Fitz Gerald’s Castle. Maurice De Prendergast alias FitzGerald got a grant of lands including Brize Castlegar Murneen and several other lands from Sir John Perrott in Elizabeth’s time. He was a soldier in her army and came from Wexford. Tradition says that all the Prendergasts are descended from him. After him the Barony of Claremorris is named; also Claremorris. Prendergasts soon became a powerful family. Many Irish families around Claremorris changed their names to Prendergast to belong to such a powerful race of people. In the time of Seán na Sagart whose real name was Moloney many families changed their names to Prendergast as they were ashamed to own the name of such a scoundrel. Faction fighting was very common before the R.I.C. especially between the Knocks and the Claremorris Prendergasts. There was an old man named Matt Prendergast living in Claremorris where the Bank of Ireland now is. He used to keep sticks in his house and when the row started theBernie HughesAnaithnidPádraig Ó Catháin