(Tribe of Charles - aka The MacDonnells of Leinster)
When Calvach MacDonnell had moved to Leinster and taken service with Garret Mhór FitzGerald, 8th Earl of Kildare (ruled 1477-1513), the “Great Earl,” ally and kinsman of Henry VII of England, was perhaps the most powerful Irish leader since Brian Boru. Using skillful military tactics, careful alliances and clever marriages, “The Almost King” had built an empire based on his own rich fief of Kildare. Garret Mhór, his family often referred to by the Irish as “the Geraldines,” was elected Lord Deputy, or Justiciar, by the Irish Parliament in 1477 and confirmed by King Edward IV in 1478, a position which gave him control of the towns of “The Pale,” as well as much of the Irish countryside. The MacDonnell Gallóglaigh were recruited to contest Gaelic hegemony in Laois. After a campaign against the ÓDempseys and ÓMores, Giolla Patrick ÓMore and Brian ÓConnor surrendered to the Earl of Kildare in 1548, who thereafter had control of Laois.
Calvach MacDonnell died in 1435 and was succeeded by his son Eoin Carragh (John the scabbed). John was described by the analysts as “the best captayne of the English.” Shortly after Eoin Carragh arrived in Queens County, he began construction c. 1450 on a tower house in a forest near the River Barrow, on the site of a previous fort or castle, apparently using existing stone. It had walls eight feet, eight inches thick, with curious recesses, passages and a winding stone stair to the summit contained in them, as shown in the drawing below, published in the 1854 Journal of The Ulster Archaeological Society. The groined ceilings and finishing touches presented a striking contrast to other rude keeps to be seen in Ireland in the 15th Century, demonstrating the family’s achievement, as well as the patronage of the FitzGeralds. Tower houses were distinctive fortified stone dwellings built by the gentry between 1400 and 1650. Surrounded by a “bawn” (cattle fort - outer wall or fortified enclosure), they were square or rectangular in a style known as Irish Gothic and were commodious and ostentatious. Thick walls, machicolations, murder holes, arrow slits, and later, gun loops, provided defense. Eoin Carragh was killed in Offaly in 1466 and was followed by his son, Turlough Ogh (young Calvach or Charles) MacDonnell, 1st of Leinster, because Turlough Ogh was the first of the family born in Leinster. He was head of the Clan in the latter half of the 15th Century and so was progenitor of Sliocht Toirrdhealbhaigh (Tribe of Charles), who came to be known as The MacDonnells of Leinster.
Tighearna Coille,
diagram drawn by Sir Erasmus Burrowes, Bart.
Reproduced from the “Ulster Journal Of Archaeology,”
1854, Vol. II, p.24
Tighearna Coille
Stairs
Picture courtesy of P. J.
Goode
Sir Erasmus Burrowes, Bart., comprehensively
described and diagramed Tighearna Coille’s main
tower in an 1854 article in the Ulster Journal of
Archeology, which source was used by Sir Walter FitzGerald in a 1905 article written for the Co.
Kildare Archaeological Society, and which latter
article was kindly provided to this writer by the
society. The Manor House has an outside measurement
of 38 feet by 33 feet. The entrance is on the south
side and the doorway had a pointed arch, recessed in
the wall, permitting a “murder hole” above
from a recess on the second floor. To facilitate it,
a machicolation projected from the wall over the
entrance, half way up the outer wall, just below the
battlements. A second “murder hole” for the
protection of the inner door and staircase was
accessed from a niche on the first floor. The
staircase still ascends to the left of the main
entrance. A groove was cut into the stonework around
the doorway to accommodate a grate or outer iron
barred door. It was hung on stanchions on the right
side and was secured by chains which passed through
the lintel and left jamb and was fastened on the
inside. Several of these features were concealed by
repairs apparently made after 1854.
The circular staircase is on the
southwest corner, goes all the way to the
battlements, and is still in good order today. The
first floor was not vaulted, as is usually the case
but, above the second floor, the ceiling is vaulted
and groined from the four corners. Above this is
another floor and a loft.
Tighearna Coille’s
groined corbelled ceiling from below
No evidence of mortar appears in the
ceiling, which has survived falling stone
walls onto it,
as well as two crazy ÓDempseys jumping up
and down on it after 575 years.
During a 1903 storm, some masonry fell inward onto the groined stone third floor, including the chimney and the arch over the second floor window. Even so, this roof is still so strong that my hosts, Ronnie Mathews and P. J. Goode, jumped up and down on it to demonstrate its safety.
Most of the cut stonework of the larger windows had been looted by 1905 and Thomas Conroy, tenant on the farm at that time, said that a “Sheela-na-gig” or “Hag of the Castle” had originally been part of the missing jamb to the window on the second floor, had been taken out and built into the wall of one of Mr Conroy’s out-buildings by some past tenant, but was removed and destroyed on moral grounds in the 1950s. These images were common throughout Europe during the Middle Ages and similar in purpose to “gargoyles,” representing the superstitions of the age. They depicted evil conduct and were believed to attract evil to themselves, thereby protecting the tenants from harm. The present owner, Mr. Findlay, does not know what happened to it. This double round-headed window had been notable for its remaining ornamental carvings. The right jamb of another window on the second floor still existed and was ornamented on the outside with interlaced carvings. Two arrow slits which light the staircase had projecting sills which served as water drains. A third arrow slit was in the angle of the southeast corner. All the remaining windows, of varying size, were single lights and square headed.
There were wardrobes or cabinets placed on the second and third floors in the northeast corner. A dungeon was built near the southeast corner which measures 10 feet by 5 feet. It was built into the juncture between the wall and the groined ceiling on the third floor below, where the stonework was thickest. Known locally as “The Murtherin Hole,” its only entry was a 2 foot flue which descends from a window-niche in the floor over the vault. The cap stone, which was too heavy for the prisoner to lift, fit into a niche in the floor. It had no windows.
Originally, Tighearna Coille was held in fee from the FitzGerald earls of Kildare, and rents would have been paid to them, but to date, we have found no contemporary records of these arrangements. The earliest records we have are reported by Hercules H. G. MacDonnell in his 1892 work, and do not confirm the date of acquisition of the property. They show that the inquisitions of the deaths of Colla, 4th of Leinster, in 1573, and of Hugh Buidhe, 5th of Leinster, in 1619, bound them to pay to the crown a yearly rent of 12 Pounds, 9 Shillings, Six Pence and to maintain 12 gallóglaigh (for Tighearna Coille) for military service. They undoubtedly also maintained a band of more lightly armed soldiers, as well as a variety of other retainers. In return, they were empowered to hold there “a Court, Baron and Leet, as of the Manor of Tennekille, a weekly market, a fair for two days annually - viz., 21st and 22nd of September.” These privileges, together with their hereditary title as “Constables of Gallóglaigh” indicate their power and it is told that they were “very much dreaded” by their comparably unarmed neighbors.
The Barony of Portnahinch
(which means “The Fort Of
The River Meadows”)
takes its name from some
forgotten fort which stood
in the townland of that name
located where the church and
bridge remain today,
possibly on the site of
Tighearna Coille, from which
its stones may have been
re-used. Its
major significance may be
the fact that Tighearna
Coille was located nearby
for the same reason as the
old fort for which the
barony is named, to guard an
important river crossing.
The thirty-one townlands which made
up the Parish of
Coolebanchor (Tighearna
Coille Estate) constituted
less than half of the Barony
of Portnahinch and were
bordered on the north by the
River Barrow, which was also
the boundary of Co. Laois,
from its juncture with the
River Owenass, some ten
miles easterly to the
outskirts of present day
Port Arlington, where it
adjoined the Parish of Lea
(Castle), which made up the
eastern half of the Barony
of Portnahinch. The later
parish of "Eri" (Irry)
did not exist at that time.
Tighearna Coille’s western
boundary ran along the River Owenass from where it joined
the Barrow, southerly some
two and a half miles to its
juncture with the Blackwater
River. (We have identified 3
different Blackwater rivers
in Ireland, this one, one in
Tyrone, as well as one in
Cork.) It continued south
along that stream for almost
a mile. The southern
boundary of the Parish was
that portion of the border
of Portnahinch Barony west
of ÓKillean House, a
distance of about five
miles, all of which adjoined
the Barony of Maryborough
East. Altogether, the lands
of Tighearna Coille
constituted almost twenty
square miles of the finest
river-bottom land, well
watered, and suitable for
any use imaginable.
Two churches were located within the lands of Tighearna Coille. Killmongan (known now as “The Ivy Chapel”) being the older. It was Roman Catholic and would have furnished all the Spiritual needs of the MacDonnells until their forced conversion to Protestantism during the Cromwellian era. Six generations of The MacDonnells of Tighearna Coille are buried there, although no sign of the cemetery, much less individual gravestones, remain. Indeed, the chapel itself has been so overtaken by vegetation that it now resides within an almost impenetrable thicket, so dense that photographs are most difficult.
Portnahinch Church, Church of Ireland, replaced The Ivy Chapel. Located just south of the River Barrow at Portnahinch Bridge, it was less than half a mile from Tighearna Coille. Although probably built late in the 16th Century, the oldest remaining MacDonnell gravestones are dated February 1, 1780, September 11, 1811 and September 21, 1829, more than a hundred years after James, 7th of Leinster, lost Tighearna Coille for taking up the cause of The Irish Confederacy in 1641. One reason for the lack of earlier gravestones was the Gaelic custom of using grave slabs rather than vertical headstones. Due to the soft soil in this bottom land, most grave slabs have sunk and become covered with sod, while those which remain have been more exposed to wear from the weather and from being walked upon than a headstone would be, although they are not prone to falling or breaking, as are headstones.
When the titles and estates of the Geraldines were forfeited to the crown in the 1540s, it would appear that several of The Leinster MacDonnells lost their properties as well, including Tighearna Coille and Castlenoe. But the MacDonnells were much in demand, and soon found employment by the crown. According to The Four Masters, in 1557, Offaly was ravaged in another major conflict between the English and the native Irish. The ÓConnors were again evicted from Co. Laois by the lord justiciar and hostages taken from them, including ÓConnor Faly, his nephew Ross MacMurrough, Connell Ogh ÓMore and many others. They were all executed except ÓConnor and the Gael were unable to do anything to help them.
Three septs of MacDonnells were formed in Leinster, two of which were seated in Queens County (now Co. Laois), the third in the present barony of Talbotstown in County Wicklow and all of whom presumably were involved as gallóglaigh in the exciting events of the age. In February and March of 1562, following the surrender of the ÓMores and ÓDempseys in Laois, and the ÓConnors, ÓMulloys and ÓCarrolls in Offaly, grants were made by the crown in the conquered territories to those responsible for the military victory.
Calvach MacTurlough MacDonnell received Tighearna Coille and its surrounding 31 townlands, a huge estate of perhaps almost 20,000 acres. According to Sir Walter FitzGerald’s 1905 article published in the Journal of the Co. Kildare Archaeology Society, the townlands cited in the Queens County Chancery Inquisition that made up the MacDonnell of Tighearna Coille estate in the 16th Century were listed on the Ordnance Survey Maps, and HHG MacDonnell had been able to determine from existent records the acreage of 18 of the 31 townlands:
Acreage
998
116
175
391
599
393
493
154
1,316
974
647
629
795
625
468
1,527
141
250
Total Known Acres: 10,691
Names on the Ordnance Maps
Tinnakill
Ballycrossall
Caru, or
Curraghane
Portnahinch
Ballykillane
Clonterry
Lauragh
The
Dangans
Killnacash
Knightstown
or
Bailiuroddery
Coolnavarnogue
Coolaghy
Acragar
Strahard
“Clontygar,”
a part
of
Acragar
Derrygill
Derrycloney
Now
known
only as
the “Ivy
Chapel”
Ballycullenbeg
Derrycappa,
a part
of
Ballycullenbeg
Cloucosny
Derrydavy
Townlands
Tenekille,
and
Ballicrassell,
a parcel
thereof
Carryne,
alias Carhin
Derrechnanys,
alias
Derrechnan
Portnehynchh
Ballycale
Colbane
Ballicullane
Farrindonnaghfin
Clonterry,
alias
Genterry,
alias
Clonterse
Laragh
Dinganmore
and
Dinganbeg
Correngarrett
Killnekessagh
Ballenredderry
Killnefernock,
alias
Ballynefernoge
Cullaghy
Balleneglashe
Coolaghes,
alias
Ballyboggan
Ballyneboddagh
Aeregar, and
Straghard,
alias
Srahard, a
parcell
thereof
Clonvegare
Dirregill,
alias
Derrykill
Dereclony
Killmolgan,
alias
Killmongan
Ballecollyn,
and
Dirrecappie
Clonecossny
Derrydavie
Shanballymurtagh
The elder John Carragh MacDonnell’s brother had been Maolmuire of Rahin and Ballerranan. Maolmuire’s grandson, Captain Alexander MacDonnell (d. 1523), had been hereditary Constable of the gallóglaigh of Garret Ogh FitzGerald. Alexander had occupied a 13th Century castle at Ballerranan in County Wicklow used as “a defence post for the English settlements in the district” and was contemporary with Hugh Buidhe, 5th chief of the MacDonnells of Leinster. Alexander's son, Turlough Ogh, had been granted five townlands in Ballerranan in 1524 by Gerald, Earl of Kildare, at a rent of three marks forever. In the 1562 grant by the crown, he was granted Castlenoe and many adjacent townlands in the Barony of Slieve-maragy in Co. Laois, as well as Balteboye, near Ballymore-Eustace in Co. Wicklow.
The third MacDonnell listed in the 1578 directory of The Lord Deputy, Sir Henry Sidney, was Maolmuire (shown as Mulmurry) macEdmund MacDonnell of Rahin-Derry (perhaps Turlough "Mergagh" on the genealogical chart below). Rahin-Derry and its surroundings, formerly ÓMore possessions in the Barony of Ballyadams in southern Co. Laois, including Kilmorony, had been granted in 1562, apparently to the younger son of Edmund, a younger brother of Alexander of Ballerranan HHG MacDonnell tells us that the lands of Rahin and Derrie were 717 acres, shown on the Ordinance 6 inch Map No. 17 and were located about 5 miles S.W. of Maryborough (Now Port Laoise) and 10 miles S.W. of Tighearna Coille, which would place it in the vicinity of Castletown on the River Nore. In 1775, Constantine MacDaniel of Rahinduff, Gent., took the loyalty oath required of all Catholic landowners in Ireland. The Tullomoy Parish Tithe Applotments for 1828 show him as lessor of 14 properties. In 1892, there was a residence there called "Raheen House" on 201 acres, adjoining a R.C. Church and old graveyard. To their south were the remains of "Raheen-Donnell" and immediately to the north was Tinnekill House, at the time occupied by Mr. Lawlor, M.P.
The Four Masters tell us that these grants stipulated that the lands should be held by the male heirs by the service of one twentieth of a knight’s fee, at a rent of 2d. an acre for the first seven years, and 3d. per acre after that. The grantees were to maintain from nine to twelve gallóglaigh for service to the crown, were to attend all “risings out” or “hostings” with their servants and tenants fully armed and victualled for three days; were to give one plough day per annum for each plough on their lands, to do whatever work the Constable of Fort Maryborough might appoint; that they were to adopt the English language, dress, customs and law, to the reasonable extent that they could; they were to appear before the Constable or Sheriff on the 1st of September, annually, with all their men between the ages of sixteen and sixty who bore arms, to give their names and answer for their deeds during the year; they were to keep open all fords and preserve all castles, bridges, paved roads and causeways on their lands; they were to live on the premises and not allow coyn, livery or any other exactions to oppress their tenants; all women having dower rights or joint tenancy of the granted lands were to be bound by the same conditions, and should they remarry with an Irishman not amenable to English law, their rights were to cease; the grantees themselves were not to marry an Irishwoman living outside the Pale, unamenable to the law and, finally; the Lord Lieutenant had power to alter water-courses, and to take timber from the lands required for buildings in the County.
MacDonald Grave Slab, Portnahinch Graveyard, Co. Laois
The inscription reads:
Here Lieth ye body of Thomas Mcdonald
dept this Life Feb 1st, 1780, Age 17 yrs
My deer Frends when this you see
Remember death as well as me.
The last MacDonnell to occupy Tighearna Coille, by then a ruin, was reported by HHG MacDonnell to have been John MacDonald who occupied the ruins in the 18th Century and kept an armoury there for the manufacture of swords, according to Michael MacDonald of Brittas, Mountmellick, who said that John was his great-uncle.
Portnahinch Church from Portnahinch Bridge
Kilmongan
Church
(The Ivy
Chapel)
So
thickly
covered
with
vegetation
that the
lower
branches
are
without
leaves
River Barrow
at Portnahinch
Bridge
Looking eastward
across the lands of
Tighearna Coille
"The Murtherin Hole"
Tighearna Coille,
floorplans drawn by Sir Erasmus Burrowes,
Bart.
Reproduced from the “Ulster Journal
Of Archaeology,” 1854, Vol. II, p.35
Tighearna Coille (Forest Manor - Tinnakill), Portnahinch
Barony, Co. Laois
“Caput” of The MacDonnells Of Leinster for more than two hundred
years.
