Deposition of Grace Smith

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Grace Smith the relict of Captain Robert Smith Late of the Ballinkennoge in the Kinges County sworne and examjned deposeth and sayth That since the beginning of the present Rebellion & by meanes thereof Her said husband & shee were forcibly by the Rebells deprived expelled robbed & dispoyled of their possession Rents and proffits of their howses landes and meanes & by haveing the same howses burned and wasted, and by of divers others of their meanes goods & Chattells Concisting of debts money Cattle Corne hay plate Ringes apparell, armes Amunition howsholdstuff Provision and other goodes and Chattles of the value & to their present losse of One thowsand one hundreth fiftie five powndes ster And besides shee is Like to bee deprived of & loose the future proffitts and rents of their her Landes & meanes worth twoe hundreth and seventie powndes per annum vntill a peace bring the same to their former value: And further saith That her said husband on the xxvijth of december 1641 Being at a Castle of Dalhonlo Inchloghcore standing at a logh called Loghcore in the County aforesaid Did with about thirty of his souldjers, sally out of the Castle aforesaid with an Intencion <A> to apprehend one Teige mcOwen Coghlan a notorious and dangerous Rebell; & to doe other necessary service: & but before her said husband and Company returned againe they were be sett and assaulted by the Company & souldiers of Art ô Molloy of the Raleene in the Countie aforesaid a notable Rebell, and his C and Colonell of that a great Regiment of souldjers which were thereabout about one thousand 5 or 600 in number or thereabouts as she verely beleeveth where after that the said Captain Smith her husband had entertained & endured a hott & sharpe fight with them for the space of an howre or thereabouts: & in that tyme hadd slaine some of the Rebells vpon the place, and o att the Length he being overchardged with their multituds was taken (and as she hath beene often told by divers of the Rebells & one Edward Roberts that escaped to the Castle by swyming to a Cott) the Rebells offered quarter to him the said Captain
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But hee as it seemeth being over inflamed with by their wickednes sajd vnto them what shall I take quarter from a company of Rogues: Wherevpon they then and there most barbarously killed him the said Captain Smith & cutt of his head: & slew alsoe the most of his men saveing the said Edward Roberts & twoe others which took twoe others as shee hath beene tould, had quarter and with losse of their armes gott from the Rebells: And quickly on & <B> after the same day the said one calling himself Art ô Mulloy the grand Rebell came to the Loghsyde: & there with a Lowd voice called on this deponent, and badd her deliuer vpp the Castle & Island vnto which she answered saying what shall I gett by that: Hee by Reply asked if it were not sufficient for her to save her liffe by it But she tould him she would not deliuer it vpp: And the said Art ô Mulloy & his Company came againe divers times afterwards & demanded the said Castle: But she still denyed to deliuer it vpp amongst the And that very night after her husband was slaine there came one to the Lough syde, whom (as she was very Credibly tould) was one John ô Carroll of Clonelisk in the kinges County esquire & with a lowd voice prayed this deponent to deliuer the said Castle & Island to him and not to the Mulloys. The which if she would doe then he would saffely Convoy her and all her Children from thence to Dublin. Soe as alsoe hee might haue all the goods & meanes in the Island: But she denied and vtterly rejected his request & offer: And the next day came one John White ofin the Kinges County gent came to [ ] to the lough side and called alowd to speake with this deponent: saying that he came & was sent from one Luke delahyde of Castletowne Magware Ballibritt in the Kinges Countie Esquire: with desire to her from the said Luke Delahide That shee wold deliver the said Island & Castle vnto him the said Sir Luke & hee would bee favourable to her: but shee alsoe denyed and rejected the same: & kept the Castle still But within a few dayes after the Lough being frozen over she earnestly desired her men
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men (for saffty of the Island the Castle & themselues to breake the Ice: But becawse at least 600 of the enemyes lay closse to the Lough, they refused for feare of the enimies shott Soe as at the length And during this frost the sayd Art ô <D> Mulloy desireing to speake with the deponent, shee (knowing her owne danger & willing to prevent it) (if she could) was att his instance willing to have the yce broken (as her servants did it) soe as to come and speake with him: Wherevpon shee (through the breach of the yce came in a cott & parljed with the said Art ô Mulloy nere the Loughs syde: whoe required her to give & surrender vnto him the Castle & Island saying that if she would soe doe, he would give her this quarter That shee shold have all hers and her childrens servants and people their wearing clothes: half of their provition: & half their howsholdstuff & that he would also saffely convey them all to the howse of one Mr John mcffarrell mcRann (being the deponents owne esteemed frend) v and one that came thither to take quarter for them) he the said Art ô Mulloy then giveing his hand and swearing to the said John mcffarrell mcRann that he would performe that quarter ye t this And depending that treatie one of the deponents servants came behynd her and tould her that the other Rebells were comeing over the yse on the other syde of the Lough: Wherevpon shee called to her said servant ( by name Ann McNemarrogh) whose husband was alsoe a souldjer to the said Capt Smith & as she was tould being offered quarter denyed to take any) but sayd he would dy with his Master) & then the deponent said vnto her in the Welsh tongue theis words Nan I see wee are not able to hould the Island, Therefore take theis keys (which she gave her) & goe to my chest, & take out all the gunpowder match bulletts and lead that there is, & cast it all into the Lough: & burne the baggs: but although the
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the said Ann, with all hast endeavowred to doe it fully yet she was taken soe short by some [ ] of the Rebells that were landed That she as she tould this deponen t c al Could not throw all yet by assistance threw th r e e the Lead & 2 baggs of powder into the lough & threw the rest of the powder & bullettes into a Gile fatt of smalle beare & burned the bags And then this deponent came back to the Castle out of the Cott, and fownd <E> there Landed Captain ffelim ô Mulloy: & Many other Rebells whom she entertained with discourse vntill her said Mayd servant hadd throwne all the beare powder and bulletts also into the Lowgh: And then the said Phelim ô Mulloy sent over his some of his men to fetch over with Cotts s om the rest of the Molloyes: Wherevpon there was brought over one Pawle ô Mulloy of Raleene aforesaid a fryer brother to the said Arte John ô Mulloy brother of the said Captain ffelim, Cosny Mulloy of Culley of Culley whose sonn as she thinketh is a Clarke in the kings bench office) Christopher Darcy whoe terms himself a Lieutenant Colonell, & the said John mcffarrell Donnell Raleighe ofin the County aforesaid gent: Brian ô Mulloy of the Cowghes in the same County gent, & the said Teige mcOwen Coghlan and one other Mulloy that is an ancient man & liveth nere Raleene aforesaid, whome all (with a number of other souldjers being landed) tooke an Inventary of [ al ] the deponents goods & comeing to a Chest where they found plate & other thinges <ff> the said Pawle ô Mulloy tooke vp some plate & said wee may thanck the ould Calliough for this whereat John ô Mulloy sayd It is an and od thing or wonder that the Callioughe goes [ ] noe whither but she carrieth warrs at her heeles: the word Calliough being often=tymes publiquely repeated amongst them And at the Length the said John Molloy entertaineing further discourse
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with this deponent, and shee demanding what whoe they ment th by that word Callioughe: He answered that the Clergie of Ireland hadd peticioned h and were resolved to vndoe the papists Religion & that that the Queens mother (whome they ment, by the word Calliough) had therefore prevailed & gotten vnto them (meaneing the Irish) the kings Commission, for their doeing what they did or to that effect, with many other words to that purpose, which words the said Pawle ô Mulloy the fryer seconded, and averred to bee true, And further saith That the Rebells (when they were about her trunck plate & the deponents husbands apparell went w ere fell to give one another evill words and were a falling out amongst themselues abo v about those goods And then the said John mcffarrell Whispering this deponent in the eare earnestly badd her come away to his howse with her Children: ffor (as she thincks) he hearing some of the rest muttering about the powder & amunition) was affrayed lest she might be presently questioned about it & soe receive some mischeeff. Wherevpon shee this deponent with her Children and servants for feare of present iminent danger came only suddenly away with the clothes on their backs only, & a few other clothes in a Cloackbagg and left all the rest of their apparell and goods & came to the howse of the said John mcffarrell where they stayed twoe dayes In which tyme the said John mcffarrell laboured the other Rebells that she & the rest might haue their promissed quarter. Wherevpon he was directed to fyn d send horses for the thinges promissed which he did & went along with them But when he came thither becawse the Rebells had by the thawing of the Ise or working of the water fouwnd the
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water to be black where the gunpowder was throwen in & plainly sawe that there the gunpowder & amunition was made away Then they were all soe inraged & exasperated with anger That they would neither send nor give her any thing att all: But contrarywise (as the [ ] said John ffarrell & his Company tould her) hadd taken an oath to mince the deponent to peeces: And with that Report the said John mcfarrell sayd to this deponent that he was not weary of her but her case was then soe that shee muste presently fly away for her liffe which she (althoughe great with child) did to the Byrr, on foote, wher And the next day after it was publiquely averred by at the Burr by the said John ô Mulloy of Lisseene <H> That the Rebells had taken an oath att Masse to mince the deponent of the to peeces for distroying the powder (if ever they could meet with her) And afterwards a servant of the said m m John mcffarells tould her att the Byrr That she was noe sooner comen from her Masters howse but that the Rebells (thither comen) searched in and about that howse in all places vntill it came to the strawe & hutches to haue found out and murthered her this deponent Since which tyme this deponent and her charge have Lived and beene releeved by the charity of the noble Lady Parsons & her [ ] sonn Mr William Parsons & one Mr Stockdale a worthy gent kept one of her this deponents children: Another honest gent by name Mr John Crewes keepeing three of her children vpon her bill to pay for them
<W A H B R A>
Grace Smith
Jur 25o ffebr: 1642
Will: Aldrich
Hen: Brereton
Joh Watson
1250

(endorsement on

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)