HISTORY OF BANDON

CHAPTER II

[Pages 19- 42]  The spaniards in kinsale - obstinate battle on the banks of the bandon, between the english under taffe and the irish under the pope's apostolic vicar - the irish defeated and the vicar killed - the letters patent granted by james the first for holding our fairs - chirst church, kilbrogan, its clergy, charities, monuments, etc.

1601 -    our colonists did not remain very long in the enjoyment of undisturbed tranquility.  The rebellious chieftains, who had been ardently awaiting the arrival of assistance from Spain, heard  with exultation that a fleet consisting of forty-five ships, with three thousand five hundred Spanish veterans on board, had landed in Kinsale.*  Scarcely had they set foot on the shore, when couriers were despatched in eager haste  to O'Neil and O'Donnell to announce to them the glad tidings, and to urge them in the name of their church and their country to collect all their followers, and to march southward at once.
    Red Hugh, overjoyed with the good news, and only too anxious to measure pikes with the Saxon again, hastily set out; and, after some difficulty, this 'light-footed general' reached Innishannon, a village three miles eastward of Bandon.†  There he was joined by seven hundred Spanish troops, who had arrived at Castlehaven, under Don Zuibar; by many of the Muster chiefs; and soon after by O'Neil.

            *  It was exactly two hundred and twenty-one years since the Spaniards were in Kinsale before; upon which occasion, A.D. 1380 (Richard the Second), they captured the town; but were subsequently driven out.   
            †  He over-awed his enemies from the Boyne to the Bandon. -(See The Four Masters.)

    After some delay they proceeded down the left bank of the river, and took up a position about a mile to the rear of the English camp.  Here they established themselves so effectually, as to cut off all supplies between the English and Cork.  Thus Mountjoy, who was besieging Don Juan De Aquilla in Kinsale, was himself besieged by O'Niel*  and O'Donnell in his own trenches.
    Under these circumstances the enemy thought that a combined night attack must prove a success; and they decided upon it without delay.  The Spaniards were to sally from Kinsale, and attach the English front, at the same time that the Irish should set out from their camp and attack the English rear.
    It happened that the night on which the great avenging blow was to be struck turned out a wild one.  At one time the darkness was so thick that a soldier could scarcely recognize the comrade who stood shoulder to shoulder with him.  At another time one could see the adjoining hills and valleys by the red light which the lightning flashed†  on them for a moment; and then the darkness was greater than before.  The superstitious mind of the Irish soldier was filled with ominous forebodings,  Thousands of banshees, soaring on the swelling gale, muttered a doleful plaint as they swept over his head; and he heard it grow fainter and fainter in the distance.  Anon returning, it increased; and gathering strength as it approached, the little fairies, swooping to the very earth, screamed it in his ears.  When the wind howled , he heard angry voices speaking to him from the black clouds which madly sped past;  and when it soughed, unseen singers, in a sweet and subdued tone, chanted a requiem for the dead.

            *  When O'Niel was on the line of march to Kinsale, and was passing Castle-More, he asked who lived there; and on being told it was an Englishman named Barrett, whom however, was good Catholic, and whose forefathers had been living in Ireland for the previous four hundred years:- " No matter," exclaimed the chieftain, with an oath, "I hate the churl, as if he came but yesterday!"
           †  The watchman set to watch, says Moryson, to their seeming did see lamps burning at the points of their staves or spears, in the midst of these lightning flashes.

    Carew, who had been informed of everything, was ready.  Accordingly, when the day broke, the Irish, who expected to fall upon a sleeping foe, found that the foe-already under arms, and drawn up in battle array-was anxiously awaiting them.  They were disheartened before, but now they became downright cowardly, and began to retire in disorder.  Mountjoy quickly perceived that now was his time.  He immediately sent Carew back to Kinsale to deceive the Spaniards by a feint attack, whilst he himself boldly marched against the Irish army with a small force, consisting of only twelve hundred foot and four hundred horse.
    O'Neils's own column was the first to receive the shock.  After a feeble resistance, they were broken and fled.  A panic then seized O'Donnell's men; and soon after the entire Irish army, despite the vigorous exertions of Tyrrell Tyrconnell and Tyrone, were as powerless as a flock of sheep.  The slaughter was great.  Many Irish chieftains were killed.  The bodies of twelve hundred Irish and Spanish soldiers lay dead upon the field,-hundreds more perished in the pursuit.  All the arms and ammunition of the vanquished became the spoil of  the conquerors.  And thus ingloriously ended this combined effort of the Spanish and the Irish to wrest Ireland form under British sway.
    There were many distinguished men of name, in the western parts of our country, who had joined with O'Neil and O'Donnell in the unsuccessful attempt to throw off the English yoke.  These the commissioners determined to punish; and for that purpose they ordered Captains Flower and Bostocke, with twelve hundred foot and on hundred horse, to proceed to Carbery.
    They set out, directing their course towards Ross and Bantry, and doing the enemy all the mischief they could, as they marched along.  They burnt his corn-stacks-they pulled down his houses-they drove off his cattle; and finally they returned, bringing with them, amongst other trophies, the heads of thirty-seven notorious rebels, besides others of less note.
    Captain Taffe also penetrated into the enemy's quarters in Carbery.  His force consisted of forty of Wingfield's foot, some of the colonists*  from Bandon-Bridge, and his own troop of horse.  He, too, was pretty successful; and was on his way back with between two and three hundred cows an some horses, when the MacCarthys, to whom the cattle had belonged, followed in pursuit, under the command of "that wicked and unnatural traitor, Donell O'Sullivan."†

            *  The colonists were bound to furnish the authorities with mounted horsemen and footmen fully armed, in accordance with their tenures.  These subsidies were sometimes called risings-out, and sometimes militia.
                †  Three hundred pounds was offered for the live body of Donell O'Sullivan, and two hundred pounds for his head.

    Taffe was overtaken on the banks or the river Bandon; and instantly the MacCarthys fell furiously on his infantry.  This little body was unable to withstand the strength and the numbers of their opponents; and were on the point of giving way, when their commander arrived to their relief with his horse.  After killing a few of the enemy, the rest gave way and fled.
    It would seem that O'Sullivan was unable to rally his men after this; for we find that, when next they advanced to the assault, they were led by no less a personage than the Pope's apostolic vicar, MacEagan, bishop of Ross.  The Titular was undoubtedly a man of war as well as a man of peace.  He was most active in pursuading the chieftains in his diocese to join O'Neill, and to aid the Spaniards in Kinsale; and was at all times a bitter and uncompromising foe of the Sassenach.  The Sassenach consequently had no love for him  .  MacEgan was "a traitorous priest."  He was "a Popish priest, and a most infamous rebel."  He never pardoned any Irishman, says Cox,-though papists,-that served the Queen; but as soon as they became before him he would have them confessed, absolved, and executed.
    Putting himself at their head, the apostolic vicar , with the drawn sword in one hand and some of the emblems of his the sacred calling in the other, marched against the little band of heretics; who, flushed with their recent success, stood together undauntedly.  The fight was fierce and obstinate.  The MacCarthys were assured by a faithful son of the infallible church that they would be victorious; and they were not apprehensive of danger befalling their holy leader-for how could a sword or pike, wielded by heretic hands, harm him?
    On the other side, the colonists had now a chance of doing the community and important service, by knocking this clerical agitator on the head.  With this intent they resolutely pressed on, bent on wounding the invulnerable prelate at the least; or killing him outright if they could.  The battle waged furiously.  It was impossible to say on which the side victory would ultimately declare, until at length some of Taffe's men forced their way to where the bishop stood.  His lifeless body*  soon lay on the ground; and his followers, filled with terror and horror, fled, utterly aghast.  Some succeeding in making their escape to the neighbouring woods; others dragged themselves through bogs; but by far the greater number endeavored to cross the river, in which effort upwards of a hundred of them lost their lives.

            *  His remains were carried off the field by O'Sullivan, and buried in the north-western angle of the cloister of Timoleague Abbey; and a little cross was scored in the overhanging wall, to mark the place of his interment.

1604 -   When Elizabeth was dead, the pretensions and hopes of the Irish priesthood received a new impulse and a new life.  The son of a Popish mother, if not openly affording them grounds to expect the alleviation of their political grievances, at all events would not place obstacles to the progress of their religion.  Acting upon this supposition, they began to repair and re-decorate the abbeys and religious houses which had been erected and endowed by the piety of their forefathers; and which they never ceased to look upon with feelings of veneration and pride.  Among those restored this time was the Franciscan Abbey at Timoleague, in our neighbourhood, and the Abbey of Kilcrea, also belonging to the Franciscans.

1605 -   Bandon had by this time attained so much strength and importance, that the inhabitants were anxious to settle its future form of government.  About this time great efforts were made to induce the Irish to adopt English manners and customs, and to speak in the English tongue.  Even several years before, Sir John Perrott, the Lord-Deputy, endeavored to persuade the chieftains to wear trousers, but he was unsuccessful.  The wearing of such a garment-now and indispensable article of dress in every civilized community-appeared to them as an evidence of their subjugation.  If they had their legs in English trousers, they would hide their face in their Irish mantle, for shame.
    Instead, however, of the Irish adopting the costume and the customs of the English, many of the English*  imitated the Irish in these particulars.  They half shaved their heads; they twined their hair into culans; and they wore the mantle, under which, we are told, "the outlaw covereth himself from the wrath of heaven, from the offences of the earth, and from the sight of men."  The adoption of the dress and customs of the Irish by English residents were not always a harmless piece of policy on their part, as several of them were killed, being mistaken in for Irishmen.

            * The English were forbidden to adopt Irish dress so far back as A.D. 1300 under the penalty of being imprisoned,  and degraded to the level of "mere Irish."

    Among all the languages of Europe, it is said the Irish alone retains the regional Cadmean alphabet of sixteen letters.  These were not added to even when the Christian missionaries adopted the Roman letters; and it is remarkable that, notwithstanding the arrival of successive colonies here, each speaking its own tongue, or in dialects of the same tiongue, yet the Celtic is living still -at least among the peasantry in the interior.
    Its very great antiquity is undeniable.  Speaking of it, and eminent historian says:-"The Irish nation are, by it, enabled to boast that they possess genuine history, several centuries more ancient than any other European nation possesses, in its present spoken language."
    The Irish were very unwilling to give up their own tongue and adopt that of the Saxon.  They disdained to strain their jaws by speaking English:-"What!" said O'Neil, "thinkest thou that it standeth with my honour to wrighte my mouth in clattering English?"
    Another chieftain showed a contempt for it still greater.  Being told that a child of his had an impediment in his speech, he ordered that he should not be sent into the Pale to learn English, as he believed that language to be fit for none other than stammerers.  Neither would they allow a reproach to be cast upon the old vernacular , without defending it.  When a gentleman, who had been in Rome, stated that he met with a woman there who could converse in any language, save the Irish.  That, she was unable to speak, "as the devil was gravelled therewith."  "No," said an Irishman, who stood by, "twas because it was so sacred and holy,  that no damned fiend had the power to speak it!"
    The English spoken in Ireland felt but slightly the influence of the great improvements effected in it in Elizabeth's reign.  According to Sir William Petty, the English in use here, even in 1672, was neither a English, Irish, Welsh, or Wexfordian.  Before his time it was described as a mingle-mangle, or a gallimaufrie of both English or Irish.  Stanihurst also stated it was the dregs of Chaucer English that were spoken here in his day.  Thus, a spider was an attercop, a lump of bread, a pucket-a dunghill, and mizen-a physician-a leech.  Even the softer sex used to pronounce their words hard and broad, and, in dissyllables, used always place the accent on the last syllable-thus market was mar-ke-at; and so peevish, and sometimes so faint, was their utterance, that we are told they looked as if they were half sick , and ready to call for a posset.  It is possible that, where it not for the forfeitures and slaughter caused by the great rebellion of "'41," and the subsequent uprisings in favor of James the Second, which also terminated in forfeitures and the expatriation of most of the Irish gentry, the Erse would be the prevailing tongue of most of our country towns and villages to this day.

1608 -   Our town had by this time increased very considerably in size .  The level portions on both banks of the river were entirely built over; and building lots on the rising ground on the northern side were anxiously sought after.

1610 -   So pleased was James the First with the progress of the new colony, that he granted to Henry Beecher-Phane's successor-and his heirs forever, the power of appointing a clerk to the market, of licensing tradesmen and artizans to pursue their vocations within the settlement; and a tenth of the salmon caught in that portion of the river Bandon bounding his grant.  And, on the town "lately the erected on the south side of the said river," he bestowed the privilege of a Saturday's market, and two annual fairs.  Those fairs, which are now the oldest in our country, where established by Letters Patent, dated February 20th (7th James I.), and were to be held on the feast of St. Mark, and on that of St. Simon and St. Jude.  The market to be held on "any day of the week," was also granted at the same time.  The patent is as follows:-

    "Letters of Patent of our lord James the King, granting to Henry Beecher, Esq., without fine, videlicit:-We do find and grant to Henry Beecher, Esq. his heirs and assigns , that he, his heirs and assigns for ever, will have and hold, and may be able to have been hold, one free market at the said town, lately erected on the south side of the said river of Bandon, near the bridge, in the county of Cork, on any day of the week; and also two fairs and markets annually, for ever, at the said town, lately erected on this said river, near the bridge aforesaid.  With a fair on the feast of St. Mark the Evangelist, and for one day next following; and also another fair on the feast of St. Simon's and Jude the Apostle, and the day following, provided that neither of the said feasts fall on the Lord's Day.  With a court of pie-powder, and all tolls, customs, &c., thereto incidental or belonging; and that the same be no injury to any neighbouring markets or fairs.  Rendering twenty shillings current money of Ireland at the feast of the Passover, and St. Michael the Archangel, by equal portions, to be paid for ever."

    On the 23rd of the next month, Sir Richard Boyle also obtained Letters Patent, March 23rd (7th  James I.); and a gain on March 3rd (11th James I.), enabling him to hold two fairs and markets annually -one on the feast of the Ascension of our Lord, and the day following, and another on the 29th of September, and the day following; also a market, to be held on any day of the week-Wednesday-at Coolfadda, on the northern side of the town.  A piece of waste land lying outside the walls, and now known as Gallow's Hill , was given by Beecher for the weekly market and the annual fair.  The former has long since found its way into town; but the latter, we scarcely say, still occupies the old ground.
    Christ Church, Kilbrogan, was built.  It was erected on the site of a Danish fort, known at the time as Badger's Hill; and was the first edifice ever raised in Ireland for Protestant worship.  It is true that the reformed faith was introduced into Ireland long before; and there were even Protestant prelates, wearing the mitre, in the neighbouring city of Cork for more than the previous seventy years: nevertheless, although Protestants did worship in Protestant churches in 1610, yet these churches were never built for that purpose; as it never entered-however remotely-into the thoughts of the founders or original donors, that a body of religionists would arise who could expel Irish priests from the Irish sanctuaries, and laugh at the impotent rage of Rome.
    At first the church consisted on of a nave sixty feet long, by twenty-eight and a-half feet wide, and fifty feet high; and, at its western gable, of a steeple eighty feet in height, and containing two large windows, one above the other.  The entrance door adjoined the steeple, and was twenty-five feet and ten broad.  Between it and the eastern gable-in which was a window of very considerable size, been no less than forty-five feet high by twenty wide-were two windows, each thirty feet high by fifteen wide; and over the doorway itself was a smaller window, fifteen feet high by ten wide.  In 1625*   important additions were made near the entrance on the northern side, and the church itself considerably enlarged by the earl of Cork; and a stone with that date, and inscribed memento Mori, placed over a newly-erected porch adjoining the entrance.  In changing the entrance to the southern side,†  an effort was made to remove the stone which bore the date of the church's erection in 1610, from over the old doorway, in order to place it over the new.  The attempt, however, was a failure-owing to awkwardness or accident, it was broken irretrievably; then the other stone (1625) was then thought of, and placed in the bed intended for the original.

            *  The earl of Cork became sole owner of the seigniory of Sir Bernard Granville, by deed dated September 20th, 1625.  The seigniory includes most of the parish  of Kilbrogan, and other lands.
                †  It is said that the reason the entrance was changed to the southern side was, that in troublesome times, the Irish used frequently plant themselves on the glen hill opposite, and fire at the congregation entering the church door.

    Tradition asserts that the Puritans worshipped in this church, and also in that of Ballymodan, until the passing of the Act of Uniformity in 1663.  We believe this to have been the case, as nearly all the plantees were Puritans; and even the few Episcopalians who were amongst them preferred making common cause with their English countrymen against the common enemy of both, rather than indulging in any disputations with them about vexed questions of doctrine and church discipline; and, therefore, they either joined with them,-which is highly probable,-or let them have everything their own way, undisturbed.  Besides, the clergy-or at least that portion of them who pretended to any religion at all-were mostly puritanical in their views.  There are many of them, who, although they refused Episcopal ordination, were yet allowed to enter into the position of parish churches, and enjoy the livings.  There were others who, not content with spurring a liturgy, went still further, and boldly proclaimed that they were Presbyterians; and they were some admitted to this ministry in the Calvinistic form.  And yet there were bishops who conferred benefices upon them; and who deemed re-ordination in their case not only unnecessary, but even unlawful.  In five years after Kilbrogan Church was built, and in the very diocese we live in, the ordinary complained that close upon a third of the resident clergy did not observe "the forme of common prayer prescribed in common booke."
     It should not be the matter of surprise that very many of the Protestant clergy of the Church of England should differ on many points with the Church herself.  Those who respected the opinions of bishop Ridley, a martyr whose opinions remained unshaken in the midst of the flames which consumed him, were aware that, by his orders, the sacrament was administered upon plain tables, placed in the middle of the church.  Another bishop looked upon clerical vestments as fit only to form a coat for a fool; and longed to see the day when they would be abolished.  Archbishop Grindal was for a long time reluctant to accept a mitre, from the aversion he had to go through the ceremony of consecration; and another bishop thought that the very term itself should be repudiated, and that, in lieu of it, the chief rulers of the Reformed Church should be called the superintendents.  Tradition also asserts that, when the Act of Uniformity was enforced here, the Puritans left Kilbrogan Church in a body, and procured a minister for themselves.  This statement is strongly supported by the fact, that it is about this period the name of a Presbyterian minister first appeared on the role of clergymen of that persuasion, who have officiated in Bandon ever since. 
    The ancient name of the parish of Kilbrogan was Brochony, Brucahane, or Brochane.  It was a fief of the See of Cloyne; and in the fourteenth century was held under the bishop of that dioceses, by the Barrys.  At an Inquisition held at Clenor, on Monday, the feast of St. Andrew the Apostle, in the fifteenth year of the reign Edward the Third, A.D. 1377, before W.M., seneschal of the bishop of Cloyne, it was found that Nicholas Barry acknowledged that he held of the Lord-Bishop the manor of Kilbrogan, with all its appurtenances; the woods, meadows, and three carucates of land in the parish of Brochoyne, by service of homage, fealthy, wardship, relief, and socage at the castle of Kilmacloyne; and by the service of sixteen and fourpence per annum, at the usual terms; that he will do in all things as did Maurice Chapel.
    On the tenth of January, 1841, William, bishop of Cloyne, visited the church of Brochane, and demanded a return of the manor of Kilbrogan from Sir James, son of Nicholas, son of Phillip James de Barry, lord of Brochane; and Sir James swore before M., rector and vicar of Brochane, Edmund Hoverd, and many others, that he would willingly comply with the will of the said bishop, William.  The modern name of the parish is derived from Kiel-Brochane ( the church of Brochane).  In fact the parish was sub invocation Sancti Brocani.  Brogan, Brochane, or Brocanus, was no less a personage than the nephew of out great national saint-St. Patrick, and was also his secretary.*  He was rendered famous by a prophecy of his, in which he foretold that the English would come to Ireland; and that their power would continue there as long as they would observe their own laws, but no longer.† 

    1591-  Richard Newman was vicar of Kilbrogan:-
               "Preb. de Kilbrogan.  Ab, gaine et hosp, mor. sunt Rectores Vicarius ibm.  Richs Newman."
Rory Flynn was also vicar of Kilbrogan, according to another visitation book of same date.  Flynn was vicar of Inskenny in 1581; and vicar of Kilbonane, and rector of Knockavilly, in 1591.‡ 

            *  In the Annals of the Four Masters, A.D.448, is an Irish poem, giving a list of the family and followers of St. Patrick; and among them is mentioned Brogan, the scribe of his school.
            †  Canberensis Eversus. -Dr. O'Kelly
               ‡  For these particulars, as well as for nearly all those connected with the succeeding rectors and vicars of Kilbrogan, we are indebted to Dr. Brady's admirable work on The Clerical Records of Cork, Cloyne, and Ross.

    1615 - In the royal visitation of this year, Robert Sutton appears as vicar:- "Kilbrogan Vic. residens.  The master of Mourne Abbey and Grany are rectores."

At his time Cormack Mac Donough Mac Carthy was in possession of Mourne Abbey; and Sir Garrett Alymer and Sir William Sarsfield were the patentees. and a such divided the revenues of Kilbrogan with Mac Carthy, the representative of Mourne Abbey.  Sutton was also vicar of Desertserges, and of Ballinadee.
    1628 - September 28th. - Baptist Hassell was prebendary of Kilbrogan.
    1632 - John Snary was prebendary and vicar.  He was installed March 31st, on Letters Patent dated March 2nd.  He was deaconed on the 23rd May, and priested on the 29th September, 1624, by John, bishop of Sodar and Man.  In 1634, the rectory of Kilbrogan was valued at £20 per annum, and the prebendary and vicarage at £37-in all £57 yearly.  Mr. Snary obtained a patent in 1635, uniting the rectory with the prebendary and vicarage; and as prebendary, rector, and vicar of Kilbrogan he appears subsequently.
    1661 - Hugh Dunsterville, A.M., prebedary.  In 1663 he was also archdeacon of Cloyne.
    1666 - John Easton, A.M.; prebendary.  Also chancellor of Ross. 
    1669 - Richard Synge, prebendary.  In 1674 he became archdeacon of Cork.  He was also chancellor of Ross.  His daughter Thamer was buried in Kilbrogan, November 11th, 1711.
    1674 - George Synge, prebendary and vicar of Kilbrogan, rector and vicar of Aghinagh, vicar of Aghabollig and Kilcolman, rector of Templetrine, and of Agiapallin, county of Meath. He was son of the bishop of Cloyne.  In 1665, when sixteen years old, he entered Trinity College, Dublin.  In 1681 he married Mary daughter of Thomas Hewytt, of Bandon-Bridge; and secondly, in 1687, Margaret Freke, of Templebryan, in Ross.  In his will, dated September, 1692, he desires to be buried near his first wife, in the chancel of Kilbrogan church.
    1692 - Daniel Lord was prebendary, rector, and vicar, "per mortem Georgii Synge."  He was the son of Richard Lord, and was born in Dublin in        1657.  When only fourteen years of age he entered Trinity College; and subsequently graduated there as doctor of divinity.  His first appointment was to the curacy of Liscarroll.  In 1681 he obtained the prebendary of Killaspugmullane.  In 1682 he was rector of Garryvoe, and the same year he was appointed to the rectory and vicarage of Murragh and Desertserges; and in 1638 rector of Killowen.  He was proctor cleri coreagen to Convocation in 1703.  In his will, dated November 25th, 1704, he is styled the Rev. Daniel Lord, D.D., minister in Bandon-Bridge.  In this he directs that he should be buried " in ye chancel of my own parish of Bandon-Bridge, as near the body of my daughter Frances as may be."  Dorcas, his widow, survived him thirty years.  She was buried in Kilbrogan on the 17th January, 1734.
    1704 - Solomon Foley was prebendary, rector, and vicar of Kilbrogan; rector and vicar of Murragh.  In 1692 he was rector of Kilmeen, vicar of Drinagh, and prebendary of Kilnaglory.  In 1698 he was rector of Ardnegihy and Killcully.  His will was proved in March, 1738.  In it he directed that he should be buried in the chancel of Kilbrogan, near his deceased wife.  Her name was Margaret.  She was buried in Kilbrogan, on the 28th of March, 1731.  His daughter, wife of James Jackson, is also mentioned.  This lady was probably the wife of James Jackson, who was provost of Bandon in 1716, and again in 1730-1731.  One of his curates, Robert Mac Clellan, priested in Cork in 1737, married his daughter, Susannah; and died in 1761.
    It was during Mr. Foley's time that the bell, famed for its silvery tone, and which summoned the parishioners to their parish church for upwards of one hundred and twenty years, was cast.  The casting was performed by an Italian bell-founder, in the churchyard; and during the process several of the residents of Kilbrogan were present, and threw in pieces of silver.  It bore the following inscription:-  "EDWARD SPILLANE AND JAMES MOXLEY, S.N., CHURCH WARDENS, 1734."
    Mr. Foley was buried in the chancel of Kilbrogan, on the 26th of February, 1738.  In addition to the children previously mentioned, he had:- Jane, buried July 12th,1708;  Amy, buried September 26th, 1709;  George, buried August 15th, 1710;  Robert, buried April 30th, 1712;  Solomon, buried April 22nd, 1725.
    1738 - William Jackson, prebendary, rector, and vicar; was also rector of Aghlish, and rector and vicar of Murragh-vacant by Foley's death.  In 1749, he was prebendary of Cahirlag, rector of Little Island, and Ratheany.  In 1739, he was prebendary of Templebryan, vicar of Templequinlan, rector of Templecomalus and Kilnagross, in Ross; and in 1745 he was prebendary of the Holy Trinity, Cork.  Mr. Jackson would seem to been the son of James Jackson, who is supposed to have married the daughter of the proceeding rector.  He was born in 1713; and entered Trinity College, Dublin, when sixteen years of age.  He was priested in Cork in 1737, for the curacy of Brinny; and the following year he married Mary Nash, of Brinny, to whom he bequeathed his property.  He died in 1767.
    1739 - William Robinson, A.M. succeeded, upon Jackson's resignation.  He was also rector and vicar of Murragh; but was not in the possession of hte one rectory of Aghlish, which-when vacated by Jackson- was bestowed upon Thomas Blennerhasset, and was not restored to Kilbrogan until 1746.  Mr. Robinson was the son of the Rev. Thomas Robinson, of St. Nicholas, Laneashire.  He marrid AnneMoorcroft; and by her had a son, Thomas, who married Dorothy, daughter of Samuel Townsend, of Whitehall.
    1746 - St. John Browne, L.L.D., was prebendary, rector, and vicar of Kilbrogan, rector and vicar of Murragh, rector of Killowen, chancellor of Ross, and rector of Innishannon and Leighmoney.  He was a son of Edward Browne, "senatoris corcaguiensis," and was a younger brother of Jemmett Browne, bishop of Cork.  He entered college in 1729.  He was ordained priest at Cork, in 1736, and licensed to the curacy of Killowen, near Kinsale, in 1737.  The next year he married Amelia St. George, of Kinsale; and had issue:- Rev. Thomas Adderly Browne, chancellor of Ross; Rev. St. John Browne, scholar Trinity College, Cambridge; and Sir St. George Sackville Browne, K.C.B., lieutenant-general in the army.  Dr. Browne married secondly, in 1776, Mrs. Elizabeth Hodder; but it does not appear that there was any issue from this marriage.  He died in 1796.
    1796 - John Kenny, L.L.D., prebendary, rector, and vicar of Kilbrogan; also vicar of Kinneigh, and rector of Dunderrow.  Dr. Kenny was for many years prebendary of St. Nicholas, Cork; and was also a vicar-choral and a vicar-general of Cork.  He was deaconed on the 24th of May, 1761, and was priested the same year.  He married Mary Herbert, of  Muckross, and had:- Rev. Edward H. Kenny, rector of Kilmeen; Robert, who was a captain in the navy; Rev. Thomas Kenny, prebendary of Donoughmore; Rev. Arthur Kenny, F.T.C.D.; and a daughter Mary, who wrote Letters of Prejudice.  Dr. Kenny died in 1814, and was buried in Ballymartle.
    1815 - Venery Lovett, D.D., was prebendary, rector, and vicar of the parish, and rector of Aghlish.  He was the third son of Jonathan Lovett, of Liscombe, Bucks, and Kinswell, county Tipperary.  He was a vicar-choral of Lismore form 1781 to 1825.  He married Frances Mary, daughter of Henry Gervaise, archdeacon of Cashel; and had issue:- Jonathan Henry, ambassador and resident at the court of Persia; William, of the Royal navy; and Henry William, who, on the death of his uncle, Sir Jonathan Lovett, Bart., of Linscombe, inherited the estate of Saulsburry, in Buckinghamshire.  Dr. Lovett, who was chaplain to his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, left twenty pounds to the rector and chuchwardens of Kilbrogan.  He died in 1825, and was buried in Lismore.  It is said that Dr. Lovett would have succeeded his brother, Sir Jonathan, in the possession of all the family estates, he being the next heir, were it not for his love of humour.  It appears that the old baronet was both irritable and eccentric; and that our rector was as full of fun as his elder brother was of moroseness.  One day he was amusing himself behind Sir Jonathan's chair, making hideous faces at him; and imitating, by his clenched fists and various movements of his legs and feet, the kind of treatment he thought Old Gouty deserved.  Suddenly, Sir Jonathan turned round and caught the doctor in the fact. He never forgave him.  This piece of innocent recreation cost the doctor an estate.
    1818 - Horatio Townsend Newman was prebendary, rector, and vicar, upon the resignation of Lovett.  He married on the 10th of November, 1817, Charlotte Elizabeth, third daughter of the Right Honorable Denis Daly, of Dunsandle, county Galway.  In 1842 he was appointed to the deanery of Cork.  Mr. Newman was son of Adam Newman, of Dromore, county Cork.  He entered Trinity College, Dublin, where he graduated as A.B., in 1803.  On the 6th of July, 1806, he obtained deacon's orders, and was priested July 12th, 1807-both at Cloyne.  In 1808 he was licensed to the curacy of St. Fin Bar's; and in 1818 he was appointed to Kilbrogan.  In 1844 he published A Brief View of Ecclesiastical History, from the earliest period to the present time.  He died, January 6th, 1864.
    1842 - Honorable Charles Broderick Bernard, M.A., Baliol College, Oxford, second son of James, earl of Bandon.  He was born January 4th, 1811; ;ordained deacon June 28th, 1835, and priested September 11th, 1836-both at Cork.  In 1835 he was curate of Desetserges.  From 1840 to 1842 he was vicar of Kilmocomoge, and in the latter year was appointed prebendary, rector, and vicar of Kilbrogan.  In 1843 he married the Honorable Jane Grace Freke, sister of George, seventh baron of Carbery; and had issue:- Percy Broderick, born September 17th, 1844; James Boyle, born December 22nd, 1847, Mr. Bernard published many sermons and lectures, from time to time.  Amongst the rest:-  A sermon preached in the cathedral church of St. Gin Bar, on Tuesday, June 23rd, 1840.  A sermon preached on Sunday, November 1st, 1846, being the last occasion on which divine service was performed within the old parish church of Ballymodan.  A sermon on the death of the Rev. Herbert P/ Molesworth, curate of Kilbrogan, Bandon, preached in the parish church July 4th, 1847.  Dragon and the Ark of God-A sermon on behalf of the Diocesan Church Education Society, 1851.  What is truth?- A sermon on behalf of the Society for Irish Church Missions to the Roman Catholics, preached in the parish church of St. Multose, Kinsale, 1854.  An address to the sunday-school teachers and scholars of Cork and its neighbourhood, delivered in Christ Church, December 5th, 1854.  An address to the parishioners of Kilbrogan, 1855.  A sermon preached at the consecration of Kinneigh Church, August 27th, 1856.  India-A lecture delivered at the opening of the fifth session of the Bandon Young Men's Association, 1857.  Religious Activities, 1865.
    In 1851 Mr. & Mrs. Bernard presented the churchwardens with a beautifully wrought silver cup and paten, for the use of the church.  They are thus inscribed:-  CHRIST CHURCH, KILBROGAN, BANDON.  THE CITY OF HON^el and Rev^d C.B. Bernard, Rector, and  HON^el  Jane Grace. His Wife."
    Towards the close of 1866 Mr. Bernard was appointed bishop of Tuam, Killala, and Achonry; and on the 13th of January, 1867, was consecrated at Armagh by the Primate, assisted by the Right Rev. John Gregg, D.D., bishop of Cork, and the Right Rev. Hamilton Verschoyle, D.D., bishop of Kilmore. The Honorable and Rev. William Conyngham Plunket, nephew of the late bishop of Tuam, preached the sermon, taking as his text, Ezra iii. 13.  Previous to his leaving Bandon for the scene of his new labours, Dr. Bernard was presented with several addresses and testimonials.
    On Monday, December 31st, 1866, he was presented with an address and testimonial by a deputation form the Bandon Young Men's Association, consisting of Captain Wheeler, chairman of the Town Commissioners; George Bennett, churchwarden, Kilbrogan; R.N. Woulfe, churchwarden, Ballymodan; Rev. J. Bleakely, Ballymodan; Rev. J.O Sullivan, Kilbrogan; R.W. Doherty, Rev. W. Powell, and Thomas Hunter.
    "The testimonial consisted of a massive inkstand of solid silver.  The handles and bottle-stands are of exquisite workmanship; and running round the entire front is a deep fringe, in frosted silver.  It looks extremely well; and is considered not only and appropriate, but a handsome present.  In the centre of the plateau, on a raised shield, tastefully ornamented with chaste and elaborate devices, is the following:-'Presented to the Hon. and Rev. C.B. Bernard, D.D., by the Young Men's Association of the ancient and loyal borough of Bandon-Bridge.'" - Cork Constitution.
    On Thursday, the 3rd of January, 1867, he was presented with an address and testimonial "by the parishioners of Kilbrogan, his fellow-townsmen of the ancient and loyal borough of Bandon-Bridge, and by numerous friends in its vicinity."
    "The testimonial was a centre-piece, a candalabra, with straight lines.  The superstructure, and exceedingly chaste design of oak branches and scroll-work, supported by a rich chased festooned pedestal, on which stand figures of religion, liberty, and hospitality; the whole surmounted by the figure of an angel, above the bowl.  The altitude of the piece is four feet; the diameter of the plateau is seventeen inches.  It has a bagot-chased edge, and contains festoons of flowers and scroll-work.  As a piece of ornamental art, the candalabra is a master-piece of cunning workmanship." -Ibid.
    On the 5th of January-Saturday-Dr. And Mrs. Bernard were each presented, by the teachers, students, and pupils of the Bandon Training Schools, with a handsome copy of Baxter's Polyglot Bible, in antique morocco, silver rimmed and clasped; with and inscription.  Also with a suitable address.
    "On the same day. the teachers of the Church Diocesan Education Society presented Dr. Bernard with an address and a testimonial, consisting of a clock of exquisite design and elaborate workmanship; having on its base, in front, a centre-piece, with and appropriate inscription.  And on the same occasion, the teachers and children of the Bandon Ragged Schools presented the Hon. Mrs. Bernard with a walnut ormolu case and blotter, of rare beauty." - Ibid
    On Tuesday, January 8th, he received an address and testimonial from "the Nobility, Gentry, and Laity of the county of Cork."  The testimonial was composed of two centre-pieces, to match the candalabra presented by the town of Bandon.  On one is represented a shepherdess, bearing a pitcher, and surrounded by sheep; on the other a shepherd, carrying tenderly in his arms a lamb, and followed by his flock.  The figures on each piece stand on a richly-chased tripod base, and are beautifully executed in frosted silver.  An acanthus tree overshadows each group, on the clustering foliage of which rests the glass fruit bowl.
    On the same date, the clergy of the united dioceses of Cork, Cloyne. and Ross presented their address and testimonial.  The latter consisted of four corner-pieces, in perfect keeping with the centre-pieces previously mentioned.  Above each bowl, which is supported by the leaves of an acanthus tree, surmounting a pedestal corresponding to the pattern  of the great centre-piece, is the figure of an angel, in frosted silver.
    On the same occasion, the general committee of the Cork, Cloyne, and Ross Diocesan Church Education Society presented an address and testimonial.  the latter was one of Baxter's bibles, with gold rim, clasp, and plate; and on the same day he received and address from the clerical meting at Bandon.
    1867 - January 13th. - Robert Gilbert Eccles, A.B., succeeded.  R.G. Eccles, Trinity College, Dublin-son of John Eccles, Esq., of Ecclesville, county Tyrone-was born June 14th, 1826; obtained deacon's orders January 7th, 1850; priested December same year=both of Tuam.  Was curate of Westport from 1850to 1862; of Maguire's-bridge, from 1853 to1866; of Shaseragh from 1862 to 1865; of Clabby, from 1865 to 1866; and of Ballibay, from 1866 to 1867.  In 1853 he married Nannie Elizabeth, daughter of Lieutenant-Colonel Dickson, of Hollybrook, county Fermanagh, and has numerous issue.
    Among the virtues for which the rectors of Kilbrogan have been always conspicuous, is charity.  Although some of them may not have acted in strict accordance with the divine precepts which they preached from their pulpits, yet they all gave with an unsparing hand.  It is told of one of them, that his glebe was the resort of  a crowd of incurables, and to whom he regularly gave relief; but in such a manner as to leave the recipients under the impression they were only receiving their daily wages for their daily labor.  A blind man might be seen scraping at a gravel walk; a blind woman knitting stckings for a charity school; a lame man helping a lot of others like himself to mind cows; a cripple weeding, &c., &c.
    One day a brother clergyman recommended a poor man to him for employment, who had not even the merit of being a Bandonian.  "What can we put him to?" said out humane rector, looking along the walks, which were sprinkled with incurables, in every stage of helplessness.  "Can we thatch?"  "Oh, yes," replied the other, "I think he ought."  "Well then let him set to work, and thatch it."  On the morrow, a little donkey-cart brought the labourer to his work; a ladder was placed for him against the house, and he was told to mount; but he couldn't-he had no legs. 
    The parish of Kilbrogan is five miles in length and by three in breadth, and contains 7,255 acres.  The glebe house, in which the rector resides, was built in the 1813, at a cost of £2,861; and to it are attached thirty-two acres of glebe land , valued at two pounds per acre .  The rent charge derived from the parish amounts to £487 10s. 0d.  The rector is also entitled to £29 2s. 0d. from the parish of Aglish.  In 1860 the Protestant population was 1,038; and the same year, 223 Protestant children attended the schools.  The charities of Kilbrogan derive their income from rents, and from it interest-money arising from funds lodged in government securities. They are as follows:-
    One hundred pounds, recovered by Dr. Browne.  Interest to be distributed annually amongst the poor of Kilbrogan
    Fifty pounds sterling, which remained in the hands of Dr. Browne received by him from the executors of his predecessor, Mr. Robinson.  Two-thirds of  the interest-money to be distributed annually amongst the poor of Kilbrogan; the other third to the poor of Murragh.
    Two hundred pounds Sterling, bequeathed by Walter Travers, Esq.  Interest to be yearly distributed among ten poor housekeepers of Kilbrogan
    Onepound, paid annually out of French's slip, city of Cork
    Five pounds per annum, left by Thomas Lisson to the poor of Kilbrogan, out of tho lands of Droumilihy and Kilbegg.
    One hundred pounds sterling, bequeathed by Dr. Browne. Interest to be paid to the poor of Kilbrogan. 
    One thousand pounds.  Interest divided between the parishes of Kilbrogan and Ballymodan.  -Conner's bequest . 
    Ten pounds per annum (Irish), left by Thomas Harrisson ; chargeable on the lands of Baelgooley.  Divided between Kilbrogan and Ballymodan.
    Four hundred pounds, left by William Moxly. Interest thereof between Kilbrogan and Ballymodan.
    Tow hundred pounds, presented to the parish by the Hon. Mrs. William Smyth Bernard.  The interest to be annually distributed among twelve poor windows, residents in Kilbrogan.
    The following sums are not forthcoming:-
    Five shillings, to be paid annually out of the holdings of John Hammet, in the town of Bandon.
    One shilling, out of the holdings of George Wheeler, to be paid annually.
    Thirty shillings, to be paid annually out of the holdings of Thomas Lisson, of Bandon-Bridge; being Langton's holdings.
    Thirty shillings, to be paid by the provost of Bandon for the time being.
    Two pounds, payable annually out of the holdings of the widow of the late George Connor.
    Two pounds, payable annually out of the premises called Loves' holdings.
    Thirty pounds, bequeathed by William Banfield, junior.  Interest to be paid annually for the benefit of the poor in Kilbrogan.

    On Sunday, March 16th, 1700-1, Bishop Downes admitted Mr. Christie and Mr. Mills to deacon's orders in the parish church, upon which occasion his lordship preached to a congregation of eight hundred people.  During the time the French fleet lay in Bantry Bay, in 1796 and 1797, some artillery soldiers were barracked here; and several of the stones, upon which the cannoniers used to sharpen their side arms, may still be seen in the archway of the principal entrance, and in other parts of the sacred edifice.  On the 26th of April, 1864, after an interval of one hundred and sixty-three years, another ordination was held here by Bishop Gregg; upon which occasion Mr. J.N. Woodroffe and Mr. Evers were ordained deacons, and the Rev. J. Hoare and Rev. Charles Crossle were priested.
    The oldest monument to be found at present, either inside the church or in the adjoining graveyard, is a brass tablet to the memory of Richard Crofte, who was one of the original twelve burgesses of the Bandon corporation.  Mr. Crofte was provost of the town in 1617, and also a captain in the town militia; and as such, was present at the great inspection held at Bandon by His Majesty's Commissioners, on the 30th of August, 1622.  The brass, which  is now affixed to the north wall of the chancel, contains the following inscription:- "Hic. JACET CORPVS. RICH^D. CROFTE VNS. LIBER BURGENS HVJVS BURGI DE BANDON-BRIDGE, AC QUONDAM.  PREPOSIT EJVSDEM QVI OBIT.  VIJ^MO  DIE SEPTEMBERIS ANNO DOMINI ~1629.  POSVIT ANNA EJVS MESTISSIMA CONJVX.

    On the south wall of the chancel, in Smith's time (1750), was an epitaph, surmounted by a coat of arms, to the memory of Edward Legard, lieutenant to Captain Robert Hyliard.  He died January 6th, 1678:-

            "From the rude world's campaign the much-admired
              Legard! to this dark garrison's retired:
              Legard! the daring soldier, whose loved name
              Shall ever flourish in the book of fame!
              Whose fair example might alone depaint
              What 'tis to be a military saint!
               True to his God, his prince, his friend, his word-
               Rare ornaments-but fit to adorn the sword."

    At present the chancel and nave contain monumental inscriptions to the memory of W. H. Stone, Jonathan Clerke, M.D., Rev. F. Spiller, Dean Newman,  Captain Clerke, R.E.,  Rev. Herbert Molesworth, Rev. Robert Kenny, Rev. Thomas Kenny, Rev. Henry Gillman, Frederick Mayne and Thomas Wright.  In the churchyard, on the right of the principal entrance to the church itself, is headstone to the memory of Eldad Holland, parish clerk,-

                "Whoe departed this life ye 29th day of 7 ber, 1722." 

It was this Eldad Holland who paraphrased a portion of the Morning Service, to complement William the Third.  And, adjoining the window of the southern transept, a flat stone records the burial-place of Captain Nash, the celebrated Shane Dearg, or Red Jack:-

                Her lies the body of Captain John Nash, who departed this life 18th of February, in the 75th year of his age, and in the year of Our Lord 1725."*

            *  He was buried on the 20th.  His wife, Abigail, was buried in Kilbroagan on the 22nd of September, 1722 and, perhaps, it was owing to this that Captain Nash was buried there also, and not to any fear on the part of his relatives that his remains would be exhumed by the country people

    Built against the east wall of the chancel (south end) is a monument, composed of an altar-tomb, faced with cut lime stone, and two ornamental pillars supporting a pediment, and enclosing a tablet affixed to the chancel wall, thus inscribed:-

    "Here lies the remains of John Jones, Esq., formerly burgess and town clerk of this corporation, who died the 11th of August, 1743."

    Close to the wall of the chancel is a flat stone, formerly erect, containing the following lines:-

            "Through Borea's winds and Neptune' seas
                 Have tossed me to and fro
             In spite of both, by God's decrees,
                 I harbour here below;
             Were at an anchor I do ride
                 With many of our fleet;
             But now again I hope the sail
                Our Savior, Christ , to meet ."
                         Thomas French and family burying-place, 1782.

    Over a vault, near to this, is an altar-tomb.  On the slab :-

    "Here lyeth the body of Mr. Thomas Harrisson, who departed this life in the year of Our Lord 1674, and left to the poor of Kilbrogan ten pounds a year for ever."

    Underneath the inscription is a cross. J.P. Commarelli is said, by some, to have been the only Roman Catholic ever buried within the walls of this churchyard.  Others assert that he was a Huguenot.
    On an upright stone:-
           "Farewell, vain world, I've had enough of thee;
            And now I'm careless what you think of me!
            Thy smiles by court not, nor thy frowns I fear,
            My head's at rest-I now lie quiet here.
            What false you see in me, be sure you shun,
            And look at home, enough there's to be done."
    William Goodwin Atkins, departed this life the fourth of March, in the 52nd year of his age, 1797. 

    On of flat oblong slab, much worn :-
    "Here lyeth the body of Steven Duer, the only son of Steven and Ann Duer, of ye Island of Antigua-1701."
    On a headstone:-
    "Here lies the body of George Ford and family, who departed this life December 12th, 1801, aged 55 years."
    Adjoining the west wall :-
    "Here lyeth ye body of Mrs. Rebecca Splaine, wife of Mr. James Splaine the elder, aged 83 years; the weare married 64 years and six months, and departed this life April 16th, 1782."*

            *  Within the recollections of some old people, who died during the last thirty years, there were Protestants also intered at St. Michael's burial-ground, in Kilbrogan parish; and tombstones are there yet to the memory of some buried there if a long time since.  In fact, before the erection of the Kilbrogan church, it was there the original settlers used to bury their dead.  The following are, we believe, the only two inscriptions remaining there now, or have been there lately:-
            " Here lyeth the body of Anne Dyke, alias Harrison, a virgin, formerly from Bristol."
            " Here lyeth the body of Thomas Rice, a merchant from Bristol, who died A.D. 1639."
        St. Michael's church was used as a place of Protestant worship by the first settlers.
        It was in good repair and 1615. 

    We are unable to state positively at what time the chancel and transepts were added; but it would seem that they were amongst the enlargements made by Lord Cork, when he became sole owner of the Kilbrogan side of the town, in 1625; and who claims to have enlarged and finished the two churches-Kilbrogan and Ballymodan-in this year.  The chancel, at all events, was in existence in 1629; and it is highly probable the transepts also.  Tradition says that they were built of stone brought from St. Michael's, an ancient building, which at that time occupied the site of the present Roman Catholic chapel at Kilbrogan.
    In 1829, two hundred pounds were expended on the church by the Board of First Fruits; and prior to that, we have no doubt, various other sums from time to time.  But it was reserved for a descendant of its first great benefactor, after an interval of over two hundred and thirty years, to enlarge and renew the old edifice; and thus render it more commodious and suitable for divine service than it was ever before.  The church was lengthened by twelve feet.  It was re-floored, roofed with dark oak, re-pewed, a rich stained-glass window placed in the chancel, a new organ placed in a new gallery at the western end of the nave, and a graceful tower and spire erected.  The entire of these additions and improvements were effected at a cost of three thousand and thirty pounds.  Of this the Ecclesiastical Commissioners granted twelve hundred pounds and seven pounds;, and the rest. amounting to eighteen hundred and twenty-three pounds, was raised by the untiring exertions of the late rector.
    Although eighteen hundred and twenty-three pounds is at all times a formidable sum to be collected in a country town in the south of Ireland, by one individual; yet to those who remember the dire days of the famine years, when the owners of every tenement and every acre of land, in this part of the kingdom, trembled before the overwhelming responsibilities which met his gaze on every side, the task will appear still more arduous and more formidable.
    The church is approached from the North Main Street, by a flight of forty limestone steps.  It is of the early English style of the thirteenth century and consists of a nave seventy feet long by twenty-eight feet and a-half wide; a chancel, twenty-eight long by twenty-two broad; and two transepts (north and south), each sixteen feet long by twenty feet wide.  In the entrance porch, on the left hand side, is the communion table used originally in the church.  It contains a brass-plate with the following inscription:-   

    " Original communion table used in Christ Church, Kilbrogan, from the time of the building of the church, A.D. 1610 to A.D. 1862.  Restored and preserved September, 1862."

    The interior is lofty and imposing.  A fine arch, of the early pointed style, separates the nave from the chancel; the open timbered roof is of varnished oak, and is supported by massive trusses, resting on corbels of Caen stone.  The chancel window, which is divided into five lights by stone mullions, is filled with stained glass, emblazoned with brilliant colours.  The other windows-two in the transepts and five in the nave-are lancet-shaped, and is separated by four mullions (also of stone) into lights similar in number to those of the chancel.  Of the tower, the base is square, and the upper portion octagon.  It is surmounted by a spire, which, including the tower, is one hundred feet in height.
    The memories of many successive generations render venerable the walls of this old historic pile.  When the great rebellion raged in 1642, and when thousands of the enemy lay encamped in our neighbourhood, panting to extinguish our settlement by drenching it with the blood of the settlers, the church bell of Kilbrogan invited people to the house of prayer as uninterruptedly as if all outside the church walls were in the enjoyment of peace and prosperity.  When an Irish commander and an Irish garrison held our town for King James, it was the bell of old Kilbrogan gave the signal to the townsmen to rush on them and disarm them.  When an Irish army surprised Bandon on a Sabbath noon, and when Irish soldiers and Irish pipers impiously interrupted divine here, it was those old walls that then looked grave and sad.  And when news of the great battle which the great Protestant king gained at the Boyne reached the ears of the Bandonians, it was those very walls that then looked bright and cheerful with the reflection of the bright and cheerful faces of those who looked up to heaven and thanked God.
    1610 - In consequence of the number of "wandering travellers" roaming about the country at this time, orders were sent to Bandon-Bridge and other towns,-  "That no taverner, innkeeper, or ale-house-keeper, within the town or suburbs, shall receive or contynue any such wandering traveller in his house, without the lyke bringing or sending him,  within three days, unto the said vice-president, or some one of the councell, to be further delt with; all according to pollicy and justice."
    1611 - The government were busy preparing bills for the approaching parliament.  Amongst those was one for incorporating Bandon, Belfast, and Enniskillen, &c.; to encourage the making of linen cloth; the sowing of hemp and flax; to restrain the inordinate haunting and tippling in inns, ale-houses, and other victualling-houses; to prevent all persons from re-marriage until their former partners were dead; to prevent a man having a wife form turning her away at pleasure.
    1612 - Owing to the great quantity of timber growing on the banks of the Bandon river , they became a favourite place for smelting.  The East-India Company*  paid no less than seven thousand pounds for woods in the vicinity of Downdanial Castle .  The ore was brought from various places, and taken in boats as far up the river as the water would allow.  A great deal of what was smelted here was brought from the iron mines of Araglin, Saltibridge, and Ballinatray, by Lord Cork .  Indeed, so extensively engaged was his lordship in mining operations, that at one time it was computed he had in his bloomeries no less than one thousand tons of bar-iron, twenty thousand tons of pig-iron (worth eighteen pounds a ton), and to hundred tons of rod-iron.

            *  Smith says the East-India Company built two new ships of five hundred tons here , and erected a dock for building more.  It is not improbable that they built boats at Downdanial, and constructed a dock there to load them.