Deposition of James Benn

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James Benn late of the Citty of Kilkenny shoomaker sworne and examined deposeth and sayth: That since the begining of the present Rebellion That is to say about the xvth of december 1641 Hee this deponent at Kilkenny aforesaid was depriued robbed or otherwise dispoyled of Lether, howshold stuffe and other things worth thirty powndes By one Mc Codey <A> a Captain Comander of some Rebells whoe that day that came into the said Cittie & one Bourk: & other the complicies or souldjers of or with the said Mc Codey: whose names hee cannot remember: which said Rebells then and there alsoe forcejbly robbed and pillaged all the protestantes in that part of the Citty or suburbs called the irish towne of their goodes: The gates of the Citty being at that [ towne ] time shutt & some others especially Edmund Roe Purcell merchant then <A> sherriff of the said Citty & son in law to Patrick Murphy now Maior of the same Cittie & his servants & others as well papistes inhabitantes of the same Citty as other divellish Rebells of the Cuntry that they hadd called to partake with them robbed & dispojled the rest of the protestantes of the said Citty: And further saith That one of the Rebellious cruell souldjers there in Kilkenny about Easter 1642 did in Kilkenny aforesaid in this deponentes owne sight, most barbarously and wickedly [ ] with a sharpe skeane riffle & ripp vpp the belly of a poore yong English woman (that fled thither from CastleComer for saffty) soe that her bell bowells tumbled out, [ ] & she carried them he in her armes and att the same tyme alsoe stabbed and wounded in the heades th & divers parts of their bodies the mother & brother of the said yong woman And the hadd killed them outright but that as this deponent is verely perswaded but that this deponent sent one Richard Lawlis a shoomaker whoe rescowed their lives: & carryed those twoe vizt the mother & sonn to one Tho: Archer then Maior of the towne Cittie; To whom complaint being made of the
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outrage: Hee soe farr sleighted it That he turnd them scornfully away: soe that that the villanous Rebells of the Citty vizt some men but most women and boyes threw stones and durt at them in the streetes & soe pursued and bett them (soe wounded) out of the towne: But as to the poore yong woman she fled away with her bowells in her armes out of the towne: & died that night vnder a hedge: And further saith that on the sunday in the morning next after that this depoent was soe robbed of his goodes hee this deponent went to the Church of Sct Kennys in Kilkenny to pray where he beheld and sawe one Mr Smith a protestant minister late of Ballinekill & one Mr Lemon a Scottish protestant and late a schoolmaster in Kilkenny: which Mr Smith was then and there stark naked, and the said Loman hadd only a paire a breeches on left, both being stript in the Church and standing trembleing at the Alter where the deponent neither being able to releeve nor helpe left them in that poore state predicament And the very same morning the deponent mett comeing out of that Church one Mr Jones late minister at Stoncarty who was stript of all his clothes saveing his breeches & had a great wownd in his shoulder given him by the Rebells: And further sayth That whilest this deponent remained in Kilkenny (which was from the begining of the Rebellion vntill about about the xijth day of the last month of June 1643) He this deponent observed & sawe that in the howses & shopps of Andrew <B> Murphy James Archdeacon Peirs Archer Robert Tobin & divers other Merchants within the said Cittie the protestant bybles & prayer books & other good English & protestant books were torne in peecs & vsed & imployed as wast paper to wrapp in sope startch Candles and other
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wares that they sould And further saith that although (after they were robbed) this deponent and some other English were suffered to stay att Kilkenny: yet the Rebells gaue them nothing that he knoweth of but they lived by their hard labours And when they hadd gotten any thing it was taken from them by Cesses presses & souldjers: And this deponent and the rest of the protestantes were from tyme to tyme threatened somtyme to be hanged & somtyme to be killd or murthered soe as they stood still in feare of their liues vntill they gott away And fu this deponent <C> hath beene credibly tould by some of the popish and Rebellious Citizens there, That the Romish titulary Bishop of Cashell, Turlogh oge o Neile brother to the divellish Rebell Sir Phelim ô Neile knighte & the popish Citizens of Kilkenny aforesaid peticioned to the or moved earnestly to the rest of the Counsell of Kilkenny that all the English protestantes there should be putt to death: wherevnto one Richard Lawlis an Alderman there in excuse of them answered and sayd, that the English were all Robbed before, and hee saw noe cawse that they should loose their liues. And at divers other tymes whenas it was pressed that the English should bee putt to death, the Lord Mountgarrett, and his sonn Mr Edmund Butler: and Mr Phillip Purcell by their strengths meanes & perswasions prevented it: they being (as this deponent beleeveth) Comanded by god almighty soe to doe. And further saith That the said Sir Phelim o Neile <D> about a month or six weeks since came to Kilkenny out of the north: where this deponent left him with his w Ladie & the other gran Rebellious Counsellors. And sajth alsoe that about a month since one Captaine Chambers being by the Rebells taken prisoner by the Rebells and promissed faire quarter was brought to Kilkenny: when and where the base Rebell Captain Robert Harpoole of Shrowlle in the Queens Countie haveing beggd leave to have
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thexecucion of him, cawsed his the said Harpooles owne man to hang him vpp vpon a gate, And before he was dead thexecutioner cutt of his head and lett his body fall to the grownd, then his privie members were cutt of, And the body stript nakd was carried & dragged away in to a ditch where it together with the head & members betwixt the leggs of the bodie were buried together as this deponent as credibly informed by one Brian mc Shane his prentice whome he sent purpossly to see how they vsed the said Chambers: Hee not dareing to goe himselfe
<W A E P>
signum [mark] predicti Jacobi Benn
Jur 3o July 1643
Will: Aldrich
Edw Pigott

14 Kilkenny 0
James Benn 3o July 1642
Intr
Hand w
Exr
162
15 dec
+

1019