212 



JOUENAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ September 12, 1872. 



direct descendant), are a branch of the " O'Briens," kings of 

 Minister, of whom the last of the race was " Rory the Black," 

 who, it is said, married the daughter of a soldier serving the 

 Lord Inchiquin, and this was supposed to have caused the 

 death of his father, who wished him to marry a daughter of 

 O'Brien, Lord of Thomond. This caused a disruption between 

 the O'Briens and Rory the Black, which ended in a fierce war, 

 and the clan of O'Quin were driven from their patrimony of 

 Inchiquin, and crossed the Shannon into Limerick, and the 

 noble owner of Adare is now the direct representative of the 

 ancient clan. 



The first O'Quin who settled at Adare died in 1671, and was 

 buried in the old Franciscan Abbey ; his son, Theodore Quin, 

 born in 1645, may justly be esteemed as the second founder or 

 restorer of the family, and from his time we date the forma- 

 tion of the demesne of Adare. 



The beauty of the park at Adare is much enhanced by the 



river Maigue running through it from south to north, washing 

 the base of the Manor as well as the massive ruin of Desmond 

 Castle, and it runs out of the park through the quaintest-look- 

 ing bridge we ever saw. This bridge forms part of the great 

 picture of Desmond Castle ; the arches are very irregular in 

 size, the distances between them most peculiar, and the picture 

 is completed by huge masses of Ivy projecting as only can be 

 seen in the south of Ireland. This bridge is supposed to have 

 been built by Gerald, fifth Earl of Kildare, about 1390 ; the 

 bridge blends, as it were, with the Ivy-clad walls of Desmond 

 Castle, and when the group is seen reflected in the lake-like 

 river — for lake-like it is here — it is the most artistic com- 

 bination we ever saw. 



The walls and outlines of Desmond Castle are in substantial 

 order; the keep is accessible by stairs, and from the summit 

 is a rich view of a highly fertile country round. The date of 

 the building of the castle is not known. The style indicates 



Adare Abbey. 



that it belongs to the close of the twelfth century. It is 

 known to have belonged to the Earls of Desmond for half a 

 century, then it passed to the Earls of Kildare, or Geraldines, 

 and was dismantled by Cromwell in 1657. This great ruin 

 consists of two wards, an inner and outer. There are three 

 gateways to the outer ward ; the two principal ones are in 

 square towers in the west and north walls, and were defended 

 by portcullises. The moats are in good order, especially that 

 surrounding the inner ward and keep, and the Nymphaja alba, 

 flowering so abundantly, is a very striking object. In the 

 outer ward are some fine trees of Beech and Horse Chestnut, 

 which give a peculiar freshness and repose in the mass of 

 ruins, which is well expressed in the lines of Gerald Griffin : — 



" Peaceful it Btands, tbe mighty pile, 



Ey many a heart's blood once defended, 

 Yet silent now as cloistered aisle, 



Where rung tbe sounds of banquet splendid; 

 Age holds its undivided Btate 



"Where youth and beauty once v/ere cherishod, 

 And leverets pass thewardless gate 



"Where heroes once essayed and perished." 



Leaving Desmond by the carriage drive, on our left appears 

 another group of ruins. This was the old parish church of 

 Adare and burying-ground ; here tbe Ivy is growing in ex- 

 traordinary masses, and the stems quite tree-like in size. In 

 1807 the old church of the Augustinian Abbey was given by the 

 then Earl of Dunraven for a Protestant place of worship, and 

 the good Earl fitted-up the church substantially. Behind the 



burying-ground is an old orchard which belonged to a turnpike, 

 a place of tribute happily now unknown in L-eland. The 

 late Earl had this ground effectively planted with Coniferous 

 trees some twelve years ago. Already these trees are striking 

 objects, the most noticeable are Pinus insignis, Pinus Laricio, 

 and Cupressus macroearpa ; several varieties of Piceas and the 

 Deodars are also very flourishing. Near this we observe some 

 groups of trees very skilfully planted and making rapid growth. 

 These trees have only been planted a few years. The groups 

 consist of Wellingtonias, Deodars, Cupressus macroearpa, and 

 Silver Poplars, and farther on by the side of the Limerick- 

 road are well- arranged groups of the Austrian Pine. In a 

 few years this planting will wonderfully change and improve 

 this side of the park. It may hero be stated that all the 

 Coniferous trees planted at Adare for the past twelve years 

 have been grouped for ultimate effect. 



On the edge of the park, near where these young trees are, 

 is a meeting-house belonging to the " Palatines," who settled 

 at Adare in 1777. In our time the name of " Palatine " is 

 barely understood ; it may interest some to hear a few par- 

 ticulars as to then' settlement in Limerick. We need not 

 refer to their being driven out of France by Louis XIY. , and 

 thoir arrival in Ireland, where a large number of them settled at 

 Rath Keale, some six miles south of Adare, on the property of 

 Lord Southwell ; they were embodied in the free yeomairy of 

 the country under the name of " True Blues," or German 

 Fusileers, and were commanded by a Captain Brown. Each 



