Donnybrook and the occupants of its Castle.

Chapter V.

Donnybrook and the Illustrious Occupants of its Castle.

An attempt to associate Donnybrook with any subject except the conventional one of its fair appears to be almost courting failure. Every link with the past has now disappeared from the village, and the castle which once stood in its midst is forgotten. Yet interest must be aroused on finding that Donnybrook was the home of a man in whom James the First reposed confidence, and from whom, amongst a host of other noble and notable persons, the Duke of Wellington traced descent, and this interest will not be diminished on learning that the castle, which that distinguished resident occupied, survived to offer hospitality to Swift, who enjoyed in it “a world of dinners.”

It is towards the close of Queen Elizabeth’s reign, in a list of the principal castles in the county Dublin, that the castle of Donnybrook is first mentioned, and at the same time, in a list of “the men of name ” in the metropolitan County, its illustrious occupant, Sir William Ussher, appears as its owner. But before proceeding with the story, the succession of Ussher’s predecessors in the ownership of Donnybrook may be briefly stated. After Walter de Lacy’s death his estate in the Donnybrook lands had passed in a female line to his descendant, Theobald de Verdon, and at the close of the 13th century the lands were held under the latter by the representatives of William Messett, to whom reference has been already made. The interest of the de Londres family had, however, been transferred to Matilda le Butler. This transfer had been made in consideration of a grant of the manor of Wicklow, and may have been further facilitated by the fact that the de Londres representatives were then William de Londres and his wife Matilda, daughter of Alexander de Nottingham, a lady whom the public persisted in regarding as the daughter of one John Butler, to whom her mother had been previously married. [See, in addition to authorities cited in the Author’s History, “Calendar of the Justiciary Rolls of Ireland, 1295-1303,” edited by James Mills, I.S.O.. pp. 432 - 439. And Grace’s “Annals of Ireland,” edited by Rev. Richard Butler, p. 26.] Through failure of male heirs to Theobald de Verdon, the lands came in the 14th century into the possession of the Bellew family, and in the 15th century, on the marriage of a daughter of that house to the grandfather of Thomas Fitzwilliam of Baggotrath, were assigned to the Fitzwilliams.

Sir William Ussher, who was a much valued kinsman of Archbishop Ussher, inherited Donnybrook through his grandfather, who married as his second wife a daughter of Thomas Fitzwilliam of Baggotrath, and who became owner of Donnybrook in the early part of the 16th century. His grandfather was prominent in the business life of Dublin, of which he was sometime mayor, and his father, who also held that office, occupied a still more leading position. Through a scheme for increasing the revenue of Ireland the latter, who was a political economist of no mean order, became known to the great Lord Burghley, and the Government of the day were unceasing in their commendations of his “zeal and honesty.” Sir William Ussher was his only surviving child, and, even in the lifetime of his father, was endowed with ample means. On this account, according to persons who bore the prelate no goodwill, the well-known Archbishop Loftus was attracted to the young man, and contrived to arrange a match between him and his second daughter. The archbishop, who is said to have had “a cheveril conscience” where money was concerned, forthwith set about further enriching his son4n4aw, and, using his influence as Chancellor of Ireland, an office which he held in addition to the metropolitan see, obtained for him the clerkship of the Council, a position of emolument as well as of honour.

From the house of Sir William Ussher’s father the first book ever printed in the Irish language had been issued, and Sir William Ussher, following in his steps, bore “the greatest part of the charges” of printing the New Testament in that language. This work was dedicated to James the First, to whom Sir William Ussher had become known before that time. As Queen Elizabeth was still on the English throne, it is probable that Sir William Ussher was one of those then engaged in preparing the way in Ireland for the peaceful succession of King James, and about that time he received letters from the King acknowledging services which he had rendered to him: Of these letters Sir William Ussher made use when, towards the close of his life, he was about to be superseded in his office, and possibly weight was given to them by Charles the First in deciding to allow Sir William Ussher to retain the clerkship of the Council, which he held for nearly half a century, until his death.

The ford by which the Dodder was then crossed at Donnybrook was the cause of a great tragedy in Sir William Ussher’s life-the untimely death by drowning of his eldest son. A contemporary writer, who speaks of the Dodder as “a dangerous brook,” and mentions that many persons had lost their lives in crossing it, says that Mr. Ussher was carried away by the current, “nobody being able to succour him, although many persons, and of his nearest friends, both afoot and horseback, were by on both the sides.” A few years later Sir William Ussher’s remaining son, who was Ulster King of Arms, was killed by a fall from his horse. But Sir William Ussher was not left without persons to succeed him. His eldest son had no less than 12 children, and his daughters, six in number, had all married. From them innumerable noble persons trace descent. It may suffice to say that amongst them are the Dukes of Wellington and Leinster, the Marquess of Ormonde, the Earls of Rosse, Egmont, Lanesborough, Enniskillen, and Milltown, and the Viscount Powerscourt.

Although during Sir William Ussher’s time Donnybrook was the scene of a disastrous fire, [See “Ussher’s Works” edited by the Rev Charles R Elrington vol. Xvi. P. 416.] the castle appears to have escaped injury. There were only 20 other dwellings in the metropolitan county comparable with it, and it was rated for the purposes of taxation as containing nearly as many hearths as Merrion Castle. From the picture some idea of the appearance of the castle can be gathered. The drawing, of which the picture is a reproduction, is preserved in a sketch book now in the possession of the Royal Irish Academy. This sketch book belonged to a French artist, Gabriel Beranger, who was settled in Dublin in the latter part of the 18th century, but the drawing of Donnybrook Castle is said to have been the work of Thomas Ashworth, who carried on the trade of linen stamping and paper printing in the middle of that century at Donnybrook. To this early promoter of Irish industries, “a man no less happy in his character than ingenious in his profession,” a sad end came. As he was proceeding home from Dublin one winter’s night he fell a victim to some of the footpads who then swarmed on the roads round the city, and in the words of the Lord Lieutenant and his Council, who “in great abhorrence of so detestable a crime” ordered a reward for the conviction of the perpetrators, was “most barbarously and inhumanly murdered on the high road.”

After Sir William Ussher’s death Donnybrook Castle passed into the possession of his grandson, the eldest son of Mr. Arthur Ussher who lost his life in the Dodder. This young man bore the same Christian name as his grandfather, and was also knighted. During the Commonwealth he was on friendly terms with the rulers of Ireland, and it was “her honoured friend Sir William Ussher” that the widow of the Marquis of Clanricarde selected as the best person to carry on negotiations on her behalf with the Lord Protector’s son, Henry Cromwell, then Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. But, notwithstanding his good relations with the usurpers, the owner of Donnybrook was received into much favour on the Restoration, and more than one official appointment was conferred upon him. Before the close of the 16th century Donnybrook Castle had become the property of Mr. Thomas Twigge, a barrister, whose wife, a Miss Neville, was a granddaughter of Sir William Ussher the second, and after Mr. Twigge’s death in the beginning of the 18th century was occupied by the family of Sir Francis Stoyte, sometime Lord Mayor of Dublin, who is mentioned in Mr. Twigg’s will.

It was during the occupation of the Stoytes, from whom the Earls of Darnley are descended, that Swift became a visitor to Donnybrook, the attraction being doubtless the company of the fair Stella, who was on terms of intimacy with the lady of the house. In Swift’s Journal to Stella there are frequent allusions to her journeys to Donnybrook where in his absence she appears to have been generally accompanied by his predecessor in the deanery of St. Patrick’s, Dr. Stearne. On one occasion Swift reminds her that when he went with her to the Stoytes they only took a coach to “the bottom end of Stephen’s Green,” and from thence went every step on foot, “yes faith every step.” Then at other times there are references to bridge parties of that period in Donnybrook Castle, where Stella was wont to lose money with the master of the house and with Stearne, and also to rambles in the Donnybrook gardens, famous for their asparagus, which it was Stella’s pleasure herself to cut.

Other temporary occupants succeeded the Stoytes in Donnybrook Castle, amongst them being Isaac Dobson, a six-clerk in Chancery, whose handsome daughter captivated an ancestor of Lord Carew, and Chief Justice Flood, father of the celebrated Henry Flood. But after passing into the possession of Mr. Robert Downes, the father of Lord Downes, sometime Chief Justice of the King’s Bench, through his marriage to a granddaughter of Mr. Thomas Twigge, Donnybrook Castle began to show signs of decay, and finally was demolished to make room for a modern house which was a castle only in name, and is now merged in the buildings of the Asylum of St. Mary Magdalen.

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