THE LISBURN AREA IN THE EARLY CHRISTIAN PERIOD
PART 2: SOME PEOPLE AND PLACES

Richard Warner

Who Were The Ulaid?

We have no real Irish historical sources dating before about the eighth century A.D. but the writers of that time and later, working in the Christian monasteries such as Armagh and Bangor, recorded the events of their own time and the myths and traditions of more distant times that had been passed down by word of mouth. In pre-Christian times (that is, before the sixth century A.D.), if we may believe these traditions, there were two main population groups in the north of Ireland -the Érainn (pronounced air-ren) and the Cruthin (pronounced kruhin). It is not clear whether these should be thought of as racial or political groupings and whether the names referred to the mass of the people or just to their rulers and aristocracy. We suspect that they were racial labels applying only to the upper classes. The most important of the northern Érainn were known as the Ulaid (pronounced Ully), from which the province got its name (Ulster from Uladhstir, a Norse rendering of the Irish Tír Ulad -'land of the Ulaid'). The tradition was that at their heyday (at some unknown time before the fourth century A.D.), the territory of the Ulaid, which was later known as Cóiced nUladh (the 'Fifth of the Ulaid'), extended south to the rivers Boyne and Drowes. Despite the fact that the name Ulaid became applied to the area and people in general, it is likely that it was originally the name of a ruling dynasty who practised some sort of suzereignty over the other peoples of the north from their capital at Emain Macha (pronounced Evvan Magha), now Navan near Armagh (Mallory, 1983). The Ulaid were the people around whom the ancient mythological stories known as the 'Ulster cycle', including those concerning the hero Cú Chulainn (pronounced Koohulling), were woven. (For this section in general, see Byrne, 1965 and 1971, ch. 7; Flanagan, 1978; Doherty, 1989).

An Alexandrian geographer of the second century A.D., Claudius Ptolemaius or Ptolemy as we know him today, wrote a geography of the then known world, in which he recorded the names and positions (using latitude and longitude) of tribes, promontories, rivers and 'cities' (or tribal centres). He included Ireland in this geography and his maps were not bettered for well over a thousand years. Ptolemy's geography is the earliest detailed source we have for the peoples and place-names of early Ireland, and it is interesting to compare what he wrote with the traditions of that ancient time written some centuries later by the early Irish monks. Ptolemy shows the mouth of a river Logia where Belfast Lough stands. Logia would be a primitive Irish form of the old Irish Láeg, 'calf', and indeed, the original Irish name of the tough was Loch Lóig, the 'tough of the calf'. The modern name of the river, Lagan, is not a river name at all, but has been applied to the river in more recent times from a deep marshy valley through which it passes between Dromara and Dromore, known in Irish as the 'Lagan' and in English as 'The Hollow' (Irish Lagan means 'hollow'). Ptolemy placed two tribes in the area of modern south-east Ulster, the Darini and tire Voluntii. The name Voluntii is almost certainly a misspelling by Ptolemy (or his later copyists) of Ulutii, which would be the primitive format the old Irish name Ulaid. interestingly. Ptolemy also referred to the Érainn under the earlier form of their name lverni, and located them in what is now Munster. (O'Rahilly, 1946, eh. 1 for discussion on Ptolemy; Raftery, 1951, pl. 14 for a reconstruction of the map).

As for the Cruthin, we do not know where they were located in prehistoric times (they are not referred to by Ptolemy), but we suspect they occupied the lands west of the lower Bann, in what is now Co. Derry, where their name is preserved in the place names Duncrun (the 'fort of the Cruthin') and Drumcroon (the 'hill of the Cruthin'). The name comes from the much earlier Pretani which was a name for some or all of the peoples of the British Isles as early as the sixth century B.C. Cruthin was also the name used by the Irish monks when writing about the people in northern Britain who were known to the Romans ac the Picti, or the 'painted folk'. It is quite incorrect to refer, as is often done, to the Irish Cruthin as Picts, for the relationship between the Irish Cruthin and the British peoples is not at all clear. (See O'Rahilly, 1946, app. 1; Byrne, 1965, 43).

During the period between the fourth and sixth centuries A.D., northern Ireland was to witness great changes in populations, as peoples from the midlands moved north and took over lands once occupied by or ruled by northern Érainn and Cruthin. I must stress that we are not necessarily talking about mass migrations, or replacements of ordinary people, but perhaps only the movement of warrior aristocrats. In any case, a number of groups of people going under the general name of Airgialla (pronounced Orreealer) moved into mid-Ulster and others, known as Uí Néill (pronounced Ee Nail, meaning 'descendants of Niall' of the Nine Hostages, ethnically known as Gould, modern 'Gaels') moved into the north-west. In doing so, they displaced the native peoples, or at least their leaders, towards the east. Two recorded events illustrate this movement, and although the actual dates recorded by the early annalists may be questioned, we have no reason to doubt the general accuracy of the records.

The Annals of Ulster, the earliest and most reliable of the ancient annals that survive, tell us simply that 'the battle of Achad Leithderg in Fernmag' happened 4,334 years after the creation. Achad Leithderg has not been identified but Fernmag was (at the time of the annalists) roughly the Monaghan valley. The Annals of the Four Masters, a seventeenth century compilation from earlier works, some of which are lost, is fuller on this event. Under the year 331 A.D., we read 'The battle of Achadh leithderg in Fernmagh was fought by the three Collas against the Ulaid in which fell... the last king of the Ulaid at Emhain. They afterwards burned Emhain, and the Ulaid did not dwell there since. They also took from the Ulaid that part of the province extending from the Righ [the Newry river] and Loch nEachach [Lough Neagh] westwards.' Another early manuscript tells us, referring to the same event, how the Ulaid were routed as far as Glenn Righ and `swordland' made of their old territories (O'Brien, 1962, 151).

From these references, we can say that the kings of the old Ulaid, who resided in pre-historic times at Navan, were evicted and pushed east of the line between Newry and Lough Neagh. Consequently, as we know from other records, their descendants who became known as the Dál Fiatach (pronounced dawl veeatagh) were more or less confined to the eastern side of Co. Down. We have every reason to believe that this happened by 400 A.D. In a similar way, the Cruthin were evicted from west of the Bann. This process was more or less finalised by the year 563 when `The battle of Móin Dairi Lothair [Moneymore, Co. Derry] was won over the Cruthin by the Uí Néill of the North'.

Although I have used the term 'peoples' for these early groups, by the seventh century the ethnic divisions had apparently become secondary to smaller groupings, for which we can use the word `tribe', a rather inadequate translation of the Irish word tuath. A tribe was a group of people who owed primary allegiance to a single king. By the eighth centaury there were about 150 tribes in Ireland, some small and weak and some large and powerful. They were frequently at war with each other and their fortunes rose and fell. Some tribes dominated other tribes politically and for various strategic reasons several tribes would often form themselves into a loose federation with an overlong chosen from the kings of the individual tribes. Usually one or two tribes would dominate the federation. The ethnic or racial labels such as Érainn, Cruthin or Goíldil continued to be used at least by the literary monks and it is likely that the tribes were aware of the ethnic group to which they or their kings belonged, but on the whole the federations were not constructed on an ethnic basis. Although the early historical documentation makes a great deal of the tribal and ethnic divisions, these are not identifiable by the archaeologist. Indeed, it appears that the life of the people and their material culture, were virtually identical throughout the whole of Ireland over the six hundred or so years of the early Christian Period.

In much the same way as I qualified the meaning of the ethnic background of a `people' I must also make it clear that when we talk about tribal names in this way we are not necessarily talking about the mass of the people themselves. It is quite likely that these early recorded tribal names were those of an aristocratic section of the people, or a dynasty, who might have had quite different ethnic origins from the ordinary folk. The truth is that most early historical and archaeological records are really about the upper classes and we can never be sure whether the ordinary folk are to be included in any interpretation we make from those records. Early records make it quite clear that there were various grades of tribe, very much based on the ethnic status (and political clout) of their kings and the same rule applies as it does to individuals-the weaker or lesser tribes are less likely to be referred to in the historical sources.

By the eighth century, then, the main northern branches of the Érainn and Cruthin were confined east of the lower Bann and the Newry river, where, with people whose ethnic background is unknown, they existed as a number of tribes in a single political federation.The main Érainn tribes were the Dál Fiatach (in modern east Down, these were the descendants of the Ulaid of Navan), the Uí Échach (pronounced Ec Eghagh) of the Ards and the Dál Riata (pronounced Dawl Reeada) of north-east Antrim. Minor tribes included the Uí Blaithmeic (pronounced Ee Blahvic) of north Down. The main tribes of the Cruthin were the Dál nAraidi (pronounced Dawl Narrijy) of mid Antrim and the Uí Echach Cobo of west Down. Minor tribes included the Latharna of Larne. The Dál Fiarach were known as the Ulaid to the early writers and the Dál nAraide as Cruthin, though the whole federation of these peoples was also known as Ulaid. It was, most of the time, roughly coterminous with the modem counties of Antrim and Down. The Dál Fiatach king was usually the overking, although occasionally the king of one of the main Cruthin tribes obtained the overkingship. The existence of the federation did not prevent the individual tribes fighting with one another, which they did frequently. Some of the Ulaid kings were powerful in Irish terms, and the fortunes of the Ulaid fluctuated considerably. In the sixth century they probably controlled almost as far south as the Boyne and for a time held the Isle of Man (Byrne, 1965). A Dál nAraidi king, Congal Cláen, made several attempts to win back the territories once held by the north-eastern peoples,  his hopes being finally dashed in 637 at the battle of Mag Roth (Moira, Co Down).

Finally, it must be stressed, and should be obvious from the foregoing, that prescntly popular claims that the people of modern Ulster descend from the Cruthin is a gross oversimplification of the real state of affairs and is misleading and wrongheaded.

The Borderlands and the Dál mBuinne.

The reader should for the following section refer to the map in part one of this article (Lisburn Historical Society Journal, vol. 7). Although the kings of Dál Fiatach were usually located south of the Lagan in modern Co. Down, there were occasions in which they had their headquarters north of the river. For instance, the ninth century king Matudán son of Muiredach, who was also king of the federation, appears to have had his capital at of near the Cave Hill, north of Belfast, which is also known as Benn Madighan (the `peak of Matudán'). As I showed in an earlier article, a branch of the Dál Fiatach kings set up their headquarters at Lissue, a ringfort just west of Lisburn and north of the river Lagan (LHSJ, vol. 6).I suggested that the fort was built either by Áed, son of Eochaid, who would have flourished in about the middle of the ninth century or by his son Aínbith. From Áed most of the kings of the Ulaid descended, and it is his name that is preserved in that of the short-lived dynastic line founded by his son Aínbith-Clann Liss Áedha,'the family of the fort of Áed' (Dobbs, 1923, 84). Áed's sons Ainbíth, Airemon and Eochocán were all kings of the Ulaid, but we do not know whether Aínbith's brothers also ruled from Lissue.

On Aínbith's death in 882 in a disastrous skirmish between the Ulaid and the Conaille of modern Co. Louth, he was succeeded as king jointly by his brothers Eochacán and Airemon. Eochacán was murdered in 883 by his own ambitions and when Airemon was killed by Vikings in 886, Aínbith's son Fiachna (probably one of the murderers) succeeded him as king, bringing the kingship back to the Lissue clan. He did not long benefit from this, being killed the same year 'by his comrades'. As a twelfth century poem on the kings of the Ulaid puts it -'A year the son of Ainbíth, generous and very fair Fiachna who excelled every creature: he fell treacherously at the hands of his people in a hard conflict in his round house' (Byrne, 1964). This apparently trivial description of Fiachna's house as round (or hemispherical as the word used can also be translated) is unexpected in the context of the poem, and rather implies that the house was famous for its shape and size at the time. The excavation of Lissue (LHSJ, vol. 6) showed clearly that the fort had contained a very large round house some forty metres in diameter. We have no evidence that the Dál Fiatach continued their attempt to rule from north of the Lagan after the ninth century.

The heartland of Dál nAraidi was the Six-mile River valley (known then as Mag Linne, which has become modern Moylinny). Except for their ninth century extension across the river Lagan, Dál Fiatach were usually south of the river. In other words, the lands between the Lagan valley and Crumlin, and between the mountains and Lough Neagh, were borderlands between these powerful tribes. Not surprisingly, the two locatable battles between them took place on or near the Lagan, in A.D. 668 at Fertas, the ford that was much later to become the city of Belfast and in A.D. 1025 at Ard Achaidh, which seems to be modern Derriaghy (see, for instance, Reeves, 1847, 46, note g). Early writings describe the area and its people sometimes as belonging to Dál nAraidi and sometimes as belonging to Dál Fiatach, and this is precisely what we would expect. In the medival period much of this area was known as Killultagh, Irish Coill Ultach - the 'wood of the Ulaid'. Sixteenth century descriptions show it to have been very heavily wooded. The name survives in the townland of Derrykillultagh and Killultagh House in that townland. It is known that some baronies reflect earlier tribal areas and it is interesting that the borderland we have defined is fairly exactly the area of the barony of Upper Masserene. We therefore expect a single tribe to have dwelt in this area.

In fact we can locate in the borderland area a tribe known as the Dál mBuinne (pronounced Dawl Mwinner). This spelling of their name is preferable to  that on my 1989 map (LHSL vol. 7). These people have been confused by some early authors with a small tribe with a similar name in north Antrim, and they may indeed have been related. Their name, and possibly their original territory, is preserved in the medieval rural deanery of Dalboyn-which was roughly bounded by Aghagallon, Blaris, Drumbo, Derryiaghy, Tullyrusk and Glenavy (Reeves, 1847, 44 and 172). This is the borderland area as we have defined it, with a small extension south of the Lagan. The ethnic background of Dál mBuinne is difficult to establish, some sources implying that they were Ulaid and others that they were Cruthin. In fact an ancient text on the Ulaid describes them thus: 'The five main tribes of Dál Buindi are: Dál Corb of the caves (?), Dál Buain, cenél Máeláin, Uí Dásluaga, cenél nErnain and the Gailine. Dál Buchalla is the sixth.' (Dobbs, 1923, 76; clearly the monk who wrote this was not good at arithmetic). The text mentions also as sub-tribes the Uí Scuirri and Dál Corb Fabair and goes on to tell us that three of these `tribes' are of Munster origin, one (Gailine) is of Leinster origin, one is from north Britain and only four descend from the Ulaid. Now these sub-groups of Dál mBuinne are unlikely to have been strictly tribes in the sense of having individual kings and legal autonomy and we should probably think of them as a mixum gatherum of minor and ancient septs, of which Dál mBuinne was the prominent one. Indeed, this is probably the image we should hold of most of the Irish tribes. Although Dál mBuinne were technically an autonomous tribe, at least by the eleventh century, we can be sure that they were dominated in every way by their more powerful northern and southern neighbours. Of the named sub-tribes the only one I can locate is the Gailine, who may be preserved in the name of the village of Aghagallon.

The giving and receiving of gifts and tribute between higher and lesser kings was a most important part of early Irish politics, and the values of these are itemised for the eleventh century in the Lebor na Cert or 'book of rights'. Here we team, for instance, that-'The King of bright Dál mBuinne is entitled to eight horns, eight cups, eight slaves, eight valuable women and eight horses for racing' from the overking of the Ulaid. Not quite as useful as the ships given to the king of Duibthrian 'on Loch Cuan' (Dufferin on Strangford Lough) and the king of the Arda (Ards), but as Dál mBuinne were along the north side of the lower Lagan, they hardly required ships.

As a mix of 'second-class' peoples, their location in this hinterland, or buffer zone, between the major political groups of the Ulaid is not surprising and they undoubtedly gave their allegiance to whichever group was in the ascendancy. Technically, having a king made them autonomous but in reality they would have been totally subservient to the dominant tribe to their north or south. Like all buffer peoples they clearly had to play a careful game, and would have been the main victims in any battle in their territory. For instance, the battle of CráebTelcha in 1004, which we shall see below was in the north of their territory, ranged right the way across their lands southwards and across the Lagan to Duneight and Drumbo. When the high king invaded Ulster, and defeated the Ulaid in AD 1130, plundering as far as the Ards, the slaughter of the Ulaid included not only the powerful king of the Dál nAraidi, Aed Ua Loingsigh but also the king of Dál mBuinne, one Gilla Pátraic Ua Serraigh (O'Sherry), who was tributary to him. The victors pillaged as far as the Ards, taking 'a thousand captives ... and many thousands of cows and horses'. The hardship occasioned by this sort of pillaging can be imagined. It is vividly described by observers during the Elizabethan campaigns of the 1590s and usually resulted in famine.

Cráeb Telcha

The main sacred place of the early Christian Ulaid was Cráeb Telcha, the 'tree of the small hill /hillock', which was undoubtedly a sacred tree. Sacred trees, usually ash, are known to have been important ritual objects in early Ireland and were usually known in Old Irish by the words Cráeb and Bile (Lucas, 1963). Irish Cráeb gave the modern place-name elements Crew and Creeve. Near Glenavy are the adjoining townlands of Crew and Crew Park, and in the first is Crew Hill, locally 'the Crew' (not Crewe, as the district council would have us believe, judging from the road signs!). In the sixteenth cenlury Crew Hill was known as Crewhollage and Knockcruhollogh (from the Irish Cráeb Telcha and Cnoc Cráeb Telcha, 'the hill of Cráeb Telcha') (Flanagan, 1970). On Crew Hill is a very large basalt boulder (fig. 1), possibly a glacial erratic (that is, deposited at this spot by melting ice in the ice age) and therefore probably always at or near this spot. It is locally called 'The Crew Stone' and local tradition is very strong that this is the site of the Cráeb Telcha (O'Laverty, 1880, 294f; Watson, 1892, 52; McKavanagh, 1968, 8; Totten, 1980, 30 with photograph; Flanagan, 1970, 29. I am indebted to Mr. F. McCorry of Crew for assisting me in my inspection of the monuments on Crew Hill). It has been much dug around, and even moved a slight distance (Watson, loc cit; McKavanagh, loc cit.). It is tempting to believe that the `sacred tree' was somewhere near this spot and it is worth remembering that sacred places in Ireland were not infrequently marked by a great stone of some sort. It has to be said, however, that the identity of the Cráeb Telcha with this spot on Crew Hill is not proven, and indeed the term Tulach (of which Telcha is the genetive) can be rendered in such a context as '(artificial) mound' rather than '(natural) hill'. The use of mounds for ritual purposes such as inauguration is well attested (Byrne, 1973, ch. l; Warner, 1988, 57 and Lucas, 1963,26) gives a reference from the ancient laws which implies that a mound, a sacred tree and the 'seat' of the king could be virtually the same thing. The tree was, it seems, not infrequently on a mound. In this case we might expect the Craeb Telcha to be anywhere in the townlands of Crew and Crew Park and I am struck by the implication of the name of a farm in the latter-Crew Mount. There is to this day a low mound by the house (I an indebted to Mr. McCord for showing me this). Excavation might well identify this sacred tree (see Manning, 1988), but only when we have been able to locate its position with some accuracy by some other means.

It was an act of great severity for one tribe to cut down the sacred tree of another tribe, as it was symbolic of the defeat of their tribal ethos, not just their physical defeat. From ancient times the destruction of the sanctuaries of one's enemies was always regarded as part of their humiliation. In A.D. 1099, according to the Annals of Ulster, just such an event took place here, when the king of the Cenél Eógain from Co. Tyrone took his armies 'across Toome into Ulaid; the Ulaid were in camp at Cráeb Telcha. The two forces of horsemen meet, the force of the Ulaid is defeated ....The Ulaid leave their camp and the Cenél Eógain before the Ulaid, to avenge this act, made an expedition to Tulach Óc and cut down its trees'. Tulach Óc was the sacred grove of the Cenél Eógain, and was at Tullaghoge in Co. Tyrone. For this the Ulaid in their turn paid dearly soon after, loosing a thousand cattle to the king of Cenél Eógain.

Cráeb Telcha had been the scene of a terrible defeat for the Ulaid in A.D. 1004, when the Cenél Eógain slaughtered 'Eochaid son of Ardgal, king of the Ulaid, and his kinsman Dub Tuinne.and his two sons, Cú Duilig and Domnall, .... and the army both noble and base, Gairbíth king of Uí Echach, and Gilla Pátraic son of Tomaltach, and Cumuscach son of Flathroí, and Dub Slánga son of Áed, and Cathahán son of Étrú, and Coinéne son of Muirchertach, as well as the elite of the Ulaid: and the combat ranged as far as Dún Echdach [Duneight] and Druim Bó [Drumbo]'. The only consolation for the Ulaid, who lost there a whole generation of nobility, was that the king of the Cenél Eógain, heir apparent to the high kingship of Ireland, died in the same battle. That such an important and decisive battle should have taken place at a sacred spot is not unexpected.

According to the Cogadh Gáedhel re Gallaibh (the War of the Gaedhil with the Gaill, 136) the high king Brian Borúma (Brian Boru, in A.D. 1006, made a circuit of Ireland crossing into Ulaid at Camus, near Coleraine, and stopped at Cráeb Telcha where he received from the Ulaid' 1200 beeves, 1200 hogs and 1200 wethers' and gave to the Ulaid' 1200 horses, gold, and silver and clothing'. He also received pledges of support from the kings and nobles of the Ulaid, and the sacred tree of the Ulaid was an appropriate place for this to be done.

There is a local tradition, as I have already hinted above, that the Crew was the inauguration place of the kings of Ulster, and this is assumed to be the case by many recent writers (references cited for the stone, above, and O'Laverty, 1880, 293; Byrne, 1973, 27). By the Ulster kings we would mean the overkings of the Ulaid, rather than the kings of the individual tribes (although Byrne, 1973, 27, states his belief that it was a DálFiatach inauguration place). This inauguration status is supported to an extent by entries in the already-mentioned annals, and We might expect the inauguration place of the overkingship, shared as it was between the tribes to the north and the south, to have been located in this 'neutral' territory. There are some references (Lucas, op. cit.) to inauguration at sacred trees. Further support relating to Crew also comes from the annals. In A.D. 1148 the king of the Cenél Eógain of Tyrone, Muirchertach Mac Lochlainn (later to beome the High King of Ireland) was pursuing a policy of treating the once independent Ulaid kings as vassal lords. He expelled from the overkingship of the Ulaid the Dál Fiatach king Cú Uladh (`hound of the Ulaid') son of Donn Sléibe. His own supporters, the kings of Bréifne (north-east Connaught, especially Co. Cavan) and of Airgialla, were so worried by this that, according to the Annals of the Four Masters, they 'brought an army into Ulaid, as far as Cráeb Telcha; and they plundered the country and placed Cú Uladh in his kingdom again.' There is a strong indication that this re-inauguration took place at Cráeb Telcha, as we would expect if we are right in our interpretation of the place. Indeed the Crew stone may well support our identification of Crew Hill as the site of the Cráeb, for as Byrne (1973, 27) has put it, `A slab or flagstone was an essential item of the inaugural furniture' (as for instance at Tara).

By the side of the road on the slope of Crew Hill is a stone roughly in the form of a chair (fig. 2), locally called the `wishing chair' (Totten, 1980, 31 with photograph). While stone chairs are relatively common in Ireland, and most are almost certainly either purely natural or are recent garden decorations, it is true that in medieval times some Irish kings were inaugurated on a chair (Hayes-McCoy, 1964, 8).

According to O'Laverty (1880, 295) 'On the summit of the hill a few stone-lined graves belonging to the pagan period have been discovered'. Now stone-lined graves can belong to the early bronze age, the early iron age or the early Christian period. We do not know why O'Laverty assumed them to be pagan, unless he was aware of the presence in them of grave goods. The association of cist-graves of that date with `standing' stones is not unknown (Ó Ríordáin, 1979,143), and it may be that the Crew stone marked one of these graves. Christian stone-lined graves are quite common in Co. Antrim, but there is no indication, either archaeological or historical, of a church site. We are left then unable to interpret this cemetery on Crew Hill or to indicate its status with respect to the postulated site of Cráeb Telcha.

Just south-east of the Crew stone, still on top of Crew Hill, is a fine earthen ringfort with two strong banks and a single deep ditch between them. There appears not to have been an original entrance causeway across the ditch, a rare occurrence which we found also at Lissue (LHSJ, vol. 6). O'Laverty (1880, 295) supposed it to have been a royal residence, and we would indeed be inclined to interpret it as the defended habitation of a person of some importance, perhaps the keeper of the sacred site or even the king of the Ulaid when he was visiting the Cráeb.


Bibliography

Richard Warner is Keeper (Acting) of the Antiquities Department of the Ulster Museum, where he specialises in the Early Iron Age and the Early Christian period.

BYGONE DAYS

(Extracts from assorted newspapers, compiled with accompanying notes by Eileen Black).

SILVER WATCH FOUND, 1773.

Advertisement. That between Lammas and Allsaints, was found by a little Boy, on the Road leading from Lisburn to Maragell [sic] a Silver Watch, and kept it secret from his Parents, who takes this opportunity to inform the Publick, that any one by applying to James Richey, living on the aforesaid Road, and proving their Property, and paying the Expence [sic] may have the aforesaid Watch.

Belfast News-Letter, 8 January 1773.

SALE OF THE HILLSBOROUGH ARMS. BRIDGE STREET, 1773.

To be sold by public Auction, at the Market House in Lisburn, on Wednesday the 17th March next, the Lease of a very convenient Inn, in Bridge-street (called the Hillsborough Arms) with a front Shop, Stables, Brewhouse, and a Garden backwards, which might be easily converted into a Tan-yard. It will be let if a solvent Tenant will take it. Application to be made to Mr. Charles Gilmor, who dwells on the Premises. Lisburn, February 8, 1773.

N.B. There is a very large Ball-Room in said House.

Be/fast News-Letter, 9 February 1773.

MRS. PATON'S BOARDING SCHOOL FOR YOUNG LADIES, 1775.

Lisburn Boarding-School. Mrs. Paten continues, as usual, to leach young Ladies the use of the Tambour [a small embroidery frame], Shading with Worsted, and Needlework of every kind; as also the English and French Languages. Her House in Castle-street is properly accommodated for the Reception of Boarders; her Terms are reasonable, and every Attention will be given to promote the Education, and improve the Morals and Behaviour of those who are committed to her care.

Belfast News-Letter, 12-16 May 1775.

THE WALLACE PARK AND THE LISBURN ECHO, 1887.

Since the last touches have been given to the various improvements and ornamentations of this admirably laid out place of public resort, it has assumed quite a holiday garb, and every section of the grounds is exceedingly picturesque. Very handsome shrubs and choice flowers, tastefully planted in beds and borders, add variety to the whole aspect, and the attention paid by the caretakers to the keeping of all in perfect order gives to the park the appearance of the pleasure-grounds of a private gentleman. With such inducements for taking advantage of the pure air and splendid view of inland scenery to be enjoyed in the Wallace Park it need scarcely be said that as a local place of recreation or amusement it is very popular, not only with the inhabitants of Lisburn, but with strangers who, either on business or pleasure, visit that town. Mere local readers of the Northern Whig are aware that some years ago Sir Richard Wallace, as lord of the soil, proposed granting to the people of Lisburn nearly twenty acres of valuable land to be used as a public park. In addition to that gift the respected Baronet expended a very considerable amount in ornamenting, railing-in, and making roads through the grounds, as well as erecting very commodious residences for the caretakers ...

Many old and very interesting legends have been related in connection with the site of the Wallace Park. Within the recollection of living men one portion of it was known as Gough's Hill. The famous arithmetician John Gough held the position of teacher in the Quaker school, and when the Lisburn Volunteers were looking out for a parade ground he gave them the use of his grazing field for that purpose. Still more ancient is the history of the echo that existed in the same locality. In Hale's "Philosophy of Sound," published in 1780, the Lisburn echo is noted as one of the most extraordinary in the kingdom. The Rev. Philip Skillen, who was an old resident in Lisburn and knew all its history, has stated in one of his essays that the echo had been referred to by ancient authors as quite unique in its peculiarity. After describing that end of the town in which it existed, he said-"If you would give the reverberation full play, chance a time when the air is still, stand in the field facing Lisburn, and in a loud and distinct tone call out five or six consecutive words; all those utterances will be returned to you in direct order. Again, in a few seconds, the same sounds will be repeated, as though coming from the houses in your view." More than a century has passed since the echo possessed all its wonderful character. Many alterations have since been made in the neighbourhood, and these materially damaged the re     flect peculiarity. The deep cutting made by the Ulster Railway Company in 1838 had a very deteriorating effect. To this day, however, a remnant of the old phenomenon still remains. The whistle from the up-trains of the Great Northern, and the heavy rumble of the steam engine and the carriages, as they pass along the tunnel-like edge of the Wallace Park towards the Lisburn station, may be heard echoing from a bridge half a mile away, and as if the sounds indicated the approach of a train coming down from Moira.

Northern Whig, 17 August 1887.

[Wallace Park, an area of twenty-five acres, was presented to Lisburn by Sir Richard Wallace in 1884. See the Ulster Architectural Heritage Society list for Lisburn, compiled by C.E.B.Brett and Lady Dunleath in 1969].

ESCAPE OF AN ELEPHANT NEAR LISBURN, 1889.

A sensation was caused in Lisburn on Sunday evening last [3 November] when it became known that Jumbo, the huge elephant belonging to Messrs. Powell & Clarke's circus troupe, had escaped from his keepers. It appears that whilst the cavalcade was proceeding from Lisburn to Belfast the elephant displayed signs of illness, and in order to appease his apparent sufferings a dose of whisky was administered to the huge brute. This had an unexpected effect, for in a short time he broke away from his keeper and made for the railway track. Proceeding up the line he in due time reached the goods station, but, finding nothing there to engage his attention, he made for the Antrim Road [Lisburn]. An iron gate prevented his exit, but this soon yielded to his great strength. Jumbo then proceeded up the road, entering, it is said, a gentleman's grounds, which he somewhat damaged. The elephant then came back to Lisburn, frightening the people out of their wits.

Passing up Longstone Street, he caused a flutter of excitement, but the huge animal did no injury. Proceeding to Knockmore Junction, he burst open a gate on the line which barred his progress, and headed for Hillsborough, where he visited gardens and stables. Jumbo then came in the direction of the Maze, where he burst in doors and caused terror amongst the residents. In one case he entered a house where the family were at tea, and enjoyed a feast of bread, butter and jam. At another house he made an unusual noise, and the owner rushed out, believing he had a burglar before him. In the dark he seized hold of the elephant's trunk, which he dropped quickly enough, with a cry of terror. In another case he visited a stable and greatly frightened the horses. The employees of Messrs. Powell & Clarke were seeking for Jumbo all night, and it was not until half past four yesterday morning that he was found, apparently weary with his wanderings, at Hull's Hill, about four miles from Lisburn. He was quietly secured, and taken to join the remainder of the troupe.

Northern Whig, 5 November 1889.

ELECTRIC LIGHTING AT HILDEN, 1890.

The illumination of the gigantic establishment of Messrs. William Barbour & Sons at Hilden must at once be regarded as a great undertaking; yet, while carrying out as they are at present extensive alterations and improvements, they decided upon lighting their new engine-room, boiler-house, and mill extension by electricity, and at the same time doing away with gas in favour of the new illuminant in their dyehouse, offices, packing-shed, and thread-store. They intend further to put up arc lamps in the mill-yard for the benefit of the workers going to and from their employment in the winter months.

Not long since we alluded to the immense size of the Messrs. Barbour's concerns at Paterson (New Jersey), also at Allentown, United States, and in New York. In connection with the characteristic enterprise they are now displaying, we may refer to a few facts connected with the home establishments of a firm which has branches in almost all parts or the world. The works at Hilden cover an area of thirty-four acres, exclusive of the six hundred cottages built for the employees, and the space occupied by these buildings amounts to an additional six acres. Success after success attended the firm after its establishment at Hilden, and the enormous pile of building there was built by the late Mr. William Barbour in the year 1840... Extensive and thoroughly equipped mills are being erected longer the continuous strain upon the firm, who have also mills at Sprucefield, County Down, and Dunmurry, County Antrim. The firm give employment to over 5,000 workers; and it is a well known fact that the genial and characteristically liberal manner in which they treat all their employees has been the means of cementing the good relations that have always existed between them and their operatives.

As to the electric lighting, we may state that the installation, or rather two installations, the dyehouse being a complete installation in itself, consists, in the first place, of a 300-light Holmes's dynamo supplying the mill, engine-room, offices, packing-shed, the thread store, and a six-light Schuckert dynamo supplying the are lamps in the yard ... The plant has now been in operation for some six weeks, and there has never been a single hitch from the day it started. It gives the greatest satisfaction throughout the mill. The contrast between the gaslit rooms of the old mill and those in the new extension with the electric light is most striking. The new engine used in connection with the electric installation is a vertical triple expansion, which has been designed and erected by Messrs. Victor Coates & Co. (Limited), or the Lagan Foundry and Prince's Dock Works ...

Northern Whig, 27 November 1890.

TULLYNACROSS READING AND RECREATION ROOMS, 1896.

The opening ceremony in connection with the beautiful and substantial reading and recreation rooms recently erected for the use of the working men in Tullynacross, near Lisburn, was performed on Tuesday evening [29 December] ... After devotional exercises by Rev. B. Banks [Rev. Benjamin Banks of Lambeg] on the motion of Mr. George Burke, seconded by Mr. A. Campbell, the chair was taken by Mr. J. Milne Barbour, M.A., [of Grove green, Hilden] who congratulated the men on the very fine building they had secured, and hoped it would be duly prized and used by them. He believed the working men should be thoroughly conversant with the news and politics of the day, as well as with the great social and industrial problems dealt with in the daily papers.

They would also find much valuable information in the magazines and periodicals which he believed would be provided, and when tired of reading they could spend an hour very profitably in the adjoining room in a quiet chat and interesting games ... the Chairman called on the Rev. B. Banks, who declared himself as highly pleased with the beautiful building that had been provided there, and felt confident that they would be able to carry it to a successful issue.

He then gave them as a motto for its working the three words, "Fairplay", "Firmness", and "Fraternity", and hoped that nothing but the best of good nature would characterize their dealings with one another. Mr. Frazer then gave an account of how he had raised the money and got the building erected. The building was invested in Rev. B. Banks, Mr. Milne Barbour, and himself as trustees, and he hoped the working men would lake the fullest advantage of it. He concluded an interesting address by moving that the sincere thanks of those present be given to Mr. Charles H. Richardson [of Richardson Sons & Owden, linen manufacturers and bleachers, Glenmore] for his practical sympathy and assistance and for the free grant of the ground on which the building was erected ...

Northern Whig, 31 December 1896. 

[This building no longer exists; in all likelihood it was demolished many years ago. Reading rooms, Mechanics' Institutes and mutual improvement groups were a product of the age of improvement, when 'rational recreation' was ardently recommended for tire working classes. The idea that leisure time should by devoted to self-improvement, not self-indulgence, increasingly held sway. Furthermore, by spending their time constructively, the working population would, it was hoped, be weaned away from the evils of drink and the snares of the public house]. 

DEATH OF LADY WALLACE, 1897.

Great sorrow was felt in Lisburn yesterday [16 February] when it became known that a telegram had reached the estate office announcing the death of Lady Wallace, relict of the late Sir Richard Wallace Bart. It appears that the deceased had been suffering from bronchitis, and that she succumbed yesterday forenoon. The news soon spread through the town, and in all circles the sad event evoked feelings of sorrow. Since the death of her lamented husband [on 20 July 1890] Lady Wallace continued all the benefactions dispensed so liberally by Sir Richard. To the Episcopal Churches in Lisburn and its neighbourhood she was a liberal annual contributor. The Rector of the Cathedral of Christ Church in the town received about £100 per annum. The other churches were not overlooked. To Christ Church she gave £60 a year; Derriaghy and Stoneyford £100; Glenavy £60; Ballinderry £50; Magheragall £50; and Broomhedge £20. Very few appeals from the neighbourhood were made to her in vain. Lady Wallace contributed generously to the Sunday school trips. She gave every winter a large supply of flannel petticoats to poor women, and at Christmas she usually contributed £10 to give the inmates of the Workhouse a substantial dinner and tea, and at the same season she sent gifts of money to most of the clergymen on her estate to enable them to assist the poor people al the festive season ... Lisburn has therefore sustained a great loss in the death of Lady Wallace.

Northern Whig, 17 February 1897.

 [Richard Wallace married Amélie Julie Charlotte Castelnau, his mistress of almost thirty years, in February 1871 and in the same year, received a baronetcy. After his death in July 1890, Lady Wallace, who never learnt to speak English, spent her remaining years as a virtual recluse at Hertford House, London. She was buried in the cemetery of Pere Lachaise, Paris, in the same vault as her husband and his father, Lord Hertford. See Donald Mallett, The Greatest Collector: Lord Hertford and the Founding of The Wallace Collection, 1979. For details of Wallace's connection with Lisburn, see J. F. Burns, 'The life and work of Sir Richard Wallace Bart., MP,' Lisburn Historical Society Journal, vo1.3, December 1980 and Hugh Dixon, 'So many proofs? Aspects of the legacy of Sir Richard Wallace in the fabric of Lisburn,' Lisburn Historical Society Journal, vol. 4, December 19821.

AGHALEE LOCAL HISTORY STUDY GROUP

Brenda Collins

Earlier this year, Lisburn Museum ran its second successful local history study group, tutored by Mrs. Brenda Collins, of the Institute of Irish Studies, Queen's University, Belfast, when the topic was the study of nineteenth and twentieth century Aghalee. The sessions ran for ten successive Tuesday evenings commencing in April, and built on the interest and enthusiasm shown by those who participated in the first series in 1988, which covered Aghalee in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Both sessions attracted a range of people who had some connection with Aghalee - some were long standing residents of the parish, some newcomers in the recent expansion of new housing, while others had lived there in earlier days or had family connections with the area, which gave them a personal interest in it.

The aims behind the setting up of the group were to provide enjoyment in learning about the past and in pooling our local knowledge with the study of census records, old maps and land valuations, to discover the extent to which the 'big themes' of history actually affected ordinary people. We were interested, for example, in explaining why the number of people living in Aghalee village and throughout the parish rose during the eighteenth and early nineteenth century and then started to fall towards the end of the nineteenth century and continued to do so until after the First World War, as people moved off the land to emigrate or to find work in Belfast, Lurgan or Lisburn. Yet, in spite of these changes, our findings also showed us how other things remained the same; some family names which existed in the manuscript records of the seventeenth century are still to be found today, while some houses are almost as old. We were made aware that, as far as buildings are concerned, the changes in the last twenty-five years may well have had a greater impact than those of the previous century.

Some memories stand out in particular: in our 1988 group's final assemblage and presentation of work, who could forget Mr. William Beckett's contribution on all aspects of transport in and around Aghalee? For both groups, the study of placenames and their origins proved very rewarding. Knowledge of the linen industry was enhanced this year too, by one of the group providing actual specimens of flax in the various stages of production of thread from the raw fibre. The 'Aghalee walkabout' was also a most enjoyable occasion, when we went from Soldierstown church up to observe the canal at Aghalee Bridge and then walked up through the village along the Ballinderry Road, discussing what we knew of the houses and their inhabitants in the past. For the tutor, it was a privilege to be among people whose wealth of experience brought so much to our knowledge. I hope I have the opportunity again.

Brenda Collins is based at the Institute of Irish Studies, Queen's University, Belfast and is also a part-time tutor in Social Sciences for the Open University.

AN IMPORTANT NEW ACQUISITION FOR LISBURN
MUSEUM: A BUST OF JAMES CORRY JUN., SECRETARY
OF THE IRISH LINEN BOARD, BY THOMAS KIRK R.H.A.

Brian Mackey

The bust of James Corry Jun. (fig. 1), sculpted in white marble by Thomas Kirk in 1826 and exhibited at the Royal Hibernian Academy, Dublin in the same year, is an important new acquisition for Lisburn Museum's collection of objects relating to the Irish linen industry.¹

Corry Jun. was born in 1772.² His father, James Corry, of Lurgan Street, Dublin, was appointed secretary to the Irish Linen Board in 1777, through the patronage of John, Foster, Speaker of the Irish parliament. The position of secretary was a powerful one, as the Linen Board had no permanent chairman or executive committee and most of its members attended very infrequently.³ The Board, or to give its members their full title, the Trustees of the Linen and Hempen Manufactures of Ireland, had been established in 1711 by act of parliament, to regulate and promote the linen industry. It succeeded the trustees appointed by William III, who had employed the Lisburn-based Huguenot Louis Crommelin to act as overseer but whose enterprise was seen by a parliamentary committee in 1709 as `not fully to have answered the end' intended .⁴

Corry Jun. was the fifth secretary of the Linen Board, having been appointed joint secretary with his father in 1790, while still a scholar at Trinity College, Dublin. His appointment was nominal and was designed to ensure that when his father died he would succeed him, as in fact happened in January 1796⁵ He remained in office until the Board was abolished in 1828 and was widely regarded as an honest, conscientious man of ability, who wielded considerable power for the industry's benefit and not for his own self-interest.⁶ Corry's probity, in fact, was exceptional, at a time when mis-appropiation and the taking of `fees' were not uncommon in official life.' He produced two reports, in 1817 and 1822, which give an invaluable contemporary view of the linen industry in Ulster and show his positive contribution to the management of the industry.⁸ In 1816 he toured Ulster, for his report published in the following year, and while in Lisburn, for example, visited the Brown Linen Hall, which had then one of the biggest sales of unbleached linen in Ireland. During his stay he also saw the new Jacquard hand-looms in William Coulson's Manufactory, for which the Board had given a grant of £1,000.⁹


Much to his credit, he made no attempt to cling to office when the Board had outlived its usefulness. A few months before its dissolution in 1828 he wrote: `That the prosperity of the linen manufacture of Ireland has been greatly advanced by the wisdom of the laws that have governed it cannot be denied; but there is a popular opinion now abroad in which I feel that I participate, that, after a certain point of prosperity has been attained, the less any manufacture is encumbered with legislative regulations the better.¹⁰ Corry retired to Cheltenham in 1829 and lived there until 1837. His movements thereafter and the date of his death are unknown. Details of his personal life are equally obscure; in 1796 he married Maria Sherrard, daughter of a Dublin surveyor but whether he and his wife had children is also not known.

Kirk's bust of Corry, executed on the thirtieth anniversary of the latter's sole occupancy of the secretaryship of the Board, may have been commissioned to celebrate the occasion. Corry was fifty-four years old at the time. The bust reveals a distinguished man with a gracious benevolent demeanour. The piece is a masterly example of neo-classical portraiture and a work of considerable presence.

Kirk (1781-1845) was arguably the foremost sculptor in Ireland during the first half of the nineteenth century. Born in Cork, he studied at the Dublin Society's schools where he won prizes in 1797 and 1800. He had a prolific career and executed numerous statues for public monuments; also portrait busts of leading Irish peers, ecclesiastics and public figures. His statue of Nelson for the column in Sackville, now O'Connell, Street (the statue, a well-known Dublin landmark, was blown up in 1966) was one of his earliest commissions and established his reputation."

An appropriate sculpture by Kirk would be a desirable item for any Irish museum. Lisburn Museum is indebted to the National Art-Collections Fund in particular, and also to the National Heritage Memorial Fund, for generously assisting with the purchase of this fine example of Irish nee-classical sculpture, which is of special relevance to the Irish linen industry.

References

Brian Mackey is Curator of Lisburn Museum.

NEW CASTS OF BUSTS OF RICHARD, FOURTH
MARQUESS OF HERTFORD, SIR RICHARD AND LADY
WALLACE FOR LISBURN MUSEUM.

Brian Mackey

In commemoration of the centenary of the death of Sir Richard Wallace in 1890, Lisburn Museum has, by kind permission of the Trustees of the Wallace Collection, Manchester Square, London, commissioned casts of the busts of Richard, fourth Marquess of Hertford, K.G., Sir Richard and Lady Wallace. The moulds have been made and the busts cast by Mr. Rupert Harris, London, in a waxed and polished resin marble. All three busts are of a uniform size, being 78 cm high. They are an important addition to the museum's collection and will have pride of place in the exhibition Sir Richard Wallace, Baronet M.P., held in Lisburn Museum from 6 November 1990 to 30 April 1991.

Richard Wallace (1818-90), illegitimate son of the fourth Marquess of Hertford, inherited his father's unentailed property in 1870, which included not only the 60,000 acre south Antrim, Hertford estate but a great art collection subsequently bequeathed to the nation by Lady Wallace in 1897. He acquired a European reputation as a philanthropist at the time he was besieged in Paris during the Franco-Prussian War and in recognition of this was awarded a baronetcy in 1871.¹ 'Received in Lisburn with great festivity on his first visit to the town in 1873 and elected unopposed as a Conservative M.P. for the borough, Sir Richard was a generous benefactor of the town until his death in July 1890.²

References

	RICHARD, FOURTH MARQUESS OF HERTFORD, K.G. (1800-70)  By Charles Auguste Lebourg (1829-1906) A posthumous bust (1872) in white marble based on a photograph by Etienne Corjat of 1855 and signed C. Lebourg. It shows the Marquess wearing evening dress with the grand cross of the Legion of Honour at his neck and the star and riband of the Garter on his chest. Lebourg was born at Nantes and studied under Francois Rude (1784-1855). He worked in Paris and was a regular exhibitor of portrait busts and statuary groups at the salon, from which he received the medaille unique in 1868. The celebrated Wallace fountains in Paris and Lisburn were designed by him in 1872.
	LADY WALLACE (1819-97) By Charles Auguste Lebourg (1829-1906) A white marble bust exhibited at the Paris salon in May 1872, signed CH. Lebourg. It shows Lady Wallace wearing evening dress, the lower part of which is draped with a cloak, with a rose pinned in front.
	SIR RICHARD WALLACE BART., K.C.B. (1818-90)  By Emmanuel Hannaux (b.1855) A posthumous bust of 1899 in white marble, presented to the Wallace collection by John Murray Scott in 1900, signed E. Hannaux. Wallace is wearing evening dress with the cross of the Bath around his neck and the star on his breast. Hannaux was born in Metz in 1855, worked in Paris and exhibited in the salon, where he received a first class medal in 1894. He was appointed a Chevalier of the Legion of Honour in 1900.

The Wallace Fountain

The Wallace Fountain in Castle Gardens, Lisburn. In 1876, Wallace presented five of his celebrated fountains to Lisburn. Only two remain, one in the above location and the other in Wallace Park. The remaining three were used for scrap metal during the Second World War. There are Wallace fountains in Paris, Rotterdam, Canada, Brazil, Mozambique, Ilfracombe and in the Wallace Collection. London. (Photograph by H. A. Duff, 1968).

Lisburn Court House

Lisburn Court House, erected at Sir Richard Wallace's expense in 1884 and demolished in 1971. Wallace's coat of arms and motto 'Esperance' were in the pediment to the right. The building, Palladian in design, was one of Lisburn's finest.