470 Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy. 



Crown of tlie whole. In 1609, Sir Richard Sutton/ His Majesty's 

 Auditor of Imprests, proposed to take a grant of all the lands on the 

 north side of the Liffey in fee -farm for ever, with a reservation of only 

 £20 a-year to the Crown, in consideration of his surrender of certain lands 

 in Cornwall. A King's letter directing a patent to issue was accord- 

 ingly sent over to Chichester, from whom it drew a vigorous protest. 

 The Lord Deputy suspended the grant till his objections could be 

 considered by the Privy Council, pointing out the desirability of restor- 

 ing the house as a Yiceregal residence, and observing that if the lands 

 were alienated the deputies would be " without any place either of 

 pleasure or help towards housekeeping." He concluded by expressing 

 his opinion, that if the grant should be made the Crown would ere long 

 be coerced either to largely increase the Yiceregal allowances or to buy 

 back Kilmainham. Chichester's protest, however, fell on deaf ears. 

 In the following year the patent issued to Sutton, and the Deputy, 

 despairing of procuring its revocation, proposed to build an official 

 country seat at Drogheda. The priory of Kilmainham was left 

 derelict. ]N"o attempt was ever thereafter made to restore the building, 

 of which half a century later little or nothing remained. In the Down 

 Survey, the remnants are described as the ruins of a large castle ; and, 

 when in 1680 directions were given to clear the site for the erection 

 of the Royal Hospital, there only remained part of the walls of the 

 chapel, the stones whereof were carefully taken down and used in 

 building the chapel of the Hospital. 



But the disappointed deputy had not to wait long for the fulfilment 

 of his prophesy. Sir Richard Sutton never took possession of the lands 

 of Kilmainham, assigning his grant in 1611 to Su' Edward Fisher, to 

 whom, in the same year, a fresh grant was issued confii'ming his title to 

 all the lands on the north side of the Liifey and Kilmainham bridge, 

 extending from Oxmantown green to Chapelizod and to the river 

 Liiffiey, and including 330 acres, part of the demesne of the late hospi- 

 tal of Kilmainham, and 60 acres known as Kilmaiaham Wood, On 

 the property thus granted, Fisher, who acquired at the same time the 

 sole right of fishing in the Li:ffey, erected a country house ; but, in 1618, 

 he sTUTendered his patent to the King* for a sum of £2500, whereupon 

 the lands, with the house thereon, were by special direction of the 

 King converted to the use of the Chief Governor of Ireland for the 

 time being. 



1 Cal. Irish State Papers, 1608-10. 

 ' Roll of James I., pt. 2. 



