Foulksrath Castle

Foulksrath Castle

Foulksrath Castle (Irish: Caislean Ratha) is a 15th century Anglo-Norman tower house located in Jenkinstown in County Kilkenny, Ireland.

It was built by the Purcell clan, who also constructed several others nearby. After over three centuries as owners, the family was reduced to living as peasants in the castle stables after it was confiscated by Oliver Cromwell and given to his officers after the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland. The castle was slated for demolition in 1946 but was saved by community support.

Foulksrath Castle is privately owned. Located about 12 km outside the Medieval city of Kilkenny it is a well preserved and restored Norman Tower House. Most of the Bawn (outer) wall and some ancillary structures also survive in addition to the main tower. A pitched roof has been added over the centre of the tower, though the open-air walk along the tower's crenellated battlement has been preserved and is still accessible. A narrow spiral staircase connects the four stories. The remains of a moat protect the outer walls of the tower. The moat is believed to have existed since the original structure was built some time in the early 13th century. It is probable that the earlier building was incorporated into the present structure.

Ghosts

Stories have circulated that Foulksrath Castle is haunted. One is about the young daughter of the original owner: She fell in love with a lowly soldier who was probably part of the Castle's garrison, On discovering this forbidden romance the enraged father had the soldier executed and had the daughter locked in the top of the castle in the cuckoos nest room. The Father was called away to battle. Before leaving he left strict instructions with the servants that the girl should be fed and watered, but under no circumstances was she to be allowed to leave the room. Anyone found to break this rule would face the same fate as the soldier. The father, probably killed, never returned. The food ran out and the servants were not being paid so one by one they left..but none dared to release the girl from her room. She eventually died of starvation. To this day people claim to have heard her moving through the castle.

Another very similar story claims that Dean Swift killed his daughter in the Cuckoos Nest room for having a forbidden romance with a man below her station. Her ghost wanders the castle leaving the smell of wild flowers. However, there is no record of Dean Swift having a daughter. It is highly likely that this story is a different version of the first one.

A third story refers to an unfortunate soldier/guard who was caught asleep while on sentry. He was taken to the top of the castle and thrown to his death from the battlements. Once a year in late November he returns for one night to finish his duty and can be heard patrolling the battlements.

A BBC television crew of British ghost hunters visited in 1992 and reported that their instruments recorded the most paranormal activity of any building in Ireland.

Architecture

It has five levels, and has a number of passages and chambers inside the thick walls which are 11ft thick at the base. It is broadly similar in size and layout to Burnchurch_Castle in Kilkenny, including the fact that the gable-end walls are carried up one story higher than the other two walls and form two elongated turrets with their own rampart walls at the highest part of the building. This could be considered as a 6th level. It is also similar to Ballybur_Castle near Cuffsgrange

It is known for being one of several Irish towers with the slightly narrower sides of the castle extending up an additional floor, creating in essence a pair of tower wide turrets.

Early History

Foulksrath Castle

and

The Families Connected With It

By JOHN S. GIBB

In endeavouring to give a short account of the families who were connected with Foulksrath Castle, the difficulty is not poverty of material but too great an abundance of the same. The families were so widespread in the county and neighbourhood, that a full account of their members and happenings would be too long or would in the alternative be just a catalogue of names. I am, therefore, going to deal only with the more prominent of those bearing the names of Purcell and Defrene who were connected with Foulksrath. The De la Francs with the alternative names of Freney, Frayne, de Fraxiato, French and probably Ash (as the botanical name of the ash tree is Fraximus) were one of the first families who came to Ireland, either with Strongbow or Henry II. The family claimed descent from Duke Rollo, the first Duke of Normandy, and came to England with King William in 1066. They were in great favour with William and were amply provided for by grants of lands in many counties and for many years were in close contact with the crown and nobility. The originator of the Irish branch was Sir Humphrey (or Hubert) de Frene, who, as before mentioned, came over with Strongbow or Henry II, and by the end of the thirteenth century, they were well established here, holding large estates in Kilkenny, Wexford and Meath.

In 1295, Fulke de la Frene was seventy-third on the list of nobles summoned to a Parliament by John Wigan. He was slain by one of the Butlers of Carrick or by followers of Butler in one of the many conflicts which arose between the invaders. He left two sons, Fulco and Geoffrey, and in 1325, Fulco was one of a number who went bond for £I,000 to Bishop Ledrede for Roger, outlaw son of Alice Kyteler. (This is the same Alice Kyteler who owned what is today Kyteler’s Inn in Kilkenny)

In 1333, Geoffrey de Frene was killed by the O'Moores of Slieve Margy. This was probably due to Geoffrey claiming the lands of Bargy near Killeshin, Carlow, which he had obtained through his marriage with Johanna Purcell, the heiress of Bargy, (not to be confused with Bargy in Wexford). This lady had previously been married to William St. Leger and her lands were in the O'Moore and O'Brennan country and they, no doubt, resented what they considered an intrusion over the hills by Geoffrey. The feud was evidently kept up as, in 1336, Fulco de Frene had a dispute with Lysath O'Moore, and in 1380 one, St. Leger, was still harassing the O'Moores and O'Brennaiis and getting paid for it-£(20.

This Fulco de la Frene seems to have been one of the greatest of the de Frenes and it is probably from him that Foulksrath got its name, as there was certainly a dwelling of some kind there on the moat before the castle was built. He was knighted by the first Earl of Ormonde in 1336. In 1338, Fulco and Oliver de Frene were arrested by Eustace de la Poer and William Grant (or Graunt), and imprisoned in Kilkenny Castle, but Oliver escaped and raised an army of friends and retainers and rescued Fulco, incidentally burning the castle gates. Soon after this Eustace de Poer and Grant became involved in the Desmond rebellion and lost their lands and heads. Fulco got the lands of Graunt, Baillreddy and Ballyneal on the lower Nore, and these lands now became the chief houses of the family, as is mentioned in Rolls of Edward 111, 1346-7. Fulco seems to have had a special grudge against the O'Carrolls, and there were constant raids by each side into each other's territory. Thaddeas O'Carroll of whom Glynn says " He was powerful, wealthy and opulent, the head enemy and persecutor of the English and Loyalists," was killed by Fulco in 1346. In this year Fulco was summoned by Edward III to do service in the French wars, where he was probably with the Black Prince at the Battle of' Crecy and was certainly at the siege and surrender of Calais. He came back to Ireland and resumed his fights with the O'Carroll~s, who in his absence had taken over some of his territory. He had become reckless and overconfident and in 1349 was killed by the O'Carrolls in an obscure fight, or as some say, in a parley with them. Friar Clynn (a member of the Clynger or Clin family, from the same neighbourhood; the townland and national. school opposite Swift's Heath is called to this day Clinstown ), in the last entry in his manuscript before his death from the plague, says of Fulco, " a man given to intent on warfare and military service from his youth, a defender of the state in times of revolt, a suppressor of injuries, and according to common saying having scarcely an equal in Ireland. He was magnanimous and had no fear of the threats of Magnates. He was bountiful having more than the name of a man for his liberality, above his wealth in giving entertainment and shutting his gate against none".

Many more records of this great family about this time exist, one in 1355 mentions Edward III being guardian of the lands of Coolcraheen for the heir of Roger de la Frene who died of the plague in 1347 and in 1356-7 John, son of Oliver de Frene, was sherriff of the cross or of the lands of the Bishop and Church in Kilkenny. In 1360, Patrick de la Frene was granted £20 for raising men to attack Art McMurrough and in 1375, '77 and '80, Patrick attended Parliament together with Robert of that ilk. In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries the warlike spirit of the de Frenes seems to have left them and they settled down to become peaceful citizens of their adopted country. They left he northern parts of the county and settled down on their Ballyreddy and Ballyneal estates. To come to later times a wayside cross to the memory of Robert de la Freyne who died in 1643 was raised by the late Canon Moore of Johnstown from the bed of a mill stream near Ballyreddy and this stone is described in Vol. I of the Kilkenny Archaeological Society 1849-50.

This Robert left two sons, James and Thomas. James was a Royalist in the Civil War but escaped the Cromwellian confiscation, one of the reasons for that being, as an old manuscript states, " That the Protector courted James de Frene as a husband for Elizabeth, daughter of his nephew, Col. Asdell ", the terms of match stating that James should be left in peaceful possession of his lands. The marriage was never celebrated, as on his wedding morning while he was crossing the ferry of Ross, his horse kicked a board out of the boat and he and all his wedding party were drowned. There is another story of the match, that Elizabeth and James were childhood lovers and met again through James saving Col. Asdell's life at the siege of Ross. This I take it is the truer story, as Elizabeth only survived the death of James by a few weeks. The de Freynes supported James II and lost all their remaining lands in the Williamite confiscations. Robert de Freyne who died in 1724 had become an itinerant pauper, while his son Thomas, the last descendant of this once great and powerful family, died childless. The family thus became extinct though the name still persists in lands and persons, such as Freneystown near Castlewarren, etc.

A person who was in some way connected with the family was the Highwayman, the bold Captain Freney of the song. He was, however, not of the direct descent but only of a minor branch and though he was classed sometimes as a gentleman robber, whatever that may mean, it is certain that there was little of the greatness of the de Freneys in his career.

The Purcell family also came from Normandy and one of the first mentions of the name is in 1035 when a Purcell granted tithes of land to the Church of the Holy Trinity, Rouen. When William the Conqueror landed in England in 1066, Hugh Purcell was one of the first Normans to fight at Perensey on the day before Hastings. He fought so well and with so much valour that William granted him large estates in Surrey, Oxford and Staffordshire. Direct descendants of this Hugh-Randolph and Robert Purcell were bitter enemies of St. Thomas a Beckett and it was from their castle of Salford that Beckett's actual murderers set out. A later descendant of the Staffordshire Purcells was Henry Purcell, the great English composer. The immediate ancestor of the Irish Purcells was another Hugh Purcell who came over with Strongbow and is said to have been Strongbow's first lieutenant. He was killed by his boatman while crossing the Suir to parley with Cormac McCarthy of Desmond who had invested Waterford in the absence in Dublin of Strongbow. He left two sons, Walter and Hugh. Hugh married Beatrix, daughter and heiress of Fitzwalter, first Butler of Ireland and childless widow of Thomas of Hereford, receiving as a dowry with her the lands of Eliogarty in Tipperary and he thus became owner of the barony of Loughmore, so founding the Loughmore branch of Purcell family. His brother came to Kilkenny and in 1223 was a witness to the charter granted to the Burgesses of Kilkenny by William Earl Marshall. He also received large grants of land from the Earl as we now find him styled Baron of Bargy. He was the first sheriff of Kilkenny in 1215, Seneschal of Kilkenny in 1219. His successor, Sir Hugh Purcell, was a witness of the Charters granted to the towns of Gowran and New Ross.

The family must have had a rather tough time during these years fighting for their lands and lives against the native O'Moores and O'Brennans and even sometimes making common cause with them, for in 1277 one, Walter Purcell, was brought before the justices of Dublin and denounced " as a favourer and maintainer of Irish enemies, O'Moores, O'Brennans and MacGormans," and also to answer a summons for having " an act and part with such felons and incendiaries." The feud still kept on and evidently the O'Brennans were very troublesome, for in 1318, Edward II gave Symon Purcell special licence to treat with them, but all to no purpose, for in 1327, Clynn records that Symon Purcell and twenty others were slain by the O'Brennans. Another, Sir Hugh Purcell, was summoned to Parliament in 1298, and he, dying in 1307, left his daughter, Johanna, heiress and possessor of the lands of Bargy. She married firstly, Sir William St. Leger, and secondly, Geoffrey de Freyne (as I mentioned in the note on the de Freynes). Due to this marriage, the Purcells evidently came to the western or Nore side of the hills.

In the fifteenth century, the lands of Bargy were re-conquered by the O'Moores and the O'Brennans, and the barony was escheated by the crown, but by this time the younger or cadet branches of the Purcells had spread out over a wide area and had castles or residences at Ballyfoyle, Ballymartin, Esker, Kilcollan, Lismaine, Shanagana, Foulksrath, Clone, etc. In 1385 and 1392, Adam and Thomas Purcell were appointed custodians of the peace for Kilkenny with power to assess for arms and horses to defend the marches, while Thomas Purcell is mentioned later again as a Justice of the Peace. The family still spread out over the northern area of the county and in 1528, Philip Purcell of Foulksrath is mentioned in a deed executed in that year. He is probably identical with the Philip Purcell who was indicted by the commoners of the town of Kilkenny for unjust and excessive exactions on the King's lieges. He was also accused together with Robert Shortal of stealing two horses from Davy Tobin. He was spoken of as being a high-handed man with little or no regard for the law or people. His son, James, was one of a jury who sat on an inquest on the body of the Shire of Kilkenny.

James died in 1552 and was buried in St. Canice's Cathedral. His successor was his son, 'Thomas, who died in 1585 and left a son, Richard, fourteen years old, and as the record quaintly says, unmarried. This Richard died in 1636, and is buried in Coolcraheen, near Foulksrath, the then family church of the Purcells. Richard’s son, Philip, was in possession of the castle and lands when the Cromwellian confiscation took place, and his possessions were divided between three officers, Bradshaw, Eaton and Matthews. Bradshaw, who did not live at the castle, left the PurceIls at all events in peace near the castle, if not actually in it, for in 1777 a family of small peasant farmers, bearing the ancient name of Purcell, were living in the barn or yard of the castle. This was the last of the Purcells in Foulksratb, though the name persists in the neighbourhood. In a class I had in Coliahy in 1913, 1914 and 1915, I had, as a student, Frank Purcell, and a right good man he was, but he too has left the district.

The Purcells have left their name and mark over all the northern end of the county and their graves and gravestones may be found in Timahoe, Clogh, Rathbreagh, Cqstlecomer, Donoughmore, Coolcraheen, Kilkenny, and many more places. Purcell has always been an honoured name in the County and City and in later years has given many further representations to both city and county including mayor and aldermen. The history of the inhabitants of the castle after Bradshaw's death (he is buried at Donoghmore) is a record of many families. To go back to 1689, William Smith, who was a tenant, was attainted by James II, and he, by local tradition, is associated with a Colonel Dawson, a Williamite officer who lived at Foulksrath about that time. Colonel Dawson had been very good to the people of the district and was very well liked by them, so much so that when the soldiers of James came to look for him, the people hid him in an oven. In 1708, a deed was executed between Joseph and Elizabeth Bradshaw whereby Elizabeth was granted a lease of Foulksrath until such time as a legacy from her father and a sum of money lent to her brother, amounting to £350 was repaid, the usual family trouble evidently. In 1718, however, Joseph sold the lands of Foulksrath, Suttonrath, etc., to Ephraim Dawson for £2,400: this Ephraim Dawson being the forefather of the Earls of Portarlington, who held the lands until 1850, when they were sold to the Estates Office.

Next a man called Moses Henshaw lived in the castle until his death in 1722. He was something of a character and invented a long gun, which he placed on Esker Hill and was able to hit a tree on Scrub Hill rather less than a quarter of a mile away, but as the chronicler says " that this was probably an exaggeration." In 1737, a lease was granted to Faithful Fortescue in consideration of the sum of £10,000. Fortescue was trustee for Mary Damer who was to marry William Henry Dawson, son of Ephraim, and the £IO,000 was the dowry of Mary. That is, William Henry got the lady and the castle, and Ephraim got the £10,000, or so the story goes. Ten years later, in 1747, William granted a lease for thirty one years to Thomas Green, who had married Austice Purcell, grand-daughter of James Purcell of Lismaine, who had managed to escape the confiscations and was still in possession of his ancestral laiids. There was evidently a family or families of the Greens about Kilkenny at this time, as the will of Moses Henshaw, in 1722, was witnessed by Bridget and Austice Green.

When this lease fell in about 1777, the castle and lands were let to Thomas Wright, grandson of Thomas Wright of Leeds, Yorkshire, who had come over with Sir Christopher Wandesforde, of Castlecomer. In the journal of the Kilkenny Archaeological Society for 1885-6, there is an article by the Rev. William Ball Wright, of Foulksrath and its Castle. The Wrights were tenants of the castle for about 100 years, and the next tenant was a Mr. Ryan. About Ryan, I have not been able to get very definite information. I have been told many things about him; that he spent so much money on the castle and farms that he ruined hiimself. He is said to have built a lot of the outbuildings near the entrance and pointed and repaired the castle.

About 1898 the castle passed into the possession. of the Swift family (by purchase). In 1910, Colonel Butler and his sister were residing here. It lay empty for a period of time following the death of Miss Butler and was purchased by An Oige in 1948.

Although there has been a form of fortified dwelling with a moat here since the 14th century or earlier, the current castle was probably built by Philip Purcell who died in 1528, or his son, James, who died in 1552. It is one of the later type, as the chimneys start from the ground, and this only occurs in castles built around 1500 or later. The earlier buildings will almost certainly have been incorporated as part of this new building. The castle is a rectangular structure about 44 ft. by 32 ft. on the ground line, and tapering first of all with a good batten for about 12 feet and thereafter with very graceful tapes. There are five floors, which floors themselves vary in level according to the position. Their doorways open on to the spiral stair. This spiral stair is a very fine piece of work, varying from 4 ft. wide at the entrance to 3 ft. at the fifth floor. The roof level is reached by a short flight of straight steps, but there is evidence that the spiral stair originally went up to the roof and even up to the allure at ridge level. The fourth floor is vaulted to support the top floor, which was probably paved in the original.

The walls vary from 8ft. wide at the base to 6 ft. at the fourth floor and about 4 ft. on the fifth or top Poor. The walls oil the east and west sides are the usual three step battlements, but on the north and south sides they are carried up: the south wall having a covered passage in the thickness of the wall with an allure on the ridge level, while on the north side the short flight of stairs occupies the passage space and also has an allure at ridge level. A stone stair leads up to each allure. On the fourth floor the making of the new window on the west side has cut across what must have been q secret chamber about 10 ft. long and 2 ft. wide, in the thickness of the wall. This chamber was entered through a hole in the floor of a recess in the wall of the fifth floor. The castle has been modernised by many tenants, notably by Stephen Wright about 1790 and later by Mr Ryan. The outside is very much as it has always been with the exception of the large window on all the first four floors. The windows on the fifth floor are probably the originals and it is very likely that the lower windows were similar or even smaller. The interior has been altered by making window openings larger, by panelling plastering, making the fireplaces smaller - one of the originals was said to have been 17 ft. across. The entrance hall has also been altered, on the wall facing the door is a Greek cross in stone, which I think was not a religious emblem, but was simply a loop-holed wall, as the 4 ft. wall has been reduced to 6 ins. thick at the back of' the cross.

When Stephen Wright was altering the hall he found a pot which contained a small leaden ship and sailor together with coins of the reigns of Elizabeth, Edward II and Alexander IV of Scotland. Maybe a Purcell was with Edward at Bannockburn, or perhaps a soldier of Edward Bruce left the coins before the castle was built. The coins were given away and never returned and the ship was used as a plaything by the Wright children. The castle lawn is surrounded by a high wall loopholed for defence and has a turret at one corner. On the left-hand side, just outside the archway leading from the lawn to the stables, is the small cell or chamber said by tradition to be that of St. Bride.

The Well of Kathleen Ryder

The following poem written by the 19th century Kilkenny poet, Paris Anderson refers to the De Frenes of Ballyreddy who were the first inhabitants of Foulksrath. It tells of a De Frene who married a humble maiden and for so doing was ostracised from friends and family, a baby boy, the fruit of their marriage added to their happiness. However this wife and mother became faithless, and together with her lover plotted the murder of her husband and son. A short distance from the castle was a well, she tantalized her child with an apple to draw him to the well, and dropped it in, knowing he would follow, and so it happened. It became known as “The Well of Kathleen Ryder”, and is immortalized in the following poem.

The Well of Kathleen Ryder I Where the hills of Ballyreddy Look along the winding Nore, Lurks a well of crystal water Springing neath a hawthorn hoar; There the daisy soopest glistens- There all early buds of spring, Intermingled with the Lichens, Round the margin fondly cling.

II Purely gushes up the water- Sparkling in the noonday light, Brilliant in the morning sunshine, Dreamy ‘neath the moonbeams bright, Pure and clean and unspoiled, As from new from earth it burst; Yet the place is stained by murder- Foul, unnatural, accurst!

III Where the hills of Ballyreddy Rise above the bending Nore, Stood a stately feudal mansion- Famous in the days of yore, Not one pile of broken ruin, Not one tree of that domain, Tells that there once stood the castle, And the woods of De La Frene.

IV But alone the well that glistens Under the outspreading thorn, Holds those meam’ries like the music, Clinging round that place forlorn- That old time-worn, half-lost legend, Which has lingered like a spell Mid the hills of Ballyreddy, Over Kathleen Ryder’s well.

V Many summers rich in blossom, Many autumn’s gorgeous flight, Many dark and howling winters, Many spring-times young and bright, Have passed o’er three winding valleys Like the music of their rills, Since the maiden, Kathlen Ryder, Dewlt ‘neath Ballyreddy’s hills.

VI Humble was the lowly shieling Half way up a winding glen, Which enclosed her peerless beauty From the gaze of bold-eyed men. Knight or noble ne’er beheld her On the hill-side or the plain, Till the fatal summer gloaming, When she met the Knight, De Frene

VII He was homeward wending weary, For the chase was hot and long, And the bells from Rors Ponte Abbey Chimed the hour for Vesper-song, When he met the startled maiden ‘Neath the rosy evening skies, And was conscious of the beauty Flashing from her lustrous eyes.

VIII It was by a mountain torrent, In a lone and shaded vale- On the slope above them rising Stood the church of Ballyneale. There lay his departed kindred- De la Frenigh’s knightly race- There he swore for age to love her, Kneeling in that sacred place.

IX And right true that vow he guarded- Faithful he redeemed the troth, He had plighted to the maiden With that deep and solemn oath, At the shrine where knelt his fathers, In the church of Ballyneale, There he wedded Kathleen Ryder, Wedded her for woe or weal.

X There he wedded Kathleen Ryder- Not amongst the kinsman crowd, For the noble race, De Frenigh, Ever held them high and proud; So, to stain his acient lineage With that lowly maiden’s name, They pronounced a deep degrading, Brining with it lasting shame.

XI Thus estranged from his proud kinsmen, Holding them at deadly strife, Four short happy summers glided, O’er the knights and lady’s life; And to bind their union closer, One brave boy their love enriches, Ballyreddy’s hope and heir.

XII But with all their came a ruin To the bliss so fondly sought, Came a cloud above their heaven, Thunder charged and danger fraught; For the knight was sorely troubled, With a jealous fever fit, Which along his once calm features Like a poisoned hand would hit.

XIII But the lady – was she faithless? Could she that deep love forget Which had made those halls deserted Where his proud guests once had met? Was there another wooer, Happy in her guilty love? Ask the stars that shine above her- Speak it thou chaste moon above.

XIV See, it is a spacious orchard- Stretching from the castle foss; Old trees all with ripe fruit laden, Litchen stained, and wreathed with moss- Silent trees, all tipped with silver, Sleeping in the dreamy light Of the mild and tranquil moonbeams In the solemn trance of night.

XV There, along a silent pathway, Where the boughs in mazy wood Break the lustre of the moonlight, Streaming through the leafy roof- See a lady and her lover Gliding down the grass grown walk, Holding secret ardent converse, Whispered low as lovers talk.

XVI Who is he, that moonlight wooer? Who is she, that lady bright? Wherefore steal they forth together In the silence of the night? Tis not Ballyreddy’s chieftain- Ah! of love and truth the stain- She who walks beside the gallant Is the faire wife of De Frene.

XVII Shall we wonder at the anguish Preying on the noble chief? Shall we marvel how so fiercely Came the ruthless fever grief, Bearing down the high and fearless, With it’s shadow, clear and dark, When his happiness is shipwrecked, Trusting to so frail a barque.

XVIII Ah! What treachery we know not, Or, what trait’rous poison ailme, Darkened o’er the Knight De Frenigh, All is lost in ruthless time. Silent is the old tradition, Only this it whispered breath, That by sudden steel or poison Was the good night done to death.

XIX Three long years had come and faded Since ‘mid swelling keen and wail, Clansmen laid the nobel Frenigh, In the church of Ballyneale- There is yet his graven sontoheon Where “in Chief” the blazoned bees, Mark from Charlemagne his lineage, Through unsullied ancestories.

XX See again false Kathleen walking With her thracherous paramour He had wooed her ere De Frenigh, Met her on her native moor, He- a churl in Rose ponts nurtured, Ledger man and trading clown- Was preferred before De Frenigh, Belted knight of high renown.

XXI For in sooth, when that true chieftain, Pledged his troth in in Ballyneale, To the coy and shrinking maiden, Listening to his ardent tale, She, by wild ambition prompted, For his rank forgot the sin- And thenceforth with deep dissembling Hid the serpent heart within.

XXII See again those lovers walking, Not through forest pathways deep, But where spreads an em’rald meadow, Under Ballyreddy’s keep- Where, beneath the flashing sunset, Through the grass a fountain smiles- See, a darkhaired boy beside them, Listens to their treacherous wiles.

XXIII Who is he, the dark-eyed prattler With the broad unfearing brow, And the trusting, lofty bearing, Mark of noble birth I trow? He is heir of Ballyreddy, Tower and town, wood, and dale- Orphan son of murdered Frenigh Lying cold in Ballyneale.

XXIV Can that seeming gentle lady, Speaking tenderly the while, Harbour to a loving infant, Foulest treachery and guile? Can it be that in her bosom, As upon the babe she smiled, There uprose a hell born prompting To the murder of her child?

XXV Yea! For now the cruel mother Calls the little prattler near- Urges him to the grassy margin Of the fountain deep and clear, High she holds a ruddy apple, Ah ! the treason works its spell: When his young eyes sparkle on it Kathleen drops it in the well.

XXVI Then an arrow’s flight she saunters With her lover through the wood, While the apple turns and dances In the sparkling mimic flood, And the child, his hands outstretching, Painting breast and eager breath, Watches there the apple moving Wheeling in its dance of death.

XXVII He has now one short step taken, Then one eager forward bound- One wide clutch to reach the apple- And the waters close him round, Short the feeble infant’s struggle, One wild cry and all is still; O’er the heart of Kathleen Ryder Comes a sudden shudd’ring chill.

XXVIII Searched the servants through the castle, Through the woods, and through the plain- They could bring to Kathleen weeping, Tidings none of young de Frene. Kathleen weeping! Ah ! that false one. Hardened as the nether stone, Joyful thinks on tower and woodland By this foul deed made her own.

XXIX Yes, tho children of that union, Which her heart to crime had steeled, Now possess broad Ballyreddy- Wood and mountain, flood and field; And for this her first-born infant Foully, treacherously slain, Sleeps where gleams the sparkling fountain ‘Neath the keep of De La Frene.

XXX At the close of the next evening, Mournfully the vassals tell How they found the young De Frenigh Drown’d within the Castle well. Sadly streak his tender body; Sound again the mourning wail: Let him sleep beside his father In the church of Ballyneale.

XXXI But the shudder that past o’er me, And the echo of that scream, Never left the heart of Kathleen, Rining loud in a many a dream, Short the time those guilty lovers Held the land, by force and fraud- Then came sweeping retribution Ample as their guilt was broad.

XXXII Once more silent is the legend Who the signal vengeance sought ‘Gainst the churl and his leman, For the double murder wrought. Yet we hear that all unpitied, Kathleen perished in her shame, Leaving for her crime’s memorial To the fatal well her name.

XXXIII Where the hills of Ballyreddy Look along the winding nore, Oft I lingered near that fountain, Musing neath its hawthorn hoar, There they told me this old legend, Which enchained me as a spell, ‘Neath the shadow of the hawthorn, Over Kathleen Ryder’s well.

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