Liscartan (or Liscarton) (meaning "Cartan's Fort") is the county town of

County Meath County Meath (; gle, Contae na Mí or simply ) is a county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. It is bordered by Dublin to the southeast, Louth to the northeast, Kildare to the south, Offaly to the ...

, and

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

Leinster Leinster ( ; ga, Laighin or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, situated in the southeast and east of Ireland. The province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige. Following the 12th-century Norman invasion of ...

, Republic of Ireland. It is 2 three-quarters miles northwest of

Navan Navan ( ; , meaning "the Cave") is the county town of County Meath, Ireland. In 2016, it had a population of 30,173, making it the tenth largest settlement in Ireland. It is at the confluence of the River Boyne and Blackwater, around 50&nb ...

, on the river Blackwater, and on the former mail road from

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

Enniskillen Enniskillen ( , from ga, Inis Ceithleann , ' Ceithlenn's island') is the largest town in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is in the middle of the county, between the Upper and Lower sections of Lough Erne. It had a population of 13,823 a ...

History

The name Liscartan has been translated as "Cartan's Fort", which likely indicates it was a defensive site from the 12th century. Some of the earliest references to Liscartan suggest that the lands were part of lands granted to the original Abbey in Navan by the O'Rourkes of Breffni.Wilde, William R. ''The Beauties of the Boyne and Blackwater'', (first edition 1849) After the

Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Con ...

, the lands were included in the grant of the Barony of Navan made to the knight

Jocelyn de Angulo Jocelyn de Angulo, 1st Baron of Navan (''fl.'' 1172), was an Anglo-Norman knight. Biography De Angulo was one of fifty knights serving under Hugh de Lacy upon the latter's grant of the Lordship of Meath by King Henry II of England in 1172. Joce ...

by Hugh de Lacy, Lord of Meath.French, Noel E. ''Navan by the Boyne'' (2002) A mid-17th-century civil survey shows that Sir Robert Talbot of Carton (brother of the

Earl of Tyrconnell Earl of Tyrconnell is a title that has been created four times in the Peerage of Ireland. It was first created in 1603, for Rory O'Donnell, 1st Earl of Tyrconnell, formerly king of Tyrconnell, along with the subsidiary title Baron Donegal. The 1s ...

, the Lord Lieutenant under James II) and the Irish

Papist The words Popery (adjective Popish) and Papism (adjective Papist, also used to refer to an individual) are mainly historical pejorative words in the English language for Roman Catholicism, once frequently used by Protestants and Eastern Orthodo ...

Adam Missett of

Bellewstown Bellewstown () is a village located 8 km south of Drogheda, on the Hill of Crockafotha in County Meath in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It takes its name from the Anglo-Irish Bellew family, who were the dominant local landowners from th ...

owned lands at Liscarton.Simmington, Robert C., ''Civil Survey of County of Meath, Vol. V'' (quote: "There being on the sd lands Two Castles, a Church, a Mill and a Weare.") The last recorded owner of Liscartan Castle was Sir Richard Talbot Bart. in 1633.Moore, Michael J. (compiled by), ''Archaeological Inventory of County Meath''. Dublin. (1987) In the 18th century, Liscarton was the birthplace of

William Cadogan, 1st Earl Cadogan William Cadogan (-1726), 1st Earl Cadogan, an Irish-born British Army officer, began his active military service during the Williamite War in Ireland in 1689 and ended it with the suppression of the 1715 Jacobite Rebellion. A close associate an ...

as his father, Henry Cadogan, the

High Sheriff of Meath The High Sheriff of Meath was the British Crown's judicial representative in County Meath, Ireland, from the conquest until 1922, when the office was abolished in the new Free State and replaced by the office of Meath County Sheriff. The sheriff ...

, who owned the property by 1703. Lord Cadogan was an army officer whose active military service began during the

Williamite War in Ireland The Williamite War in Ireland (1688–1691; ga, Cogadh an Dá Rí, "war of the two kings"), was a conflict between Jacobite supporters of deposed monarch James II and Williamite supporters of his successor, William III. It is also called th ...

in 1689 and ended with the suppression of the

1715 Jacobite Rebellion The Jacobite rising of 1715 ( gd, Bliadhna Sheumais ; or 'the Fifteen') was the attempt by James Edward Stuart (the Old Pretender) to regain the thrones of England, Ireland and Scotland for the exiled Stuarts. At Braemar, Aberdeenshire, lo ...

. A close associate and confidant of the

Duke of Marlborough General John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, 1st Prince of Mindelheim, 1st Count of Nellenburg, Prince of the Holy Roman Empire, (26 May 1650 – 16 June 1722 O.S.) was an English soldier and statesman whose career spanned the reign ...

, he was also a diplomat and Whig politician who sat in the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

and British House of Commons from 1705 until 1716 when he was raised to the peerage. Lord Cadogan succeeded Marlborough in 1722 as

Master-General of the Ordnance The Master-General of the Ordnance (MGO) was a very senior British military position from 1415 to 2013 (except 1855–1895 and 1939–1958) with some changes to the name, usually held by a serving general. The Master-General of the Ordnance was ...

and senior army commander. Reportedly, the prosperous Anglo-Irish Gerrard family of Gibbstown occupied Liscarton for much of the 18th century and the first half of the 19th century. Thomas Gerrard operated a substantial flour mill nearby. A deed from 1841 records "a dwelling house, corn mills, kilns, water courses and stores". The lease was made between Thomas Gerrard and William Gerrard and James Cullen, Michael Cullen and Thomas Cullen. All were brothers of Paul Cullen, the Archbishop of Dublin who was the first Irish Cardinal and

Primate of Ireland The Primacy of Ireland was historically disputed between the Archbishop of Armagh and the Archbishop of Dublin until finally settled by Pope Innocent VI. ''Primate'' is a title of honour denoting ceremonial precedence in the Church, and in ...

. Cardinal Cullen addressed several letters from Liscarton Castle. "The Cullens operated the mill as a profitable enterprise for the rest of the 19th century." In 1834, there were 14 Protestants and 222 Roman Catholics in Liscarton.''The Parliamentary Gazetteer 0f Ireland'', 1844, Vol. 2 In 1842, the '' Lewis Topographical Directory'' listed "Bachelor's Lodge" as the residence of John Wade, Esq. in this parish. According to ''Slater's Directory'' in 1894, Liscartan consisted of 1,303 acres and the population in 1891 was 144 and Liscartan Castle, a modernised ancient building was the seat of Hugh J. Cullen Esq. J.P.

Liscartan Castle

Liscarton Castle is a 15th-century

castellated A battlement in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (i.e., a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at interva ...

building that originally consisted of 2 towers connected by a large hall. Around 1800, one of the towers was shortened and converted into living accommodations. The remaining tower is 4 stories high featuring multiple carved heads in the stonework.Mulligan, Kevin V. ''The Buildings of Meath'', The Fieldgate Press,

An Taisce An Taisce – The National Trust for Ireland (; meaning "the store" or "the treasury"), established in June 1948, is a non-governmental organisation (NGO) active in the areas of the environment and built heritage in Ireland. It considers itself t ...

(2001). In the 15th century, Jane Taafe was recorded as having inherited lands at Liscarton. In 1403, Taafe sought permission to take scrub from Barfotstown to produce

lime Lime commonly refers to: * Lime (fruit), a green citrus fruit * Lime (material), inorganic materials containing calcium, usually calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide * Lime (color), a color between yellow and green Lime may also refer to: Botany ...

for the construction of a castle at Liscarton. According to

George Victor Du Noyer George Victor Du Noyer MRIA (1817 – 3 January 1869) was an Irish painter, geologist and antiquary of Huguenot descent. As an artist, his favourite medium was watercolour, but a large number of sketches by him in pencil and other mediums also ...

, Taafe's husband built the manorial church the following year, which according to Sir William Wilde: ""the church is remarkable for the extreme beauty of its eastern and western windows, each of which consists of one great light.... an exquisite variety of tracery, in the decorated style of gothic architecture, fills the head of both windows, and the mouldings are deep and well executed. Upon the exterior face may be observed well carved human heads projecting from the dripstone." Following Taafe's death, the castle passed to Nicholas Rowe (Jane's son from her first marriage to Peter Rowe).

People

* Sir Robert Talbot, 2nd Baronet * Henry Cadogan *

* Paul Cullen

References

External links

Historical Society of Liscartan website
{{coord, 53, 40, N, 6, 43, W, display=title, region:IE_type:city_source:GNS-enwiki County towns in the Republic of Ireland Towns and villages in County Meath

History

Liscartan Castle

People

See also

References

External links