Friday, 23 October 2020

A Barbarous Murder in Duharra - the Calib Minnit gravestone


"Here Lyeth The Body of Calib Minnit Who was Barbously Murdered By John Chery, Ann Parker, James McDowel and others, at Crannagh Duff in Dowharra, the 2nd day of April, Ano Domini 1707."

From Knigh Graveyard in North Tipp. A heck of a message to leave in stone when it is still being discussed 313 years later.

According to Daniel Grace's book on the area (Portrait of a Parish - Monsea & Killodiernan) - Calib Minnitt was a philanderer and may have gotten Miss Ann Parker pregnant and refused to marry her. She was probably a relative of Captain John Parker. She set up to meet him again at Crannagh Duff and gave him one last chance to agree to marry her. When he refused, she dropped her handkerchief and some of her father's tenants appeared and murdered him! It finishs by saying that the murderers were never prosecuted as Miss Parker had been dishonoured but the Minnits carved their names on his headstone for posterity. It also mentions that Minnit may have been charged previously for rape of another lady but got off of that for the lesser crime of fornication. 

Friday, 2 October 2020

A Medieval Inscription of the O'Meara Clan at Toomevara

 


The O'Meara Inscription on Toomevara Priory. I've made an attempt at highlighting it as best as I could in the picture attached. I've done it purely from the photo so there may be some errors.

Rev. John Gleeson in 1915 pg 469 gives the following which he says "A returned America, Mr. Michael O'Meara, late of Bawn, took a cast of the inscription, and submitted it to an expert, as follows :-
"Clara Meara dum Tamulo
Jacet haec progago,
Cui aether Precibus Paude,
Viator Iter Gulielmo
-Undecipherable-
Helene Burc Paude
Cruoris iter-illa via me
Ritis stravit sedes Terra er
Apcit marmor eu haec lec
Tor sit Tibi testis Or,
1664, Educet Malo"

I can make out a lot of it but the 1664 line at the end seems to be missing now?

From archaeology.ie, it is thought to translate as

"While the renowned offspring of O'Meara reposes in this tomb. To whom O Traveller happily open Heaven by thy prayer. To William. To Ellen Bourke open heaven. By the merits of his blood he made possible that path. He snatched thrones from earth. Let this marble be a witness to thee O reader, 1664 henceforth from Evil".