Examination of William Hibard

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The Examination of William Hibard of Droumranagh in the County of Waterford gent taken at Clonmell the 16 of Nouember 1652
The sayd William Hibard aged nine and thirty yeeres or thereabouts being duely sworne and Examined Saith That at the beginning of the Rebellion he liued within two myle of Cullen and soone after vizt. about the beginning of December 1641. he with other English his neighbours repayred to the Castle of Cullen for <A> their Security and about the beginning of January then next following the Lord Baron of CastleConnell Lieutenant Colonell William Bourke of Pollardstowne Colonell Piers Walsh, Derby ô MulRyanmc Bryan of Conogh alias Castletowne, Murtagh Bryan of Duharagh, Connor ô Bryan the sonne of mc Bryan Arragh. William oge Ryan. John Hind, Garrett English, Murtagh Heffernan & his sonne, with divers other of the Country to the number of foure or fiue hundred men, layd seige to the said Castle. & a party of them by night broke in to a house neere adjoyning to the Castle, where there were two English men & two Irish that kept Mr Waters horses, All which they seized on and tooke the said foure men prisoners, and shortly after they carryed the said English and Irish into the woods of Conogh, whereof f the two English men were there hanged by them, and the two Irish released and sent back to the Castle of Cullen, but were not admitted by the English then there. That one of the said Irish so sent back is called Murtagh Herin, & is now in the Marshalsea at Clonmell a prisoner, That afterwards vizt within a fortnight after the sayd seige was raysed by a party of horse of <B> the English Army comanded by Sir John Browne That about the beginning of March then following the said Lt Colonell Bourke layd a second Seige to the said

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the sayd Castle of Cullen, which he continued till about a fortnight within the Moneth of August 1642. at which time the Castle was surrendred That within the time of the seige vizt about the End of July 1642. seuerall men women & children to the number of thirty fiue threescore or thereabouts went out of the Castle, vnder the proteccion of a Guard whereof this Examinant was one to gether some barley in a feild neere adjoyning to the said Castle, and were there sett vpon by a party lying in Ambush by order from <C> the said Bourke and foure or fiue & thirty of them there killed besides seuerall others that came off wounded, Being demanded the nam{e} of those English so killed he saith he remembreth there was one John Jones, & a Blacksmith, the rest women & children, & by name Margarett Dix on whereof one was William Blakes wife, That one of the women that went out with that party to gather Corne hid her selfe in a ditch & thereby preserued herself from the present fury of the Irish, but being afterwards found before she could recover the Castle was carryed Murdered by the said party, That within the time of the said Seige one Katherine Jones one of the English in the said Castle sent out a a young boy of about 6 or 7 yeere old into the Campe with bearing a white paper in a Cleftstick with a Message to some of her acquaintance in the Campe, which child was taken & by a Preist Examined & offered life if it would goe to Masse but refusing it was murdered by direcion <D> from Lt Col Bourke as was generally reported among the Irish That during the said seige, the said beseigers shott into the Castle and killed Anne Whitby one of the daughters of Thomas Whitby There

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There was also John Whitby the sonne of Thomas Whitby, who went out with a party that came to releiue the said Castle, towards MichelsTowne and being pursued by the Enemy & weakly horsed was ouertaken by them & hanged <E> but by whose Order this Examinant knoweth not, The Examinant further saith That at the time of his Treaty with the said William Bourke about the surrender of the Castle, the said Bourke told this Examinant, in theis words My people haue done a very handsome peece of seruice vpon your ward, To which this Examinant answered, He wondered a Gentleman of his quality would justify so vnhansome a thing as the destruccion of so many women & children. To which Bourke answered it had weakned the guard This Examinant answered it was no weaking but rather an Advantaged to the Castle to be freed of so many Eaters, yet it much troubled them to see the bloud of so many their freinds & neighbours shed, Soone after the Castle was surrendred, And further he saith not.
W: Hibbart
Deposed the day & yeere
aforesayd before
Char Blount
Jo: Booker.

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The Examinacion of William
Hibbart taken 16 Nou 1652 concerning the
Murders at Cullen Castle
Against Lo CastleConnell
Lt Col Bourke etc
Cullen VII.

X.