Kevin Patrick Mostyn Family - Person Sheet
Kevin Patrick Mostyn Family - Person Sheet
NameRuaidhri O'CARROLL King Of Ely, 19G Grandfather
FatherWilliam O'CARROLL
Web Notes notes for Ruaidhri O'CARROLL King Of Ely
Of Leap Castle, Ireland's most haunted castle. He signed the Romonstrance of the Irish Princes, which was headed by Donnell O Neill, King of Ulster, to pope John X!! complaining about the conduct of the English - the Irish were not given the protection of English law, and it was no crime to kill any Irish person. He was described inthe Annals of Friar Clyn as a rich and powerful Prince, who was an implacable enemy of the English. He was killed in 1346.9
Ireland's most Haunted Castle By Gearóid Ó Broin In Ireland's Own Summer Annual 1988
Leap Castle, between Ballybritt and Clareen on the road to Kinnitty is regarded as Ireland's most haunted castle. The O'Carrolls, princes of Ely, built it as their main stronghold in 1250 A.D. It was erected on a most commanding site facing the Great Pass through the Slieve Bloom Mountains to the province of Munster. It has a massive tower and walls nine feet thick. The earliest recorded name of the locality is Léim UÍ Bhanáin (O'Bannon's Leap). The Bannons were the "secondary chieftains" of the territory, being subject to the ruling O'Carrolls. Gory murders are said to have taken place there - notably at a window high up in the tower.
The Annals of the Four Masters record that the Earl of Kildare tried unsuccessfully to seize the castle in 1513 A.D. Fiercely attacking it three years later he managed to partially demolish it. But by 1557 the O'Carrolls regained possession. Some years later the Earl of Essex besieged it. But greater misfortunes were yet to come!
Following the death of Mulrooney O'Carroll in 1532, bitter internecine struggles plagued the O'Carroll clan. Horrid fratricide murders took place through bitter rivalry for the chieftainship. Brother treacherously slayed brother within the castle confines. The "Agents of the Crown" were not slow to take full advantage of the O'Carroll's deplorable disunity, and promptly annexed their lands to the "territories of the Crown".
According to local tradition a daughter of the O'Carroll Chieftain fell in love with an English Captain named Darby who was held prisoner in the O'Carrolls in the castle dungeon. She smuggled supplies of food to him, and eventually arranged his escape.
As the lovers stealthily made their way out her brother chanced to meet them on the narrow staircase, and noisily raised the alarm. Darby promptly plunged his sword through the body of the youthful O'Carroll. The escapers then leapt to freedom from the battlements. Through the death of her brother she became heiress of Leap Castle which thus came into the possession of the Darby family, following her marriage to the English captain.
Jonathan Darby, their son, who eventually became "Titulado of Leap" in 1659, was an avowed Royalist. During the Civil War he is said to have hidden his precious treasures in the grounds of the castle, aided by two servants whom he subsequently murdered to prevent them revealing the hiding place. From 1674 Darby served as. High Sheriff of Co. Offaly, and eleven years later he died at Leap. His descendants continued to maintain possession of it. During the mid 18th century his great grandson, also named Jonathan Darby, had the castle remodelled, giving a Gothic appearance to the windows and doorways of the medieval keep. The castle was badly burnt during the turbulent era of 1922.
In 1532 upon the death of The Chief of the Clan, fierce rivalry erupted within the family. Above the main hall of the original tower is the Bloody Chapel where "One-eyed Tadhg O'Carroll slew his brother, a priest, as he was holding mass at the altar, hence the name the Bloody Chapel. Off this chamber a hidden room with a drop door was found. Unsuspecting prisoners were hurled into this spiked oubliette and conveniently forgotten. Several cartloads of human and animal bones were removed from here around 1900. The last use of the murder hole was dated as the seventeenth century.
In 1599 Charles O Carroll the last ruling chieftain hired a force of MacMahons of Monaghan as mercenaries against the Earl of Tyrone. When their work was done he got them drunk on a lavish feast and had them all massacred in their sleep.
The Darby family from Leicestershire in England acquired the estate in 1659 when Jonathan Darby married the Charles O'Carrolls daughter. He was said to have hidden vast treasures in the grounds of the castle with the help of two servants, whom he then murdered. He spent many years in prison for treason and on his release could not remember where the hoard was hidden. To this day the mystery remains.
Roderick O'Connor made a treaty with Henry which acknowledged Henry's lordship of Leinster, Meath and a few other places occupied by Henry's men, while Henry in return acknowledged Roderick's right to the High Kingship of the remaining five sixths of Ireland.
Ireland's most Haunted Castle By Gearóid Ó Broin In Ireland's Own Summer Annual 1988
Leap Castle, between Ballybritt and Clareen on the road to Kinnitty is regarded as Ireland's most haunted castle. The O'Carrolls, princes of Ely, built it as their main stronghold in 1250 A.D. It was erected on a most commanding site facing the Great Pass through the Slieve Bloom Mountains to the province of Munster. It has a massive tower and walls nine feet thick. The earliest recorded name of the locality is Léim UÍ Bhanáin (O'Bannon's Leap). The Bannons were the "secondary chieftains" of the territory, being subject to the ruling O'Carrolls. Gory murders are said to have taken place there - notably at a window high up in the tower.
The Annals of the Four Masters record that the Earl of Kildare tried unsuccessfully to seize the castle in 1513 A.D. Fiercely attacking it three years later he managed to partially demolish it. But by 1557 the O'Carrolls regained possession. Some years later the Earl of Essex besieged it. But greater misfortunes were yet to come!
Following the death of Mulrooney O'Carroll in 1532, bitter internecine struggles plagued the O'Carroll clan. Horrid fratricide murders took place through bitter rivalry for the chieftainship. Brother treacherously slayed brother within the castle confines. The "Agents of the Crown" were not slow to take full advantage of the O'Carroll's deplorable disunity, and promptly annexed their lands to the "territories of the Crown".
According to local tradition a daughter of the O'Carroll Chieftain fell in love with an English Captain named Darby who was held prisoner in the O'Carrolls in the castle dungeon. She smuggled supplies of food to him, and eventually arranged his escape.
As the lovers stealthily made their way out her brother chanced to meet them on the narrow staircase, and noisily raised the alarm. Darby promptly plunged his sword through the body of the youthful O'Carroll. The escapers then leapt to freedom from the battlements. Through the death of her brother she became heiress of Leap Castle which thus came into the possession of the Darby family, following her marriage to the English captain.
Jonathan Darby, their son, who eventually became "Titulado of Leap" in 1659, was an avowed Royalist. During the Civil War he is said to have hidden his precious treasures in the grounds of the castle, aided by two servants whom he subsequently murdered to prevent them revealing the hiding place. From 1674 Darby served as. High Sheriff of Co. Offaly, and eleven years later he died at Leap. His descendants continued to maintain possession of it. During the mid 18th century his great grandson, also named Jonathan Darby, had the castle remodelled, giving a Gothic appearance to the windows and doorways of the medieval keep. The castle was badly burnt during the turbulent era of 1922.
In 1532 upon the death of The Chief of the Clan, fierce rivalry erupted within the family. Above the main hall of the original tower is the Bloody Chapel where "One-eyed Tadhg O'Carroll slew his brother, a priest, as he was holding mass at the altar, hence the name the Bloody Chapel. Off this chamber a hidden room with a drop door was found. Unsuspecting prisoners were hurled into this spiked oubliette and conveniently forgotten. Several cartloads of human and animal bones were removed from here around 1900. The last use of the murder hole was dated as the seventeenth century.
In 1599 Charles O Carroll the last ruling chieftain hired a force of MacMahons of Monaghan as mercenaries against the Earl of Tyrone. When their work was done he got them drunk on a lavish feast and had them all massacred in their sleep.
The Darby family from Leicestershire in England acquired the estate in 1659 when Jonathan Darby married the Charles O'Carrolls daughter. He was said to have hidden vast treasures in the grounds of the castle with the help of two servants, whom he then murdered. He spent many years in prison for treason and on his release could not remember where the hoard was hidden. To this day the mystery remains.
Roderick O'Connor made a treaty with Henry which acknowledged Henry's lordship of Leinster, Meath and a few other places occupied by Henry's men, while Henry in return acknowledged Roderick's right to the High Kingship of the remaining five sixths of Ireland.