Examination of Richard Butler

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The Examinacion of Richard Butler of Shangrea neere Cleyne in the County of Corke aged ffortye fyve yeares or thereabouts taken at Corke the 21th day of March 1653 before Tho: Richardson Esquire one of the Justicers of the peace of the said County and members of the high Court of Justice sitting at dublin
<1.> The said Examinant being duely sworne and examined to the first Interrogatory sayth: that hee knoweth that Captaine Roberte Clerke in ffebruary at the begining of March 1641. brought into the Port or Haven of Galway a Shippe laden with Salt Armes and Amunicion whereof was merchant one Thomas Linch fitz Andrew, and one <A> dominicke Kirowan his (called Bealricke) being brother in lawe to the said linch, was ffactor or Agent, but whose procurement, & to whose Accompt (hee beleiveth) the said freight was brought, And further sayth it appeared by sad consequences that the said Armes and Amunicion were brought to fortify the said Towne of Galway against the said ffort, and the English
<2> To the seacond Interr the said Examinant sayth that the said Ca{ptain} Clerke together with John Turner then Clerke of the St{ores} and some others (vizt Roberte Turner and one Nowell) {were} all committed to prison by the Maior and Councell of {the} Towne, and beleiveth it was for endeavouring to gett {the} said Armes and Amunicion into the ffort, And far{ther to?} the said Interr hee sayth hee cannot depose savin{g} to the best of his remembrance the said Clerke and Tu{rner} were about a weeke or ten p days in restraint before they {were} enlarged.
<3.> To the third Interr hee sayth that to his best remembran{ce} <B> hee heard (but durst not come neere himselfe) that walter r{oe?} linch then Maior of Galway, Sir Thomas Blake, Captain ffrances Blake, but who more hee remembreth not, were, at the said Councell and assembly, or whether Patricke darcye o{r} Richard martin were there hee knoweth not, but sayth that betwe{en} that tyme and the tyme that the murther was afterwards committe{d} in the towne of Galway hee well remembreth hee saw o{ut}

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his window the said Patricke Darcy and Richard Martin seuerall <C> tymes, in the street of Galway And further to the said Inter hee cannot depose.
<4.> To the fourth Inter the said Examinant sayth that Thomas linch fitz Andrew and Domnick Kirowan before mencioned were the men that did gett boats and boards with men to goe aboard the said Shippe pretending to vnlade the Salt, and other goods aboard, but made vse thereof to surprise the said Shippe, which they did accordingly, and (as this Examinant then crediblye heard) killed two or three of Captaine Clerks men, And brought some Armes and Amunicion into the towne, but what in particuler hee knoweth not, onely hee sawe (through his chamber window) some great Gunnes drawne through the streets, and afterwards saw some Gunnes planted against the ffort, and in the towne, which hee beleives were the same Ordinance, And beleiveth they were soe planted by the direccion of a Councell of eight, (as they called them), then newly established by the magistracy of the towne, but whether Patricke Darcy was then in the towne, or in health, or councelling, or did councell, or direct, or countenance <D> the seizing or disposing the said Armes or amunicion, hee knoweth not, but sayth hee verily beleiveth the said Patricke if hee was in towne was actiue in his the business, the cause of his beleife is, that hee hath heard his owne brother Andrew Darcy deceased say that hee was fearefull his brother, Patricke darcy and also Richard Martin were Councellors in the businesse, And further to the said Interr hee cannot depose./
<5.> To the fifth Inter hee sayth that hee saw Murrogho=na dwo ô fflaherty called Colonell ô fflaherty, Murrogh ne Mart ô fflaherty, Teig ô fflaherty, and divers another Teig, called Teig Ne Bully ô flaherty brother to the said Murrogh na dwo, besides seuerall others of the ô fflahertys with many other Irrconnaght Rebells whose names hee knoweth not, in the said towne of Galway, with flyeing colors in hostile Manner, And then credibly heard they were procured by the townesmen to come into the towne to beseige the fforte which

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seige they began on good friday 1642 (to his best rembrance) but <E> who in particuler did advise councell and aid the bringing in of the said Irish of Irconnaght hee knoweth not, but sayth that soone after their comming in, they murthered one John ffox and his wife, and a sucking child, and one mrs Collins, and mortally wounded a sonne of mr John ffishers, and seuerall wounds others, of which wounds they afterwards dyed, And the same night this Examinant and his wife with seuerall other English Protestants were in great danger (being sought for in their owne house by one Patricke roe linch and others) to haue bin murthered who which bloody rebels not finding the Examinant and the rest rifled the house and tooke away all his goods, And further sayth that hee knoweth not who were aiders or abetters of the said murthers, but sayth that hee verily beleiveth that had it not bin for the ffranciscan ffryers and some of the townesmen that were very actiue, in resisting the murtherers there had bin a totall massacre of all the English Protestants in the towne that night, And farther sayth hee did not see Patrick Darcy that day, nor about that tyme, in the streets; nor knew what reward the Irconnaght rebels had from the T{owne} for comming to assist them, but hath credibly heard that {the} Towne made two seuerall levyes vppon themselues, the f{ } <F> of two thousand pounds, and the later of fyve thous{and} pounds, which hee verily beleiveth was for carryeing o{f} the warre against the English, And further to the said I{nterr} hee sayth hee cannot depose.
<6.> To the sixth Inter hee cannot depose any thing more the{n he} hath to the precedent Inter deposed.
Rich: But{ler}
March 21th 1653.
Deposed before mee
Tho: Richardson
re 100 li. pro se et [vp ] ad comperend [etc] TR

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Mr Richard Butler Clerke
his Examinacion touching
the murthers at Galway