In several of his valuable contributions to this
Journal, the late Lord Walter Fitz Gerald regretted the virtual
disappearance from the County of many of the old Kildare families, among
which be always cited the Eustaces, upon whose history he submitted
several articles. As a descendant of the main Castlemartin and
Harristown line, the present writer now owns some of the old family
papers, and these have but recently been sorted out. Though sadly
incomplete, these papers confirm. many of the facts already published in
this Journal and provide us with others. At the cost of much repetition,
this seemed to be an opportunity to collect the Eustace story, so far as
it could be traced, into one paper. It is a story closely linked with
Irish history since the fourteenth century, the story of the birth of a
great family and of its gradual disappearance from the County in the
storms that have passed through Ireland during the last five-hundred
years.
This was a family often divided against itself by
deeply- held religious differences and by divergent political loyalties,
a family whose important members so often chose the losing side: It was
for a time perhaps the most powerful in Kildare (except of course the
FitzGeralds), with lands scattered from Confey in the north to beyond
the county boundary in the south; from the Dublin and Wicklow mountains
in the east to Athy and Newbridge in the west. The triangle containing
Naas, Ballymore Eustace and Old Kilcullen was almost one large family
estate
Criche-Eustace or Cry-Eustace it
was called. Their castles, especially those at Ballymore Eustace,
Harristown, Castlemartin and Clongowes Wood, guarded the Pale for
several centuries, and only fell at last to the guns of Ormonde and
Cromwell. It was rare for a jury of county gentlemen to contain no
Eustace, and on at least one occasion they formed a majority upon a
panel of twelve. Theirs was a family that produced, as we shall see,
many of the great men of Kildare and several who held the highest
positions in the Government of Ireland. The family produced two Lords
Deputy, three Lords Chancellor, two Lords Treasurer and the High Sheriff
of Kildare on forty-five occasions. With a few notable exceptions they
have now almost disappeared from Kildare, and their name has become a
rare one in Ireland itself.
It was an inquiry into the causes of the rise and
then the fall of this large family, and especially into what in fact did
happen to their lands, that led to the original draft of this Paper, or
rather to the collection of the bare facts that it contains. These facts
have been drawn from many sources, not the least being of course the
past volumes of this Journal. (The Eustace references in the Journal are
extremely numerous, but a list of the principal ones will be given in an
Appendix.) The writer is neither an archæologist nor genealogist, and
has but seldom visited Ireland. He would therefore be most grateful if
those more qualified than he, would draw attention to any errors, wrong
conclusions or important omissions from this Paper, which was not
originally intended for publication and is submitted with great
diffidence.
Origin
of the Eustace Family
We can
dismiss as purely legendary the vague claims that have been made to a
direct descent from early bearers of the name. There was Saint
Eustachius, venerated 20th Sept.a Roman centurion of the first century,
converted to Christianity by the miraculous vision of a stag who bore a
crucifix between his antlers. Saint Eustachius (Eustace) is the patron
saint of Newbridge College and was venerated September 20th (until his
sainthood and very existence was questioned by the Vatican in 196X.) .
There was Count Eustace of Boulogne, one of the four Norman knights who
dispatched the wounded King Harold at the Battle of Hastings, and the
father of Godfrey de Bouillon, who captured Jerusalem from the Turks.
There was Godfrey's elder brother Eustace, the grandfather of the young
Eustace (son of King Stephen) who while he lived was heir to the throne
of England. There was also Godfrey's younger brother, also named
Eustace, who is said to have landed at Waterford on his return from the
First Crusade. There is however little doubt that no Eustace, as such,
was among the early settlers in Ireland.
It is, I think, fairly certain that the Eustaces
were a junior branch of the family of Le Poer, now represented by the
Marquess of Waterford. Four brothers Le Poer, of Norman origin, landed
in Ireland with Henry II in 1171, and were granted lands in Ossory
(Waterford). Their crest was the stag of St. Eustachius, probably their
patron saint, and several of the family were named after him. (The
Eustace battle-cry is said to have been "Poer-a-boo, which was also the
battle cry of the LePoer family). One of the LePoer brothers, Sir
Eustace Le Poer, Baron of Kells, was a Justice Itinerant in 1285, and
invaded Scotland in 1296, 1301 and 1303. According to The Book of Howth,
he entered Scotland with great power of men. Mark that the Eustacys
(sic) descended lineally of the second son of the foresaid Lord Eustas,
which were very noble men in those days of Knighthood and ability." He
died in 1311, and his son, Arnold, seems to have assumed the name of
FitzEustace, which was borne by his family until changed to Eustace soon
after the introduction of surnames in 1465. He was Lord of the Manors of
Oughterard and Castle Warden, thus showing that the Le Poers had spread
north from Waterford into County Kildare by the end of the thirteenth
century. We also hear of a Sir Arnold Le Poer (along with several others
of his name, including Sir John, son of Robert LePoer.) slaying Lord
John Bonneville at Ardscull further south in the County as early as
1309. By 1317, Arnold FitzEustace Le Poer certainly owned Castlemartin
and the neighbouring, townlands of Kilcullen, Brannockstown and
Nicholastown, all just south of the Liffey. We also know that a
FitzEustace was settled at Castlemartin before 1330; perhaps he was the
Robert FitzEustace who was Lord Treasurer of Ireland in l 327.
We can thus assume with a fair degree of certainty
that the Eustace estates in County Kildare originated at least as early
as the start of the fourteenth century, (They had been granted lands
near Naas in 1355) and were based upon the family stronghold of
Castlemartin at the great bend in the Liffey, and that this had been
built by a member of a junior branch of the powerful Le Poer family from
Waterford, who had been granted or had seized lands in Kildare. One of
these FitzEustaces founded the Dominican Priory at Naas in 1356, with
its church dedicated to St. Eustachius (see Naas).
The Justiciary Rolls of Edward I and II, in
items dealing with Cos. Kildare and Meath, contain references to the
names Eustace and FitzEustace. These include: Richard, a Burgess of Kells,
1291,; Richard and John, son of John, 1305; Richard, a Juror, 1306;
Geoffrey and John concerned in events near Castlemartin, 1308 and 1310;
Sir Richard, a Juror, 1310/12; and Thomas murdered by Nicholas Aunsell,
tried at Naas, 1313. The author knows of no authentic references earlier
than these.
During the
next half-century the sons and grandsons of these Castlemartin
FitzEustaces spread north, south and east, for we soon find the
following prominent members of the family well established on their
estates:
-
Robert
of Craddockstown, High Sheriff of Kildare 1375
-
John of
Newland, alive in 1377 and High Sheriff in 1434
-
Sir
Maurice of Ballycotelan (Coghlanstown), High Sheriff of Kildare and
of Dublin, and died about 1402
-
Sir
John of Blackhall (Calverstown), High Sheriff of Kildare and died
1405.
Attempts to link these, and other known
FitzEustaces living in the fourteenth century, with the main
Castlemartin branch would be largely conjectural; it is therefore
proposed to treat their families as separate branches, but of a common
stock. (I think that it is very probable that Sir Maurice of
Ballycotelan, Thomas FitzOliver (Constable of Ballymore 1373) and Roland
FitzOliver of Castlemartin were brothers. If so, this would afford the
link between, the FitzEustaces of Castlemartin and the powerful
Ballycotlan branch.) We shall follow through the main line of
Castlemartin and Harristown (including Portlester, Baltinglass and
Robertstown) and then deal with the above and with other branches and
the detached possessions that arose later. (There is, I believe, a
document that shows a FitzEustace as "' Baron of Castlemartin "' as
early as 1200, but I have failed to trace it and doubt its accuracy.)
Under the name of the principal townland of each estate we shall try
to trace its origin, its history so far as it is known, and finally the
circumstances of its disappearance or loss. In some cases the
information available to the writer is very meagre and can no doubt be
supplemented by those with greater local knowledge.
The
branches and estates so dealt with are given below, neighboring and
inter-related branches being grouped. Modern spelling will be adopted
throughout.
-
Athy,
-
Ballybyrne and Gurteenvacan,
-
Barretstown near Ballymore Eustace
-
Blackhall
(Punchestown),
-
Blackrath and
Ballymount,
-
Brannockstown and Boleybeg,
-
Calverstown and Gormanstown,
-
Castlekeely and Yeomanstown,
-
Castlemartin & Harristown,
-
Castlemore & Newstown, County Carlow,
-
Coghlanstown (Ballycotelan),
-
Colbinstown & Crookstown
-
Confey,
-
Cong, Co. Mayo,
-
Cork &
Dublin
-
Craddockstown,
-
Dowdenstown and Dowdingstown,
-
Dublin Estates,
-
Elvertstown
-
Gaganstown
-
Kerdiffstown,
-
Kilcullen,
-
Kineagh,
-
Mainham and Clongowes Wood,
-
Mullaghcash, Mylerstown & Moone,
-
Naas
-
Narragh & other rectories
-
Newland
-
Portlester, County Meath
-
Robertstown,
-
Tipperkevin near
Ballymore Eustace
-
Wexford Estate
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