Leabhar Dearg an Fheiritearaigh

Anyone reading this who might also read the occasional news update on Facebook's "The Great Ferriter Family" may recognize that work has commenced on compiling a "Red Book of the Ferriters" (Leabhar Deargh an Fheiritearaigh). Such a document would be a comprehensive family history, genealogy, reference and register.

The idea of such a book extends directly from the Irish, who kept such compilations within their septs, to chronicle and document the family history. These were not usually single volumes, but in some cases rolls of parchment, bound books, loose documents, all taken together and considered as one thing. Most such collections only exist in fragmentary form today, however the “Red Book of Ormond” is a good example. This little essay will serve to make a few comments and to provide an update on that work in progress.

The history of the lifetimes of the Ferriters of Kerry is bounded, finite, and at least partially visible, all the way to earliest times in Ireland. Before that, the history seems mightily obscured, and aside from DNA studies, may stay that way. That is not a despairing thought, as the history in hand is deep and rich, and embracing it via An Leabhar Deargh promises to produce something of lasting value for everyone within the family, and of some interest to many others. We have 800 years of time, spanning something like 25 generations.

Across this breadth of years, we have many individuals to recognize, many events of individuals lives, and many events of a broader historical context. There are the people - who they were, what they did, what their lives were like…images in time, painted on the tapestry of the context of the history within and upon which they lived. To keep those who have gone before us in our minds must be understood to be a principal purpose of this book.

An initial focus has been upon the early years - the first 350 years in Ireland, beginning about the year 1220. Some of this - names of individuals, and individual activities - resides in concrete terms within the historical record. Effort is also underway to illuminate the historical stage of Ossurys Cantred in Corca Dhubhine barony, (the western and southern portions of the Dingle Peninsula) – upon which most of the story acts out. In every case where individual action or activity is on record, the surrounding events and circumstances must also be unveiled, lest some key aspect of the individual's role be misunderstood, or a key element lost. What you would see here is the difference between motionless stick figures (the citation on the record) and three dimensional animation (the citation placed within the correct historical context).

Here are some aspects of:

The Red Book of The Ferriters

Documents to be pulled together, stories identified, and tales to be written down:

The first arrivals: The stories of Richard le Fureter, Walter le Fureter, their arrival in Ireland and the early le Fereters in Kerry - Walter, Martin, and the two Phillips – early Norman settlers, given land in Ossurys Cantred.

Nicholas Fereter, manucaptor: The story of a Fereter man who lived c1320 – 1400, who was a cattle raider, local notable, and Family Chief. This man probably served the Earl of Desmond as a soldier, in terms of scutage/knights service, and kept company with the Knight of Kerry, Richard FitzMaurice.

The Century of the Nicholas’: 1450 – 1550, In the service of Lord FitzGerald, or How the Ferriters became fully Irish.

The Wars of the Geraldines, 1565 – 1603, and the reduction of the Ferriter Family.

Piaras: Historical Summary: Just the facts, and there are plenty of them

Dominick: Tales of a Feiritear Man who lived over three hundred years ago.

Lucas na Srianta: The lineal patriarch. Turning the light, (however dim) on a man at the advent of the Protestant Ascendancy

A compendium of Ferriters: c1700 – 1900:

To name a few: Nicholas Feriter, ropemaker c1750 -1780, Nicholas Ferriter, ship’s captain c1750, Maurice Ferriter, medical patient, c1760, Edward Spaight Ferriter, Estate owner, Kappa Lodge, Clare, c1800, John Steven Ferriter, R.N., Naval Officer, Australian Pioneer, c1830 – 1870, Maurice Ferriter, “The Professor” Immigrant to Indiana, c1835 – Mathematics Professor at Notre Dame, Luke Ferriter, Vermont lad in the Civil War c1860, John H. Feriter, SC politician, carpetbagger, racist, c1865 – 1880, Bad Boy John, a Sad Tale of Delinquent Youth, c1890. Padraig Feiritear, Manuscript Collector, Archivist, writer, Irish Land Rebel, c1880 – 1924.

Of course, this list is not fixed, and also it is well understood that the individual lines have great stories close to the heart, involving great events, trials, tribulations, and great deeds – all pertaining to people of the respective lines. These all should be told, and the data recorded, lines of information exchange established, and all of this information connected to electronically, or physically pulled into the great book, The Red Book of the Ferriters.

Timeline of Early Ferriter Family Leadership

The following information attempts to provide a bit of illumination upon the deep past of the Ferriter Family in Kerry. What has been done here is to create a timeline of sorts, with the known and suspected heads or chiefs of the Ferriter Family called out upon it.

First a bit of background: Several sources exist that identify individuals in the early record. These sources either extend from the Calendars, (summary abstracts made of records later destroyed in the Four Courts fire of 1922), or are from records outside of what had been in the Public Records Office when the fire occurred. A list of these sources is appended, and notated. The individuals cited on this list are those who are those who were most likely to have been the family head during their lives. During the early period, men selected for activities such as juror, pledge, or collector were almost certainly also the family chief or principal man in the family. In some cases other family members appear in the historical record, either associated with inheritances, lawsuits, or fines. These people have not been cited on this list.

Walter (I) 1220 – 1250 First Known le Fureter in Ireland, probable first in Kerry
Cites: 1, 2

Walter (II) 1250 -1280 Active landholder in Ossurys cantred
Cites: 1, 2, 3

Martin 1280 – 1290 Active man of property, likely brother of Walter (II)
Cites: 2, 3

Phillip (I) 1290 – 1310 Son of Walter , knight of the Shire
Cites: 2, 3, 5

Phillip (II) 1310 -1340 Son of Phillip (I), Fought David de Barry, Sherriff’s commission
Cites: 2, 3, 5, 6

Nicholas (I) 1340 -1360 Probable son of Phillip (II), Cattle Raider, Soldier, Manucaptor
Cites: 4, 6

Thomas 1360 -1400 Tax Collector
Cites: 7

Nicholas (II) 1400– 1450 Known to have been a Juror
Cites: 8

Nicholas (III) 1450 – 1500 Known to have been a Juror
Cites: 9

Dennis of Dun 1500 – 1535 (Apocryphal / Anecdotal Individual)
Cites: 13

Nicholas (IV) 1535 – 1575 Pardoned Geraldine Rebel
Cites: 10

Maurice 1575 – 1585 Geraldine Rebel, Father of Eamon
Cites: 10, 11

Eamon 1585 – 1625 Pardoned Geraldine Rebel, Father of Piaras
Cites: 10, 11, 12


The blocks of time assigned to each person are estimates of that individual’s period of leadership or eminence. An effort has been made to depict continuity, but these estimates must not be seen as precluding the existence of additional family heads who escaped appearing in any surviving documented source. This list must also be understood to just that – a list, not a pedigree or genealogical outline. We can make a safe assumption in regarding many of the postulated successions as in fact being father to son, but this cannot be confirmed in most cases. That said, the strong possibility exists that the first Walter was the single common ancestor of all Ferriters, and close relationships exist between all of these men - if not a direct lineal descent, then close to it.

Cited Sources:

1. Calendars of Jucticiary Rolls, Ireland

2. Calendar of Plea Rolls (RC7, NLI)

3. Calendar of Close Rolls

4. Rotulorum Patentaie et Clausorum (Tresham)

5. Court of Exchequer Records Relating to Kerry (Carew MSS, 610)

6. Calendar of Plea Rolls, 13, 14, 16

7. Patent Roll, 49 Edw III

8. Calendar of Ormonde Deeds

9. Carew MSS 608, f44b

10. Fiants of Elizabeth, 921, 2482, 6494, 6576

11. Inquisition of 1584, (Originally in P.R.O.I., transcribed c1908, original destroyed)

12. Chancery Inquisition, Charles I, 1626

13. Unpublished Paper, Fr, M.Manning, c1975

(Final Note: In addition to the individual forenames cited as likely family heads, the following additional Ferriter names appear in the early records: Michael, John, Richard, William, Simon, Isabella, and Anstace.)

Crisis in Numbers: The Ferriters of Corca Dhubhine During the 1500s

Many members of the Ferriter Family today are aware of the legend that maintains Piaras Feiritear as the last of his tribe. The facts do not support Piaras as the last – certainly we know that his father lived to become a grandfather, with Piaras’ son’s furthering the line, and certain evidences exist that suggest Piaras may have had at least one brother or a cousin. Those things said, that the Ferriters were a rare breed during the early 1600s seems doubtless. With the family having been established in West Kerry for over 300 years before Piaras came along, the idea that there were only a handful of Ferriters extant does not correspond with what we know about the growth of families over time.

Although beautiful beyond reason, the lands held and inhabited by the Ferriters are harsh and stingy to a farmer’s eyes. Most of the rocky hillsides were and are suitable for grazing only, and the more fertile bottom lands are not spacious. The saving grace of the locale was the ocean – and surely the Ferriters fished, and fostered other fisherman, with the resulting bounty going some distance to feeding the inhabitants of the locale.

The size of the family in Corca Dhuibhne was always limited by what the property could support. Sub-infuedation and tenancy by family members could only continue to the extent that the farms could produce sufficient food to support the tenants. Fishing was always vigorously pursued, under the conditions of the grant from the Earl of Desmond. These things being said, Ferriter men often left the area, either via the sea, or under arms. Whether they were sailors, or whether they were soldiers for hire, once departed these men were doubtless most often lost to the family.

Yet the 1400s had been a relatively prosperous and peaceful period for Ossurys, the cantred wherein Ferriter’s lands lay. Dingle, Ventry, and Ferriter’s Haven all supported trade and fishing. There were no large scale wars, and the occasional raids or dust-ups under Desmond colors were not destructive in a general sense. The Ferriters had shared in this sort of prosperity, and their numbers had certainly increased over time.

By extrapolating familial propagation over the two and a half centuries following the Ferriter arrivals in Ossurys cantred, an expectation that the area would have been replete with Ferriter families can be reached. 100% of the land would not have been occupied by Ferriter families, but making an estimate that most of it was can be seen as reasonable. For the purposes of this discussion, a conservative projection of 15 Ferriter Families across the various townlands of Marhin, Dunurlin, and Ferriter’s Quarter is established for the year 1565. These 15 families would have accounted for perhaps 60 to 80 individuals. These people would have acknowledged kinship ties with one another, shared a sense of family, and probably gave a degree of fealty to The Ferriter, An Feiritearach, the chieftain of the little sept.

Note the details of “Jobson’s Map of Mounster”, c1585. Here we see no fewer than four place names associated with Ferriter: Fereter’s Cove, C. (Castle) Fereter, B. (Bally) Feretor, and The Fereter’s Island.

75 years later, there were perhaps one or two families comprising at most a half dozen souls. What happened?

The destruction of the Ferriter Family must have gone something like this:

During the period of sharp numerical decline, three devastating wars occurred, along with sustained anarchy during each period of conflict.

Several authorities have posited that the population of Kerry may have been reduced by 30% to 50% during this period, which alone does not explain the radical reduction in numbers evidenced within the Ferriter family. Nor does leaving the area – all records available, along with onomastic evidence as available via surname distribution both suggest otherwise - the Ferriters stayed on in their home area. Aside from a very early occurrence of the name in Dublin that persisted for several generations before disappearing, Ferriters did not reside outside of Corkaguiny until recently.

As late as Ireland’s 1911 census, only two Ferriters resided outside of the home area. Many Ferriters had emigrated to America or elsewhere by 1911, but such an option did not exit in the 16th century. As noted, the younger sons may have often sailed away, or marched off to serve under arms, but that is not emigration. The Ferriters did not leave during the 1565 – 1605 time period. Whatever happened, it played out in West Kerry.

There may have been diseases and famine attendant with the periods of conflict, and certainly this speaks to the name becoming less common in the area. That the decrease in numbers corresponds to the decrease in numbers of other families in the area would be expected. The Trant and Rice families endured the same period of difficulty yet seem to remain relatively numerous in citations following the warfare, so what happened that was unique to the to the Ferriters?

When discounting an estimate of number reflective of the difficult times, the result does not correspond with what seems to have been the case for the Ferriter family, and the realization that something beyond famine and disease happened becomes apparent. Some analysis of the mechanisms that may have borne on the situation is warranted.

As mentioned, three separate wars occurred:

1569 - 1573 First Desmond Rebellion (James FitzMaurice)

1579 - 1583 Second Desmond Rebellion (Earl Gerald)

1599 – 1603 Munster Rising of O’Neil’s Rebellion (Sugane Earl of Desmond)

Each of these rebellions was replete with slaughter, famine, and destruction of humanity:

“I saw sufficiently ensampled in those late warrs in Mounster; for notwithstandinge that the same was a most ritch and plentyfull countrye, full of corne and cattell, that you would have thought they could have beene hable to stand longe, yett eare one yeare and a half they weare brought to such wretchednes, as that anye stonye herte would have rewed the same. Out of everye corner of the woode and glenns they came creepinge forth upon theire handes, for theire legges could not beare them; they looked Anatomies [of] death, they spake like ghostes, crying out of theire graves; they did eate of the carrions, happye wheare they could find them, yea, and one another soone after, in soe much as the verye carcasses they spared not to scrape out of theire graves; and if they found a plott of water-cresses or shamrockes, theyr they flocked as to a feast for the time, yett not able long to contynewe therewithall; that in a shorte space there were none almost left, and a most populous and plentyfull countrye suddenly lefte voyde of man or beast: yett sure in all that warr, there perished not manye by the sworde, but all by the extreamytie of famyne which they themselves hadd wrought.” (“A Veue of The Present State of Ireland.”, Edmund Spenser, 1596.)

“For might it but please her Highnes under her owne hand to sett downe, that noe principale Traytor (especiallie those of Mounster){This would marre theyr mirth.} shall have any pardon or find anye favour …And lett that principall Traytor whom they call the Earle of Desmond be the first.{One after another and serve all alyke.} Then the White Knight alias Edmond Macc Gibbon, Piers Lacye, the Knight of Kerrye and the Lord Fitz Morris. These are the principall Traytors who have lands.{One occasion is too much and one pardon too manye.} Yf these or anye of these shall refuse to come in in manner…. Then lett proclamation be made that whosoever shall take or kill anye of these Traytors lands and hould them in the same sorte that the Traytors did. Yea though he be a Traytor and a leader of men amongst Traytors{Give the Devill his due yf he do a good turne.} that shall happen to doe this service. Let him not only have the landes of that Traytor whom he shall kill” (Captain Thomas Lee, Elizabethan soldier, c1580)

Note that these citations reflect the eyes and ears of a primary source. While reports taken from the field of and by Englishmen often play down English losses, these reports are quite sanguine regarding the fate of the Irish.

Taken together, these wars in Munster have a common thread in that they had members of the Desmond FitzGerald family as principal actors. Collectively, these wars could as easily be called the Geraldine Wars as anything else.

The Ferriters were Desmond’s men. The lands that they held were held of Desmond.
At the onset of the Geraldine Wars, this relationship had been in place for over 200 years. The Earl was their Earl, and they were his people. Certainly by the 1500s, marriages were occurring between Ferriter men and Geraldine women, ladies of the more local cadet branches, extending from the nearby Sliocht Edmund, (a Geraldine Clan around Castle Gregory) or the grand-nieces or the great-grand nieces of early knights of Kerry. It is known that a Ferriter lady married into the family of the Knight of Kerry c1565, and there exists no reason to imagine that she was the first.

Kinship bonds, and the oaths of fealty associated with landholding were powerful connections. In all likelihood, some Ferriter men had joined with James FitzMaurice in 1569. That “the Felleterache of Ballysibbel” appears on an Elizabethan pardon of 1574 along with other rebels confirms this.

Almost certainly, Ferriter men went out under the Geraldine banners as soon as the Earl declared himself in rebellion, in 1580. Via the marriage cited above, Maurice, Piaras Feirtear’s grandfather would have been the likely brother in law of William MacRuddery, brother to the knight, John, both of whom are known to have been rebels. The family connection, along with the requirements of fealty as given to the Earl would have mandated that Maurice and other Ferriters rode with these men.

Black Tom Butler, Earl of Ormonde

The English were already mobilized, having moved to address this second Geraldine rebellion in it’s infancy in 1579, so conflict flared immediately. The Dingle Peninsula experienced unparalleled savagery in the year 1580. Pelham, The Black Earl of Ormond, Winter, Bingham, and Lord Grey all had a turn in despoiling the land of Corkaguiney and slaughtering the inhabitants. Of these, perhaps Ormond’s Raid during the spring of 1580 was most destructive:
In Jan 1580 two Italian vessels with powder had arrived at Dingle, bringing news that Desmond might soon expect other forces from abroad. In response, as spring opened Pelham and Ormond passed through the rebel counties in separate companies, consuming with fire all habitations and executing the people wherever they found them. As noted below, the Irish annalists say that the bands of Pelham and Ormond killed the blind and the aged, women and children, sick and idiots, sparing none.

“The Erle of Ormonde…never slept his time, but was always in readiness, being the first with the foremost, and last with the hindermost…they met and divided their companies into three partes, and so marched to Dingle-a-Cush, and as they went, they drove the whole countrie before them…all such people as they met they did without mercie putte to the sword. By this means the whole countrie having no cattel nor kine left, they were driven to such extremeities that for want of vittels they were either to die and perish for famine, or to die under the sword.” (Hooker’s Chronicle, 1580)

“He (Pelham) sent loose marauding parties…wheresoever they passed shewed mercy neither to the strong nor the weak. It was not wonderful that they should kill men fit for action, but they killed blind and feeble men, women, boys, and girls, sick persons, idiots, and old people…The Lord Justice (Pelham) proceeded with his army (of which Ormond’s forces formed one wing) to Kerry, making no delay, until he arrived at Daingean-Ui-Chuis (Dingle) on which occasion he devastated and ravaged a great part of the territory of the Geraldines of Kerry.” (“Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland by the Four Masters”)

How bad was it?

“The extent of the devastation became clear in the aftermath of the rebellion. Sir Henry Wallop…after the rebellion, described how the population had been so decimated by “sworde, and by Justice, but cheeflie by famine” that he found the province between Dingle and Cashel completely barren and desolate….The general impression of the destruction of the province thus supports Spenser’s view that Munster had suffered a social and economic trauma on a massive scale.” (“The Social and Economic Consequences of the Desmond Rebellion of 1579-83”, Anthony McCormack, May 2004)

One modern source has suggested that the generation of the Desmond Wars may have sought refuge elsewhere. While some may have, refugee status certainly was no assurance of salvation:

“ Ferriter must have fled northwards…In the aftermath of this violence famine became widespread and local inhabitants forced to migrate, as explified in the case of a young heir to a minor Geraldine branch in the area.. ‘who died for famine on Fereters Island, aged 12 years’. Maurice Ferriter probably died in Iraghticonner as a refugee from this violence and famine” (“The Ferriters of Kerry”, Paul MacCotter, 2003)

Never having known any adult male Ferriter to “flee” from anything, I would differ with Dr. MacCotter in his reasoning as to why Maurice was in Clanmaurice rather than at home. In all likelihood, he was part of a rebel band, of which there were many across West Kerry. That issue aside, the terrible price of the Geraldine Wars is clear. Where perhaps as many as 60 or more Ferriter family individuals were living at the advent of the period of conflict, perhaps a half dozen souls survived it.

Piaras Feiritear seems to have grown to manhood lonely with respect to the company of other Ferriters, and absent the large extended family that should have existed two generations before. His father Eamon may have borne witness as a child to the worst of the slaughters, and may have participated in the final round of conflict, the rebellion of the Sugane Earl of Desmond. That his name appears on the final round of Elizabethan pardons associated with this rebellion confirms involvement.

Occam’s Razor identifies that the simplest solution to a problem most often is the best. For the vanishing Ferriters, there really seems to be no mystery. Certainly Occam indicates that these people were killed in war, either directly in combat, as collateral damage, or due to ancillary consequences such as famine and disease.

The Ferriter Family was victim to a sort of political and ethnic cleansing at the hands of the Elizabethans: Pelham, Butler, Drury, Malby, Raleigh, Grey, et alia. The goals were manifold: to exterminate the Desmonds, to solidify political control of Munster, and to prepare the way for the transplantation of English settlers to the province.

When Piaras himself sallied away to do battle with the English in 1641, he had scant family to accompany him. Before the Confederate Wars were over, perhaps three of his sons had participated in the fight, and following the war in 1653, we know that three Ferriter men, two of these most certainly the sons of Piaras, were serving the Catholic cause on the Continent. A real possibility exists that Dunurlin and Ballyferriter were devoid of any Ferriters during the Cromwellian interlude, from the death of Piaras in 1653 until the return of Dominick in 1660 or 1661. The restoration period marks that time when the Ferriter family began to increase in numbers once again.

How might things have been different?

During the 1560s, if “The Ferriter” had made overtures to the government of Queen Elizabeth, had acknowledged the Church of Ireland (see: Ormonde (Butler) and Thomond (O'Brien)), and had become an active agent for the crown, everything would have been different.

Conformance, submission, and assistance to the crown in the several Geraldine Wars would have been rewarded with patented grants and titles - knighthoods and baronetcies. Others of similar social station did those things, and were rewarded in the manner described. Of course, to have gained these things the Ferriters would have become traitors to their faith, their bonds of loyalty, and their culture. To have done this was not in the make-up of these people.

By the 1570s, it was probably too late, and certainly after 1584, the loss of station and property was irreversible.

Those things said, the world in which these men lived, the inertia of history, and the inevitable view of the world that they inherited almost certainly precluded any course of action other that that taken.

When one's world ends, even identifying that it's happening; much less understanding how personal impacts might be mitigated might not be possible.

So, did Oliver Cromwell, bloody though his hands were, destroy the Ferriter Family? No. Thank Elizabeth Tudor and her cutthroat minions for that. That a great man such as Piaras Feiritear arose within another generation, and that the Ferriter name has now spread to far places and is associated with many wonderful attainments, is a tribute to the strength of the line, and to the will of our ancestors.


“The past is never dead. It’s not even past” (William Faulkner, c1930)

Fhirtearaigh an Bhaile Uachtaraigh

Causation trumps randomness, every time. That events emerge as consequences of precursors, and are formed by myriad related influences that also extend from predecessor commissions and omissions seems without refute. Our lives also then, take certain form under the influence of innumerable actions and reactions extending back into time immemorial. Channeled and directed in more or less greater ways by all that has happened before, we make our choices, and in doing so set in motion the context of the future.

Not all those factors at play in our lives have emerged from human activity, and those human influences are in turn the sum of many individual actions. Many steering currents have emerged from people who lived long ago, far away and are unrelated to us in any meaningful way. That those who lived close to our ancestors, and most importantly those ancestors themselves have had a greater impact upon us as individuals seems obvious.

General statements about individuals don’t provide much insight into their nature. “Good”, “bad”, “caring”, “loving”, “energetic”, “creative” – all of these are terms that we encounter daily, as applied to the people around us, and to the degree such labels bear on the matter at hand, they might be useful. Without context or additional qualification such terms simply do not help much in defining the identity of an individual, as we are much more complex than simple topical labels might indicate.

My sense is that families, growing through time as a succession of generations do reflect a summation of their individual constituent members, and that as families do have certain commonalities in any given generation, the qualities that reflect these commonly held characteristics do have some certain merit and applicability.

About those Ferriters: Philip was a swordfighter, Nicholas (in his successive iterations) a warrior, Eamon a survivor, Piaras and his sons and great grandsons all soldiers of note. Piaras a poet and musician, Nicholas again, as a sea captain, Edward the holder of a great estate, Padraig a chronicler. These are just fragments of the whole picture of the past. In the flowering of freedom, both away in America and at home in Ireland, the efflorescence of Ferriter Family talent can only be seen as extraordinary. In the past four generations we have had many military men of distinction in both deed and position, people who were and are talented artists, great storytellers, historians, academics, athletes, doctors, scientists and engineers, people of the law, leaders of all sorts, and on and on.

Not every family on this earth is like this. Few are.

Here I should tip the nature of one of our familial mysteries: while the family has produced a few nuns, my research has never revealed any Ferriter priest. We have offered our very lives in defense of our religion, and in defense of the priests of that faith, but have never produced one, at least on the record. Most Irish families produced priests in every generation – certainly through the post penal law times, and in America. There are no Ferriter priests on record, for at least the past 200 years. I have no additional comment upon that, at least not right now.

That there are darkly colored aspects to our lives and our collective past – yes, of course that also is true. Perhaps these traits are more pronounced, and in greater color - more vivid than in many families. Perhaps such things serve as a counter balance to the great positives we often exhibit. These things will be topics for future essays.

What does any of this mean? Less the apparent lack of priestliness, the Ferriter (Feiritear/ Ferreter/ Farritor/ Ferritor/ Firtear/ et alia) family is brimful and flush with talent, capability, and accomplishment.

Since we can look at ourselves today, and across the recent yesterdays, and back into the deeper past, we can conclude that only circumstance has precluded more visibility and that the long generations when suppression of language and faith ruled, the spark of greatness was preserved. One can only imagine what hidden talents and glories were cherished within the Ferriter families of those times – the spoken poets, the fighters, the fishermen, the sailors, the singers and musicians…of this I have no knowledge, yet have certainty.

Looking ahead, the illumination of our shared past seems to me to be a worthwhile goal. That the isolated lines of descent in the U.S.A. and elsewhere - founded by cousins or siblings who lost touch with one another - that we all share in this seems to me to be without question and without doubt. The influences and patterns set by twenty generations of predecessors may not be extinguished in three or four – what seems more likely is that the commonalities we share, along with the wonderful distinctions of our individualities underwrite the familial affinities that Ferriter men and women have for one another.

That there may be a Ferriter “brand” and that this characteristic transcends isolation of time or space seems to be the real deal. The things that I post on this blog may serve to highlight certain of those things, as they may seem to have echoed down the years. I hope so.

Bailiú Fiacha, 1307

Bailiú Fiacha, 1307



Medieval life in Ireland was most often harsh, and frequently violent. The intrusion of the Normans and the follow-on attempts of the English monarchy to exert control within Ireland created extended periods of social, political and economic turmoil, and the constant friction between the Norman Lords and the Irish, as well as between the Norman Lords themselves led to a succession of minor wars that sputtered for centuries.

English Law extended only to those of English birth, English Heritage (including the descendants of the Normans), and those few Irish who had been granted coverage by the crown. During the first 150 years following the initial incursion, a large swath of southern Ireland, extending down the coast from Dublin, and westward across the Earldoms of Kildare, Ormond, and Desmond had recognized the authority of the English crown, and the legal apparatus of English government. Outside of this area, Irish (Brehon) Law prevailed.

Land ownership, and control of land by the Ferriters extended directly from application of English Law. At present, our understanding of Ferriter entitlements suggests that the initial grants and enfoeffments were provided by the DeMarisco lordship, and when local authority passed to the Desmond FitzGeralds, the feudal commitment of the Ferriters passed to that family also. During this time, Ferriter lands in Ossurys cantred (Western Corkaguinney) were quite extensive, including all of Dunurlan, Marhin, and parts of Kilamrkedar and Dunquin Parishes, including the Blasket Islands.

So, in the year 1307, the chief of the Ferriters seems to have been Phillip le Fureter. This Phillip’s name appears on a number of legal documents of the period, both Close Rolls, (which documented inheritances and property transactions), and on Plea Rolls, (which documented the legal activities of the Justiciar, who was a sort of traveling Chief Justice for those portions of Ireland under English Law). Philip was then the landlord for all of the tenants living on Ferriter lands, some of them Irish, some English, and some family members.

The following text is taken from the Calendar of the Justiciary Rolls of Ireland, 35 Edward I, Membrane 45:

“Yet of Pleas of Plaints at Ardart, before John Wogan, Justiciar on Monday the morrow of St. Barnabas”, June 12, 1307:

Ph. Le Furetter junior was attached to answer Hugh de Barry, of a plea wherefore when Hugh was in his house at the Tyf, in autumn, a.r. xxxi., Philip sent his men to Hugh’s house, to slay him.

Who by command attacked the house for a whole night, wishing to slay Hugh. And on the next day, Philip bringing in his company Nich. O Molran, a felon who abjured the land out of the church of Ballysyd, and other malefactors, went there and broke Hugh’s house. So that Hugh barely escaped on a horse. And Philip with Ric. De Leye and Walter de Hereford, afterward assaulted Hugh, and wounded him badly with a sword, so that he barely escaped on his horse to the church, and he unjustly took from Hugh a horse, value 10s.

And Philip comes and says that he did no injury to Hugh, and he prays that this be enquired by the country. Hugh likewise. Therefore let it be enquired.

(Following unrecorded testimony:)

The Jurors say that Philip came upon the land of Hugh which he held from Philip, and distrained Hugh, his tenant for pleas in default. And Hugh, seeing Philip coming and understanding that he wished to take, in name of distraint, a horse of his, ran to the horse and mounted it and fled.

And Philip rode his horse after him, and his horse stumbled and fell, and threw Philip to the ground. And Hugh, perceiving this, leaving his horse, returned to Philip and with his knife drawn would have slain Philip, his lord, to whom he had not yet done homage or fealty. And Philip perceiving this, and not otherwise able to escape, drew his sword and put it between him and Hugh. And Hugh vehemently moved with anger, intending to strike Philip with his knife, ran upon Philip’s sword, and wounded himself. As to the other trespasses, which Hugh says were done to him by Philip, they say that Philip is not in anyway culpable..

Judgement that Hugh take nothing by his plaint, but be in mercy for false claim.


Quite an exciting story! Professor Paul MacCotter, who identified this document in his “The Ferriters of Kerry” (Journal of Kerry Archaeological and Historical Society, 2003) informs us that the malefactor, Hugh De Barry leaves Ferriter lands, and within a years time is hung for murder.

This episode should leave us with a greater appreciation for what life in West Kerry was like for the early Ferriters, and with a better understanding for what having feudal authority over the tenantry on one’s lands really entailed. Within a generation following this event, the authority of the crown had begun slipping away, and with the naming of the first Earl of Desmond in 1328, many royal prerogatives reserved for the crown were granted the Earl.

The Desmond FitzGeralds in turn, gradually adopted Irish ways, and within a century following Phillip le Fureter’s adventure as told above, West Kerry had become quite Irish, and notions of English law held little weight. Yet the Ferriters held their lands, by virtue of feudal bonds with the Desmond Earls. Loyalty to the FitzGeralds extended up until that time the House of Desmond was overthrown and destroyed by the Tudors, a full two and a half centuries following the story of Philip and Hugh.

The Captain of the Whip: December 10, 1941, Cavite, P.I.

The following account is as written in my father's own hand after the action. His account is somewhat longer, and there are other parts of the larger story that may be posted on this blog later. I chose this date for this excerpt, as tomorrow marks the anniversary of the day upon which the events occurred. Most people know of the action recounted, which followed the attack on the base at Pearl Harbor by someting like 48 hours. Here is a piece of that history:

The Captain of the Whip: December 10, 1941, Cavite, P.I.

The commands: “General Quarters!” “Heave Around!” got the Whippoorwill to Battle Stations and under way. We headed for Manila. Submarines were coming out as fast as they could from their buoys and from alongside tenders. They submerged when they were clear of the breakwater.

Then we saw the enemy. All sorts of planes, light bombers, fighters, heavy bombers, were there. There appeared to be over a hundred of them. Our big, slow-moving flying boats were flying toward Corregidor, keeping close to the water.

An attack was started on our starboard side, toward Nichols Field, an Army airport. We shot at a number of planes in that direction. Two planes were hit and crashed. We were shooting at them but so were a lot of other people. Every once in a while a submarine would show his conning tower, so we would not run over them. They became quite a nuisance, and it seemed that we annoyed some sub or other every time we turned.

After we neared the breakwater we turned and headed toward San Nicholas Shoal. Bombs were dropped on Manila Harbor among the merchant ships, but only one was hit. The attack on the navy yard was now in progress. We kept up a fire on low flying fighters and dive bombers coming out from attacks on the navy yard. One came very near to us, coming up on our port quarter. The after machine guns fired at him, and some light colored smoke came out of his fuselage. He tried some kind of maneuver, banking his plane and putting a burst of machine gun bullets about 50 feet ahead of the ship. We put on full left rudder and went from “Ahead” to “Full Astern” in an effort to let him get ahead of the Whip. He crossed close aboard ahead of us and fell into the water, sinking immediately.

Cavite Navy Yard was a mass of flame. We headed for the yard to see if we could help, and to see if our boat was still there. The wooden boat had been left in Canacao Bay to reduce the splinter hazard on board the Whip. We had left one man with the boat, the boat engineer, armed with a Springfield rifle.

About this time the Isabel reported over the radio telephone that she was in communication with the navy yard. I asked her to have the navy yard tell me where they needed us most. The navy yard never answered. We saw the yard signal station. It was flying a distress signal - I said, “Boy! she isn’t lying! She is in distress if anything ever was!” It was difficult to decide where to go. The Pidgeon was playing her hoses on some barges that were burning at the end of Guadeloupe Pier. I made out a destroyer at the small pier between Machina Wharf and Guadeloupe Pier.

I sent the Pidgeon a signal: “The Whip is going in and take out that destroyer.” We went in between Guadeloupe Pier and Machina Wharf. It was a mess. It was the Peary. The ship had many little fires all over her. She had been strafed and had been struck by bomb fragments and debris. The war heads and torpedo air flasks in the torpedo overhaul shop on Machina Wharf next to her were exploding. The air was filled with clouds of debris.

A small motorboat under the command of an Ensign, a young reserve officer, attached to Inshore Patrol, assisted in the efforts to take out the Peary. The heat and explosions made ship handling difficult. The pressure would be on one side and then on the other. The Ensign tried to take lines from the “Whip” to the Peary without success as we made our approach. We put our bow against her stern. We made fast with a 6-inch line. We backed and parted the line. The heat or a falling fragment might have caused the line to part. We tried it again. Again the line parted. It became more difficult to keep in position for backing out. The wind and the current kept working to put the Whip broadside to the end of the pier. This was bad.

Guadeloupe Pier and Machina Wharf each attended a good distance beyond this little pier. We came up to the Peary again. We went quite far up on her port quarter. This was the side away from the pier. I sent a man over to the Peary to make sure that she had no mooring lines to the pier. The Whip’s man reported when the lines were clear. We backed and she came away.

We backed clear of the dock. There was shoal water not far from the piers. We went alongside the Peary. This was more easily done than jackknifing her. The Whip went between the Peary and the burning barges off Guadeloupe Pier. We had all of our hoses going all of the time. Once in a while we played the water on the bridge to cool that place off. The men on deck were kept cool by hosing them down when it became too hot.

The Peary was short of men. Some of her officers and crew had been killed in the navy yard where they were working. Others were in the navy yard but unable to get back to the ship.

We went out of the navy yard searching for the target raft mooring buoy. I asked the acting executive officer of the Peary whether he had any other ideas to suggest concerning the Peary. He replied in the negative. There was a great deal of loose gear floating around in the water. It seemed that we might not be able to find the buoy. The Peary had no anchors aboard. We connected one of our bower anchors to a heavy piece of wire rope which was led from the bow of the Peary. After getting ready to anchor the Peary we found the buoy and moored her to it. The Peary and her surviving crew were saved.

The Treasure of the Fortune

During the year 1649, news of terrible new predations by the English spread across Munster. Cromwell himself had taken command of the New Model Army, and his “Ironsides” (as the men of that army were known) had proven invincible in combat against the poorly organized Irish. Yet in the far west – in Kerry – life seemed almost peaceful.

However violent the reduction of Leinster may have been, Kerry remained at a distance and in relative peace. The Earl of Ormond presided as the King’s representative in Ireland at his seat in Kilkenny, with Murrogh O’Brien, Lord Inchquin in command of the Munster Army, and Lord Muskerry gathering forces at Ross Castle.

Piaras had returned to Ballysible before the Siege of Limerick in 1646, and had strived to avoid involvement in the internecine squabbles between the Northern Chiefs and the Ormondist Party. He had occasionally played the role of diplomat, and had made favorable impressions upon the papal legate, Rinuccini, as well as with military leaders of both stripes. Most of the patriarch’s time was spent with his new wife, and with his new children, (to Dominick's mind the ill-conceived Halflings), little Maurice, and the infant Redmond.

Dominick had married in the years following the fall of Tralee, and had a young son of his own, a new Piaras, who was being raised and tutored in the manner of the elder Piaras – reading and writing in Irish and English, with Latin and Greek to follow. To Dominick’s unspoken irritation, the elder Piaras insisted upon having his own second family taught in the same sessions as Dominick’s son.

The onset of the new year found both Dominick and Risteard at home in Ballysible, with their father, a rare gathering. Although Piaras had spent most of his time at home pursuant to the early Confederate victories in 1641 and 1642, Dominick and Richard alternated time in the field with the Munster Army, wherein Dominic was now a temporary Major and Richard his Lieutenant. To have all three at the manor at the same time almost never happened.

As 1649 rolled into the year of our Lord 1650, a great North Atlantic storm was born, and grew on the ocean far to the west. By late January, the great storm churned the seas off Ireland. For days, strong southeast gales drove sheets of icy rain and high surf against the shore.

The western reaches of the Dingle Peninsula have long been famous for shipwrecks – extending as it does out into the North Atlantic bounded by great cliffs rocky headlands, shoals, and with Ferriter’s Islands, the rugged Blaskets lurking close offshore. During the retreat of Spain’s great armada in 1588, one of the greatest vessels in the Spanish fleet, La Santa Maria de la Rosa foundered and sank between Great Blasket and the mainland, joining many other vessels lost in those waters over the centuries.

Truth be known, the Feiritearaigh had benefited from some of these disasters. During the period of time when the FitzGerald Earls of Desmond held sway across that part of Ireland, a provision of the landholding required wrecks of the sea to be forfeit to the Earl. Of course, this was an honor system, and one best supported by the Earl’s generosity in terms of sharing such bounty with any who risked their lives in securing salvage. Ferriter’s castle had several fine demi-culverins from such wrecks, and Piaras’ mansion was well served by plate that once graced various captain’s tables, accumulated over the time since the Ferriters arrived.

The great storm lashed Ballysible for days. On January, xx, 1650, the winds began to abate, with visibility improving on the dawn of that day and at that time Ferriter tenants on both the slopes of Slea Head and Great Blasket sighted a foundered ship in the channel, drifting inshore toward’s Ferriter’s Cove. The alarm fires were lit, and a house to house alarum passed through habitations in and around Ballyoughtra and Ballysible.

“Shipwreck!”

“All hands muster at the Cove”

“Rally upon Captain Piaras!”

“Arms, to arms, gather weapons at the Fort, and make for the Cove!”

With Piaras and his sons at home, leadership of the recovery effort fell immediately to Captain Ferriter, with his newly brevetted son, Major Dominick to lead the boarding party. Several dozen men, armed with pikes, broadswords, and a few muskets had also rallied to the cry, and several curraghs put out from Ferriter’s Cove, with four men pulling oars on each, and a fifth and sixth man handling muskets fore and aft.

Dominick, armed with a brace of pistols, and his great sword, forged for him after Knockanauss hanging across his back, leaned forward from the bow of the lead boat, as if by stretching out he could somehow reach across the water and seize the prize alone. Richard led the men on the rearward boat, and all of the light, nimble craft streaked towards the stricken vessel.

The men quickly saw that the vessel was not a warship, a fishing boat, nor one of the small merchant ships that plied the coastwise trade between Cork and Galway. No, Indeed this was a full-sized ship, and ocean going merchant vessel, and by her flag, a Dutchman. Oh – ho….riches, perhaps!!

That the ship was stricken was sure; her mainmast was gone, and most of the remaining spars and rigging a hopeless tangle, She had a list, and from the volume of water going over the side, had all hands manning pumps. The wind pushed the vessel irresistibly shoreward, and without assistance, she would be prey to the rocks along the shore at Dun Chaoin.

Pull, pull!” shouted Dominick above the wind, exhorting all of the boats to make speed and close the distance before the hapless ship became more unstable. Major Ferriter could see that the Dutchman had a pair of falconiers placed in stanchions near the bow, closest to the incoming Irishmen, and trained directly upon them.

“Place a volley of musket across her flank below those guns” And the weapons spoke. The gun crews at the demi-culverins backed away from their cannon, and the ships captain came to the side rail with a hailing horn:

“Ahoy, you Irish men, I speak the English, not Erse. I am Peeter Peeterson, Captain of this ship, the Fortune, of Flushing, in Zealand, bound for Cape Verde”

“ Ahoy Fortune, I am Ferriter, Major in command, I speak English. You are far from your destination, Captain!”

“Indeed, Major, We have been blown a bit. We are as you see, but I will not offer this vessel as a prize of the sea”

“Captain, this is Ireland, and we are not at war with the Dutch. Show us that you are not carrying weapons and powder for Cromwell, and we will talk!”

Now, at about this time, Dominick and his men espied the Blasket Islander’s boats approaching from the opposite side. There were another fifteen men in those boats, and the combined numbers clearly gave the advantage to the Irish, and the Dutchmen realized this.

“Major, if your men are willing to take a spell at the pumps, and are willing to help get the ship into safer waters, then you will be welcome aboard.”

By this time, Ferriter’s boats were closing on both port and starboard of the Dutchman, with lines and grapples tossed over the thwarts, the Irishmen, about thirty in number, swarmed aboard, sabers and broadswords slug over their shoulders.

“Richard, get men below to take over the pumps – Master, will you have someone show my brother where the pumps are working? And Master, now you must explain to me what you are doing in these waters, and show us what your cargo is!”

“Dear Major, although I must thank you for providing my men some rest, I must insist that you stay away from my cargo, and understand that this vessel remains under my command, and is not a wreck of the sea, and available for salvage.’

At this moment Richard, who had gone below with his pumping crew came back through the hatch, speaking in Irish: “Brother, this ship is not long for the sun and the stars, she is sinking fast! If we are to save anything, let that salvation be now!”

At this Dominick motioned for his men to take up positions about the Ship’s Master and other men on deck, withweapons drawn, such that no attempt to re-claim the ship could be attempted. In clear English, Dominick declared:

“Master of the Fortune, your main mast is well and truly sprung, and the hull beneath the waters has been breached below the step. This ship is sinking, and sinking fast – your men at the pumps are exhausted, and only my men can now pump quickly enough to keep this hulk afloat. By the Law of the Sea and of Ireland, I claim this ship as a wreck, and all salvage rights are mine!’

The Master grew pale and red by turns. “Bedamned pirates! I am Master of this ship, and I decide whether she can sail, or sink! Unhand my men, you Irish savages! Release this ship now, and return to your boats, or I, Peeter Peeterson, Captain of the ship Fortune, will see you all hanged as pirates!”

At this Dominick, cool as ever responded: “Master Peeterson, this is not Zealand. You have no power here. I am Major Dominick Feiritear, and I command the Munster Army in these parts, and my father, Captain Piaras Feiritear is Master of the shore, and leads all the men of Corkaguinney. My brother, Lieutenant Richard Ferriter has told me that he has seen that this ship is sinking, and I will not doubt his word. Rest assured, we will save your cargo. If that cargo proves to be powder and shot for the Bloody Protestants, then it shall be you that hang, and hang before you ever feel land beneath your feet!”

“Bring us a rope! Richard, take four men and get below to see what this wreck has aboard. If its guns or powder you find, call up, and we will swing Mr. Peetersen aloft upon my word!”

The moments ticked by into minutes, and the Master and his crew were herded onto the main deck. A stout noose was tied, and placed close by Mr. Peeterson, who muttered and cursed quietly in Dutch. At length, Richard reappeared, and in Irish spoke to his brother:

“Oh my brother, this tub is a joy! The hold is packed with fine cloth, and all manner of pots and plate, made in blue colors, all clean and brightly shining! And look, I found these amongst the poor Master’s things, all a-tumble in his fancy cabin! At that Richard extended his fist, opening it to display a palm covered in gold doubloons and silver pieces of eight.

“Why, our fair Dutchman has a chest of these, he does!”Richard, set Duffey to guard that chest, and go with your swiftest two boatmen back to shore and fetch Father aboard! We need his judgment upon this matter! Now hand me that fistful, and keep everyone’s hands clear of that treasure box!”

And the in English: “Master Peetersen, show us your ships carpenters, and lets us have them below decks, for as we get the water out of this hulk, we will be needing to patch her hull.”

The ship’s Master spoke quickly in Dutch: “Anders and Riijn, get below and fetch your tools and wood to the mainmast step, We will save this ship, even if it be for the pleasure of these damned Turks who are parading as Irishmen. Everyone mark my words – we could have saved this ship!”

And then in Engish : “Ferriter, my crew could have saved this ship. We asked for no assistance, and by seizing this vessel, and stealing her cargo, you have all become pirates! If we were in God’s country, I would laugh at your hanging, but as this is Ireland, and I see that you are more Turk than Christian, I will assist you in saving my ship. Just know that my purser has on account every scrap of cloth, every plate, and every coin aboard the Fortune”

By this time, the Kerrymen were winning the battle against the sea, and the Fortune stopped settling further into the water. Master Peeterson sent some of his men, those who were a bit rested and fit to work, below to take a hand in the pumping. He also deployed his anchors, to slow the landward creep of the ship, keeping the savage shoal waters near inshore a fair distance away.

As tempers had cooled, and all of the Dutchmen’s weapons were secure, both the Irish and the Zealanders went to work cutting away the storm damaged rigging, and setting salvageable fittings and spars aside, while carefully coiling the tarred rope for later use.

In Irish, Dominick spoke: “Moriarty, unpin those little cannons from the rails, and place them in my boat, Tie Master Peeterson to the mainmast stump, and Duffy, you and I let’s get below to take a closer look upon this treasure!”

Below decks, Dominick marveled at the stout little chest, chained at both ends to the ship’s ribs, lid prized free by Richards strength, and careful application of a pike blade. There were many pieces of silver, and many of Spanish gold glinting amongst them. Buried in amongst the coins were a few fine signet rings, two golden spoons, and a length of gold chain.

“Ah, beauty, look at this, my friend Duff! And look about you! A fine long glass for espying the ladies at their bathing, and books on the movements of the planets and the moon! Oh my word, taste this sherry! The best Spain can provide! Close that hatch, and we will guard this liquid jewel until my father comes aboard.”

And at that, the contents of the Captain’s decanter ceased to be a part of this story.

Before they day was much past high noon, (remember, this tale began at first light), Captain Piaras Feiritear came aboard, with a dozen or more additional hands to work the pumps, and to set things aright. He first addressed the ship's Master, speaking clearly in Dutch:

“Herr Master Peeterson, my apologies for my son’s rough behavior, and for any upset they may have caused. Lieutentant Ferriter has informed me of our timely rescue, and the ensuing salvation of your vessel, or shall I now say, our vessel. As you know, shipwrecks are enjoyed by those who find them, and although this hulk still floats, all evidence as provided me supports the certainty that she would have been on the bottom long before this hour, had my men not intervened.”

The ship’s Master slowly turned prple, and began to sputter.

“Before you speak, Herr Ship’s Master, hear me once, and one time only. I understand that cannon were pointed at my men, and further that Protestant tracts have been uncovered in your stowage. Those things are enough to cite you as in Cromwell’s aid, and I will have you hanged this instant should you utter a single word. I am a gracious host, as you will learn. My men will salvage what we find useful, and we will repair this ship at my yard in Ferriter’s Haven. Once done, if my Lord Inchquin has no need of this ship for war, I will sell it back to you for the contents of her cargo. Meanwhile, my men will remove this cargo, whatever it maybe, for safekeeping. If any part of you hold contains power, shot, or guns, you and your officers will be brought to Dingle for trial as spies and traffickers in aid of Cromwell.”

Returning to Irish, Pierce continued, speaking to Richard: “Find your brother. If he is drunk with that idiot Duffy, throw him over the side. If he is minding his business, pass on to him that we are taking the treasure and such other small items as might be useful ashore now. He shall remain on board tonight, and you and he will alternate being aboard until this ship is fit to be sailed again. Destroy all of the ship’s papers, and any account books that are found. Clean out each officer’s stateroom, to ensure that this order is fully met!”

Returning to Dutch, “Herr Ship’s Master, you will join me tonight at my home. Please recall my words, and recall them each day until you are back in Zealand”

And with that Captain Ferriter returned to his boat, (a stout wooden craft, not a curragh), and in company with Master Peeterson, set off for Ballsibbel.

And so the treasure of the ship Fortune, out of Flushing, Zealand, bound for Cape Verde, came to be held by the Ferriters. Now under the current tenancy, Lord Orrery, the Earl of Cork, the grand Mr. Boyle – well, he would hve the contents of this wreck as his. But Lord Cork had fled in 1642, and Lords Ormonde, Inchquin, and Muskerry had authority now, and scant little of that, at least in Corkaguinny. The Merchants Trant and Rice in Dingle might have some say there, and by virtue of tenure, perhaps the Knight of Kerrys word would be shown some respect, but in fact, after Tralee fell, Captain Piaras Ferritear, The Feiritearach, spoke with more authority than any other man – at lease upon his demesne.

Before dawn the next day, the Fortune had been towed into Ferriter’s Haven, and materials were gathered to repair the breach in her hull, and once a mainmast could be secured, re-step the mast, a re-rig her.

The Ferriter’s kept the ships crew confined aboard, and used their skills to help repair the ship. After some few days of confinement at Ferriter’s House, Master Peeter Peeterson was provided a horse to and a guide to accompany him to Dingle, where he could arrange for re-supply of his vessel, and send a mail to the vessel’s owners such that any worries they might have about the ship’s whereabouts be dispelled.

When Master Peeterson had departed, Piaras instructed Dominick and Richard to gather together all of the men who had participated in the initial boarding, including the Islandmen. When all had gathered at Ferriter’s Fort on Dun Point, Piras had his sons lug the heavy little treasure chest out from within the castle.

In his clearest loud Irish battle voice, he spoke: “Men! Heroes of the Sea and Land! Brave adventurers whose hearts never quail when challenged by the grey green sea, and her monstrous waves! You men who answered the call to the boats without hesitation, you are my joy, and your county’s great hope! Invincible bold men of Ferriter! For such men, some sharing of the sea’s bounty is just!”

And with these words, he dipped his hand into the chest, scooped out silver pieces of eight, and made the rounds of these thirty or so men, giving each man three coins, more money than most had ever seen, let alone held. This complete, he broached a small hogshead of what had been Master Peeterson’s sherry, and they all found some vessel to drink from, and toasted Ireland, the Pope in Rome, and the late King Charles, and the new King Charles, with a final tip to the memory of the late, great FitzGerald Earls of Desmond, who lived on in memory.

Of course, the tale does not end here. We know that the outraged ship’s master, Herr Peeter Peeterson, proceding to Dingle, made a formal complaint to anyone would would rcieve it, and this included Lord Inchquin, (who would not be denied his share of the spoils), and Lord Ormond, who was most concerned with what sort of political problems might extend from this, and whether his Lord Prince Charles, at his court in exile, might hear of this and be offended in some manner.

In consequence of these complaints A formal petition appeared before the Marquis of Ormond, “on behalf of Peeter Peeterson, Captain of the ship called the Fortune, of Flushing, in Zealand, showing that: --

Petitioner had the ship richly laden by some of the States of Zealand and committed to him to be brought to Cape Verde on the coast of Barbary. Having lost his mainmast in a storm about 14 days ago he put into the bay of Dingle Icouch [Dingle].

He was at once boarded by Capt. Piers Ferretter and many of his retinue who came on board the ship by way of saving her. They broke open his chest and took out 316 pieces of eight. Afterwards they went under deck and took out much holland and other rich commodities " and to use the said captain's own expression, they used him rather like Turks than Christians."

Accordingly and " as the Irish and all other professing for his Majesty have as much security in Zealand and Holland and all other places under the command of the States thereof as their own natives" and as the captain expects reciprocity, he prays for restoration of his goods and that he may safely come into the harbour to get what he wants.

25 Feb. Order of the Marquis Of Ormond.

Limerick.

Granting petition. Any claim by Capt. Ferretter to the money to be referred to the Marquis.

Which petition, having been granted, was followed in turn by:

“28 Feb. Lord Inchiquin to [Ferriter] .

The Fortune of Flushing, Peter Peeterson [?] Boon, master, was driven into Dingle Bay into a storm in January last. She was boarded by soldiers under Major Dom. Feriter in boats who stayed aboard for days, and complaint hereof has been made by the master. It appears that, but for the boarding, the men and goods might have perished. Major Feriter shall return to the master the kittles and cloth taken from aboard, and pay sixtyt pieces of eight, which was all that came into his hands, to the same. He shall procure a mainmast, yards, &c., from his father to fit the ship. By doing so he shall quit liability for all other damage done aboard. P. f. Signed (hoi.) : Inchiquin. Followed by—

Same. Further Order of Lord Inchiquin to Same.

You shall pay Peter Peterson Boon what is necessary to fit out his ship, taking a bill of exchange for my use upon Peter Felings Burgom [aster] van Flushing. What you shall so lay out Donogh McFeenin, Esq., Receiver of the co. Kerry, shall allow out of your receipts and put the same in acccount on me.

P. J. Si(/ned (hoi.): Inchiquin.

So be it. Sadly that chest of treasure, having dwindled to 65 pieces of eight, further dwindled to nothing upon presentation of certain charges upon Herr Peeterson, Master of the Fortune, by Captain Piaras Feirtear for services rendered in saving his ship, as discovered foundered and sinking in the Channel between Ferriter’s Haven and Ferriters Islands, in January, 1650.

And the brace of demi-culverins taken from the Fortune as a prize of the sea. Well, those cannon served Major Dominick well, through to the fall of Ross Castle, in 1652. That tale is to be told later.

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