, shortly afterwards

have given 1,ray to t h e temptation of hi gh rents and ready payments off ered by the natives.

An Inquisition

of 1630 shous that in that year he was brought to book

by the Government in con sequen c e of such lettings.

In 1629 be had a re- g rant of the two manors by whi ch they became united as the Man or of Brownlow's Derry.

At the same time a paten t was issued for a ma r k et every

5. i'riday at Ballylur g an and two fairs on t h e Fe as t of St. Ja 1 es and Feast of St . Martin

This shows tha t by t h en

the to1.m had be com e a p la ce o f i "c.lJ.p ortan c e in t h e so cial life of the area an d gives Lur g an ' s ::a.a r k et s an d fairs an ancestry of over three hun dre d a nd t wenty years .

A museter

Roll of t h e ten ants was ta .e n i n 16 30

whi c h gives t h e names of for t y - two men cap able of bearing ar:n s .

This is difficul t to rec on cile with the

one hundred :n en :n en ti oned. by Pynnar in 1619 .

Roll of 1634 g ives a lik e n umbe r .

A Subsidy

Seven years later

t h e Civil War broke out and Lur g an was tak en by a f orce of native s oldiers said t o have nu~b ered 1 , 000 8 en .

From Carte's

l

Life of Ormonde II we gat her t l1 at t he out-

breal-c was not entirely 1111 exp e ct ed and that Sir William Brownlow had been supplied wi t h powder for the d efen ce of his Castle whi ch it was then believed had stood a fortnigh t ' s siege - if so Si r Wi lliam neglecte d to men tion tha t aspe ct of t h e aff airs in deposi t ion s ~ ade by him in 1 642 and 1653.

The a t t ack , we are told, t ook p lace on

the 23rd October, 1641 (in his la t er a ccount he ch ange d the dat e to 1st Novembe r ) and that the raiding par ties were under the Ma cans, Ma g ennis es and th e O' Hanlons, who burn t the town an d murdered several inhabita nts of whom he na!Iles :,

Sl. x

' but states there were others .

Tha t the

next day th ey threaten ed to put all the inhabita nts to

6. the s wo rd unl ess he gave up the castle ·whi ch he did upon pro'J.lise tha t t hey would all be conveye d sa fely to Li sna garve y .

No sooner was th e Cas tle sur rendere d

than he was taken prisone r ·with his wi fe and chi l dr en , first to Armagh

later to Dun gannon an d fin a lly t o

Charle:non t uh ere he wa s eventua lly freed by the Eng lish.

Accor ding to O' Mell an ' s J our na l there was a second burning of Lur gan in hay , 1642.

Other inhabit ants of Lurgan ~ade si~ilar deposi tions.

Alexand e r Gill ( ~O May 1653) places th e

casualt ies at about sixteen p ersons and names ten indivi duals pe rsonall y 1mown to hiin.

fr lli a'.11 Duffiel d

( 9 August, 1642) gives th e rnxnb er slain at the taking of the town as ten ;

Henry Oghull in hi s deposit ion

'lla de 2 Hay , 1653, says he was at Sir William Brownlow s house near Lur gan th e ni ght Lur gan wa s burnt and that the next day he saw five dead , all of whom he names.

Some deposit ions give names but t he docu~ ents require careful collati n g and checkin g .

It is apparen t that

the 11 Sack of Lurgan" was a mild affair in comp arison with events elsewhe re in the county.

Lives were lost,

houses we re burned and the Brownlow Castle taken, a mansion outside the town and undoub tedly Sir William 's house at Ballynemony.

7. e have little informat ion as t o ho w long the Irish held t he town but we do know that the Britis h settle rs were again in occupa tion before 1654, in wh ich year Willia m Edmundson distur bed a servi ce in the pari sh church and wa s bea ten for hi s pains .

Three years

later, in 1657, Cromwe ll caused an Inquis ition to be made of t he County parish es from which ·we ga t he r that the to\m had return ed to norma l con dition s.

At any rate the church wa s in good repair and a school functi oning .

In 1660 a Poll Tax was taken of t he inhabi tants and in 1665 a Hearth Tax wa s i mp osed wh ich gives us the na:nes of all t he househ olders of the pa rish , but as only t hose wno had proper hear ths and chi mney s are noted it cannot be con sidere d a comple te censu s.

It does,

howeve r, give a list of forty- six inhab itan ts of whom two paid tax on four hearth s, seven on two hearth s, and the remain der one hearth each.

By this time the tovm wa s in a prosp erous condit ion, a fact app arent from a token i ssued by a Lurgan mercha nt in 1666.

From 1672 to date Parish record s surviv e, one

of t he best sequen ces of such regist ers in the north.

Th e t own seems to have suffer ed little inconv enienc e during the Willia.m ite Wars.

Some of Schomberg• s troops

were statio ned in the tovm and neighb ourhoo d and the

8.

Gener al made them res ponsi ble for t he repai r of t h e highw ay, with, of cours e, an ult erior objec t in view t he facil ity of his troop s when the occas ion shoul d arise .

Tradi tion says that durin g t his work the Gene ral once used the Blue Stone at Lylo as a lunch eon table .

The famou s landmar k is no w· burie d but that is

anoth er story .

A few years earli er in 1684 the first Presb yteria n

congr egatio n in t he tovm is said to have been for:ne d and six years later the Battl e of the Boyne was fough t, a battl e resul tin g in a Dutch Princ e being place on the thron e of Engla nd after defea ting his fathe r-in-l aw on the banks of that delig htful river .

Six years later ,

in 1696, a Quake r Meeti ng House was built .

In the closin g years of the centu ry Lurga n began to devel op as a linen centr e.

We have a pen pictu re of

the town as it was then in Dr. Thoma s Molyne ux' s 11 Journ ey to ye North 1i, writte n in 1708.

The docto r (after wards

Sir Thomas) was on his way fro:n Dubli n to Castl edillo n ,

his count ry seat near Armag h, from which he went on a long trip throu gh parts of Antrim , Derry and Tyron e .

From the diary we learn that he passe d throu gh Portad own a prett y villa ge vmere his horse s were taken over in a vmerr y owing to the build ing of a new bridg e.

We are

told th at he went from thenc e through a mi ghty prett y

9.

Eng lish- like encl osed coun try, well plan ted with larg e tree s to Hr. Brownlow s to,m of Lurg an, which he desc ribe s as "at pres ent the grea test mart of linen manu facto ries in the nort h bein g almos t enti rely peop led with line n weav ers, and all by the care and cost of Mr. Brownlow, who on his firs t esta blish ing the trad e here , boug ht up ever y thing brou ght to the mark et of cloth (line n ) and lost at firs t cons i dera bly , but at leng th the thin g fixin g itse lf, he is now by t he same meth ods a cons id erab le gain er.

This gent lema n is more cu riou s than ordi nary and has by him seve ral old I ri sh manu scri pts whic h he can read and unde rstan d very well

.

He shew ed me one in parch ment of the Bibl e (as I reme mber ) prete nded to be writ ten by St. Patr ick' s own hand but this must be a fabl e.

This gent lema n is not

sati sfie d abou t the petr ifyin g qual ities of Loug wate rs ....

h Neagh

Havi ng supp ed with him we lay at an Inn 11 •

In the morn ing Dr. Moly neux and his frien d cont inue thei r journ ey, and thus pass outs ide our surv ey.

The then Mr. Brownlow was Arth ur Brownlow alia s Cham berl ain who took the name of Brownlow on inhe ritin g his

gran d-

fath er's esta tes and "the parch ment prete nded to

be

writ ten by St. Patr ick 11 , the famo us Book of Arma gh, one of the most prec ious of our surv iving man uscr ipts - we shal l noti ce both more fully late r.

d

10.

In 1712 James Quin of Carlow was induced by William

Br ownlow to take up his abode in Lurgan and

begin the manufa cture of damask and by 1714 fine cambric was being produce d in the distric t.

At that time the making of linen was an essent ially dome stic affair.

Far~ ers raised t he f lax on their own lands.

It was scutche d at home .

servan ts spun the yarn.

Daught ers and

The sons wove th e lin en and

the bleachi ng was effecte d by the sa:ne hands.

Later,

followi ng the inventi on of the fly-shu ttle, the Kelly family were among the most celebra ted shuttle -makers in the north.

I cannot go into details as to famous local linen familie s.

James Bradsha w, a linen manufa cturer,

obtaine d trade secrets in Holland in the early ye ars of the 18th century and, in doing so, barely escaped wi th his life - for such secrets were valuabl e.

He wemt

there in 1717 with the object of acquiri ng some knowled ge of Dutch methods of produc tion and was succes sful.

His father was a Quaker, and James himsel f

was born at Annsbo ro' in 1679.

He died in 1754,

leaving vdth other issue, a son Robert of Lurgan, grandfa ther of Robert Bradsha w of Milecross

near

Hewtown ards, who drove around the country side behind a

pair of bullock s with a servant perched on one as

11. outrid er.

His carri age was a sort of van of his ovm

invent ion with a stove insi de and a funnel cut throug h the roof that belche d forth smoke.

His bulloc ks had

their tails docked as he believ ed the y wasted their streng th through switch in g tbe!Il - the storie s t ha t have co!lle dom1 relati ng to hi'Jl are legion .

In an acc ount of Lurgan 1.v.ri tt en in 1751 by the Rev. Richar d Barton , there is a vivid repres entati on of the Lur gan linen ~arke t.

Linens were then sold in the open marke t - the Linen Hall doe s not see~ t o have been built until later.

They we re measured under cover in

the public - houses and custom had !Ilade it a rule tha t the seller s of webs should expend at least t hre e- pence in liquor for the good of the house. there was a soa p manufactory

At the same time

in th e tovm .

Five years later in 1756 the fa :nous John Wesley arrive d in Lurgan in the month of July first of a series of such visits . preach ed in the Marke t House .

it wa s the

On that occasi on he

He contin ued to pay

regula r visits to Lurgan for over twenty years.

In 1760 ,vhen the French were in Carric kfer gus Bay and Belfas t was threat ened with invasi on Lurgan sent a body of one hundre d and forty horsem en to help to repel the invade r .

Seven years later the then rector , t he Rev. Arthur

..

12.

Ford ( a kins:n an of t he Brownlow fam ily and for a time agen t for the prope rty) died an d wa s burie d on the nor t h of t h e disman tled chur ch as a pro t e st aga inst the unive rsal av oidan ce of t h at side becau se of an old custo: n or sup erstit ion as t o such a buria l- pl a ce being reserv ed for unbap tized child ren, etc.

The ~atte r cause d a fuss

at the ti:n e but th e fear no lon ge r obtain s.

Two years later in 1769, Bush e publis hed hi s 11

Hiber nia Curio sa 11 for which he had colle cte d t he facts

five years earli er.

Durin g his visit to the Provi nce

of Ulste r he comp lain ed that h e did not get above on e bed of clean dr y straw for his h orse i n the three easte rn Provi nces. the

11

This he found in Lurga n at an inn knovm as

Crown and Whea ts heaf 11 •

He consi dered Lur gan on e

of the prett iest towns i n tl1 e nor t h and de scrib ed his host and hoste ss in glowi ng ter:ns .

He had also :nu ch to

say about the place and the :n anner s, lan guage and dispo sition s of its inhab itants wn o:n he found gente el, sensi ble and frien dly .

He a lso noted an am enit y known

as t h e Assembly which he de scr ibe s socia ble and enter tain ing and comme nts that

11

no socia l distin ction s or

exclu sions on circums t an ces of birth or fortun e preva iled, the only crit erion of quali ficati ons being the decen cy of behav iour and good manne rs.

13.

I n 1779 , at a t i :n e when Brit ai n wa s at war with Am eri ca and t his coun try ill- prot ect ed and thre aten ed Hi t h inva sion , t h e Ri ght Hon ble. Wil liam Bro wnlo w r aise d a corp s of volu ntee rs.

It was ver y a ctiv e and its cap t ain was Colo nel of t he No r t hern Batt alio n of Th e Armagh Regi ment of Volu nt eers . f aced w~ t h wh ite.

Its unif or m wa s s carl et ,

A belt - plat e su rvi ve s in t h e Coun ty

l•luseum .

The Volu ntee r corp s gen eral ly l at e r beca:ne poli tica lly incl ined am were even tual ly di sban ded by t he

Gov ernment.

The Lur gan Comp an y f i gu res la r ge l y i n p ress

repo rts of the peri od .

We have a plea sant pict ure of the Lurg an of thos days in Young I s

11

e

Tour of Irel and 11 pub lis hed i n th e f ollo w-

ing year but e:nbo dyin g obse rvat ions made 1776

-177 8.

From

t h e book in ques tion we lear n that Mr . Brownlow had then ~ade grea t i:npr ovements in his deme sne, i nclu din g a temp le f rom whic h to obse rve the view of the lake , Loug h Nea gh and the adjo inin g coun trys ide.

The writ er was, of cour se, chie fly conc erne d with agri cult ure but bein g in the tovm on a Market Day he walk ed With his host to the ~art to see the way in which line ns an d camb rics were sold and give s an exce llen t acco unt of t he p roce edin gs.

Wea vers were able to earn by coar se line ns 1/- per day and by fine l/4·d ., and the same ap plie d t o t he spin ners - they rece ived more for the fine yarn s.

14.

At that time 3,000 piec es a week were bein g sold in the mark et at an avera ge of 35/-.

The town pa rks abou t

Lurga n were let at 40/- an acre but in the coun try gene rally at 14/-.

Th e husba ndry was excee dingl y bad ,

the p eople mindi n g nothi n g but flax and potat oes.

An even more deli ghtfu i desc riptio n of the tovm as

it was in the Irish Volu nteer perio d is pr eserv ed in

a

book publ ished in Dubl in i n 1782, entit led 11 A t ou r throu gh Irela nd 11.

It reads as follo ws: 11

.Fro:n thenc e (Waringstown

we visit ed Lur gan in the

Coun ty of Armagh, dista nt about two :niles .

This is one

of the pre tties t littl e mark et tovms in the kin gdom .

Its situa tion is extremely pleas ant, in a fine ferti le and popu lous coun try, and in the :ni d st of the linen manu facto ry.

It stand s on a gen tle emin en ce about

two miles fr om and commanding a fine p rospe ct of Lough Neagh , t h e large st lake in the kin gdom.

The inha bitan ts are gente el, sensi ble and frien dly, and thoug h the tovm is not very consi derab le yet fro!ll a g ener al conc urren ce in the same agree able dispo sitio n, they have estab lishe d a very socia ble and enter taini ng assem bly, to which throw ing aside all ridic ulou s disti nctio ns and exclu sions on the circumstan ces of birth and fortu ne, the offsp ~ing of p ride, upon vanit y and ignor ance , every pe rson is welcome who is qual ified to ap pea r with decen cy and

15. behave with good manne rs.

They seem indeed to exert

themse lves to suppo rt the reputa tion of their to vm whi ch from the simila rity of its inhab itants to those of the Englis h

had for many years acquir ed the na~e

of Little Englan d, and an English man at Lur gan indeed will think himse lf in his own countr y 11 •

From

contemporary news paper s we learn that in 1781 there wer e at least two social clubs :n eeting in Lur gan, the Lurgan Club in the Black Bull Inn and the men of o ' Neilan d in the Blacka moor Inn.

Cockfi ghting was one of the local

pastim es at that time and was pat ronize d by all classe s.

In 1793 the Irish Militia was re-or ganize d and county units raised .

Lurgan , pos sibly due to its

geogra phical positi on, s ent ver y few men into the Armagh Militi a.

Three years later Yeomanry Corps were f ormed

and Lur gan acquir ed a Cavalr y and Infant r y Corps - the latter in the next centur y became involv ed in certai n squab lles of a politi cal nature , wh ereby its loyalt y to autho rity became suspec t.

Part of the troubl e was due

to the then agent who was ver y anti-O range in his views.

A coat of the Lurgan Corp s surviv es in the Nation al Museum, Dublin , and very full record s presen ted by the late Sir Willia m Allen are preser ved in Armagh Museum.

Two years later in 1795 the Orange Order was formed , and its p rincip les were quickl y adopte d in Lurgan .

In 1797

16. the town was the place of meetin g for the second demon stratio n since the Order 's for~at ion . p repara tions had been made.

Great

Fro:n sunris e that :nornin g

cro wd s of peop le were on their way .

Distri et s west of

th e Bann joined togeth er at Portad own where they were inspec ted by Maj or Acheso n (later Lord Gosfor d) then a candid ate for the county who rode up and down the lines saluti ng all and sundry - the first wooin g of the order fo r politi cal purpos es that I have any record of .

About t ha t ti:n e William Blacke r of Carric kblack er receiv ed a presen t fro:n his gr and-un cle , Col . Carey, of so:ne horse furnit ure used by King William at the battle of the Boyne, and the mee ting was dee:ned a :nost fittin g occasi on for its exhib ition.

Bla cker, accord ingly,

pla ced it upon a magni ficent black hunte r and escort e d by twelve of the finest lookin g men in the count r y, all above six feet high and dresse d ali ke, two of vmo:n led the horse whilst the others tried to keep off the crowds who strove to touch the valued relics as they passed along.

They were acco:np anied by severa l hundre d well -

mounte d horse:n en, many of whom had coJ1e from Killyman and others parts of Tyrone follow ed by the distri cts in the ir order with all mann er of music.

The story fro m this

point had best be told in Willia m Bl a cker' s own words .

11

At Lurgan we were met by two other proces sions fr om

17.

Down and An t ri m and th ere we found Genera l Lake, the Co2mander-in -Chie f of the Northe rn di strict , waitin g to receiv e us, attend ed by one or two other Gener al office rs and their en tire staff in full ri g .

We defile d

past these grande es near the h ead of the Castle Lane.

J

down whi eh we pro ceeded into Mr. Brownlow' s demesne and round the lake which was co11ple tely surr ounded and :nore, the head of the proces sion havin g rea ched the stre et of Lurgan again ere the last had entire ly quitte d it.

I do no t recoll ect having ever ~ince seen a si ght so beaut iful as the lake surrou nded as it was upon that occasi on by a slow movin g proce ss ional mass .

The day was extremely fin e.

The women gaily dresse d were as

n1.n1erous as the men.

There was a :narked sparkl in g of

scarle t, the Yeomanry wearin g their unifor ms, the Banne rs, the music comin g soften ed across the water, the genera l appear ance of cheerf ul exulta tion , all conspi red to fo r m a scene whi ch can never be oblite ra ted fro'.TI '.llY :ne:nory .

In less than two hours afterw ards the town was

cleare d.

My father and I dined there ·wi th a lar ge par ty

of gentlem en and on going home on horseb a ck about t en at ni~ht I do not think we saw four peop le on the road 0

be tween Lurgan and Carri ck .

One of these was old Frank

Baird , a fiddle playin g school -maste r frofil Drumlyn Hi ll, whom we came up with near the "Red Cow11 fi ddling and

18 . dan cin g a pas seu l alon g the road which he actu ally kep t up with una bate d spir it unt il we reac hed t he turn to Car rick and no dou bt cont inu ed it th e enti re ,ra y t o his domi cile .

It has fr eque ntly h a pene d to :n e to trav erse many mile s of th e coun t r y on t he ni ght of t he 12th of July and I can sa f ely as sert t hat I i nv a ri abl y f ound t he road s more quie t on that ni ght th an on an y ot her .

It s e emed a poin t of hono ur a:non g t he Pro te s t an ts to k ee p t h at ni ght from becomi ng ~ar ke d by an i 2p r opri et y . ~en whose cond uct mig ht be loos e enou gh 364 ni ghts in t he yea r were on t heir guar d on that on e' 1 • The con clud ing ye ars of th e cent u r y we re

a time of

unr est in the cou nty gen eral ly , but Lurg an f ared fai rly wel l in the trou bled day s of th e He ar t s of Oak Boy s, Pee p of Day Boy s, etc.

Many of t h e i nh abi tan ts , how eve r, became inte rest ed in t he prin cipl e s of th e Unit ed I r ish'.Il en vJho uere p rece ded by th e Defende rs, an org aniz atio n also r epre sen ted in Shan kill Pa rish .

In 1800 t h e old

Iri sh Hou se of Comm ons wa s di s solv ed by

t h e Act of Uni on ,

a trag edy that r esu lted in the wea lthy and land ed cla s ses n ee lec ting the ir prop erti e s f or life in Lon don.

A new Cou rt Hou se was erec ted in 1802 . an ear lier stru ctur e with a bri dewe ll und ern

It repl a ced eath it, a

buil di ng tha t crop s up in late 17th cen tur y l ea s e s.

Abo ut t ha t time t h e Roman Cath olic inha bit an ts were 1:; iven

19 . an old mil l ca lled b

11

tbe Dougher er 11 out side t l1 e to1m bounc.ar 1

1

·.r . U. Brown l ow whi ch t h ey 1Je1· e able to c onver t into a c:.1ape l.

The p resen t site in NoTth Stree t was gi ven in

1829 b y Charl es Brow nlow

later fir s t Lor d Lurga n .

A parce l of li n en wo ven in 1809 wa s of such ezc ellen ce t.1a t it was pre sente d to Princ ess Charl ot t e ; cambrics

later Lur gan

\·ie re sent to Quee n Vi ctori a.

Tb e toim then boas ted a bands o::u e mark et house si tuate in t h e ol d middle

Row, and a Linen Hall buil t in

1825.

Lurg an was then th e se c ond to1-m in t11e Count y in i :npor tan ce and in 1819 it conta ined 379 house s an d 2207 inba bitan t s, th e vre ekly trade in li nen tben avera ging from £2 , 500 to £ 3,000 per wee k .

Th e mansion 0 1.. the Brownlow fa:IJ.il y, p robab l y blJ.il t about th e ti:ne of the Rest orati on, is ci.e s cribe d as an antique year .

c astle in a directory

of tn at

Fro:n oth er s our c es ·we knov1 that i t was very

si ~ilar to Ri chhi ll Cas t le , an e dific e built about 1665 .

Th e occu patio ns of t h e i n habi tants of those day s 1..re re ve ry diffe rent to t h e pre sent , whee l wri gh ts, turne rs, shut tle-w.aker s, flaxd re-sse rs, coope r s, t obacc o spinn ers , reed- make rs, soap -boil ers, chand ler s, straw- bonn et '.il akers

,

ha tters , nail- make rs , an d other obso lete tra de s and cr afts, appea r t o re'.llind us of how self- suffi cien t the to1-ms were t· en in co pari son with devel op_ en t s in conne ct i on wi t h

industr , .

he Lurgan bank

es tabl ished fo r th e con venien ce

of the l i nen menchants s a ttendi ng tbe t01-m '.!lar~;: e ts wa s t h e n in being .

Ga:iibl e in h is 'Views of So ciet y an d ·-: anncrs i n th e North of I reland 11 publish ed in London in 1819 ur i t cs _ 11

I left Ar illa gh yeste rday ::aor ni ng i n co~npaw Hi t h the

worthy Vicar -Ci1o ra l vJho was go i ng to attend a pu pil in the ne i gh bour h ood .

Though h e wa s v er y i ndifferen tly '1lou.nte d

a s those g en erall y are i'!ho ride on hired horses, I scorned to walk away f rom hi"'.11 and k ep t to his si d e unt il ·•re ca:n e to th e house vme re h e wa s goi ng . . . . .

I stopped f or breakfas t

at t h e little tm,m o f Ri chhill 11 • Th er e he brea kfa st ed wi t h a par t y of ~:, l aye rs, af t erward s ?_J roce e ding vii th t h em for s o:n e :niles to a poi n t vher e th ey sep arated.

The p layers had a c a rt on which fo r c our tesy ' s

sak e he accep ted a seat but was shortly af t er ward s obl ige d to di smount be cause the "motion was so rude 11 •

Despite that

t n e players appre ciat ed his company an d he gr ea tly enjoyed t eir c onversation .

We are left in some d oubt as to the

r oute tak en from Richhill; it wa s p robably direct a cross countr y to Kno ckbridge and fro~ thence to Lurgan - a t anyra te he does not mention Port adovm .

Lc1ter, vihen app roa ching Lurgan , he

11

was overtaken by a

funeral , followed by a number of persons inostly on horseba c k,

21 .

sever a l of these wore white linen sc a rfs, tied with black ribands over their shoulders ..... I acco'.llpan ied t h e p rocessi on into the churchya rd ( p resu':Tiably Shankill) and h ad the gratificat ion of h e a ri ng th e funeral service rea d in a very sole:nn and i '.llp ressive :-11 anner ..... This is a s:nall town but so neat and thriving that by ·way of distinction it is or has been called '1Li ttle Zn gland 11 • • • • There are two inns, and re11e.n berin g the . indly chara cter given of women by all travellers I st opped for p reference at the S'Jlallest i,.ihi ch is kept by a ·widow of t h e na:ne of Cunningham.

At first I was inclined to be dissatisfied

with :ny choi ce, for though I was infor:ne d I could have a good dinner, I was informed vli th equal c andour that I could not ha ve it for a long time .

The careful widow it

seems had gone to a great p reachin g and carried all the keys , even the one of the corner cupboard wi th her, and as I had no other alternative I went there to o''.

The pla ce we are told wa s a green field - accordin g to Gamble nothing else could have contained the large congre ga tion.

The people were well -dre s sed - the wo:nen

with great neatness and their rank of life considered, he added

11

·with elegance'' as cri bing it to the diffusion of

the cotton manufacture. the preacher was a woman.

Despite the views of St. Paul He states that

11

though she

migh t have inspired the male p art of the audien ce with

22.

heave nly, she was littl e likel y t o do it vlith earth ly love, for she was by no :-.u eans h andso me and upwar ds of f ifty yea rs'1, and conti nued "Sh e gave us at l east an an i· !Ila t ed dis cours e but her actio n wa s s o extra va gant and she r ocked so :nu.eh from side to side that it migh t be said of her as of an orato r of old tha t she had l earn ed to spea k in a boat" .

The meeti n g over he retur ned to the hotel and after di nner asked for a book expec tin g to be eiven one of a He wa s type nearl y alway s to be found in I ri sh inns . given Ma dame de Stae l's Germany but found it unin tellig ible , so cast it aside and took refug e in t he garde n.

Lurga n app ealed to him so he resol ved to exten d his stay .

The close of day broug ht a wande ring harp er to the inn, and he kept him pl aying for t he whole of the eveni ng .

Even tually he r eache d Belfa st, a town like Liver pool or Glasg ow, in eithe r of which one mi gh t fancy onese lf, only that the accen t was a littl e too Engli sh for one and a great deal too Scotc h for the other .

It was a com:n ercia l tovm

in count rysid e under the highe st state of culti vatio n, but not so rich in natur al beaut y as eithe r the nei gh bourhood of Lurga n or Armag h.

The Ordna n ce Surve y Memoir s of 1837 are a valua ble The great er pa rt of the house s sourc e of infor matio n .

23. ere then old, and consisted of l ~O of one storey, 224 of two, 92 of three, and 2 of four - in all 43 8 houses.

Of those 242 were slate d t b e re:nainder thatche d.

'

2 shi ngled vii t h bo g- wood and At that time th e principal

amus ement of the inhabitan ts is said to have been the attending of ma r ke ts and fairs in nearby tovms.

There

was then an excellent News Room over the Ma r ket House.

By

1840 the Ulster Rail way was approachin g t he tovm -

it actua lly reached it in Nove~ber 1841.

It then

contained four banks - Provincia l (1 834), Northern (1835), Belfast (1836), and Ulster (1 83 7) - a flourishin g distillery , two breweries, and two tobacco manufacto ries.

By then t h e old Brownlow

mansion had been demolished , and

the present structure designed by Playfair, a celebrated Scotch architect , was in the occupa tion of the first Lord Lurgan.

Brownlow House was then a-buildin g but its very fine library had been sold some years previous.

The Prison

at the N. W. end of the town was a small neat building built in 1831 with all accom~oda tion for seven prisoners . the p eriod was evidently one of progress for we learn that the R. Catholic Church had been completed by 1833 , - a methodist

Me etin g House in 1825, the Lurgan Free School

in 1812.

By then the Police had arrived in the tovm,

the force consisting of a sergeant and four privates.

24.

In 1 81.tO t h e Lurg an Union wa s built, an d in 1 846 th e ma r k et d ay was ch an ged from Fr id ay to Thursd ay.

Th e town see:ns to h ave been spa red the calamiti e s t ha t :n ak e the Famine Year so tra gic a memor y .

In 1 848 Gas

Has . introduced and by 1857 was in use as stree t li gh tin g .

In 1 850 a Cricket Club was f o r :n ed.

Four y ears l a ter

t h e To vm I :np rovements Act was adop ted.

In 185 5 the

first power 100:11 factory was built b y the Malcolm

s who,

i n the d ays of handloom

weavin g , h a d been eng a g ed in the

~ anufacture of cambric.

Th e n e w venture was un popular

with the hand loom

weavers who gathered t og et h er on one

occasion to wreck the plant.

The Mechanics Institute was op ened in 1858 and in

1865 the Linen Hall was abolis h ed.

Owi ng to industrial

ch an ges it had outlived its usefulness .

Malcolms

In 1 86 6 the

took over the Macoun business and establishe d

the first hem stitching tching factor y in t h e tovm.

Johnston, Allen & Co . was set up in 1867 for the :n anufacture of linen and cambric by handloom but transferre d to power-loom weaving in 1888.

In 1868 the Town Hall was

built an d in the following year the celebrated Master McGrath won his fa:llous race.

In 1873 the Lur g an College

was e rected out of fun d s provided by the will of Hr. samuel

Watts who died about 1850.

In 1876 the Lur gan Rugby Footba ll Club was f ounded and in the followi ng year a Boat Club was organize d_.

In 1878 a Society of Bell Rin gers was establi shed and two yea rs later a Tennis Club came into bein g . the Lurgan

weaving

I n 1881

Company was for21ed wi th the object

of purchas ing the Ma coun interes ts.

In 1884 the Toim Commis sioners pur chased Lord Lurgan 's interes t in the fai rs and markets .

At that

time all produce seems to have been exposed for sale in t h e same place.

The Lurgan Mus ical Society was establi shed in that year and the Lurgan Drama tic Society in 1885.

In th e next yea r a Rifle Associa tion was

for'Iled and in 1888 John S. Brown & Sons, the success ors of James Brown ·who founded the busines s in 1795 were one of the most flouris hing con cerns in Lurgan .

At that

time the Johnsto n Br ewer y was still in existen ce.

TH E PAi,"qJ SH oF SHANKILL Th e early nam e o f th e pa ris h is shrouded i n 3y s t ery .

It h as b een ass e rted th a t Shan kill was originally lmo 1·m a s Kil wi l k e, wh ic h some aut hor iti e s beli ev e t o be a v a riant of Kilmilcon.

To add to t h e con f u sion there is

a reputed church s ite at Oxford Is la nd in Arma l oi s t in t i1a t pa rt of t h e t ovm lan d kno vm a s Ki lwilke Gleb e, but as t h at was p art of Sea goe P aris h u p un til 1 780 o t he r co~p lic a t i on s ari s e.

For i n s tan c e , t h e pa rish e s o f

Se ag oe and Enachloissy , b ein g at a mode r a t e di stanc e fro m each other and b eing i n suff ici ent for th e supp or t of t v-ro :ni n isters, were united in 1444.

A t axa t ion of about

1304 actually gives Kilmilcon but Shankill do es not a pp ear until the op enin g ye ars of t h e 17th ce n t u r y and it would t hus seem t h at we must look elsewh ere t h an in Annaloist for the mother-church of t h e p arish.

Th e f irst use of the present n a'.n e that I am aware of occurs in a Survey of the Count y of Armagh, tak en at t h e Moyry

Castle on 2nd August, 1608 , in which it is

recorded that there was in OI Neiland Barony

11

a chapel of

Shank ill belongin g to the church of Kilmulchan but who t h e l• ilcho was fro:n whom the p arish derived its name , I do n o t know.

There was a St. Fintain of Killmilcon in

Cail lmore of whom nothing much can now be ascertained

27. except his associ a tion with Kilmor e and it is a 711atter of s p ecial intere st that church s ervice s ar e t o this da y held in tha t partic ular t ownlan d .

The associ a tion ,

wh en coupl ed with the fa ct that t h ere is a kn.ovm church site therei n, is sugges tive of a lon g contin ued knowle dg e of t h e sanct i t y of the place.

But to return to Shank ill - th e oldest chur ch of t h at na!D.e t ha t we defini tel y know the situat ion of wa s that within t h e old bu r ial- gr ound adjo in ing t he rector y .

Th e mau s of 1609 sh ow a roofle ss church the re.

We :n ay,

t he refore , assume that the church wa s of so:ne anti quity then .

It was knovm by its p re sen t name and its ruin ed

st ate was no doubt due to t h e wa rs bet we en Elizabeth and the O' Neills .

Whether that church wa s repa ired or a new

one built on the sa'Jle site is a ma tter of conj e cture.

One t h i ng we do know and that is, t l1a t follo1.-Ji11 g the Planta tion of Ulster in 1610 a chur ch again came i nto u se on t hat sit e t hrough t he exerti on s of the Brownl ow fa!llily and t h eir ten ants.

The actual spot on whi ch it

wa s built is :n ar lrnd by the Br ownlow vaul t , no1.v coveri n g t he restin g - place of early :n embers of t he family buried in t h e bo dy of t h e ol d church itself .

I n t he Civil War of 1641 th e church is said to h ave suffer ed at the hand s of t h e Ir i sh by use as a barra cks

for troops .

At the same time Sir Wi lliam Brownl ow 's

28. castle wa s captured and certain inhabitants ~urdered. fany depositions survive relatin g to that period - if ti:n e per:ni ts we may examine t hose later.

At an yrate

they contain eviden ce that tbe "Sack of lurgan

di d not

result in great loss of life, in co:npari son with t he casualties elsewhere in the county .

He kn ow that by

1654 the town was again in occupation of the Brownlow tenants.

Tney must have sp eedily repaired the damage

done to the town in 1641 and 1642 or it "'.llay be tha t some houses escaped t he then general destruction.

In tbat

year William Edmundson, the Quake r, said to have been the first of that sect to arrive in Ireland, reached Lurgan and having settled do1,-m was - I a:n now quoting Quaker records -

11

':lloved to go to the parish chur ch and

inter rupt the service" for which breach of good 1anners we are told he was 'Jluch beaten by one of t h e parishioners, a certain Col. Stewart.

Three ye ars later in 1657 an I nquisition relative to the parish was ':llade by order of the no torious Oliver Cromwell.

It is an interestin g document givin g old

spellin g s for tovmland na:ne s and much i nci dental ma terial.

Tne church was t hen in go od repair and a pa rish school in existence in Lurgan of which a certain Mr . Lawrence Swellbarke was ma ster.

In 1660 a Poll Tax was taken that gives numbers of

29. tenants of Bri tish and Iris h extra ction in tne various townlands of t he pari sh and for 1664- 65 there is a Hea rth

moneyRoll givin g t h e name s of all the inhabitant s

of the pa rish wh o paid t he tax i n that year.

In 1675, according to Vestry r e cords the chur ch wa s without a bell and we find that the parishione rs were then sum~ oned t o ser vices by t h e beatin g of a drum.

Shortly afterwards a sum of \noney wa s voted for the pur chase of a bell.

Arran geme nts were made that i t

should hang on the Ma r ke t House and be avail abl e for use as a Market si gnal al so, but this had various di sadvan ta ges so the bell was later ta ken to the chur ch .

A font was pr esented in 1684 by Legard Bl a cker, the then rector.

It is no w preserved in the pr esent churcl1.

The Vestr y minutes of April 21, 1690, sh ow t hat part of the Williami te army was quartered in the pa rish in

1689 -1690 and t hat th e highway had been in great part amended by order of Gen eral Schomberg.

In 1695 a chalice and paten were purchased by the parishione rs and are still in use.

Four years later

badg es for the poor were issued - there is a sp ecimen in the Armagh museum - th e earliest dateable County issue 0

of wh ich we have any record.

Poor 1699 11 •

It is inscribed Shankill

An Easter Vestry minute of the follo1.·r.i.ng

year gives a short list of persons to whom such badges ' ad been given.

JO By the closing years of this century t h e Chur ch was

be c oming too smal l fo r the increase d popul ation and uas beginnin g to fall into de c ay .

In 1710 an Act wa s pass ed

fo r the reJ1oval of the Church to a new situa t ion

but not

until 1718 was the ma tter finally a p proved of by ' the

p a ris h ioners, some of i.vl.10!11 were no doubt war11ly atta che d to the old site.

The new church was be gun in 1720 and conse crated in 1725.

In 1734 the timber of the old chur ch wa s sold and its walls dis:U antleo., the stones being used to build a stee p le or tower for the new church, a work carried out in 1737.

The new chur ch was, of c ourse, much larger than its pr edecesso r and for a lon g ti21e wa s known a s the Chur ch 11 •

11

Big

It wa s enlarged in 1832 and was practica lly

rebuilt in 186 1 - wi th the exceptio n of the tower.

Wnethe r the bell that rep l a ced t he drum i n the old church found a ho::ne in the new building we do not know. it was destroye d in 179 2 wh en the spire of the Church II was acciden tally consumed by fire.

11

If so, Big

Th e incident

is noted in the Blacker Manuscr ipts and reads as follo,.-1s: 11

1 t was a lofty s pire and coated with shingles made

of boq oak like most of the houses of its day.

0

A plumber

h aving gone up to repair the lea d s at its base appears to

h ave for g otten a small bit of lighted turf which he had o ccasion for in the course of his ope rations - the

31. consequence was the spire takin g fire.

It happened

durin g the ni ght and the pillar of flame

wa s seen fro:n

t he op po site side of Lough Neagh, occasioning no little sensation.

As the fire was :nakin g its way downwards and all nope of saving the bell was at an end, a nur.1ber of men cut a quantity of thick sods in the nearest field and ulaced them inside the door directly underneath the belfry, and it was well judged of the~ , for after so~ e ti~ e the bea~s yielded to the fire and down came the bell carrying the 1orks of the clock and ali gh ted in perfect safety on the mass of sods . water acco~plished.

But wh at fire failed of effecting It was red-hot and wtnen the sexton

or, as some say, his wife brought a couple of lar ge bu cket s of water and threw them upon it the bell cracked li k e a glass and had to be reca st 11 • A new bell wa s hung in 1794, inscribed "I to the Church the living call, And to the gr ave do summon all".

A new spire of copper was erected almost i mm ediately but it p erished in the Big Wind of 1839.

We are told

that on t h e mo rnin g of 6th January in that year the p arishione rs awoke - that is the few who dared to go to be d - to find it blown co~pletely off the tower with its po inted end penetratin g the roof of the nave, lookin g for

32 . al

ti.1 e u orld li ke a frn1 n el in a jar.

P eople fro:n di stant

t o,-m s visited Lur gan in l arg e nu11be r s to see th e al:nost unbelievabl e si ght .

Church an d s teeo le were soon rep aired and i n 1861 t h e churc.1 ( Hi t h t h e except ion of the t owe r ) wa s p ractically rebuilt.

Twen ty - six y e a rs later a pea l of ei gh t bel ls

:ra s i n stalled chiefly through the exer t ions of the l at e Mr . J a:n es Us he r, makin g hi:n self pe rs onally r esp on sible for raisin g t h e sum ne c essary for their purchase . sin c e t h en, and it

T..nere have been :nany improvments

is to be feared that I have o~i tted ~uch of interest . h ave not ~ad time for i n s t an ce to consult the Vestry Boo.CS and they be gi n in t h e da y s 1Jhen the pari she s we re res p on s ible for ro ads e tc. with in their other tas ,rn now the duties of county

oM.1

are as and

and Rural councils

The old chur chy ard has a l wa y s been t o -:n e a p l a c e of inter es t.

T'n e e a rli e st tombstonet ha t I lrno .-r of is one

s e t up t o james douglas

uho died in 1656, aged 57 and,

of course , I a l ways loo l( wi tb int er es t a t th e to111b of J an e Reilly 1-;ho died in 1715, t l1 e ,-,ife of Myles

Rei lly,

Senes chal of Lur gan, an c e st o r of the Rei l ly s of Sc a rva ~ o

, ur ch ased th at esta t e a b out t h e

l"ddle

of "t.· h e l ont l1

centary, Lut viao are n ow, ac c ord i ng to Scarva t radition, :aid to ha v e rec e ived it as a gift fr o:n Kin g William

I

JJ. '1

t' er i n ter e sting stone '.narks the burial p la c e of John Walker I t r e ads: 11Here ly e s an honest gardener I s du st, .ho in his calling was so just That b is great God did hi:n re:-:1ove Fro:n serving her e to serve above. 11

34.

Tn e

o. s. maps of 1s 3c:;/ s ·_ O',·l ea r t '~en r inged forts in

the townlan ds of Killaghy Tullydagan voo r agh Clankilvooragh Lu r gan t arry :;: Knocknashane Tannaghmore Lis corran Clanrolla Le Legahory,et c.

The ~ ost in teresting st r u c tur e in t : e :roup is th e It

earthwor k in Clan rolla n e ar toe Lu r gan waterworks is mound shaped t h e mound

and en clos ed by a tren ch .

Po::tion of

has slipp ed on t he i·re s t o r s~10re sie:.e e~)osing

a blackish lay er at f ro:n two t o three feet belo -.-r sur f ace level, fr'om wh i eh bro Ken potter .1 and bones of various animals are obtai n able.

It s ee~ s to nave been built up

i nto a mote-like motteerection of 1.-,,h ich th e t op is per : ap s now somewhat denuded.

Hist o rica l l y th ere i s no r efe ren ce

other than a visit p aid by t 1e fa:10us John Wesley

in 1758 .

Ap art from native use it :nay ·well h av e been occup i ed by Viking raiders during t h eir occ1-rp ation of Lough Neagh Few finds of archaeologica l i n terest h ave been recorded from t h e area.

One d iscover y of sp ecial

i mportance was made in 1913 at Annesboro' dur ing t h e excavating of a hole for a gate - p ost.

Tn e i te-.:i s f ound

35. ~ay be briefly listed.

1 . Bronze torc Ver y rare. about 1000 B.c.

Presu:ned to da te to

2. Palstave of a t yp e dateable to about 1000 B.C.

3, Fibula or brooch . century A.D.

Possibly second or third

4. Three b rac elets, all of wh ich were · and lost. gi ven away No bones, burnt or unburnt, were found 1.vith the·:n so it is unlikely that they could h ave been othe r t han part of a hoard colle cted at so~e period later than tne date of the brooch .

So far as I am aware there are no re~nains of pr e-

histori c buria l cairns of the types represented in the southern parishes of Co. Armagh , and around Armagh City but finds of sepulch ral po ttery have turned up in recent yea rs, the ~ost interestin g discovery being the remain s of t hree such vessels excavated durin g the raising of gr avel on Mr . Dan McCorry ' s farm in Killaghy in 1937, and reported by Mr . P. J. Keville , who, unfortunately, l ost his life in the late war . were foun d.

Several burial pits

One contained a roughly made pot of the

late n eolithic p eriod, whilst ano ther produced t he cr ema ted remains of an adult male of the mi d-late Bronze Age. Another pot of the food vessel type wa s found in 1938 in Lis sacurran on the far m of 11r . Wi lson Boy ce in a sand-

36.

The pot was nearly complete when found but :net

pit •

with an accident whilst on loan to the Lurgan model School.

It has rather unusual de cora tion an d is

somewha t later than t he Killaghy pot. in the Coun ty

Both are now

museum Miscellanea

The Ordnance Survey Place Name Boo ks and memoirs circa 1835-1837, give some interestin g details regarding local townlands, but, of course, we can only note a few .

Wind:nill and embankment on north It desi gned f or the drainage of t h e bo g . did little good and wa s then useless .

1. Turmoyra.

~. Derryta gh . About three year s ago a steam en gine wa s ere ct ed for pumping the water fro:n Lough Gullion . The engin e is in Derrytrasna which was affected but t h e flood in t he river in the winter of 1833 broke in and fi lled it up again .

3. Derrytrasna.

Windmill and steam engine. mill for pumping water from the bogs and flat land and en gine for pumpi ng Lough Gullion into Derryetta - ot henvise Derrytagh .

4. Bocombra .

5. Lylo .

Then notable for orchards.

A Roman Catholic Chapel erected in

1814.

old fort.

School built

6. Lisnamintry

An

7. Moyraverty .

Quaker burial ground .

8. Clanrolla.

An old mound.

1833 .

9. Derry.

Roman Ca tholic Chapel in South , and pound a little north of chapel.

10. Dougher. Old Roman Catholi c Chapel an d burial ground on south .

37.

11. Kno ckna s hane .

Fort near southe r n boundar y .

12. Killaghy .

Fo rt in sout h west.

13. Le gah ory.

Fort in south.

14. Lissa curran .

Fort.

15. Lur gan tarry.

windmill

16. Tana ghmore.

Fort near Mile House .

17. Derryadd.

Churc h and glebe of ardmore windmill an d cornmill Cornmill ou t of use owing to draining of bogs .

18. Kilmore

Corn and flax mills. another corn mill.

19. Agh acommon.

At south

R.C. Chapel and :t ark Rainey 's

Pub .

20. Toberhewny. I n t his townland there was a well to .,,.Jh ich pilgrima g es were made but it is a site now for gotten. It was dedi cated to St. Winnoc and gave na:ne to the townland.

21. Clankiloora gh .

Windmill stump.

38.

LUllilM

An

xamination of the Depo sit ion s of 1641

There is confusion as to t l1e actual date of the tragedy .

It see'll s that the tovm wa s fi rst attacked, and It

the castle the next day or pos sibly two days later . ha s been asserted on the authority of Carte's 11 Life of Ormonde

t h at at the outbreak of t he Civil War Sir

William Brownlow was given powder for t he defen ce of his castle, t ha t it stood a fortnight 's siege and was delivered up to the Irish on Sunday , October 31.

If so,

Sir William made no 'llention of those facts i n his depositions.

O'Hanlons

He states th e Macans

Magennises and

burned the town of Lur gan wi th fire and sword

on October ~3 and that o~ the next day he surrendered hi s cas tle upon con di tion s.

I n a second account he

places t h e event as having taken place on t he first day of lfove:nber but from other sources it seems just as likely that the actual date was November 2nd.

That t he

burning of the town took pla ce upon a Sunday is borne William N Guin out by th e depo sition of Alexander Gill . dep osed that a ski r mish had taken place with the inhabitants of the town before t he takin g of t h e ca stle Wi lliam Code at whi ch the Iri sh were near 1000 strong .

tells us of the burning of the town and states that

39. following a parley at the castle he was sent as a hosta ge to the Irish.

Henry Oghull affir:ns that he was at Sir

William Brownlow ' s house n.ear Lurgan

on the ni ght the

town was burned and that the event took pla ce on "November 2 or thereabouts 11 • One fa ct emerges and t ha t is that the Castle 1,,-,as given up under condition that its occupan ts should be conveyed to safety, but it is quite clear that for so:ne reason not yet discovered the Irish forces failed to im.ple:nent their bargain .

James Bradley states tha t the

castle Has surrendered on the assuran ce that those wh o Hi shed should have safe convoy to Li sna garvey and those who desired to stay :night safely re:nain in their houses .

Nob·Ti thstanding that promise some were stripped and plundered, a fact borne out by various acc ounts.

Will Codd who was a hostage in the hands of the Irish gives the date of the taking of the Castle as r ovember 1st and places it as tbe day followin g the captur e of t he towD.

He wa s present in the Castle when

conditions were made but no sooner was the mansion occupied than he and his wife and children were stripped naked.

He also made an earlier deposition in ·whi ch it

is reported that a day or two after Lurgan was burnt there came a messenger from the Irish to Sir William

Brownlow' s Castle demanding both town and castle.

40.

Nicholas Williams

on the breaking out of the war,

came from his dwelling-house a mile and a half distant from Lurgan to Sir WilliamI s Castle together with 11any others.

The house wa s afterwards rendered up on

con dit ion that they should have safe conduct to Lisnegarvey but instead they were stripped.

Sir William, instead of being sent to Lisnegarvey, was taken with his wife and family to Armagh - on that there is agreement.

His Castle was near the tovm of

Lurgan - not in it - from whi ch it would seem that he preferred his own house and was, therefore, not then resident in the ba:wn built by his father.

11he Castle

was surrendered and quarter p romised but not kept.

There now remains the task of trying to arrive at so:ne conclusion as to the number of unfortu~ate people killed, and that we can only do . by studying depositions of casualties pr ovided with names.

Such a met ho d will not

gi ve a pr ecise number but it will provide a very near esti:na te.

They yield the followin g names.

The matter

in brackets gives the name of the person deposing and the date on which recorded.

1.

John Davys.

Said to have been the most important inhabitant .

( Sir W!ll . Brownlow 26 Feb. 1642 and 24 Hay 16 53. Alexander Gill 20 May , 1653. William McGinn 2 May, 1653.

Owen Roe McKeene 5 Mai, 1653.

William Code 3 Nay, lti53, Hen ry Ogle 2 May~ 1653. Will Codd 3 June, 1653), ·

41 .

2.

·chard

3.

Thomas Ward

( Sir Wm . Brownl ow 26 Feb 1642 an d 24 hay 1653. Alexan der · Gill 20 May , 1653. William McGinn 2 Hay 1653. Henry Ogle~ May , 1653. ' Will Codd 3 June, 1653).

4.

Leonar d Riggs.

( Sir Willia m Brownlow 26 Fe b . 164~ and ~4 Hay , 1653. Alexan de r Gill' 20 Hay, 1653 , William McGinn 2 May , 1653 . Henry Ogle 2 May , 1653).

5.

thomas

Hawke r.

( Si r W:n . Brownl ow 26 Feb . 1642.

Alexan de r Gill 20 May, 1653 .

6.

James Horsle y.

26 Februa ry, (Sir W:n . Brownlow 1653). ~ay, 20 Gill Alexan der

7.

James Tann er .

( Ale xander Gill 20 May ,

8.

John Roger s.

(Alex ander Gill 20 hay, 1653.

Kathe rine Cooke 24 Februa r y, 1643) .

9.

Gyles Calve rt.

( Alexan d er Gill 20 May,

1653) .

10 .

11 MarySadler , widow.

(Alexa nder Gill 20 May ,

1653) .

11.

'illiam Ja c k s on .

(Alexa nd er Gill 20 May , 1653.

Ca therin e Cooke 24 Februa r y, 1643) .

12.

Thomas Do a te .

( Willia m NcGinn 2 1fay,

16 53) .

lJ .

Edward Robin s on.

(J ames Bradle y 21 May ,

1653) .

14.

Gyles Whiteh ead.

( Will Codd 3 J une,

15.

John Allen.

(Kathe rine Cooke 24 Februa ry,

1653) .

16.

Thomass Marti n

( Kathe rine Cooke 24 Febru a ry ,

1653) .

17.

RogerB irchal l.

( Kathe rine Coo1rn 24 Februa ry,

1653) .

Rided all-

sp?lt Riche ll and Rudse ll also . ( _Si r \:n . Brownl ow 26 Feb . 1642 .

Gill 20 I,~ay, 1653.

Alexander Willia m 1• cGinn 2 May 1653 Henry ' Ogle 2 May , 1653) . '

1642 .

1653 ).

1653) .

4-2.

18.

John Roger s.

(Kath erine Cooke 24 Febru ary, 1653) .

19 .

. Jack son.

(Kath er i ne Cooke 24 Febru ary, 1653) .

o.

John Ward.

21 .

Richa rd Duffi eld. (Will i am Duffie ld 9 Augu st , 1642) .

(Will iam Duffie ld 9 Aueus t, 1642) .

Accor ding to Duffi eld above , Ward and Richa r d Duffi eld's wi ves and child ren were stripp ed and left to die of hunge r and cold - he estimat ed the n"Lt21ber captu red by the Irish in Lurga n at 200 but the figur e seems too large unles s, perch ance, so:n e refug ees from Tande ra ge e and POrta downhad taken shelt er there also.

The comp lete Muste r Roll of all t he tenan ts fit to bear ar~s survi ves for t he year 1630 and gi ves a total of 42 p erson s, so:n e of vmo~ were youth s and Some may have escap ed but it must be assum ed that those who were stripp ed and turne d adrif t had

proba bly unma rried.

little hope of winni ng throug h to safety , thoug h surpr ising ly Two of his older enough :nany of them managed to do so. childr en had died of that cruel treat ment but his vrife and two other s had, throu gh the aid of frien ds , escap ed to His statement that :nany thous ands of Prote stant men, women and child ren 11 being strip t of their cloth es dyed also of want in sever al parts of the count ry" canno t be Engla nd .

accep ted as fact as regar ds numbe rs .

The circum stanc es surrou nding the fall of the castl e One would have expec ted t he Irish are certa inly curio us .

He was one to have kept their pr omise s to Sir Willia m .

43: of the few

r~agh undertakers wil11·ng to set lands to the

natives and he was ma rried to an I rishwoman, a lady of the O Dogherty's, a fa~ous Donegal clan and had himself leased portions of his estate to na t·ives though Plantation agreement forbade such lettings.

Sir William does not come out of the affair very satisfactorily.

One cannot help wondering what he was

doing whilst the I r ish were raidin g his town and his tenants.

It ~ay be that followin g t he burning of the

to~m certain people escaped to the ca stle an d that it actually stood a fortnight's siege, but, i f so, neither Sir William or any other person who had taken refuge the re ~entions any such defence.

Then there is the vexed

question as to the actual date.

Owen Roe McKeene a

pri soner in the hands of the English, deposed on 5 May , 1653 1 "within two days after the taking of Tanderagee the Irish encamped within less than a mile of Lurgan, and the next day broke Sir William Brownlow's hous e or castle upon promise of quarter 11 •

From O'Mellan's 11 Narrativfi 1 we know

that Tanderagee was taken by Patrick Oge O Hanlon on th e night of October 23rd.

If Keene can be relied upon we

Yust also consider October 26th as a po ssible date for the handing over of the castle.

Keene's account further

states that "the same evening after they had burned Lurgan they dispersed in search of the cattle and goods ·of the

44.

English" but all other dep ositi ons p lace the burning of t h e town as havin g h ap pened :p revious to t h e surrender of the c astle .

One p erson , a lfr . Gy les Whiteh ead (see No .14- ) who wa s in Sir William Brownlow ' s house wh en it was tak en was afterwards killed in p resence of Wi ll Codd .

'le are left

in doubt as to ·whether h e was a resi d ent of the tovm of Lurgan.

No .13 was killed at Tyrmiry

15, 16, 17, 1 8 and 19 near Lurgan wood.

n ear Lur gan, Hos. No locations

are given for Nos . 20 and 21.

William

Duffield estimated that ;,.Jl.1 en t he rebels

atte::npted or surprised the town of Lurgan ten Protestant s (as he verily believed and had cre dibl y heard) were either wounded so t hat they quickly ciied or were sl ain outri ght .

By collatin g the individual dep ositions we find a total

of twelve per sons and there we leave the '.n atter for the pr esent.

45.

THE BROWNLOW ELECTIONOF 1753

This was a keenly contes ted electio n by which it was intend ed to halt the Brownlow influe nce in County Armagh .

Beside s press re fe rences there was an issue of pamph lets . ::."ro!':l the latter source we learn that the writer of one of the tract S in que stion

1

-

1 T,ra S moved to t a~e up h is pen becaus e "

Ji

of a series of reason s.

1.

The electi on had not been carrie d out in a fair and open ~ anner and t h e ~ethod s used by Caulfi eld suppo rters were mean and low.

2.

The chief slan de rs on Brownlow had been publis hed in print in t he for.n of me:no rials and letter s .

Caulfi eld had not a sin gle freeho ld in the coun ty and wa s a me re yout h , not twenty years of age, lately taken from school and just entere d Colleg e.

Brownl ow had a goodly reside nce in the coun ty woilst his oppone nt had not a house to live in nor an acre of ground or autho rity.

3.

From the pamph let we gath er that Caulfi eld ' s party had 11 been busy circul ating storie s to the effect that Arthur Brownlow, g randfa ther of this gentlem an, was cho sen one of the repres entati ves of this county in the last Parliam ent called by King Jame s (as indee d he had been chosen unanim ous ly in every other Parlia men t ) and it was also true in fact that

he had sat in that Parlia ment for some time, so long as he

1.

Season able Advice to the Freeho lders of the County AI'Jlagh . By a Brothe r Freeho lder. Second edition Printe d 1753 , Hallid ay Pamph lets, R. I . A. Librar y, Box ~l~, Tract 11 .

cou ld wi t h saf ety or suc ces s opp ose the vio len t mea sure s whi ch wer e take n in it, but ind eed tha t was not for very long , for it was wel l knoi..m tha t he had to fly out of the House bec aus e of the opp osit ion he gave to a c er tain ish Dea n, whe reup on pet i ti on , pre ferr ed by one Mag in a Pop crie d out to in a moment a numbe r of furi ous zea lots to opp ose the ir sac rifi ce the her etic al dog for dar ing swo rds wer e 'Jlea sure and not les s than ten or twe lve e the hon est man ins tan tly draw n aga inst hi :n , whi ch :nad se fro!Il when ce he !llak e the bes t of his way out of the Hou of his life ) in the was safe ly con duc ted ( though at p eri l .... . . disg uise of a Qua ker 's cloa k and hat the cou ntry and He afte rwa rds reti red to his sea t in g Will iam's aff airs the re lay qui et unt il such tim es as Kin cho se to stay in his del ive red him . . . . . . Art hur Brownlow y oth ers wer e doin g. cou ntry rath er than flee from it as man and she set out with He con sen ted tha t his wife sho uld go gre at with chi ld, her young fam ily, her sel f at the time but soon afte r and wen t some mil es upon her jour ney , the dan gers with cha nge d her min d and retu rne d to sha re I Brownlow sat in Wil liam s hur Art e sa!Il The . d her hus ban oun t for his sitt ing Par liam ent and was the re cal led to acc who look ed ·with in tha t of Jam es, by cer tain gen tlem en He was , how ever , gre edy eye s upo n his fai r esta te. him . acq uitt ed of the cha rges bro ugh t aga inst

lat e i•:r .

wis e wan , ro, mlo w, son of thi s gre at and r' s Hj_ s a cti on s, liv ed in i~i tat ion of his fat he vir t ue. en Boa rd , or as ~a gis tra te, me t:ie r in Pa rli a' ent , in the Lin . to all w re ach ira ble .

He was an en cou rag ing lan dlo rd one to t ho sewho'.il ~ai sfo r tun e s hi s i m. r ovi n g ten ant s, a kin d pio us and sin cer e ~e~ ber of had bro ugh t to dis tre ss and a 11 the est abl ish ed chu r ch.

11 to bla st the Cau lfi eld ' s sup por ter s had tri ed Brownlow by fix ing up on hi m rep uta tio n of the pre sen t fr .

Pa pis t, be cau se his th e cha r a cte r of a J a cob ite and nee and I tal y and be cau s e · you t hfu l day s we re s en t in -"ra te d to popery Taken to his :no t ner was unh app ily pe rv er ice of do ct ors , he sta yed th e sout h of Fra nce .by the adv his :no t he r and sis ter s. th ere t wo or thr ee yea rs i.Ji th t o di sco ver an aff e cti on bou t tha t tim e his mot he r beg an t his sis ter s and hi:ns elf for pop ery wit h the res ult tha to pop ery en ter ed in to too k ala r m and fro m an ave rsi on th e'.TI. sel ves fro:n th e th e wis e res olu tio n of rem ovi ng His sis ter s imm edi ate ly inf lue n ce of the ir moth er. ic al adv ice he was sen t to ret urn ed to Ire lan d but on med ede d i·Ji tho ut his mot her .

Ita ly, to whi ch cou ntr y he pr oce ng gen tle:nan , the son of The re he wa s in cha rge of a you for tun e who att end ed him a pio us cle rgy ma n of fam ily and

11 un til he ret urn ed home .

48.

11h• 1gb and Bro wnl o w' s opp one n ts de scr ibe· d h.1~ as abo ve hau ght y, res erv ed and un s ocia bl e , ke epi ng company fi cul t of a cce s s e t c 11 or con ver sin g with ne i ghb our s , dif - d a di f fe r en t but t h e wri t er of the pamph l et pai nte wnlow had a lar ge pic tur e, str ess i ng t he fa ct tha t Bro lfi eld po sse s sed no pro per ty in t h e coun t y and th at Cau lan d wi thi n it or els e wh ere . ttTh e an c est ors of one ha d of th e oth er be cau se been con sis ten tly cho s en, t he hea d fr om a sea t in th e of his tit le mus t eve r be exc lud ed hou se hav e nev er Com:non s and t h e lo wer bra n che s of his so gre a t a t rus t as yet bee n trie d or tho ugh t wor t hy of t he Cou nty . 11 the ".!10 st Thi s par tic ula r el e ctio n wa s one of . Ar magh .

Th e · a ctu al exc itin g tha t eve r too k pla ce in Co o the han d s of th e Pol l Book (in dup lica te ) pas s ed i nt on of Lor d Gos ford Acheson family and wa s in pos ses si tle .

Th e ori gin als pre vio us to the sal e at Gos ford Cas eson ar chiv es an d are pre sum abl y sti ll amon gst the Ach ston of Kil mor e in cop ies mad e by Lie ut.C ol. G. H. J ohn

1898 are pre ser ved in Armagh Lib rar y. r 26, 175 3, "at The ele ctio n ,beg an on Frid ay Oct obe kni gh t for t he shir e a County Cou rt hel d for ele cti ng a The wri t bei ng rea d, beg inn in g at for the sai d cou nty .

Bla cke r obj e cts to one o ' clo ck in the afte rno on, Mr. pas t elev en o'c loc k pr oc eedi ng to pol l thi s day it bei ng

ged the she riff ough in th e mor ning , a t whi ch ti~ e he alle Tho!lJ.as Ver ner, age nt f or Hr . to hav e beg un to pol l.

t

to s sin g up in Cau lfie ld, obj ect s aga inst the sheriff _ and star ted up . poin t of plac e betw een the can did ates day by agre e:n ent .

The can did ates to chan g e plac es ea ch · t , 1·~r . Caul fiel d _ l f irs The can dida t es toss ed up who sho uld pol nlow Bef ore any Free:nen were pol led Hr . Brow Si r . d aga ins t Mr . Cau lfie ld bein g und er age

won the tos s. obj ecte

hol der s obje ct ed to Arc hiba ld Ach eson on beh a l f of the free g afte r elev en o 'clo ck , t he hou r of op enin g t h e pol l, it bein Sir Arc hib ald obje cted now a qua rter aft er on e o'cl ock . out ope ning the cou rt, tha t the She riff pro ceed to pol l with lfie ld having po lled this aft er the pol l began , but Mr . Cau the cou rt pro ceed ed. a free hol der pre vio us to the obj ecti on elec tion cont i nue d From the Pol l Book we le arn t ha t the Oct obe r 26, unt il dai ly, Sun day s exc epte d, f rom Frid ay, the cou rt adjo urn ed Frid ay, November 9th , on whi ch even ing obe r 10, at eig ht unt il the nex t mor ning , Sat ur day , Oct dec lare d 11 We are told tha t afte r the She riff had o'cl ock . ld demanded a scru tiny .

Mr. Brownlow duly elec ted , Mr . Cau lfie ld t ha t he wou ld The She rif f ther eup on told Mr . Cau lfie :nor ning which he atte nd at eig ht o'cl ock the foll owi ng ock and then sen t acc ord ing ly did and sat unt il ten o'cl The ld atte nd . word to Mr . Cau lfie ld to know if he wou told the said Mr. Cau lfie ld sen t a mes seng er who

She riff

50. ou ld not 1 •

h l

rkm an as Th i s was si gne d by ri ere di th Wo

rif f.

e Pol l Books be ca:n e Th ere is no clu e as t o how th tha t T~ey a re of gre at in ter est in lod ged at Go sford. sus of t he fre eho lde rs of t hey are al:n os t a comp let e cen d i ndi vid ua lly wit h the t:1 e Co unt y, a ll of wh om are ent ere did ate s and the ir fri en ds. ob ·ec t i o~s rai se d by t he can vot ed for .

Y.~ey als o show who eac h p ers on for Cau lfi eld and was Si:r Arc hib ald Acb eso n vo ted A no te in one of the Po ll one of his ch ief supp ort ers .

11 the ele cti on for t h e County Books rea ds as fol low s - At he can did ate s were Wi llia m of r :nag h in Oc tob er 175 3, t r of t h e 1s t Lo rd Lu rga n, Brownlow of Lu rga n, gra n dfa the iel d, br oth er of Jam es 1s t and the iio nbl e . Fra nci s Ca ulf Mr .

Mr . Brownlow bei ng ret urn ed, Ea rl of Ch arl emo nt . the ret urn and t he pe tit ion Ca ulf iel d pe tit ion ed ag ain st of the ,-mole Iri sh House of tee mit com a by d ere sid con was It the n cem ber , 1753 .

Commo ns on the 6th to 8th De n of the Act of Pa rlia me nt app e are d fro m the co ns titu tio of fre eh old ers tha t Mr . rel ati ve to the reg ist eri ng jor ity of 352 un inf lue n ced Ca ulf iel d had an und oub ted ma tur ned it int o a mino rit y and vo t e s, ye t the Ca stl e pa rty , d los t the ele cti on by 4 vo tes upo n a di vis ion Hr . Ca ulf iel 118 - wh ere for e the Sh eri ff ' s t he num be rs bei ng 122 to an \~1 ile the rep ort al . leg ed lar dec tee mit com in r e t urn was

51. te d n, M. P. fo r Na va n, vo to es Pr .

Mr , e us Ho e was made to th . co nt ra ry to hi· s p r om ise . d Had he el fi ul Ca r. t ns ag ai be en ea ch sid e wo ul d ha ve on ers mb nu e th ise m kep t hi s p ro th it wa s ex pe ct ed th at d e Sp ea ke r , an 9, 11 z. vi l, ua eq te to Nr . giv en hi s ca st in g vo ve ha d ul wo e, yl Bo Henr y of rd Ch ar lemon t up wa rd s Ca ul fie ld .

Th e el e ct io n co st Lo 1, 00 0 po un d s. " th e was a se ve re blo w t o n io ct le e e th of ss Th e lo Fr an ci s fie ld f ami l y lo ca lly . pr es tig e of t h e Ca ul , Bo rou gh of Ch ar lemo nt e th r fo er :nb Me me Ca ul fi el d la te r be ca he r, th e ha nd s of hi s br ot in s wa ch i wh of n to e pr es en ta tio d a Ea rl .

Mr . Ca ul fie ld m ar rie th e fa mous Vo lu nt ee r h te rs hi s wif,e an d two da ug th wi nd a re Ey rd Lo da ug ht er of d in 1775. o m En gl an d to Ir el an fr e ag ss pa s hi on d was dr ow ne co st th e th e Arm ag h el ec tio n at th e bl ba ro p ry ve It is pe ns es Will ia m Brown lo w' s ex £1 ,0 00 .

Ca ul fie ld s mo re th an th e t gi ve s de ta ils as to un co ac e th d an 9½ wer e £5 ,~56.18. ming st an ce fre eh ol de rs co in r Fo s. re itu nd pe ex va rio us an d so me an d lo dg in gs al lo we d, d ar bo d ha ce an st di fro!Il a s ur e of t h e pr oc ee di ng at fe a s wa ' ge ia rr so rt of "mus ic ca 11 ea rin g. r :nu si ci an s al so ap p fo e ag st st lfa Be e "p la ce s in th re is a ha ve be en bl ue as t he to m see s ur lo co n Hi s el e ct io ur . r rib an d of th at co lo no te of ca sh pa id fo th e l a r ge st nlo ws we re p ro ba bl y ow Br e th te da at th At , ac qu ire d by pu rc ha se in th e co un ty , ha vi ng

landowners

52 . earlier in that cen tury , the manor of Richmount , thus

widening their sphere of influenc e and gainin g extra politica l pull .

53.

BROWNLOW ELECTIO N 1753 Referen ces to the parties -mention _ pa!DJ;lhle t.

- i·n - -- ed William Brownlo w wh o came to I r eland == Elinor, dau. of John with his father John Bro wnlow and was 0 1 Dogh erty of Derry, granted _an adjoini ng portion of land Co. Derry.l in O' Neiland Ba rony, Kni ghted Dec 15 1622. Represe nted Ar ~ag h Co . in · Parliam ent in 1639 and died 1660.

rLettice Brownlow eldest daughte r.

Patrick Chamber lain Co . of Niselrath Louth.

17

Ros e == Capt. Draper Elinor == Major F. Martin.

IArthur Chambe rlain of Niselra th \·Jho1667 = .J an e , d au. assU!Iled t he name of Brownlo w in accorda nce wi th his gr andfath er's will. Born 1647, M.P. for Co. Armagh in Parliam ent of King Ja~es II in 1689, and afterwa rds from 1692 to 1710.

of Sir Standis h Hartst on ge , Bart.

I II

Art hur Phi lemon Elinor

1711 == Elizabe th , dau. of Co. of Sheriff High . 'b.1683 William James, 6th Earl of Armagh in 1711. Succeed ed his f ather ilton. She md.

Ham in the represe ntation of the County y Count de secondl and held the seat until his death in .3 Kernaic 1739.

William b.1726 . M.P. for Co. Armagh 1753-17 94, father of William Brownlow M.P. f or Co. Ar :D.a gh 1794-17 98 and grandfa th er of Charles Brownlo w M.P. for Co. Armagh 1 818-183 3. Created Baron Lurgan 1839 (Lord Lurgan was the son of Col. Charles Brownlo w, 2nd son of William above M.P. 1753-17 94) .

l.John o•O'Dogherty, s~ sister Margaret was_married to Hugh Oge son of Sir Oghie O'Hanlo n, Knt. of !andera gee.

O'Hanlon married Roger Lyndon sister, Rose 0'Dogherty, Lady Brownlow . or Carrick fergus. o1 O'Dogherty Cahir Sir , brother elder rty John O'Doghe • Innishowen was defeate d and slain by the English in

54.

2.

The Chamberlain f?mily was established in Co. Louth Patrick Chamberlain at s?me date previous to 1312. of Niselrath the husband of Lettice Brownlow was involved in the Civil War of 1641-42 but died soon This resulted in his widow and children afterwards. claiming his Louth property as 11 lnnocent Protestants 11 • second adventure in matrimony Lattice Brownlow of the sa.:ne county, Clinton was with Christopher family of AngloCatholic Roman old an member of Followissue. further had she whom by origin Norman ing his death (about 1658) she took to her self yet another Louth husband, one Alexander Aston, younger brother of Sir William Aston, an officer in Cromwell's The marriage took place before 1664 and he Army.

She later married wa s dead before Mar ch 26, 1668. a Mr. Beversham, and dying at Lurgan was buried there January 27, 1699.

3.

The Lady Elizabeth Hamilton was commonly knovm in Lurgan as Lady Betty, and there is no doubt but that she had the interests of t he tenan ts at heart.

Whilst she was abroad there was a po tato failure and she sent home a gift of £440 for relief purposes .

Her secession to the Roman Catholi c Chu rch was much Her father had been in ~he regretted locally.

J ames_II _but_ espousing ~he King of military service cause of King William took a distinguished part in He was ancestor of the the siege of Londonderry.

Dukes of Abercorn.

55 . .

11 .A12stract fro:n Co unt y 1 Louth A Ar cha eol ogi cal Jou rna l"; Pa ter son 1 G F v0 1 1947. ,...,_ •

TH

Lur

•

• .;_

XI, No, 3;

-·

BROWNLOl::£S

s l. ven i· n Pee rag es und er The acc ou nt of the fa:n il vJ a 00 it beco,,.,es nec ess ary to gan is so:newha t def e ct ive so .u

s. a~ pli fy it fro :n oth er sou rce Joh n Bro wn low of No t tingham

i·n

1

and app ear s on a in ere d to beco".ll.e un der tak e rs ·,;i...

JJ..u g

"ta bu lar vie w of suc h as off 2 he was gra nte d the ::cid6. le Ul ste l and on May 29, 161 0 O'Neilland Ba ron y, Co . Armagh pro po rti on of Do ugh cor n in iss ue at lea st thr ee son s and He was the n :n arr ied and had one dau gh ter I.

Wi llia m, of whom pre sen tly .

Ro ll of Co . Ar"'.!la gh Joh n sho vm on the Sub sid y his fat he r 's p rop ert y ~n 1 6J4 3 and as a ten an t on Bro wn low of Kil mo re the in 16 35 . An ces tor of of Du bli n. and agh Ar~ .

Pa ris h, Co est ate lea se Jan uar y 20, III . Ric har d, wi tne ss to anber 30, 1659, who :na rrie d vem 1654, and aga in Nolea st thr ee dau gD t ers . at ue iss had and anc ery Bi ll De cre e 1 . Jan e, ali ve in 1653 (Chn Brown v. Sir of Au gus t 25, 1653, Joh Bro wn low ).

II.

1.

2.

3.

es d, 160 8-1 610 , p.549 . Pee rag Ca l. Sta te Pa per s, Ire lan Lin col n. say he wa s of Ep wo rth Co . . .

-12 IV Pa t. Ro lls , 8 Jam es I 11 cur ren t 1 wn sho Ric har d are Bo th Joh n and his bro the r arr to the due was is Th ied .

Pe era ges to hav e die d unmts we re un lmoi.-m to th e per son s fac t tha t the ir des cen dan of the fam ily , fo l low ing the t-Jho com pil ed the ped igr ee as Ba ron Lu rga n of Lu rga n cre ati on of Ch arl es Bro wn low

in 1839.

•

56.

1 and en tio ne d 2 . ~l iza be th, ali ve in 167 r sis ter Ha ry t~e an es~ ate lea se wi thndhe ela , a ten an t on a . th ma ~ri ted Mr . Cop wi th oth er iss ue - e es a e and had Lu rga n. ' son , Brownlow Cop ela nd of m Ta ylo r at 3 • Mary ,. who ma rri ed Wil9lia1685 and ha d Sh an kil l Se pte:nb er ' , Brown ' low Ta ylo r, . ue a son W ' l th ,?th er iss d at Sh an kil l who Qled young and was bu rie Au gu st 28 , 17 00 . kil l Tho-:nas Ta ylo r of Sh anwn ed rri ma ho w · r hte ug da A I. is sue a son Bro low by whom she ha d wi th oth er ub les 'of 16 41 .4 Ta ylo r, mu rde red in the tro lan d wi th his fat he r and Ire to e cam w nlo ow Br m lia l Wi in pro po rti on of Ba lly ne:noney g nin joi ad the d nte gra was He was on Jun e 16 , 16 10 5. the sa-:ne ba ron y an d co un ty Vi sco un t Fa lkl an d, Lo rdkn igh ted by Si r He nry Ca ry, , ser ve d as Hi gh She rif f 22 16 5, c.1 De , nd la Ire of Deputy 6 ha d a re- gr an t 9 162 , 29 e Jun on and 3 162 in agh Arm .

Co of of the mean ti':Ile) of the lan ds ( hi s fat he r ha vin g die d in o whi ch lan ds were ere cte d int Doughcorn an d Ballynemoney He rep res en ted Co. Armagh . rry De s low wn Bro of nor the Ma 7 1660 lea vin g , 20 ary nu Ja d die and 39 in Pa rli am en t in 16 of da ug hte r of John Do gh er t y r, ino El fe wi s hi by ue iss lea st thr ee da ug hte rs. De rry , Co. Lo nd on de rry 8, at nagh_, F. B.7 6 T.C .D . o sit ion s of 16 41 . Co.ywAr. po De 4. Ex am ina tio n of Thomas Ha ard Fe o.1 6, 1 52 - als in s ame vo lum e. va rio us oth er de po sit ion s . s I, V- 16Ro lls 8, Ja me t Ro tenda lls , Mor rin , p.4z4. ose Cl 5. Pa and t ten r of Pa len Ca s Il. 6. Inq uis iti on s of Ul ste r, Co. Arm agh , 7 Chawarle of s 7. Peerages are in err or in say ing tha t he 8.

De rry , Co. Armagh.

57 .

I. II .

II I .

1 Le tti ce , for whom see b e ow.

. iam ed cap t · w-W ill o ma rri Dr ap er of Ro se,dewh A c ny ga Ty.lly ~?h ,. by who:n she ha dugtwo so ns , Va len tin e a ~mW ill iam and two da hte rs n Ro se an d Ma ry . ly 8, 1652) Ma jor Fu lke r El ino r :na r rie d (1-'IS. Juof Joh n Ma rti n 1:1 p fo Ma rti n of Lu r gan ( son h in 1639) . -aJ'· or • 11ar -· t·1n Ch arl em on t , Co . Ar.nag -- rga n De ce~ be r 4 Lu wa s ur1 ed at Sh an kil l, sa:ne' pla ce 1•1a r ch ' 18 , the 1 67 9, an d ~i s i;~f_e a! iss ue two son s 1 690 , lea vin g w1 tn ol, her 1

d 1717 who 1 . Ro be rt, bo rn 16 53 , ndie ' ma rri ed Al ice Wa rre . , an of fic er in the 2. M ile s bo rn 1660III , for "i:Jho se Ar my of Wi lli am in of Wi ehe in art M de sce nd an ts see B. L . G. y low s De rr y ma rri ed fir stl Le tti ce Br ow nlo w of Bro wn o:n she se lra th, Co . Lo uth , by wh Pa tri ck Ch am be rla in of Ni had iss ue elr ath , Co . Lo uth , and Ar thu r Ch am be rla in of Nis I. De rry , Co . Ar'llag h, of aft erw ard s of Bro wn low s whom la te r . bu rie d at Shan kil l, Co .

Ph ile mo n Chamberlain II .

Ar ma gh, Ju ly 5, 1681. ill iam n who :u arr ied Cap t . W nd was I. El ino r Ch am ber lai sba hu r He agh .

Jo ne s of Lu rga n, Co . Arm 1, 1681, and she l bu rie d at Sh an kil l, Ap rie pla ce, Fe bru ar y 5, sam the at wa s in ter re d 17 20 . Iss ue 1657, en ter ed T.C .D .

1. Br ow nlo w Jon es , bo rn 16 75 , bu rie d Sh an kil l . ne s, Hig h Sh eri ff of ~ - Ro th ( als . Wi llia m Jo y 1~ , 17 25 , pro ve d Co . Armagh 1712 . W ill ma

Jun e 3, 1725 .

58 .

3. Ar thu r Jon es . , enr1.y Jon es, bu rie d Sha nlri .~ ·11 re bru ary 9, 4. -168 ch 16, 167 8.

1. Eli za Jon es , bu rie d har lst ly in 168 2 2 . Le ttic e Jon es who ;:n arr ied ly in 1696 T'1o:nas sec ond i•il l~a :il As~ on,ntJana ,., . mTy ron e by ivi10::u ·o,; ·iou of s vo rri , ., 1,.o _ , , son '-'-ill ia::a sne 1:ad int h oth er ::..ssue a a:u~ ~f Jon es n sur · or !i s , :vh'? as su: ied the y of his un cle t er · pro the g tin eri inh on ' abov.:3, and for who:n and his oth Jon es ey~on es of des cen a~n ts s~e Ha mil ton Jon G.'1 .

L . gla ss, .o ill Eov e:.1b er 8 , ne Jon e s ma rri ed at Sh ankSil 3. ver woo d, 168 3, to Pa tri ck Mo rri s of iss ue .

Lu rga n, Co . Arn agh , and had d Fra nci s 4 . ia ry Jon es, vrho mar rie . ar~ agh .

Co urt ney

of Ca rri ckb roa d, Co

d Tho:nas Cli nto n Jan e Ch am ber lai n who :na rrie and had iss ue . ed sec ond l y, bef o re 165 2, Mrs . Le tti ce Ch am ber lain ma rri Co . y Lo uth , res i den t at Lu rga n, Ch ris top her Cli nto n of Co unt n he si gne d a lea se in tha t Armagh, 2 Fe bru ary , 165 1 , whe 6, by who:n she had iss ue : yea r as lat e as 165 ii tne s s to m Cli nto n, bor n 165 4. llia Wi I. 168 0 . lea ses at Lu rga n in 167 5 and

II .

II. III .

9.

Ar thu r Cli nto n of Du bli n . n.

Ch ris top her Cli nto n of Lu rga

173 5 . ed Anne Do bbi n and ciie d in n dso n rri ma es Jon rris Mo m llia Wi shoi•m as Ha rre s Jon es , gra In Bu rke he is inc orr ec tly J one sbo rou gh, Co . :nagh , of Mo rre sJo nes of Ys tra d .

Jon es abo ve . de riv es its nam e fro m Ro th

59 .

1664, Let ticeCli nton mar ried t hird ly, befo re n of W illi sto wn Lou th, who r AlexandeAsto

Cap tain

gan foll owi n g the see~ s to hav e take n up resi den ce at Lur At e in 1666 . mar riag e and app ear s as witn ess to a leas She Beversham . his dec ease she ~ arri ed fou rthl y a r . ll, Jan uary 27, 1699 . died at Lur gan and was bur ied in Sha nki tice Brownlow by Art hur Cha mbe rlai n, eld est son of Let assume d the surname her firs t hus ban d, Pat rick Cha mbe rlai n, l of his gran dfa the r, Sir of Brownlow as dir e cted by the wil He was born at Ard ee, Co . Lou th, in illi am Brownlow r of Sir Stan dish 1645 and mar ried abo ut 1667, Jan e, dau ghte was bur ied at Har tsto nge , Bar t., Hho surv ived hi:n and He was Hi gh She riff of Co .

Sha nki ll, arch 12, 1720. nty Armagh 1692 -1710 .

Armagh in 1679 and 1686 and H.P . for Cou Issu e: He died and was bur ied at Sha nki ll.

1683, of Willi am, bap tize d Sha nki ll December 31, I. whom pre sen tly . ch 24, 1684 .

Stan di sh, bap tize d Shankill Mar B.A II. . 1705. Cal led 1, 170 17, Ent ered T.C . D. Apr il und er to Iris h Bar 1711. Inh erit ed Ni selr ath hi s fath er ' s wil l .

1692. sh .

Feb ruar y 19, Sta Shankill 11 'hi· ndi s bro ther l d III . Joh n, bap tize Inh erit ed Nis elra th from IV.

v.

nki ll, July 15, 169~.

Phil emo n , bap tize d Sha to ~he 1712 . Ca lled 30 une J f D th 1 • TC ' d · Ent • • rom h"is rath h Bar 1724. Inh e rite d Nis elra Irisere bro the r Joh n.

Arthur, bur ied Sha nki ll, June 4, 1689.

60 .

I.

m r . d Ann , born Dubl in, Janua ry 19 1691 Prie D '

atthe w Forde of Seafo rde ' C~ • 01m , ui~ . • for D0 Downpatrick , and had issue for who:n· see B.L.G . rde, orde of Seafo •

II.

Lett ice who marri ed at Shan kill, Se-o te:nbe r of Loug hgall and had 71, 1707 , oberts eeCope Cope of Loughgall , B. L.G. issue for whom

bapti z ed S11ankill, Dece".llber 31 , 1683 .

Co .

Enter ed T.C.D . July 8 , 1699 , B.A. 1702 . High Sher iff of be t h Ar!Ilagh in 1711 . Har ri ed Ja nuary 2 , 1711, the Lady Eliza He Ha:nil ton, daugh ter of James 6th Earl of Hami lton.

Willi a!Il Brownlow

h succe eded his fathe r i n the repre senta tion of Count y Armag Died in Parli amen t and retai ned the seat until his dea t h .

Augu st 27, 1739 .

Burie d Shan kill.

He was survi ved by bis

with wife ( who marri ed secon dly Coun t de Kearn ic) and left, other issue for whom see E.slf il:~, a son:William Brow nlow, bapti zed Shan kill April 25, 1726.

24, High She riff of Co. Armag h , 1750 . Marr ied first ly ay 1744, Judit h Leti tia, daug hter of t he Very Revd. Charl es rine, Mer edyth , Dean of Ardf ert, and s econd ly, in 1765, Cathe daug hter of Roge r Hall of Mount Hall, Co. Down for He was M.P. desce ndan ts of which marri age see Peerage. nteer s for Co. Ar!Ilagh 1753 -1794 and Capta in of the Lur gan Volu 1778-1793. Died Octo ber, 1794. Burie d Shan kill. Left wi th other issue :Sher iff of Co. Arm agh, 1787.

I. Willi am, High agh 1794 -1798 . Died 1815. f or Coun ty Arm

H.P.

61.

II.

Charles, born 30 April, 1757 . Lieutena nt Col. in the Ar:ny. Married 1785 , Caro line, dau . of Benja~in Ashe of Bath by whom he had wi t h othe r issue a son , Charles Brownlow , born Ap Til 17, 1795 , High Sheriff of Co . Ar".D. agh, 1834, M. P. for Co . Ar".D.agh 181 8- 1833, cr eate d Baron Lurgan of Lur gan May 14, 1839; ancestor of the present Lord Lurgan .

LURGAN.

LINEN In 1216 the linen manufacture was in a flourishing condition in Ireland, one of the principal seats of the northern trade being Ardmacha

( p .10-11 ) .

Manufa cture of linen in early ti.rnes essentially domestic in all its details .

Farmers

raised the flax on

their own lands, the straw was scutched at home, their daught ers and servants spun the yarn, the sons wove the linen and the bleaching was effected by the same hands .

Linens of forty inches broad and twenty yards long to be sold in markets such as Lurgan ( p . 36 ) 1711.

F-lrst

fine cambri c produced in distric t woven by a weaver named Moane of Donagh cloney in 1714.

Act passed in 1719 authorizing appointment of fit and proper persons in market towns to examine linens offered for sale (p.43 ) and stamp with seal.

Much progr ess made up to 1760 when in consequence of irregularities that crept into Brown Linen Trade a considerable reaction took place in home and foreign markets (p .45).

A law of 1762 appointing proper persons to attend

markets (p.47). achinery for beetling introduced into Ulster in 1725.

PreV1ously done by women armed with beetles ( p. 58).

3.

In 1784 Lurgan ma rkets £2,500 for brown linens ( p . 65).

Invention of fly-shuttle.

Previously two persons

required ( p .86).

The Kelly family of Lurgan famous shuttle-makers

(p.86).

James Quinn of Carlow induced by William Brownlow to settle in Lurgan in 1712 where he commen ced the manufacture of damask on a pretty extensive scale (p. 92) .

James Bradshaw ' s visit to Holland in 1728.

(p. 96) .

Markets of Lur gan attended by Henry Monroe and Bartholomew Teeling (p . 127) .

Lisburn's Linen Market once second only to Lurgan (p . 50).

Lurgan linen market still in existence in 1865 (p.151).

In the latter part of the last century a bank of discount and deposit was in full work in Lurgan and for ~any years enjoyed a large share of prosperity ( p . 155).

Hr. Brownlow

Cupp age, Magee

Malcolmson

di r ectors .

Most

of the business done in the bank was transacted by linendrapers and bleachers .

Lurgan markets on Fridays, buyers on horseback ( p . 176) .

In 1794 William McCaw sold in Lurgan market a piece of cambric at £1.2 . 9 per yd . (p . 182).

In 1809 a web woven by Moses Falls sold in Lur gan

~arket at 2.20 per yard, one of the finest flaxen articles

64. ever seen in Uls ter.

Wh en bleached it was sent to London

and pr esented to Princess Ch ar lo t te.

Yarn spun by Sa rah

Haughey who wi th Falls be cam e a l ocal celebrity (p . 187).

Hand scutching ( p . 265).

Mr s. Turtle of Agh oyallon near Lur gan spu..n. f rom her own flax some fi n e yarn, t hree of whi ch could be pass ed through a wedding rin g .

It was afterwards woven by a

cambric weaver near Lurgan and sent to Queen Victoria.

Wheelwrights made no more spi nn in g wheels when spinning mills ca~e into being (p .305 ) .

Cotton spinning comm enced in Be lfast 1778.

(McCall's book on Linen).

( p . 355) •

65.

LURGAN

Sour ces for Genealogical In far~ati an.

Shankill is very l ucky in re ga rd t o 'na terial relative to t he families of t he pa rish from the 17th century onward s.

Sour ce s may be li sted as under: -

1.

Muste r Rol l of 1630.

2.

Subsidy Roll of 1634.

3.

Lurgan Estate Rentals .

4.

Cromwellian I nquisition of 1657 .

5.

Poll Tax 1660 .

6.

Hearth Money Rolls 166 4 and 166 5 .

7.

Parish Registers from 167~ t o da te.

8.

Protestant Househol ders 1740.

9.

Househol der s of 1760 .

10.

Directories from 1819 .

11.

Bassett's "Co. Armagh" 1888 .

12.

Atkinson 's Dromore

13.

Swanzy' s

11

All denomination s.

Diocese 11 •

Succession Lists of Dromore Diocese".

66.

Interestin g Names Associated with Lur~an.

1.

Arthur Brownlow, alias Chamberla in Sheriff 1679 and 1686 .

Born 1645.

High

M.P. fo r Ar::nagh in Parliamen t

of James II, again fro::n 1692 un til his death in 1710.

In the last quarter of the 17th century, the famous

11

Book of Ar magh 11 , a manuscrip t compiled in the

year 807 in one of the mona stic houses in Armagh Cit y , was pawned by its last Keeper, the notorious Florence McMoyer

It is very probable t ha t it would have been

lost for ever if Arthur Brownlow had not redeemed it and thus ensured its preservati on.

The manuscr ip t

fortunatel y survives and is a copy of an older compilation that possibly perished in a Viking r ai d.

It is,

however, the earliest of the Irish manuscripts

that can

with absolute certainty be dated, and Ireland in general, and Ar:nagh in parti cular, remember 1,-Ji t h gratitude that Lurgan provided it with a safe home in a most critical period of its history.

2.

Laurence Swellbarke , schoolmast er of Lurgan in 1657, ~morn we should perhaps honour as founder of thDse later Lu.rgan schools whose achieveme nts have made Lurgan famous at home and abroad and remind us of present day celebritie s like Sir Robert Gardiner, Sir Winstown

Dugan, etc.

3. J ames Lo gan, American statesman .

Born 1674 .

to kneri ca with William Penn in 1699 .

Uen t

Late r Chief

Justice of Pennsylvania , May or of Philadelphia and St at e Governor in 1736.

Retired 1747.

His library,

now housed in Philadelphia , is a lasting me2orial to a great :nan who de voted the remaining yea rs of his life to literature and science.

4.

Died 1751 .

Jame s Brad shaw of Lur gan who wen t to Holland i n 1717 and studi ed Dutch methods so that the inhabitants of his home t own and t h e linen trade generally i n the North might benefit.

1679.

Born Annsboro'

Anne Turner of Lurgan, and had a son

Harrie d

obert ( born

Lurgan 1722) who settl ed near Newtownards

and wa s

the grandfather of the celebrated l madBradshaw of Milecross.

5. Rev. James Kirkpatrick, son of the Rev . Hugh Kirkpatri ck of Lurgan.

Educated in Glas gow.

Templ epatrick.

Ordained in 1699 for

Removed t o Belfas t 1706 .

Wrote

"Historical Essay on Loyalty of Pr esbyterians 11 published Belfast 1713 - a valuable acc oun t of the beginnin gs of that body in Ireland - and othe r works.

6•

Die d 1743.

Jame s Ogl e, descendant of a na tive of Lurgan who came to Ar:nagh after the Restoration; Armagh in 1716-1717.

was Sovereign of

Thomas Ogle, his son, filled

the same office in 1729, and ten times be t we en t ha t

68. date and 1763.

In 1751, during his ter:n of office,

he decided on a new line of communic ation between Scotch Street and Irish Street, the opening of whi ch has been of mor e dire ct use to the City of Armagh than any improvement since .

The new road

wa s opened in great state in 1759 by Thomas Macan the then Sovereign , accompanied by the Bur ge sses and pr eceded by t he Ma ce Bea re r s.

At the ce r e:nony

the new line of appr oach and exit was di vi ded into two stre ets nam ed Thomas and Ogle Streets thus perpetuating his memory in Arrn agh City .

Portrait

in County Mus eum.

7.

In t h e scholastic world the Tennant brothers , Gilbert and William, born nea r Ardrnore in t he opening day s of the 18th century, founders of t he oldest Presbyterian Colle ges in America.

8.

Thomas Macan.

Representativ e of the Macans of Clan-

brassail, and an ce st or of the family now s ettled a t Drum cashel, Co. Louth, and of Lurgan des cent .

First

s erved as Soverei gn of Armagh in 1759 and betwe en that year and 1775 no less than five times .

Again

chosen in 1777 and remained Sovereign until his death in 1795.

Succeeded in the Sovereign ship by his t hird

son Arthur Jacob Macan who served 1795-1798, from whom

the 1acan Asylu:n for the blind derives.

Thomas

Macan married Anne, daughter of Jacob Turner of Lurgan and had v.ri th other issue a son Major-Genera l Richard Ma can, a distinguished soldier dro-wned on his passage to St. Helena in 1812.

9.

The Rev. Daniel Kelly, Vicar-Choral of Armagh Cathedral, son of Rev. Thomas Kelly of Dawson's Grove and direct descendant of Cornelius Kelly _of Lur gan.

Became Sovereign of Armagh in 1799.

His brother,

Arthur Irwin Kelly, served in same office 1805, 1806,

1821, until 1833 and from 1833 until 1837, a p eriod of great activity in the City of Armagh, resulting in the development of the Mall as a residential centre and the building of the presen t Court House .

10.

William Miller the builder of a famous sp eaking clock mu ch admired by John Wesley on his visits to Lurgan in

1762 and 1763 and :nentioned by various w-riters of the period (including James Stuart in his II Iemoirs of Armagh") as one of the wonders of the times.

11.

Dr. John Douglas, born Lurgan 1778.

Com:nen ced

practice in Dublin in 1808 - who wi th Clarke laid the found ation of high repute of Dublin as a school of midwifery-.

A Fellow and President of the College of

Physicians .

Died 1850.

70.

1 •

Jame s Seaton Reid, D.D.

Born Lur gan 1798.

of "The Pr esbyterian Church in Ireland' .

13.

Author Died 1851 .

Mrs. 1': artha lage e who died in 1846, leaving £60,000 to various societie s and institutions, one bequest resultin g in the foun dation of an i mpo rtant educational establishment, the Magee College, Londonderry.

14.

George Russell, one of the great fi gures of modern times.

Born Lurgan 1867.

Artist, mystic an d poet.

Published twenty volll!l1es of prose and verse since

1894.

Represented in County Museum by a fine

collection of letters, paintin gs and drawings, and most of his published works.

15.

Dr. Annie Patterson, the well - kn own mu sician, author of several works on music and many original compositions.

16.

The army

Died 1934.

Figures like Major General Sir Burges

Camac, Major General Cuppage, Field Marshall Sir John Dill, etc.

17.

Miss I. J. Ferguson of the women I s Volunteer Air Force, one of the first women pilot s to be commissioned in that corps.

•

71 .

Links BETWEEN ARt,iAGH Lurgan Finance and ad'.i1ini stration bind all parts of our county into a sin gle entity ui t h headqua rters in Ar:nagh, but it is not :2atters such as those that I wish to discuss.

They are, of course, very important but they

lack personality - the connections that I have in 11ind are hunan and bind us together in a close relationship that we citizens of Ar11agh re::ne 'TI.ber 1.•lith 11uch affection .

To- night I intend to enu'1l.erate briefly a few of those ties .

In the second half of the seventeenth century the famous Book of Armagh, a 11anus cri pt co11piled in the year

807 in one of the monastic

houses of our city, ,.-1as pawned

by its last keeper , the notorious Florence Hacl-loyer and

it is very probable that it would have been lost for ever if Arthur Brownlow

of Lurgan had not redee:ned i t an d. t hus

ensured its preservation .

Th e manuscript

fortunately

still survives and is a copy of an older compilation that

possibly perished in a Vi king raid.

It is, howeve r, the

ear iest of the Irish , anuscripts that can 1.•l ith absolute certai nty be dated and we Ar achians do not forget that Lurgan : ave it shelter in a most ctitical period of its history .

T'n e savi ne of that precious herita g e of p ast days

P ovides on

0

ti1

.JOI e

i :np ortant linl-s be tween Armagh

and Lurgan out it i s no t by any ~ean s t he only one in

ur c. ain o -.-as a Brownlow

For al:nost two centur ies there

"riends biu .

of Lurgan re resen ti ng the c o1mty in

nt , a h PlJY state of affairs that began 1,-r.i. th the Parliam ent electio n of Sir William

Brownlow as :n e11ber in 1639 and

continu ed down until 1833, in whi ch year the first Lord Lurgan r signed after havin g served in that office for over fifteen

· ears.

Your toun uas created a Borough in 1949, a distin ction that gave the inhabi tants of Ar~agh J UCh gratifi cation . ur earlies t Ar.il agi.1 Charter is a confir.:n ation of 1467 by Edward IV of a then existin g gran t, and our last that issued b

Jame s I in 1613.

The latter, by the way, was

dissolv ed by James II in 1689 but re - affir!lle d in its origina l for:n by King William

in 1690.

By tbe Charte r

of 1613, the Senesc hal of our city wa s replace d by a chief citizen , ter~ed the Sovere ign.

Unfortu nately in

the Civil ·1 ar of 1641-4 2 and a gain in the trouble s beb.\ree n 'illia

and James, the city suffere d severel y with the

result that the Corpor ation re cords of those years are no\/

is sing .

Th ere is , howeve r, reason to believe that

in the closing years of that century the office of

soverei gnof

Armagh was filled by an Ogl e, a member of

an old Lurgan family that came to Armagh after the

73.

- estor t::..on a:id ua s the a n cestor of a t le ast two ot her i n the followin g c entur y .

S v r sovereign J a es

gl e was Sovereign in 1716 and 1717, and

Thomas Ogle

17~9, th e l atter ho l din g th e office ten

ti_es betue e n that dat e and 1763.

It ~ay interest you

, uer e :1.mch to mow that Thomas Oglee ' s -~Prv - 1- ces 1· n Ar magn

ap reciated.

T-1ere Ha s i nd eed good reason for the

ci~izen s ' gratitude .

He was our first to1m planner .

I n 1751, dur in g h is ter:n of office, he d eci ded on a new line of com'11unicatio n between Scotch St reet and I ri sh Street, tne open i ng of wh ic h bas been of '11ore direct u se to t e city than any similar improvment

since.

The

new road was opened in great st a te in 1759 by Thomas Macancan, the then Sovereign of the cit y, a ccompanied by the burgesse s and pro ceeded by t he mace# bearers. silver maces

The

used on that occa sion still survive - they

were made in 1657 to rep lace t hose destroyed in 1641- 42 . t the cere'11ony the new line of ap proach and exit wa s and Ogle Streets, divided into two streets, na'11ed Thomas street t hus continuing Ogle ' s :a. emory in our city.

He is also

perpetuated by a portrait in the County museum acan Thomas Macan

whom I h ave p reviously mentioned -

was also of Lur g an descent and the a cknowledged

repr esentative of the Ma cans of Clanbra ssail and

Clan can, a family now settled in England

but unti l

74. of Drum cash el in Co. Lout h.

rec

tl

as

vere ign of our city in 1759 an d b

He firs t serv ed

etween that year and 1775 he fill ed t h e post of chi"ef ci•t izen no less He wa s agai n chos en in 1 777 and tan five ti:ne s. re".11.ained Sov erei gn unti ·1 hi" s d ea th in 1795 .

He was

succ eede d by his t hird son, Arthur Jacob aco !'' Mac an who serv ed fro~ 1795 unt il 1799 , and from whom the Macan ion stil l in asylum for the Bli nd deri ves, an inst itut being in our city .

I n 1799 Iaca n wa s succ eede d by the Rev. Dan iel of the Rev .

Kell y, Vica r chor al of Armagh Cath edra l, son Kel lyof Da wson 1 s Grov e, Co. Armagh, and dire ct The Rev. desc enda nt of Cor neli us Kell y of Lurgan.

Thomas

serv ed Dan iel Kell y 1 s brot her, Arth ur Ir win Kelly also 1821 to as Sove rei gn , firs t in 1805 and 1806 , t hen from of grea 1833, and fina lly from 1833 unt il 1837 , a time of the buil ding acti vity in our city and t he peri od

t

re . deve lop~ ent of the Mall as a resi den tial cent reign I shou ld perh ap s add that Thomas Macan was Sove Rokeby and of the city duri ng t h e Arch bish opri c of Baron g of the ther efor e dire ctly conc erne d vdth the buil din Obse rvato ry County Infi rma ry, t h e Pris on, the Libr ary, t he ng the Prima cy of and othe r pub li c buil din gs erec ted duri He mar ried in 1741 Anne, t· at ~st gene rous prel ate.

75. daughter of Jacob Turn er of Lur gan, and was the father ,rit

oth er issue, of

ajor Gen eral Richard Macan, a

'

distinguished soldier drowned on his passage to St. Helena in 1812.

As Soverei gn of Ar:nagh, Thomas Macan marched to

Belfast in February 1760 at the h ead of a body of one hundred horse-:n en when that town was threatened with invasion by the French.

At the same time Lurgan sent uu a force of "'

one hundred and forty horsemen.

Needless to relate they

reached Belfast in advance of our contingent owing to receiving the call for assistance earlier and having fewer miles to mar eh.

Apart from lin ks such as those there are many other aspects tending to confirm us in our admiration of your most prosperous town.

It has been the birthplace of many

notable people but I shall only recall to your re~embrance a few of the names that we associate with Lurgan.

James Logan was born in Lurgan in 1674- and went to America with William Penn in 1699, later to become Chief Justice of Pennsylvania, Mayor of Philadelphia and eventually State Governor.

His library, now housed in

Philadelphia, is a lasting memorial to a great statesman

who, when retired, devoted the remaining years of his life to literature and science.

Lurgan and Armagh are

co~m8!Dorated in Pennsylvania by having townships named in

t heir honour.

In the scholastic world there were the Tennant brothers , Gilbert and William

,

born · th . in e opening days

of the 18th cen tury , the fathers and f oun d_ers o f t he oldest Presbyterian Co11 eges· o f Am erica.

Essayists and writers include the Rev. James Kir kpa trick wh ose "Historical Essay on t he Loya lt y of t he Presbyterians11 wa s published in 1713 ; the historian;

the Rev. Jame s Seaton Reid, D.D.,

and that great fi gure of modern times,

Georg e Russell, comm only knovm as

AE

artist, my stic

and poet, repr esented i n the County Museum by a fine collection of letters, painting s, drawings

pastels and

p ractically all his p rinted works.

And speaking of scholastic Lur gan it is of i nt erest that Ar'.llagh , Lurgan and Portadown were amon gst the very few towns in t h e coun.ty t h at '.nanage d to re-or ganize their schools i mm ediately followin g the Ci vil Wa r of 161+1-1+2.

By 1657 the Lurgan School was a gain open under the care of Laurence Swellbarke, whom we should perhaps honour as the founder of those later Lurgan schools whose pupils' achieve:nents have made Lur gan reno wne d at home and abroad, and remind us of p resent day celebrities like Sir Robert Gardiner and } ajor General Sir Winston Dugan who, when

raised to the peerage, became Lord Dugan of Lur gan in Co.

Armagh.

77.

Lurgan adventurers include James Bradshaw, a linen manufa ctUTer of your tovm who obtained trade secrets in Holland in the early years of t he ei gh teenth century, and bar ely escaped from that country alive.

He reached

Holland in 1717 and studied Dutch methods, later on his return to Ireland improvin g upon t h em considerably.

He

was born at Annesboro ' in 1679 and was probably a school friend of Logan, at anyrate both were of Quaker stock.

He married Anne Turner, also a member of a local Quaker family, and had a son Robert born at Lurgan in 1722, who settled at Milecros s, near NNewtownardsand was t he grandfather of the famous Robert Bradshaw, better v,.nown as ''Mad Bradshaw", who commonly drove about t he countryside behind a pair of bullocks vnth a servant perched on one as outrider, his carriage being a sort of van of hi s ovm invention with a stove inside and a funnel cut through the roof, whi ch belched forth smoke.

His bullocks had

t h eir tails docked, because he believed that they wasted their stren gth by switching them.

He invented a method

of attracting rooks and was successful therein.

To

en courage the birds to settle around his house he transplanted fully grown tre e s from a neighbour's rookery and fed the birds so well they became too lazy to forage

for themselves.

78.

Inventors brina to n · d WWilliam Miller, the builder min u • of a celebrated sp eakin i n We sley I s · g c1 oc mentioned Journals in 1762 and 1763, and by Stuart in his "Historical l'- emoirs of Ar-.i1agh 11.

In medicine you

produced Dr. John Douglas who, with Clarke , laid t he foundation of high repute of Dublin as a school of midwifery T'oe army is represented by Ma jor Gene ral Sir Burges Camac, K. C.B., Major Gen e ral Cuppage , the three Kelly brothers - Samuel wh o fo ught in India, and in con sideration if his services was appointed Com~an der of the British at Mulocco Isles;

William whose services

extended to the four quarters of the globe and brought hi m the publi c t hanks of his Commander-in-Chie_f ;

and

Dawson 1,vho served in the West In dies and Mediterranean and wa s Wellington's Assistant Quarter -Ma ster General at Waterloo.

By that time the Kellys were seated at

Dawson 1 s Grove, Co. Ar~agh, and in Armagh they are comme!llorated by an elaborate mural monument in the Cat hedral recording their many military distin ctions and reminding u s of their earlier Lurgan conne ction.

Nor

do we forge t in AF.11agh that Field Ha rshal Sir John Dill, one of the greatest military com~anders in t he late war,

was proud of Lurgan as hJ.· s bi"rthplace.

79.

Certain ladies of y our t own deserve :n ention.

Hrs.

Magee died in 181.i-6 leaving £60,000 to various MariaMartha societies and institutions, one bequest resulting in the establishment of the lv agee co11_e ge, Londonderry.

Hrs . Annie Patterson , th e well- known musician, authoress of ~any musical works and of ~any original compilations was also a native of your tovm of whom you may justly be proud.

In drama too you are well represented.

In 1759

the first private theatricals to take place in Ireland were held at the seat of the Right Honble . William Brownlow in Lurgan.

Love of music and of dramatic art

continued in the family do¥m the years.

The present

Lord Lurgan because of health reasons lives in South Africa, consequently we seldom hear of him.

He is,

however, an accomplished singer, a lover of music and a keen supporter of the Drury Lane Theatre, as indeed his father was before him.

In Macqueen Pope's "Pillars of Drury Lane", published in 1955, Lord Lurgan's father William · 3rd Baron Lurgan is described as a most distinguished chair~an of that celebrated theatre and we are told that he loved the

famous playhouse, was able to conduct a ~eeting with

grace, charm and a persuasive tongue - when needed.

Besides that eloquent testimony to his abilities as

80.

Chairman he actua lly attend ed rehea rsals.

Posse ssed

of great tact and an old-w orld courte sy he wa s indee d Born in 1858 he marri ed appre ciated and respe c ted. th e Lady Emily Julia Cado gan, elder daugh ter in 1893 of the 5th Earl of Cadog an a forme r Lord Lieut enant of Irelan d.

He died in 1937 and was succee ded by his son who is unma rried and is now aged 59.

In passi ng I might also mentio n that in 1949 Miss I. J. Fer guson was grant ed a commi sion in the Flying Sectio n of the Women 's Volun teer Air Force thus bring ing to Lurgan the honou r of havin g one of the first wo:uen pilot s in that Force .

Time doe s not permi t a furth er inves tigati on of our mutua l links or a more detai led examinatio n of the long list of the '.llany emine nt peop le conne cted with your town.

In concl usion may I hope that some evenin g in the Such a visit Summer you may find time to visit Armagh. would give me great pleas ure, allow you an oppor tunity of explo ring our city and incid ental ly more firmly cement an old frien dship betwe en our two towns that began almos t

two and a half centu ries ago.

One thing you can be assur ed of and that is that you liill find a warm welcome await ing you in our ancie nt city,

81. are suc h a whose lin ks wit h our isla nd gen era lly, the ecc les ias tica l ple asa nt fea tur e of its her itag e as Cap ital of Ire lan d .

Lurgan ' i ELI CS I H COUITT.{_, :USEUH Pot ter y fro '!Il Ki lla ghy .

Neo lith ic.

Pot ter y from Lis sac ur r an .

Pot ter y fro m Cla nro lla .

Sword and Sp ear .

Bro nze Age .

Pro bab l y Iro n Age .

Iro n .

Pro bab ly 10th cen tur .

1681 . ble 's Bat on . I ns crib ed an d dat ed

Par ish Con sta Beg gar 's bad ge iss ued 1699 _

agh s Ogl e of Lur gan ,3. sovereign of Arm Po rtra it of Th oma many ti es bet wee n 1729 anci 176 ps - pe r iod 1796 - 134 3.

J our na l of the Lur gan yeomanry Cor . Brownlow l: • . , Co .

Po rtra it of t he Rig ht Hon ble . ·b Armagh, 175 3-1 794 .

Lur gan Academy Meda l 1852 .

Pho to gra ph of 'Whi te Thorn Inn .

Bil l hea d of Bla ck Bul l Inn .

Pho tog raph of Middle Row .

Pho tog rap hs of master and Lur gan .

athth memorials at Dun gar van Gra cGr Mc

A lar ge col le ctio n of AE pi ctu r es

and manus cri pts .

BJ .

THE REV. Richard

BARTO N

The eccentric and learned curate of Shankill The Rev. John Barto n , D• D., Dean of Ardagh , marr ied

4 March, 1701 , Elino r, daug hter of Henry Jenny , D. D. , Archd eacon of Dromo re, by his wi fe Doug las, daugh ter of hter Major Fulke Martin of Lurga n, by his wif e Eli nor, daug of Sir Willi am Brownlow.

Dean Barto n h ad with ot he r issue the above Richa rd, who was born at Pain stown , Co . Meat h and educa ted in ty Dubli n by the famous Dr. Sheri dan, later enter ing Trini He was then aged 15, Colle ge on 9th Febru ary, 1721 -22. r and became a Scho lar 1724, Ba chelo r of rts 1726, aste , of Arts in 1731 , wa s made a Deaco n in 17~8 , Pries t in 17~9 serve d as cura te of Dona ghclo n ey from 17;::8 until his appoi ntme nt to the curacy of Shank ill i n 174~, holdi ng the latte r up to his death at Lur gan 6th Augus t, 1759 . l He was the autho r of many tract s on Philo sophy and atura Histo ry but so ecce ntric in his manne r that, despi te his famil y conn ectio ns, he faile d to secur e promotion i n the ned churc h - it is poss ible indee d tha t h e would have decli advan ceme nt had it been offer ed.

A disti ngui shed churc hman had said of Lurga n i n the begin ning of the 18th centu ry t hat the town vrould have been a pleas ant place to live in if it had not been for

the Quakers, Presb yteri ans and Papi sts then begin ning to

84. inhabi t it.

He was eviden tly inclin ed to speak his mind so one feels sorry he was gone bf e ore Barton rea ched

Shank ill

I n 1751 Barton printe d bis "Lectu res in Natura l Philos opby

11

which he dedica ted in the fulsom e 'll anner of

those days to the unive rsities of Great Britai n and

Irelan d and to the Royal Societ y

11

11

learne d and inquis itive ::n embers of the

signin g himse lf a "fellow labour er in

Litera ture and Religi on 11 •

The lectur es dealt chiefly with the Lough Neagh petrif i cation s and were l)Ublis hed by

subscr iption .

Local subscr ibers includ ed the Archbi shop of Armagh, Sir Archib ald Ache so n, Bart., Samuel Bl acker , Esq., Willia m Brownlow Esq., Dean Brandr eth, Mr . Henry Corner (Schoo lmaste r of Lur gan), the Rev . Anthon y Cope, Bishop of Dromo re, Rev. A. Forde, Rev. Arthur Gruebe r (Headm aster Armagh Royal School ) , Sir Capel Molyne ux, Rev .

Micha el Obins, Willia m Waring , Esq., Me redith Workm an, Esq ., The list is a long one and bears a large sprinkling The book itself is now of the peerag e and the church . etc.

compa rativel y rare, but occasi onally turns up in the disper sal of a librar y when older count·r y houses and their

conten ts are being dispos ed of.

When the famous John Wesley arrive d in Lur gan on JUly 27th, 1756, he preach ed in the Market House and the next day read "Mr. Barton , s ingeni ous lectur es on Lough

85.

Neagh which turns wood into stone and cures the King's

evil

On a later visit ( 17 Nay , 1758) the great

evangelist was taken to see an eminent scholar nea r the town who ~ay have been the curate of Shankill.

The

description of the resi dence is of i nterest.

We sley

tells us that they found the do or i nto t he yard nailed up but they got in at a gap stopped with thorns.

He

took the house for a barn but was informed that it was only five years built and that it had been erected to the owner's design. stone, bone and wood.

The walls were part :nud, brick, It had four windows but glass in

none lest the pure air should be kept out. was two-storied but had no staircase or door .

The house Wi t h his

friend be entered by an upper windo w whi ch they reached by the aid of a ladder - the lower windows we re used in the same way.

The upper floor had three rooms, one

three-square, one five sides but t he shape of the third he could not remember.

His comment was "there is no

f ol 1y too grea t even f or a. man O f sense if he resolves

to follow his own i magination".

Coursing in County Arma~h in the 17th century.

There is a background of coursing in County Armagh that se•s to have had its origin ( or revival) in the years

tollov.Lng the Restoratio n of Charles II and was certainly At popular in the days before the Battle of the Boyne. that time a county gentleman was known "by his hawk his horse and his greyhound ".

The earliest documentary evidence of coursing in the county that I am aware of is preserved in the muniment room or a well-known Irish family and has been published by Mr. Colin Johnston Robb in the form of a letter to the Belfast

News Letter dated February 12, 1937, wherein he mentions a coursing meeting held at Richmount, near Portadown, in

lovE1Bber 1684.

At the meeting in question, a dog named

irt belonging to Arthur Browlow of Lurgan was the w.inner d the next best greyhound a bitch, the property of Sir

lrtbur Rawdon, Bart. , of Moira, known as ''Moyra 11 • Just previous to the fixture there had been a severe

frost tor over tour weeks (winters came earlier in those s) resulting in the river Bann being so well frozen that

a troop ot Dragoons was enabled to cross over on the ice. r. Anthony Obins ot Portadown we learn held the stakes and • gather that RichardWorkman's lands were chosen for the Obins deerpark were used instead of

bares and that the event took place on a bright and sunny day.

strangely enough the Manor of Richmount was acquired by

the above Arthur Brownlow in the first decade of the

18th century, and was by 'Will conveyed to bis son William in 1710.

He was the eldest son of Lattice Brownlow,

daughter of Sir William Brownlow of Lurgan, by her first

husband Patrick Chamberlain of Nizelrath, Co. Louth, manber of an old Anglo-Norman family that had been settled

in that county from at least 1236.

Arthur Chamberlain was born in 1645 and entered T.C.D. in 1660 in which year Sir William died, bequeathing to him

bis Co. Armagh property on condition that he and his heirs should in future bear the Brownlow arms(l) and name.

Sir William came to Co. Armagh with his father John Brownlow in 1610.

Both acquired grants of land in

O'NeillandBarony and following his father's death be fell heir to the paternal lands also.

In 1623 he served as

High Sheriff of Co. Armagh and from 1639 until his death

in 1660 was a representativ e of the county in the old Irish House ot Commons.

(l)

Sir William bore a greyhound as a crest and when Charles Brownlow was created Lord Lurgan he added These a greyhound as supporter to the shield. are by local tradition linked with the celebrated Master McGrath but, of course, pre-date him.

Arthu r Cham berlai n (his grand son) havin g duly taken the naa• of Brownlow, was appoi nted High sheri ff of the count y

1D 1679 and again in 1686.

He was chosen M.P. for Armagh

in 1689, in the so-ca lled Parlia ment of King James II, managed to again secur e the repre senta tion in 1692 in the

reign of Willia m III, and hold it until his death in 1710.

From him desce nd the Brow lows now repre sente d by the prese nt Lord Lurga n.

Three other But to retur n to the cours ing accou nt. naaes are menti oned there in - Anthony Obins , Richa rd Workman Anthony They are easil y ident ified .

Obins a desce ndant of Micha el Obins the found er of the town and Sir Arthu r Rawdon.

of Portadown who died in 1629, havin g had issue a son John who died in 1635, leavi ng a son Haml ett aged six month s.

Haml ett serve d as High Sher iff of Co. Armagh in 1688 and He was survi ved by two sons, Willi am died intes tate in 1712. who died in 1731 and beque athed his share of the prope rty to

d bis broth er and Anthony who made his will 16 May 1754, prove 6 December 1751+. Anthony Obins above resid ed at Castl e Obins , follow ing The bis broth er's death and was a well-known sports man. last m•be r of the Obins famil y to resid e there in was the

In. Archi bald Eyre Obins, born 1776, educa ted Armagh Royal schoo l and t.c.D. who had a paris h in the south of Engla nd. le 10l4 the prope rty to Robe rt Sparrow in 1820, whose

grlXld-daugbter Millicent Sparrow of Tanderagee carried the estate in the Montague family through her marriage in 1822.

Archibald Eyre Obins died at Bath, 6 January 1868 aged 92

years.

The Workmans of Mahon, Co. Armagh, settled there in the opening days of the 17th century, survived the Civil War of 1641, the Cromwellian occupation and the conflict between James and William.

They acquired various other

townlands in the neighbourhood of Portadown and frequently served as High Sheriffs of the county.

Richard Workman on whose lands ( at Richmond, commonly called Richmount

the coursing took place, died before .

1714, leaving a wife and children.

In 1821 Caroline

Workman, the heiress to the Mahon estate, was living at

Mahon.

She died intestate in 1822 whereupon the property

descended to Sir Francis Workman Macnaughten of Bushmills.

We shall now deal with Press Accounts concerning the celebrated Master McGrath ArmaghGuardian, March 1871. master McGrath was brought to Windsor Castle by desire

ot the Queen where be was petted and made much of by the

lo7al family.

A similar account evidently a re-print of

aboye appeared in the same 'paper on March 13, 1942.

Belfast Telegraph , Feb. 10, 1937.

Lord Lurgan, the Irish Sportsman Peer who controlled luxurY hotels all over the world, died in a London Nursing He had been seriously 111 for home on Tuesday evening. some time •

.

He would have been 79 on Thursday.

Lord Lurgan was State Steward at Dublin Castle and was made a Knight Commander of the Victorian Order.

He was the owner of the famous greyhound Master McGrath whose stone effigy stands outside Brownlow House.

Jobn o•London, June 11+, 1946. master

McGrath - The verses were written by an unknown

balladmonger about 1870.

The dog spent most of its

unhappy life in Lurgan.

The funeral was a most touching

scene" writes s. H. Aughnacloy.

11

In front of Brownlow

Castle at Lurgan is a large greensward , at the left of which is a small wicket gate.

When the dog was to be

buried, the tenants and retainers of the Brownlow Estate, gathered together, each man with a greyhound in leash.

Slowly each one passed in through the little wicket gate, across the main hall entrance, where Lord Lurgan stood,

circled round the lawn and round the little oaken coffin, Placed in the middle of it, pausing for a moment at the

cottin.

So out again by the same little gate, while the

trainer earned the coffin away to be buried in the laurels

••• tev 7ard1 avq in the shrubbery. ••

.-tr;

p. J. McConville.

The Lurgan Mail Dec.27, 1941.

The Wonder dog - Master McGrath If perchance you had been wandering along a leafy lane in the townland of Ballinacouch, near Dungarvan in the

eounty Waterford on a certain sunny afternoon, in the autumn of the year 1867, you would in all probability have met a young lad with a little pup. the boy's heart was sad.

Despite the beautiful day

His load of sorrow increased

with each step he took along the road and as he became more conscious of the pitter-patter of four tiny feet at his side.

Strange how he had never paid much attention to the

little pitter-patter before.

Now and again he paused in

his walk and through misty eyes looked down at the little dog.

It in turn stopped and looked up at him in that

peculiar way in which dogs look, when something foreboding

is in the air.

Young McGrath, for that was the 11 ttle

boy• s name, wept and why wouldn't he when they were going

to drown his little pup.

His uncle had told him so that

very day and now they were taking their last stroll together.

It vasn•t really McGrath's own little dog but during

the aany days in which he had taken 1 t for long walks across the fields, a strong friendship had sprung up between them.

An1vay, va1 it not he who always fed it, and looked after

it, wben nobody else seemed to be very much interested in 1tt

D14 not John Harney, Mr. Galway's trainer, call it

T rue it was not a very nice• looking dog as far as greyhounds go. Mr. Galway had It h d always been very disappointed in it • a an ugly . h .~. tail little a little head, and , ~iic was more like a

master McGrath II after him

rat's, but it was his chum.

When Young McGrath returned with the pup to his

uncle's home, he put the dog into its kennel and gave it something to drink.

Then he went into the house and

sat down without a word to anybody.

John Harney called later with Thomas Ducey, McGrath• s uncle to see how the dogs were getting on, as some had been sent to Ducey to rear for their owner, Mr. Galway of Colligan Lodge.

Harney heard, of course, how young

McGrath had taken the news about "the Master", and being

perhaps a bit sentimental he decided to have another look at the pup.

The dog should have something in it, for it

vas one of a litter of a well-bred bitch named Lady Sarah, vho had a reputation for holding on to a hare, and v:io had

been mated to a stud-dog called Dervock, a dog of

tranendous speed and also very well bred.

The Master

vas the smallest of the litter which had been whelped in

Pebruary 1866, and in addition he looked the worst of the

lot.

Harney decided to waive the death penalty which had

bND issued by Mr. Galway ltlen he told him to put the puppy a-, and decided to train the dog for a few weeks.

Young

McGrath had probably overfed him but he would soon put that right.

A very prominent gentleman in the coursing world at

this time was Lord Lurgan and he and Mr. Galway were great friends.

Lord Lurgan frequently held Coursing

Carnivals at Lurgan Castle and an important event at

these Carnivals was the competition for the Visitors Cup, which was usually subscribed for by the Castle's visitors.

It so happened that at this time, Mr. Galway sent Lord Lurgan a leash of greyhounds and along with

than Master McGrath, who had during his training given a

bad show with his first hare.

However, Harney when

despatching the dogs had suggested that _Master McGrath should be nominated for the Visitors Cup (32) which was to be held in October 1867.

The Master was entered and did two good first rounds

and beat the favourite

11

S. S. 11 in the third round.

He

led her by three lengths, went in like a rapier thrust and took his hare.

A dog named "What's the tip" owned by a Mr. F. G. Wise,

lost the final to Master McGrath and thus began a meteoric

career that made coursing history.

At an open meeting at Creagh the next week, he made four brilliant trials and divided the honours with another He began to show terrific doc fro■ bi1 own kennels.

speed and to display an aptitude

for fencing.

stroke was the last word.

His death

The following description

of him is interesting.

It was made up by a bystander who watched him pursuing a

bare 1n Lurgan Demesne_ "hi _ s eyes were like two living balls of fire~• he said.

"The muscles of his back sprung

and twitched like whalebone •

The dog 1 oo k e d as if he

were supercharged with electricity. the hare had no chance.

I knew at once that

McGrath swept round her when

she broke, and crashed into his game as if shot from a

gun.

I can never forget it 11 •

How significant that last

sentence is.

It may be wll here to give a more detailed picture

ot him before following his ascent to stardom. ;It- lb. dog with a sour-looking plainish head.

11

A little

He'd look

at you as if he owned the universe" once said an old greyhound trainer who kennelled dogs \lith him.

"He had a good

killing neck that ran into muscular shoulders. was of fairish depth;

His chest

but he had a wonderful spring of

rib and the best muscled back I ever saw.

He had strong

quarters and the neatest legs and feet that ever set under

a dog.

He had the shortest and finest of rat tails,

1011etille1 you• d think he hadn I t a tail at all.

He had a

lone vbit• streak on bis chest and a small white patch over •• ot bi• moulders, carrying two white toes on all his

teat.

.

Over his back he wast· k d ice with 'White, as if a shower of hail fell on .him 11.

The event par excelle~ce in th e coursing world was

the Waterloo Cup, run at Al tear , ne ar 11 verpool on the estate of Earl Sefton.

Lord Lurgan•s nomination form was

completed and the Master was entered for the 1868

competition.

He

had good support, despite the fact that

the favourites, Lobelia and Brigade were previous winners.

McGrath opened very well with Bells of Scotland and ran "undecided".

After his first round he got into form and

gave a display of how drains and dykes should be taken.

Kalista, Maronette, and Brigade went down before him.

The Scottish crack, Bab-at-the-Bowater, went down to Lobe1ia in the third outing.

On the morning of the final

the course was between Lobelia and McGrath.

They ran level

until McGrath took the lead over the trench and obtained the first and second.

Lobelia, nothing daunted, narrowed the

points between her and McGrath until she drew level.

It

vas than McGrath shot out and finished the contest with With brilliance he disposed Lobelia, by a nashing kill.

ot Cock Robin and won the Waterloo CU.p for Ireland for the t11'1t tille.

Hurrah for old Ireland and Master McGrath!

In October 1868 be coursed for the Brownlow cup

and in

a 1o1Dtillat1Dg company of 32 dogs, divided the honours.

•_.DOW ooaan41DI some attention.

6

Ha was entered in the following

year (18 9) for the Waterloo Cup and on the night of the draw he stood 6 to 1.

Bis rival in the first round was a bitch named Borealis, wbo had enviable reputation.

McGrath led her 8 lengths

and dumbfounded his spectators.

His speed bewildered

them and his death-stroke left them amazed.

Randolph,

Hard Lines and Charming Mary never stood a chance with him.

He met his old rival ·Lobelia in the finals.

She was

losing nothing by being another year older and was still a rising hope.

Both raced along together and like a breeze

rippling across a field of wheat, they flashed towards the stream, Lobelia taking the lead.

The Master's supporters

sickened with the dread that he was beaten.

Suddenly he

got into his stride, leapt the drain like an uncanny thing, and wrested the lead from Lobelia.

In a few moments he

was in v.l th that lightning thrust that never failed and he was second in the finals.

hci tement was at fever pitch as McGrath and Bab-atthe-Bovster entered the slips for the final.

The Scottish

bound had three open cups and twelve courses to its credit 11Dce 1868.

Both dogs left the slips a.s if they had only

bND bald in check by floating gossamers.

For hundreds of

Jar41 thq raced in the greatest final of all time. le4 the way as the bare flew over the path. McGrath

Bab

tlalbed into the next tield, w1 th the hare just ahead and

Both

took the second score.

•azing rapidity and left th

sent up their points with

e crowd spellbou nd.

McGrath

got ready, and those who

knew him, knew what was coming.

Wrenching quickly _ once _ t . wice - and he was in for his Once again victory was hi s. stroke!

The "immorta l black" now rested on his laurels, until the followin g Spring of 1870 when he was taken to the

H·is bac ki ng was down to 7-2 in a on the morning of the stake in which 64 dogs took part.

Altcar course again.

course he was only 3-1.

The year 1870 was a year of sensation s not only in the politica l world but in the coursing world as well.

Fate took a hand in McGrath 's career and marred that glorious rise to fame.

Liverpo ol was in the grip of a terrific frost and when the weather changed and a thaw set in the course at .Al tear was in bad conditio n.

opposed by Lady Lyon. stride.

The first round saw McGrath

McGrath lost his feet and lost his

Pandemonium seized the onlooker s.

He paced the

hare to the river Alt and crashed through the broken ice.

Wilson, his trainer, rushed to !he great dog was doomed.

the r1Yer and just succeede d in pulling out his charge. !he dog 1181 bundled off and wrapped in rugs.

Sympathizers

1atbered round Wilson and they remarked that McGrath' s Lord Lurgan vowed that the dog would Jinn a,a1D take the course.

It was a sad party that arrived back in Lurgan after Wilson tended the dog the calamity. with infinite care and in October he was frisking about again like a young H Pup, although in his sixth year. e was tried for the Brownlow Cup and swept the decks by winning his first five courses.

McGrath proved in his trials that he was still something to be reckoned with and it was decided that in fairness to him be was worth the chance he had earned.

On his

birthday be was taken across the Irish Sea again.

sixth His

supporters were in a state of trepidation as to the outcome

or the last great adventure.

Veritably the climax to a

dashing career was at hand.

Would McGrath retrieve his

position as the wonder dog, or crash from the pedestal of fae to which he now clung insecurely but nevertheless

tenaciously.

Interest in the event became intense.

dog's name was a by-word.

and story.

The

He had been idolized in song

The course saw people in thousands who had

never seen a coursing event before and each of these newCOilars knew that the greatest race in history would be Vitnessed _ or the greatest 11 flop 11 • -

·

McGrath was ready.

.

111 9781 still flashed fire as in the former days of his

llol'J.

Let than bring out their best, the Lurganman would

11•• tb• tbe race of their lives.

The course was on 'With Dervock ervock's Son sweeping all betore him.

Course after cour h. se e ran, winning by big aargins.

Dogs like Black Knight, Letter T. , Rocket er, Wharfinger and Eyes of Fire

were disposed of by this ' wizard with comparitive ease.

McGrath was matched 'With no mean rival, a dog named

Pretender, who was as swift as the wind itself.

The old

veteran_from Ireland only weighed 52 lbs. as he entered the slips.

On

being released he led with Pretender on

his heels.

The crowd went frantic as excitement was

fanned to a white heat.

The battle was on in earnest.

It was the race of the champions. that decisive stroke. the blue.

Everyone waited for

Suddenly it came as a bolt from

McGrath braced himself for his greatest effort

and launched in tor the kill!

Victory was his and the

blue ribbon of the coursing world braced his shoulders.

He had won the Waterloo Cup for the third time.

He

proudly paraded his colours before Queen Victoria at her ezpress command and as he did so he ·looked "as if he owned

the universeu as indeed he did.

Tvo years later he was dead and it was found that his

heut was ot an abnormal size.

Some think he was a freak,

Speed, power, dash and precision and vbat it he was. that was McGrath the immortal black.

Monuments have been

1'a,H4 to bis ••ory, but who bas forgotten him.

He had

no peer and never will.

He only lost one course in 37, H a record never yet approached e made Lurgan and · Lurganmen known the wide world over.

Such is the story of Master McGrath the story that ' bas its appeal for everyone .

The story would never have _been known had not a little boy named McGrath broken his little heart at the threat to drown an ugly little

unpromis ing puppy.

Stewart Mackay.

B.N.L. Feb.11, 1965.

A Portadown man tells me that when Master McGrath

died his body was sent to Dublin.

The po stmortem was

carried out by Dr. Haughton of Merrion Square, a medical 11 There was some reason 11 says my correspo ndent practiti oner.

[naae not givm~ '~hat the examination was carried out by a 11 ■ edical practiti oner rather than a veterina ry surgeon • 1'be examina tion proved that the dog had an extra large heart and was not poisoned as some had thought when he succumbed so suddenly .

Photogra ph shows Master McGrath with his first owner

.T••• Galway ot Colligan Lodge, Dungarvan.

Stewar tMackay BJf.L. Feb.16, 1965.

Well, at least one of the mysterie s surrounding the Last Thursday ...tb ot Master McGrath has been solved.

I aae4 w1a7 a medical practitio ner - it was Dr. Haughton

of Dublin - had perf orm ed a pos t - mor t em. on the famous surgeon. racing grey hou nd rath er than a vet erin ary from Mrs. Rosemary Nov I know - than ks to a phone cal l Dr. Haughton Clarke of 29 Cas tleh ill Road, Bel fas t_ Lurgan and his app aren tly was a ver y clo se frie nd of Lord He thou ght cles . spe cial stud y was the working of the mus of the dog re it would be a good ide a, if the body the refo

Aft er all with his could be sen t to him for exa min atio n. ht be able to ~pe cial ized knowledge of mus cles he mig disc ove r how the dog ran so fas t. . Clarke Lor d Lur gan sen t the dog to Dublin and Mrs body was most thin ks tha t as the two men were frie nds the

pro bab ly retu rne d.

Iris h Sun day Pre ss.

May l+, 195 2.

It was John Murray of the Lurgan "Sp eak ing of dog s. the most wonderful dogs Ma il who tol d me all abo ut one of I not iced a pub in Lurgan call ed the tha t eve r live d. . master McGrath Arms and tha t star ted me off his mother Master McG rath 's fath er was from Lurgan, bis eve ntu al owner from Lurgan aga in, and ~OI i Dungarvan lic he only los t tbougb be ran thi rty seven cou rses in pub

one.

an boy who !bq 1&7 tba t be got his name from an orph g_ exe rcis ed in _, bi• atte nda 11t whi le the pup py was bein

Lurgan, and th at he was one of the few dogs ever to have been reared in a flat•

For the ower Lord Lurgan reared

eighteen dogs in the top floor of the house which is now

an Orange Hall - Brownlow House. lllhen this incredible dog died they found that his

heart was one and a half times as big as that of a normal dog, and maybe that is \!by he won the Waterloo Cup three

times!

!nd what did he look like - here's a descriptio n -

"A little 51+ lb. dog, with a sour-lookin g plainish head.

He'd look at you as if he owned the universe.

He had a

good killing neck that ran into plaini sh shoulders - the

best muscled back I ever saw and the shortest and finest of' rat tails.

Over his back he was ticked with white as if a shower of' rain had fallen on him.

That was the wee fellah who

U II hit the world headlines away back over seven t Y years ago.

A very handsome memorial to Master McGrath stands

at a fork on th e roadside , 2½ miles north-we st of Dungarvan.

It bears a number of inscribe d tablets.

(Won the Victors Cup at Lurgan, October 1867 and (the Creagh Cup same month, the Waterloo and Left Brownlow Cup 1868, Waterloo Cup 1870 and Waterloo ( Cup 1871. /

I

(Master McGrath bred by James Galway Esq. of Sire Lord Lurgan'; Dervock.

Top (Colliga n Lodge.

Sarah.

Lady s Galway• Mr. (Dam,

(This memorial erected by subscrip tion of a few admirers of Master McGrath and the private friends ( Centre front (of Mr. Galway, March 1873.

(This monument was original ly erected at Colligan (Lodge. It was transfer red to this site by the Base (Irish Coursing Club in August 1933. Master McGrath T.M. Morris, (was reared in this townland .

Club.

Coursing Irish ry, (Secreta (Ran 37 courses in public and lost only one when Right (he was amiss · and beaten without a struggle in the (first round of the Waterloo Cup 1870.

1.

Ballymacmague townland •

(Visited memorial Easter 1955.

T.G.F. Paterson ).

Monuments at Culford Hall and Dungarvan Photograph.

Shows the grave of Master McGrath at Culford

Hall Lord Cadogan's Seat near Bury St. Edmunds.

Description.

This monument was brought from Lurgan in

Ireland by Lord Lurgan and erected at Culford Hall.

The

inscription reads Though thrice victorious on Altcar plain, McGrath's fleet limbs can never win again.

Stay man thy steps; the dog's memorial view, Then run thy course as honest and as true.

The statue of the dog stands on a tall plinth with the above verse at the base and above a shamrock leaf

also inscribed but not readable from the photograph.

~105

LURGAN Cucking stool Barbers ten!llt · The fronstead and garden plot over ag st · ye

CuckingStoole wth ye apperten ances XY...XXXXXX To John Hoile for 21 years fro'.ll l•iichael:uas Da y at

ye rent of ten shilling s xxxx...uc To build a house thereon within seven yea rs in all respects as good as the house he now lives i n xxx

4 Sept. 1666.

Witnesses Alex. Gill,

b . Copeland,

Pat Carroll.

See Survey of the Manor of Brownlowsderry

A.D. 1667.

page 12.

By Arthur Brownlow als Chamberlaine

LU GAN Brownlow House Built to t he desi gn of Wi lliam Hen r y Playfair son of Jame s Playfai r, an archi tect of so~e repute in London, in whi ch ci t y he wa s bor n in 1789 .

en t as a young man to Edinburgh to resi de with his un cle, 1,

Professor John Playfair, and wa s l ater responsible for many fine buildings th ere.

1.

See Frazer's Handbook for Travellers in I reland , p.622. Erected of Scotch freestone.

"THE LURGAN SPADE 11

There is an old proverb whi ch described a doleful countenance as bein g as

11

long as a Lurgan spade 11 , and

it has often been asserted that Lur gan was a spade ~aking centre spe cializing in spe ci~ens particularly long of t h e blade.

There is no evidence for that

assertion but it is true t ha t the turf -spade in co2mon use east of the Bann was lon ger than its count erpart on the west bank of the river, but turf spades of that type were common enough else-where and it is well knovm that certain s pade manufactories

on the Armagh - Tyrone

border were responsible for spades for mo st of the surrounding counties - one such mill still exists near Killyman spades

In the old spade mills there were sample

for the various district, all of which were

different in shape, length or de sign .

Ledgers have

indeed survived giving such information in detail and in one Tyrone spade-mill there is an old manuscript catalogue showing that spades were supplied to practically every county in the north besides others that are now in that part of Ireland knovm as

1

the

Republic" .

Lurgan streets once resounded to the old cry "Lough Neagh hones, Lough Neagh hones, Put in sticks an' pull out sharpin' stones 11 •

t o t he o ld be li ef a s he t to on i s u n at wa s an a ll ic at io n . ea n s o f pe tr if :n a as rs te a ts \T q u a li ti e s o f i Nea gh ce rt ai n Lough t a h t en h t n a d it io T he re was a tr d t h ei r ti 111 e wadin g ha ch 111u o to t n sp e fi sh er m en ,1h o ha t was b el i ev ed t it y ll ca o .

L e n o to st ha d le gs +u ur n zo rs a ll th ey ra ir e h t en p d to sh ar wh en th ey w an te i ns d us e t h ei r s' an rs se u o tr up th e ir to do wa s tu rn e cou rs e, t ha t th f o , w no K ll a And yo u as ho n es . it wa s: ir own to as t e h t ad h k l o sh e rf Lough N ea gh fi to f i sh , en , a nd d ea thil s wil l pa y f or t is "• 11 H ea l th to 1 f t h e ir ta T he wa g g in o

I Benburb I Mar Mar shal lhis "Hi• s t ory of Benb urb" state s that the

~ate of the firs t formatio n of a congrega ti. on i s unce rt ain, ry i n t but assumes that the parso n who enjo yed t he recto

Commonwealth peri od must have been Calv anis tic i n his that theo logy . That View i s undo ubted ly corr ect. we Imo ealth

in 1660 the Rev. Arch ibald Ham ilton was Com· Com monw Minister ot Clon feac le and t hat i n t he f oll owing year he was ejec ted for refu sing to conform. He cont i nued,

as however, to resi de in t he dist ri ct and ten year s late r w able orda ined min ister of Benb urb, by which time i t , as prob that t here was a Pres byte rian Church i n bein g.

~• comm unity was then in a f ar from f lour ishin g rt cond ition and the income bein g insu ffici ent f or his suppo . he was compelled in 1672 to seek leav e to settl e elsew here !his was gran ted and in the follo wi ng year he became min ister ot Firs t Armagh. At that time we are told t ordi nati ons and inst alla tio.n s usua lly took pl ace at nigh of

and aa a rule at some dista nce .from the futu re loca tion a prec autio n arisi ng from the change over the mini ster

troaa tbe Repu blica nism of Cromwell to the Sove reign ty of Cha rlesII., and the retu rn to power of the Esta bli shed Clnarob and consequent expu lsion of Commonwealth past ors

,._ Nne tlo• • held by them in thos e year s.

?.

110.

Benburb We have alrea dy deal t with Mr . Ham ilton' s caree r

under Firs t Armagh, but befor e passi ng on to the Roll of ps his succe ssors i t may be of inter est to reti·a ce our st Twc othe1• histo rians of Benbu rb, the Rev. John Ellio tt and t he Rev,. Aston Robin son, the latte r proba bly a litt le.

e quoti ng from the form er, sugge st that t l1 e Wingfi eld estat was plan ted by Engl ish and Scotc h settl ers and t hat after

Benb urbin 1646 the ntll!lber of Scotch great ly The settl eincre ased and thus a churc h became neces sary .

the Batt le of

ment of Scotch tenan ts on the Wing field est ate i s not, however, borne out by the Muster Roll of 1630, and it 1s highl .y impro bable that any Scot is likel y to have taken

up resid ence in the distr ict im ediat aly after the famou s conf lict in which Munro 's army suffe red so bitte r a defea t.

That being so we must concl ude that the intro duct -

ion took place after 1657, and that Mar shal l's accou nt is

there fore the more accu rate.

Of the next two ministers of Benbu r b littl e is knolm .

A Mr. Walk insha w is named as succe ssor t o Mr . Hami lton, but dates are want ing and the same appli es to the t hird

lletnber on the Roll , the Rev. James John ston. In July 17o6 the Rev. John Boyde was insta lled. He died in Ooto ber 1 712 , and was follo wed in July 1714 by the Reve , John Kennedy who left behin d him a most inter estin g diary

Benburb which beside s giving muchi nforma tion on ministe rial duties of' a new ohurchin 1725. tells the story o:f' the bui · l d:!·ng The first Benburb Meeting House th at we have any

traditi on regardi ng is said t o have been at Lisnacr eevy and is believe d to have been a mud-wall ed erectio n. From

there they eventu ally moved to Liscroy where a second Meeting House was built that was ln use in 1721+, when Mr Kennedy decided to build anew owing to his fe ar that the The roof actuall y fell in older buildin g might collaps e.

on Sunday, 17 July, 1726, but fortuna tely there were no unpleasant resuJ.t s other than confusi on and fright. He prepared tor a new Meeting House by cutting the foundat ions It was complet ed and seated by 17~7 - most or the work seemin gly the effect of his own labours .

in June 172,.

Mr. Kennedy was a cadet of the Kennedy family who as Earls or Cassil.s exercis ed much i nfluenc e over a large territo ry in south-w est Scotlan d, and was the most notable minister of Benburb

11

He was Modera tor of the Synod of

Ulster 1n 1749, and dying in June 1761 was buried in the graveyard of the parish church under a Latin inscrib ed armon ial stone that still remains though yearly becoming

more difficu lt to deciph er.

In Ma7 1763 the vacancy was filled by the Rev. Alexander Johnsto n. He died in August 1771, and was

I buried in t he pa ris h chu r chy ar d. His suc ces sor , the Rev .

James Whi tes i de , hel d the cha rge fro m Dec ember 1772 unt il bis dea th in 182 2.

ste r He se em s to hav e bee n the fir st mini to be bur ied in the gra veya rd a tt ached to the meeting Hou se

at Lis duf f Joshua Wi llis

the Rev .

He was in fee ble hea lth in 1815 when . was appoint ed as ass ista nt and suc ces sor

pended for cele br ati ng 1'hree yea rs l at e r Mr . Wi llis was sus ard s disa nne xed and an irre gul ar mar ri age . He wa s aft erw

deprived for fur the r f aul ts, bei ng foll

owed in December

gne d in June of 1836 by the Rev . Jam e s Ful ler ton . He resi

the fol low ing yea r and emi gra ted to Au

stra lia.

In Jun e 1838 t he Rev . Hugh Mont gomery

was or dai ned i n

ely afte r hi s

Immedi at the Meeting Hou se at Lisduff new church , and Lord arr iva l he set abo ut t he ere ctio n of a l age at a nomi nal Powerscourt off eri ng a s1 te in t he vil scr ipti on of £12 ,

rent ot 6/.... per annum, and an ann ual sub t tha t the old er the gif t was acc ept ed des pit e t he fac t he old er ers would have pre fer red t he ret ent i on of

••b

ait e.

1'he chu rch was acc ord ing ly ere cte d i n

1839.

Mr.

by t he Rev .

succeeded Montgomery die d 1n 1873, and was dem itt ed in Apr i l 1876 for Gawn Malcolm in Aug ust 1871+. He

n Aust ral ia.

Ne wc ast le on Ty nearterwa~ds set tling i ame pas tor In June 1876 the Rev. Wil liam Clements bec manse and farm were and dminl bis min istr y the pre sen t

puch s~d

,he bed r nt

nth Benburb e tate as sol t o the tenants old burying

round at Lisduff wer e later

secured in 191~. Mr. Clements died in October 1919. His IUOOelsor , t h R v. W. A. Nisbet, was install din April 19,0 and was r placed by the Rav. Thomas Rowan in pr1l 1923, who retired in June 1944, wher eupon t he Rev. J.w.

Wetherup Weatherupthe new past or.

PETITIONS OF PROTESTANT DISSENT ERS

IN OC TOBER AND NO VEMBER 1zz Pa rli am en tar y Pa pe rs in Re Bu nd le 28 . No s.1 -42 (5 . 0

Bo,11,

Benburb

Ja me s Ho lme s James Kennedy

Ro be rt Le nn an

Is ra el St er lin g W ill iam McCleave W ill iam .S ta rli n

George Irw in

Wm. Ol iv er

2

co rd Of fi ce, Du bli n.

_ 19 5 _ ll ).

Da vid Smith th

John Ki rkl an d Wi llia m Ha rp er An dre w Fe rgu so n

John Reaney Jo hn Jac kso n

Wi llia m Abe rn eth y Le on ard Read

Jo sh ua J. Acheson

J am es Walk er

James Hanna

W illi am McWhoore

William D ixo n

George Gi lla sp y

Tom Gerneen

Joh n McN ig ht

David Holmes

Jo sep h Orr

Vance Holmes

Wi llia m Ta te

William McDowel

Mo ses Fr izz ell

James Whiteside

James Sm ith

James Hannah

Andrew McMillin

JamMc esCleave

Andrew McCleave

Jo se ph Orr

.

CLARE, lbe villag e ot Clare forms part of the Manor of the --• name grante d to Sir Franci s Cooke in 1610 who marrie d •• his secono. Wife Anne, daugh ter of Sir Tristram Beresf ord

founder ot the Beresf ord family fortun es and ancest or of the Marquess of Water ford,

'

At the time of the marria ge the

J,a4y waa the Widow of Sir Edward Doddin gton whose chief claim ,o tame lies 1n the fact that he superin tended the buildi ng

He was also agent of the church lands n in the ven of the Lord Prima te and acquir ed the Manor ot Dungive

of the val.ls ot Derry 18118 ooun1y in 1616.

· During the term of his agency he

II0\11'84 s1x townl.ands in the immed iate vic1n1 ty of Armagh

oitJa land that pa8sed to his widow and are known to this

4IJ •• .Lady Anne Cooke's Planta tion.

Sitt Franc isis said to have come to Irelan d as an officer 1n Queen Elizab eth's army. By his marria ge with Lady Doddington be aaaumed that he would contro l her estate s but

lb••• •• to have been a rather shrevd indivi dual and very 0Clllpeten1: to look after her own affair s. At anyrat e she toun4 bill too extravagant a partne r so a deed of separa tion •• baa .llP in 1627 t by wbieh they agreed to live apart, . . pQiac bill an amm1 t)' ot £150 ptr year. There was, ..._., .,, a lawsu it between t?ie two ot them in 161+1, but it l'ellll. '94 lJl the charl• btilll liade payabl e out of his

Clare

v1t••• est ate - in other words h,e waa sure of the £150 per annum tor ao lon g as ho live d •

H8

died sho rtly afte rwa rds b blll Lady Cooke live d to a ripe old age , and Y hor wil l made Tristram 1D 1679 beq uea thed her est ate s to her nephew, rd ot · s ord ammBeresfo · Tri stra Beresford son o! her bro the r , Sir Col era ine. ncis Cooke, then a Wit h the J Man oro Cla re in 1610, Fra

cap tain 1n the army and not yet a kni ght ,

rece ived a lice nce

eve , day , ar1d morrow of to hold. a Sat\U'day market and a fai r on At tha t tim e it bore the pre fix Saints Phi llip and Jac ob the same yea r Joh n "ballyt' but tba i was soon dro ppe d. In Tawnavaltinny or Bouchier W&I ass ign ed the adja cen t manor ot lie was sub seq uen tly knig hted and about the

Tamnaghvelton

from Cooke. Sir Joh n eame time purchased the Manor of Cla re succeeded in the die d in 1613 owning bot h Manors and was r Ear l of Bath.

0011b1ned lan d• by his bro the r Henry, late 1619, chie r acc ord ing to Pynnar s Rep ort of Henry Bou

at Cla re 100 fee t

had bJ the n bui lt a baw not lim e and ston e defended by lone by 80 fee t bro ad wit h wal ls lit fee t hig h,

two stor eys and was bui ldin g a good ston e hou se, ' • flanker Bat h died in 16;t t bilb on wuob workmen were then busy. Lord ent whereby his

han n, bet o~• hil death per fec ted an agte8!Jl of Bat h, became owner. She died in W14ov Rachel Sir Henry Fane, 16, 0 1ean,nc tile tvo 1u1nor1 to her bro the r

countess

on or her father , Franci s Fane, Earl of We stmorl and .

third

Sir Henry died in 1705.

Hi s son, Charle s Fane, create d

Viscount Fane in 1718, died in 1744, leavin g a son Charle s, 2nd Vi soount Fane, who died withou t i ssue in 1766, and tw daugh ters, Doroth y, wife of John, Earl of Sandwi ch, and ary, wife of Jerom e, Count de Salis, whereupon the manors passed

to the two sister s , the Countess de Salis inheri ting Tamnaghvelton velton and the Counte ss of Sandwich inheri ting Clare.

The Bouchier bawn and house were destro yed in the Civil War of 1641-1642 and we know that the mill of the manor of Clare was then in use as a prison . The proper ty ·which was a small one of 1,000 acres seems to have been sparse ly inhabi ted

for the Muste r Roll of 1630 only lists ten men capabl e of bearin g arms.

But to r eturn to the Depos itions - they make no

refere nce to a Presby terian Meetin g Hou se, nor the burnin g of sueh. Th mill of Clare whilst in use for detent ion was guarde d by Brian Oge o Hanlon and his sons, and there is

1V1dence that t he wife of John Boomer of Clare was taken out of Lord Bath's mill and drowned in the Cu sher by Ferdoragh 0 O'Han lon

How then has the tradit ion as to Clar e having had a tion in those days arisen ? To be quite frank I do congregation

not know nor can I believ e that it has any founda tion in tact.

d Bouchier were Englis h so we may suppose Both Cooke an

the t1rat se1tlers were of a like nationality. It is very probable, however, that after 1641• ~~ th ere was a re,ettlcement ot the lands ot th.e manor and that by 1660 some

taa111•s trorn the neighbouring and exclusively saotch

plantations at Markethill and HamiltonsbawnBawn had secured ta:mt there.

Th.e Hearth Money Rolls of 1661+ do not, however,

show or suggest a Presbyterian element sufficiently numerous to support a pastor.

That being so we must asSUllle that there

could bave been no great necessity fo r such a ccommodation

1113.til even later, and therefore it seems doubtful that there

ner was a. chl.U'ch until about 1679, the year in whioh the Rev.John McBride the f'irst minister, turns up. At anyrate ibere is ® ev1denet for an organized congregation of earlier date and personal.ly I cannot accept the folk tale that there

vaa a Presbyterian place ot worship in the village in 1641, and that it was burned 1n that year with several ram111es

vbo had taken refuge in 1 t, nor am I convinced that charred VOOd 8a14 to have b•en turned up in the present gtaveyard

oan be aoc•pted as proof for such a statement. I do feel that 1t 8Uoh a tragedy had occurred it would have round •nt1on in the

••1'1 deta1l.$d atf1dav1 t sworn by Mrs.

ElizabethRolleston (widow of the Rev. Richard Rolleston, lftnff of the nearbf Manor of Teemore whose house vith ita

IODlent1 of book• and furniture and its store or provisions •• dedl'OJN by the O O'Hanlon who also deprived her or her

I Clare · r t ne ll oa Hl • and too k he r pr iso ne r w1 h he r ch ild ren to Cl are mi

c\.. e co nfi ne d vtiere she was fo r some tim uue a.x pli cit ly rec ord s , I s ca stl e at Cl are whiob was th Ba of rl Ea the or ng the bu rni

n rei n as ua ll as the de str uc tio the d lle ki le op pe ny ma , ed surpris Mulla bra ck , bu t the re is no t ot the churches of Ba llymore and yte ria n set tle me nt or the esb Pr a g din a.r reg nt hi st te the sli gh bu rni ng of a Me eti ng House. are not supported by the s ion lus nc co my at th are aw I am ng v. Sta nle y H. Wil liamson, wr iti Rey. R. J. Po rte r, D D. If Re n "H ist ory of Cla re Pr esb yte ria 1n 1948 an d qu oti ng from a y to r , Dr. Po rte r was his au tho rit ted or rep y ctl rre co is church cte d yte ria n Church at Cl are was ere sb Pre st fir e "th at th g tin da 33 , sen t church abo ut the year 16 lit he r 011 or ad joi nin g the pre Presby te rian mi nis ter from a rt, wa Ste es Jam v, Re the In 1639 Se rvi ce somewhere in the on uni mm Co a ted uc nd co d an Sc otl of the pro ba bly in the hom e or one De ich bo urb oo d ot cla re 16 41 , an Ca tho lic Re be llio n or Scotoh se ttl er s. In the Rom

rned t o the gro und. When the bu s wa rk ki tle lit rtt t1 Clare army,

by Ge ne ral Munro s Sc ott ish ed ell qu en be d ha on lli be re to Cl are and soon built th eir the Sc ot tis h ee ttl er s ret urn ed 1 0 and 1678 167 en twe Be . ars ye ltO r fo •o on d eh uo b wh ich sto od

are foher Cl ed ain s ord wa Bride was thbattooMcvag t en tem sta a ue n ~a pi io 1 Killyleagh lb• J>Ji. Po rt er da• h Co Down in Jun e 1679, so k 7 1 an nv ee n 16 70 are too his tra ris fer to Cl at er e in ast onne Cro lm Cr . oo Dr sch by U ed ~ rec ord as . ss po the 80 16 st 1a .1u •• n in hy". tb e la tte r ye ar ,to iri sh Biograp

,~.."Cono1•• .Dictionary o

Illa

m.,,•• ,he .RtV • John

" · ned in Clare and durin g the McB ridewas ordai churc h

. early part of his u1in1 stry a new churc h was built . This ,,ood for onG hund red and fifty years _ that is until l8~B when 1t vas repla ced by the prese nt build ing".

~ere is no confi rmat ion in the Presb yteri an llisto rioal Society Records that I can find that bears o t t he tra ition s embodied in Dr. Port er's accou nt, and the statement that the ict 1n Rev. James Stew art ad.ministe.red Communion in the distr 1639 111ore like ly refer s to s~r ~ices in the home of a frunil y on of the Civi l the Acheson esta te; besid es it is absur d to write 1641 being crush ed by Gene ral Munro whom we all know to

War

ot

have been · soun dly beate n by the Irish Force s at Benburb, an

•ncacement invo lving him 1n heavy losse s and from wich he bart lf escap ed with his life.

At anyr ate unti l actua l docum entary suppo rt for the story becomes avai lable we are compelled to place t he birth

ot the cong regat ion abou t the year 1680, a date that agree s was very well with the facts befor e us. In that year Clare aupplied with a first pasto r, the famous Rev. John McBr ide fathe r of an equa lly disti ngui shed son, the Rev. Robert

McBride born in Clare in 1687, whose son DaVid was a

·ce in sel'Vl. a Navy, the in surgeon and ioian phyi, rated oeleb Vbicb hi1 youn ger broth er John rose t ·o the rank of Admiral, c •Del va1 the fathe r of John David McBride, Profe ssor of: Arabi

,i,n, d l ., Oxford and Princ ipal 01' M.Magdal e for fifty years. e Colleg alen Colleg

Clare has indeed reason to be proud of its first minist er and his descen dants. Mr McBri.d e , whilst a t Clare are, seems t o have taken no part in public affair s.

He was admitt ed to

Borgue Congr egatio n in Kirkcu dbrigh tshire, Scotla nd, in 1689.

Follow ing his transf er to Belfas t in 1694 he qUiokly beoane a notable tigure and a wr1 ter of pamphlets on rights and priv1l eges ot Presb yteria ns.

He died 1718.

See Append ix.

He was follow ed in Clare by the Rev. Moses Cherry in 1697,

vbo, in tum, was succeeded by his son, the Rev. George Cherry who became assist ant in 1725 and preached before the At his father 's death in Synod in Armagh in July 1736.

1727 he was appoin ted minis ter and so contin ued until May 1765', in which year he was buried in Belnab eck in his

father s plot in the old graveyard of the pre-Pl antatio n oburch of the distri ct.

In August 1765 the Rev. Samuel Living ston was ordain ed.

Later at the forma tion ot the Irish Volunteers he acted as Chapla in to the Clare Company 1n which he held the rank ot Lieutenant in 1779, and on 9 Januar y, 1780, preached a

••non ent1 tled tt1'he Obliga tions Men Are Under to Exert !bem1elve1 In Defence Of Their Count1'111, an addres s In that capaci ty the Clare corps. t t · o publis hed by reques tootst eps of his predec essor, the tb.

1n h• va1 tollow inl

r. l?...0.

BIT• George Cherry, who on Saturd

ay, 23rd February, marched troa Tandragee to Belfast when· th at t own was threatened vith invasion, arriving in Belfast on Sunday morning with one hundred good men and true all on foot.

Mr. Livingstone died in February 1803 and unfortunately

_a long vacancy followed, during which unpleasant feelings

arose in the congregation.

At length i n June 1807 the Rev.

Robert Adams was installed,

His ministry was an unhappy

one both as regards the people and himself, and as a

oonsequence bis services were dispensed with in 1816. He lived, however, until 1840 and received a proportion ot the ministerial income but discharging no duties.

During thut

troublesome period a part ot the people withdrew from the ~U1'18d1otion ot the Synod of Ulster and joined the Secession

synod Mr. Adams successor was the Rev., James Gardiner. He vaa ordained in March 1817 but was disannexed in June 1824,

vhereupon the Rev. John Bell was appointed to the pastorate.

Dluing his ministry the church was rebuilt and new schools were oonetructed with r•s1dences tor the teachers..

Mr. Bell

lived in tanderagee and during his early tenure of Clare held

N"1o•• there, 8 custom that later brought about the foundation of an ott-sboot in that place. After e busy and dWctnt 11in11tl'J ot tifty-six years he retir~d in 1876 and

I

died som

six years later at a meeting of the Dromore

Presbytery.

1'he next minister, the Rev. David Wilson, was placed in charge 1n November 1877, but resigned in October 1881.

Bis successor was the Rev. R.J. Whan, who officiated rrom 1881 until 1928 9 in Wich year he retired.

He died in 1928

having f'aithf'ully served his flock for a period or forty-

seven years, and there we leave our survey ot Clare Cotlgl'egation.

APPENDIX.

Rev. John McBride of Holywood, Co. Down, who

F

,1gned the Solemn League and Covenant there

8 April, ______1644. ................... _... _______________________ ,.. ______ _

,--1

7!he Revd. John McBride,. Presbyterian Minister of Clare, Co. Armagh circa 1680-1689, and afterwards of 1elfast vhere he was installed 3 October, 1694, and died 21 July, 1718.

I

Robert The Revd. of Ballymoney 1716-175'2. Born at Clare, Co.

irmagh 1687.

=

=

4argaret, daughter of William Fairley, Tullyveery.

Alexander David 2 daughters.

Died 2 September,

17,9. Tombstone Ballymoney Churchyard.

David, Surgeon in the

John1 Admiral in the Royal Navy.

Royal Navy.

I-_

I

John David Principal of Magdalen Hall Died Oxford 21 January, 1868. ·For oveiyears Principal or Magdalen.

=

·

Prano1s (only child). Died Oxford 3 July, 1878, aged 72.

Presbyterian Historical Society Records provide the undernotedaVb McBride prob. son of John McBride or Holywood, Co. Down, signed the Solemn Le,ague and Covenant there on 8 April, 16""• Born 16;0. Educated Glasgow; M.A. Glasgow 1673;

e,.

~•P orted aa Schoolmaster at Killyleagh, Co. Downt June 1679; 1'4a1ned Clare Tandragee date unknown; admittee1 Borgue, Kirkcudbrightshire 1689-lo91tJ Called to Ayr June 1691, but

~~bJt•~ r!tused translation; A Member of the General AssemblJ

tla.nd) 1092; Instituted Belfast 3 October, 1694; Refused :?3u:ra.t1on Oath and had to flee 1703; Otf1o1ated Blackfriars, •acov, 170S-17O9J in 1706 Rev. James Kirkpatrick chosen ~U •acue 1n his absence; Congregation d1 vided and made tvo on 1 l'eturn1 died .Belfast 21 Jul7, 1718 aged 68."

1

123 .

OT Protestant DI SS ENTERS

BER 1772 ar l i a ent ary Paper s i n Re cord Office, Dublin. dl e 28 .

Nos .1- 42 (5.0 - 195 - 11) .

lare Congreg ation in Bal lymore Parish, Co.._Armagh.

Jo n Young AlexanderPatton

J am es Lewis Tugwell Black

Sa uel Li vi ng stone

Daniel Ma cKel v ey

Jno

Robert Cockburn

Montgomery

Ch arles Meins ein s

John Maffe t

Thomas c urney

Samu el Parker

Thomas Ferris

John Hear

Geor ge Craige

David Geddis

Rober t Boyd

Thomas Lewis

James

Thomas Greenaway

Orr

Robert McKelvey cKelvey

John Ast on

Hugh Wallace

John Moore

James Purdy

William Cr ai ge

John Girvin

William Crozier

William McDonnell

David Parker

ThomasBeggs

James Fryer

rchd. Girvin

Thomas Fryer

Alexder English

John Black

HughMorrison

William Strong

John Morrison

Robt . McMahon

I 1

ThomascRay

John Ewart

Bornet

Robert McClure

William Montgo mery

shall Stephen Marshall

Christop her Monson

William McBurney

illia

John

McConvall McConville

Samuel Ferguson

John Kirkwood

cKee Josh McKee

Robert Campbel l

Jno Harvey

John Greasy

David Alexande r

John Otterson

Robert Redpath

John Pool

Thomas Redpath

William Young

Wm. Black

James Pool

John Fleck

John Little John Fryer John Nelson Francis Steele

John Euens Adam Thomson William Thomson Samuel Harvy John Ferris John Snowden

John McCallan James Brown

Thomas McClelland George Fleck Richard Stot James Wear John Geary Thomas Kelly John McDowell Philip Graham Robert Fryer Richard Aston Joseph Douglass Sam Petegrue

John Stot

Cut cheon Alex McCutcheon

John

McBurney

Hugh l cMulbrogh

Robert

Moore

William McKindry

Thomas Hodskis

John Freeburn

Harry McGarrah

John Whi te

James Gillespie

MauriceHar t

John Neil

Joseph Jenkins

John Nepper

William Clark

John Stevenson

William Snowden

John Bran

James Li gg et

George Crai ge

Thomas Aston

cCallan illiam McCallan

Daniel Thomp son

Thomas Snodden

John McMollen

Thomas Howem James Craig James Heair Robert Greenlee Samal Pettecroo illiam Whitten Na thael Wilson Sanders Locheed illiam Martin

Georg Boadle illiam Finlay

illiarn Gordon Thomas Best Valentine Bla ck George Craig, Junior Robert Mar tin William l McMulan McMullan David McCalion George Lawson Jno McClellan Matthew Greenlee John Kelly .

12...lo

DRUMHILLERY, Meanin g of place- name doubt ful but proba bly 11

ridge of the sallow s 11 •

Drumh illery as a congr egatio n owes its origin to the Rev. Thomas Clark of Cahan s, Co. Monaghan, whose labo~ rs on the behalf of the Seces sion Church in Irelan d result ed in him establ ishing missio n statio ns in count ies Armagh and Monaghan, amongst them Derry noose , now bette r known as Drumh illery.

Before dealin g with the histor y of the congr egatio n we should perhap s say a few words about its found er.

Thomas Clarke was born at Paisle y in 1720 and was educa ted at Glasgow Unive rsity.

He was indeed a studen t

there in 1745 when he ·took up arms again st the

11

Young

Preten der", and on the cessa tion of hosti lities return ed Three years later he was licens ed by to his studie s. d to settle at the Glasgo w Presb ytery and came to Irelan ~ Cahan s in Co. Monaghan where •he remai~ea:;_until 1764. On the 10th May of that year in company with 300 Presb yteria n emigr ants mostly from his own congr egatio n, and possib ly includ ing some Drumh illery famil ies, he sailed for the United States of Ameri ca. The party embark ed at Narrow -

Water near Newry and on 28th July reache d New York where he settle d for a few years, later moving to South Carol ina where he became minis ter of Long Cane Congregation, and died 26th Septem ber, 1792.

12-7

Drumhillery Drum hiller y under the appe llatio n of Derry noose was joine d with Cahans when Mr. Clark was ordai ned for that congr e gatio n on 23rd July, 1751, and in the follo wing year an. entry occur s in the Cahans Sessi on Book relat ing 11 We can, to the 11 new me~ti ng house at Derry noose • there fore, be certa in that Drumh iller y as a congr egati on dates back two hundr ed years .

Trad ition state s that the first meetin g-hou se was very small , its walls made of sods and its roof thatc hed.

The seati ng we are told was fashi oned from bog-w ood.

That may seem stran ge but in those days much land that is now meadow was peat bog and besid es yield ing turf cont~ ned burie d tree- trunk s that were found usefu l for vario us purpo ses.

In 1755 Derry noose was trans ferre d to Castl eblay ney and the Rev. John McAuley was ordai ned mini ster of the The chang e was due unite d charg e in July of that year. to the great dista nce from Cahan s, the close proxi mity I

of Blayn ey making the new amalg amati on much more conve nient . The assoc iation , howev er, only laste d for a short perio d ~ In 1764 Mr. McAuley moved to Dubl in whe r eupon Drum hiller y (by that time the older desig natio n

ot Derry noo se was fallin g into disus e so I shall not continue to use it) disso lved the union and allie d itsel f

Vith Taasagh under the Rev. Wm . Henry who was calle d to

Drumhillery the double office in 1771.

He, however, resigned

Drumhille ry in 1796, and at that point it became a separate congregat ion.

Mr. Henry was succeeded by the Rev. George Augustus

McAu ley Henry

:Pl:e had formerly been minister of Richhill and was

installed in Drumhille ry in 1797.

He was, we may assume,

well-know n to the congregati on, being a son of the Rev. James McAuley of Castleblay ney.

His rather odd combinati on

of Ohristian names was due to him having the same birthday as the King.

He died 16th May, 1808, and during the vacancy

that ensued the congregat ion was distracted for a season over two candidate s whom the Synod in 1811 thought it prudent to set aside.

On 21st September, 1813, the Rev. Edward Jardine was ordained.

During his ministry in the year 1829 it was

decided to withhold all church privileges from members of the congregat ion who neglected to cmntribute towards its support - a ruling again ordered into operation in 1837.

No doubt that state of affairs was caused by the events

that preceded his appointme nt as minister.

He died 9th

May, 1838.

The next minister, the Rev. John Lyons, was ordained

27th March , 1839, by which time the earlier difference s that made Mr. Jardine' s pastorship so difficult , we.r e forgotten .

Tbe Seesions Book contains an account of the

ordination dinner.

It was held in the school-room where

according to the reference us1 persons dined comfortably, drank he artily and parted friendly'' - a very pleasant party for which tickets were issued at 3/- per head.

Later for some unstated irregularity Mr. Lyons was suspended by the Presbytery and disannexed 22nd March, 1844, by the

General Assembly.

Mr. Lyons was followed by the Rev. James McAuley. was

ordained 19th March, 1845.

He

During his ministry a new

church (probably the third) was erected and by his exertions the congregation was induced to double the stipend forr-..a.erly paid and similarly increase its contributions to missions. r.

cAuley died 4th April, 1874, and was succeeded by the

Rev . William Ingram who was ordained 16th December, 1874, and remained at Drumhillery until 1905.

Mr. Ingram•s successor was the Rev. Vernon Corkey.

He was installed 27th September, 1906,

He was a son of the

Rev. Joseph Corkey of Glendermott, one of eight sons, all of whom entered the ministry of the Presbyterian Church.

Mr . Corkey was held in high esteem and, incidentally, two of his sons also became ministers.

He resigned Drumhillery

7th October , 1912, for a County Derry congregation, and 1 d 25th January, 1940.

A ut 1912 or 1913 the Rev. D.S. Boyd demitted the

pot Middletown so as to bring about a union of

\ 3 0.

Drumhillery

( 5)

that congregation with Drumhillery, whereupon the Rev. J.K. Currie was ordained to the charge of the joint congregations.

He resigned 6th March, 1923, following which Drumhillery combined with 2nd Keady under the Rev. S.H. Martin who was Mr. Martin

installed in Drumhillery 3rd May of same year.

retired in 1946 and the association with Keady ceased.

On the 1st September, 1948, the Rev. C.A. Meldrum was ordained but re signed 25 July,= 1951, for First Monaghan.

He was followed on 2 July, 1952, by the Rev. S.H. Williamson wo happily is still with you.

Mr. Williamson was ordained

for Clare, Co. Armagh, 7 March, 1946, remaining there until 28 September, 1950, at which date he resigned for Loanends, Co. Antrim, which charge he held until 30 June, 1952.

He

was, as you know, installed in Drumhillery 2 July, 1952.

By then Drumhillery had completed its second centenary as a

congregation, a fact which you may all well be proud of.

In the two centuries that have passed since its foundation the pattern of country life has changed completely but the spiritual beliefs of the founders of Drumhillery remain

the same.

.

13)

DRUMMOND ,

a ridge.

Two forts shown on Maps of 1835.

Very large

but greatly destroye d fort on farm of Mr. Smyth.

The second enclosur e on the farr~ of Mr. Mitchell commands a magnific ent view of Ca rrickatu ke, the Derry and Tyrone Mountains , Dungannon and Monaghan towns, etc. and is a much more interest ing example being much better preserve d.

Drumgrennagh Summer

ridge or sunny ri dge .

ap s of 183 5 show a Rope Walk wi t h a flax mill adjac ent .

Flax and corn-mills common in the area a

cen t ury ago .

11

Rope walk

were usuall y sit ed i n towns.

r:nagh h ad a celebr ated 11 Rope walk the y ear 1850.

Dunga nnon .

in use until about

One still sur vive s a nd operat es in

I DRUMNAHAVIL.

(The ridge of the orchard) (Abhaill apple tree or orchard).

The Cairn, A small cairn . on the farm of Mr. Ja.mes Kinney.

Formerly situate on an old road now closed.

Local

tradition says it marks the stte of the spot on wich a man was found dead about a couple of centuries ago whose name is now forgotten.

It

seems to have been raised by passing people throwing stones upon the place where he died.

It

is also said that the cairn was once larger and higher.

It is now about 6 feet in height and has

a circumference of 51 feet.

(The black tate). Doohat

A pillar-stone on the march ditch between the Bennett and Hughe s farms and a soute·rrain on the Robb farm knovm as the Fairy Cove.

The latter is

a simple passage about twenty feet long by four feet six inche s high and roughly four feet seven i nches wide with a chamber off about 12 feet long varying from four to five feet in width •

.

DR

Drumeland

(Druim Faolan or Fhaoilin - Fe l an ' s ri dge) .

The Blest Well.

Associated with St . Mochua.

At one time an i mp ortant place of pilgrimage . revived in recent years .

Custom

A wishing or cursing stone

that formerly adjoined the well was broken up and buried nearly a century ago.

Maps of 1835 show sites of ol d mines.

LI Lislooney

Kinnairdse

s to have been the official name for

the congregation 1n its early days, and there is evid nc

th t t he original Meeting House was situate 1n L Lemnagor betwixt the Villages ot Tynan and Caledon. survey ot the see Lands of Armagh co

In Ashe' s

iled in the year

1703 it is described as "a large Meeting House 11 , and although its position 1s not clearly defined its proximity to the "Mill ot Tynan agrees very well with the tradition

that it waa located north or the Lemnagore entrance to

TynanAbbey Demesne.

It comprised a very large district containing many townlands in Monaghan and Tyrone besides Armagh,and its vast aize must have been a source of worry to both minister At anyra.'lle in the ea:rly 18th century it became neoeaaary to divide into new congregation s of which l ter • and people!t

.Prom the tact that Lemnagore was 1n Tynan we might

1apl7 that tbe Commonwealth Minister ot that parish would hay, been a Presbyterian but that does not see to have been the can.

A commonwealth

Minister, the Rev. John

Ayton was oerta1nlJ inducted in 16~6-67 but as he had ••

1Yed Episcopal ordination in 165; and in 1660 became

ot Ardagh we mu.et believe that though he Archdeacon

,eci tbe Coaaonvealtb government he retained the

Lislooney

CllUNb ot Irel~ service - therefore the introduct ion of presbyter ianismmust have taken place tollowing the Restoration. %he exact date, however, remains to be 41,oovered.

there is a tradition regarding a Presbyter ian c,oaaunit7 at Tynan in the· days before the battle ot the Boyne and fortunate ly some supporting proof 1 s available

tor th• elaim • "A list of Presbyter ian Ministers in ot Tynan11 • 1'he Ireland in 1689" shows John Mitchell document1 n question was presented to the General Assembly 1a Edinburgh 1n tbat year and from it we gather tbat he

va1 ae1t11aJl7 then in Scotland

He does not appeai- to ever

b••• returned to Irelalld. ho years later 1n 1691 e.ttorts were being made to ••ou• npplies ot preachers until it became possible to

ottt~ a proper aaintenalloe to a minister a matter further •XJ>loncl 1n the aext year. In 1702 when the Presbyter y ot Tyroneva1 1eparate4 into the Presbyter ies ot Monaghan and

Tyrone it 1• reoo1'4ecl with ihirteen other congregat ions. ln l"/01 an entry oonrs in the Sessions Book ot First Armagh

"-lb vblOb ra,ber suggest• that Kinnaird was also known U

Tynan

!be innnion tells us that Armagh paid a sum

•to George Cochran tor renewing h1a lease ot ft P.-. Oil wblob 1• meeting House ot Tynan 11•. B)' the

et

Lislooney vorilnl

w• must suppose a ohu:rch 1n actual use and the

reference must, therefore, relate to Lemnagore.

!bough we do not know the actual date of the erection of a Meeting House at Lislooney we ha'Ye an indication 1n Ille before-mentioned Sessions Book where disbursements show that on 16th Ifovember, 1718, Armagh paid "Francis Scott £2 .

tor wilding ye Meeting Bouse or Tynan

1'hat coupled w1 th

an ob1ervation in the 1'ynan Vestey Book referring to "the road from Breaghy to the new Meeting House" confirms that

the second ohurch was built before 19th April, 1720.

1'bree

)'tara later the Vestry Books designate the same building as

lht •aev meeting house ot Lislooney

but the latter name

414 not _come into general use tor many years atter.

Strangel7

tllOuah the meeting house ot 1'ynan does not figure 1n SynodicalMinute• so the use of that name must have been

punl.J looal. !be t1rat 111Dister ot Kinnaird of llhom we have aDJ reool'd

wa, the Rn. William Ambrose, a County Dow man

•duea,ed ·• t 0la1govt at which university be took out his II.At 1n 167\.

He wa1 not, however, licensed by the Down

PrtlbJ'e17 until 1691.

In the following 7ear whilst

lllpplJ1nc a vacency at Annahilt he was imprisoned by ol'der

ot Archdeacon Matthews bllt was quickly set tree b7 1-nnettou fND tbt Lord.• Justio••• On 30th Maroh 1 1693,

;,,.

Lislooney be vas ordained for Kinnaird, and in 17ll was nominated

tor the Moderatorship of the Synod.

During his ministry it became apparent that the old

area was much too large for one man to have pastoral oversight or and that the people were not satisfied with This resulted in the arrangements as they then stood, con,ideration of a proposed division at a General. Synod 1n 1713 at which two ministers and two ruling alders from the Presbyteries of Monaghan and Tyrone were · empowered to

act as a Committee on the matter, House ~ Kinnaird

They met in the Meeting

supposedly the old church at Lemnagore,

aDd it was dec1d•d that separate congregations should come

1.n,o being a'ti Glennan and Minterburn

The proposal came

be~ore the General. Synod in 1714 and after the persons oonoerned had been heard and papers examined, tho

Coautte••s suggestions were amended.

1'he alteration ot plans proved very unsatisfactor y and Mr. Ambrose complained that

the change would take him

••1 horn bia friends and those who adhered to him, and ~laoe him with people with. whom he anticipated little ease It was clear that his heart was 1n Kinnaird or comfort 1D4 ffentual.17 1 t was agreid tha.t he should stay w1 th that

»-n ot hi• tlook and continue to reside in his own house -U.ye4

'° bue been

1n or near Tynan

'

If he had not been

I

Lislooney attached to that district we can be sure that Lislooney 80 would never h ve come into being, f or t he Synod in its wisdom had ord red that the n scattered ,.;,1,ngs in County Armagh

should be joined t o adjacent congregations at

Armagh,

Minterburn, Keady and Glennan

... a pl an that would

have meant a complete break with the old order.

The

Meeting House i n '.rynan Parish known as Kinnaird would very

llkalr have been closed and the old congregat1onal name wiped out.

Mr. Ambrose died in December 1714, and for some years after there was no settled minister.

It was not in a

proaperous condition owing to the reduction in its bounds and consequent increased financial burdens, and so not untJ.l

1718 was a new pastor appointed, by whioh year the new Meeting House at Tynan, presumably Lislooney, had been erected.

In October ot that yea~ the Rev. Samuel Irvine was 0 1'da1ned

and 80Ble members liVing on the Blackwater between

Caledon and Benburb petitioned to

be linked with the latter.

!hie vaa duly granted by the Synod but the petitioners were

lollewbat dilatory in paying arrears due by them to Kinnaird "11hout vhioh they could not proqure the necessary transfer 0

en1t1oat •• Two yaare later 1t was reported to the Srnod

lbat the 11111 were ltlll unpaid

and at the same time ther-e

IJ.•\OODIJ• va• a teelin g that Kinna ird should apply to the Armagh presbytery for some of the Armagh Congr egatio n to make ibis had been previ ously recommended good the defic iency . but not carrie d out, and even then seems to have come to

nought.

Hr. Irvin e died in October 1729 and was succeeded 1n AugUlt 1732 by the Rev. William Ambrose ( son of his predecessor) who held Kinna ird from that date until his death in December 176,.

Ke served as Mode rator of the

General Synod in 1756 and durin g his minis try the chang e

o-ret fl'Olll linnaJ .rd to Lisloo ney seems to have taken plaoe . ~, aDJJ'ate a petiti on by William Maxwell suppl icatin g the

synod to give him liber ty to leave the minis tratio ns of 'b• Rey. Wlllia m Ambrose surviv es and shows that the .

10DCN1at1on va1 known by its prese nt name in l7lt-2.

J'ollo vinl Mr. Ambrose's death in 1765 no minis ter •• oboHD until Augun 1768, on which date the Rev. George

Harr is M.A. vaa ordained. Mr., Harri s was a very publ1olp11'1ted un, and be11dta acting a.s Chapl ain was Capta in ot He died at Lisgl in 1n Febru ary tile Lisloo ney Volunteers

l18J

and•• buried at Lislooney being acoompam.ed to the

Plft bJ the ftrlt Armagh Companr of Volunteers and the Volun teers the member1 ot which we are told Lislooney 11 1111.ft.t lbeir •nov by tear• and sighs ,

Lislooney The Rev James MacAdam took over in March 1787 but

wa• disami .xed 1n July 1788. He took out a doctor• s degree at Glasgow Uiµvers1ty in 1790 and practised in

Monaghan until his death 1n l82S.

Mr. MacAdam was tollowed in August 1789 by the Rev. Joseph Lawson who resigned in 1796, whereupon there was a Yaoancy tor some years.

!?he next minister, the Rev.

James Gibson, remained trom August 1801 until compelled by

bodily infirmity to give up active work in l83lt-, dying at

Manooney near Tynan in 1866.

Hr. Gibson retired in 1835' and in September 1836 the

Rn. R.P. Boreland became assistant and successor.

He was

a brother ot the Rev. Paul Boreland of Markethill and died 1n Jul.7 186c.

In the following year the Rev. James

Carson • • ordained but demitted the congregation 1n March

1866, 111b1equently settling in Queens1and, In Sept•bff 1866 the Rev. E. F. Simpson became the

new minister

bu.t be exchanged for Ballymena in August 1876

foJ.l.ov1na vbiob the Rev.Thomas Irvine became pastor in 1877. Be can up dut1•• in 1922 and died May 1930.

In July 1923 Knappagh Wal united to Lislooney and in l@p-n of the .... year the Rn. f. McKinney beoame tbe 11hl panor 1D the Joint oharge ancl so continues.

Lislooney Knappagha1 a congregation dates back to the year 1837.

It• t1r1t minister, the Re•• Hugh Magill, was ordained in

June 1839• He resigned in 1841. Xhe sucoession 11st was •• undei-1-

I • Rey• DaVid Coote, March l8lt2 .. to his death in December 1883.

II. Rey. William Waddell, May l88lt - to his d.eath

in February 1895.

Ill. Rev. Martin Rea., June 1895' to December 1900~ IV. Rev. D.J. Blain February 1901, to his death in March 1919, fol owing wllieh Knappagh was united vith Caledon under tbe Rev. George Faris who vaa released from the combined charge in June 1923 to enable a union w1tb Lislooney.

Lislooney

Fort

Lislooney contains one of the finest treble-ringed earthworks1n the county.

Its innel' and second trenches

haw, bovenr, been greatly filled in and the third or

outer trench 1• perteot on the west only. prehistoric

times

It se.,ms to be

in origin but was occupied in late medieval

ror 1D1tanoe a letter survives dated 24th Maroh 1

139,, fl'OII Niall Og O O'NeillCaptain of nation, 'Written ,._ b11 bouN ., L11l.U.on1, on the Vigil ot the

atlon ot tbe Blessed Virgin, offering suit and

llftl • lo lb• Uni, but oompla1n1ng or the treatment

•

Lislooney Forte a•t•d out to his young son Felimy then a hostage in the castle of Trim and requestin g that he be taken under Ro7al protectio n.

Historic al connectio ns w1 th earthwor ks

are aom•vhat rare so Lislooney thus becomes of particul ar though they cannot 1ntere1t aa a link with the O O'Neills

veey veil have baen the builders of the rath.

Loughgall Zb@ Presbyterian Congregation It is usual when dealing With the story ot a al back00ng,egati on to study to some extent the historic

ground ot the area in which it i s situate,

tonight , owing

to the Um1ted time at our diapoea l, I must omit referenc es i to ev14enoes of early human settleme nt in the distric t, 1t1enctary event• associat ed with the region• and the Yarious relics within the neighbourhood that may be ascribed to Pre-

I mu.st, however, briefly refer to tbe anoient parish ot Loughga ll which appears in Irish Annals pre-Christiantilles .

1n lts present tom as early as the year 802 A.D. and to

tilt Cope familJt the owners ot Cloveneden in the days when

the Presbyt erian families

on that and ad3oinin g propert ies

appealed to the Genenl S,nod to<t aid in the erection of a house and the pl'Ov:lsion ot a ministe r • · a top1a that meeti, ng

I lbaU 41acuaa later•

1 baye aen,1oned that Loughgall as a place-na me 11 of

"a,ena1>1e antiqui ty . 1'he parish was earlie,; know •• a derivation al'ising trom 1ts oonnect ion with O ONeillan

Ille Ua Niallan s the tribe who gave name to the bal'ODJ ot a 1ept that must not be contused witb. the more O ONeilla nd tllanaW O O'Neillos t later t1me1, tvo ot whom ate stUl

Loughgall remembered with horror because of the cruelt ies of their ll followers in the Civil War of 161+1.1t2, wherein Loughgaall suffered most severe ly, especi ally in May of the latt r Deposi tions made by local inhabi tants of Plante r stock regarding the tragic evants of that unhappy period

year.

Examined in conjun ction with a uster Roll ot the Cope estate drawn up in 1630 we have no diffic ulty

still surviv e.

1n arrivin g at a fairly acQ.Urate estaat e of t h

then

From those two source s we learn that the numbe:ss reputed slain in the years under consid er-

Protestant popula tion.

ation have been grossly exagge rated.

By 1657 many of the tenant s on tbe Cope estate who

had nect at the beginn ing ot the civil War had return d to their tarms, and seven years later, in 1664, a Hearth Tax eame into being, trom 'Which we glean a census of the householder s ot ill• parish , &mongst wom we find many new names

1Dd1oat1ng furthe r settler s, possib ly remnants from the Cromwellian ocoupation, a state of .a ffairs that again t1'0ppecl up tollo'Wing the Revolu tion

or 1688.

Having reached so far I should like to devote a tew Anthony Cope or Hanwell 1n ainatt•• to the Cope family .

Oxfor dshirevaa created a baronet in 16l1 and in the same . 1tar aoqutred the Manor ot Derrycreevy and Drum illyby se Lord Sayeand Sele to whom they had been purchafrom

Loughgall granted by James I at the Plantation or Ulster.

On the

tormer be built the mansion we now know as Castle Raw of 111bioh same fragments of walls ~111 stand, and a bawn at Drumilly that remains in tolerable condition, but the house

that it once enclosed is long since demolished.

ftle Copes were a family of long standing in Oxfordshire and the grandfather of the first baronet (also an Anthony) served Katherine erine Parr ( sixth wife of Henry VIII) as ViceChamberlain a d was latGr knighted by Edward VI"

The

founder or the Loughgall branch died in 1615 and very likely

navar visited Ireland.

The acquisition of t he lands 1n Co.

Armagh vas clue to a wish to establish his younger sons.

His

eldest son Henry predeceased him and he was succeeded in the baronetcy

his second. son William 1rmo thus became po ssessed

ot the ancestral estate in England as well as certa.1-ll lands in Co. Tyrone and va

the

The third son Anthony inherited Castle Raw

cestor or the Copes or the Manor, in lllhich

family an heir to the baronetcy was found when tb.e English

line failed in 18~1 in the person of the Rev, William Cope, 1 direct

descendant of Sir Anthony of Castle Raw.

Xhe

fourth ton Richard was given Drumilly and had besides a ber ot tovnland1 in Seagoe Parish

He w-aa 1n Ireland at

the t1ae ot the civil War and was tak9n prisoner with his "1fe and two sons

Loughgall Di• Copes ven good landlord s and are credited with ban.DI introdU ced apple growing to th.e barony ot O ONeilla nd

!hi cult of th• apple was, however, known much earlier - tor

w1anoe , in the year u;; the head of the Macans the then His obituary bas been

the tel'l'itor y, died. rulingofsept

pN1•n• d and in it he is pr aised tor the strong drink made tor the uae ot the clan from apples grown i n his orchard s. that suggests that even then the soil ot o ONeillandhad . been

found IUitable tor apple culture.

It was not until the

plantation ot Ulster that a systema tic method ot planting fruit tne1 was thought ot and, of cour,e, only the freehold ~

tenants were at first affected ,

We have little 1ntormat.1on

on the aubjeat but ve do know that on certain propert ies 1n

Co. Armagh- ot vhioh the Cope estate

was one - olauses were

ln1med 1n lea••• requirin g tenants to plant so many fruit trees aoool'd.1ng to the aoreages held. In the CiVil war 111oh ••JJ orchud1 •• had ~•en planted were probably destroye d but 1n ~• aore settled period of the Restora tion theN 11 proot

tor ~• mamtao ture ot cider especia lly in this westel'D hall ot O ONeilla nd We know that in 1679 1 t wa1 pl'oCJ\U'able at

lO/. per hogshead and that in the wai- between James II and 1111 11 , Prince ot Orange 1, va1 being made in quant1,y tor 1 army 'be ue ot Willia m

We an aware that much cider vaa

bJ Id.I IOWU I 1n the 1pr1ng ot 1690, but I heaita, .

lo aicrib e th Victo ry at the Boyne too ONeilande1der l I 11Ust polog ise tor my length y introd uction and haste n on th story ot this congr egatio n. It has been stated that the cone gation was rounded in the year 1704 but I must oonte1s tb t I can find no confir matio n for that partic ular

••••rtioD. 1"he first note that I can discover is in the aimlte s ot the Gener al Synod of June 19th, 1711, in 'Which ted to the h presen year a suppl ic ation from "Venni Cash" Vinecas

8Jnod settin g forth its deplo rable circumstances and statin g that it• minis ter could not subsis t unless a former grant va1 prolon ged.

The Presb ytery of Armagh affirm ed the

,rutb ot the oompl aint and said that 1ts wea.kened state was

due to the part taken ott to form the new erecti on at Loug hgall At the same Synod 1t wa.s agreed that Loughgall lbould be suppo rted and a grant of £12 per annum was voted

Bearin g those tacts in mind we must, unles s tYidenoe to the contra ry is found, fix the date ot found ation on the Synod record ot that year. Later indica tions are

• ordin gl7.

Plent itul but befor e procee ding turthe r I should like to say

the paren t body of Lougb gall.

Vinec ash o e into being shortl y atter the Battle ot lhe Boyne and 1 t, t1rat minis ter was the Rev. Alexa nder

1 tev vord1

about Vinecash

a linea l de1oendant ot David Bruce, King of Scotla nd Bruce (lJ 1310) . He va1 1n1ta lled 1n 1697 and marri ed a daugh ter nd Congr egatio n, Oo • Kennedy ot Carland Tho mas

•

•

ev ot lb• tben arl ot Cassilis

one of the lay

Loughgall 1111110r1

aent by the Church ot Scotland to the Westminster

assembly t hat compiled the confession of Faith and the Shorter cathecism

Her father came to Ireland originall7 as a

c,baplain to General Munro s army and was present at the

Battle of Benburb in 1646.

Like the Bruces she also had

. Ro7al blood in her veins.

In 1701, during Mr. Bruce• s ministry, some members ot the Clare

congregation applied for leave to join Vinecash

bllt Clare objected on the grounds that it would weaken the latter congregation.

He died 16th April, 1704, and I have a

tnllng that it was immediately after his death that

14•• ot a new congregation at Loughgall

the

was first mooted,

llllt •• I have said bttore we have no direct proof as to that.

Vinecash~a without e. minister from April 170a. until the o1dinat1on ot the Rev. William McKayon 25th Beptember,

1107. Be retired tram active duties 1n 1726 and it waa dunnc h11 oharge in the year l7ll that the formation of

\be Loughgall congregation actually took plaea.

I do not

bovewer propo ■• to continue turther with the history ot Ybeoalb • . I lhall nov return to Loughgall known under its

au..., ot Cloveneden and Cockle Hill the latter a corrupt ft,a ot Cuckold Hill.

.

ln the be11no1n1 ot the 18th eentu17 moral conduct waa

' lax, po11ibl7 an atteraath ot the Revolution ot

1688, Unfortuna tely no Loughgall records are arulable tor 1t1at oenturr, but from sul'V1ving Sessions Books of other oo111n1ationa we leam something ot chureh d1 soipllne 1n i1hose whose mildeeds were more serious were IGIIP•lled to appear before the assembled oongngat ion draped

lho•• dqa.

1D llbi.t• sheets, there to confess their indiscreti ons.

More

dllple baoksl.1cl1ng like beating the Wife on Sunday, or indeed

the chlldren, would also have resulted in delinquen ts being i'be elders were then more autocrati o publlo].J admonished.

than the ministers , and it was their duty to see that turt, water, and other incidenta ls were bro~ght into the house mttioient to serve from Saturday night until Monday morning. !hey also saw to it that tbe houses were swept on SaturdaJ

llilh'• and the ashes removed ea11ly, so that f amiliee could go lo l'eat at

reasonabl e hour and thus be fit for the stra1D

ot the Sabbath - on which day childNn might not play games or th•u parents frequent cockfight s attend dances or loin IDJ ot the native patrons such aa visits to Holy Wells or Garland Sundays It 1s a pity that we are deprived ot ,

••a.ona1 reool'ds. They would havG been a guide to the -,._lding ot the olmroht Nnts and repairs, the edUoation of JOor children alms to needy widows and other Dlisoellaneoua Pr -OOIIIIUD1on services took place on the Saturda.7 P'"1ou1 and on the SWJdar many tables each covered VS.th a

•---••

~ linen cloth were 1D use.

«tn

!hose who came tl'OUl a

.....-.uaat too4 With them and it is qUite likely that

~•,rbft 11 • lJl tb• ncin1 ty or the meeting house there were rough and

rt•41 places of refreshmen t for man and beast, all of which ver• well patronized and though most ministers objected to tilt use ot intoxicant s on those occasiQns their wishes were

not easily enforced.

■ad• both

At such assemblies collection s were

on Saturdays and Sundays.

We shal.l now consider the Succession List or Ministers.

1r<Y:J>. General Synod minutes of let June, 1709, we learn that

tbt Armagh Presbytery entered upon first trials Mr. Hugh Wallace and from the same source we know that he entered

upon second trials, or trials in order of ordination 17th lune, 1712, and was ordained tor Loughgall on 10th October

ot 1a11e 7ear.

Born near Loughbrick land, Co, Down, and

tduoated at Glasgow be remained only eight years, resigning In 1736 he 1D 1720 tor Dawson's 1 Bridge and Magherafel t rt11.nqw.lbed Dawson'ss Bridge but retained Magherafel t

In

l?'Jl he was Moderator of the General Synod. He died 1761.

Some trouble in securing a successor was eXperience d Ind tbe congregati on vas vacant from Septembor 1720 until

the JOth

1, 17~2, on which date the Rev. James Orr was

Olduned. In hi• term ot ottioe in the year 1739 the tollpiecation had to apply to the Synod for assistance "1, •• granted and inarea1ed in 1760. Mr, Orr died 10th

'11, 1715, leanna a 'Widow.

AaaiD there waa ome delay in finding a minister, but on

a6th June, 17,S, the Rev. Robert Peebles w~s ordained.

1

He was

1-1,tel' opponent of the Seceders and indulged in a paper war

a1a1D•t the Rev. D. Clarke ot Cahans, a zealous support r of Ua• seceding movement.

Be died at Cuckold Hill 31st July,

11'1, leanng a widow who afterwards married Mr. Wm. Wood

ot Newtownstew art On the 2,th August, 1762, he was followed by the Rev. Hogg Moses

an ardent supporter of the United Irishmen vho

ill thl troubles of 1798 was actually taken into custody by Capt. John Giffard

ot the Dublin Militia and eontined tor a

fortnight 1n a V81'1 cramped space underneath the stairs in Henry Welch s inn at Portadown then the Obins Arms and stUl t\meUoning under the name of the Imperial.

Mr. Hogg died

2]1i4 loT•ber, 1802, leaVing a widow and son,

The Beltast

ltva-Letter ot 3rd December published an obituary describing b1a •• "d1stin.gu11ht d tor easy diction in the pulpit, for a IDllloien,1ou1 d11charge ot pastoral duties, tor regularit7 ot llnal oonduot an4 tor ltriot adhel'ence to the discipline ot tile Presbyterian Church

Be vaa aucoeeded by b11 son Robert who, like his tatbel', •• tduoated at Glasgow

Born 1n 1769 and licensed by the

'n.111 Pre1i.,te17 1n 1792 be 1Nm1 to have acted as assistant

nn t

about '118, 4a,, until his father• s death. He

l5A -

JaAtldlf 811 • ,,. 1 ordain ed tor Loughg all at Cloveneden 16th Mareh,

wa• Moderator of the General Synod 1823-24.

1803,

Apart trom his

t1onal duties he .filled the post ot Assist antastronomer t Armagh Ob.s ervato ry, from 1799 until his death 00ngrega

on 19th Januar y, 1830.

He was living in Armagh when

to Loughg all and seems to ha°'e resided there until

appointt

e built an astrono mical quadra nt tor Amagh observatory in 1818 to which t ere is an allusio n in Stuart ' 1 Memoir of Armagh' and a manusc ript of astronomical

at least

l+.

calculations

tor the period 1799-1830 is still to be seen

1n tha't 1nst1 tution .

He was a person al f'riend of Dr. J .A.

Armagh's first astronomer and of Archbishop

Hamilton

me died in lSOO. 1'he latter Newco men Newco

A story has been banded

4oYD amongn Robert Hogg' e kinsmen to the etteet that vhen

William Stuart , D.»., reached Armagh as Newcome s 1W1oe1aor in the arobb1 shopric , be inVited the clergy ot the

•b• Hon.

41ooe1e to a recept ion ot some kind at which the sta.tt ot the library

and Observatory wel'e also prGsent. During the pro-

••dinc• he 1n41oated that l'!e would be glad to consider 8JlY' hque1t 1 h11 gue ta might wish to make, whereupon Mr. Hogg

•lke4 that h llicht not be 1nter-tupt,c1 at tb.e Observatory 11 he had t1n1ah ed certain tasks that he w,e then working 11•

lbe Arabb1abop gladly gave the neoe1,a17 perm1ss1on r. Hoag 1hould not be diaturb ed in h1a 4 t ,

wcbc•J}e ,1"1ation".

1'hat, no doubt, was a -·rellei' to the applicant

.-io va• suspected on good grounds of having earlier had

General 4,a1su1• with t he United Irishmen.. At various s,no4, tram 179q until 1802 he appeared with bis rather in Ill• capacity or an Elder, a strange appellation tor a m1n1sterdtli1J11l,e•

Tradition says he was an indifferent preacher.

to the "Northern Whig'* of l+th February, 1830 "he n• a profound mathematician possessed an inexhaustible fund

1o001'd1ng

of anecdotes whioh he occasionally narrated in a style ot buour and originality peculiar to hims~l!11 •

The nc.xt minister was the Rev. William Henry.

He was

born near Stewartstown Co. Tyrone, and educated at the Old

College, Belfast, where he obtained a General Certificate in 1822.

Th.re• years later he was licensed by the Tyrone

Pn ■bft•l'Y and on 22nd December, 1830, he was ordained tor

Loughgall

1n vhiab congregation he ministered taithtully until

b.11 death 20th January, 1880.

During bis pastorate extensive

repairs were made to the chureh, On the 19th January, 1861, the Rev. Edward Kimmitt was

lanaue4, Deaoribed a1 "a man of wide culture and genial tbu1crter and a most eloquent and impressive pl'eaoher", he " 11111ec1 b1a abur• in 1880 and died 18th June, 1900.

!be Dex1: pa1to:r, the Rav, William Smyth, was installed

ln•bel', 1880, ot vhom an entry in General Synod

., ••It'•• •n,

that he waa noted for "his earnest preaching b111inoel'1 piety, his unwearied attention to

th• you.DI in th

S bb th and Day Schools and his life-long

adYOC ay or t

temperanceHe retired in 1902 and died 9th

December, 1908 .

He wa follow

by the Rev. John Wilfred Watt, ordained

loth D ce bar, 190', 'Who resigned 3rd September, 1907, and ~oined the Church ot Ireland, a decision that wa s not looked

reat tavour here.

upon w1 th any

ton ?; McFarlandsucceeded Hr . Watt Hamilton Andrew

rhe Rev. and was orda1ne

18th January, 1908µ,

He died 16th June,

followed by the Rev. W.R. Rodge rs.

193~, and wa

Mr . Rodgers

was ordain d 18th Jsnuary, 1935, and resigned 26th May, 19lt6.

Rt 11

well-known poet and now writes scripts tor the B•• c.

Houston Aitchison, a man of many 1'he Rev. H Henry

congregation, was installed 18th September, 1946, and resigned 1st January, 19~9.

On the 21st July of same year

the Rev. Alexander Jenkins was installed and happily 1s still Vith 7ou.

With

r. Jenkins the Suocession List of ministers ot the

00ncreaat1on end• tor the present.

'be long spared to Loughgall.

I sincerely hope he will

I must apologise for the

••V1t1 ot biographical details ot pastors from 1830 onwar«a.

1 1'144en17 realized at that point that it was neoessary to '-it Pla

tat, otbe Lo

• ot eduoat1on, marriages and other miscellaneous H

all.

th11 vould be my ti:st and last appearance

_,,,,,i.

In conclusion I woul like so

,ngi-eg tion to make a study of such

.ng

ob r o

th

xi t •

ecords as still

Lnutes of th Gonaral Synod, for nstanoe, d p y t

ames of many Elders ers ... a hasty, and I fe

tYtals the rollo

inco pl

, s

ng names.

1723 Robert Brady.

1725 John Nicholson

1726 William Dickson.

1727 William Rea 1728 James Murray 1729 John Anderson.

1736 John Cherry.

1739 Thomas Gillespy l7ltO Thomas Gilpin. l?lt2 David Young.

1750 John Blayney.

1760 William Lawson.

1762 Tobias Gillespy who in that year pres nted a

supplication from Loughgall to the Gen ral Synod intreating that the ~und onoy for.n.erlr

granted by the Synod should be contimi

l?63 Gorge White.

1766 Geor e White

1m John Lawson 1'178

Robert Kennedy

r

1785 Richard White• 1786 J lln L Lawson

1791 William Gillesp ie

t~~~

1796)

1797) 1798) Robert Hogg 1799) 1800) 1801) 1802) 18-03 Richard White

l805 George White 1812 James Lawson 1820 Nathani el Beggs

Vinecash !be histor y ot Vinecash is somewhat obscur e but the 11•tiee nt may

be earlie r than is genera lly assumed.

The

itself is also provok ingly ambiguous. It 1s a placenaa• only and repres ents neithe r townland nor parish . On

88118

'11• Ordnance Survey Maps f or the county compile d in the year 1831 it appear s as Minnacash, a deseri ptive term

aeaning a causeway over the bog, a physic al charac teristi c that seems to fit in very well with the ground. It has,

however, been known from the late sevent eenth centur y onwards by its presen t appell ation and there is a tradit ion, tor vhich I oan find no veri!i cation ,that one of Cromv ell'• otticer a, a certai n Captai n Vinny, made a kesh or causeway OYtr ■arshy ground here in those days and contin ued the road troa thence to Armagh.

~e Crom.wellians are also

or1d1ted with haVing OOll\pleted the destru ction ot Mulladey Caat1e, a struct ure damaged in the Civil W&~ some years

••rUe r, and the "Great Protec tor" himsel f is kept in llind by Oliver 's

Hill

nearby , an eminence so called in

lli1 honour.

!here waa much coming and going ot armies throug h th • 41nr1 c• in the period tollow ing the Civil War, and bo,b CaaaaoDVealth and Scotch soldie rs thus became 1

1111111u Vitb ono ot the most prospe rous areas in the

y. lbo oountJ•

It seems reasonable therefore to suppose that

later when the wars were past that soldiers from those

armies decided to settle in the neighbourhood.

At anyrate

bf the time of the Battle of the Boyne there seems to have been the nucleus of a congregation.

Not, however, until

June 1697 was a minister appointed.

In that year the Rev~ Alexander Bruce, a Master ot Artsot Edinbllrgh University, deserted Donagbadee for

Vinecash

Lineally

descended from King David Bruce ot

Scotland he vae by birth and aristocratic connections the ao1t d1st1ngu1shed figure in Presbyterian circles in his

da7.

The congregation then served a large area covering the

parishes ot Loughgall, Kilmore and Drumcree, but the Presbyterian population vas small and very scattered.

In

1101 it petitioned the Synod to allow some members from Clare to ~o1n them but the latter assembly firmly withstood the propo &al, declaring that Vinecash and Markethill bf llloh •etbod1 voUld weaken them.,

Mr. Bruce d1•d in April 1704, and for soma year ■ Vinecash had to be content with ·supplies. In Sapt811ber 1707 the Rn. William McKay was installed, We know little ot b11 ■1n11,r, exaept1ng that he was born near Clare, was

I

\

~p•oeeb, educated at Edinburgh, acqUired his Master of Arts degree there in 1701 and was Clerk of the General Synod from 1721-

1723.

During his ministry a h andsome pewter Communion

flagon and cup were procured.

Dated 1729 they still survi-ve

and are t he oldest relies of Vinecash now remaining.

Mr.

McKayretired from active duties in 1726 and in

rebruar7 1727 ;the Rev., William Dick was appointed as a1sistant and su~eessor. Mr. McKaydied in November 1733 and Mr. Dick in December 17>.to.

Again Vinecash was vithout

_ a pa1tor tor a period, but in July 1747 the Rev. James

fodd wa nominated.

A Master of Arts or Edinburgh and a

nat1•e ot Dervock, Co,. Antrim, he was the first minister

ot the congregation to be described as ot Vineoash and Richhill

At the beginning of his pastorate the Presbyterian

tallies of that part of Kilmore parish situate in and around Richhill worshipped at Vinecash but at some date prenous to 1788 it had become oustomary to hold services in both places,

On the 7th August of that year Messrs.

Thomas Greer and John Moore at a meeting or the Tyrone Presbytery petitioned that Mr, Todd should divide his services

between Richhill

and Vinecash as tol"Dlerly • a

111PPUoa1i1on that pre-suppo1e1 an earlier community at

Richhill

NrYed trom the parent body at Vinecash as had

te • lJ been the oa•• v1 tb r_egard to Loughgall erected as

w,c,eh, 1

,eparate charge in 1711.

The Richhill request was supported by the Presbytery

vao resolved that, Mr. Todd should preach there every fourth

swidaY and that a probationer should supply Vinecash on the 4a)'I on which he should be absent.

The proposal was

objected to at a later assembly of the same Presbytery held on ll+th October and successfully evaded by a deputation trom

.Vinecash who asked that Mr. Todd should preach constantly at Vinecash as formerly and that Richhill should not enjoy part

ot his labours unless they would return and worship at Vinecash as before the 3o1nt~re took place.

John Moore,

honYer, again appeared and requested that the union should

not be violated•

His request was acceded to upon due

Oona1derat1on and orders were g1 ven that 1t should be maintained aa then arranged but that Vinecash should be vacant

on the Lotd' a Day in vb1ch Mr. Todd preached at Richhill Vhioh vaa to b• every fourth Sabbath and thus the matter 111414

,·o the advantage ot Richhill

Mr.- Todd severed his

IOllneotion in Mq 1791 owing to age and inf11'0li ty and 1n

Aucun ot that year the Rev. Henry Mcllree was appointed hti 1111•tant and succeesor. Mr. Todd died in JanuUJ 1795 1114

two J••r• 1a,er 1 in March 1797, Mr •. Mcllree removed to

Keady*•N • d11pu•• aro•• resulting in the formation ot 1 11

114 OOD1n1at1on.

)i#'Ctlb• tbt nut a1n1ster, the Rev. William Reid, vas ordained 11

JlaJ 1198, and died January 1824, whereupon the aommuu1 ty

Richhill sought and obtained recognition as a district 11 o1tart•t the union being dissolved at a Synod in July 1824.

Jlr, Reid's successor was the Rev. Thomas Dugal wo took oYlf in November

of that year, and who demitted in June 1837,

and proceeded to New South Wales.

He was followed in June

1839 by the Rev. William Cromie, who retired in 1874 and died 11uab 1876.

In October 1854 he aoqUired as an assistant the

R1T. Charles

Cowden who in June 1881 exchanged for Glenarm

Ann pastor, the R~. John Forsythe, was installed 1n

Oflober ot •am• year,.

lie retired in July 1910 and was

noote41d 1n December by the Rey. 1:homas Rowan who resigned 1n Xuab 1923, ~:rom wtuoh 4af.t1 until 1939 there was a vacanq.

la the latter real" the lev.- w.w. Pyper became minister.

RICHHILL• ,, Richhill once formed part of Vinecash it may best bi dealt with in connection with the parent congregation.

Vt ban already seen that 1 t figured as a rather

1U1lat11tactory union from about the middle of the eighteenth oenturf until 1824, whereupon it became separate and distinot.

According to the Ordnance Survey Papers of 1835 the presbyterian Church in Richhill was erected in 1780, and

seated thrH hundred people,

PreVious to that date services

in the town of Richhill must have been confined to private

houses, or it may be tha~ there was some sort ot temporal'J

accommodation of which we have now no record.

Its first pastor, the Rev. James Sinclair, was appointed hcaaber 1824.

He relinquished in May 1836 and Joined the

Ion.Subscribing Presbytery of Bangor 1n 1839, but attiaNal'dl lttt the minis-try,

He was suaceeded by the Rev, James

Patterson.

Mr. Patterson was installef in Maroh 1838 and died ot ftYtr in May 1847, the year of the great famine.

!le vaa

foUov.4 by the Rev, Andrew McAldin who took over duties 1n

Dtc..btr 18lt-7, retiring in June 1887 •·

An assistant and

11110••eor, the Rev. George Gillespie, was nominated in October

•t ••• T•ar. Mr. Gillespie resigned in April 1889, whereupon • •-.. Andrew MacAfeebecame his successor in July ot that

""·

---

,_-,,c,.-

-- --~ea--- -" '" '" " " .

~

• &iabb1 11 • Mr, MacAfee demitt ed the charge in March 1893 and in

the follow ing October the Rev. John Deans was ordain ed.

AH o R E Y.

By Rev. W.T. Latim er, M.A. The Pres byte rian Church of Ahorey is situa ted abou sout h six miles south of Porta down , and a littl e to the of a dire ct line conn ectin g Rich hill with Tand ragee Tbe erec tion of this cong regat ion is due to the old

t

.

g seces sion Chur ch, which did so much in Irela nd to brin , the ligh t of Gosp el preac hing into negl ected dist ricts and to pres erve the ortho doxy of Pres byte riani sm when of the the Synod of Ulst er had grown care less as a resu lt broad Church prin ciple s that then prev ailed .

Ahorey being far from any othe r Pres byte rian chur ch, the Antib urgh er Sece ders estab lishe d a preac hing stati For some time the serv ices were in tbi s loca lity.

on

newl yconducted by supp lies, but at last a call from the , formed cong regat ion was acce pted by Mr. John McDonald a licen tiate .

Mr. McDonald came from Cere s, in the Pres byte ry of Cupar, Scot land.

On the 9th of July , 1789 , he was But his stipe nd there was to the excee dingl y smal l, and the Royal Boun ty then paid Secede rs amounted to only abou t £10 a year for each In 1793 the boun ty was incre ased by a sum lllini ster.

0rd

ained pasto r of Ahor ey

1Utt1c1ent to bring the tota l year ly amount to a littl e

In add itio n to this each min iste r under thir ty pou nds .

Some time befo re Apr il, 1796, Mr. had biS stip end . afte rwa rds McDonald retu rne d to Sco tlan d, and soon stip end of £50 became min iste r of Dub bies ide, where a If this were an incr eas e to his was bis tota l inco me.

stipend the re income in Aho rey, it would prov e tha t his ~s less than £20 a yea r. ed Thomas His suc cess or in Ahorey was the cele brat the 1st of Campbell, who was born in County Down, on His fath er was an Epi sco pali an, but February, 176 3.

At firs t rs.

Thomas, with his bro ther s, became Sec ede In 1787 he mar ried Jane Cor neig le, he was a scho olm aste r.

Ale xan der, was of County Ant rim, and in 1788 the ir son, of a Mr. About this time , thro ugh the assi stan ce and in 1791 McKinley, he ente red Glasgow Uni ver si ty, ol of the Ant ibecame a stud ent in the theo log ical scho taug ht by Dr. burgher Sec ede rs at Whi tbur n, which was born.

bald Bru ce.

Archibald pted a HaVing been duly lice nse d, and hav ing acce r earl y in 179 8, Call from .Ahorey, he became its min iste For some time he live d but the exa ct date is unknown. n n, but afte rwa rds removed to Ric hhi ll, s Baw at Hamiltonsbaw lfhere he taug ht a scho ol.

on the 10th of October, 1798, he took part in the services at a meeting -of ministers and laymen in Armagh, 11 which originated "The Evangelica l Society of Ulster, to the funds of which he subscribed 11s 4½d a year.

This

society employed English evangelist s, who were Congregati onalists in principle.

As a result of this movement the

Rav. George Hamilton, of Armagh, and the Rev. John Gibson,

of Richhill, with part of their congregatio ns, became Congregati onalists.

The Rev. Alex. Carson, of Tobermore,

who was a member of the same society, became first a

Congregati onalist, and then a Baptist.

The Rev. David

Holmes, of Derryfubbl e (Eglisb), and the Rev. John Lowry, of Clenanees, were also members of the society, but they remained faithful to Presbyteria nism.

On the 8th of April, 1807, the Rev. Thomas Campbell, haVing resigned Ahorey, set sail for America, where he soon left the Presbyteri an Church and joined the Baptists.

Afterwards he and his son Alexander, who became still more distinguish ed, founded the Church of the Disciples of Christ, which has now over a million of communicants.

His successor in Ahorey was the Rev. Samuel Beattie, 0rd

ained on the 7th of September, 1809.

Mr. Beattie

taUght classics to a few boys, among whom were the Rev.

John Latim er of Bally nahat ty, and his broth er, Mr. James Latimer, of Marla coo, fathe r of Rev. James Latim er, of Groom sport .

In 1809, when the Royal Bounty was increa sed, the minis ter of Ahorey became entitl ed to £46 Js 6d. a year (Briti sh money ), as pasto r of a second class congr egatio n.

In 1832 a govern ment return repres ents Ahorey as consis ting of 570 members and adher ents.

Mr. Beatt ie unfor tunate ly took more strong drink As a than was neces sary for medic inal purpo ses. consequence he was suspen ded from the minis try on the 4th He died on the 9th of March, 1834.

His succe ssor was the Rev. Joseph Hunte r, son of the

of June, 1833.

Secession minis ter of Coler aine.

Mr. Hunte r was ordain ed

on the 1st of April , 1834, and he resign ed on the 12th of April , 1836, havin g accep ted the office of Agent to the Mr. Hunte r was afterw ards minis ter of a congr egatio n in Belfa st, from which he removed to anoth er

Home Missi on.

in Dubli n.

The Rev. Thomas Kilpa trick was ordain ed as next In •1n1st er of Ahorey, on the 29th of November, 1836. l81+8 he cease d to be minis ter of Ahorey, and was succee ded by the Rev. James Forsy the, ordain ed on the 28th of March ,

1850.

Mr. Forsy the was a native of the Route distr ict in

s..

170

co. Antrim ; and was educa ted in the Belfa st Acade mical Instit ution .

As a minis ter he was most faith ful and

succe ssful, posse ssing the esteem of his peopl e and By his exert ions a the confi dence of his breth ren. neat and comfo rtable manse, close to the churc h, was After the death of the Rev. Wm. built in 1855.

Henderson, of Armagh, in 1868, Mr. Forsy the became Clerk of the Armagh Presb ytery - the dutie s of which offic e be discha rged with great abili ty, and with satis facti on to On the occas ion of his mini steria l all his breth ren. jubile e he receiv ed a valua ble prese ntatio n from his friend s and breth ren.

Mr. Forsy the resign ed the activ e dutie s of the minis try on the 14th of April , 1903, and he died on the 3rd of Janua ry, 1910.

He was twice marri ed, but left

no issue .

As minis ter of Ahorey he was succe eded on the 5th of August, 1903, by the Rev. George Kelly , who resig ned th e congr egatio n on the 7th Septem ber, 1909, on accep ting a Call to Pomeroy, where he has prove d himse lf an able and succe ssful clergy man.

On the 3rd of Febru ary, the Rev. Rober t James Baill ie , a licen tiate of the Dromore Presb ytery , was 0rd

a1ned

bop, h 8

to the pasto ral charg e of Ahorey, where we Will have a succe ssful minis try.

In 1847 Ahorey containe d 170 families , paying Now it contains about 100 stipend. £ 21 45 6d of The people do not faillilies, paying £45 of stipend. lack liberali ty.

They have recently expended about

£ 250 in improvin g

the manse for their new minister .

The congrega tion of Aborey has given several ministers to the Irish Presbyte rian Church, among whom I may mention the Rev. John Latimer, of First Ballynabatty;

the Rev. William Best, of Pickford , Michigan ,

U.S., America, and the Rev. Robert McClean, of

Castleca ulfield, Dungannon.

"The Missiona ry Herald of the Presbyte rian Church

in Ireland, Dec. 1, 1910 11 •

TOWNLAND OF

AHOREY,

Notes from a Rental of circa

1778-1782.

Patrick Watson, 1778-1785.

Nicholas Willson, 1778-1785.

The Widow Watson shown as paying rent up to Nov., 1776.

Patrick Huse, 1778-1785.

Edward Huse Junior appears as paying rent from Sept. 1, 1778.

The tenancy seems to have been held by an earlier Edward Huse Hughesname was erased when Patrick Huse paid two years rent May 1, 1778.

John Scott, 1778-1785.

On Dec. 9, 1778 rent paid by George Ewart.

On Jan. 14, 1780 rent paid by Joseph Gibson.

On Aug. 1, 1780. Turf was then value for lOd. per uKish 11 • This farm later passed to Joseph & John Gibson.

Robert Ballantine, 1778-1779.

Tenant's son was doing labouring Feb. 10, 1779. work probably at the building of a house for which the landlord made an allowance of £1.14.1½ with 9/9 for a "brick man I s diet 11 • John Wallace, 1778-1785.

A(llowances 6 days drawing turf in 1779 at 6/6.

Turf drawing occurs several times).

John Davison, 1778-1785. ?ristian name erased and James entered above. rn Jan. 1779 tenant received 10/8 allowance or labouring work - 32 dijys at 4d. per day ilso allowances for horse drawing turf and imber at 1/l+d. per day.

porter, 1778-1785 .

JohnAllow ances for 6 days shearing at 6-½d- per day.

2 days drawing of horse & car 3/-.

Thomas Neilson, 1778-1785.

Allowance 10 weeks labouring work of your son at 2/- per week.

John Lewis, 1778-1785 .

Half an acre of meadow.

James & Robert Lewis, 1778-1785.

One and a half acres of meadow.

James Scott, 1778-1785.

William McMullon, 1778-1785.

David Jeffress, 1778-1779.

Meadow.

Joseph Douglass, 1778-1785.

Junr., 1778-1785.

David Jeffriss, Jeffries allowed for 85 days work at 1778 13, Sept.

Several allowances for 4d. per day. work at same price.

William English, 1778-1785.

This farm may have passed to a Samuel & Mary Fitzsimons who appear as paying rent from Aug. 8, 1779.

Thomas Rush, 1779-1785.

John Wallace, 1778-1785.

James Mccan, 1779-1785.

Edwa rd Doran, 1779--1 784.

William Wallace, 1778-1785. ~tHhugh and Charles Philips appear with Mccan regard to rent payments).

Harrison, 1779-1785.

Jam85 Rent on ale paid by Mark McMurray Feb. 6, 1781 by John McCoo. Sept. 26, 1779. oct. 20, 1781 allowed him (McCoo) 11/1+½ to build his house.

James Ranken, 1778-1781.

"Run a way about the 12th Oct. 1780 11 • Rent paid by William Mason in 1781.

Henry Cunningham, 1778-1781.

James Han, 1780.

Hugh O Neill, 1779-1780.

Bryan Shields, 1781.

Arthur Quin, 1778.

On Nov. 1, 1778 there was three years rent) ) This seems to have been paid in due. full to Arthur Quinn on condition that the) ) house and holding should be transferred which it seems he held from her should be) ) given up.

David Wilson, 1781.

Peter Mccan, 1778-1781.

Michal Marshal, 1780.

The Meetinghouse Rent £2.0.0. per year, 1778-1779.

This was paid by Mr. Acheson from July 1779 until June 24, 1780, but on Dec. 20 of that year and on Aug. 2, 1781 it was paid

by Mr. Arrit.

Samuel Farguson, 1779-1781.

John Marrin, 1779-1784.

Michael Campbell, 1779-1785.

Arthur Quin' s Auction brought 1n £13.16.2.

Sisle y Quin n, 1780-1781.

Edward Mull on, 1781-1782.

William Wils on, 1781-1783.

In this rent book p.104 David ries son David is ment ioned seve ral times . Jamph Some of the above tena nts would seem to have been of Monraverty, see list p.10 4-10 5.

A RENT ROLL OF Ahorey £

s

d.

Gao. Ewart's Own Holding.

This is One Year's Rent.

20 •• 6 •• Od.

John Neill.

of the whole.

31+ •• 0 •• O 15 •• l •• 3

Patrick Watson.

7 •• 6 •• 4

Niel.Wilson.

4.17 .• 6

Edwd. Huse

8 .• 4 •• o

John stoot John Wallace

5.12 •• 8

James Davison

4 .. 5 •• o

John Porter

5.. 8 •• o

Thomas Nilson

3.12 •• 0

John Lewis

4.11 •• 9

James & Robert Lewis

7 •• 8 •• 9

James Stoot

10. J2 •• o

William McMullon

7 •• 2 •• 5

Thomas Jeffress

4.18 •• o

Joseph Douglass

7 •• 4 •• o

David Jeffress Junr.

2 •• 6.10

William English

2.17 •• 5

Robt. Donaly

6.12 •• 4

Francis Nittleton

4 •• 2.10

Geo. Ewart for William Ewart;

Holding.

John Atkinson, 71 Acres at 15/-.

Do.

Corn Mill

10.16 •• 4

53 •• 5•• o 12 •• o•• 0 2lf.2 .10 •• 5.

Account of Meadow Set to the Tenants of Ahorey, £. s. d.

1.10 •• o

James Davison

1 Acre Meadow

John Lewis

½ Do.

15 •• o

Thomas Jeffress

15 •• o

Robt. Donaly

½ Do. ½ Do.

Jas. & Robt. Lewis

2½ Do.

3.15 •• O

Jas. Stoot

½ Do.

15 •• o

Fras. Ni ttleton

1

Do.

1.10 •• o

6½ Acres in all.

15 •• 0

9.15 •• 0.

I MONRAVERTY RENT ROLL, £

John Rich ey Willi am Fitsummons Fitzsimmons

Jas. Rusk

s. d.

12.1 6 •• o 7 •• o •• 0

4.17 •• 4

John Wall ace

7 •• o •• 0

James & George Mccan

7 •• 0 •• 0

Doron

4.11 .• 0

Willi am Wall ace

7 •• O •• o

James McCoo

3.17 .. 0

John Marr in

1.16 .• 0

Turf Bog set in Do.

55.1 7 •• 4.

F.dwd.

Sketch of Presbyterianism in Mourne

as P.Y.Bctlv

b y T"'le f r o"l'L..c. sP12lJ._uc1mnhl e t i n t h e ea r 18 9h I o~ nf Si gned William Moore.

-=

The b ron

of Mourne and t h e Parish of Kilk e e l are

co-e te aiv e.

The ne e 1 i Pr uo si t i on of this district of County

Down pcc ounts fo r t h is anoma lo us ar rangement, f or the s e a on one si de 2nd t he gr 2.nd r ange of t h e Mour ne mount i ns on the ot her c o ule t e y shu t it in and f or m it nat ur l ly int o a, di s ti nct Nature h a d t h eref ore done f or it ,hat the

separ at e r eg ion.

poli t ic 2.l di vi s i on s of I re and afterward s a cc om"9l i shed ,,;rhen t h is distric t

a s dign i f ied :ri t h t he name of "Ki ngdom".

The

ncient name of Mourne was Bairche or Boirch e, a.nd t h e

eul· hi s to r y of Ir eland makes fre quent mention of t h e King of B Boirchend

descr i bes t h e Y!lount a i ns a s t he peaks of Bo irche .

In

he Book o ofo rights R · h ts are recited t h e sever al s t i pend s ua i d by t he Kings

o

U Uldaht o those ""Jri nces who ,; ere . s ub,i ect to them, a nd

among th ese a re mentioned 3 steeds, 3 aant l es, 3 horns, a nd 3 hounds t o t he Kin

0

of Bo irche .

Aver

n a tur a l deriva tion for t h e name Mourne •as f ound in

I i Ph

or d s meaning the gre at ridge and s u~p ose ~ t o refe r to

the r,oun a i n r an e . y

i v en this derivation, but the disc ov ery of

,h~re h .v e

of

,.

he

Harris s in the history of Co . Do,~m, and

C

a

in the Libr ary of Trinity Colle ge McMahon

t ,.sirie t h is ouinion., for it tells that a clan of

McMahon t nh

1 in

Monaghan n

en

Cremorne, now a barony

in the Co.

r~ ~he dnpr e ssion s of their chief

emigr ted fro m Co. Monaghan and settling in Boirche gave

then

e of their old home to the new settleme nt.

means

h e narro

Kilkeel

church apnlicable to the parish which is a

long na.rro"' stripe of land betvrnen rwun t a in and sea, and certainly a

lie ble to t h e ua.ri sh church, the ruins of which

form so picturesque an object in the town of Kilkeel, and which stri k e every vi sito r as indic at ing a very nar~ow building. there

At ballagh

in +,he most no rthern -part of Mourne,

re ruins of

n old church bearing evidence of gre t

antiquity, and very probably the mos t ancient ecclesiastical ruin i

UJ st er.

In Lisna cree at the opuosite extr emity of

the narish is a very old, graveyard in which some disti ngui shed personages

ere buried, but of t h e Church in Mourne in those

early centuries very litt le is known . of

The Gra.nt of the lands

o rne to the .Newry Abbey in the year 1157 by McLoughin

King of Ire,~nd and the confirming of that grant by the English

ir.

he year 123?, identif ies the history of Mourne

of

e

In

he rebel 1 ion of 1641 sever al Protestants fro m _Newry and

yin the fortunes of

orne o

ich ie e 111 kno I

1.

hich it shared for many centuries.

the P protestant inha itants of Mourne

he Ballagh -~h or 'P as

e

Flf er

,h

ith that

ere massacred

t the northern extremity of the parish,. s the bloody-pass or the bloody-bridge.

t e q el1ing of that rebellion and restoring

co nty,

number of

presbyterianssettled in l ourne.

e from Bala Fala in the Isle of Man , the

The Moores ho c

ins, Gor ons, Russells McKibbins Nicholson

McBurneys , Stevenso ns ,

tc 1e l s , Davidson s sons , Mitchells

a.nd many othe rs whos e

descendan ts a re stil l in Mourne, were among those earli es t set

a.s

He was never . marrie d , but his sister

r. Magee

the Rev . ho

The f i.. rst Pre.sbyte rian :Minister in Mourne

ers .

ith him . as marri e d to Mr. Nicholso n and their

ive

great- great - r 2ndch i ld is still living.

His residenc e ~a s

.,

He is s a id to· b e one of the riinis ters

lane . at Drummond,na.ne

confined in C rlingford Castle, and his ueonle f re que ntly over on the .S bbath that they mi ght hear him and

crosee

other minister s· pr ea ch.

He was buried in a portion of ground

is now a small grove,ne arly opuosite th e National

here there

Schoolhou se in Dunraven (Dunavan) 1 a,bout a quarter of a mile In those early days there were t wo building s

k eel. from Kilkeel in

hi ch the

inister of Mourne conducted Divine Service.

One

as in Derryogu e on the ro ad from Kilkeel to Greencas tle 0

~

oore Lodge

oeite

- house bog. meeting

and the. ul a ce is still call ed the The old walls

ere cleared away by Joseph

Hann , bout 80 years since, as they obstructe d him in his f

O"Oeratio ne .

The sl a.tes of the roof have a lso been

n

skullse and other b ones.

C

eh in

The other pl a.ce of Worship -

he townland of Moneydarra ghbeg , the found a tions

of ~bicb

ere erased about 40 yeRrs ag o, and are well remem bered

bY many of the ueo~le in the locali ty.

No bones have ever been

iscove red or anythi ng leadin g to the conclu sion that a buryin gReligi ous place had been attach ed to this plac e of Worship .

81so been conduc ted for a while by Presby terian

service s ha

Yi is ers at the great

e ss forth .

In those days Presby terians · had~

ifficu lty in ~rocur ing desira ble sites, and still greate r The

difficu lty in erecti ng buildi ngs for the worshi p of God .

as ordain ed minist er of Mourne by the Walla ce

Rev . Char es

Presby terians of Do'wn on the 21st .July, 1696.

hose brothe r was then the -oropri etor of

to Miss Hunter

Mourn e Park, Attica l

Ballyrogan

He was marrie d

and other ~roP,er ty .

the minist ry of Mr . Wallac e a new -olace of

During

orship was erecte d

op-ooshite the Roman Cathol ic Chapel (prese nt) Ballym ageoug an

he

i

er1·8te ly behind .John Cull's house, a short distance off He reside d for many ead n road from Kilkee l to Newry .

an an, yro years in Ballyrog

8

.nd a small hi lJ on the road where he

lived is still called the Minist er 's brae; he afterw ards lived ceed on the 12th .July , 1?36, after h. ageoug hW Walladi Ballym of 40

ears.

He was a good ma.n, and desire d to be

b~ried under the pulpit from which during so long a minist ry

he bad pre ched to the people of Mourne . ldin

ia 1

in

ich they

here still .

• ? fee

All the traces of the

orshi ped have been remove d, but his It is surrou nded bra wall about 5½ feet

long by 4 feet dde , the wal1 of John Cull' s house

forming one side

lH is er,

ec

01

it.

Mr• Robert Wallace

a son of this

e a resident in Newry and in the year

1757 Sundial"l, ma de by Adams of London ,to the Mourne ion ith this inscri ption: Con re "The Gift of Robert Wallace ce of Newry to the congrega.ti on of Mourne 1757. Rev .

presented

A.Keney - Minister." sun-di a

I n the .s ame year he presented a

made by the same maker to the congregation of Ne r.rry ,

and it is not a little remarkable that whi 1st there is not a trace of the buildings which were then in existence , those sun-dials are in as good order as they were 118 years since , the one standing in the grounds of the Presbyterian Church, Mourne, and the other in the grounds of the old Presbyterian Church, Highh Street, Nery .

A daughter of Mr. Wallace 1vas

1· nahatten, whose descendants rried to llr . William MMooreOf- Ballinahatten The Orrs of Benagh are a.lso descended from ere stil there.

0

· M Wallacee ministered in The 40 years durin g 1'!hi ch 1' r • a . for the Pres~yterian ,,nd p_ersecu t 10n Ko rne ere ties of trou b] e ,. tak e UTI the cause of William, C urchin Ire and . The first to the most steadfast in ~rose cuting to a

him.

1:'

P lnce

of OrPn~e, an

Of 1690, they wer e the first to revolution • ccessfu issue the and tho' each succeeding s !fer the new order of th ings, . d acknowledged the o reined during this uer10 OT rei . ns had rendered to the hich the Presbyter1a b a rvi cee d to disapuointment and e doome · · er in Ire en •.a; , they VT

,.

suffered gr evi ous pena lties f orth. e1r nonconf ormity. Besides these u ersecutions a nd disabil't• 1 ,1es from which they suff ered . .

• and great~ ret a rded t he ir Dr ogre ss, interna l dissensions had ,

sprung up a nd there prevail ed gre a t dif f erence of opinion with rega rd to t he l e ading do ctrines · reve a led i n the Holy

T 1ere

res.

as a vac a.ncy of 4 years and '7 months after

t e de a th of :Mr. Wallace and these were tro uble some times in

.

Yourne.

Among those

Congre a tion presbyter

ho ~r eached a s cand idates for the

a.s Mr. Richard Parichard

a licentiate of the

of Armagh, and a c all was given to hi m by the

congregation, but when delivering his tri al discourses he objected to certain doctrines of the Confession of Faith. After

considerable discussion the PresbyterY. brought the matter before No decisi on having been come to at the the synod in 1'739, when f k meeting that year, it again came ue ore In the .meantime his l icence as a preacher was _withdrawn. ters were likely to t ake ](r. Aprichard seeing the turn mat Some of the ithdre from the jurisdiction of the Court. were attached to Mr. et'! ere of the congregation of Mourne to which the Synod . ' decision the at nted dieap~oi 1.

Arprichard ..., P..nd r ted into a separate erec be to memoria.led they , e o ha 24th February, 1'741, the Rev. At ength on the The ' the Presbytery of Armagh.

1 oi-r1e.,1ned by seem to have been admirably he congregation

the Synod in 1'738.

Andrew Kennedy tr• of

ged f or beside s the call wh.ich he had alread y receive d on Mr K tbe orning of h is ordina tion • kenned ywas handed a bond . ' signe~ by 16 of the 1·e ading memb ers of the congre gation in

nich they bound t emselv es under a pena1ty of £1~0 to pay to hi .

ul

he

amoun t of sti -pend

romise d, a certain quanti ty of

oats a d as much more money as could be gott~n .

2

bon

There

as a lso

signed by each seat holder in which he promis ed to pay

yearly and every year .what was assess ed on him.

In t he ye ar

1751 _ the congre gation began t o make prepar ations for erectin g a new 1 ce of or ship in Ki lkeel on the site where the Presby terian stand s.

t:hurch no

'l'he congre gation was divide d into distric ts,

the and the sever al t amilie s seem t o have entere d hearti ly into The roof of the Old house at Ballym ageough was sold

projec t .

for £11.0 . 1ot. and the 1Je0Dle of Ba l l ymageough subscr ibed th 0th er e in those did as ng, i buildnew tne rds a to lH>er 1 y orship of God had been erected • the tor places here distri cts In 1757 a new subscr i ption list was . thers oref'a by their f ready to subscr ibe as at the opened and the people seemed as congre gation it is very the To the membe rs of first . &esia~ nts in -r,nose the ot .,.o compa re the names 1nteres """ .. e. ., inhabi tants, and when d1etr1 cte 1 tn 1,ne names or' tue presen t, consid ered they need value of money is ·b t d he differ ence in the which their father s contri u e

of the manner in Mr Kennedy reside d in a house

eh roe

ot be 1

1

th

House e bri.d e on the

l

d mounta in road•

one of his

1S 1.

- 8-

the

of Hillhall s m rrie d to the Re v. Mr. M Malcolm !El

her

I

l e om of ~ he v • Dr • Malcolm f

:'..!r .

~enne

0

e

as

t.

as

Newry a nd anothe r to the Rev .

n • Smart t Samuel The last marri. ge ·oer f ormed by , hat of Hr . George Lewis t o Mary Moore .

He died

r ove P"ber 2f t e r a ni nist r y of upwar ds of 40 ye2.rs , and

ried in t

e old c h urchyard in Kilke el.

The follo ving

inscri ption is on a ston e over his g r ave:" Her e lieth the b ody of Rev . Andrew Kennedy, 40 ye rs issentin ,- minister of "Mourne, who departed this life on 6th November, 1701 , ag ed 71 ye a rs . Als o the body Mary Kennedy , who de:parted this life on the of r s .

4 th J"anu· r y , l 701 , a g e d 50 Philip Crossle

Drumbanagher

CONGREGATION (F IRST )

S ee ms fi rs t to af te rw ar d s wi th D on ha ve be en c on ne ct ed ag hm or e. w it h

Ne wr y and

Mi n is te rs : Jo hn Lo ng Jo hn Jo hn st on C ha rl es He sl em Pi M ic h ae H len ry Jo hn Kn ox A le x. Pa tt er so n Jo hn B la ck J O bn Ir vi ne J . H en ry R .R . L in ds ay

16 -1 70 2) al so 1788 of D on ag hm or e .

07 -1 74 0 ) 17 4 0- 17 41 .

17 42 -1 78 9.

17 89 -1 79 4.

17 96 -1 80 5.

18 04 18 32 -1 83 5.

18 35 -1 83 9.

18 40 -1 8 86 .

DRUMBANAGHER SECESSION OR SECCND CONGREGA TION.

Seem s to have been form ed circ a 1809 uni ted wit h Fir st Drum bana gher in 190'3. .

It was

Minis ters : John Reed 180 9Rob ert Mc Clea n 1825 Joh n patt erso n, Ord aine d 21 Dec. 1852.

A.F . Ham ilton .

TYRONE'S DITCHES SECESSION CONGREGATION. Lis ts of Minis ters .

Sam uel Kin g ord aine d 24 July , 176 5, died 18 Dec .182 4.

Rob ert McMahon tl 26 Dec emb er, 182 0.

II Ale x. Ferg uso n 23 Mar eh, 185 3.

Geo rge Lav erty 187 0-19 19.

Died 24 Feb ruar y, 191 9.

T.J . Cou lter , 191 9.

Con greg atio n vac ant 1860 to 1869 .

U·n i t ed to Clar e 184 0-49 • Uni ted to Cla re 189 1-19 19.

The Rev . Sam uel Ki ng, abo ve, was Mode rato r of the Ant ibur ghe r Synod i n 179 4.

Bal lenn an Covena ntin g Con greg atio n was orga nize d 16 Jun e, 1820 out of members of ab~v e con greg atio n who obj ecte d in 1819 to new reg ulat ion s •

•