Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="scolairebocht" data-source="post: 94554" data-attributes="member: 8">[MEDIA=youtube]Zn37hfXfim4[/MEDIA]These are some images of Multyfarnham Abbey in Co. Westmeath. Notice the reference to the burning of the Abbey in 1601 and at the end you can see that referenced in the stained glass window. In general terms Multyfarnham was burned down and ransacked repeatedly throughout the Reformation and Penal Laws, because it was a Catholic institution in a Protestant state, but the Irish friars and the local community always built it back up again. As such it is arguably unique in Ireland, with the possible exception of Ballintubber Abbey in Co. Mayo, as a continuously occupied Catholic Church since the 13th century, albeit sometimes the friars were nearby only, in Knightswood sometimes for example.Westmeath in the Nine Years WarHopefully readers are reasonably acquainted with the Nine Years War, which was the last desperate effort of particularly the Ulster Irish to stem off the Tudor conquest of Ireland. Under the leadership of Hugh O'Neill in Tyrone, and the great hero Red Hugh O'Donnell in Donegal/Tyrconnel, they were in fact quite successful against the English until a Spanish army landed in Kinsale in the extreme South of Ireland in 1601. Leaving their impregnable Ulster fastness to assist that army against the English there, and in which they were unsuccessful, was really the step that destroyed the momentum of that rebellion.In general terms, the deployment of the English army in Ireland in Co. Westmeath during the height of the 9 years war, roughly 1597-1602, consisted of Sir Francis Shane being deployed with about 100 infantry in the West of the County, with his fortress at Ballymore near Athlone and keeping an eye on Roscommon and East Galway, and the Baron of Delvin with 150 infantry and whatever cavalry he could levy among his wider family, at his fortress at Delvin and keeping an eye on Longford and South Cavan. (Sometimes you find other captains as well of course, like Theophilius Dillon who described himself as a friend of the Baron of Delvin, and in practice followed his direction, until the Baron was imprisoned in Dublin Castle at any rate.)To say these two captains did not get along would be the understatement of the century. Shane, a Gaelic Irishman, was a very committed Protestant, an early supporter of Trinity College for example, and it seems because of this hated the Baron of Delvin, who was a very sincere and committed Catholic. For example he is writing here to Cecil on the 8th of April 1600:To say 'curbed and yoked' is a bit ridiculous, what he actually means is that he had great influence on the local gentry all across Westmeath and going into the Pale as well. It seems, for example, that he converted the traveller and local squire Henry Piers to Catholicism, Piers saying in reference to him:Multyfarnham as an embarrassment for the EnglishBut specifically Shane hated Delvin's support for Multyfarnham Abbey, where the Franciscans were openly practicing their religion just on the outskirts of the Pale, as he states in the same letter:Not long afterwards Shane met personally the Queen in England and it seems it was under this influence that the Queen wrote back in June 1600 in strong terms to the Irish government demanding that they compel Thomas Jones, the Anglican Bishop of Meath, to crush Multyfarnham:The Attack on MultyfarnhamSo it seems for about two reasons, Shane moved to destroy Multyfarnham Abbey on the 1st of October 1601. Firstly because these people really did hate the Catholic faith, it was genuinely a really big aim of the colonial power in Ireland over these centuries, to destroy the Catholic faith in Ireland. But secondly I believe it was done to deliberately goad the Baron of Delvin. If they can provoke him into open rebellion because of this matter, then they can destroy him as well as the Abbey, which would remove such a well known Catholic champion in Ireland and of course could lead to the confiscation of his estates, some of which might not accidentally end up  in the hands of Shane!This then is the first reference we have to the attack on the Abbey: on the 20th of October 1601 the Anglican Bishop of Meath, Thomas Jones, reports back to London that he had instructed Shane to do just that and that it had now been carried out, as the Calendar of State Papers record:The interesting thing is that a later reference in the State papers confirms that when Shane, or his soldiers, were bringing his captured friars to Dublin, they were attacked by a troop of 'Delvin's people' who attempted to rescue the friars. So the trap was sprung to destroy Delvin and in way he walked into it. This is from a petition of Theophilius Dillon who complained that Francis Shane had written in a letter to England that he, Dillon, was a member of Delvin's troops when that attack occurred, Dillon here quotes Shane's letter:Also in a list of treason charges drawn up against the Baron of Delvin, we find:Fr John Lynch in his book in the 1660s describes this:What follows below is a fascinating, lively and detailed account by Fr Donagh Mooney OFM of this attack and the resulting battle, and some further notices of the Baron of Delvin including the letter he received from the Pope urging him to join with O'Neill at that time.by Brian Nugent</blockquote>

Name

Verification: Does Doxxie know his real father.

Latest Threads

Do you feel the change?
- Started by Anderson
- Today at 4:41 PM
- Replies: 1
Nationalist Politics
S
Baron of Delvin, newly identified as an unknown Irish harp/lute composer of c.1585
- Started by scolairebocht
- Today at 2:24 PM
- Replies: 1
Scholairebochts Blog.
Neo-Paganism & National Socialism
- Started by céline
- Today at 9:05 AM
- Replies: 0
Religion
J
New Irish discussion forum launched
- Started by Jay Homer Simpson
- Today at 8:52 AM
- Replies: 6
Public Chat and Announcements
S
Is the State trying to bankrupt the Irish Catholic Church?
- Started by scolairebocht
- Friday at 9:15 AM
- Replies: 4
Scholairebochts Blog.

Popular Threads

Ukraine.
- Started by Declan
- Feb 21, 2022
- Replies: 15K
World at War
US Politics.
- Started by jpc
- Nov 7, 2022
- Replies: 6K
USA
Mass Migration to Ireland & Europe
- Started by Anderson
- Feb 26, 2023
- Replies: 5K
Nationalist Politics
C
🦠 Covid 19 Vaccine Thread 💉
- Started by Charlene
- Sep 14, 2021
- Replies: 3K
Health
General Chat in The Marcus Lounge.
- Started by Declan
- Dec 30, 2024
- Replies: 3K
Public Chat and Announcements
The Climate Change scam
- Started by Anderson
- Jul 29, 2022
- Replies: 2K
Climate Change