The great fire already alluded to occurred in 1816, and is supposed to have originated in a chimney where jackdaws were building. It quickly spread to the drawing-room, and nothing was saved except the family papers and plate. A most valuable library and many pictures were destroyed.
The sky was crimson for miles round, and people flocked to all the adjacent hills to witness the magnificent sight.
The present family residence is about a quarter of a mile from the old castle. The owner, Lord O’Neill, is the 2nd Baron, the former title having become extinct in 1855.
“The Rockery,” formed from an ancient quarry and stocked with rare plants, is one of the attractions of the demesne.
| Authorities Consulted. |
| Calendar of State Papers. |
| Calendar of Carew MSS. |
| G. Hill, “Macdonnells of Antrim.” |
| W. S. Smith, “Shane’s Castle.” |
| Donovan, “Annals of the Four Masters.” |
| Parliamentary Gazetteer. |
| W. S. Smith, “Memories of ’98”; G. Hill, “Shane’s Castle”; “Origin and Characteristics of the Population in the Counties of Down and Antrim,” and Notes, all in Ulster Journal of Archæology. |
SWORDS CASTLE
About seven miles from Dublin, on the chief highway to the North, is situated the town of Swords, Sword, Surd, or Swerdes, as it is variously termed in ancient manuscripts. From the earliest ages of Christianity the church founded by St. Columbkille, with its attendant offices and monastery, made the neighbourhood a powerful ecclesiastical centre; so that, when in later years the church lands of Swords became joined to the see of Dublin, they formed no inconsiderable part of the Archbishop’s revenue.
In the Bull of Pope Alexander III. in 1179 to St. Laurence O’Toole, Archbishop of Dublin, confirming his archiepiscopal see, Sword is placed second on the list of churches in importance.
Therefore it is not surprising that the Englishmen who succeeded O’Toole in the see of Dublin should have erected their country residence in a town, from the surrounding lands of which they derived so much of their income.