The return of High Sheriff Ward

"The veil between the two worlds was particularly thin on English Street ... the historic setting perfect for a guided tour by High Sheriff Bernard Ward. The former judge died over 300 years ago but was on hand to show revellers around the area’s most bloodcurdling hotspots."

I am pleased to announce that once more I shall don the costume of High Sheriff Ward for another grisly tour of The blood on English Street. Join us for tales of grave robbing, botched executions, bloody battles, notorious prisoners and cruel punishments.

Winding down the hill you are invited to envisage the sea of bodies and makeshift gallows that sprung up following doomed rebellions. As well as the dead there was the half dead strewn about. Caught pick-pocketing? Vigilante justice 17th-century-style meant were you were drowned to within an inch of your life in the Quoile — and the next time there was no bringing you back to life.

The very bottom of English Street wouldn’t have smelt too good either. Aside from all the bodies it was a place where rotten vegetables waited to be pelted at the poor miscreant being punished on the pillory.

Even High Sheriff Bernard Ward, who I am bringing back from the dead, couldn’t escape a bloody end on this street. Born in Castle Ward he lived in precarious times. William and Mary had just been crowned and religious tempers were flaring. Bernard was challenged to a duel in 1690 in row over priests being banished from Ireland. Despite mortally wounding his opponent also ended being run through by a sword outside the Petty Sessions.

The tour is completely free but spaces are limited. Tickets are available here.

The pedlar and his pack

On a dark December night Alice the housekeeper opened the door to a handsome pedlar. He told her a tale of woe about having walked from Belfast with his heavy burden and asked if she would put him up for the night. The master of the house was staying in the city that night and Alice informed him that she could not take him in. Having accepted this he bartered with her to look after his heavy pack while he sought alternative accommodation in the area. Alice initially said no but reluctantly after much persuasion she took his pack. She was informed that it contained delicate goods and that it must remain as he placed it - hanging between the seats of two chairs in the kitchen. She bid him farewell as he went off into the night.

Walking into the kitchen later in the evening, Alice noticed, to her horror, in the corner of her eye that the bag appeared to be moving. It seem to stop at once when her presence was known. Doubting what she had seen, Alice entered the room on two more occasions to try and catch the bag moving, on the second she was convinced. She ran out to the outhouses to find Richard an older man who resided in the house with her and Edward, a sixteen year old youth. Richard was unconvinced but when Edward returned to the house from a day’s shoot he entered the kitchen to discover the pack moving too.

All three couldn’t decide what to do and so Edward quite rashly decided that he should fire a shot into the bag. Upon doing so the bag immediately gushed blood onto the floor. All three rushed to tear the bag open and to their horror discovered a small muscular man wielding a knife in one hand and a whistle in the other. Edward was immediately able to make sense of the situation.

The master of the house had spent many years in India and had accumulated a wealth. He had returned to the ancestral home in Lecale with a fortune of £10,000. The man in the pack was the Trojan horse and upon the house falling silent would have used the knife to free himself and the whistle to summon the pedlar and raid the house. Deciding on the next course of action Edward decided they should call around their neighbours and set up an armed guard in the house. The group decided to wait until midnight to blow on the whistle. On doing so, within five minutes a large body on men on horseback arrived at the house.

The group set about firing their arms at them and they soon fled. Four of the party lay dead in the courtyard. Some returned before sunrise to remove their fallen comrades. When the master of the house heard of the bravery of Alice, Richard, and Edward he rewarded them for their service. Edward was made the gamekeeper and lived to a ripe old age.

He was often visited by the ghost of the small man and was disturbed by these visits so he called upon the priest for advice. The next time the ghost appeared Edward questioned, “In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost what do you want from me?” The ghost informed him of a guilt that was burdening him. Edward was informed of a stolen treasure which the man had buried which should be returned to its rightful owner. Since doing this Edward was never again visited by the ghost.

From Lecale to Lumiar

Did you know that a relic of one of Ireland's saints can be found in Lisbon?

In 1283 three knights from Ireland arrived in Lisbon. They are said to have been on the Aragonese Crusade. They met with King Denis and presented him with the skull of Saint Brigid! Who were they though and where did they come from?

In 834 the remains of Saint Brigid were transferred from Kildare to Downpatrick to conceal them from the ravages of the Vikings. Later in the same century Saint Columba's remains were brought here, also. This fulfilled a prophecy that the two would come to the same place as Saint Patrick.

Eventually though the threat of plunder came to Downpatrick. So it was decided that they should be hidden and buried. The spot was forgotten and when English knight John de Courcy arrived in 1177 he ordered the Bishop, Malachy, to find them. He prayed and prayed and was one day directed by divine instruction to a particular spot in the Cathedral yard in 1185. A spectacular translation was then made to a new crypt in 1186 by Cardinal Vivian who came all the way from Rome.

When John de Courcy arrived he brought a new way of life to Ireland which seen the erection of castles all around Lecale. This was to protect a fruitful corn growing region and ensure that English law was upheld. The largest castle was built at Dundrum which protected Lecale from the West, the same direction John and his soldiers had came from Dublin.

After John was thrown to the Tower of London in 1205 the castle became home to the Knights of Saint John the Baptist (also known as the Knights Templar). In 1266 a new church dedicated to Saint John the Baptist was erected in Lumiar.

It appears that a decision was made to send three knights to this church. They arrived in Lisbon and presented the skull of Saint Brigid to King Denis. They remained in the church with the relic and on the death of the last an instruction was honoured to inscribe his tomb. The year was 1283 and since this date the relic has been preserved here.

In 1928 Saint Brigid's Church in Killester, Dublin, was surprised to receive the news that a piece of the skull was being sent to them. For the first time in many centuries the long forgotten story of the knights came to light. The church in 2016 celebrated 750 years and I was pleased to join them just before the Feast of Saint Brigid.