A Month in Kilkenny [pp. 301-306]

A Month in Kilkenny.
witness the humors of a horse-fair.
This small town is famed as having
been the place where the Duke of
Ormonde held a review in 1704, and
which attracted such hosts of visitors
that an inn-keeper is said to have
made as much by his beds as paid his
rent for seven years. I have attended many fairs in England, Scotland,
Wales, France, Holland, Germany,
and Canada, but never did I witness
such an extraordinary sight as the
one that presented itself at Bennet's
Bridge. The hamlet itself, and its
outskirts, were filled for more than a
mile with horses, ponies,.and
vehicles, attended by a mass of people consisting of dealers, farmers,
peasants, tramps, and beggars.
There might be seen some "artful dodger" trying to palm off to
one less experienced than himself a
spicy-looking thoroughbred nag, whose
legs showed evident marks of many a
hard gallop, declaring that for speed
the animal was unequalled, and that
there was not a stone wall in the
whole county that could stop him;
there might be noticed a gallant colonel of hussars, attended by his
"vet" selecting some clever threeyear-olds, with which to recruit
the ranks of her majesty's service.
"Bedad, gineral," exclaims the vendor, "with such a regiment of horses
you'd ride over the whole French
cavalry, with Napoleon at the head
of it." "A broth of a boy" may now
be pointed out, charging a stone wall,
with a raw-boned brute that never
attempts to rise at it, andcl who, turning the animal round, and backing
him strongly, makes an aperture, at
the same moment singing a snatch of
an Irish song, most appropriate for
the occasion-" Brave Oliver Cromwell, he did them so pommel, that he
made a breach in her battlements."
Next, a ragged urchin, without shoes
and stockings, with what might be
termed "the original shocking bad
hat" and which-on the principle
of exchange no robbery-:-I was credibly informed he had taken from a field,
set up to scare away the crows.
Then there was the usual number of
idlers and lookers-on, and an unusual
amount of hallooing, shouting, screaming, and bellowing.
After devoting an hour to the
humors of the fair, we proceeded to
view the remains of the abbey of
Jerpoint, which was founded in 1180,
by Donogh, King of Ossory, for Cistercian monks. The monks, on the
arrival of the English, had interest
sufficient with King John to get a
confirmation of all the landsbestowed onl
them by the King of Ossory; and
Edward II.L, in the thirty-fourth year
of his reign) at the instance of Phillip,
then abbot, granted him a confirmation of former charters. Oliver Grace,
the last abbot, surrendered this abbey
on the 18th of March, the 31 Henry
VIII. It then possessed about 1,500
acres of arable and pasture land, three
rectories, the, altarages and tithes of
thirteen other parishes; all these were
granted in the reign of Philip and
Mary to James, Earl of Ormonde,
and his heirs male, to hold in capite,
at the yearly rent of ~49 3s. 9d.
It is an interesting -ruin, and well
worthy the attention of the antiquarian. From Jerpoint we proceeded
to Kilkenny Caste, the home of the
Ormondes.
Richard Strongbow, by his marriage with Eva, daughter of Dermot, King of Leinster, came into
possession of a great part of the
province of Leinster. Henry II. confirmed his right, with the reservation
of the maritime ports. On being appointed Lord Justice of Ireland in
1173, he laid the foundation of a castle in Kilkenny, but it was scarcely
finished when it was demolished by
the insurgent Irish. However, William, Earl Marshal, descended from
Strongbow, and also Lord Justice, in
1195 began a noble pile on a more
extensive scale, and on the ancient
site. A great part of this fine castle
has survived the convulsions of this
distracted kingdom, and continues at
this day a conspicuous ornament of
8~02