CARNAUN NATIONAL SCHOOL
EXTRACTS FROM THE CLASS OF '91's CONTRIBUTION
TO THE CARNAUN SCHOOL CENTENARY BOOK
Our Norman Neighbours
by Michael Browne (Sixth Class)
(This fictitious contribution is the prize-winning
essay in our competition: "The Normans who lived in Carnaun Keep", 1990.)
RICHARD FITZGERALD, a
young Norman, lived in the keep, now a ruin, behind Carnaun School.
The Norman's put "Fitz" in their name meaning "son of". He normally
rose with the sun in order to let his cattle and other animals out of the
"buaille" or bailey. The animals were guarded by day and brought
in again at dusk. This was for fear of small bands of rebellious
Irish who felt they had a grievance against the people who invaded their
lands and took their cattle and other possessions from their fathers.
Richard and his wife
Eleanor and their four children Gearoid, Aoife, little Richard and Dominique
aged from six to twelve spoke French, though they picked up some English
while they were on their way from France. They also spoke enough
Irish to communicate with the locals with whom they were fairly friendly.
His first words in the morning were "ouvir le pont-levis" meaning "open
the draw-bridge". The draw-bridge was supported by two large stone
pillars in the wooden fence. There was always a contest between the
children for the job of letting it down but not so much so when it came
to pulling the heavy oaken planks up at dusk. The purpose of the
draw bridge was to allow easy passage over the swampy moat for the family
and their allies or friends. Enemies also had to negotiate a purposely
grown hawthorn hedge around the bailey. It was well maintained as
the safety of his family and his livestock depended on it.
He and his older, more
powerful brother William of Carnaun Castle, received their land from their
friends and relatives-the De Birmingham's in Athenry-descendants of the
great Meiler De Birmingham. William rented most of his land to Richard
in return for soldier's work done around the castle and for food if the
soldiers stationed at the castle ran desperately short. Richard had
ten fighting men for William when he needed them for feuds, battles and
cattle raids. Times were peaceful now but Richard remembers well
the great battles they fought to win the land from the Irish and the Danes.
Their last great raid was when they took lands along the Bay of Galva from
Guaire, the local chieftain, and built a replica of the newly built Carnaun
Castle on the site of his fort at the head of the sea at Cinnmhara or Kinvara
as it is now called. Any land Richard didn't want he then in turn
rented it to his friends, the O'Kellys, Hynes and Hession families
or Hessims as they were then known. These native farmers lived in the ringforts
in the surrounding area. Their children played together in peaceful
times and the adults would visit each other in the evenings to discuss
the pleasantries of the day.
The Norman's depended
on the services of some local trades people and craftsmen. Held in
high regard by the Norman's was the Tannion family. Tannions were
blacksmiths by tradition and were noted for their skills in making and
keeping weapons in good condition. Richard, William and the farmers
in the surrounding area shared a blacksmith. There were several forges
in the medieval town of Athenry, the capital of Clonrichard. A headstone
of special interest commemorates a blacksmith called Tannion which is not
only carved with a large cross but also with two bellows, a horse shoe,
and anvil, a hammer and a pincers. Another headstone for Hessims
has carvings of ploughs and parts of ploughs thus indicating the farming
status of those commemorated.
The Irish and the Norman's
shared the same priest. He lived in the keep as the oldest church
in the Archdiocese of Tuam was only a hundred yards away. On Sundays,
Richard and William, their families and a few neighbours would gather in
the church for Mass. From there they went on to the Castle or the
keep for a feast to eat together and pass the holiday. The Norman's loved
feasting even if it meant going hungry from time to time. Of course
the Irish didn't mind joining in either. They ate all types of meat
which were available locally. The venison and the beef they salted
for the long winter. They drank mead, a mixture of fermented honey
with water and herbs. They played chess and fichell another type
of chess first played by the Celts. When they had drank and eaten
their fill a poet would begin to recite poems and ballads telling of times
gone by. A poet first became a reciter then a file and after twelve
years an Ollamh. The poems were told in the "Dan Oireach", a style
of writing that was very hard to master. There was an element of
rivalry between the lords, squires and chieftains as to who would have
the best poet.
A holy day or the visit
of an important Norman noble was a great excuse for a feast in the castle
of Athenry. The children were always very excited by the news of
a feast as they rarely visited Athenry because of the danger of an ambush
between Carnaun and Athenry. They knew they would at least get to
stay one night if not two or three. They loved to see the Dominican
Priory of Saints Peter and Paul where they would eventually go to university
to study law. Their father loved to show them around the great university
town built almost entirely by the ancestor Meiler De Birmingham.
The highlight for the children was the walking along the walls. They
all took care to fill their pockets and fists with stones to drop from
the wall into the moat. They were shown the great expanse of land
that stretched out from the walls. Passing through the upper rooms
of the five gate keeps in the wall they saw how well the town was defended.
There were piles of rocks and spears stacked in each corner for use in
the murder hole. They were familiar with the biggest one-the North
gate as it was very much like their own home apart from the archway underneath.
They would meet the children of the fighting men that served at the gates.
They loved to sit and listen to the stories told by Sergeant Swan at the
western gate while they looked out at the camps of the allies on the plain
outside. The working of the portcullis amazed the young boys and
they looked in fear at the murder hole.
Occasionally they went
with their father to see the great baron in the castle. They first
climbed up the wooden staircase to the guard room (main guard) where the
fighting men lived, then up again to the great hall where the baron sat
in state on the raised dais at the end. They then took a seat and
moved along the wall as the baron dealt with the affairs of the nobles
in the line before him. Soon it was their father's turn to kneel
in front of the great man and then discuss his business with him.
Sometimes the lady of the castle invited them up to the family quarters
in the north solar and they could look down at the happenings in the hall.
The highlight for Eleanor, Richard's wife, was a walk through the busy
narrow streets with her servant and other Norman wives. Tradesmen
would eagerly show them their wears in the hope they would buy something.
For the men feasting, discussing politics and problems with restless Irish
were much enjoyed. Richard liked to meet with his friends the Friars
from the Dominican Priory who often used Carnaun Castle as an outchurch
especially during the summer months.
When their parents were busy at the market or talking, the children
went for a swim in the river Clareen. The river now flows inside
the fourteenth century walls. This however was not always the case.
The river was diverted inside the walls to supply fresh water to the town
in troubled times and as a status symbol.
In 1641, James Bodkin owned one third of Karnan and Redmond
Bodkin owned the other two thirds. After the invasion of Oliver Cromwell,
this land changed hands entirely. Eventually the Lambert's became
the landlords in the area. Finally, in the early 1900s, the land
was distributed among the tenants whose families now farm it. The
keep and the land is now owned by the Rabbitt family. The keep is
in ruins but sometimes, as one walks through it, in the quiet of a summer's
afternoon, the clash of armour, the frightened cries of women and children
can still be heard. Maybe I'm just dreaming because the sound I hear
could be the sounds of the Carnaun school children reliving the battles
of yesteryear....
SCOIL NÁISIÚNTA
CARNÁIN
 BAILE
ÁTHA 'N RÍ
|