Belturbet back in the ‘Days of Yore’ - what records tell us
This column looks at Beturbet's ancient records going back to 1610.
Belturbet’s recorded history stretches back to the days of yore as an old correspondent of The Anglo-Celt wrote in June 1904 when he talked about the town’s people ‘and what they did… hundreds of years ago'.
Incidentally, historical records for Belturbet stretched back to the 17th century. What is more, they thankfully, still survive to offer us a unique insight into local government in the town and its environs up until the 19th century. This week’s column considers the response of the journalist to the ancient records in 1904.
Charter
In 1613, Belturbet obtained her first charter, which the correspondent attributed to ‘King James the First’ who ‘on petition of the inhabitants and for the purpose of furthering the Plantation of Ulster, incorporated the village and its precincts’ into a Borough and giving them the power to ‘return two representatives to the Irish Parliament'.
The Plantation principally gave approximately four acres to each Scottish and English settler to build their ‘cage work’ houses on and, in turn, they ‘elicited the approval of the surveyor Pynnar'.
In the same year, the borough received a ‘Grant of Arms’ from Molyneaux the Ulster King at Arms. The account relates that it was: ‘Comprised of a tower with dome and pennen, gules in base, waves of the sea proper; on a chief of the third harp of the field between a rose and a thistle, slipped proper.’
The description given of the arms may sound a bit highfalutin, but that is how they described it.
Butler Family
The first civic head, or provost of the Borough of Belturbet was Sir Stephen Butler, the first of his family to settle in Ireland in the reign of James I. The Butlers soon had family links to Cavan and Fermanagh. Butlersbridge got its name from Francis Butler of Cavan.
Sometime later, in the early 18th century, Theophilus Butler from Co Fermanagh became the Baron of Newtownbutler and then, in 1723, Brinsley Butler became the second Baron with the added honour of an elevation to Viscount of Lanesborough.Just a quick random aside, I remember somebody talking about the titles of viscount when somebody chirped-in and added that they liked one with a cup of tea (presumably, they thought the biscuit was the topic we were discussing).
National Library of Ireland
The National Library of Ireland holds 31 deeds relating to the Butler family and lands they possessed in Cavan and Fermanagh. While the National Archive of Ireland also possesses a ‘deed from Sir Stephen Butler to Edward Butler of land in Fermanagh'.
Our journalist friend from 1904 also added that Belturbet became an important location for ‘Owen Roe O’Neill’ following his success at Benburb when he moved towards Cavan and apparently made Belturbet his headquarters from which ‘he was within a few days’ march of the vital points of four counties and, in case of the worst, was within the same distance of his protective fastness.’
Ancient Horse Fair
The Corporations books reveal a rich array of information on dealings at the Horse Fairs, which the correspondent had consulted in the buyers and sellers recorded information. People travelled from across the island and included buyers and sellers from every corner of Ulster, Connaught, and Leinster. The first reference to a fair in the Borough’s history occurred on September 4, 1770.
Entries of sales recorded in the newspaper are noted from September 1770 to February 22, 1772, and a selection of the ‘principal purchases’ included were: at the opening fair, Laurence Duffy, from Drumratt, the parish of Drumgoon, sold one dark colt to Hugh Rourke, Moher, in the parish of Drumlane; and Jonathan Powel, Corr, parish of Kildallon, was voucher for the sale.
On February 13, 1771, James Gallagher from Gub, parish of Drumreilly, Co Leitrim, ‘exchanged and delivered’ one dark mare, aged four years, ‘with a small star’ with two white saddle marks to Roger Maguire, Drumullagh, parish of Drumlane, valued at £3. Farrell Reilly of Killnaitanogh, parish of Drumlane vouched for the sale.
Bequest to the Poor
In 1736, the Rev Robert Robinson, rector of Belturbet made a bequest of £100 and directed the interest accrued on the sum for distribution amongst the town’s poor. The first of these payments were made on December 23, 1737, by the Provost Lord Viscount Lanesborough, and Dean Richardson, the local clergyman; the money was annually distributed to the needy until March 8, 1837.
Many of the recipients were widows. A few of the people helped by the will included widow Herdman, widow Wylly, widow Jones, widow Brady, widow Forbes, widow Parker and widow Allen. The other benefactors were Issac Lee, John Faris, Terence Reilly, William Lawther, Margaret Stanford, Elizabeth Parker, Alice Connell, Hugh Carr, Mary Matthews, William Sherlock, Isabel French, Priscilla Black, and Peter Chapwell.
Archival transfer
In 1954, the archives of Belturbet Corporation were handed into the Public Records Office of Ireland by Fr Owen Traynor, the parish Priest in Dromahair, Co Leitrim. They were placed in safekeeping with the priest, by the former town clerk, Edward O'Reilly, himself having managed to spare them from the bin during a ‘wastepaper drive’ in the 1940s.
Later, the Public Records Office came under the control of the newly formed National Archives of Ireland and they eventually returned them to Cavan when the Cavan County Archives opened at the Johnston Central Library and Farnham Centre in 2006.
They are an important historical resource for the county and contain an enormous wealth of information to entice the curious historian. In recent times, much of Belturbet’s past has been carefully researched and written about by Dr Brendan Scott. His book, ‘Belturbet, County Cavan, 1610–1714: The origins of an Ulster Plantation town’ is highly recommended.
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