Terry Foreman on 8 Jul 2012  •  Link

Kinsale (Irish: Cionn tSáile) is a port town in County Cork, Ireland. Located some 25 km south of Cork City on the coast near the Old Head of Kinsale, it sits at the mouth of the River Bandon.

In 1601, Kinsale was the site of a battle in which English forces defeated an Irish/Spanish force, led by the princes Hugh Roe O'Donnell and Hugh O'Neill. Following this battle the Flight of the Earls occurred in which a number of the native Irish aristocrats, including the Earls of Tyrone and Tir Conaill, abandoned their lands and fled to mainland Europe. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kins…

San Diego Sarah on 10 Jan 2022  •  Link

“Hark the foe is calling.
Fast the wood are falling;
Scenes and sights appalling.
Mark the wasted soil.
War and confiscation.
Curse the fallen nation.
Gloom and desolation.
Shade the lost land o’er.” -- Furlong, by John O’Dwyer

San Diego Sarah on 15 Jun 2022  •  Link

Cosmo, the future Grand Duke of Turin, visited Kinsale, Co. Cork, Ireland, in the spring of 1669 after being blown off course by a storm.

I've standardized the spelling of names I know, corrected scanning errors I could figure out, and increased the number of paragraphs. I apologize if I guessed incorrectly:

100

Kinsale, one of the most considerable walled towns in the county of Cork, in the afore-mentioned province of Upper Munster (called by the Hollanders, Wown) which takes its name from a small peninsula hard by, has a commodious and secure harbor for ships which cast anchor there (that of Rois, which was formerly the most frequented on that coast, having been rendered useless by the accumulation of sand) for the sea, entering at the point of the Peninsula, and penetrating a long way inland, forms a spacious bay, which contracts and enlarges itself according to the position of the hills, which line both sides.

This bay is protected by 3 fortresses;
the one, an ancient castle, situated on the summit of a hill, commands the mouth of the harbor;
the second is opposite to it, on the other bank, and surrounded with an ancient wall;
somewhat more inland is the third, of a simple circular figure, which also commands the sea, is garrisoned like the other two, and fortified, so as to secure the entrance of the port, which is closed every night by beams fastened with strong chains.

At the mouth of the river Bandon, in a plain, which the river forms by receding a little from the hills that surround the valley through which it flows, is situated the town of Kinsale.

101

In the lowest part, is the principal street, which, gently ascending the side of a hill, spreads over it with its buildings; of these, the greatest is the church, which, though built by Catholics, is now profaned by the rites of the Anglican sect.

The houses are of a mean construction and appearance, with very little decoration, and, for the most part, low; some are built of stone, and covered with slate, with cottage roofs; others of mud and lime, forming a kind of cement, which is, therefore, soon destroyed by the humidity of the climate: they use glass windows, without any other protection from the air, as is the custom also of High and Low Germany.

The greater part of the inhabitants are English, who were restored by the royal clemency to the possessions of which they had been deprived by the preceding kings, and particularly by Cromwell; and came to inhabit this island, and having established several colonies, gave their minds to commerce.

San Diego Sarah on 15 Jun 2022  •  Link

PART 2

The Catholics of Kinsale, who are also scattered over the surrounding territory, are estimated at about 200; many of them live miserably in the country, in mud cabins, badly thatched with straw, sleeping on the ground on short mats, and subsisting chiefly on fish and cockles, which are much smaller than the oyster, and are found in these seas, adhering to the rocks; they have seldom an opportunity of eating bread.

102

Since the insurrection of this kingdom, they have been considered almost as the people of a conquered country, and are treated as slaves, being obliged to cultivate the ground, and to account to the owner even for their scanty profits.
They pay to Southwell, the proprietor of this desert, a guinea and a half a year for the rent of a cabin and a few square yards of land; and for the farms which they rent, they give three-fourths of the produce, reserving to themselves only one-fourth.

A Catholic priest attends them, who is subordinate to the apostolical internuncio of Flanders, and who lives there clandestinely, celebrating mass in a house where they assemble secretly, to avoid those molestations to which they would unquestionably be subject, if they were discovered; and each person contributes 6 shillings towards his maintenance.

The province of Momonia, or Munster, holds the first place among the five into which the kingdom of Ireland is divided, namely Leinster, Connaught, Ulster and Meath, (so the English call them) from the fertility of its soil, the temperature of its climate, and the number of its cities, fortresses, and well-frequented sea-ports.

103

It abounds more than any of the other provinces, in wheat (which cannot be exported without a license), and barley, of which there are three sorts; one of them is used for making beer, which will keep from year to year; and this is not the case with the other two, which are of a less durable nature.

The land which produces it is sown one year, and then left two years fallow.
It contains also great plenty of sheep and oxen, which are superior in size to the animals of their respective kinds found elsewhere, nor are they subject to the contagious disorders peculiar to their species; the same holds good of their horses, which are carried to England, where they are esteemed for their strength and swiftness; neither are wild animals wanting, such as stags, deer, rabbits, hares, foxes, and particularly wolves, for the hunting of which, the dogs called mastiffs are in great request.

San Diego Sarah on 15 Jun 2022  •  Link

PART 3

The quantity of birds is considerable; particularly pheasants, partridges, quails, eagles (and hawks with which they hunt wild geese) swans, cranes, cocks of the wood, and most other sorts of birds, except the magpie and the nightingale; which two species are not to be found in this island.

The sea abounds with fish, which they dry for sale, on the tops of their cottages or cabins, and send them to other parts; everything is low priced, except wine, which is imported from France.

Such is the scarcity of money, that Spanish coin forms the chief part of the currency.

104

The district of Cork, one of the counties of Munster, boasts many noble families; but the principal are those of Clarty, formerly lords of the said county, from whom came the Earls of Muskerry; the Lords of Carribray de Barry, of whom are the Earls of Barrymore; de Rock (or della Rupe) of which family is Viscount Formoy, and de Cardoni and Geraldini, of which is Marshal Imoff killy, the Lords of Prendergast, and others.

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The travelogue then goes on to describe how Ireland is governed.

From:
TRAVELS OF COSMO THE THIRD, GRAND DUKE OF TUSCANY,
THROUGH ENGLAND,
DURING THE REIGN OF KING CHARLES THE SECOND (1669)
TRANSLATED FROM THE ITALIAN MANUSCRIPT
https://archive.org/stream/travel…

His highness, Cosmo, must be considered only as a traveler. Under his direction, the narrator of the records was Count Lorenzo Magalotti, afterwards Secretary to the Academy del Cimento, and one of the most learned and eminent characters of the court of Ferdinand II.

San Diego Sarah on 15 Jun 2022  •  Link

The Southwell referred to above, who charges what seems to be exhorbitant terms for rent, was the father of Sir Robert Southwell, MP FRS, the envoy to Lisbon. The father was also named Robert, and was a large landowner around Kinsale.

Envoy Sir Robert Southwell MP FRS https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…