Deposition of Richard Castledine

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The deposissions of Richard Castledine of ffarnan in the county of Cavan gent: taken before vs his maigesties Commissoners at dubline this 19th of July 1642
Item hee He further deposeth that at the begininge of theese wares hee her d the said Phillope mc <a> Mullmore Rely, prot este and sweare toulde vnto this deponente comminge after the asalt made vpon his howse att ffarnan, on satter day in the after nowne, by the heigh shriffe Edmon Rely Esquire his ffather and about diuers other P persones about the nomber of 2 or 3 hundred more and then the said Phillope did demand of him what that grate company did theaire, He The deponent opned the dores vnto him, and said I thoght they weare about an ele woorke, and I feaired it weare rebellion, and hee wherevpon the said Phillip answred him, with his hatt of, and alightinge of his horse bowed his kneese to the grownd his hands and Ies beinge lifted vp vnto heauen said with many feairefull oathes and curses vpon his soule, and vpon what so ever hee had; that if he knew [ ] what was theire end or meninge, any more then my the deponent him selfe did but said hee would [ ] ride after them to see what hee could discouer from them, and hee would send me him word,: and about a wecke after or more, and the deponent seeinge that moste of my Cattell weare forsably taken away by the rebles: I Hee went vnto the said Phillips his howse vnto Leesemore, and desired him that he would com with him m e to my his the deponentes howse, and to convaye some of the deponentes housal{d}stoofe vnto his howse, for I he feared they would betaken from him me the next night so hee cam with [ ] emeadeatly, and we they loded six horses with aparrell and housald stoofe :, which hee conveaied to his howse, and by the way hee often tooke moste feairefull oathes that hee was meanely defrauded by the heigh shriffe his nevey for hee said hee asured him from day to day, that for the disarminge of the englishe hee head his Maigestys commission for his so doinge, but said hee hee the laste night I tellinge the high shriffe, that vnlesse hee would shewe him the commission I Hee would asiste him no longer: the high shiriffe answred { } and that hee I would be driuen of no longer for he [ ] but would ether see it then, or else hee I would decline his company: for hee said hee feaired that hee head deluded him to long already: to which the shreefe answred hee was an old dotinge foole, and so said hee, wee parted with many very ele words: and hee the said Phillip said to me the deponent they are in rebellion againste theire lawfull kinge, and they shall hange me, before I will goe with them any more but said hee hee this night I will drawe vp a writtinge to my lord Parsones, and to the state, and I will aquinte them with all theire proseedings, and craue of them that I may be made prouirse marsha{ll} and you know said hee, that the many tennents I haue my selfe, and my lord lamborts, and all the magourers of talahawe, and the newgenttes and many of the brittishe, when the warrant coms downe, wee shall be strong anoofe for the whole County: but said hee I will desire my lord bishops hand and youres vnto it: for you will keepe counsell: but when it weare drowne he said that hee durste not put any of our hands vnto it for feaire it would be entersepted: but a while after this: hee refusinge to gow alonge with them, the moste of the cheefe offecers of the County, cam vnto his howse and threatened to burne it, tooke himselfe prissnor, broke open my chestes and trunkes that were in his howse, searchinge for siluer and plate, and carrede him selfe along with them as a prissnor: wheare hee was for seartaine weekes: and as I creadable harde when the forses went vp out of the county in to the paile to forse them to Rise many of them refewesed so to doe: vnlesse they would firste sett Phillop mc Mullmore: at liberty which was efected acordingely.
<b> Item hee further deposeth that when the heigh shriffe and his ffather command{ed} this deponent to open the doweres vnto them, and the reste of theire company he{e} refewseinge: the said shreefe did confidently afearme with many oethes that hee head a commission from his Maigesty: for what hee did and I the deponent demandinge the sight of it: hee refewsed, and swore that I should see it on mond day next sett vpon the crosse at Cavan. I answred when I once sawe it I would then yeald obedenace vnto it to which hee answred, and will you not beleeue me, I said I durste not: for I feare that both himselfe was about a very ele work that would ruene bothe themselues, and the whole cuntry: and desired him and the reste to retorne whome: and to prossede no further, but to sleepe vpon it that night, and to advise vpon theire pillow what evell theire acttion would produste to which hee answred: that hee commanded me in the kinges name to open the dowers vnto him, and if I would not the would emeadeatly burne the howse over my heade: and commanded me often so in his Maigestys name and I demanded of them that [if ] if the would not showe mee the commission which the sware the head: that the would tell me the conte{nts} to which the shriffe answred it was [t ] to disarme all the englishe within the County

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and to put theire armes in to a saffe place vntill his Maigestys pleasure weare further knowne, then I demanded of him what should be done with the the th Scotch inhabetantes: the shriffe answred that hee head no commission at all nor any derecttd to medele with them But well said hee I can not thus loose tyme with you for I ame in grate haste, and if you will not open the dowres vnto me I can stay no longer but I muste ether breake the howse or burne it downe, to which I hee answrd that he was yow were tow latly in before and soe bade him doe his pleasure I would not opne the dores, and then they went in counsell to geather what the should doe, for about halfe an ower before this second asault, the heigh shreefe his ffather and tow more of the Releys cam vnto me in the towne streetes, with troope horses and curbines and well armed, and desired me to giue them drinke so which I tooke them into the howse and gaiue them drinke: then the shrife said: you must needes lend me some of your armes for to arme some men: for theire is very many rebles and theefes com out of ffarmanag: in to this county: and the will spoyle many of the inhabetentes, and I answred that I durste lend him none to which he replyed that I must needes of all loue lend him som, all though it <c> weare the lesse, at last hee was content requiringe them often in the kinges name to lend him but armes for fower men to which I yelded, and while I was takinge them downe the howse was full emeadeatly of the men that cam to asis{t} the shriffe, and every man tooke downe armes for himselfe, at which I grewe very angry with his ffather and the shrife: and goat vnto the haule [ dore ] dowre, and often vowed that theire I would die before I would let them carry any of them out and when the say I was so resoulfed in deede: the shrife said that if I would let him passe with the fower I lent him he would command the rest to be layd down the rest: to which I yealded, and acordingly hee departed, and ride vp a hill neare vnto the howse and I caused the dores to be shute and went to caule a man or tow of myne to take vp a horse thinkinge to haue ride to dublin with all speede: but when I head walked downe the twone: a little way I better recou{ered} the sight of the tope of the hill: wheare I disearnd at lease 2 or 3 hundred men in armes, then I made vnto the howse againe with all speed and the followed me presently after which mad me say that the weare latly theire alredy: and after the had taken councell to geather and knowinge I head token some men into the howse with me, the presently departed to wards Clowater and the retorned not againe vntill about a weeke after: vntill th at beltirbut head yelded vp theire armes, and Capttaine Riues was forsed to departe with his troope, and that Capttaine baleese head receued quarter at cavan: beinge not able to withstand so grate a multitude which I verely beleeue was 17 or 18 hundred at the cavan towne side and after the his takinge quarter: the moste of the forses of the Irishe marched to my howse at ffarnan and tooke the armes and spoyle theire that the same day,
<d> and hee further deposeth that shortly after this deponente was commited prissoner with the lord Bishop of Killmore and three of his sonnes and vnto Clowater Castle it beinge a fortnight before Crismas day or theire abouts, and remaned theire closse prisoners some tymes with boultes but the Capttaine of the Castle weare strickly commanded to keepe vs in boultes continually night and day, but hee tooke some tender pitty of vs lease wee should pearishe with could, the plase beinge rawe windey and weate in the mideste of a lough: and the windoes of the castle all open to wind and weather: and But after a munth stay wee weare releayved by some exchange of prisonores: which Sir James Crage Knight head taken and my selfe head a chamber apoynted in my one howse at ffarnan, and a garde seat and apoynted to looke vnto me: and Lucke Dillin Esquire: Phillope mc Mullmore Rely Esquire Mr Dennes Shereden minister becam bound for me that I should be a true prisoner theire for I was very weak with sicknes with beinge in the said castle of Clowater and when I wanted any releefe for my selfe wife children or grandchildren, I should haue liberty to goe to buie it in the Cuntry and retorne whom againe a trew prisoner: in which space of tyme vntill the 18th of May last haueinge a grate resorte of all the Chefe gentelmen of the County to my howse in regard of the grate hagard of Corne which I head: which did releeue many of them beinge worth neare 3 or 4 hundred pound. I often harde both them say many tymes priuatly amongst them selues and often the would say to my selfe and to my wife and Children theese speeches follinge,

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< openly >ffirste the would often say and afearme openly: that as sowne as ever the head wone Dublin and Droadagh that the would march into england, and that with other asistanc the head: the would vtterly destroye all the puritannes that was in england, and sett theire Catholick kinge kinge Charles by name into all his rights and prorogatiues, which that wicked company of the purytants head depriued him of: makinge him in deede, no kinge, or at leaste such an one as the would have him to bee, them selues ]
Item I Also he haue often harde many of the better sorte of them the ir ish say and avowe, that the pope and many of his Cardenales, with the emporer and the kinge of Spaine and his Counsell, with asistance of the kinge of ffrance: head the beginge of this yeare: a grate asambly and meetinge to geather in theire one persones: to raise a very grate armies to com againste england and Ireland, that the might rute out and vtterly destroy all the purytantes out of both kingdomes, and to establish the catholick religion through out both kingdomes: for now god head giuen them a moste fitte tyme, and opertunety to acomplishe theire desires, and ether now <e> or never, and to that end about the beginge of and middle of december the daly expectted all the Irishe forses out of spain, and those partes, with store of men and munision which often the reported the weare alanded, and that the pope head commanded all wares to seast beetweene Spaine and france and that they should both joyne with theire forses agaisnte the purytants of thees kingdomes
Item I he hath often heard them both reed leters and say, that the head as true knowledg and intelegence out of england, as the Counsell of Dublin had, and as sowne, and of all passages in england, and what so euer the intend or devise in Dublin or when the meane to send out forses, and wheather, the know presently and what strength the are of: and that the kinge of ffrance hath sent in to the lowe cuntry 30000 Commanders and souldgers to fech the queene from thence, and to bringe hir in to england, as well armed as ever any armye was: also the sayd and afearmed that the haue much helpe of pouder out of this kingdom, and that very latly theire cam six horse lode of pouder in to the County of Cavan, and the licke quantety into many countys of the north, and many reporte it coste them in the south weste wheare the bought it 10 s. a pownd, and the procured it by the asistance of ffrires that the implyed,
Item And he hath hard them [often ] both secretly and openly afearme that as sonne as euer the hade conveayed Sir ffrance hambelton out of the County: that the would 4 or 5 county of them joyne to geather: and incampe agaisnte Dubline and Droadagh, and would never leaue the sedge, before the head wone them: and starued them out which the verely intended to doe with ale speede if they can and that the intend to burne and destroy all corne neare the english garrisones as sowne as it is ripe
and further he I hathe often beene persuaded in his Consence that they never head any athorrity from his maigesty for the disarminge of the english, and so I ame at the present in regard I so often heard them in priuate heard them rejoyse when at any tyme the receued letters on from an other, that both men and munission weare alanded <f> (which falce alarromes reports they head very often) and at such tymes the would breake out in to theese or such licke words that now the weare able to defend them selues both againste his maigesty and all the forses that england could make, for if theire commandrs weare com out of Spaine, that then the weare well enoffe: and would giue the most bastes speeches againste the englishe that men could possible vtter or imaigen, and now of late the begine to be more mild towards the englishe, and take vp the same evell language agaisnte the [Choch] Scotch beinge much obhored by them
Ri: Castledine
Jurat July 19 1642
John Sterne
Will: Hitchcocke
Hen: Brereton

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Cavan
Richard Castledine Jur 19o July 1642
Intw
Noe Cert vntill mr Adams
speake with him
hand w
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[Copy at MS 832, fols 123r-126r: note 3 original depositions for Richard Castledine in MS 833 at fols 113r-113v; 114r-114v; 115r-116v have been amalgamated in one Waring copy]