The Reminiscences of an Irish Land Agent by S.M. Hussey
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page 10 of 371 (02%)
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habits more likely to be appreciated by his followers than by his foes.
Dingle is now a somewhat dilapidated town, but that was not always the case, for it is mentioned in my dear old friend Froude's _History of England_ that the then Earl of Desmond called on the ambassador of Charles V. at his lodgings in Dingle. The old records of the place would be worth diligent antiquarian research, a matter even more difficult in Ireland than elsewhere. Should all be brought to light, I fancy the part played by my family would not grow smaller. The Husseys spread away over the county, after having their lands forfeited under both Elizabeth and Cromwell, which was the most respectable thing to suffer in those times. In the reign of Queen Anne, Colonel Maurice Hussey sold Cahirnane to the Herberts, and there is a garden still called Hussey's Garden in the property. He built a mortuary chapel for himself on the top of a small hill just outside the gates of Muckross, where his own grave near that beautiful abbey can be seen to this day. This Colonel Maurice Hussey resided for some time in England, and appears to have married an English lady; and it is odd that though a Roman Catholic he was trusted by the Governments of both William and Anne. There seems to have been something versatile about his rather mysterious career, the key to which may be found in the surmise that until the accession of King George he was a Jacobite at heart; which throws some doubt on his assertion in a letter that there are very few Tories--or outlaws--in Kerry, where the Whig rule was never enforced with great severity. He was, however, committed to 'Trally jail' (_i.e._ Tralee) on the fear of a landing by the Pretender, whence he wrote |
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