his brother-in-law, Bryan O'Flaherty, of Lemonfield. About A. D. 1749, Edmund laidir died, in distressed circumstances, at his estate of Cloonadrawen, in the parish of Ballinakill, and was interred in a small chapel attached to the old church there. Towards the beginning of the present century, his bones were taken up and placed in a niche in the chapel wall, where they long remained objects of wonder, for their extraordinary size. The most distinguished of the descendants of Sir Murrough na d-tuadh, was colonel Morogh, also surnamed na d-tuadhd, or, as anglicised, na doe"; who took a determined part, on the side of the Irish, in the commotions of the seventeenth century, in the course of which he was strongly opposed to his noble kinsman, the Marquis of Clanricarde. His descendant in the fourth generation, Sir John O'Flaherty, of Lemonfield (whose mother was Jane, eldest daughter of Theobald, sixth Viscount Mayo), served with honour and applause as captain in the 65th regiment of foot". He was also deputy governor of the county of Galway, and died A. D. 1808, anno ætat. 82. In the seventeenth century, the entire territory of Iar-Connaught was confiscated, and such of the O'Flaherties as survived war and famine, were thrown "landless" on the world. The country was parcelled out; and, after the Restoration, was granted to several patenteesi. The principal of these were, the Earl of Clanricarde, Richard Martin "Lord Mayo" See Irish Minstrelsy, vol. i. is now possessed by the lineal representative and head of the family, Thomas Henry O'Flaherty, Esq. See ante, p. 60, note ". a Now the estate of Edmond (Gen. Table, II. No. 44). See Lodge's Peerage, f Gen. Table, II. No. 43. vol. iv., p. 246, Ed. 1789, for Sir John and his brothers, with their alliances. Also vol. iii. p. 273, for the daughter of Valentine Browne (brother of Col. John Browne), and Bridget Talbot (daughter of Col. James Talbot, and cousin of the Earl of Shrewsbury), viz., Letitia (cousin of Jane, mother of Sir John O'Flaherty), grandmother of Talbot O'Flaherty (Gen. Table, II. No. 42, et ante, p. 363). song, h He was one of the party which composed the forlorn hope at the taking of Martinique and Guadaloupe, and for his gallant conduct was rewarded with a company. In the commission he is styled "baronet." In a subsequent commission of the peace, 15th January, 19 Geo. III., he is styled "knight;" but neither he nor his successor seems to have cared much about either title. See ante, p. 307, par. 10, where it appears that Queen Elizabeth intended to create their direct ancestor, Morrough na d-tuadh, a peer of Ireland. i See Abstracts of the Grants passed under the Acts of Settlement and Explanation, attached to the Fifteenth Report of the Commissioners on the Public Records of Ireland, vol. iii. fo. Lond. 1825. The Editor having first suggested the printing of those Abstracts as an Appendix to the Report referred to, he takes this opportunity of mentioning, as a literary She was the "pearla an chúil oir", the pearl of the golden locks, of Carolan's well-known Irish IRISH ARCH. SOC. 15. 3 H Martin of Dangan; John Browne, ancestor of the Marquis of Sligo; the Archbishop of Tuam, in trust for the see; Doctor Seele, Provost of Trinity College, Dublin, in trust for the College; Sir Thomas Meredith, one of Cromwell's Privy Council in Ireland; Sir George Bingham of Castlebar; Colonel John Whaley, one of the 49 officers; Edward Geoghegan, a "transplanter;" several descendants of the wealthy burghers of Galway, and others. One of the most extensive of these grantees was Richard Martin, Esq., a "rank papist;" but, so far as the acquisition of property was concerned, one of the most remarkable men of his time. After the abdication of James II., he joined, or rather was obliged to join, the forlorn hope called the Irish army of that prince. He was appointed a captain of foot, and having been "commanded towards Dublin," for active service, he "made his will." The original, in his handwriting, and dated 5th May, 1689, is now before me; but although sufficiently curious in itself, I can here only glance at its contents. After devising his estates in the "baronyes of Muckulin, Ballynehinch, and Ross, in Ire-Connaught," and his lands in other parts of the counties of Galway, Roscommon, and Mayo, to his sons, Robert and Anthony, and providing for his six daughters, it proceeds: "I doe bequeath to the ffryers of St. Ffrancis abbey in Gallway, five pounds sterling, to be paid them, in order to oblige them to pray for me continually in that church. And I doe recomend to my wife to erect some parte of our chappell in the said abbey, and to leave some monument behind us in the said chappell, which will verry much helpe the remembering us in their prayers. I leave forty shillings to the anecdote, a difficulty which he had to remove, before the proposition was carried into effect. This arose from an apprehension under which some of the Commissioners laboured, that the publication of the Abstracts in question, might cause the descendants of the deprived Irish, to seek for a restitution of their ancient estates; and which caused the suggestion to be at first rejected But after adducing reasons to shew the absurdity of such an apprehension, the project was at length adopted; and that valuable body of information has been added to the other published materials for Irish history. But another class of recorded evidence, of a much more curious nature than the foregoing, still remains for publication; namely, the Depositions connected with the rebellion of 1641, which are preserved in the MS. library of Trinity College, Dublin. After a close inspection of most of those documents, the fryers Editor became fully convinced that, without their aid, the transactions of the seventeenth century, which are among the most momentous in Irish history, can never be adequately pourtrayed by the historian. It is reasonable to suppose that, during the period to which these Depositions relate, and before the political feelings and religious prejudices of the times had entirely subsided, prudence might have prevented their contents from being generally laid before the public. But now, after a lapse of more than two centuries, when such causes no longer exist, no good argument can be advanced against the publication of the entire, except, perhaps, the argumentum ad rem, for the expense would undoubtedly be considerable. Leaving it, however, in the hands of those competent to obviate that difficulty, it is to be hoped that, sooner or later, those curious documents may be given to the world. fryers of Ross abbey, the like sume to the abbey of Kinalehen, and the like sume to the Dominicans and Augustinians in Galway. I bequeath to my parish priest forty shillings, to father Bietagh soe much, and father Teige soe much. I desire my wife be kind to the poore of this country. The rest I leave to God. "RICHARD MARTIN." The testator lived upwards of thirty years after the date of this will. On the defeat of James II., he submitted to King William's government, and obtained a free and general pardon. He then petitioned that King, setting forth, that he, the petitioner, 'is seized of several thousands of acres of coarse mountain lands, in the remotest part of the county Galway called Ere-Connaught, beyond Galway in the kingdom of Ireland; which with great care, pains, and industry he acquired under the Acts of Settlement and Explanation. That the said lands are now in a manner wholly waste, and that he cannot procure tenants to live on them without great encouragement. That petitioner is so sensible of your Majesty's grace and favour, that he is resolved to lay out all he is worth, or that he can on his credit raise, to improve the said lands, and hopes that his example will induce others to do the same. That your petitioner designs building a town, in a place called Clare, where there are two fairs kept yearly, by prescription, and to give all encouragement imaginable to all tradesmen and handycraftsmen to settle and plant there, and hopes that if the said lands were erected into a manner [manor], he should much sooner effect his intention." This was accordingly granted by patent, dated 5th July, A. D. 1698, by which, it is said, the title of all his previous acquisitions was ratified; and that seems to have been the principal object in view, for the promised town was never built. In conclusion, it may be observed, that although Iar-Connaught, which equals in size some of our Irish counties, was wrested from the O'Flaherties, and transferred to new masters in the seventeenth century, it remains to this day, with all its natural advantages, one of the least improved, and least productive portions of the same extent in Ireland. Hence the poet has sarcastically pointed to "The houseless wilds of Connamara." III. As the present volume of the publications of the Irish Archæological Society has commenced with Roderic O'Flaherty's treatise on West or h-Iar-Connaught, it will conclude with some smaller treatises or essays by him, on historical and antiquarian subjects, not hitherto published; having prefixed a few notices of the author and his works, not given by former investigators: 3 H2 "The "The kingdom cannot too much express its obligations to Mr. Roderic O'Flaherty." C. O'CONOR, Dissert. Sect. viii. By the Indenture of Composition for Iar-Connaught, entered into with Queen Elizabeth, A. D., 1585k, it appears, that our author's grandfather, Rory O'Flaherty, of Moycullen', was one of the principal contracting parties therein; and that it provided for his better mayntenance of livinge, and in respect of his good and civil bringinge up in England", he should have letters pattentes of the castle and house of Moycullen, and all other his lands in Gnobegge". He was succeeded by his eldest son, Hugh O'Flaherty, who took to wife Elizabeth Darcy, of the family of the celebrated lawyer of that name, for whom see Harris's Ware, vol. ii. p. 121. This Hugh was the last chief of his race. He resided in the castle of Moyculleno, and died 20th October, 1631, leaving our author, then an infant of two years, his only son and heir, as appears by an Inquisitio post mortem, still remaining on record. At this period, Galway, our author's birth-place, had within its walls a famous school, to which students resorted from all parts of Ireland'. This establishment was conducted by Alexander Lynch, one of the ancient natives of the town, and a man of considerable * See ante, p. 309, where, in note, for Moycullen read Gnobeg. Gen. Table, II. No. 35. in Part of the policy of Queen Elizabeth's government in Ireland, was to induce the Irish chiefs and others of rank, to send their children to be educated in England. "Quant aux Irlandais de race, l'action du governement sur eux se bornait, en temps de paix, à des tentatives pour attirer en Angleterre les chefs et les princes, qui étaient en grand nombre, et pour obtenir que leurs fils fussent mis sous la garde et élevés dans l'hôtel du roi.”—Thierry, Histoire de la Conquete de l'Angleterre par les Normans. Conclusion, sec. iv. But this policy not succeeding generally, King James I. improved on the plan, by having a clause inserted in all grants of wardship, that the wards should be "maintained and educated in the English religion and habits, in Trinity College, Dublin." See the patent rolls of that king, passim. n Ante, p. 315. By inquisition taken 16th Nov., 1605, it was found that he died 15th Nov., 1599, seized of the castle of Moycullen, and various lands in Gnobeg, which he held in capite, by military service; and that Hugh O'Flaherty was his son and heir. Orig. Inq. Scac. "See ante, p. 55, note k. P Rolls Office, Dublin, 6o Aug. An. 8 Car. I. It states the marriage settlement of Hugh, dated 10th July, 1626, in which Patrick Darcy, the lawyer, appears named as a trustee. 4 A writer in a late periodical, The Dublin Penny Journal, A. D. 1833, p. 326, giving an extract from the Regal Visitation of Ireland, A. D. 1615, see ante, p. 215, states, that the "schoolmaster named Lynch," mentioned in it, was Doctor John Lynch, author of Cambrensis Eversus. But that was a mistake, as appears by the following entry in the annals of the town: "A. D. 1608, at this period there was a famous school, containing 1200 scholars, kept in Galway by Alexander Lynch." For this entry, see Dutton's Stat. Survey, Co. Galway, p. 263, Dub. 1824. Doctor John Lynch was, how ever, as tradition tells us, the son and successor of that Alexander. That tradition the Editor had from his old friend John Lynch Alexander, mentioned in Hist. Galway, preface, p. ix., who was himself of the same branch of the Lynches; and died about fifteen years ago, aged upwards of eighty. considerable learning. He was succeeded by his son, Doctor John Lynch, afterwards a Roman Catholic bishop, and well known as the author of the celebrated work entitled Cambrensis Eversus. In this school our author was educated; and between him and Doctor Lynch, who was older by some years, an intimacy and friendship were formed, which ended only with their lives. The distinguished antiquary, Duald Mac Firbis, of Lecane, was the intimate friend of both; and this learned triumvirate had long resided together in Galway. It may be necessary to observe here, that during the first half of the seventeenth century, that town was the most distinguished place in Ireland, next to Dublin; which, in some respects, it surpassed, particularly in its commercial relations. Some have even gone so far as to assert, that if in the beginning, Galway had become the capital of Ireland, instead of Dublin, the country in general would at the present day be far more advanced than it is, in prosperity and improvement. In the ancient school and college of St. Nicholas there, many learned men were educated. Here, Mac Firbis, O'Flaherty, Lynch, Francis Browne, Patrick Darcy, the celebrated lawyer, Sir Richard Blake, Dr. Kirwan, R. C. bishop of Killala, Edmund de Burgo, Peter French, John O'Heyne, and other persons of distinction frequently assem bled. And here were planned and partly executed, some of those learned works which have ever since ranked among the most valuable on Irish history. Our author from his youth applied himself closely to the study of the history and antiquities of his native land; and under the guidance of his two more matured friends, Mac Firbis and Lynch, he made considerable progress. His first production was his Letter on the Chronology of Irish History, addressed to Doctor Lynch, whom he calls his most dear Lynch, "charissime Lyncæe." In this it appears, that a long literary correspondence had taken place between them on that subject; and that the chronological discrepancies between Irish writers, had given them both considerable trouble, "Plurimam molestiam in tua meaque mente pepererunt." Lynch requested our author to revise and correct the chronology from the ancient authorities, and the result appears partly in this letter; which is dated ex Armoricâ Galviensis, 18 Septembris Sabbato 4 Temporum 1665, but was first published with the Ogygia, in A. D. 1685. This letter appears to have been revised long after its date, for it contains an allusion to the murder of the author's intimate friend, "intimo nostro amico," paige, as it is called to this day. Near it, at Parke, the author resided at the time. His translator, Hely, has left the term unexplained; though he ought to have known that the Commentators on Cæsar derive Armorica from Armor (Irish, ap mup) on the sea." See Ogyg. p. 30. The Editor's copy of the Ogygia formerly belonged to Dr. Ledwich, who says in a MS. note in it, that "Armorica Galviensi" meant Tuam. But in that the Doctor was mistaken; for it means the north shore of the bay of Galway, i. e. cor |