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History of Monaghan for 200 Years

1660-1860

Denis Carolan Rushe B.A., T.C.D., F.R.S.A.I.

Published 1921

Chapter I

Chapter 1
After the defeats of the Irish in the reign of Elizabeth the estates of most of the Irish gentry in the County of Monaghan were taken from them and bestowed on English soldiers and court favourites, but some portions were returned to the Irish gentry. The County Monaghan was not planted in James I’s reign, and the only settlers were the personal followers of the new aristocracy and discharged soldiers who resided in the towns and villages. The majority of occupiers of the soil were allowed to remain in enjoyment of their farms as tenants to the new owners. Many of the old gentry sold their estates, but there were enough still in possession after the Cromwellian war to tempt further confiscations, so whatever portions of the County still held by “Irish Papists” was taken from the owners and given to the Cromwellian undertakers and soldiers about 1657 for arrears of pay. The undertakers were those people in England who subscribed money to enable Cromwell to fit out his expedition to invade Ireland.

Of course this subscription was an investment, and the subscribers expected a good return for their money, and both they and the soldiers were sadly disappointed at the smallness of the return, for all the valuable properties were seized upon and held by officials. After the officials had been satisfied, the undertakers came next, and although they were not satisfied, still they were treated better than the soldiers. Many of the common soldiers were so disgusted with what they got that they sold their lands either to their officers or to the old natives at a very low price. An interesting letter from Dr. John Leslie of Glaslough, the Protestant High Church Bishop of Clogher, of which the following is a copy, is still extant, and explains the dissatisfaction amongst those who expected more of the spoils than was given to them:

“Bishop John Leslie, to Sir Edward Dering (British Museum MS)

Castle Leslie,
4th March 1666

Noble Sir, - Though I did enjoy the honour of your acquaintance, yet could I expect nothing but punctual justice from a judge of your worth, and now though unacquainted I can look for no less, if you please to take into your consideration the reason and equitie of my request, which is the reducement of accreadge of Termont Mogra to what it is really worth. The surveyors return of two and twenty thousand accres will not be with you (I hope) an uncontrollable Rule of Justice, who heightened that land for their own advantage, they being payed their salaries out of the accres. The land I assure is the worst and most unprofitable in the Province of Ulster and will not afford fourteen hundred accres useful to the tenant, though the bogg and mountains be of a larger extent. My interest in Termont Mogra is nothing but a lease for the See of Cloghor, for which I have already paid more than it is worth. Upon the truth of my information I humbly desire and expect what justice in conscience and honor you refuse to no subject. So wishing you God’s blessing; direction and protection, I shall ever remain
Your Most humble and affectionate servant
JOH. CLOGHOR”

The Cromwellian undertakers and soldiers do not appear to have taken much root in the soil, and many of them sold their estates, but those who held on and the new purchaser preferred receiving rents from the old tenants than bothering themselves with tilling the land. In a few localities the landlords brought in other planters from other parts of Ulster, who were principally the sons and grandsons of the anglicised Scotch of James I period. A few such settlements were on rich lands in the barony of Dartrey. One extended along the northern part of the parish of Drumsnatt and the parts of Tedavnet and Clones parishes which adjoin it, and a few smaller localities in other parts of the County. As a general rule the method of planting the land with alien tenants was not followed in County Monaghan, as it had been in other parts of Ulster. The manner was much more subtle and gave less cause for irritation by evicting an occasional tenant and gradually filling the vacant holdings with descendants of planters, which was continued with occasional periods of cessation until the rise of the Land League in 1787-79.

Early in the reign of Charles II a tax was imposed on all householders of two shillings for each hearth in County Monaghan; the list of payments is called the Hearth Money Roll. The roll for that County exists for two years 1663 and 1665. As it is from this roll the modern history of the people of our county proceeds, it seems advisable that it should be given in full which will enable most inhabitants of the County to trace their ancestors. The date at the head of the first is given as XV in the Reign of Charles II. The years of his reign are counted from the death of his father, not from the date of his accession to the throne. In reading this list, it must be remembered that those who gave their names spoke only Irish, which accounts for many of the forms in which they are written as being unintelligible. It is probably that the person entering the payments could not catch the sounds accurately so they were written phonetically: many of the Gaelic sounds could not be reproduced in English. It appears that in many of the parishes the collectors of the tax were satisfied with one person paying the assessment in each townland where only a single hearth is returned. In the parish of Monaghan, however it will be observed that the one person whose name is returned paid for as many hearths in the townland as the collector was aware of. Monaghan being the garrison town, it was harder to escape payment in that parish than in farther away localities. Many townlands are missing altogether, for out of the 1,850 townlands in Co. Monaghan, only 1,016 are recorded as having rendered any contribution to the Hearth Tax. The list of 1663 consists of 1,748 names, while that of 1665 contains 1,391 names.

It is probable that many people evaded payment and escaped from both lists. There are over 850 names on the second list which are not discoverable on the 1663 list. These, when added together bring the total up to 2,600. Some of those omitted were in isolated localities which probably had not many inhabitants, or the houses of the people who lived in them were inaccessible to tax collectors. Besides, there are groups of townlands which must have been inhabited from which no payments are returned. These people may have resisted payment, the collector may have forgotten to give up the money, or no person may have been obtainable who would undertake the task. It is therefore probable that little more than half the house-holders are recorded; allowing six for each family, which is a fair estimate of the families of that period and taking all circumstances into account, the population of County Monaghan would have been 15,000 to 20,000 in the middle of the 17th century.

Few paid taxes on more than one hearth, and where there were two or more the number is indicated by the figure after the name. None but the very rich or very loyal people paid for a parlour as well as a kitchen hearth. The names of those who paid for more than one hearth indicate that they were, with few exceptions, not of the Irish, or if they were, had 'Englished' their names, so that very few of the original land owners had been reinstated in their properties after the restoration of the monarchy. When claims were made they were generally met by accusations of treasons, murders, &c., and the claimants called for an enquiry. A commission was accordingly issued, and at the first sitting the charges preferred against the older gentry broke down, with the result that the commission was suddenly recalled.

It was clear that the influence of the new proprietors was so great at the seat of government in Dublin and London that there was no chance of justice being done to the rightful owners of the land. Had the Commission continued its labours it is probably that all the stories of massacres and spoilations which gave excuses for confiscations of properties of the owners as well as having supplied materials to the anti-Irish writers from that day to this would have exploded. Very few of the county Monaghan estates were restored, even the coming of James II brought little relief to the plundered gentry.

From a perusal of the Hearth Money Roll the position of towns and villages are difficult to ascertain. There were then three towns in the County Monaghan – Monaghan, Clones and Carrickmacross The village of Castleblayney was on the east side of the lake in the parish of Muckno. It was around the site of an Augustinian friary, but the only remnant of the old town is the graveyard and ruins of Ballintoy. Early in the eighteenth century the residence of Lord Blayney and the town were moved to the west side of the lake, being more convenient for traffic along the road from Dublin to Derry, and the adjoining townlands of Clontibret were transferred into it and became part of the parish of Muckno.

There is very little record of the old Monastery of Muckno. After its destruction, Augustinian friars kept travelling about in the neighbourhood but owing to the number of Planters brought from time to time by the Blayneys, the Catholics appear to have diminished in the locality. There are records of Priors but whether they were titular Priors who did not live in the County or some travelling Friars who ministered to the religious wants of the neighbourhood is not known. A Prior is mentioned in 1776. Ballybay did not then exist as a town, though there probably was a village at the ford from which it was named; there is only one person given as paying the tax in it.

In Coolmain in the parish of Monaghan there appears to have been a village which was afterwards removed to Knockbuee in the same neighbourhood. In Donaghmoyne, there were villages or clusters of houses at Mullinahunchina, Leamchoill (now Longfield), Laragh, Kiltybegs, Lurganboy, Drumharriff ; in Magheracloon : Tonniskea and Aghavillard; in Currin: Drum ; in Clones: Ballintoppin ; and in Donagh: Glaslough and Killyboley. There must have been many villages and groups of cabins out of which no tax could be obtained.

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