Friday 7 August 2009

7: The Comerfords of Castleinch and Waterford

Desart Court ... built by the Cuffe family on the site of the Castleinch estate owned for generations by the Comerford family

Patrick Comerford

The Quemerford or Comerford family was involved in the civic, mercantile, social, political and ecclesiastical life of the City of Waterford from the early decades of the 15th century. The branch of the Comerford family connected with Inchiholohan for up to 170 years – from the first half of the 16th century until the end of the 17th century – was closely related to the Waterford branch of the family. This is illustrated by the predominance of a small number of personal names such as Foulk, Garret (Gerald) and George, and the family’s property, commercial and political interests in both New Ross and Waterford, which then competed with New Ross for the place as Kilkenny’s commercial port.[1]

WILLIAM de QUEMERFORD of Callan, fl 1406-1428. [See Chapter 4: Comerford of Ballybur Castle and Kilkenny City] He may have been the father of both:

1, Foulk Quemerford, of whom next.
2, Thomas Comerford, of whom soon.

FOULK QUEMERFORD or COMERFORD, (? ca 1408-1452), of Waterford, was the first member of this branch of the family. He may have been a son of William de Quemerford, living in Callan, Co Kilkenny, ca 1406-1428, and a brother of Richard de Quemerford of Callan (living in 1434). [See Chapter 4: Comerford of Ballybur Castle and Kilkenny City] Foulk was Bailiff of Waterford with James Rockell in 1438-1439,[2] and Mayor of Waterford in 1448-1449.[3] The Mayor of Waterford was also “admiral of the great port and haven.”[4] While he was mayor, Foulk was attacked with a dagger before the council by John May, a former bailiff, who was jailed for shedding the mayor’s blood.[5]

With Peter Forstall and 31 other citizens of Waterford, Foulk was killed in a battle with the O’Driscolls who had landed at Tramore at the invitation of the Le Poers, on 19 June 1452.[6]

Foulk was probably a brother of:

THOMAS COMERFORD of Waterford, who was involved with John Ball, Thomas Sutton, Nich[holas] Furlong, William Roberston Sutton, and William Davidson Sutton of Co Wexford, “with divers others unknown” in capturing Thomas Hore, Abbot of Dunbrody, Co Wexford, in 1449, on the night before he was due to travel to Parliament. They took the abbot as a prisoner to Waterford, and captured his goods and chattels valued at £40.[7]

A generation later we find:

FOULK QUEMERFORD or COMERFORD (?ca 1450-post 1491). He was Bailiff of Waterford with John Salwy in 1480-1481,[8] with Thomas Shethe (?Shee) in 1489-1490,[9] and again with Thomas Shethe in 1491.[10]

In the next generation we find:

GEORGE COMERFORD (?born ca 1473), was Bailiff of Waterford with Nicholas Maddan in 1503-1504,[11] and again with John Morgan in 1516-1517.[12] In 1517, George Comerford was one of the Constables of the King’s Staple at Waterford.[13]

He may have been the father of:

1, Foulk Comerford, of Callan (ca 1520-post 1584), of whom later.
2, Richard Comerford, wool merchant of Waterford (pre 1527-post 1552). He married Johan Butler, and the Ormond deeds record that she was robbed at Clonmel of 12 stone of wool worth 40 shillings in 1549, while he was robbed in Clonmel of three stone of wool in 1552.
3, Philip Comerford (pre 1534-1600), lawyer, bailiff and mayor of Waterford, of whom next.
4, James Comerford (living 1558), attorney for the City of Waterford in 1558.[14]

The Church of Ireland parish church in Ballinakill ... the Revd Peter Comerford was Rector of Dysert Galen in the 1550s (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2012)

5, (The Revd) Peter Comerford, Rector of Dysert Galen (Ballinakill), Co Laois, in the Diocese of Leighlin. He was presented by the Crown to the Rectory of Maghnan de Galen on 26 October 1550.[15]

One of these five may have been the father of:

● (The Revd Dr) Nicholas Comerford (ca 1544-1599), Jesuit, of Louvain [See Comerford Profiles 3: Revd Dr Nicholas Comerford, SJ (ca 1540–ca 1599), Jesuit theologian]. He was educated at Oxford (BA, 1563), Louvain (DD, 1575), and the University of Lorraine in Brabant (DD, 1576). He moved from Oxford to Louvain by 1564, but he soon returned to Ireland. In 1569, he was chaplain to Sir Edmund Butler, and was the Rector of Kilconnell in the Diocese of Cashel until ca 1570. He had returned to Louvain by 1574, and joined the Jesuits ca 1578. He moved from Rome to Oporto in Portugal in 1578 and to Spain by 1589. In 1590, he was nominated by Cardinal William Allen, Archbishop of Canterbury, as Archbishop of Cashel. He died in Spain ca 1599.[16]

● (The Revd) James Comerford, chaplain to the Mayor of Waterford during the reign of Henry VIII. He wrote to his brother, the Revd Nicholas Comerford, at Louvain in 1564, telling him he was “of the old religion.”[17]

The third son of George Comerford of Waterford was:

PHILIP COMERFORD, lawyer, of Waterford (pre 1534-1600). On 20 September 1555, the Earl of Ormond granted Philip Quemerford and James Madden of Waterford “all the castles, meanes lands, tenements, etc, in the Little Island within the haven of the city of Waterford on the river Sure” on behalf of James Walsh.[18]

Philip was Bailiff of Waterford with James Lumbard (Lombard) in 1558,[19] and again in 1567.[20] He was Mayor of Waterford in 1570.[21] At the time, the Mayor of Waterford was “admiral of the great port and haven.”[22]

As Philip Comerford, merchant of Callan, he was pardoned on 10 May 1567 along with Foulk Comerford and his wife Rosina Rothe, George Comerford and Peter Comerford of Callan, and Richard ‘Duff’ Comerford. In 1588, he was involved, perhaps on Ormond’s behalf, in an agreement with Gerret FitzJames (FitzGerlad) of Dromany (Dromana), Co Waterford, involving lands in Athemean, Keapecoin (Cappoquin), Keappaghe (Cappagh) and Ballymacmarg, which had been the subject of a chancery suit in England.[23] Sir George Carew and the Earl of Thomond, reporting to the Privy Council on Ormond’s capture by Owney Mc Rorey, eight miles outside Kilkenny, noted that only three of Ormond’s men, Captain Harvey, Captain Browne, and Philip Comerford, a lawyer, and three of their servants, stand by them, and that Philip Comerford was the only man slain.[24]

Philip Comerford was buried with his wife Ann ... in Saint Mary’s Church, Callan. Carrigan reads the “sh...” on their grave as surgeon instead of sheriff.[25] This is the earliest English inscription recorded on a monument in Callan.[26]

Philip and Ann Comerford were the parents of:

1, Patrick Comerford, merchant of Waterford, who was trading with Antwerp in 1571.[27] As Patrick Quemerford fitzPhillipe he was pardoned on 23 March 1571.[28] He was Bailiff of Waterford with Richard Strong in 1572.[29] He was Sheriff of Waterford on three occasions: with Robert Walsh in 1574,[30] with Robert Walsh fitzPeter in 1575, and with James Lumbard in 1577.[31] He may be the Patrick Comerford who visited Lisbon in the 1590s and was questioned before the Lord Deputy at Dundalk on 18 June 1593 on the movement of Spanish ships on the coast of Spain and in Lisbon.[32]
2, Nicholas Comerford, of Coolaghmore, Co Kilkenny,[33] and Waterford. An Alderman of Waterford, he was Sheriff of Waterford with John Leonard in 1579,[34] and with Edward Comerford in 1581.[35] He was Mayor of Waterford in 1586.[36] He married Margaret Forrestal. She died on 25 July 1597, he died in 1601. They are buried in north side of Saint Mary’s Church, Callan, where the floor-slab marking his grace once included the heraldic bugle horn of the Comerford family.[37] Margaret (Firrestal) and Nicholas Comerford were the parents of:
● 1a, Philip Comerford fitzNicholas (ca 1565/1566-post 1595), barrister, born ca 1565/1566, entered the University of Oxford on 2 August 1581, aged 15. He was later educated at Clifford’s Inn and the Inner Temple (1585-1586), and he was a barrister in 1595.[38] He was a witness to a Rothe grant in 1594.[39]
● 2a, Patrick Comerford ‘m’Nich’, of Colenemock, was pardoned with his brother James and three other members of the family on 4 August 1601.[40]
● 3a, James Comerford ‘m’Nich’, of Mortelstown, was pardoned with his brother Patrick and three other members of the family on 4 August 1601.[41]
The descendants of Nicholas Comerford continued to live at Colaghmore for a number of generations, and in 1664 we find both a John Comerford and a Nicholas Comerford living there.[42]
3, Robert Quemerford, or Comerford, of whom next.
4, John Comerford, living in 1571,[43] and in 1580.[44] He was Sheriff of Waterford with James Lombard in 1598.[45]
5, Peter Philip Comerford, of Waterford, married Anne Geoghe. They were the parents of:[46]
● 1a, (The Revd) George Comerford (1598-post 1626), SJ. He was born in Waterford on 23 April 1598. He entered the Jesuits at Mechlin on 24 August 1618. He was on the Irish mission in 1626, and died after 1626.[47]

The third son of Philip and Ann Comerford was:

ROBERT QUEMERFORD or COMERFORD, merchant, of Waterford. He married Anastasia White.[48] They were the parents of at least two sons and three daughters:

1, (The Right Revd Dr) Patrick Comerford (1586-1652), Bishop of Waterford and Lismore (1629-1652) [See Comerford Profiles 5: Patrick Comerford (1586-1652), Bishop of Waterford and Lismore]. He was born in 1586. He was educated at Peter White’s Academy, Kilkenny, along with Luke Wadding, Richard Stanihurst and Archbishop John Brenan,[49] and at Patrick Fahy’s academy in Waterford.[50] He later studied in Bordeaux, Lisbon, Coimbra and Florence (D.Th.).[51] He joined the Augustinians and was Professor at Tercero and Brussels.[52] He was Prior of Kells, Co Kilkenny. He was consecrated Bishop of Waterford and Lismore by Cardinal Guido Bentivoglio, Titular Archbishop of Rhodes and later one of the signatories of the Papal condemnation of Galileo, on 18 March 1629 in Rome at the Church of Saint Sylvester on the Quirinale, where Bentivoglio lived in the new Borghese palazzo.[53] Patrick Comerford was the first Roman Catholic bishop of the diocese of Waterford and Lismore since 1578.[54] After Waterford fell to Cromwell, he moved to Brittany. He died at Nantes on 10 March 1652 and was buried in the cathedral.[55] He was not succeeded at Waterford and Lismore until John Brenan became Bishop in 1671.
2, ... Comerford, a son, captured by pirates and taken to Morocco. His brother, Bishop Patrick Comerford, paid the ransom, but he died of the plague soon after landing in Spain.[56]
3, ..., a daughter, married ... Hackett, and had at least one son:
● 1a, Patrick Hackett. With his cousin Nicholas FitzGerald he wrote the epitaph on the tomb of his uncle, Bishop Patrick Comerford.[57]
4, ..., a daughter, who married ... FitzGerald, and had at least two sons:
● 1a, John Fitzgerald, who died of the plague in Waterford ca 1651.[58]
● 2a, Nicholas FitzGerald, who with his cousin Patrick Hackett wrote the epitaph on the tomb of their uncle, Bishop Patrick Comerford, in Nantes.[59]
5, ..., a daughter, married ... Carew, and had at least one son:
● 1a, Paul Carew, who died in Waterford ca 1651.[60]

We now return to the eldest son of George Comerford of Waterford:

The crossroads at Castleinch, Co Kilkenny. Today there are no surviving remains of the Comerford castle at Inchiholohan (Photograph © Patrick Comerford, 2009)

FOULK QUEMERFORD or COMERFORD (ca 1520-ca 1586), merchant, of Callan, and Ballyclowan, Co Kilkenny. Born ca 1520, Foulk Comerford was a lawyer, and was described by Carrigan as “servant” to three successive Earls of Ormond, Pierce Ruadh, James, and Thomas, the Black Earl.[61] On behalf of Ormond, he was granted lands in Co Tipperary by Richard de Sancto Albino (Tobin) in 1542.[62] This grant was confirmed by James de Sancto Albino (Tobin) in 1543.[63] Further grants of lands in Co Kilkenny and Co Tipperary under similar terms were made by Richard and James de Sancto Albino in 1544 and 1546.[64] On 2 December 1558, the Earl of Ormond granted Foulk Comerford the “town” of Ballyclowan, Co Kilkenny, and the grant was confirmed by Nicholas Garvey, Mayor of Kilkenny, and the Vicars Choral of Saint Canice’s Cathedral, Kilkenny, later that month.[65]

For his loyalty to Ormond, Foulk was rewarded ca 1560 with lands in Inchiholohan that belonged to the de Valle or Wall family until at least 1537.[66]

Foulk was living in Callan when he received a pardon in 1567.[67] During the rebellion of James FitzMaurice of Desmond in 1569, “old Fulco Comerford of Callan” was robbed of £2,000 in money and goods. The Lord Deputy Sydney suggested he should be rewarded with land confiscated from some of his rebel kinsmen.[68]

In 1569/1570, he was granted Tobin lands in Courtneboyle, near Callan.[69] Although Carrigan suggests that he may have received lands belonging to Thomas Comerford of Ballymack,[70] those lands were granted to Francis Lovell and were recovered by Henry Comerford in 1584. [See Chapter 6: Comerford of Ballymack and Callan]

Foulk married Rose Rothe, daughter of Robert Rothe of Kilkenny (who died in 1543).[71] Carrigan speculates that Foulk died ca 1570, but he was still alive in July 1586.[72] He died soon after, and was buried at the west end of the north aisle of Saint Mary’s Church, Callan.[73]

Foulk and Rose were the parents of at least four sons and two daughters:

1, George Comerford (ca 1546?-1602), of Callan, Co Kilkenny, New Ross, Co Wexford, and Waterford City, of whom next.
2, (The Revd) Piers (Peter) Comerford. He previously lived in Bristol, and was living in New Ross, Co Wexford, in 1590.[74] Was he the same as Peter Comerford of New Ross who died in 1639?[75]
3, Edward Comerford, named in the will of his brother George.[76] He was admitted to the Inner Temple as a student in 1573, along with John FitzWilliam, second son of Sir William FitzWilliam, Lord Deputy and Lord Justice of Ireland, and Nicholas Dobbin of Waterford.[77] He was Sheriff of Waterford City with Nicholas Comerford fitzPhilip in 1581.[78] He was the father of:
● 1a, Richard Comerford, living in 1602.[79]
4, Gerald Comerford (ca 1558?-1604), of whom presently.
5, Margaret.[80] Born ca 1553(?), she married Robert Rothe (1550-1622) of Kilkenny City. Robert Rothe, author of the history of the Ormond family, was MP for Co Kilkenny 1585-1586, Sovereign of Kilkenny, and later Mayor of Kilkenny. He was one of the original aldermen of Kilkenny in the year it received its charter as a city from James I in 1609, and was a JP for Co Kilkenny and a bencher of King’s Inns.[81] After Margaret’s death, Robert married Margaret Archer, and Robert and Margaret Rothe built Rothe House in High Street, Kilkenny.[82] Robert Rothe and Margaret Archer had no children, but Robert Rothe and Margaret Comerford had seven children:[83]
● 1a, David Rothe, born 1574, Mayor of Kilkenny 1616, MP for Kilkenny, 1634. He married Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Richard Shee.[84]
● 2a, Richard Rothe, ancestor of the Revd Bernard Rothe, SJ.[85]
● 3a, Piers or Peter Rothe, who married Margaret, daughter of Patrick Archer.[86] Their daughter:
●● 1b, Katherine, married Morogh Kavanagh, of Ballyleigh, Co Wexford.[87]
● 4a, Anstace, who married Rowland FitzGerald, alias Barron, of Burnchurch, Co Kilkenny.[88]
● 5a, Margaret, married Walter Lawless. They were the ancestors of Lord Cloncurry.[89]
● 6a, Honor, married Michael Cowley, of Radestown.[90]
● 7a, Rose, married Nicholas Knaresborough.[91]
6, Anstance, named in the will of her brother George; she married ... Sherlock.[92]

Foulk Comerford’s properties appear to have been divided. His eldest son, George Comerford, acquired his holdings in Callan, New Ross and Waterford. His smaller holding at Inchiholohan passed eventually to his youngest son Gerald.

The eldest son of Fulk and Rose Comerford was:

GEORGE COMERFORD (ca 1546?-1602), of Callan, Co Kilkenny, New Ross, Co Wexford, and Waterford City. Through his connections with the Butler family, he was granted the office Customer and Collector of the wine custom, New Ross on 10 November 1569, with Fulk and Edward Comerford of Callan as his sureties.[93]

His evidence on behalf of the Comerfords of Ballymack in their efforts to recover their estates from Francis Lovell was challenged because he was “divers times indicted of felony and treason,” although he was pardoned twice in 1571.[94] He was a witness to a number of Ormond legal deeds in 1584, 1587,[95] was a member of Callan Corporation, 1583,[96] and an Alderman of Waterford City.[97] He was Sheriff of Waterford City with Thomas White in 1593, and Sheriff of Waterford City with Richard Madan (Madden) in 1596.[98]

He still had mercantile interests in Kilkenny and New Ross in 1597.[99] He died in 1602, and his will was probated on 17 May 1602.[100]

George married Anne Lucker of Waterford City.[101] They had at least one daughter and one son:

1, Beale, who married Richard Wadding of Waterford City.[102]
2, James Comerford fitzGeorge, of Waterford. He was a witness with William Bennett, Governor of New Ross, Co Wexford, and others to an Ormond grant of lands in 1595.[103] He appears to have died soon after, unmarried and without children, as he is not mentioned in his father’s will.[104]

The youngest son of Foulk and Rose Comerford was:

GERALD (or Garret) COMERFORD (ca 1558?-1604) [see Comerford Profiles 4: Justice Garret Comerford (ca 1558-1604), judge and politician], youngest son of of Foulk Comerford above. He was a cousin of Edward Brenan, who was MP for Callan with Gerald Comerford in 1585, a cousin of Robert Rothe, then MP for Co Kilkenny,[105] and a third cousin of both Gerald Blanchville, then MP for Co Kilkenny, and the Earl of Ormond.[106] Burtchaell says his being “near kin of the Earl of Ormond ... would account for his successful career.”[107]

He was educated at Kilkenny College.[108] He was admitted a student of the Inner Temple, London, in November 1578,[109] and became a barrister of the King’s Inns.[110] He was living in Waterford ca 1578-1583. In 1584, he was described as “a younger brother and destitute of maintenance,” and allowed to return home. He was Queen’s Attorney or Attorney-General for Connacht on 4 March 1585.[111]

When Callan was granted a charter as a borough with the right to elect two MPs in 1585, Gerald Comerford and Edward Brennan became the first MPs for Callan on 22 April 1585.[112]

Gerald was appointed a Commissioner for the shiring of Connacht on 8 and 15 July 1585.[113] In 1586, he was appointed along with the Archbishop of Tuam, William O’Mullally, the Bishop of Kilmore, John Garvey, the Earl of Clanricarde and others, by Bingham to negotiate with the Burkes.[114]

He was living in Galway in 1588, when he was a member of the Council or Commission of Connacht.[115]

He reported on the movements of the Spanish soldiers from the Rata Encoronada when it was wrecked on Fahy Strand, near Ballycroy, Co Mayo, in September 1588, and of a second Spanish ship wrecked at Burrishoole in Clew Bay the following month.[116] He was involved on behalf of Bingham in failed negotiations with the O’Flahertys, Burkes and Joyces in 1589, in a subsequent battle in which Gerald slew 16 of the rebels, and in fortifying Galway against the Morough O’Flaherty.[117]

Rathfarnham Castle, Dublin ... Gerald Comerford stayed here in May 1591 as a guest of Archbishop Adam Loftus of Dublin. Photograph © Patrick Comerford, 2008)

In May 1591, he stayed at Rathfarnham Castle with the Lord Chancellor, Archbishop Adam Loftus of Dublin.[118]

In September 1591, he was appointed Attorney-General of Connacht and Thomond, with the promise of a grant of lands in Munster.[119] He was a member of the Council of Munster on 1 July 1600,[120] and Second Justice of Munster on 15 October 1600.[121] He was at Kinsale in December 1601.[122] Carrigan also says he was Second Baron of the Exchequer of Ireland and Chief Justice of Munster.[123]

He was involved in enforcing the Reformation in Mayo and in Kilkenny.[124] He reported on the movements of the Kilkenny Jesuit James Archer after his return to Ireland.[125]

As the Attorney-General of Connacht, he lived in Galway, but also resided in Ennis, Co Clare, and in Athlone. As Second Justice of Munster, he lived in Shandon Castle, which was owned by Richard Boyle.[126]

A letter from the citizens of Cork to the lords of Parliament in March 1603 gives their income in brackets, with Lord Carew heading the list at £2,200, followed by Lord Bernewall of Berhaven (£1,600), Lord Cogan of the Great Haven (£1,300), and the Lord Baron of Comerford (sic) at £1,300, making him one of the four most wealthy landholders in Cork.[127]

Throughout his career in Connacht and Munster, however, he continued to live in Inchiholohan.[128] He witnessed a number of Ormond grants and papers in 1593, 1595, 1599 and 1601, and was a party to disputes involving Ormond manors, including Carrick-on-Suir, Thurles, Clonmel, Arklow, Clonmore, Rathvilly, Kilkenny, Gowran, Callan and Dunfert.[129] His lands included Inchiologhan, Brownstown and Goslingstown, and lands in Callan and Shellumsrath, Co Kilkenny, in Rosbercon near New Ross, Co Wexford, and in Cork and Waterford.[130]

He married Johanna Walsh, sister of Sir Nicholas Walsh, Chief Justice of the Common Pleas.[131]

Gerald Comerford’s tomb, dated 1604 and showing his coat-of-arms, in the north aisle of Saint Mary’s Church, Callan, Co Kilkenny. (Photograph © Patrick Comerford, 2011)

Gerald died in 1604 at Coolnamuck, Co Waterford, on 29 October (according to the inquest in Gowran in 1608) or 4 November (according to his tombstone), and was buried in the north aisle of Saint Mary’s Church, Callan.[132] Gerald Comerford’s altar tomb in Callan, which was sculpted by Kerrin and with emblems of the passion and crucifixion, is described in detail by Shelley (1872), Carrigan (1905), Kennedy (2007), and elsewhere.[133] His will, dated 8 September 1596, was proved on 16 November 1604.[134] An inquisition held at Gowran four years after his death on 11 November 1608 listed his lands and holdings.[135]

The side panel on Gerald Comerford’s tomb in Saint Mary’s, Callan, showing carved symbols of Christ’s Passion (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2011)

Gerald and Johanna Comerford were the parents of:

1, Foulk Comerford (ca 1578-1623),[136] of whom presently.
2, (The Revd) Richard Comerford (1579-1625), born Waterford, entered the Society of Jesus (1604), at Bordeaux (1606), in the Diocese of Meath (1617), Rector of the College of Salamanca (1621-1624). He died ca 1624-1626.[137]
3, (The Revd) James Comerford (1583-1640), born Waterford, entered the Jesuits in Spain (1600), returned to Ireland (1630), and died in Waterford on 8 July 1640.[138]
4, (The Revd Professor) Thomas Comerford (1583-1636), entered the Jesuits in Rome (1604). He was Professor of Theology at Compostella. Later he was a distinguished preacher in Cork and Waterford. He died in Waterford on 10 September 1636.[139]
5, Nicholas Comerford of Kilkenny City, living at the time of his father’s will in 1596.[140] He was the King’s Gaoler in Kilkenny, according to his son, Nicholas.[141] He was the father of:
● 1a, Nicholas Comerford (ca 1600-1673), of Radcliffe in Stepney and later of Wapping, London, mapmaker [See Comerford profiles 6: Nicholas Comberford (ca 1600-1673), 17th-century cartographer].[142] As Nicholas Comberford, he was a leading member of the Thames School of chart makers who drew manuscript plane charts on vellum. He charted the coast of Carolina, the south Atlantic, the north Atlantic, the Mediterranean, the west and east coasts of Africa, part of Brazil, the Indian seas, and the English Channel.[143] On a 1650 map of the Atlantic, now in the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London, he wrote: “Made by Nicholas Comberford dwelling neare to the west end of the schoole house at the signe of the platt in Redcliffe anno 1650.”[144] Similarly in 1651, he described himself as “ Nicholas Comberforde dwelling neare to the west end of the schoole house at the signe of the platt in Redcliffe anno 1651,”[145] in 1665 as “Nicholas Comberford dwelling at the signe of the platt neare the west end of the school house in Ratcliffe; anno 1665,”[146] in 1666 as “Nicholas Comberford dwelling at the Signe of the Platt neare the west end of the schoole house in Ratcliffe anno 1666,”[147] and in 1668 as “Nicholas Comberford dwellings at the Signs of the Platt neare the west End of the Schools House in Ratcliffe Anno 1668.”[148] In 1663, he was visited by the diarist Samuel Pepys, who recorded how on 22 July 1663 how he travelled “by water to Ratcliffe, and there went to speak with Cumberford the platt-maker, and there saw his manner of working, which is very fine and laborious.”[149] However, he lived in squalid poverty. Nicholas married an English woman and had five or six children.[150]
6, Edward Comerford, ? if not Edward Comerford of New Ross, Co Wexford. That Edward was one of the principal owners of property in New Ross prior to the Cromwellian Confiscations in 1641, and his properties included nine houses in Saint Mary’s Parish, and four acres at Conway’s Land, near Mountgarret.[151] Edward married Anne Hore, daughter of William Hore (1587-1662) of Harperstown, Co Wexford, Treasurer of Co Wexford for the Confederation in 1646, and his wife Margaret Keating.[152] Barney Comerford suggests he was the father of:
● 1a, Richard Comerford, who married Catherine Hippsley.[153] Catherine (nee Cormack) was the wife of (firstly) Richard Comerford, (secondly) James Murphy, and (thirdly) Geoffrey Hippsley. Richard Comerford was living in Callan in 1664, but died before 1672, leaving a son and two daughters:[154]
●● 1b, Edward (or Edmond) Comerford, living in 1672 and 1673. He married Kate Love or Lowe, and may have left descendants.
●● 2b, Anstas.
Catherine and her third husband, Geoffrey Hippsley had at least three sons and a daughter:
●● 1b, Thomas Hippsley.
●● 2b, Geoffrey Hippsley.
●● 3b, Henry Hippsley.
●● 4b, Catherine, married James Comerford, living ca 1672.
7, Patrick Comerford, living at the time of his father’s will in 1596, he died in 1630. He married Elizabeth Brett and had at least a son and a daughter:[155]
● 1a, Garret Comerford. Barney Comerford says he had a daughter:
●● 1b, Catherine, born ca 1665, died ca 1705. She married Darby O’Reilly and they were the ancestors of:
●●●●● Archbold O’Reilly, living in 1845.[156]
● 2a, Elizabeth Comerford.
8, Mary Comerford, living when her father made his will, and in 1644 when her nephew Garret made his will.[157]
9? Margaret.[158]

The eldest son of Gerald Comerford was:

FOULK COMERFORD (ca 1578-1623), barrister, of Inchiholohan, Co Kilkenny. Born ca 1578, he entered the Inner Temple, London, in November 1604, and the King’s Inns, Dublin, in November 1608.[159] He was of full age and unmarried when his father’s inquest was held at Gowran in 1608.[160]

Soon after, he married Thomasine, a daughter (or, more likely, a sister)of John Pigott of Grangebegg and his wife Martha (daughter of Sir Thomas Colclough of Tintern Abbey, Co Wexford).[161]

According to his will,[162]

Foulk and Thomasine had at least two sons:

1, Garret Comerford (ca 1611/1612-ca 1644), of whom now.
2, William Comerford (ca 1613-?1664), of whom later.

Foulk Comerford died on 2 February 1623. His inquest was held at Blackfriars, Kilkenny, on 17 April 1623.[163] If the coat-of-arms on the end panel of Judge Gerald Comerford’s tomb in Callan[164] represents that of the Pigott family, then Foulk Comerford was buried with his father. His manor at Inchiholohan amounted to 38 acres, and he held another eight acres at Brownstown. His other estates passed to his elder son:

GARRET COMERFORD of Inchiholohan (ca 1611-1644). Born ca 1611/1612, his name is spelt variously as Garret, Gerald, Gerrot and Garet. He was 11 at the time of his father’s death on 2 February 1623, and as a minor his wardship was granted on 2 December 1623 to Robert Kennedy.[165]

Garret Comerford married Catherine Gilbert,[166] probably a daughter of Sir William Gilbert of Knockiney, Queen’s County, and niece of Henry Gilbert who married Garret’s aunt, Martha Pigott. Garret and Catherine had an only daughter:

1, Thomasine Comerford, who married before 1663 Major Benjamin Barrington of Moret, Queen’s County (Laois), an officer in Cromwell’s army.[167] Thomasine and Benjamin were first cousins of his mother, Grizel Gilbert, who was a daughter of Sir William Gilbert. Benjamin Barrington was a brother of Alexander Barrington of Cullenagh, Queen’s County, Nicholas Barrington of Killone, and Thomas Barrington of Ballymacane, Co Wexford, and a son of Francis Barrington of Cullenagh and Killone.[168] Thomasine was still living in 1668, and she and Benjamin Barrington had four sons and a daughter:
● 1a, Nicholas Barrington.
● 2a, Thomas Barrington.
● 3a, Joe (?James) Barrington.
● 4a, Comerford Barrington.
● 5a, Anne, married Constantine Neale.

Garret Comerford was still living in 1641.[169] He died in 1644. His will was proved on 2 April 1644.[170] His widow Catherine subsequently married John Butler. After Garret’s death, Inchiholohan appears to have passed into the possession of his brother, William Comerford. After the Restoration of Charles II on 11 June 1663, his widow Catherine and her second husband John Butler claimed a life interest in 466 acres of the Inchiholohan estates.[171] Benjamin Barrington and his wife Thomasine (Comerford) entered a counter-claim on 19 August 1663.[172]

Garret’s younger brother was:

WILLIAM COMERFORD (ca 1613-ca 1663), younger son of Foulk Comerford (died 1623) and Thomasine (Pigott) Comerford, named in his brother’s will.[173] It now appears unlikely that he was the “Mr William...” at whose farm, four miles from Rosse and held from Job Ward, John Pigott of Dysart stayed in 1641 shortly before he was killed in the rebellion?[174] William married Ellen (or Ellinor) Shee, daughter of Robert Shee of Uppercourt (Freshford), Cloran and Kilkenny, and his wife, Margaret, daughter and co-heir of Sir Richard Masterson of Ferns, Co Wexford (son of Sir Thomas Masterson of Ferns, Seneschal of Co Wexford).[175] Robert Shee was MP for Kilkenny City 1634-1635 and hosted the General Assembly of the Confederation of Kilkenny Parliament in his house in Parliament Street, Kilkenny. Ellen Comerford’s niece, Margaret Shee, married Richard Butler, 5th Viscount Mountgarret. In 1649, her father Robert Shee tried to take action against the family of William Comerford’s sister-in-law, Catherine, and her second husband, John Butler, for recovery of the lands belonging to this branch of the family.[176] However, the action appears to have been interrupted by the political turmoil of the day and failed.

Healy raises the possibility, and Carrigan says it is supposed, “with much probability,” that Castleinch or Inchiologhan was the “villa about three [Italian] miles from the town” where the Papal Nuncio, Cardinal Rinuccini, stopped on 12 November 1645, the night before his arrival in Kilkenny.[177] However, Hogan says Rinucinni stayed at Ballybur Castle, another Comerford residence nearby. [See Chapter 4: Comerford of Ballybur Castle and Kilkenny City]

Under Cromwell, William was ordered transported to Connacht in 1654 and forfeited Inchiologhan with 1,031 acres and Brownstown with 255 acres, along with a small thatched cabin and garden in West Street, Callan, occupied by John Corbitt, a croft which he owned along with Pierce Butler and Richard Foster and which was occupied by Darby Doyle, a garden in Kenny Street, Callan, occupied by Darby Doyle, a waste plot in South Street, Callan, held by Patrick Vance and others, a house and garden in South Street, allan, held by James Murphy, and a house in East Street, Callan, held by Major Redman.[178]

However, it is unlikely that William ever left the Kilkenny area. The castle and lands of Inchihologhan passed to Joseph Cuffe and John Butler in dower, and it was stated that the “Castle, Manor and lands” of Inchyolaghan were to be known as Castleinch.[179] Later the property was called Cuffe’s Desart, and a new residence, Desart Court, was built a few miles from the castle in 1733.[180] Healy says: “Though there was a tradition to the effect that the Comerfords regained at least partial possession at the restoration, I have not been able to discover any document which would place its accuracy beyond doubt.”[181]

William died ca 1663, when his sister-in-law, Catherine (Gilbert) and her second husband, John Butler, claimed a life interest in 466 acres of the Inchiolohan estates. A counter-claim was entered by his niece, Thomasine Barrington. The Comerford estate was divided between the Butler and Cuffe families. William had at least two sons:

1, John Comerford (born ca 1641?), living at Grangesulecan near Inchiologhan when the hearth money rolls were compiled in 1664; at that time the parish of “Insiolaghane” or Castleinch included the townlands of Brownstown, Goslingstown, Grangesulecan and Ballybur.[182] John may have left many descendants.
2, Richard Comerford, of whom now.

Barney Comerford does not name John, but says William was also the father of:[183]

3, James Comerford, outlawed as a Jacobite.
4, Catherine.

RICHARD COMERFORD (ca 1645?-post 1699), younger son of William Comerford above, described as “Richard Comerford of Castleinch, gent” when he was among the Irish Jacobites outlawed for high treason on 20 April 1691.[184] His appeal was adjudicated upon on 26 August 1699.[185] He too may be the ancestor of many of the Comerfords of Co Kilkenny in subsequent generations.

Footnotes and references:

[1] GD Burtchaell, Genealogical memoirs of the Members of Parliament for the County and City of Kilkenny (Dublin: Sealy, Bryers and Walker, 1888), p. 19.
[2] HMC 10, v (1885), p. 330.
[3] HMC 10, v (1885), p. 298; Hansard, p. 115.
[4] HMC 10, v (1885), p. 275.
[5] HMC 10, v (1885), p. 331.
[6] Carew v, London, 1871, p. 471; Burtchaell, Kilkenny MPs, p. 19.
[7] Hore 3, p. 113.
[8] HMC 10, v (1885), pp 314-315.
[9] HMC 10, v (1885), p. 321.
[10] Cal State Papers Irel, 1601-1603, p. 686.
[11] HMC 10 v (1885), p. 324.
[12] HMC 10 v (1885), p. 326.
[13] HMC 10 v (1885), p. 51.
[14] Cal State Papers Irel, Mary, vol 2, p. 145.
[15] Leslie, Leighlin Ts ii (RCB Library), f. 213.
[16] Foster 1, p. 314; DNB 4, p. 894; Ronan, pp. 114, 580, 590; Brennan, Ecclesiastical History, pp 443-444; Hogan, Catalogue of Irish Jesuits, p. 6; Ormond 5, p. 185; Carew 1, p. 385; Cal State Papers Irel iv, Elizabeth, 1588-1592, pp 136, 295.
[17] Cal State Parers Irel, 1601-1603, p. 663; Ronan, p. 114.
[18] Ormond 5, p. 89; Hayes i, p. 654.
[19] HMC 10 v (1885), p. 274; Hansard, p. 115.
[20] HMC 10 v (1885), p. 275; Hansard, p. 115.
[21] HMC 10 v (1885), p. 275; Hansard, p. 115.
[22] HMC 10 v (1885), p. 275.
[23] Anal. Hib. 20 (1958), p. 92.
[24] Carew 3, p. 381; CSPI, vol 9, March-October 1600, pp 89, 101.
[25] Carrigan 3, pp 230, 306.
[26] JAPMD 2, 1892-1894, p. 327.
[27] Ormond 5, p. 194.
[28] Fiants Eliz 1788 (DKPRI 12), p. 44.
[29] HMC 10 v, 1885, p. 333.
[30] HMC 10 v, 1885, p. 275.
[31] HMC 10 v, 1885, p. 275.
[32] CSPI v, 1592-1596, pp 116-118.
[33] Ormond v, pp 307-308.
[34] HMC 10, v, (1885), pp 000.
[35] HMC 10, v, (1885), p. 276.
[36] CSPI 1586-July 1588, pp. 143, 191-194.
[37] Shelley (1874); Carrigan 3, p. 302; JAPMD 1, 1888-9 (Dublin 1892), p. 423. In Kennedy (2007), p. 565, this is misread due to missing pieces, so that it appears Nicholas Comerford died in 1597.
[38] Foster i, p. 314; Students Admitted to the Inner Temple, 1547-1660 (London, 1877), pp 112-114.
[39] Ormond 6, p. 71.
[40] Fiants El 6564, DKPRI 17, pp 274-276.
[41] Fiants El 6564, DKPRI 17, pp 274-276.
[42] J. Walton, “The Hearth Money Rolls of County Kilkenny: Extracted from the Carrigan Mss,” in The Irish Genealogist, 5 (1) and 5 (2), p. 45.
[43] Fiants Eliz 1784 (DKPRI 12), p. 44.
[44] CSPI, Eliz, 1574-1585, p. 231.
[45] HMC 10, v, (1885), p. 276.
[46] Hogan, Irish Jesuits, p. 26.
[47] Hogan, Irish Jesuits, p. 26.
[48] Carrigan 4, p. 63; Moran, p. 174.
[49] Power, ‘Brenan,’ p. 244.
[50] Wall, Parnassus, pp. 709-711.
[51] Wall, Parnassus, p. 719; Carrigan 4, p. 63; Moran, p. 175.
[52] Carrigan 4, p. 64.
[53] Moran, p. 175; Wall, Parnassus, p. 716.
[54] Flanagan, ‘Luke Wadding,’ p. 8.
[55] Carrigan 4, p. 64; Moran, p. 178.
[56] Moran, p. 175.
[57] Moran, p. 179.
[58] Moran, p. 178.
[59] Moran, p. 179.
[60] Moran, p. 178.
[61] Carrigan 3, pp 230, 306; see Ormond 5, pp 33-34, 137, 151, 166-167, 235, 272; Ormond 6, pp 1, 2; Hayes 1, p. 654.
[62] Ormond 4, p. 235; Hayes 1, p. 653.
[63] Ormond 4, pp 235-236; Hayes 1, p. 653.
[64] Ormond 4, pp 236, 267; Hayes 1, pp 653-654.
[65] Ormond 5, pp 94-95, 110; Hayes 1, p. 654.
[66] Carrigan 3, p. 229.
[67] Fiants Eliz 1042 (742), DKPRI ii (1879), p. 155; Carrigan 3, pp 230, 316.
[68] CSPI 1509-1573, pp 412, 424; Carrigan 3, p. 230.
[69] Fiants Eliz 1054 (894), DKPRI ii, 1879, p. 159; Carrigan 3, p. 230.
[70] Carrigan 3, p. 230.
[71] Burtchaell, ‘Rothe family,’ p. 513, n 1; Burtchaell, Kilkenny MPs, p. 19; Ormond 5, p. 282.
[72] Ormond 6, p. 2; Hayes i, p. 654.
[73] Carrigan 3, p. 306.
[74] Check refs.
[75] Check refs.
[76] Betham Mss, Will Abstracts, PROI, Dublin, 1/9, f 33.
[77] Students Admitted…, pp 74-75.
[78] HMC 10 v, p. 276.
[79] Betham 1/9, f 33.
[80] Carrigan 3, pp 230, 306.
[81] Carrigan, p. 230; Burtchaell, ‘Rothe Family,’ p. 513; Burtchaell, Kilkenny MPs, pp 17-18.
[82] Carrigan 3, p. 230.
[83] Burtchaell, Kilkenny MPs, pp 17-18.
[84] Burtchaell, ‘Rothe Family,’ p. 513; Burtchaell, Kilkenny MPs, pp 28-30.
[85] Burtchaell, ‘Rothe Family,’ p. 513; Burtchaell, Kilkenny MPs, p. 18.
[86] Burtchaell, ‘Rothe Family,’ p. 513; Burtchaell, Kilkenny MPs, pp 17-18.
[87] Burtchaell, ‘Rothe Family,’ pedigree facing p. 536.
[88] Burtchaell, ‘Rothe Family,’ p. 513; Burtchaell, Kilkenny MPs, pp 17-18.
[89] Burtchaell, ‘Rothe Family,’ p. 513; Burtchaell, Kilkenny MPs, p. 18.
[90] Burtchaell, ‘Rothe Family,’ p. 513; Burtchaell, Kilkenny MPs, p. 18.
[91] Burtchaell, ‘Rothe Family,’ p. 513; Burtchaell, Kilkenny MPs, p. 18.
[92] Betham 1/9, f. 33.
[93] Fiants Eliz 1436 (DKPRI 11), p. 214; Mem Rolls Irel, 11 Eliz, PROD; Hore i, p. 214.
[94] CSPI, 18-45 Eliz, p. 70; Fiants Eliz 1676 (DKPRI 12), p. 27; Fiants Eliz (DKPRI-12, 1880), p. 55.
[95] Ormond 6, pp 3, 7, 31.
[96] Ormond 5, p. 240.
[97] Betham 1/9, f 33.
[98] HMC 10 v (1885), p. 276.
[99] Hore 1, pp 278, 280-282.
[100] Betham 1/9, f. 33.
[101] See his will, Betham 1/9, f. 33.
[102] Betham 1/9, f. 33.
[103] Ormond 6, p. 78.
[104] Betham 1/9, f 23.
[105] Burtchaell, Kilkenny MPs, p. 19.
[106] Burtchaell, Kilkenny MPs, p. 20.
[107] Burtchaell, Kilkenny MPs, p. 19.
[108] Browne, Kilkenny College, p. 227; Burtchaell, Kilkenny MPs, p. 19; (Rev) W. Healy, History and Antiquities of Kilkenny (County and City) (Kilkenny: P.M. Egan, 1893), 2 vols, vol 1, p. 120.
[109] Students Admitted, p. 87; Burtchaell, Kilkenny MPs, p. 19.
[110] Healy 1, p. 120; Burtchaell, Kilkenny MPs, p. 19.
[111] Fiants Eliz 4625 (DKPRI 15), p. 84; Carrigan 3, p. 231; Burtchaell, ‘Rothe Family,’ p. 513 n 2; Kennedy (2007), p. 461, gives the date as 1558 for 1584, but this is clearly a mistake.
[112] Burtchaell, Kilkenny MPs, p. 15; Carrigan 3, p. 231; Burtchaell, ‘Rothe Family,’ p. 513 n 2.
[113] Fiants Eliz 4732 (DKPRI 15), p. 114; Fiants Eliz 4745 (DKPRI 15), p. 119.
[114] CSPI 3, Eliz 1586-1588, pp 131, 172; Carew Mss 2, p. 431.
[115] CSPI 3, Eliz 1586-1588, pp. 407, 428; Fiants Eliz 5233 (DKPRI 16), p. 60; CSPI iv, Eliz 1586-1592, p. 37.
[116] Fallon, passim; CSPI iv, Eliz 1588-1592, pp 43, 54, 74.
[117] CSPI iv, Eliz 1588-1592, pp 118, 138, 144-147, 173-174.
[118] CSPI iv, Eliz 1588-1592, p. 396.
[119] Cal Pat Cl 18-41 Eliz ii, pp 216-217; Fiants Eliz 5583 (DKPRI 16), p. 166-167, Fiants Eliz 5584 (DKPRI 15), p. 167, Fiants Eliz 5595 (DKPRI 16), p. 169; Carrigan 3, p. 231.
[120] Carew Mss 3, p. 406.
[121] Fiants Eliz 6444 (DKPRI 17), p. ??.
[122] CSPI 10, 1600-1601, pp 197-198.
[123] Carrigan 3, p. 231.
[124] CSPI iv, Eliz 1588-1592, pp. 144, 533; CSPI James I 1603-1606, pp 32, 34, 50-53, 121-122.
[125] CSPI 10, 1600-1901, p. 446; CSPI James I, 1603-1606, pp 71-73.
[126] Carew Mss 4, pp 147, 355.
[127] Carew Mss 4, p. 441.
[128] Carew Mss 4, 3, p. 190; CSPI vi, Eliz 1596-97, pp 43, 475; CSPI viii, Eliz 1599-1600, p. 375; CSPI, James I, 1603-1606, pp 71-73.
[129] Ormond 6, pp 2-3, 83, 184, 194-195.
[130] Carrigan 3, p. 231; Healy 1, p. 120.
[131] Carrigan i3, p. 231; Burtchaell, Kilkenny MPs, p. 19; Healy 1, p. 120.
[132] Carrigan 3, p. 231; Burtchaell, Kilkenny MPs, pp 19-20; Healy 1, p. 122.
[133] Carrigan 3, p. 302; Carrigan Mss 71, f. 60; JAPMD 2, pp. 146-147; Kennedy (2007), pp 460, 567.
[134] Betham 1-9, ff 29-30.
[135] Carrigan 3, p. 231; Healy 1, p. 120.
[136] Betham 1-9, ff 29-30; Carrigan 3, p. 231; Burtchaell, Kilkenny MPs, p. 19.
[137] Hogan, pp 12, 15; M’Donnell, Salamanca, 3, p. 521. He is not mentioned in his father’s will, but Hogan identifies him as a brother of the Jesuits James and Thomas Comerford, and as a nephew of Chief Justice Walsh.
[138] Betham 1/9, ff 29-30; Hogan pp 12, 15; Carrigan 3, p. 231; Healy 1, p. 120; Burtchaell, Kilkenny MPs, p. 19; M’Donnell, Salamanca 3, p. 529.
[139] Hogan pp 12, 15; M’Donnell, Salamanca 3, p. 528. He is not mentioned in his father’s will, but Hogan identifies him as a brother of James and Richard and as a nephew of Chief Justice Walsh.
[140] Betham 1-9, ff 29-30; Carrigan 3, p. 231; Healy 1, p. 120; Burtchaell, Kilkenny MPs, p. 19.
[141] William Dobbyns to John Percivale, Egmont Mss 1, HMC, 1905, pp 569-573; see Comerford (1999), pp 92-102.
[142] Check refs.
[143] Check refs.
[144] Chart and Maps, http://www.nmm.ac.uk/collections/explore/object.cfm?ID=G213%3A2%2F2 (8 January 2007).
[145] Chart and Maps, http://www.nmm.ac.uk/collections/explore/object.cfm?ID=G213%3A3%2F1 (8 January 2007).
[146] Chart and Maps, http://www.nmm.ac.uk/collections/explore/object.cfm?ID=G256%3A1%2F1 (8 January 2007).
[147]Chart and Maps, http://www.nmm.ac.uk/collections/explore/object.cfm?ID=G215%3A1%2F3 (8 January 2007).
[148] Chart and Maps, http://ead.diglib.ku.edu/xml/ksrl.sc.comberfordnicholas3.html (8 January 2007).
[149] The Diary of Samuel Pepys, http://www.pepysdiary.com/archive/1663/07/22/index.php (8 January 2007).
[150] Check refs.
[151] Simmington, Civil Survey of Wexford, 1654-1656, pp 235-247, 252; Hore 1, p. 315.
[152] Burke’s Landed Gentry of Ireland, various eds., s.v. Hore; this Edward is often confused with Edward Comerford, MP for Callan [See Chapter 6, http://comerfordfamily.blogspot.com/2007/11/6-comerford-of-ballymack-and-callan.html].
[153] Barney Comerford, Table 11 C, p. 155.
[154] Betham 1/9, f. 159; Walsh, Ossory and Leighlin Wills, pp 479-480; Carrigan 3, p. 295; Carrigan Mss 52, no f. number; Carrigan Mss 59, f. 48, and NLI Pos No 907, notebook ca 1890-1892, f. 13.
[155] Betham 1-9, ff 29-30; Carrigan 3, p. 231; Healy 1, p. 120; Burtchaell, Kilkenny MPs, p. 19.
[156] Barney Comerford, Table 11 C, p. 155.
[157] Betham 1-9, ff 29-30, 82.
[158] Carrigan 3, p. 231, although this may be an error in transcription from Betham’s will and should read Mary.
[159] Keane, Phair and Sadlier (eds), King’s Inns, p. 94; Students Admitted ..., pp 163-165.
[160] See Healy 1, p. 407.
[161] Carrigan 3, p. 231, and Burke’s Peerage, various eds, s.v. Pigott (1808), name her as a daughter of John and Martha (Colclough) Pigott. However, descendants of the Pigott family suggest that Thomasine was a sister of John Pigott of Dysert and Grangebeg, and a daughter of Sir Robert Pigott of Dysart (born 1565-ca 1642) and his wife Anne St Leger. [emails from Chris Pigott of Pott’s Point, New South Wales, to Patrick Comerford (15.4.2008, 17.4.2008, 18.4.2008), and John O’Grady of Dublin to Patrick Comerford (20.4.2008).]
[162] Betham 1-9, f. 82.
[163] Healy 1, p. 407; Report Cmsr PRI, 8, p. 441; Carrigan 3, p. 232; Carrigan Mss Pos 207, no folio numbers.
[164] See Carrigan iii, pp 302-303; Carrigan Mss 71, f. 601; JAPMD 2, pp 146-147.
[165] Carrigan 3, p. 232; Carrigan Mss Pos 207, no folio numbers.
[166] Betham 1/9, f 82.
[167] Carrigan 3, p. 232; Carrigan Mss Pos 207, no folio numbers.
[168] Alexander was ancestor of Sir Jonah Barrington, v 1798; Thomas Barrington’s sons included the Revd John Barrington, Rector of Horetown, Co Wexford, 1684, and his descendants included the Barringtons of Ballymacane, Tacumshane, Ballycogley and Lambstown, Co Wexford, Lydia (Barrington) Darragh, “heroine of the American Revolution,” Sir John Barrington, Lord Mayor of Dublin 1865 and 1879, the Quaker Barringtons, and Clive Allen of Bunclody, Co Wexford. Information supplied by Clive Allen, correspondence from Slaney View, Ryland Lower, Bunclody (23.4.1997), includes extracts from Barrington pedigrees compiled by Eva Malone and based on Mss Pedigrees, TCD, Quaker records, Barrington family papers and deeds, &c.
[169] Carrigan 3, p. 232.
[170] For his will see Betham Mss 1-9, f 82; Vicars, Prerogative Wills, p. 97.
[171] Carrigan Mss 207, no folio number.
[172] Carrigan Mss 207, no folio number.
[173] Betham Mss 1/9, f 82.
[174] Hore 1, p. 311; emails from Chris Pigott of Pott’s Point, New South Wales, to Patrick Comerford (15.4.2008, 17.4.2008, 18.4.2008), and John O’Grady of Dublin to Patrick Comerford (20.4.2008).
[175] Burtchaell, Kilkenny MPs, p. 28; Burke 2 (1836), pp 124-125; Carrigan 3, p. 232.
[176] CSPI, 1647-1660 (1903), p. 286.
[177] Healy 1, pp 62-63; Carrigan 3, p. 232.
[178] Carrigan iii, p. 232; see Healy 1, p. A 33; Conleth Manning, “The Civil Survey of Inistioge and Callan, Co Kilkenny,” RSAI.Jn. 128 (1998), pp 54-58.
[179] Healy 1, pp A34-A35.
[180] E. Prendergast, “Medieval Jug from Castleinch,” Old Kilkenny Review, Vol 1, No 4 (1977), p. 244.
[181] Healy 1, p. 122.
[182] Walton, Hearth Money Rolls, p. 169; Comerford (1994), p. 29-30.
[183] Barney Comerford, p. 155, Table A1C.
[184] Anal Hib 22, p. 44; Carrigan 3, p. 232, 4, p. 400.
[185] Anal Hib 22, p. 122.

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5 comments:

Unknown said...

Hello I am Brendon Comerford from Brisbane, Australia. Born in New Zealand, my father Peter Comerford and two uncles, Paul and James Comerford. We have our family tree from my Fathers Mothers side but the Comerford Tree got lost along the way.

lara said...

Hi,
I am Laraine Comerford great great grand daughter of James Comerford and Mary Kelly of Ballyneal on the Waterford Tipperary Border Mary's parents were Thomas Kelly and Margaret Riordan.
James ony suplies his fathers name as Edmond or Edward. Any help of information gratefully accepted.
They came to Australia as free settlers in 1840 I found a Baptism in St Marys church records Ballyneal for a child Bartholomew to Mary and James the child did not come to australia with them.
This is a wonderful site congratulations

Rosemary said...

Dear Rev Comerford - Marvellous work! Please come to our conference 'The Living Tradition of Stone Sculpture in Callan: the O'Tunneys - the men, the work and the times'. Callan 30 July - 1 August 2010. Please contact me rosemarypryan@gmail.com for the booking form. We do hope you can come.

Rosemary said...

Marvellous work! Please say you can come to the conference we're organising in Callan 30 July -1 Aug 2010: 'The Living Tradition of Stone Sculpture in Callan: the O'Tunneys: the men, the work and the times'. Contact me for a booking form. Don't know how to contact you other than this way.

shilo1948@y7mail.com said...

Researching COUNTY as surname can anyone help me please
How many RC churches/graveyards are in Thurles or Stradavoher area
Anastasia/Antice COUNTY age 80 (nee Manton) died in 1868 also a Thomas County age 30
in Stradavoher Thurles Tipperary they must have been buried somewhere even in a pauper grave been searching for over 35+years unable to find where appreciate any help
Thanks Shilo