Deposition of Dame Mary Browne

fol. 219r

1940
The Examinacion of Dame Mary Browne wyfe to Sir Silvester Browne late of ffoemull in the Barrony of Rathclyne in the County of Longford Barronett taken before mee Sir Gerrard Lowther knight the 9th day of December in the yeare of our Lord God in 1652 by vertue of the Commission of the right honorable the Comissioners of the Parliament of the Comonwealth of England for the Affairs of Ireland bearing date at Dublin the 2[7]th of November 1652 authorising mee and others or any one or more of vs (amongst other things) to take examinations of the massacres murders and Robberies which haue been [ ] committed vpon the English and protestants in Ireland &c.
The said Examinate being of the Age of fiftie yeares or neere thereabouts and being duly sworne vpon the holy Evangelists & examined deposeth & saith vpon her oath, That about the begining of May 1642 Captain Phelim mc ffergus ffarrall & one Garrott mc Teig ffarrall with some fortie or fiftie men in theire company came unto her house called ffoemull in the Barrony of Rathclyne <A> in the County of Longford about seaven of the Clocke in the morning and called for Sir Sylvester Browne the said Dame Maryes husband and being answered that hee was not at home they called for all such English men and woemen as were in the said house and being asked what they would doe with them they said they would bring them to Longford Towne before theire Collonells and being asked by what authority order they said, they had orders from the said Collonells and soe they forcibly carryed away with them Daniell Stibbs & William Steele (English men & protestants vntill they were forced for the safegard of theire Liues to goe to masse) being servants to the said dame Mary but by great begging and weeping of the said Dame Mary they left with her her waiting maide Ann Warrwicke and Susan Steele wyfe to the said William Steele & both english woemen, and carried the said men servants vnto a windmill on the Land of the said ffoemull and there hanged them vntill they were dead. And further saith That the day before there came vnto the said dame Mary one Ellinor Knogher of Cashellbegg parte of the Land of the said ffoemull in the said Barrony and County and told hee this examinate that there was

fol. 219v

1941
was one Henry Mead and his wyfe both english taken out of her house by a company o f Irish ffelowes and where they carried them shee knew not, and presently after those fellowes coming to the Gate of the said ffoemull this woeman observing them a coming came vnto the said Mary and cryed O Mistresse, I feare they haue killed Harry Meade for I see his Cloathes full of bloud vnder one of theire Armes whereat the said Mary sent in all hast into her servants to keepe the doores locked & that noone of them should stirr foorth then those fellowes about a dozen in number whose names or persons the said Dame Mary knoweth not came to the Gate of the said ffoemull & desired the Gate to be opened which shee refusing they came ouer the ffence or great ditch into the base Court whereby observing theire vehemency shee spake them the fairest that might bee, and tould them that Sir Silvester was not at home wherevpon they perceiuing the doores fast & that they could not gett in made the said dame Mary promise & giue them her hand to keepe the said English servants safe vntill the next day, which she did in hope by that time to gett some of the Country to releeue her and knowing none there soe well affected to the English as a Romish Preist one John o Moldune of the Parish of Cashell in the said Barrony sent her sonne & a horse by the breake of day where hee liued to bring him there being fowre or fiue mile from ffoemull whoe was not then att home nor in those parts of the Country But that euening when <f> those dozen fellowes went away one Patricke Cahill fferrall a Ploughman that serued the said dame Mary comeing home one of the servants of the house obserued a billhooke in his hand with bloud on it, and came & tould the said Mary of it, wherevpon shee asked him, how came that bloud on the billhooke {a}nd whether hee was amongst those people that murthered the said English that day att the said windmill, hee said noe, but that hee was cutting of hedging and that a hare started out and hee Killed it, but the said Mary suspecting hee was one of the said murtherers and least hee should stay in the house that night, and soe murther the English which were in the house tooke occasion to put him and one Brian ffarrall another plowman servant to the said Sir Silvester out of the way by sending them that very evening with a Lettre vnto Sir Silvester, whoe was then with his ffather Sir Richard Browne att Bellenamore not daring to expresse by Lettre to him what shee heard of the said murther but praying the said Sir Silvester to

fol. 220r

1942
to make all the hast hee could vpon sight thereof to come home; but they making more hast then the said Mary expected <G> they should came home that very night about midnight, and the next morning before shee was out of bedd by seaven of Clocke in the morning the said Captain ffelim mc ffergus and Garrott mc Teig with the said fortie or fiftie men in theire company came and did as aforesaid, before noone, and about two of the Clock Sir Silvester was come home and suspecting of those fellowes Patricke mc Cahil & Brian ffarrall aforesaid for that the night before they had not told him of any thing nor soe much as spoke to him asked them for what did they murther those english and his said servants and being answered by the said Patricke mc Cahill for noe other reason but that they were English men the said Sir Silvester drawing to his sword fell into a Passion and said You traiter[ous]y Rogues and soe following them out of doores they fledd, and neuer came at vs any more. And further saith not.
Mary Browne
Gerrard. Lowther

fol. 220v

1943

The Examinacion of
Dame Mary Browne
wyfe to Sir Silvester
Browne Barronett concerning
the hanging of Daniell
Stibbs William Steele
John Bessicke & his wiffe
& Henry Mead and his wyfe

Calloe

x