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Deposition of James Craven

  • Reference:  MS 829, fols 379r-380v
  • County: Limerick
  • Date: 31/8/1653
  • Type: Commonwealth
  • Nature of Deposition: Arson, Death, Military Action, Multiple Killing, Robbery, Stripping
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  • How to Cite
    • fol. 379r



    1690
    <B> Depositions of Witnesses taken at Lim[ ]k Limerick in in the moneths of August & September in the yere of our Lord god one thowsand six hundred fifty three by force of the Comission issued from the high Court of Justice at Dublin herevnto annexed dated the xxvth day of July 1653
    <A> James Craven of the Cittie of Limerick Clockmaker sworne & examined deposeth That in or about the moneth of January or ffebruary 1641 when the prese Rebellion of the Irish began, the Cittizens of Limrick aforesaid whereof Dominick ffanning (then Maior thereof) was principall) fell into Rebellion & robbed the English Protestants of their goodes & vsed them very cruelly inasmuch as this deponent and divers others for safetie of their lives fled into the Castle of Limerick aforesaid, then Governered by one Mr George Courtney whoe held & manteined the said Castle against those Rebells: And saith that dureing the time of his this deponents stay in the said Castle & before he came thither, divers English Protestants (whereof one Winifred Eagle was one, but the rest he cannott name) were surprized by those Rebells & throwne into the River of Shannon & there drowned, And this deponent & divers others afterwards saw their drowned carcasses (after the galls burst) swyming in the water of Shannon closse by the Castle side: And the [ ] saith further that att the time of the drowneing of those people <B> the said Dominick ffanning the Maior was specially assisted by Sir Geoffrey Galway knight William Comin now of Ballynetie an Alderman of the same Citty Captain James Arthur of Limerick aforesaid John White fitz David a Burgesse & others whom he cannott now remember in robbing plundering & spoyleing of the English Protestants of all their goodes & that the said ffanning Sir Geoffrey Galway, Captain Arthur William Comin & John White fitz David were in the said Citty at the tyme when of the drowneing of the English protestants aforesaid & hee is confident they either Comanded or suffered them to be soe drowned
    1

    fol. 379v



    1691
    & that they very well knew of the drowneing of them: And there were at or about the same tyme murthered within the said Citty & suburbs severall other Protestants (though this deponent cannott now name them, by the Rebells there whose names he knowes not And he is alsoe confident that the said ffanning Sir Geffrey Galway & the other <C> Rebells before named knew very well of the same & that they either Comanded or suffered those murthers to be Comitted without questioning the parties off enders by whose handes the same was done:
    <D> He also saith that quickly after this deponents betakeing himself to the said Castle some part of the howses belonging to the Castle great howse of Singland which belonged to Collonell Trenchard, was burned by the Lord of Castle Connell & his confederates & Souldiers whoe then carried away from thence a great prey of the said Colonell Trenchards Cattell & this deponent with his owne eys saw those howses on fyre & the Rebells fyreing at the great howse & those in the house fyreing at them in the night tyme: And although the said greate howse was held & kept from the Rebells that tyme & some 3 or 4 yeres afterwardes yet the same afterwards was pulld downe & the materialls carried away by the Citizens of Limericke the building whereof cost as he thincketh above two thowsand Powndes And further saith that such was the mallice or rage of the Rebells of Limerick especially of those that assisted the said <E> Dominick ffanning the Maior that none of the English Protestants durst soe much as looke into the streets but for feare of robbery stripping

    fol. 380r



    1692
    & being putt to death. w ith many being robed & stript at noone day or at other times of the day which was the cawse that this deponent & many other protestants fledd into the Castle as aforesaid, where they contynued about seven moneths vntill above three hundred & forty of them or above died of hunger & cold saveing that about twenty of that number were shott in the C & killd in the Castle by the beseegers out of the Citty & there one John Powell an Engineere for the English in the Castle had his legg broken in springing of a Myne which Counterworked another made by the enemy: And at that tyme the Castle wanting both men Amunition & viand victualls was enforced soe farr to stoope to that necessity as to be delivered in vpon quarter to one whoe was called generall <ff> Barry & also to Dominick ffanning the Maior Lieutenant Generall Purcell Sir Geoffrey Galway before named Colonell Mortogh ô Brian: William Comin Captain James Arthur John white fitz david aforesaid, the said Lord of Castle Connell, Oliver Stevenson a great Comander since slayne in Rebellion: Sir Dominick White of Limerick Alderman: Tho: Arthur Alderman: Donoghe Lord of Muskery, the great Mc Nemarra of Thomond [symbol ] Tirloghe ô <symbol> Brian of Thomond Teige mc Donnell Reagh of Thomond and Colonell Donnell Mc Nemarra: Doctor Higgins James ffanning < [ ] > Stephen S[ ] all of Limerick David Rochford of the same Burgesse Michaell Maghan of the same merchant (a notorious villaine) whoe alsoe was said to have robbed the Lady Meredith Mris Serles & divers other gentlewomen in a boate on the River of Shannon of all their money clothes & goodes; Captain Henry Casie Edmund Roch Burgesse of Limerick & others who a great number of other Irish rebellious papists whose names he cannott now remember
    <g> And this deponent further saith that at the time when the Rebells last named began to lay closs closse seige to the said Castle of Limerick one Giles Baldwin of Limerick Chandler an English Protestant attempting to goe to the said Castle to save his liffe, was surprized & murthered by the way in the streete near Newgate by some of the said Rebells whose name or names he knows not: And about the same tyme one John Medley and his wife (both English Protestantes) were alsoe murthered without St Johns gate, but by whom he knoweth not, About the same tyme one John

    fol. 380v



    1693
    John Parsons of Limerick skinner was murthered near Thomond gate & the Castle aforesaid: & the deponent with much danger and difficulty halled him into the Castle & buried him:
    And further saith that the English in the Castle in the time aforesaid haveing a garrison of souldiers att a place called Mockbegger Castle near Thomond bridge & neare to the <g> River of Shannon the said John White alias fitz David & his Confederats by Comand or permission of the rest of the Rebells before named surprized the place vpon a sudden & then & there killd an Englishman being by trade of a weaver but his name he cannott tell by the surprizall of which place this deponent and the rest in the Castle were frustrated of re any releefe by sea & the sooner drawne to surrender the Castle of Limerick: And such was the covetousnes & cruelty of the Irish Rebells aforesaid that they robbed all the English Protestants of all the goods they could fynd & murthered very many of them soe as in deed none durst attempt to looke into the streete but was in greate danger to be slayne, And although this deponent (by godes providence) escaped with his liffe & ran through many imminent dangers; yet those & other Rebells six severall times plundered & robbed him of his goodes to his damage & Losse of fowre hundred twenty powndes & above & also burned his howse & expelled him from twoe farmes of his the one in Thomond & the other in the County of Limerick
    James Craven
    Deposed vnto the last of
    August 1653
    Henry fflower
    Ro: Stamael
    Will: Kinge

    James Craven B
    Murthers of Limrick
    B
    Lo: Muskery

    B



    Henry Flower
    Robert Stamael
    William King



     

Trinity College Dublin, College Green, Dublin 2