Ballyragget Castle, County Kilkenny
Ballyragget Castle is a rectangular keep, standing in the centre
of a rectangular court or baun. The court is surrounded b y a
15ft. high wall, the alure being 9ft. high and the w all being 4ft.
thick up to that height- There is a 6ft. crenellated and looped
parapet. Four round towers, one at each corner of the bawn, serve
as bartazans. The tow ers have an entrance from the alure and
are looped to com m and the outside of the walls. There are two
entrance gates, guarded by loops. The west gate is further protected b y being placed in a recess, flanked by looped side walls
and having a m ochicolation resting on corbels overhead. The east
gate is at present incom plete. The gates are so placed in the
w alls that they are in line with the corners of the keep diagonally
thereby standing centrally in the field of fire covered b y the em brasured
corner loops o f the keep.
The keep is five storied, the fourth storey being vaulted. The
ro o f is in perfect condition. The feature of the castle that is of
m ost interest to visitors is the look-out turret that rises above
the parapet in the north east corner of the keep. A t present it is
know n as the “wishing chair.” F orm erly it was known as “ M air-
gead’s Chair” because it was reputed to have been the favoured
w atch tow er and belvedere of M airgead N i Ghearoid— the builder
of the castle.
D uring the Penal Laws against Catholics the Catholic Butlers of
B allyragget allow ed the w atch tow er to be used as a look-out for
fear of “red-coats,” w hile Mass was being celebrated in the south
east tow er o f the bawn, and the congregation knelt outside around
the .tower.
A m oat form erly surrounded the bawn. Remains of the moat
m ay still be seen outside the north wall. The large room under
the attic-room w as the -state-room. It was the finest room in the
castle. It was renovated in 1591 and a stone mantle was placed
around the fire-place. The date of the renovation is carved on the
mantle together with the initials of the authoress of the renovation.
The initials are G.M., w hich denote Grissel or Granny M ountgarret,
w ife of Edmund 2nd V iscount M ountgarret, and daughter o f Fitzpatrick,
form erly Gillpatrick first Baron of U pper Ossory.
The castle was built about 1495 and, coinciding with the invention
of gunpowder, m ay be considered a late com er am ong K ilkenny’s
200 odd castles- The builder of the castle is given as M airgead
N i Ghearoid w ho is stated to have been a great builder of castles.
M A I RG EA D NI GHEAROID.
M airgead N i Ghearoid was daughter of G earoid M or, the Great
Earl o f Kildare, of whom K ing H enry VII. said: “ If all Ireland
cannot rule this m an than he shall rule all Ireland.” M airgead was
w ife of Pierce Rua, Earl of Ormond, w ho did his utmost, having the
sym pathetic ear of Cardinal W olsey to sabotage the pow er of his
father-in-law and later of his brother-in-law , Garret Og, w ho w ere
L ord Deputies of Ireland. Pierce Rua succeeded in having him self
appointed L ord Deputy, for a short time, but this only helped to
fan the fierce enm ity that existed betw een Geraldines and Butlers.
Stonyhurst says of M airgead:—
“ The Earl was of him self a plain sim ple gentleman and yet,
nevertheless, he bore out his charge of governm ent very w orthily
through the singular wisdom o f his w ife, a lady of such port that all the estates o f the realm crouched unto her, s o politick that
nothing was substantially debated without her advice. She was
m an-like and tall of stature . . . a sure friend, a bitter enem y, very
liberal and bountiful, hardly disliking where she fancied and not
easily fancying w here she disliked.”
In folklore she is pictured as frequently m aking w ar upon her
neighbours, riding to battle, at the head of her vassals, in richly
ornam ented trappings, and always com ing hom e victorious. Later
legend tried to explain her prow ess b y associating her with
witchcraft.
Her fighting qualities she inherited from her father the Great
Earl. In her rich trappings w e m ay see a reflection of her nephew,
Silken Thomas. And, perhaps, in the secondary position to w hich
she relegated her husband w e m ay >see something o f the superior
attitude that the Geraldines w ould like to have felt towards the
Orm ondes.
M airgead Ni Ghearoid, Countess of Orm onde, had the B allyragget
and Balleen portions of the Orm onde estates settled on her
second son, Richard, w ho was made first Viscount M ountgarret of
B allyragget Castle. “ M ountgarret” is explained as “M oat-G arret”
so that the title too com m em orates this M edieval M acha whose
favourite dw elling was Ballyragget Castle. In “m ount” and “m oat”
w e get a hint of the origins of stone castles.
The M ountgarrets of B allyragget seemed to inherit from M airgead
Ni Ghearoid the fiery independence of the Geraldines. The
stock accusation of the enem ies of the Geraldines, during the Tudor
cam paign to break the pow er of the Irish and A nglo-Irish chiefs,
was that they had broken the Statute of K ilkenny. The M ountgarrets
seem to have nearly always taken the Old Irish point of
view . D uring the nine years w ar of O’N eill and O ‘Donnell statistics
o f Co. K ilkenny’s “ rebel forces of foote and horse em ployed
in the rebellion. A pril 1599” are “ Viscount M ountgarret with his
brethern and follow ers, the O ‘Carrolls, 130 foote and 20 horse.”
Edmund, second Viscount M ountgarret died 1602. His sons had
been in open rebellion against Queen Elizabeth so that the castle
of Ballyragget was w arded to the Queen in 1600. The M ountgarrets
tried, unsuccessfully, to re-occu p y the castle w hich from this time until the restoration of Charles II. continued to be occupied by
the forces of England.
One of the three chief leaders o f the Munster rebels in the
rebellion of 1641 was Richard 3rd Viscount Mountgarret- Richard
M ountgarret opposed the spoliation of the Castle of Com er, occu pied
b y Richard Butler, and of the territory around the castle,
occupied by the O ‘Brennans. He acted as interpreter to the
Brennans and pleaded, in the English courts, the claim s of the
Brennar.’s to the title of their lands. These titles are confirm ed
but the Brennans w ere ejected and the plantation of Castlecom er
accom plished by the horse and foot of “ Black Tom The Tyrant,”
Earl of Strafford. R ichard’s first w ife was the daughter of Hugh
O’Neill. Earl of Tyrone. The follow ing incident further illustrates
the confidential relations that existed between the Mountgarrets,
the O ‘M oores of L eix and O ‘Neill. These three fam ilies form ed the
bridge between the Old Irish order in North and South and between
the Geraldine Confederations and the Confederation of
Kilkenny.
C A PT U RE OF THE E A R L OF ORMOND.
In 1600 Thomas Dubh. Earl of Ormond, nephew of Richard first
Viscount M ountgarret, was chief com m ander of the Queen’s forces
in Ireland. In the Spring of 1600 the Earls of Orm ond and Thom ond
set out from Lim erick, along the Suir, in pursuit of O ‘Neill, but
failing to contact him they came to Kilkenny where they stayed
during Easter. W hen the solemnities of Easter w ere over they
went to D ublin to w elcom e and pay their respects to the new
officers w ho had arrived in Irela n d : Lord M ountjoy, as Chief
Justice, and Sir G eorge Carew, as President of Munster. Then
the Earls returned to K ilkenny accom panied b y Carew.
Not long after this a day was appointed betw een Orm ond and.
Owny, son of R ory Og O ‘M ore to com e to a conference. Orm ond,
accom panied b y Carew and Thomond, and a num ber of men armed
with swords and pistols arrived from Kilkenny, on drays, at the
appointed m eeting place, Carnduff, now T oor Hill, at the Seven
Cross-roads between Castlecom er and Ballyragget. O ‘M ore arrived
accom panied by the Jesuit A rcher, to act as interpreter and a bod yguard
armed with scians and pikes. The negotiations ended in a
fracas in which Orm ond was wounded and captured, while
Thom ond and Carew fled to Kilkenny.
During his captivity, Orm ond was, at first, m oved each night
from one cabin to another in Leix, guarded by bonaghs or hired
soldiers, whom O ‘Neill had leR with O ‘More, when making his
circuit of Ireland, a few months previously. For greater safety ha
was then rem oved to Fitzpatrick’s castle at Gortnaclea from w hich
place Orm ond w rote to Carew suggesting the terms of his ransom.
Finally he was m oved to O ‘D em psey’s castle at Baltinglas and from here his ransom was effected by the paym ent of a goodly sum
to O ‘M ore and the giving of guarantees that no reprisals w ould be
visited on O ‘M ore, but the guarantees availed him little fo r in the
follow ing August, M ountjoy invaded O ‘M oore’s territory, slew
O ‘M oore, spoiled and burned the corn and houses and drove away
the cattle, sheep and goats.
The descendants of the bonaghs w ho captured and guarded
Orm ond are still to be found among the fam ilies of O ‘Neills and
M aguires that live at Sraid, form erly Sraid na n-Ultach, or “ Ulster
V illage” in the parish of Clogh.
Thomas Dubh was re-converted to the Catholic faith before his
death due, it is said, to the persuasion exerted by the Jesuit Archer»
during Orm ond’s im prisonment at Gortnaclea.
C O N F E D E R A T I O N OF K I L K E N N Y .
The Confederation of K ilkenny was the third of a series of con federations
that began in the Tudor period with the object of
staying the collapse of N orm an-Irish Ireland. The failure of the
Confederation of K ilkenny achieved the purpose of the Statute of
Kilkenny. N ext year, 1948, w ill conclude the third centenary of
Ireland’s first lim ited republic, w hich dissolved itself after signing
the Orm ond Peace in May, 1648. The Confederation of Kilkenny
was the im mediate outcom e or the Rebellion of 1641, in which, we
have seen, Richard Viscount M ountgarret took a leading part. He
was chosen in 1642 as President of the Suprem e Council of the
Confederation and in this capacity was President of Ireland from
1642 to 1648.
The Confederate W ar ended with the surrender of Galway, the
last Confederate stronghold, in 1652. In that year also M ountgarret
died. There was a price of £300 on his head, dead or alive. A,s
his friends w ere anxious to save his corpse from Crom wellian
mutilation the circum stances of his death and the place of his
burial have never been made known. During the palm y days of
his presidency he had erected to him self a tom b in St- Canice’s
Cathedral, Kilkenny, inscribed with the incom plete date 16——-»
The date is still incomplete.
M ountgarret’s estates had been m arked out for confiscation under
a scheme, outlined by the Earl of Cork, in 1642, for the extirpation
of the Catholic gentry of the South. Crom well enlarged on the
schem e to include Protestant loyalists, not excluding the Earl of
Orm ond. The castle and estates of Ballyragget w ere handed over
to Ponsonby, ancestor of the Earl ; of Bessborough. Ponsonby ex changed
with A xtell w ho was officer of the guard that supervised
the execution of K ing Charles I. W hile in Ballyragget castle, A xtell
entertained him self by hanging Catholics and Protestante Royalists,
using as a gallows a lime tree, that was still grow ing in the last
century, in the Fair Green of Ballyragget. A t the restoration of Charles II.. A xtell was him self hanged, drawn and quartered at
Tyburn-
Richard M ountgarret’s son, Edmund Rua, 4th Viscount M ountgarret,
also took an active part in the Confederation of Kilkenny.
He was living at Parksgrove in 1630 and died in 1679. He transferred
the B allyragget estates to his son, C olonel Ed. Butler w ho
was the first of the “ Catholic Butlers of Ballyragget.” The M ountgarret
branch o f the fam ily subsequently lived at B allyconra
House.
TORIES.
Follow ing the Crom wellian spoliations a num ber of the dispossessed
Irish went .‘underground” and sabotaged the property of
the Crom wellian planters. These saboteurs w ere called “tories”
w hich is an Irish term that prim arily means “pursuers.” The
Priest, the Tory, and the W olf w ere the three m ost hunted creatures
in Ireland in the century follow ing Crom well. M any of the tories
had to seek existence as highway men. M ost of them sought liberation
in the Jacobite m ovem ent. Dispossessed Jacobites, in turn,
went underground under the name of Raparees.
These m ovements are covered in North K ilkenny by the activities
of the “ Brennan Tories” and “ The K ellym ount Gang.” The 18th
century “ Freney the R obber” was an offshoot of the K ellym ount
Gang. The activities of these gangs w ere later enshrind in song
and story in particular in “ Brennan on the M oor” and the autobiography
“ Life and Adventures of Freney the R obber.” The
latter was used as a text book in the hedge schools of South
Kilkenny.
The Tories had their hide-outs in the hills and w oods adjoining
their form er properties. The T ory Brennans w ere Tall Jam es
Brennan and Little James Brennan from Croghtenclogh, and Patrick
Brennan from Killeshin, these districts being in the Slievem
argy boundary of Ui Duach. The Brennans had been dispossessed
from the Dinan Valley of Ui Duach b y both the Castlecom er
plantation and the Crom wellian plantations.
In June, 1683, Alexander M arshall of Lisburn and tw o other
merchants w ere riding from Ballinakill to K ilcullen along C rom w
ell’s road—near Ballyragget. They w ere overtaken at B allyragget
Heath— Ballym artin B og— by the three Brennans, w ell
m ounted and armed with pistols, swords and carbines. T hey
knocked the merchants off their horses, dragged them into the old
fort, and there robbed them o f goods and m oney to the value
o f £100.
The three Brennans becam e very wealthy, having accum ulated
upwards of £20,000 and seem to have had a w ay w ith jailers,
executioners and governm ent officials. They had been convicted
and brought to the gallow s for execution but they made their escape. Eventually Chief Justice Keating kept so close on their
heels that they resolved to get out of the country and they arrived
at Ringsend, the chief place of departure of vessels from Dublin.
T hey w ere traced to D ublin b y the trail of robberies that they left
in their wake but, in spite of K eating’s spies, they boarded the
D oggor boat w hile she was under sail, leaving their horses to be
brought after them, b y their boy, and m oney to be sent to London
b y their D ublin landlord, w ho denied all know ledge of them w hen
questioned.
A rrived in England, they w ere recognised in Chichester by M arshall,
w hom they had robbed at Ballyragget. They w ere arrested
and im prisoned. A t the lim e of their capture they w ore sw ords
and according to O rm ond “ w ere in greater splendour than any of
their race.”
H aving spent tw o days in Chester jail they made their escape.
The jailer, Richard W right, deposed, in October, 1683, that he had
received in custody, charged with the highw ay robbery of M arshall,
at Ballyragget: Tall James Brennan, Little James Brennan
and Patrick Brennan. He kept them in irons during the day and
took away their clothes w hen they retired at night- W hile he and
his w ife w ere having supper the Brennans being w ell ironed in
the hall. Tall James spoke in Irish to the other tw o where upon
L ittle James drew a knife and struck at his (W right’s) throat and
w ounded him in the arm as he tried to protect himself. Little
Jam es then stam ped upon him (W right) with his knees until he
prom ised to b e quiet. Patrick secured Mrs. W right and w ent upstairs
to the jailer’s closet where he provided him self with the
jailer’s keys and a sword. W ith the keys he loosed their fetters
and then taking the gate keys from the jailer’s pocket they p roceeded
to let themselves free. On their w ay to the m ain door they
assured the maid, M ary Swettenham, that they intended her no
harm, one of the three confirm ing the assurance with the solicitation:
“Sweetheart, you and I, it m ay be, m ay m eet again.” “ In
another country then,” said she.
The L ord Deputy, the Earl of Arran, doubted the jailer’s story
and suspected bribery. The hue and cry was raised but the B rennan’s
succeeded in making their w ay back to Ireland. In Septem ber,
1685, they broke into O rm ond’s Castle in Kilkenny, and rem
oved a considerable quantity of silver plate.
On the accession of James II. in 1685 the general outlook fo r
Ireland seemed brighter. The Brennans w ere pardoned and w ere
granted the use of their horses and their firearms, free o f arrest
or. condition that they return the Orm ond plate and that they
assist in quelling the activities of other Tories. The general lenien
cy, at this time, towards the Tories secured their affection for
the Jacobite cause and gave a new w ord to English politics w here
“ Tories” was first applied to the conservatives w ho did not w ish to have James II rem oved from the English throne because o f
his religion.
J A C O B I T E S
The fam ilies of the Purcells, Brennans and Butlers, in Ui Duach,
are listed among the Jacobites of Kilkenny county. Richard, 5th
Viscount M ountgarret and his brother, Colonel Edward Butler, are
prom inent am ong the Butlers.
Colonel Edward Butler acquired Ballyragget castle and estates
from his father w ho died in 1679. Colonel Edward was ancestor
of the “Butlers of Ballyragget.” In 1689 he raised a regim ent of
dragoons w hich he com m anded in the Jacobite army. A m ong his
officers w ere Lieutenant Sim on Cleere of D on ou gh m ore; Lieutenant
John Brennan of Loon, and Corporal Edward Purcell.
In 1691 Colonel Edward was captured by the W illiamites, outlawed,
and his estates declared forfeit, but in 1692 the outlaw ry
was reversed and Colonel Edward continued to occupy his estates.
The Purcells lost their estates. The part taken b y the Brennans
was used as a pretext to finally disallow their titles to their estates
and to refuse to grant the com pensation w illed to them b y Sir
Christopher W andesford before his death in 1640.
In 1813 the Butler estates of Ballyragget becam e the property
of the M cM urrough Kavanaghs of Borris, w ho w ere a branch of
the descendants of D erm ot M cM urrough and A rt M cM urrough
Kavanagh. The Kavanaghs w ere prom inent among the Jacobites
and W ild Geese. Colonel Charles Kavanagh and five other officers
of the Kavanaghs w ere in the arm y of James II. A fter the
W’ illiamite wars the younger fam ilies of the Kavanaghs of Borris
and Ballyleigh went to France and Germ any as soldiers of the
W ild Geese. Count Charles Kavanagh of Borris was a general in.
the Austrian Service and G overnor of Prague in 1766. Thomas
Kavanagh of Ballyragget and of Borris was an officer in the A u strian
service in the L ow Countries.
John Baptist Kavanagh, w ho was living in 1774, was enobled in
Bohem ia with the title of Baron of Ginditz.
WHITEBOYS.
Colonel Edward Butler died in 1691. L ike his predecessor,
M ountgarret, President of the Confederation of Kilkenny, his death
coincided with the collapse of the cause that he had championed.
His death, at this time, probably provided a w ay out from the
confiscation of his estates and secured them, in succession to his
sons, Edmund Butler, -who died 1696 and G eorge Butler w ho died
in 1752.
G eorge Butler financed the building of Butler H ouse in 1739. His
son. James Butler, predeceased him and lies buried with his w ife
within the old church at Donoughm ore, James Butler was father o f Robert Butler w ho died in London in 1783. Dr. James Butler,
A rchbishop of Cashel, who died in 1791, and G eorge Butler w ho
died at Staffordshire in 1813. Robert Butler occupied the B allyragget
estates until his death. A fter his death they w ere managed
b y his brothers, Dr. James Butler and Robert Butler. Robert was
the last of the Ballyragget Butlers and he transferred his estates to
his cousin, Thomas Kavanagh of Borris, who died in 1837.
R obert Butler built the old chapel of Ballyragget, the old
parochial house in 1750, and had just com pleted Ballyragget Lodge,
now the Convent, before his death in 1788. He is probably best
rem em bered as instigator of the A nti-W hiteboy League form ed
at Ballyragget.
The W hiteboys w ere an association of young farm ers w hose
original purpose was to fight against tithes and the exactions of
landlords such as enclosures and unfair rents. Robert Butler,
landlord of Ballyragget, exerted him self so much against them
that he had to fly to England. During his absence an Anti-W hiteb
oy League was form ed at Ballyragget. Ballyragget castle was at
this time occupied by the m ilitary w ho w ere stationed in the district
to deal with W hiteboy disturbances. The m em bers of the
league w ere supplied with arms b y the governm ent and were
given a m ilitary training by a local ex-soldier.
The league pursued the W hiteboys and spied on them and e x asperated
them to such an extent that they decided to burn B allyragget.
From D urrow to G ow ran and from Freshford to Callan
they assem bled at the Green of Rathbeagh at midnight en the 21st
February, 1775. They approached Ballyragget before dawn on the
m orning of the 22nd.
They num bered 300 horsem en and 200 foot, all dressed in white
and carrying a white bag attached to a pole. Some carried lighted
sods of turf.
The league assem bled at Butler House. The W hiteboys cam e
over the Nore bridge and proceeding through the Square, M oat
Street, The G reen and Patrick Street, took up positions opposite
Butler House. The W hiteboy captain challenged the league by
discharging a musket ball through a w indow of Butler House. The
league replied with musket slugs and balls, killing a num ber of
the W hiteboys, w ho retreated, leaving tw o of their dead on The
Square. The retreat of such a large num ber was most probably
effected by the castle military.
W hen George, the last of the Butlers of Ballyragget died in
1831, he left his estates to his cousin, Thomas M cM urrough K avanagh
of Borris. The last M cM urrough Kavanagh, b y name, to
occupy Ballyraget Lodge, was M ajor Arthur Thom as M cM urrough
Kavanagh. In 1945 he was listed in the genealogical office as “ The M urchadha” chief of the ancient clan of O’M urchadha.
M ajor Arthur’s daughter, Joan, m arried in 1936, Gerald, Marquess
of Kildare, thereby returning a Geraldine to this ancient seat that
had been founded b y the daughter o f the greatest o f the G eraldines.
The Marquess and M archioness continued the occupation of
Ballyragget Lodge until the outbreak o f the recent W orld War.
During their occupation the baun of the castle w as used to kennel
the hounds of the w ell known North Kilkenny Hunt.
Last year the castle and grounds and B allyragget Lodge w ere
disposed of to Mr. Carey w ho has brought new life to the baun
with his “ Castle H atchery.” Mr. Carey’s w ife is a Brennan so
that the historical focus is still being aligned. The tradition o f
the chieftainship of Ui Duach is further m aintained in “The
O’Brenan” of Eden Hall, Ballyragget.
The history of B allyragget is m ilestoned by: F irbolg Tullabarry,
G aelic Rathbeagh» Pagan Carnduff, Patrician Rosconnell and
Donoughm ore, the Danish connections of Low hill and Killm ainan,
the N orm an-Irish Castle, Butler House, Ballyconra, The Lodge,
C rcm w ell’s Road and place names ranging from Ferm oyle and
Ercndra na bhFian to Academ y Cross and the New Houses.
Irish Historic Houses 