6
Ancient Castles
BallyCowan Castle, seat of the O'Molloy's was burned by the Treasurer in 1587 their principal descendants lived after at Bally Kilmurray. Sir Jasper Herbert built the Castle in 1626 Inscription
"By God of Might
I'll hold my Right"
there is no record of how long this family occupied Ballycowan.
Srah Castle was built by an officer in Queen Elizabeth's Army, in 1588 - very little is known about it., both are comparatively modern. Amongst those who lived there were the O'Kearneys, whose descendants are still known in Tullamore though they have dropped the "O".
Charleville Castle was built in 1800 to 1810 by the first Earl of Charleville. In the grounds is a Mass Rock and well known as Christ's Stone and Christ's Well. It has been the residence of five Earls of Charleville. The first Earl also erected the Chapel attached to the Castles out office, and made the lake - about forty acres in extent, and the new road. The old road

ease Paddy Moris of Canteeny was another noted high jumper second only to Leahy of Charleville. In his day his best jump was was 5 ft 11 1/2 ins. Another Canteeny man (Padraig Coen) was able to lift the Kilmoylan stone on his shoulders. This stone is there still for anyone to have a trial at. The unobtrusive Padraig had a holy horror for the limelight. Consequently there is little known of his athletic feats.

Another noted man was Manley the Mower. He was able to mow over two acres of hay or corn in a day. In the Mowing season he used to travel to Charleville and Limerick. He was known all over the south of Ireland as "Manley the Mower from Blarney". His real name was Bill Manley. He was a small man with a hump, and went around the country working for the farmers.

latter also at Mountkeefe Cross leading on to Freemount Charleville and along into Dublin. Indeed it will be said that one road will take you all over Ireland.

is and was held in Donoughmore. A man named Burns from Charleville visits this district once a year and buys feathers. The following is a list of coins:- tanner, a six pence, a make, a half penny, a bob, a shilling, a pony, a half crown, a lop, a penny, a quid, a pound. Long ago there were coins as a four penny piece, a sovereign but these types are gone out now.

Hidden Treasure.
A long time ago there lived a man named Lorc. He dwelt in Harrison's Place, Charleville in a fort. It was from him that the name Rathluirc is derived "Fort of Lorc. He was an Irish Chieftain and he was very rich. He had a lot of gold, silver, and jewellery hidden under the ground.
About two years ago a native of Charleville named Patrick Murphy was looking for mushrooms in the little field where the treasure was hidden. He was walking along the field and he put his foot on a spike that was coming up through the ground. It hurt him and he went back to see what it was.
When he went back be bent down to pick it up. When he picked it up he went home for a spade. He spent

The Soldier's Pond.
(Situated near Love Lane, Clybee, Charleville Co Cork)
In Clybee near Love Lane there is a pond called the "Soldier's Pond". Long ago when British soldiers were billeted in Fort St, George The Turrets, Charleville. One evening a soldier and his sweetheart went for a walk.
They had a quarrel and during the quarrel they were passing the bank of this pond. She in a fit of anger got behind him and shoved him into the pond. He was drowned. Ever since it is called the "Soldiers Pond"

A few years ago the "Kerryman", Tralee published funny stories in connection with the late Bill Linane who worked as an ordinary labourer in Milford and surround district. The Ráth Luirc (Charleville) correspondent probably supplied the "Kerryman" with several stories about Linane who was very witty.

Ard-Skeigh is situated north east of the Parish. There is a very ancient burying ground in this townland. There has been nobody buried in this graveyard for years. All its walls are broken down and the only thing to mark its existence is a little Abbey which has been repaired a few years ago. Close to this place is a cross named the cross of Ard-na-Crúad. Legends say the last battle to be fought in Ireland will be finished at this cross.
Sorrel is also historic. Overlooking this townland is famous "Gallows Hill" where the remains of four fir trees still stand to mark the place where people were hanged in olden times.
Debbie Quinn got all that is written up to this from her father Patrick Quinn Ballinadrideen Ballyhea Charleville
Copied by Kitty O'Connor Newtown Ballyhea Charleville.
Patrick Quinn is over 60 years.

A travelling man Mick Rourke used to go around the country in a jennet and cart selling apples "Peel a one" was a beggerman. Jonny Walsh another beggerman used to be always praying in Irish. Dinny Gorman was also a beggerman. The Cnabbler was a drover and he used to go from fair the fair driving cattle and the "Birdeen" from Charleville was also a drover. Shaky Colman used to play a tin whistle. Jimmy

coming to school, as well as people coming to Mass on Sundays. From Fort East there is an old road leading from there, through Fort-Middle to join the main road from Ballygran to Charleville about a quarter of a mile North West of the school. This is also used as a Mass-path but it is wide enough to allow a horse and cart to travel on it. In this way it is different from the Clonmore Mass-path. Discussed Roads
In this district there are a few "double-ditches". The older people say that these were the roads of very ancient times. There is one which separates two farms in Fort Middle. It consists of an embankment about ten feet wide and six feet high. The top of this double-ditch is wide enough for a horse and cart to travel on, but no one remembers seeing it used for that purpose. It is almost closed in with briars and bushes, except for about a hundred yards at the end extending to the Ballygran Charleville road. At this end the double-ditch is used as

The townland of Foxhall adjoins that of Gortroe on the East, the boundary being the Charleville-Ballygran road. It is in the Barony of Upper Connelloe [?] There are nine families and approximately 50 people living here. As in most townlands in this district, the family names are varied - Keane, O'Connor, O'Riordan, Kenny, Culhane, Collins, Crotty, O'Sullivan and Hassett. The houses with the exception of one farm-house, owned by Mr. O'Connor, are slated. Some people say that long ago there was a fox- covert in Foxhall, hence the name. There are only about three old people over seventy living there, but they know no Irish. However they can relate stories in English. They are Mr. John Crotty, Foxhall, Charleville.
David O'Riordan [?]
Andrew Kenny "
Here, too, we find a few ruins of one time dwelling houses. The land in Foxhall is very fertile. The townland is

The only person over seventy now living here is Mrs Mary Deasy, Cregane, Charleville. She knows no Irish but can tell some stories in English. Here, too, houses were more numerous, in olden times, and a few ruins are still to be seen. Numbers emigrated from here to America in former times. The land is good and is well watered by some springs, and the River Maigue which forms the Northern boundary of this townland.

Local Roads
In primitive times the means of communications to short distances both in Ireland and many other countries were by beaten grass paths much the same as the trails of wild animals in the jungle. But as the world advanced and with it education and the sciences main roads were laid out by civil engineers connecting the cities towns and villages throughout the country. At first the roads were metalled by coarse limestone material and the ground was very rough under foot and rather heavy for the progress of vehicles. To correct this the inventive minds taxed themselves until the present smooth steam rolled roads superseded most of the others.
In the local district the first roads would appear to be made some years after the famine of 1848 and as the people of this country about that time were in woeful want the English government introduced road-making so as to give them a means of sustenance. The main road locally is called the new line and connects Limerick and Cork via Croom, Charleville and Mallow. In the old Limerick to Cork road via Bruff, Kilmallock and Charleville stones on the side of the road called mile stones showed the mileage from each of the cities named and on some points of the road at present those stones are discernable. At O'Rourkes Cross Bruree small wooden crosses are set on a wall to tell of the fatal accidents there from time to time. A couple of hundred yards from Ballygubba a wooden cross is set on the ditch. This cross

On one occasion a man went for some message to Charleville. He went into a pub for a glass of whiskey. Just as he was putting the glass to his lips he saw the image of the devil inside in the glass. He was greatly terrified and put down the whiskey untouched never again to put a sup of liquor to his lips.

There is another Holy well in this parish about a mile on the Charleville side of the village called Egan's well. An old woman who lives near it told me she remembers people who paid rounds there for head-aches, but of recent years it has been completely forgotten. Some of the children who live fairly near it did not know it was there at all, had never heard of it.

Curran the poet belonged to Rockhill. A Parish midway between Croom and Charleville. Apparently his profession did not yield a too lucrative return, for one when his shoes were in tatters, he entered the "Stall of Cowhey the cobbler

A man left Charleville one night very late. Before he could reach home he had to pass two graveyards. At the first graveyard two goats came out over the wall and walked along beside the horse until they came to the second graveyard when they

land to a man named Brenly and it is known to this day as Brenly's Mountain. White's son drowned himself in a lake near Charleville House, and then the land was divided up and all Catholics live in it now. Ballybritt Chapel was opened again and Mass is said in it each Sunday.

In the 1873 there were 32 families evicted from the lands of Summerhill near Roscrea by a landlord named Charles White of Charleville in Laoighis. He levelled the houses to the ground and let the land into one ranch. The tenants were evicted for no other reason only to exterminate the Papists and to close Ballybrit Chapel which he succeeded in doing. Ballybrit Chapel was closed