332 Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy, 



time or another possessed. In County Carlow they held Rathronan 

 and Athkiltan ; in County Dublin, Clontarf; in County Kildare, 

 Kilcork and Rathbride ; in County Louth, Coly (Cowley) and Kilsaran ; 

 in County Kilkenny, Ballygaveran (Gowran) ; in County Sligo, Teach- 

 temple or Templehouse ; in County Tipperary, Clonaul (Clonoulty) ; 

 in County Waterford, Crook and Kilbarry ; and in County Wexford, 

 Kilclogan. 



The designations of the different classes of the Order were very 

 confused. The head of the whole Order in Christendom was called 

 the Grand Master, but the titles of the various heads in the countries 

 where they had settlements differed considerably. The head of the 

 Order in England went by the names, at different times, of Grand 

 Prior, Grand Preceptor, and Master. Next under him came the Priors 

 over the large estates, the several portions of which were governed by 

 Preceptors, so called from the first words of the mandates issued 

 by the Master to them — viz., ''precepimus tibi." They, in turn, 

 governed the servientes. In Ireland, the chief was usually styled 

 " Master of the Knighthood of the Temple in Ireland," but some- 

 times he was called "Grand Preceptor"; under him we find Preceptors 

 and servientes, but in no case in the existing authorities do we find the 

 existence of Priors. The head of the Hospitallers, on the contrary, 

 was always called "Prior" in Ireland, and the governors of the 

 various estates went by the title of Master or Preceptor. A certain 

 amount of confusion has been caused by the fact that Preceptors and 

 preceptories existed in both Orders. The term Commandery" did 

 not come into use with the Hospitallers till some time subsequent to 

 the dissolution of the Templars. Consequently, when we find, at 

 the time of the suppression of the Knights of S. John, in the 

 reign of Henry YIII, that some lands were called preceptories, it 

 is not to be inferred that they had originally belonged to the other 

 Order, 



The Masters of the Templars do not appear to have had any 

 settled abode in this country, and no pieceptory was marked out as 

 their headquarters, as Kilmainham was with the Hospitallers. Their 

 whole time was probably taken up with their visitations to the 

 several preceptories, and their journeys to London. At such 

 visitations members were admitted into the Order; lands bought, 

 sold, and exchanged, and presentations made to the vacant bene- 

 fices. 



The following is a list of the Masters of the Templars in Ireland 

 as far as I have been able to ascertain. The dates given are not 



