Ireland: Its Ancient Civilisation and Social Customs. 49 



wall and fosse. It was the residence of the President of 

 Munster, and a place of importance 300 years ago. The 

 following is an English writer's description of the dress of the 

 Irish at this time : — " They generally go bareheaded, save when 

 they wear a headpiece, having a long head of hair with curled 

 glibs, which they highly value, and take it heinously if one 

 twitch or pull them. They wear linen shirts, very large, with 

 wide sleeves down to their knees, which they usually dye with 

 saffron. They have woollen jackets, but very short ; plain 

 breeches close to their thighs, and over these they cast their 

 mantles, fringed with an agreeable mixture of colours, m which 

 they wrap themselves up and sleep on the bare ground. Such, 

 also, do the women cast over the garment, which covers down 

 to their ankles, and they load their heads, rather than adorn 

 them, with several ells of fine linen rolled up in wreaths, as 

 theydotheir necks with necklaces, and their arms with bracelets." 

 An English writer in 1 566 gives the following accountof the arms 

 of the Irish in his day — " Their armies consist of horsemen 

 and of veteran soldiers reserved for the rear, whom they call 

 gallowglasses, and who fight with sharp hatchets ; and of 

 "light armed foot they call Kernes, armed with darts and 

 daggers. They use the bagpipes in their wars instead of a trumpet; 

 they carry amulets about them, and repeat short prayers, and 

 when they engage they shout their warcry as loud as possible." 

 There is a very interesting account of a journey into Lecale, 

 County Down, by a Captain Bodely, an officer of Queen 

 Elizabeth, in the second volume of the old Ulster journal of 

 Archaeology, commencing at page 73, from which extracts were 

 read. Sir Richard Morrison, an English officer, residing in 

 Downpa trick, invited his brother officers who were at Armagh, 

 to spend a few days with him. Bodely, who is rather a 

 humorous writer, gives a very minute sketch of the journey, which 

 illustrates very clearly the customs of the times. They rode to 

 Newry, thence through the wild mountains, where they lost their 

 way, until they came to Magennis's Island, which was a Cran- 

 noge stronghold near Castlewellan. Lady Sarah, the wife of 

 D 



