148 A HISTORY OF 



he adopted this country as his home. The history, 

 philology, and antiquities of the country greatly in- 

 terested him. The General published Collectanea de 

 Rebus Hibernicis between 1770 and 1784; Essay on 

 the Irish Language, 1772; Grammar (Irish), 1773; 

 Vindication of the Ancient Kingdom of Ireland, 1786; 

 Ancient History of Ireland proved from Sanscrit books, 

 1797. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society 

 in 1784. It must be admitted that, in the light of 

 modern research, most of the theories promulgated by 

 Vallancey are baseless, and, though a man of learning, 

 he allowed himself to be led to many false conclusions, 

 and often wrote in a silly and extravagant strain. As 

 far back as 1 7 6 1 , a new piece of artillery invented by 

 Vallancey, which it was thought would be of great 

 service in field and garrison, was tried in the Phoenix 

 Park. A newspaper of the day, in commenting on 

 the trial, remarked "that the Military are already 

 obliged to this gentleman for his Essay on Fortification, 

 and the public for his treatise on the Inland Navigation 

 of the Ancients and Moderns." During the rebellion, 

 he furnished the Government with plans for the defence 

 of Dublin. 



Vallancey will always be remembered by the series 

 of Barony Maps which he copied in 1790-1, in Paris, 

 for the British Government. The originals had 

 been compiled from the Down Survey barony maps 

 between 1660 and 1678, and were in course of transit, 

 in 1710, from Dublin, to Sir Wm. Petty 's son and 

 heir in London, when the vessel in which they were 

 being brought was seized by a French privateer cruising 

 in the Channel. The maps were immediately carried 

 to Paris, and deposited in the Bibliotheque du Roi, 

 where they have ever since remained. Vallancey 's 

 copies are in the Public Record Office of Ireland. In 



