County Louth Archaeological and History Society

County Louth and the Jacobite War Author(s): J. G. Simms Reviewed work(s): Source: Journal of the County Louth Archaeological Society, Vol. 14, No. 3 (1959), pp. 141-147 Published by: County Louth Archaeological and History Society Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/27728969 . Accessed: 08/12/2011 10:13
Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

County Louth Archaeological and History Society is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Journal of the County Louth Archaeological Society.

http://www.jstor.org

THE THE
Vol. XIV.

JOURNAL OF COUNTY LOUTH SOCIETY

No.3 1959

ARCH^QLQGICAL

Count?
From

Hovitfi anb tf)e gacobtte

By J. G. Simms

Want

one aspect the Jacobite war was the concluding phase in a century-long The Cromwellian confiscation struggle for the land between Catholic and Protestant. had dispossessed Catholics east of the Shannon; after the restoration of Charles II Catholics had recovered a fraction of their losses, but much less than they had hoped for. Protestants resented the fact that Catholics had made any recoveries at all. The Restoration Act of Settlement the centre of controversy. became Catholics looked on the Act as the guarantee of their hoped for its repeal; most Protestants title deeds. The Jacobite war brought things to a head. Virtually all Catholics were on the side of James II and virtually all Protestants on the side of William. Both that the complete suppression of their opponents sides had come to the conclusion was essential to their own security. Each regarded the other as rebels, and the rebellion included the confiscation of land. penalties for unsuccessful Louth had, of course, been one of the counties of the Pale, and most of the land was owned by colonists of Norman or English stock. Before Cromwell over two-thirds of the county was owned by the older strata of colonists, who had remained Catholic. At the Restoration Catholics had recovered about a third of their former holding. But it was to a few of the more influential families that most of the restitution was made, and most of the smaller owners failed to recover their lands. The Restoration settlement gave back the broadest acres in the county to Sir John Bellew of Castle Lord Bellew of Duleek; town?later to Lord Carlingford, head of the Taafe family; to Lord Louth of the Plunkett family. The first two had nearly 6,000 plantation acres each, and Lord Louth had over 4,000 plantation acres ; the figures would have to be nearly doubled to get the equivalent in statute acres. Smaller, but quite estates were recovered by Patrick Bellew of Barmeath, Thomas Clinton substantial, of Clintonstown and Nicholas Gernon of Milltown there among others. Altogether were about twenty Catholic landowners, great and small, shown in the record at the In the place of dispossessed end of the Restoration settlement. landowners new owners had come in, such as Sir William who in place of a Tichborne, got Beauly
141

142

COUNTY

LOUTH

ARCHAEOLOGICAL

JOURNAL

Plunkett and built himself the very fine house we can still admire ; Henry Bellingham, later named Castlebellingham who got Gernonstown, ;Erasmus Smith, who endowed in Townley Protestant schools ; Henry Townley, whose family name is commemorated
Hall, among others. The largest Protestant landowner, however, was one whose

titles went back long before Oliver Cromwell to the sixteenth century and the dissolu tion of the monasteries ;he was Henry Moore, Earl of Drogheda. welcomed When James II came to Ireland in March, 1689 he was enthusiastically the chief hope by Catholics, not so much for his own sake as because he represented and religious and holding their lost lands and political they had of recovering Protestant cities of refuge in the Only in Derry and Enniskillen?the privileges. The first demand of Catholics north?was acknowledged. James resisted and William " " was for a Parliament and a new law to drive a coach and six through the Restora The Parliament met in May, 1689 and the Louth representa tion Act of Settlement. The county was represented tives in the House of Commons were now all Catholics. of who was Talbot Dundalk and William of Thomas Bellew Haggardstown, by Lord TyrconneLTs nephew. Hugh Gernon and John Babe sat for Ardee; Robert and for Dundalk; and John Dowdall Dermot Christopher Fitzlgnatius Peppard Bryan and Christopher and Henry Dowdall for Carlingford; Dermot FitzGeorge sat in of and Louth the Lords. The Act Lords Bellew House for Drogheda. Peppard of Settlement was repealed, and all those who had lost land since 1641 could now hope to get it back. An Act of Attainder was also passed, which attainted or outlawed

to King James unless they acknowledged some thousands of Protestants allegiance a to would and do their be If failed lands confiscated date. certain so, they by to Catholics. The list included the Earl of Drogheda, for distribution available and about sixty others from County Louth, SirWilliam Titchburn, Thomas Bellingham to conquer Ireland. most of whom were in England preparing to help William of this Patriot Parliament were counting their chickens too But the members could be effective only in the soon. The Acts passed by the Patriot Parliament were a Catholic of event dashed, first by the successful victory. hopes Jacobite in and the and of resistance Enniskillen, following year by the arrival of Derry at That the and his William Boyne. victory went to the heads ofWilliam's victory by and Protestant they confidently expected that all the land still in Catholic supporters now for distribution. available be ownership would at first thought the war was won. When he reached Finglas, William just north on to the uncondition surrender of Dublin, he issued a declaration Jacobites calling ally ;he made no promises about their lands. There were plenty of deserving supporters Irish land, and it was natural for whom William wished to reward with confiscated of taking away the estates of Jacobites whose support of him to see the advantage to take the appalling risk of coming over to himself James had forced William Ireland at a time when Holland was threatened by Louis XIV's army and his position Protestant followers also in England was threatened by the French navy. William's

COUNTY

LOUTH

AND

THE

JACOBITE

WAR

I43

saw no advantage in making any concession to Irish Catholics who had just repealed the Act of Settlement and passed the Act of Attainder. It made the Irish But the demand for unconditional surrender was a mistake. to hold out for better terms. They found a Catholics desperate and they determined leader in Patrick Sarsfield. William met with a serious reverse at Limerick, which he had to abandon in the late summer of 1690. The war went on for more than a year longer and Ginkel, William's Dutch general, was left in charge of operations. Ginkel's for unconditional instructions were to repair the damage done by the demand to terms in time to avoid an Irish surrender; he was to try to bring the Jacobites went on and Catholic intermediaries were used in campaign in 1691. Negotiations for the Catholic the bargaining; the terms offered were some form of toleration religion and the restoration of, at any rate, most of the lands owned by Catholics when the war began. One of the intermediaries was John Bellew, the eldest son of Sir Patrick Bellew of Barmeath. The father was with the Jacobite forces, but the son had remained at the in Dublin, William and his services put acknowledged an a to To in effort of Williamite settlement. the get government allay disposal authorities declared him an outlaw when he left for the suspicion the Williamite
Irish quarters. This stratagem wTas not successful, as the Jacobite authorities arrested

After the war John Bellew and kept him in prison till after the battle of Aughrim.1 The negotiations he got a royal pardon from William. did not succeed, partly because and partly because the terms offered Sarsfield took a tough line with the negotiators, were too vague and because Catholics were not convinced of the good faith ofWilliam's himself. supporters, though they were readier to believe inWilliam wTere taking action against the Jacobites and their Meanwhile the Williamites were over by in of under William's control. Estates taken Ireland the property parts
special commissioners; law courts were set up, assizes held, and juries returned long

Most of the supporters of King James who were to be outlawed. in April, 1691, shortly before military Louth outlawries seem to have been pronounced names and operations began again. The list for County Louth contained ninety-nine there were fifty for Drogheda, which was treated as a separate unit.2 The lists were compiled by Protestant juries in the absence of many of the Jacobites, and there are lists of Catholic some surprising omissions. For instance, they do not include Oliver, who became the eighth Lord Louth in 1689 after his father's death, though they do include his of brother Thomas, who was in France for his education. There is no mention Sir Patrick Bellew, but his second and third sons, Richard and Christopher, are listed; is not the eldest son, John, who was doing cloak and dagger work for the Williamites, there. The list begins with the names of Richard, Earl of Tyrconnell, Stickillin, and John, Lord Bellew of Duleek, Castletown, and his second son, Richard; Walter, his eldest son, who was also with the Jacobite army, is not included. There are a
i. Cal. S.P. dorn., Hibernica, 1693, p. No. 133. 22.

2. Analecta

144

COUNTY

LOUTH

ARCHAEOLOGICAL

JOURNAL

number of priests mentioned, There including Andrew Matthews, Abbot of Mellifont. an row of is Owens, tailor; Thomas Nugent, interesting shopkeepers?John Drogheda and James Bellew, baker; Martin Handcock, cooper; Patrick Mahan, bookseller; were but skinner. Very few of these outlaws landowners, they stood to lose any other or as leaseholds. houses, stock property they had, such When between the summer of 1691 set in nothing had come of the negotiations William fell and the Catholics, and another campaign became inevitable. Athlone at the end of June, and on July 12William's general, Ginkel, won a decisive military affair than the Boyne, and That was a far more bloodthirsty victory at Aughrim. and taken prisoner were the Irish losses were very heavy. Among those wounded soon the last hope of the Lord Bellew and his eldest son, Walter. Limerick was Irish, and a very forlorn hope at that. Their spirits were dejected, there was friction and much talk of a negotiated settlement. On with the French commanders 23rd September, spirit 1691, treaty talks began, in which Sarsfield was the moving on the Jacobite side. The Irish had not much to bargain with: one city with very little area to provide supplies or maintain cavalry. On the other hand, William was to move it most unwilling to keep his army for another winter in Ireland ;he wanted to Flanders, where his position was almost desperate. Ginkel was authorized to go a good way to meet the wishes of the Catholics, but he could not go so far as to offer them a complete indemnity or to promise official recognition for their church. There was hard bargaining before the Treaty of Limerick was signed on 3rd October, 1691. One of the hostages exchanged as a guarantee of good faith during the negotiations was Lord Louth. Part of the treaty provided that those of the Irish army who wished to accompany should supply Sarsfield to France should be allowed to do so, and that King William was much of carried without That the for their part treaty transport. through ships trouble, and those who went formed the nucleus of the celebrated Irish brigades in the service of France. They were allowed to go, but were treated as outlaws so far as treason lists were later any property Foreign they had in Ireland was concerned. from Louth?twenty in the few names drawn up, but they had comparatively were all there Not of in the list. and these nineteen list soldiers; Drogheda county of Armagh, several priests, including Dominick Maguire, Catholic Archbishop Irish address was given as Ardee ; many of the Drogheda names were those of a brother of Lord Louth, who The county list included Thomas Plunkett, merchants. transferred from France to Austria and became a captain of cuirassiers in the service of the Holy Roman Emperor; he was later allowed to come back to Ireland and spent his declining years at Louth Hall.1 The list also has several Dermots of Kilcurry and a couple of Taafes of Drumleck. were whose For those who wished to stay in Ireland, pardon and restoration of their estates, if they had any, were offered to those who were still holding out at the end of the war.
i. Louth MSS. NX.I.

COUNTY

LOUTH

AND

THE

JACOBITE

WAR

145

at an Those who had been killed or captured or had surrendered unconditionally and so were those who went to earlier stage were to have their estates confiscated, France. Most of the Irish at Limerick who had landed estates decided to stay in Ireland, take the benefit of the articles of the treaty and get back their estates. Tribunals were set up to hear their claims, of which over 1,200 altogether were heard and nearly all allowed. claims Twenty-one
twenty-one separate

from Louth
The

were
names

admitted.
included

These
several

did not
from the

correspond
same family,

to

estates.

or merchants. landed proprietors were and others who were leaseholders Among Lord Louth, Capt. Thomas Cashell of Cashellstown Sir Patrick Bellew of Barmeath, and John Babe of Darver, all of whom seem to have recovered their property without had more difficulty in getting his much trouble. Capt. Roger Bellew of Thomastown was in involved he Barton, who back; long legal proceedings with William property and tried to intimidate Bellew into giving him a had got hold of it in the meantime the Bellews seem to have persisted, and they long lease of it at a low rent. However, it to Thomas Tenison.1 still had rights in the property in 1736 when they conveyed In addition to the pardons that automatically went with a successful claim to the articles of Limerick, a number of special royal pardons were granted by King William at his discretion. The estates of Lord Bellew and Lord Carlingford were saved in After the first i^ord Bellew this way. The Bellew case was particularly complicated. were as at Aughrim, taken to England and his eldest son had been wounded they and so could the second son, was at Limerick, prisoners and died there. Richard, either stay in Ireland and be pardoned or go to France with Sarsfield and be treated as an outlaw. Actually, he went to France but claimed that he did so for the sake of his health, and not to fight, and that General Ginkel had told him that it would be all right. After his father and brother had died he claimed to be heir to the estate been given to Lord Sydney, while Richard Bellew which had, in the meantime, So he got a pass for himself himself was liable to the penalties of being an outlaw. and his footman to travel to Holland where he met General Ginkel who promised to intercede for him. He also enlisted the powerful help of the Duke of Shrewsbury. But the King was very reluctant to give him a pardon ; it seemed that Lord Sydney was afraid of his claiming ?3,000 back profits from the estate and he had to promise to let Sydney keep the money before his pardon went through. To make assurance doubly sure, he got his father's outlawry reversed by special warrant and ended up just before the lists by getting his own claim to the articles of Limerick recognized closed. It appears that he succeeded in doing all this while he was still a Catholic. against the Popery Bill on Early in Anne's reign he was to the fore in protesting behalf of himself and other Catholics.2 His protest failed, and by 1707 he had con Church and had taken his seat in the Irish House of Lords. formed to the Established
i. Louth 2. Cal. Arch S.P., ological dorn., 1697, V, 196. Journal, P- 61; B.M. Add.

MS.

37, 673,

f. 3.

146

COUNTY LOUTH ARCHAEOLOGICAL JOURNAL

Nicholas Taafe, the second Earl of Carlingford, was killed at the Boyne ;but his brother and heir, Francis, was high in the favour of the Holy Roman Emperor, William's chief ally. Francis was already a Count of the Holy Roman Empire and soon after he became a field marshal. William a lieutenant-general; gave special should be made to outlaw the dead brother Nicholas, that no attempt instructions or to interfere with the Taafe estate.1 Francis died in 1704 and the estate went to his nephew; when the nephew died in 1738 without children the earldom died out and to the to a Protestant relative and one-third two-thirds the lands were divided, Catholic Viscount, who sold his share to the Fitzmaurices. lands. The ten years after the war were filled with disputes about confiscated were openly hostile to the Treaty of Limerick, which was not confirmed Protestants and his form. William till 1697 and then in a truncated by the Irish Parliament to about of the confiscated lands Parliament dispose right quarrelled bitterly English them to be sold to help to pay for the in Ireland. The English Parliament wanted war and relieve the harassed tax-payer. William wanted to give them out as rewards seemed to be getting his way, and a to his friends and supporters. At first William
number of royal grants were made. In some parts of Ireland these were on a fantastic

scale?100,000 lady friend, the Countess of Orkney; plantation Earl of about as much to his young Dutch favourite, Keppel; 150,000 to Bentinck, were were loud called about what There Dutchman. another Portland, complaints " " In County Louth the royal grants were more of the King. the exorbitant grants modest. General Ginkel was given Lord Slane's estate, 40,000 acres in all, but most of it was in Meath, and the Louth portion was relatively small. Lord Sydney, one to William's whom William estate, liked, was first given Lord Bellew's was some to the heir he other be recovered by given likely to which had Lord Baker, estates, including Stickiliin, John belonged Tyrconnell. whose father had been Governor of Derry during the siege, was given the estate of and other lands. Nicholas Gernon?Militown of the few Englishmen but when that seemed to agree to an inquiry into the forced William In 1699 the English Commons In the following in had allotted. been lands Ireland the in which confiscated way an all his grants to Act of which cancelled him to forced agree year they Resumption one of which was John Baker's. The rest of the confiscated with a few exceptions, land was vested in a body of trustees to be sold towards the expenses of the war. was a humiliating demonstration of the power of the English The Act of Resumption treatment of an Irish question It was also a humiliating Commons over the Crown. the Irish Parliament?Protestant with without though it was. any consultation their pockets were also affected, as That offended the pride of Irish Protestants; was Sydney and some others had sold out when they saw how the political wind at what had their seemed and Irish Protestants very cheap grants bought blowing,
3. Annesley MSS., XX, ioi.

acres

COUNTY

LOUTH

AND

THE "

JACOBITE

WAR

147

rates. The Act made some provision for the Protestant purchasers," but they were out of pocket as the result of the resumption proceedings. still to be considerably One of those affected in this way was Sir Richard Levinge, who had bought Tyr connell's estate of Stickillin, which had been granted to Sydney.1 The trustees took three years over their work, from 1700 to 1703. Most of their time was taken up with hearing claims based on settlements made before the war began. Two of the Louth claims were successful :Patrick Gernon was able to save the otherwise have been forfeited because of the of Killincoole, which would same in of the his father, Hugh; way Nicholas Taafe saved the Stephenstown outlawry But the trustees estate which had been held by his outlawed father, Christopher. to When all the inquiries Clintonstown. of the claim Thomas Clinton, junior, rejected were complete and allowance had been made for all the exemptions?under the articles balance was put up to auction of Limerick special pardons and successful claims?the at Chichester House on College Green, the site of the present Bank of Ireland. Bidding was limited to Protestants. Only five estates in County Louth were auctioned: estate William one of the Revenue at Haggardstown, bought for Thomas KeigMley, William Barton and Anthony Lord Commissioners; Slane's, bought by John Graham, at Thomas Cheevers's Carnantown, bought by John Newton; Bury; Christopher and Sir William Thomas Robinson, Clinton's, bought by John Asgill Bellingham; and Nicholas D'Arcy's. Bidding at the auction was not keen. War had just broken out again with France and there was talk of a Jacobite restoration, when everything would be in the melting-pot again. A large number of estates remained unsold at the an omnibus bid for them was offered by an English finance end of the auction; name for of the Hollow Sword Blades. with the company making Corporation peculiar The D'Arcy estate of Stonetown was one of the estates knocked down to the Corpora tion. However, its Irish land speculation was not a success and a few years later it acres?was sold for ?360 to Richard sold out; Stonetown?over 1,000 plantation Sword a Hollow The and Blades company then plunged Tisdall, lawyer politician. Talbot's into South Sea finance and burst in the famous bubble. disastrously the complicated auction of 1703 concluded series of Chichester House In County Louth confiscation. it did not known as the Williamite transactions amount to very much?far less than in some other counties. The big estates, those of Lords Bellew, Carlingford and Louth, were protected by the articles or by special in these ways or by the admission Several other estates were also protected pardons. even more The The proportion of lands held by Catholics, which had been less the Jacobite war began, was still about a fifth when the auction But the finished. period of the Penal Laws was to follow, and life was to be very hard for landowning Catholics. A number of them changed their faith under the pressure. At the end of the penal period only one substantial estate in the county?Barmeath? of legal settlements. than a quarter when The Williamite seems to have been held by a Catholic. confiscation of land was only in for the defeat their Jacobite war ; the shadow of part of the price paid by Catholics over of most the that defeat spread century. eighteenth
i. An pp. 348-96. abstract of the conveyances is given in Irish Records Commissioners' Reports, 1821-5