Death and Justice at Grangemellon, Athy, Co. Kildare, 1623
By
James Robinson, M. Phil
In 1625 Philip Bushin, described as an aged English planter from King’s Ash in
Devonshire, was resident at Grangemellon, which is situated about three miles south
of Athy, County Kildare. He was tried in that year for the murder of his wife Grace at
Lady’s Well – a swampy piece of ground nearby - the alleged offence having
occurred on March 23 1623. The presiding judge in the jury trial was Dominic
Sarsfield, Lord Kilmallock, who found the accused guilty. Philip Bushin was
consequently executed. The trial had been deferred several times and Erasmus
Burrows from Giltown, his father-in-law Walter Weldon, and Bushin’s son, became
sureties for the accused’s appearances in court. Walter Weldon of Woodstock was
High Sheriff of County Kildare at this time and subsequent to Bushin’s execution he
made an inventory of the latter’s estate, which he valued at two thousand Guineas,
and took possession of same by right of office. Lord Clanmalier, Sir Terence
O’Dempsey, petitioned for the estate. The High Sheriff refused and thereupon, he
(Weldon) was imprisoned, fined and constrained to give up the estate.
The court of Castle Chamber (or Star Chamber) examined the case of Philip Bushin
on two occasions in 1633. The Star Chamber was a prerogative court rather than a
court based on common law procedures. It was a non-jury inquisitorial court,
presided over by the chief governor and the Lord Chancellor. Castle Chamber was a
popular and speedy court and less expensive to litigants than the regular court. Philip
Bushin’s son accused the lord deputy, Sir Henry Cary (Viscount Falkland), of
complicity in his father’s execution in order to possess the estate for the purpose of
portioning his illegitimate daughter, who was married to O’Dempsey, grandson of
Lord Clanmalier. He was joined in his accusation by Walter Weldon, Lord
Mountnorris, and Sir Arthur Savage. Savage was a former Irish councillor who was a
distinguished military commander in the reign of Elizabeth I and governor of
Connaught who was then keeping garrison at Castle Rheban, Athy. The trial was held
over six days and the court decided that Bushin, the ‘wretched son of a dead father’
should be censured for defaming the Viscount without cause and fined. The court
also found against Savage for abetting Bushin. The judges, led by Sir Francis
Cottingham, perhaps not surprisingly, acquitted Lord Falkland of all charges. The
chief justice found the Irish judge in the Philip Bushin Sr. trial, Lord Kilmallock,
gravely compromised. Viscount Wentworth sided with Falkland, finding the whole
episode a ‘dreary repetition of the characteristic Irish bane of factionalism’. The lord
keeper summed up, ‘And if a judge doe misbehave himself, we may censure him here’.
He concluded, ‘And I do verily perswade myself that Bussyn dyed ynnocently’.
Subsequently, Lord Falkland prosecuted those who accused him in the English court
of Castle Chamber. The defendants in this case were Lord Kilmallock, Sir Henry
Beling, and one Pillsworth. They were: the judge who convicted; the High Sheriff
who arrested Philip Bushin and the jury foreman who found the accused guilty of the
murder of his wife. The trial commenced on November 20 1633 and lasted 7 days.
Evidence for the defence was given by one Eddy Mackrobin, who claimed that Philip
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Bushin had thrown a trencher at his wife the night before she died. Ann Cleere said
she saw Bushin break one of his wife’s ribs. Dorothy Byrne who sheeted Mrs
Bushin’s body, found her shoulder, neck, and breast black. Maurice Fitzgerald
evidenced that Philip Bushin’s second wife had complained of her husband’s violence
(Bushin had married within 6 weeks of his first wife’s death). Sir Henry Beling stated
that Bushin was unknown to him before he was made High Sheriff. He added that Mr
and Mrs Bushin had sheltered in his house from a storm, when Mrs Bushin asked him
(Beling) to protect her, as her husband was alleged to have killed his first wife.
For the lord deputy, it was deposed by Walter Weldon that George Mackrobin, a
brother of Edy Mackrobin, had been executed for sheep stealing by the deceased,
Philip Bushin. Edy Mackrobin had sworn revenge on Bushin, he added. It was stated
also that the jury was threatened by the judge Lord Kilmallock if the jury did not
agree with him. When they disagreed, they were fined and a new jury found Bushin
guilty behind closed doors. The jury foreman (Pilsworth), when taxed with the unjust
verdict, said he was forced by the judge, Lord Kilmallock. Other witnesses, Margery
Cooper, William Oheden and More Oheden, gave contrary evidence. They said that
Philip Bushin did all in his power to save his wife. For Lord Kilmallock, Sir James
Fitzpeerse stated that it was common knowledge that Bushin had murdered his wife.
Similar evidence was given by Rowland Eustace, Garret Wall, William Eustace,
Christopher Sherlock, William Wogan, James Dollard, Terence Fury, Mathew Forde,
John Stafford and Nicholas Loftus. They said that the evidence given in court was
sufficient to prove Bushin’s guilt. It was stated that Lord Kilmallock was a peer of
Ireland who spoke the Irish language and had been a judge for thirty six years. It was
further stated that the delinquents were Irish. In his defence, Lord Kilmallock stated
that he could not be charged with malice or bribery. Regarding his fining of the first
jury for gross contempt, the judge opined that it was no crime in Ireland to fine jurors.
It was stated also that Bushin had sent a woman to wind his wife and that he had her
buried hot. Bushins daughter and servant said that he had killed her and the servant
was found dead thereafter.
Contrary evidence was given by John Gaulsworth that, three months before Mrs.
Bushin’s death, she had been taken with a bloody flux and that she may have died of
this. Sara Smith, who visited the deceased two days before her death, had found her
husband ‘very careful of her’. Mrs Bushin died in her husband’s arms with many
people present and with ‘twenty two or twenty three candles burning’. Margaret
Oheden evidenced that Mrs Bushin was buried next day by a minister. Sara Willer
stated that there were no marks on the dead woman. Evidence was given by John
Brereton, William Yong, Thomas Allen, William Jackson, Francis Pearce, Henry
Warren, John Nutton, George Clerk, Thomas Welch, Lewis Buck, Robert Meredith,
Andrew Yong, Richard Luttrell, John Gaulsworth, David Harris and Adam Loftus,
Lord Chancellor of Ireland. They spoke of the unfairness of the trial and the belief
that Philip Bushin’s estate was valuable enough for him to be ‘put out of the way’.
William Coman, who was baliff of the jury, deposed that when the jury disagreed
with the presiding judge, Lord Kilmallock, the latter said, ‘Yerra, if I had my men
about me, I would cut off your ears’.
On 22 November 1633 the judicial members of the court of Star Chamber, namely;
the Archibishop of York; the Archbishop of Canterbury; the Lord Keeper Lord Heath;
and Lord Richardson, made their individual suggested sentences regarding the
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accused. These individual sentences varied from each other. The following,
however, were the agreed sentences passed on the defendants. On Lord Kilmallock:
5000 Guineas fine, 2000 Guineas damages with imprisonment, and deprivation of
office. On Pilsworth: 500 Guineas fine and imprisonment. On Sir Henry Beling:
2000 Guineas fine and imprisonment. These fines were huge by today’s standards
and the accused were perhaps fortunate to escape with their lives. The Grangemellon
estate was given by the king to Viscount Falkland and it was subsequently occupied
by one Thomas Caldwell.
This verdict effectively ended the career of Dominic Sarsfield, Lord Kilmallock. A
native of Cork, he trained at the Inns of Court and became chief justice of Munster in
1604. He married the daughter of Marshall Bagnerall and became chief justice of
common pleas in 1621. He died in disgrace in 1636. Kilmallock was described as a
‘notorious pluralist and a lightning rod of accusations of corruption and an inveterate
defender of his own intereste in letters to the court’.
The victor in this case, Sir Henry Cary, Viscount Falkland [1573 – 1633], was
regarded as a notable failure as lord deputy of Ireland. Educated at Exeter College,
Oxford, he is thought to have served under Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex. Henry
Cary was knighted in Dublin in 1599. A member of parliament for Hertfordshire in
1614, he was raised to the Scottish peerage in 1622 as Viscount Falkland and
appointed Lord Deputy of Ireland in the same year. Viscount Falkland issued a
proclamation for the banishment of Jesuits and priests from Ireland at Dublin Castle
on 21 January 1623. His wife disgraced him by converting to Roman Catholicism
and returned to England in 1625, forcing her husband to repudiate her politically.
Viscount Falkland quarrelled ceaselessly with adversaries in England and Ireland
including his son Lucius. He spent much of his administration defending himself
against the accusations of his enemies. Lord Falkland enjoyed the support of Star
Chamber in England however when his judgments were challenged at law. He was
removed from office under a cloud of suspicion in 1629.
After several changes in ownership, Grangemellon was purchased in 1716 by Sir John
St. Leger of Doneraile, Co. Cork for the sum of £1000. He greatly improved the lands
and residence. On his death on May 14 1743, he was succeeded by his eldest son
John, who was born on April 10 1726 to his father’s second wife Mary [neè] Butler.
This John St. Leger was a member of the notorious society known as the ‘Hell-Fire
Club’, some of whose meetings took place at Grangemellon. The St. Legers were a
colourful family. In 1713 Elizabeth St. Leger was initiated as one of only three
female Freemasons in history, after she was caught spying on a lodge meeting. The
4th Viscount Doneraile, a great sportsman, died of rabies having been bitten by a pet
fox! Another family member, Anthony St. Leger, reputed to have been born in Co.
Kildare, inaugurated a horserace for 3 year olds, which was first run in 1776. This,
the oldest classic race in the world, is called the St. Leger and is run at Doncaster. To
this day, the ruins at Grangemellon are known as St. Leger’s Castle.
Regarding the unfortunate Philip Bushin, the following extract from the diary of
Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex and lord lieutenant of Ireland, may relate to a
kinsman, ‘One Edward Bushell, a gentleman who serves the Lord Leutenant…rebels
persued by Captain Thomas Williams and Edward Bushell. Mr Bushell was run
through the body by a pike of which wound he is yet likely (God be thanked) to
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escape’. This diary entry is dated May 17 1599. It refers to the Battle of the Pass of
the Plumes, which took place near Ballyroan, Co. Laois. Bushell in this case may be
a corruption or variation of Bushin.
On September 13 1625, Eddy Mac Robin sold the remainder of his lease on his
holding at nearby Kilmoroney to Thomas Hovenden of Tankardstown, Queens
County. He had leased the property from Sir Richard Graham on November 20 1621
for 61 years. It is presumed that this is the same Eddy Mackrobin who was witness
for the prosecution in the trial of the ill-fated Philip Bushin. The execution of his
brother George Mackrobin by Bushin for sheep-stealing surely compromised the
evidence of Eddy Mackrobin, as was recorded at the Star Chamber proceedings. He
must have considered it prudent to sell his tenancy and leave the locality after the
trial. The Hovenden name is still extant in this area today.
An inquisition from Queens County dated June 14 1635 lists one Edy Mac Robin at
Maryborough. Also included is one Adam Loftus of Raheenduff. A deed dated
January 19 1637 in Balyna parish, Co.Kildare, lists the following: Arthur Savage of
Rebban, Thomas Loftus, and Dudley Loftus. They all held property in the town lands
of Cornamucklagh, Kilreany, and Ballinlig in Balyna parish. All these family names
were involved in the Grangemellon incident.
The marriage on May 2 1683 of Walter Weldon of Roscumroe and Gurteen and
Cecilia, youngest daughter of Thomas Loftus of Killyon Manor, Co. Meath, furthered
strengthened ties between the Athy and Balyna areas.
Two generations on from the Grangemellon incident, one Daniel Mc Robin [1690 –
1777] was living at Cornamucklagh as a tenant of the Killyon Manor Loftus estate.
Daniel’s descendants have lived in these town lands ever since.
I surmise that Daniel Mc Robin, an 8th generation agnatic ancestor of this writer, is a
kinsman of Eddy Mackrobin, who was a witness in the Bushin trial.
The Grangemellon incident, which referenced a wide spectrum of people from all
walks of life due to the report of the Star Chamber trial, is the very stuff of genealogy,
where family historians try to connect to distant ancestry, in this case to people who
lived almost 400 years ago.
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Sir Henry Cary, Viscount Falkland [1575 - 1633]
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Sources
A. A. Weldon, A Slight Sketch of Grangemellon and the Story of St. Leger’s Castle,
Journal of the County Kildare Archaelogical Society, Vol. 1, p97 – 101.
Calendar of the State Papers relating to Ireland of the Reign of Charles 1 [1633 –
1641], Vol. CCLIV, p26 – 31, National Library of Ireland.
Jon G. Crawford, A Star Chamber Court in Ireland – The Court of Castle Chamber
1571 – 1641, Four Courts Press, 2005.
Weldon Papers – Private Collection No. 383, Manuscript Section, National Library of
Ireland, Vol. 13.
Inquisitium in Officio, Rotcilorium Caucilloriae, Hibernia, Reputorium Asseivatorum,
Leinster, Ref. 34799, National Library of Ireland.
Planters in Leix 1549 – 1552, Historical notes on the O’ Mores and their Territory in
Leix, Journal of the County Kildare Archaeological Society, Vol. 6, p54.
Calendar of Carew Manuscripts Vol. 6 [1603 – 1624], National Library of Ireland, RR
942.
Byrne’s Dictionary of Irish Local History, Mercier Press, 2004.
James Robinson, The Robinsons of North Kildare, Mc Robin Publications, 1997.
Weldon Pedigree, GO 113, Manuscript Section, National library of Ireland.
Orna Mulcahy, Fine Art and Antiques, The Irish Times, 14th Sept. 2002.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Leger_Stakes, retrieved 18th July 2009.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Devereux,_2nd_Earl_of_Essex, retrieved 18th
July 2009.
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