Captain Fenton was a landlord + lived in Castletown, Baskey, [?] Shigs. When he was informed of anyone taking part in the Fenian movement he had them arrested and flogged.
One day he had two men whom he accused on being in the Fenian movement arrested. He ordered them to be stripped bare naked + tied to the two back shafts of a cart. Two men with cat-o'-nine-tails were ordered to flog each of the naked men. The cart was then drawn from Castletown House to Easkey Bridge + back again. As the cart was passing the priest's house the servant girl saw the proceedings. She went to the priest + told him of the Brutal act + said "I often heard what ye priests could do + now let us see it." The priest did not answer her but she left the cart went as for as Easkey Bridge- Fenton walking behind

M'athair: When I was a young man, living in Castletown, we had a Mummers' Band. Oh! We didn't do much except all kinds of devilment. Nothing was too hot nor too heavy for us. I was St. Patrick & wore a mitre. Another member of the

The following pages are written in connection with your circular "Items about which ....." Information from my father or such as was universally current during my young days (1900 - 1914)
Placenames: "The Holly Bush, halfway between Castletown U Grague na spidogue, on the high road. Famous meeting place for gossips from time immemorial. Townland of "leainac". The stumps of the old holly bush was extent which I was a youth. Tinryland. Top of the little hill on wh. school, chapel & houses are built is perfectly flat; ideal for a bowling green (réileáin). Some old people held the view that the name: tig ríng an oiléain. Lower Tinryland was called "crógibín" Well said to be blessed. Cloughna on the Barrow, near Milford,puzzled me very much until I found in the inquisitions of 1606, item Cloughna, alias New Stone (ie Cloc Nuad). Tendency in Leinster to wake "Nu" single cousoned like QU. Old Road from Tinryland to KyleBallyhue ran thro' Castletown & is still used a "mass path". Some of the old is still intact except that it is overgrown with grass. Protestant owner of E Tinryland built a beautiful double ditch in an effort to entice the people from the mass path & thus break their right of way. All in vain, however. The double ditch was never used by the people. The part of this old road still in public thro Kyle is called the "Dark Road". Commons. The little village of Connaberry, adjoining Ballon was a common when I was

[Drawing] - MapCastletown, Tinryland, Ballylor, Kyleballyhue, Gráig na Spidheog

The murderers escaped "scot free" but Purser had "to take to his country" for some time. He was finally brought back by Faulkner of Castletown, another "bad pill" and "limb of the devil" who gave him the best house on the estate, 20 acres of land and built for him a new forge. The smith had chanced his name to Purcell by now, and hoped to escape all the consequences of his fell deed, but murder will out.
There lived in Kellistown on the little farm now occupied by Ireton ( and mentioned on p______ supra) four brothers named Maher - four 6-footers and their sister Biddy. "Biddy Maher and her little skillet", was a bye-word when I was young. Those Mahers were "plantmen" that is they specialised in 'growing' cabbage plants for the markets" ; they also dealt in calves, halters etc and had business "up and down every fair". The got drunk every fair evening and returned home about 4 or 5pm. As soon as they reached the forge the hullabaloo started. They besieged the forge and residence with stones shouting incessantly at top of their voices "Who killed Clowry? " The blacksmith took the precaution to fit all his windows with iron bars after the first assault, I heard such an attack being made repeatedly between 1900 and 1910. It had been going on since 1830, I believe. The Mahers were "land savages". As an example of their

One of the characters of north Carlow in my young days was Jim Carroll. My father allowed him a room in the farm-yard where he slept each night for over 20 years until "he set the whole place on fire". He was a poor simpleton but endowed with a natural wit. The sayings of Jim Carrol are famous to the present days. John Dar's, Clairmont in the late Bishop of Kildare & Leighlin (or Cullen) wrote a wonderful collection of his sayings wh. would he worth procuring. Jim always arrived in the priest's cast-offs_ block serge from head to foot. I never appeared without a top hat. I counted 14 beaver hats in his room at Castletown on one occasion. His tongue was keen on hound's tooth when vexed. "That's a nice hat Mom love, Jim" "If your reverence covets it, none can love it." He used to call John Stallom and his wife Ten (ie 10) by tall, thin man and a woman characterized by rotundity to a remarkable degree. "Will none love a cup of tea Jim, indeed. That's not what Mrs Foster, would say. She'd say "Sit down love, Jim, and sat a bit." He was devotion personified and man and wool from waist up every morning of the year with cold water and soap. Although we were very much afraid of him he was by no mean vicious.

Thousands of car left the Colleries (Wolf Hill and Crettyard) with their loads of coal in all directions. Hundreds of these cars passed Castletown per week. Each collier generally had a donkey to help his horse uphill. Coal was bt for less than 10/- per ton at that time - when I was a boy. The colliers were rough, uncultured, half-civilised "clan" - given to drinking and fighting. Last woman to be hanged (Mary Daly) was one of them. She murdered her husband with aid of her lover. They generally slept on their return journey, but their horses were so well trained that an 'accidents' never occurred. When the 'lighting up laws' came into force the horses used to stop at the outskirts of each town and shake his winkers until his owner awoke and lit the lamp. It is alleged that the Colliers wet the powder on the 'rebels' in 1798. They inflicted serious loss on the bailiffs and proctors during the Tithe Wars.
"Wolf Hill I dread you", became a watchword. Police and bailiffs shun the colleries to the present day. They fielded a much feared football team for many years.

it inspecting the flogging. It then turned + [?] outside the priest's door Fenton went mad + had to be put into a padded room in his home at Castletown. Everyone of his servants refused to look after him. The two Fenian prisoners were then ordered to take change of him for the night. They were each given a stick + when night fell + all in the castle was quiet they determined to flog him as they flogged the previous day. They administered the flogging so well that he before morning.
In the morning they reported the death + said that he hit his head against one of the walls + died as a result. his friends in the castle were only too glad to get rid of him so easily + to show their gratitude they let the two prisoners go free.

Castletown Castle
as it stands today is a remodelled castle of the
Kavanaghs. South wing being new and front dressed
with extra coat of cut granite blocks. Basement
and remainder is as old as the hills. The western door
and ancient hall are reminiscent of the entrance to Kilkee
Castle, etc. Some of the walls are 9' thick. The ancient
parts favour the Gothic style of doorway. The original fosse
is easily distinguishable on all sides and a never failing
stream supplies ample water (mentioned repeatedly
in State Papers. Henry VIII, James I etc etc) "Castle et vil et ter".
The castle was renovated possibly in
1778 when the "Long Stone was erected
on top of next little hill on S.W. border of
the estate and formerly known as "cnocán".
It was formerly a separate townland accord-
ing to State documents. The inscription
on the pillar reads "Hic jacet corpus H
Faulkner qui obiit ... 1778 (?)"
Shape of grove is preserved at base.
The high peak to S. E. in Kyle is known as
the carraigín. The field N of the Long Stone
beyond the cliff is known as the Ross Mór
State Papers 1541 mention 10 acres of wood
in Castletown. "Ross Mór" the possible site. [Drawing on page,
captioned 'The Long Stone'
labelled 'about 20' high and fitted with lightening conduction - copper tape to ground.]

Castletown lies well within the granite area. Yet the streams rising in Cnoc Bower are richly impregnated with lime. They either rise in a lime-stone pocket or pass through a very rich one.
Father McCree C.C Tinryland (Antiquarian) told me that a gold chalice was found at the "Bower" near the picturesque little waterfall field of N of the Ross Mór is known as the "Cool" or "Cúl" field. Moyle Field, either because it is singularly "maol" or because it is near the townland of Moyle (Various spellings in State documents: Mothel, Moyhill, Moyll, Motel, Mothull, Mothhulla) The little river wh. runs through N of the estate is known as the "Theen Ween"
Some of the old Faulkners were supposed to appear & no neighbour would pass through the estate after dark. One of these apparitions was reputed to play the bag-pipes: "That's oul' Faulkner playing the bag-pipes". The two young Faulkners, Henry & Robert were very wild. Henry spent most of his time in Africa & wrote "Elephant Haunts". He never returned from his last visit in quest of elephants. Chas P. Kennedy (Rom. Catholic) [bl?] the estate about 1870. In the same family still (1937).

One of the wonders of my child-hood days was Finn Mac Cool's thimble, a perforated circular stone shaped like the whorl of a wooden botton, which lies inside the gate of the Back Lodge of Castletown. As I think of it now it may be the unfinished top-stone of a quern but[Drawing]"What's that big stone, daddy?"
"That's Finn Mac Cool's Thimble
"Who was he?" He told us ad lib.
"Fionn was being chased by a Scotch giant. He was so hard pressed that he lost his thimble. When Finn was coming in this gate the Scotch giant was standing on Gráig na Spideog Hill & he flung the thimble after Finn. It fell here & there it has remained ever since.
"No. It's not like a thimble. Finn had two doors to his house, a back-door & a front-door. He used to fling this stone over the roof from behind the house, & ran through

a boy. About a dozen houses scattered promiscuously, no two together & main [?] pf houses in all directions. No rent, rates, nor taxes. Old houses built of mud - kitchen & room with cáilleog over lattes.
Light: Rushes in common use when my father, a boy. It was one of his tasks to procure rushes from the bog, so many times per week. One strip of the bark left on the peeled rush. dipped in grisset & fixed in "Rush-stick" when lighted. Skillet [?] for small pot,
Cattle: the only cure or preventative wh. I positely remember is the hanging up in the chimney of the quorter of a calf which died of black quorter or black leg as a preventative against the recurrence of the malody. I saw this done often & I have counted dozens of shanks hanging within the chimneys of old walls, grim phantoms of famine days & crowbar brigades
Common belief in Carlow that the spirits of the bad re-appear as dogs. Cf. the spectr hound of Brown's Hill Tools, the spann - four [?] Fork & the feac, ordinary garden spade & even the word "mideog", large 'dangerous looking' knife
Potatoe-Oniois: Set the shortest day of the year & pull the longest. Grain sown as near as possible to St Patrick's Day & reaped 14 or 16 August if possible. Shrubs & slips will grow any month with a R in it. Smith Rick Purser carried on extensive foundry work in Castletown force down to 1903. Many a night I sat up watching the furnaces belching flames & smoke. I even had a little foundry of mine own - molten lead being the metal I used.

"There's a hole on the house", said the minister when they were about to burn 'Lundy-foot" (c.1870)
"Hide & seek" becomes "Hide & go seek"
If you enter while the people are eating sat "Sit yous merry"(=Sityez merry)
"By your lave" for "pardon me, when a person wishes to pass between you & the fire, etc.
"A cure for sore eyes to see you" "We'll have to shake green rushes under your feet" (you'r such a stranger & so welcome. Céad míle fáilte.
You'd think his oul' head wore out 3 or 4 bodies.
Holly & Ivy went to the wood
Holly brought boy home by the "lug" (ear)
A slate pencil is called a "cutter".
Hydrophobia up to 50 years ago people dreaded Hydrophobia as much as they fear cancer today. As soon as Pat Dowling, Herd, Castletown had a droop taken his only topic was hydrophobia. He had spent some time in Australia - His two daughters are nuns in Derry In 1894 Tom Heydon, ploughman, Bennekerry, wife & 6 children were bitten by a mad dog. They were all sent to Paris to P & returned cured. Before that there was no cure execution or committed to an asylum for the insane.

Ancient grave-yard. Long disused. I made the
appended sketch about the year 1907. During the past
30 years that gable may have fallen & that head-stone
with date 1608 may be no longer visible. Hence I offer
no apology for including here:
"Linkardstown was parish chapel before Tinryland
Chapel was built. The name of the old parish was
Tulla(ch) Ma Ghioma (Thullamagema). An old
road by the graveyard out by the Long Stone in Castletown.
That field there is called "Cúl na ccupóg' " (Bean Uí Foghladha)
Cúl na Cupóg mentioned repeatedly in the Inquisitions
as name of townland in this district, See importance of field-names.

Michael Hayes was wounded the same day. He fired at Bradle and Bradle fired at him, but the finish of it was that he shot Bradle as dead as a cock. He lost his health from sleeping out when he was dodging the peelers and with that and the effects of his wounds he did not live for many years. I heard that his body was brought to be buried in a load of hay. The man who make the song was arrested for making them at least for making the first one. When he got out of gaol, he changed the song into the " Fox Chase""In Cappawhite I slept one night
"Being arrested in the morning early"
"I ran to Toem and soon reached Doon
"Where I knew each nook and corner
"And I did not lag crossing COOGA Bog
"But I jumped the deep dead water
"Tallyho"
Usual curfá as Gaedhilg"You should have known a daughter of his, Peig Hayes. She had that house (in Doon) where Cramer now has the meat stall. She had a public business (= public house) but she usedn't serve in the shop herself. She used to let it to different parties.Quinlan, another farmer from Castletown, was

Michael Quirke (continues on being requested)
Michael Hayes was a strong farmer living in
Castletown just below Doon. It seems that he was a
kind of an agent at one time himself but that he
got broke Father Hickey (1824-1874) P.P of Doon said at one time
'Hayes, Quinlan & Bradle will fall by each other'
and his words came true. The three were always
squabbling about the rent.
Michael Hayes went in to Tipperary to
pay his rent to Bradle, the Agent, in his office.
He walked in, laid down his hat - a tall one, I
suppose, on the counter. Bradle refused to take
the rent. 'Well', says Hayes; if you won't take
the rent, take this,' drawing the revolver out of his hat &
giving him the contents. Dan Moore, the rent warner
had a narrow escape the same day. He was in the
office & the bullet hit the bolt of the door beside him.
'Bradle lay mortally wounded
Michael Hayes, he walked out in the street
He made no alarum about it
And no enemy there did he meet.' (Old Song)
Hayes left the town safely & made in the direction
of the Limerick Junction. There were men making hay
in a field there & he got into a 'pike' of hay & they covered