Paulville, Co Carlow

not in Bence-Jones nor National Inventory 

Jimmy O’Toole, The Carlow Gentry: What will the neighbours say! Published by Jimmy O’Toole, Carlow, Ireland, 1993. Printed by Leinster Leader Ltd, Naas, Kildare. 

Chapter: Paul of Paulville 

p. 157. “The Penal Laws of the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries were an all-embracing body of repressive legislation, enacted after the Catholic rebellion a few years earlier, to protect the ruling Anglo-Irish, who were constantly fearful that a French army would land somewhere in Ireland in a backdoor bid to regain the British throne for the Catholic King James II, who took refuge in France following his defeat by William III… While religious in tone, the essential success of the Penal Laws was in the economic and political oppression of the native majority, and the protection of the minority ruling class.” 

“Deprived of the right to vote or to sit in Parliament, Catholic landowners who refused to conform to the Established Church, had to look around at election time for a candidate sympathetic to their plight. Accounts of the 1713 election in County carlow would suggest that they were not witout some influence, and the beneficiary in that election was Jeffrey Paul. It was an apparently unlikely alliance. Paul’s grandfather, Joshua Paul I of Paulsworth, County Durham, was an officer in Ireton’s dragoons during the Cromwellian invasion, and was rewarded with a grant of land at Ballyraggon, Co Kildare. Like other officers and soldiers, Paul would not have acquired a grant of land in County Carlow, one of four Irish counties reserved to reward Cromwellian backers in England, who had put up finance for the plantation in Ireland. Many of these were not interested in taking up their grants of land, enabling Joshua Paul and many others to buy these interests, which he did at Rathmore, Moyle and elsewhere. It was estimated that when the plantation of Ireland was over, Cromwell owed his soldiers £1.5 million, and a somewhat greater amount to his suppliers. 

Joshua Paul had three sons: Jeffrey I inherited Ballyraggon and was father of Jeffrey II who entered politics; William Paul, whose only son was killed in a duel, settled at Moyle, County Carlow; and Joshua Paul II, established the family seat at Rathmore. Both Jeffrey I and Joshua II forfeited land as a result of their support for King James II, but before the court of claims in 1700, Jeffrey Paul proved his claim onland at Castletown Park, Ballycarney, Kyleballyhue and Staplestown. Joshua Paul’s widow, Mehatable, was also successful in her claim on land at Slyguff, Rath and Kilcruit, Co Carlow. 

p. 158. In a three way contest in 1713, Sir Pierce Butler, a sitting MP, was returned, and the second seat was taken by Jeffrey Paul, who defeated Thomas Burdett, elected to parliament unopposed after the death in 1704 of sitting MP Sir Thomas Butler. Burdett of Garryhill Castle, a notorious bigot, and disliked by many of his fellow landlords, objected to the return of Jeffrey Paul, and petitioned to have him unseated on the groudns of “gross interference by papists during the election.” 

If the claims made by Burdett in his petition were true, the Catholic landowners behaved with total disregard for the Penal Laws and with considerable success. Unfortunately, from the point of view of historical research, the petition was never dealt with because Burdett was elected the same year for the Borough of Carlow, and he did not pursue his claim for the county seat. As a result, the validity of his allegations were never tested.” 

“In a written submission to the Committee of Privileges and Elections, Burdett claimed that freeholders, not entitled to vote, were given votes and that “he was duly elected by a considerable majority of the real and known freeholders of the county. Some Popish gentlemen of the county, Walter Bagenal, William Cooke, John Baggott, and several other Papists, without regard to the laws for preventing Papists breeding dissentions amongst Protestants at elections, have interfered in a zealous and most industrious manner, contrary to laws of the land and the rights of electinos.” He claimed the Catholic landowners campaigned on horseback, well-armed and in red coats with “several of their emissaries throught the field managing and seducing freeholders and by doing other illegal and unwarrantable acts to influence the elections against the petitioner in favour of Jeffrey Paul.” 

By 1800, less than five percent of the land of Ireland was owned by Catholics. Among the biggest landowners in Co Carlow were the Bagenals, Kavanaghs and Eustaces. A dilemma for Catholic families was that they had to divide their land equally among their sons, and if one son turned Protestant, he could inherit the entire estate. In some cases, a pretence of religious conformity was used, while others transferred their land to a Protestant relative. 

p. 159. Jeffrey Paul of Rathmore died in 1730, and was succeeded by his eldest surviving son, Christmas Paul, who built the family seat at Paulsville. He was returned as an MP for the City of Waterford. His eldest son, Joshua Paul, was created a baronet of Ireland in 1794, and when his son, Joshua Christmas Paul (1773-1842), the second baronet, died without an heir, the family name became extinct in County carlow. He left his estate to his nephew, Sir Robert J. Paul, who lived at Ballyglan, Co Waterford. The family had 1,400 acres in Co Carlow and 2900 in Wicklow…. P. 160. The property was eventually purchased from the Paul esate under the Wyndham Land Act of 1903. …