The Noble Society of Celts, is an hereditary society of persons with Celtic roots and interests, who are of noble title and gentle birth, and who have come together in a search for, and celebration of, things Celtic. Spring 2012 Edition Part Two

VALE: COLONEL SIR LEE MACMAHON KtB

Reflections on the Life of Colonel Sir Lee Dennis MacMahon KtB

by General Bailey McCune of Coll-Earn and Elphinstone Baron of Elphinstone Honorary Chieftain of The Noble Society of Celts

It is with great sadness I announce the passing of my dear friend, Colonel Sir Lee MacMahon, KtB of Bellflower California; he passed from this mortal world on Saint Patrick’s Day, 17 March 2012.

Sir Lee has served me faithfully as Chief Herald of my baronial house for well over half a century. He is survived by his loving wife of many years, Lady Lea MacMahon, his son Brian, and his granddaughter Cody, who he raised as his own.

Sir Lee MacMahon immersed himself in a life-long passion for Irish and Scottish history and heraldry. He descended from an Irish prince, and was granted arms by the Chief Herald of Ireland. The MacMahons of Thomond originated in the province of Munster, in County Claire; and descend from the founder of the O’Brien dynasty, Brian Boru, through his son Teige, d. 1023, his son Turlough, d. 1086, his son Murtagh More, d. 1119, and his son Mahone ‘a quo MacMahons of Corcabaskin’ d. 1129. The MacMahons became lords of the Corca Bhaschind or Corcavaskin area of south-west Clare which comprised the baronies of Moyarta and Clonderlaw, displacing the local O’Donnells and O’Baiscinn. The motto of the Thomond sept of the McMahons is “Sic Nos Sic Sacra Tuemur” which means “Thus We Defend Our Sacred Rights.”

After a short stint serving with Britain’s Royal Air Force, Sir Lee studied heraldry in London and then, prior to the outbreak of the Korean War, he joined the 40th Infantry Division of the California National Guard. I first met Sir Lee far from home in the mud and blood of the battlefield front-lines during that savage conflict to halt the onslaught of Russian and Chinese communism in north Asia; when, as two warriors of Celtic heritage, we recognized the blood of our ancestors had carried us and our forebears together on battlefields for a thousand years. Sir Lee chose to put himself under my command and remained there for sixty years. At the conclusion of the war in Korea he married his lovely Lady Lea and continued with his life-long passion of heraldic art. Sir Lee became the Pursuivant to that gallant political casualty of World War II, His Majesty King Peter II of Yugoslavia. Sir Lee was given a Royal appointment by Peter II, which included responsibility for all heraldic matters of the Royal Yugoslav Order of St. John, the Royal Yugoslav Knights Bachelor Association, etc etc. His Majesty King Peter II of Yugoslavia created him Knight Bachelor, and appointed Sir Lee to the Order of St. Sava. He was also Pursuivant to His Majesty Padishah Mohammed Zahir Shah, the last King of Afghanistan. Sir Lee did such an enormous amount of heraldic work of great distinction and quality that he has been recognized and honored internationally.

For every chivalric order of knighthood with which I was honoured, Sir Lee was included as Herald and did outstanding work. His superior eye for design went beyond heraldry, and his artistic brilliance touched many areas. He designed the Justice Cross (Noble) for several orders of knighthood. Sir Lee created manuals of uniform and dress for several orders of chivalry; also designing their medals and insignia, and establishing protocols for how they should be worn.

In the State Military and National Guard he did double duty: because of his exacting attention to detail and his military background, I appointed him as my Chief of Staff in the California Medical Reserve and the 1st Medical Brigade, both of which I commanded; and he was on my staff when I acted as Assistant Surgeon General. The world is most certainly a much poorer and duller place with his passing. Sir Lee MacMahon will be greatly missed by all who knew him. THE OLDEST SCOTS JACOBITE ‘Auld Dubrach’

Many people will have read about the Scottish Jacobite Rising of 1745 - the victories at Falkirk and Prestonpans, the defeat at Culloden, and its terrible aftermath. Again, many people will be familiar with the names of those who led the Scottish Jacobites into battle.

But what about the ordinary foot-soldiers? The unsung heroes who played their part in the ’45? There is one man who richly deserves his place in history, but very few people know much about him. His name was Peter Grant – he was the last surviving Jacobite soldier of the ‘45.

Peter was born a crofter's son the year before the 1715 Jacobite Rising in his father's croft at ‘Dubrach’ (the place on a hillock of wild ferns), near to the village of Braemar. Peter grew up to take on the trade of a tailor.

In 1745 Prince Charles Edward Stuart arrived on the shores of Glenfinnan on Loch Shiel in an attempt to put a King Stuart back on the throne.

Charles Edward Stuart Bonnie Prince Charlie Many highlanders were sympathetic to the Stuart cause, and Peter Grant was one of them. He joined the Monaltrie's and Balmoral regiment of the Scottish Jacobite Army as a Sergeant Major, took part in various engagements and was decorated for bravery at the Battle of Prestonpans. Battle of Prestonpans The Jacobites first victory over British forces, 21st September 1745

He also took part in the Battle of Culloden, a battle that to this day sends a shiver down the spine, such was the brutality by the British forces under the command of the ‘Butcher’ Cumberland. Peter survived the battle only to be taken prisoner to Carlisle Castle, where his fate could have been hanging, deportation to the colonies (if he survived the journey), or death due to the inhumane conditions that the Jacobites prisoners had to endure.

Battle of Culloden On a windswept Highland moor four miles to the east of Inverness came the decisive blow that brought an end to the final attempt to restore the Catholic House of Stuart to the thrones of Scotland, Ireland, and England. That blow came on 16 April 1746 when a British government force commanded by the English King’s son, William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, fell upon the tired and disorganised Jacobite army of rebellion. The confrontation on Culloden Moor was both quick and brutal. Within an hour it was all over. After a failed Highland charge against the government

Captain of ‘Mere Irish’ Kern (light infantry), circa 1594 regalia of the ‘Queen's Kern’ (a hybrid combination of English & Irish dress) army, the Scottish Jacobite army – together with several company-size detachments of professional French infantry and cavalry (from their ‘Wild Geese’ Irish Brigade) - was routed and driven from the field.

But Peter managed to somehow escape. He travelled north, back to the highlands of Scotland. This was an incredible feat in itself, as he would have had no food, no money and very little clothing. There was, of course, a price on his head for his capture. The British Hanoverian troops were at that time scouring the towns, villages, hills and glens of the highlands looking for Jacobite soldiers, in their wake murdering families, raping women, and inflicting terrible brutality on the people of the Highlands. The British troops committed acts of genocide which have never been forgotten - or forgiven. But Peter was determined to go back, no matter what the cost. He is mentioned in the book "No Quarter Given" which lists all known members of the Jacobite army during the '45', thus: "Sgt Major Grant Peter, Dubrach, Braemar, Taken, escaped, died 1824".

British troops ‘hunting’ for escaped Jacobite Rebels, following Culloden

Peter had to lie low for many years, and there was no record of him being recaptured, even though he had a price on his head. He even managed to return to his former trade as a tailor. This says a lot about the people of the Braemar area, not all of whom had Jacobite sympathies. Whatever side they had supported, they looked after their own. In later years he married a girl, many years his junior, from the village of Braemar. Her name was Mary Cummings, and apparently Peter made her christening bonnet after her birth! She bore him a son and a daughter.

Scottish Crofter’s Cottage

In the summer of 1820 two wealthy gentlemen were walking the Glen Lethnot hills when they met Peter by chance. By then he was known as ‘Auld Dubrach’, after the croft in which he resided. They were astonished to find out that he had fought in the ’45 Rising, and was in exceptional health for his age. He invited the gentlemen into his cottage and recalled the events and experiences of being a soldier in the Jacobite army for them. He even showed them how to use the broadsword!

The two men were so taken aback at the exploits of ‘Auld Dubrach’ they decided to do something to comfort him in his advancing years. A petition was raised and he was presented to England’s King George IV (a German) in Edinburgh. When he was introduced to King George, the ruling Monarch exclaimed "Ah, Grant, you are my oldest friend", to which ‘Auld Dubrach’ replied: "Na, na, your majesty, I'm your auldest enemy". He was also asked if he still felt loyal to the Stuart Cause, he replied, "Yes, Sir, and I would be ready to give my support again, if needs be". George IV's visit to Scotland in 1822 was the first made by a reigning english monarch since the time of King Charles II. Sir Walter Scott stage-managed the event, which was seen as symbolising the new relationship between the kingdoms after the traumas of the previous century. Scott convinced many of the participants in the ceremonies to wear Highland dress, which provoked amusement and some criticism. The king, too, insisted on wearing Highland dress, although he only wore a kilt once, to greet guests at Holyrood. Satirists had a field day; here George is shown alongside Sir William Curtis, former Lord Mayor of London, whose experiment with Highland dress seems even more ill- advised than that of the king.

‘Auld Dubrach’ was awarded a life pension of 50 Guineas a year (a ‘Guinea’ = 1 Pound + 1 Shilling). He returned to Braemar where he lived for a short time until he died on 11th February, 1824 at the incredible age of 110 years - the last surviving Jacobite of the 1745 Rising. Over three hundred people attended his funeral, and a lone piper played the Jacobite tune "Wha Widna Fecht Fer Charlie" as his funeral proceeded to the cemetery of Invercauld beside the ancient Braemar Castle. Braemar Castle

A stone tablet was erected over his resting place and is suitably inscribed; “The old, loyal Jacobite was at peace. He had kept faith with those whom he thought were his rightful Monarchs all of his life, a hero and man of honour to the last.”

A carved stone also stands in the kirkyard of Lethnot and Navar, commemorating ‘Auld Dubrach’, and the lives of his wife Mary and their daughter Anne, who never married. Mary herself is buried in Lethnot kirkyard.

Peter Grant was indeed a man who held to his beliefs all his life even though it was a dangerous thing to do. But he believed in the Stuart cause and was a man of honour. People like ‘Auld Dubrach’ should not be forgotten by history. Stories like this bring history alive, and illustrate the lives of the common man (or woman) more vividly than those of the more popular heroes of those times. If ever you are near Braemar, visit the kirkyard and pay your respects to ‘Auld Dubrach’. Here lies a man who is worthy of our respect.

Braemar Parish Kirk On the Information board in Braemar kirkyard is the following story:

Immediately in front of the Invercauld Vault is a flat tombstone in memory of Peter Grant, who was born in 1724 at the croft of Dubrach in Glen Dee and gained fame as the oldest surviving Jacobite. Peter was taken prisoner at the Battle of Culloden but made a remarkable escape from Carlisle Castle whilst awaiting trial. He returned home on foot to resume his trade as a weaver and tailor in Auchendryne, where he married Mary Cumming and had six children. In later years Peter, known as ‘Auld Dubrach’, and his wife went to live with their daughter in Glen Lethnot and there he celebrated his 100th birthday in 1814. When George IV visited Edinburgh in 1822 he heard the story of Auld Dubrach, "his oldest subject and oldest rebel", and granted him a pension of a guinea a week.

‘Auld Dubrach’ died in his son's home at Auchendryne on 11 February 1824 aged 110 years. His funeral was attended by over 300 people and it is said that an anker (about 4 gallons) of whisky was consumed before the coffin was lifted. At the graveside a piper played the Jacobite tune, "Wha widna fecht for Charlie's richt?". THE POWER OF THE DOG

By Rudyard Kipling*

Robert Cummings** and his Irish Setter, ‘Lady’

There is sorrow enough in the natural way From men and women to fill our day; And when we are certain of sorrow in store, Why do we always arrange for more? Brothers and sisters, I bid you beware Of giving your heart to a dog to tear.

Buy a pup and your money will buy Love unflinching that cannot lie-- Perfect passion and worship fed By a kick in the ribs or a pat on the head. Nevertheless it is hardly fair To risk your heart to a dog to tear. When the fourteen years which Nature permits Are closing in asthma, or tumour, or fits, And the vet's unspoken prescription runs To lethal chambers or loaded guns, Then you will find--it's your own affair-- But ... you've given your heart to a dog to tear.

When the body that lived at your single will, With its whimper of welcome, is stilled (how still!) When the spirit that answered your every mood Is gone--wherever it goes--for good, You will discover how much you care, And will give your heart to a dog to tear.

We've sorrow enough in the natural way, When it comes to burying Christian clay. Our loves are not given, but only lent, At compound interest of cent per cent. Though it is not always the case, I believe, That the longer we've kept 'em, the more do we grieve: For, when debts are payable, right or wrong, A short-term loan is as bad as a long-- So why in--Heaven (before we are there) Should we give our hearts to a dog to tear?

Maureen O'Hara's*** Irish Setter ‘Pogo’ greets Victor McLaglen * Joseph Rudyard Kipling, 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936, was an British poet, short-story writer, and novelist; born in British India. He was one of the most popular writers of the British Empire during the late 1800s and early 1900s, and was a great friend to the ‘ordinary’ Irish and Scottish soldiers who won so much of the Empire for England. His only son, Jack, was killed in action during the First World War, while serving with the Irish Guards in France. After his son's death, Kipling wrote, "If any question why we died/ Tell them, because our fathers lied."

** Charles Clarence Robert Orville Cummings , 9 June 1910 – 2 December 1990, mostly known professionally as Robert Cummings but sometimes as Bob Cummings, was an American film and television actor of Irish descent.

*** Maureen O'Hara, born 17 August 1920, is a former Irish film actress and singer. The famously red-headed O'Hara has been noted for playing fiercely passionate heroines with a highly sensible attitude. She often worked with director John Ford (an Irishman) and longtime friend John Wayne (of Scots-Irish descent). Her autobiography, 'Tis Herself ’, was published in 2004 and was a New York Times Bestseller.

IRISH MIST

Irish Mist was the first liqueur to be produced in Ireland when commercial production began in 1947 at Tullamore, County Offaly. Tullamore is the hometown of the Williams family who were the original owners of Irish Mist. The company history goes back to 1829 when the Tullamore Distillery was founded to produce Irish Whiskey. In the mid-1940s Desmond E. Williams began the search for an alternative yet related product. The search ended with the discovery of Irish Mist. Its roots can be traced back to an ancient recipe for heather wine which originated over a 1,000 years ago.

The chieftains and nobles of Ireland’s ancient clans throughout the centuries had drunk heather wine, a spirit combined with honey, spices and herbs. However, the secret of this legendary drink disappeared with the last great exodus of Irish fighting men to France, Spain, and Austria during the hundred years that followed the 1689 – 1691 Jacobite war in Ireland, an event that has passed into Irish History as the ‘The Flight of the Wild Geese’.

Other ‘Wild Geese’ exoduses to the Irish regiments of Spain had also occurred following England’s defeat of the Gaelic-Irish during the Great Hugh O’Neill’s ‘Nine Years War’ (1594 to 1603) – also known as ‘Tyrone's Rebellion’ – and again to Spain and France after Cromwell’s war of genocide following the rebellion of the Irish Confederates and Royalists (1641-49).

The recipe for Irish Mist was thought to have been lost forever until a traveller from Europe arrived, quite fortuitously, with an old manuscript he had found. Desmond Williams recognised it as the ancient recipe for heather wine and transformed it into Irish Mist, setting up the Irish Mist Liqueur Company. Collectors Item:

‘The Green Hussar’ Irish Cavalry of the Austro-Hungarian Empire circa 1750

‘IRISH MIST’ Liqueur Ceramic Decanter, 1970

The quality of older (unopened) bottles of many spirits and liqueurs are superior to their modern day counterparts. Whilst it is a fact that Spirits (and many Liqueurs) once bottled are basically inert there is a good reason for their superiority. Simply put, it is the processes and quality of ingredients being used 50, 40, or even only 30 years ago that make them better. Virtually no mass production, no modified ingredients, much less additives and a longer time in the production cycle are all part of it. Not that everything old is better, but it is extraordinary how different they taste. HIGH SHERIFF OF CORNWALL The Sovereign's judicial representative in Celtic Cornwall

A former High Sheriff of Cornwall, James Williams The Office of High Sheriff is an independent non-political Royal appointment for a single year. The origins of the Office date back to Saxon times, when the ‘Shire Reeve’ was responsible to the king for the maintenance of law and order within the county, and for the collection and return of taxes due to the Crown. Today, the office is partly ceremonial, and the High Sheriff is appointed by the Duke of Cornwall. (Unlike most of the counties of England and Wales, the right to choose High Sheriffs each year is vested in the Duchy of Cornwall, rather than the Privy Council* - the Privy Council is chaired by Queen Elizabeth II, and it chooses the Sheriffs of all other English counties, other than those in the Duchy of Lancaster.)

* the Privy Council is a formal body of advisers to the Sovereign in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Its membership is mostly made up of senior politicians who are (or have been) members of either the House of Commons or the House of Lords. The first Duchy of Cornwall Charter of 1337 states that the "Shrievalty of Cornwall" (the right to appoint the sheriff in the county) is vested in the Duke of Cornwall. Two further charters dated 18 March 1337 and 3 January 1338 state that no sheriff of the king shall enter Cornwall to execute the king's writ. The Sheriff of Cornwall swears to serve both the reigning monarch and the duke.

Heraldic Arms of the Duchy of Cornwall The post of High Sheriff is unpaid (except for a nominal court attendance allowance), and the general expenses of the office are borne personally by the holder of this office.

Eligibility for nomination and appointment to the office of High Sheriff excludes current serving Parliamentarians, including members of the House of Lords and Members of the House of Commons, as well as Commissioners or Officers of Customs and Excise or Inland Revenue, Officers of the Post Office, plus Officers of the Navy, Army or Royal Air Force on full pay, Clergymen whether beneficed or not, and Barristers or Solicitors in actual practice.

The ceremonial uniform that is worn by High Sheriffs today is called Court Dress. It has remained essentially unchanged since the late 1600s and consists of a black or dark blue velvet coat with steel-cut buttons, breeches, shoes with cut-steel buckles, a sword and a cocked-hat. A lace jabot is worn around the neck. Some High Sheriffs wear their military uniform instead of Court Dress. Ceremonial uniform is worn at a wide variety of functions but when not wearing Court Dress, a High Sheriff will wear a badge of Office on a ribbon.

Neck-Badge of a High Sheriff (worn suspended from a blue silk collar)

The high sheriff was traditionally responsible for the maintenance of law and order within the Dutchy of Cornwall, although most of these duties are now delegated to the professional Chief Constable of Police. As a result of its close links with law and order, the position of High Sheriff is frequently awarded to people with an association with law enforcement (former police officers, lawyers, magistrates, judges). The high sheriff was originally allowed to kill suspects resisting arrest; this was still legal in the 1600s. Edward Coke (a famous lawyer and judge during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I) noted that when the high sheriff employed constables to assist in his duties, this legal power was also extended to them.

Under the provisions of the Sheriffs Act 1887, if a sheriff finds any resistance in the execution of a writ he shall "take with him the power of the county" (known as ‘posse comitatus’), and shall go in proper person to do execution, and may arrest the resisters and commit them to prison, and every such resister shall be guilty of a ‘misdemeanor’ criminal-offence.

Contemporary high sheriffs of Cornwall have few genuine responsibilities and their functions are largely ceremonial, including: • Attendance at Royal visits to the dutchy. • Proclamation of the accession of a new King or Queen. • They usually act as the ‘returning officer’ for overseeing parliamentary elections in constituencies of the dutchy. • Attendance at the opening ceremony when a High Court judge goes on circuit. • Execution of High Court writs. • Appointment of under-sheriffs* to act as deputies.

* the Undersheriff is the deputy of the High Sheriff and is appointed directly by the High Sheriff.

In practice, the undersheriff performs most of the legal functions of the High Sheriff. The same person (usually a solicitor-lawyer) is appointed annually by successive sheriffs over many years, leaving the sheriff to perform the honorific functions of his office.

Theoretical responsibilities also include the well-being and protection of High Court judges, and attending them in court; and the maintenance of the loyalty of subjects to the Crown. However, most of the high sheriff's non-legal work is also delegated; for example, the local police now protect judges and courts, so that in effect the office of high sheriff is essentially a ceremonial post.

Geraldine Ford, a Cornish probation officer, flanked by the chief executive officer of the Devon and Cornwall Probation Trust and (on the right) Colonel Edward Bolitho, High Sheriff of Cornwall. Ms. Ford received an award for her outstanding work with offenders on probation, who undertake unpaid work in the community.

Colonel Edward Thomas Bolitho, OBE*, served as a ‘Deputy Lieutenant of Cornwall’ from 2008 until his appointment in September 2011 as ‘Lord Lieutenant of Cornwall’. He has been High Sheriff of the duchy since March 2011.

* Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) – the military division of the Order is used to honour naval and military personnel who have provided outstanding service in non-combatant capacities

Colonel Bolithho joined the Grenadier Guards regiment of the British Army in 1978, serving with the regiment in many parts of the world; and he commanded the 1st Battalion of the Genadier Guards between 1993 and 1995. Since leaving the army and returning to Cornwall, he has been running Bolitho Estates, a family-owned business which develops, renovates, and leases out farms, houses and commercial properties. Colonel Bolitho is also Chairman of the South West Region of the Country Land and Business Association and is involved in many local activities, including the Penzance Sea Cadets, the Penwith Farming Forum and the Royal Cornwall Agricultural Show. Colonel Bolitho is married to Alexandra, younger daughter of Sir Morgan Morgan-Giles, and the couple have three children; twin daughters and a son. HISTORY OF HIGH SHERIFFS

Swearing-in of a new High Sheriff

The Office of High Sheriff is the oldest secular Office in the United Kingdom after the Crown, and dates from Saxon times. The exact date of origin is unknown but the Office has certainly existed for over 1,000 years. The word ‘Sheriff ’ derives from ‘Shire Reeve’ or the Anglo Saxon ‘Scir- gerefa’. The King’s Reeve was also known as the ‘High’ Reeve. Some Sheriffs led contingents at the Battle of Hastings. The Normans continued the Office and added to its powers. During the 11th and 12th centuries a High Sheriff ’s powers were very extensive. For example, they judged cases in the monthly court of the hundred (a sub-unit of the Shire); they had law enforcement powers and could raise the ‘hue and cry’ in pursuit of felons within their Shire; they could summon and command the ‘posse comitatus’ – the full power of the Shire in the service of the Sovereign; they collected taxes and levies and all dues on Crown lands on behalf of the Crown and were in charge of Crown property in the Shire. In short, High Sheriffs were the principal representatives and agents for the Crown and were thus very powerful within the Shire.

Of the 63 clauses in the Magna Carta of 1215, no less than 27 relate to the role of the Sheriff, and from 1254 the High Sheriff supervised the election to Parliament of two Knights of the Shire.

The Sheriffs’ powers were gradually restricted over succeeding centuries. Under King Henry I their tax collection powers went to the Exchequer, which also took on the function of auditing the Sheriffs’ accounts. King Henry II introduced the system of Itinerant Justices from which evolved the Assizes and the present day system of High Court Judges going out on Circuit. The Sheriff remained responsible for issuing Writs, for having ready the Court, prisoners and juries, and then executing the sentences once they were pronounced. It was also the Sheriff ’s responsibility to ensure the safety and comfort of the Judges. This is the origin of the High Sheriff ’s modern day duty of care for the well-being of High Court judges.

In the middle of the 13th century, more powers went to the newly created offices of Coroners and Justices of the Peace. Under the Tudors, Lord- Lieutenants were created as personal representatives of the Sovereign. Queen Elizabeth I is generally believed to have originated the practice that continues to this day of the Sovereign choosing the High Sheriff by pricking a name on the Sheriffs’ Roll with a bodkin. It is said that she did this whilst engaged in embroidery in the garden. Sadly, this is a myth since there is a Sheriffs’ Roll dating from the reign of her grandfather Henry VII (1485-1508) on which the names were pricked through vellum.

The real reason for pricking through vellum was that the choice was not always a welcome honour due to the costs the incumbent was likely to have to shoulder and also the challenges faced in assessing and collecting taxes, particularly unpopular taxes such as Charles I’s demands for ship money in 1635. A mark with a pen on vellum could easily be erased with a knife, but a hole in the vellum (which is made from calf skin) could not be removed or repaired invisibly. The potential expense to the incumbent of becoming High Sheriff was one of the reasons the role was for a single year only. By Acts of 1856 and 1865 all of the Sheriffs’ powers concerning police and prisons passed to the Prison Commissioners and local Constabulary and under an Act of 1883 the care of Crown Property was transferred to the Crown Commissioners.

The Sheriffs Act of 1887 consolidated the law relating to the Office of High Sheriff and the Act remains in force to this day, though it has been amended a number of times. It repeated that the Office should be held for one year only; that a Sheriff who was a Magistrate should not sit as such during the year of Office; and confirmed the historic process of nomination and selection by the Sovereign.

In modern times, the High Sheriffs actively lend support and encouragement to crime prevention agencies, the emergency services and to the voluntary sector. In recent years High Sheriffs in many parts of England and Wales have been particularly active in encouraging crime reduction initiatives, especially amongst young people. High Sheriffs also assist Community Foundations and local charities. The High Sheriff Association adopted ‘DebtCred’ and ‘Crimebeat’ in recent years in response to specific areas of need.

High Sheriffs Pennant for England and Wales

The practice of "pricking" is an ancient custom used to appoint the high sheriffs of England and Wales. In February or March of each year, the parchment prepared the previous November is presented to the Queen at a meeting of the Privy Council. Separate parchments are drawn up in November for Cornwall and presented to the Duke of Cornwall. The monarch, as Duke of Lancaster, also receives a separate parchment for Merseyside, Greater Manchester, and Lancashire. Three persons are nominated for each County or Dutchy, of whom one is chosen by the monarch to be sheriff. In practice, the first name on the list is nowadays always the one chosen; the second and third names will become sheriffs in succeeding years, barring incapacity or death. The monarch signifies assent by ‘pricking’ (i.e., piercing) the document with a silver sewing needle next to the relevant name for each County and Dutchy, and signs the parchment when complete. The parchment for the Duchy of Lancaster is known as the "Lites", and the ceremony of selection for the High Sheriff of Lancaster is known as "Pricking the Lites". The term "lites", meaning "list", was once reserved for Yorkshire; the date at which the name was transferred to Lancashire is unknown.

The practice is believed to date back to the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (from 1558 to 1603), when, lacking a pen, she decided to use her bodkin (sewing needle) to mark the name instead. However, Lord Campbell stated that in February 1847, while acquiring a prick and a signature from Queen Victoria, Prince Albert asked him when the custom began, to which Campbell replied "In ancient times, sir, when sovereigns did not know how to write their names."

Following the ‘pricking’ of the High Sheriff by the Sovereign, a Warrant of Appointment is sent in the following terms:

‘WHEREAS HER MAJESTY was this day pleased, by and with the advice of HER DUKE OF CORNWALL, to nominate you for, and appoint you to be HIGH SHERIFF of the DUTCHY OF CORNWALL during HER MAJESTY’S PLEASURE: These are therefore to require you to take the Custody and Charge of the said DUTCHY, and duly to perform the duties of HIGH SHERIFF thereof during HER MAJESTY’S PLEASURE, whereof you are duly to answer according to law.’ U.S. PRESIDENTS WITH AN IRISH-BORN PARENT

The average person thinks of John Fitzgerald Kennedy as the American President with Irish parentage. Actually, long before President Kennedy there were three presidents with one or even two parents who were actually born in Ireland by Chevalier William F.K. Marmion

Many U.S. presidents have some Irish roots: back to grandparents, great- grandparents, etc. As to President John F. Kennedy, his own father and grandfather were both born in the U.S. as U.S. citizens. Kennedy’s last ancestor born in Ireland was his great-grandfather Patrick Kennedy, born in County Wexford in 1823. He then was an 1848 immigrant to the U.S., dying in Boston in 1858 at the young age of 35. Thus there were two generations of U.S. born Kennedys before the birth of President Kennedy in 1917. John Fitzgerald Kennedy was of course the first (and still the only) Roman Catholic president and that fact of course has been traumatic in terms of his place in history and ‘Irishness’ in the minds of the majority of Irish people then and today. Heraldic Arms granted to J.F.K. by the Chief Herald of Ireland

However, service to the United States by Irish people has a history back to and before the Revolution of 1776! Fifty-Six men signed the American Declaration of Independence on 4 July 1776, and only eight were not born in the ‘colonies’. Three of the eight not born in America were Irish-born, namely James Smith, a lawyer and Colonel of Pennsylvania Militia; George Taylor, a businessman; and Matthew Thornton, a doctor who had practiced in Derry prior to emigrating, and who served as a Colonel in the New Hampshire Militia. All three were active politically against English rule, and members of the Continental Congress, 1776-78.

Signing of the Declaration of Independence In the War of Independence itself numerous Irish-born fought, and died, with a number holding significant positions of trust within the military: such as Captain John Barry of Wexford, the ‘Father of the American Navy’ and General Thomas Conway. And we should not forget the contributions made by the Irish in the ‘Wild Geese’ Regiments of the French Army allied with the Americans. Count Dillon’s Regiment fought at the Battle of Savannah in 1779 ... Regiment Dillon lost heavily, with 42 killed and about 105 wounded.

Uniform of Regiment Dillon, Irish Brigade of France

Additionally, John McHenry of Antrim served in the cabinets of the first two presidents (George Washington and John Adams) as Secretary of War – going down in history as a man of exceptional achievement. Fort McHenry in Baltimore Harbour, was bombarded by the British in 1814 and that bombardment was the inspiration for Francis Scott Key’s ‘Star Spangled Banner’, thereafter the U.S. National Anthem. The Fort was named for John McHenry and his son, a soldier in the U.S. Army, was serving in the garrison when it was attacked! So many more Irish people could be listed! And not just those Irish-born, for there was from the beginning a strong interest in things Irish and Irish history by the leadership of the new United States, as can be seen from various proclamations and diplomatic initiatives starting with George Washington, the first U.S. President. President John Quincy Adams (served 1825-1829), the first President-son-of-a-President was a strong advocate of justice for Irish people, and even wrote a 108-page poetic work which was totally critical in its condemnation of the historic policies of the successive English governments, namely Dermot MacMorrogh, or, The Conquest of Ireland: An Historical Tale of the Twelfth Century. President Andrew Jackson

The first president with an Irish parent was a man who has gone down in history as indeed one of the most outstanding of U.S. presidents: Andrew Jackson, who followed John Quincy Adams and who served two terms, 1829-1837. Jackson had an extraordinary history prior to being elected. He served actively at the age of 13 in the Revolutionary War, in which he was captured for a period of time and saw both his older brothers die as a result of their service. Then his mother died in November of 1781 and Jackson was an orphan at 14. Nevertheless, his record of accomplishment thereafter was and is remarkable – given his humble beginnings. Prior to being elected president, he served in the national Congress and in the Senate, was an outstanding military leader and general (fighting in various wars, to include defeating the Creek Indians at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend in 1814, and being the hero of the Battle of New Orleans against the British in 1815), and, yes, was known for his Irish temper: an inability to accept or negotiate insult (he fought numerous ‘duels’ over insults to himself or his wife). Depiction of Red Eagle's surrendering to Andrew Jackson after the Battle of Horseshoe Bend. Jackson was so impressed with Red Eagle's boldness that he let him go.

His achievements have been the subject of numerous books, songs, and motion pictures. As said, he is generally regarded as at the top of the list of those who served in the office of President of the United States. He had administrative talents too: he was the last president to actually have a balanced budget. The capitol of the then new state of Mississippi, Jackson, was named for him even before he became president. He acquired the nickname ‘Old Hickory’ for his toughness in leading an 800 mile march of his troops, in 1813.

General Andrew Jackson defeats attacking Highlanders of the British Army Battle of New Orleans, 9 January 1815 Jackson’s father was Andrew Jackson, Senior, who was born near Carrickfergus in County Antrim. Andrew his son was born in 1767 in the ‘colonies’ and was the third son and child of Andrew Senior, who actually died shortly before the birth of Andrew Junior, so the future president never knew his father. His mother Elizabeth Hutchinson was also Irish-born. Ex-President Jackson died in 1845, at the age of 78. His grandfather, Hugh Jackson, died circa 1783 in Carrickfergus, and left 16 year-old Andrew a legacy of £400 or so, a great sum at the time. Andrew went through the inheritance very very quickly, at the card tables and racetracks!!! Perhaps that experience taught him that success would only come through hard work. He began the study of law and was admitted to the Bar by age 21.

James Buchanan, 15th President of the United States

The next president with an Irish-born parent was James Buchanan, born in 1791, who served from 1857 to 1861. A lawyer, and the only bachelor president, Buchanan benefited from an excellent classical education (B.A., Dickinson College, 1809); he had an extraordinary political career, serving as a Congressman, Senator, Secretary of State, Ambassador to Russia, and Ambassador to Great Britain. He has not fared well in history as he had the unfortunate fate to be president at the height of the ‘secession crisis’ which indeed saw several Southern states secede from the Union prior to the end of Buchanan’s term. This verdict of history is not altogether fair, for Buchanan did much to avert the crisis and actually saw to the court-martial of officers who turned over Federal government property to Southern state government representatives. Short of declaring war it is really difficult to see what more Buchanan could have done in a scenario which was totally without precedent. It took the firing on a Federal fort after Buchanan’s term had ended for the Federal government then headed by Abraham Lincoln to actually call out troops to ‘end the rebellion’.

The Irish Brigade best-known of any U.S. brigade during the American Civil War; having an unrivalled reputation for dash, elan, and reckless-gallantry

Buchanan’s father James Senior was born in Donegal in 1761, and had lived at Deroran, near Omagh in County Tyrone, prior to coming to the U.S. in 1783, where he became a successful merchant. He married Elizabeth Speer of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and they had a total of 11 children. Ex-President Buchanan died in 1868 at the age of 77.

President Chester Arthur A journalist named Alexander McClure wrote, "No man ever entered the Presidency so profoundly and widely distrusted as Chester Alan Arthur, and no one ever retired . . . more generally respected, alike by political friend and foe."

The third and final U.S. president to have an Irish-born parent was Chester Arthur, who as Vice-President succeeded the assassinated James Garfield in 1881, and then served until 1885. A lawyer, graduate of Union College, New York, 1848, he was not highly regarded when he entered into the office of President, but emerged widely respected and praised for the accomplishments of his administration, to include significant civil service reforms. He is certainly not at the bottom of the list of American presidents. His father, William Arthur, was born in Ahoghill Parish, near Cullybackey, Ballymena, County Antrim, in 1796; after emigration to the U.S. he married Malvina Stone of Vermont. Ex-President Arthur died in 1886 at the age of 56, having suffered from ill health for a number of years. It is hoped that this short article stimulates some further interest in the family trees of these men who were the products of Irish parentage, parents who emigrated with a strong desire to better themselves in this life, and for that treasure above all other treasures: Freedom. HERALDRY FOR NON-ARMIGEROUS DOYLE CLANSMEN

All Members of the Doyle Clan (in Gaelic-Irish = Clann DubhGhaill) are now entitled to use new ‘Clan-Arms’ (clan heraldry), which was recently approved by the DubhGhaill Clan Council.

The Doyles are descended from Danish Vikings who settled along the east coast of Ireland. And, it is interesting to note the ancient Gaelic and Viking cultures included customs or rules concerning the use of symbols or totems on battle flags and banners … it was a form of ‘proto-heraldry’ in Ireland that was already widely practiced long before the arrival of the Anglo-Normans in 1169 AD. And, there is evidence that particular symbols were common to specific regions, or clans, or septs, or other social groups … for example, the ‘black raven’ that decorated many Viking flags came to be a feared symbol in most coastal regions of Europe, including Ireland.

There does not seem to be any record of the Gaelic-Irish or the Irish-Vikings ever carrying the elongated and triangular-shaped Norman-type shields into battle. Consequently Doyle clansmen use a traditional circular-shaped Viking shield, featuring the three stag-heads* that are traditionally associated with Doyle heraldry; Doyle clansmen may also use a square-shaped clan-banner displaying these symbols.

* the three red stag-heads symbolize the territorial association of the Doyle Clan with the Wicklow Mountains and the nearby sea coast, where the Red Deer is a much admired native. The Red Deer also symbolizes keenness, strength, and valour. The green and white Viking shield commemorates the Doyle Clan being descended from the Danish Vikings who settled along the coast of the Irish Sea.

Artist: Angus McBride Members of Clan Doyle / Clann DubhGhaill (‘Dubh-Ghaill’ is pronounced ‘Doov-Gall’) take their family surname from the Irish-Gaelic words meaning ‘Dark Stranger’ or ‘Evil Foreigner’; and this is just what the indigenous Celts called the Danish Vikings who started settling in Ireland and Scotland more than 1,000 years ago.

In Ireland, the ancient annalists distinguished two groups among the raiding Vikings; the Lochlainn, or Norwegians, and the Danair, or Danes … the Norwegians being described as fair, the Danish as dark (because they wore chain-mail armour). Initially, the Norwegians dominated, but their raids were sporadic and unsystematic. From about 830AD, however a new phase of large-scale attacks, involving the use of fleets of Viking ‘long-ships’, began, and the Vikings penetrated deep inland though the use of rivers and lakes. Attracted by the wealth of the monasteries and churches they plundered them steadily. From this period date the first Vikings’ fortified settlements in Ireland. In 852AD, the Danes wrested control of one of these settlements, the military and trading post of Dublin, from the Norwegians under their king Olaf (in Irish-Gaelic Amlaoimh), and thereby founded the Danish Kingdom of Dublin … which was to last three hundred years, until the coming of the Anglo-Normans.

The Normans arrive in Ireland, 1169 AD ‘WELSH RAREBIT’

1700s Cookbooks reveal it was considered a luscious supper based on fine cheddar-cheeses and wheat- breads

Welsh Rarebit is a traditional dish made with a savoury sauce of melted cheese and other various ingredients, and is served hot over toast. It is typically made with Cheddar cheese, in contrast to the Continental European fondue which classically depends on Swiss cheeses.

The first recorded use of Welsh Rabbit in the English language was in 1725, but the origin of these words is unknown. It may be an ironic name coined in the days when the Welsh were notoriously poor: when only wealthy people could afford butcher’s meat, and while in England rabbit was the poor man’s meat, in Wales the poor man’s meat was cheese. It may also have been used by the English as a slur against the Welsh: meaning that if a Welshman went rabbit-hunting, cheese would be his supper (as he may come home empty-handed, without any rabbits). It is also possible that the dish was attributed to Wales because the Welsh were so particularly fond of cheese, as evidenced by Andrew Boorde in his Fyrst Boke of the Introduction of Knowledge (1542), when he wrote ”I am a Welshman, I do love cause boby, good roasted cheese.” In Boorde’s account, “cause boby” is the Welsh-Gaelic “caws pobi”, meaning “baked cheese”. This is the earliest known reference to cheese being eaten cooked in the British Isles but whether it implies a recipe like Welsh rarebit is a matter of speculation.

Welsh Rarebit is evidently a later corruption of ‘Welsh rabbit’, the term being first recorded in 1785 by Francis Grose. In his 1926 edition of the Dictionary of Modern English Usage, the grammarian H.W. Fowler states his very forthright view: ”Welsh Rabbit is amusing and right. Welsh Rarebit is stupid and wrong.”

The word rarebit has no other use than in Welsh ... rabbit and “rarebit” alone has come to be used in place of the original name. Welsh rarebit and Cauliflower Soup

”Eighteenth-century cookbooks reveal that it was then considered to be a luscious supper or tavern dish, based on the fine cheddar-type cheeses and the wheat breads. Surprisingly, it seems there was not only a Welsh Rabbit, but also an English Rabbit, an Irish and a Scotch Rabbit, but nary a rarebit.”

Various recipes for Welsh Rarebit include the addition of ale, mustard, ground cayenne pepper or ground paprika and Worcestershire sauce. And, there are also recipes which include blending cheese and mustard into a Béchamel sauce or Mornay sauce. Some recipes for Welsh Rarebit have become textbook savoury dishes listed by culinary authorities including Escoffier, Saulnier and others, who use the title Welsh Rarebit, emphasising that it is not a meat dish.

The term rarebit is to some extent used for variants on the dish, especially ‘Buck Rarebit’ which has a poached egg added, either on top of or underneath the cheese sauce.

‘Kentucky Hot Brown’ is a variant that adds turkey and bacon to the traditional rarebit recipe; it was originally created at the Brown Hotel in Louisville, Kentucky, by Fred Schmidt in 1926. It is a variation of traditional Welsh Rarebit and was one of two ‘signature sandwiches’ created by chefs at the Brown Hotel shortly after its founding in 1923. It was created to serve as an alternative to ham and egg late-night suppers.

‘Kentucky Hot Brown’

Welsh Rarebit blended with tomato (or tomato soup) is known as ‘Blushing Bunny’

Welsh Rarebit Recipe Ingredients 4 fluid ounces of milk 2 ounces of plain flour 400grams of grated Farmhouse Cheddar 6 ounces of fresh white breadcrumbs 120 millilitres of Ale, Guinness or Cider 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce 1 heaped tablespoon dry English mustard power 1 whole egg 1 egg yolk freshly ground black pepper slices of bread Method 1. Heat the milk, add the flour and bring to the boil and allow to slightly thicken. Over a low heat, add grated cheese. Stir until melted, then add breadcrumbs, mustard powder, Worcestershire Sauce and beer. 2. Cook until the mixture starts to leave the side of the saucepan. 3. Take the pan off the heat and allow to cool. Put in food processor and add the eggs and mix for about 1 minute. Add pepper to taste. 4. Allow the mixture to cool and store in refrigerator for up to five days. 5. Slice and put on toasted bread, and then place under hot grill until browned and golden. Serves 4 to 6 people … NSC MEMBER, SIR DENIS HOBAN ANNOUNCES:

Hugo Ricciardi O’Neill* of Clanaboy has graciously welcomed the Hoban Sept into Clan of O’Neill of Clanaboy

Arms of The O’Neill of Clanaboy

* officially recognized by the offices of arms throughout Europe as titular Prince and Count of Clanaboy

The Hoban Sept is honoured to have Hugo O’Neill as Patron

Sir Denis Hoban Bn, KCHS,CCR,NSC,pp. BOOK REVIEWS

The Hebrides: An Aerial View of a Cultural Landscape

Author: Angus & Patricia MacDonald

ISBN-10: 1841583154 ISBN-13: 978-1841583150

The Hebrides of Scotland - around 500 diverse islands - forms the north-western Atlantic fringe of Europe. This book surveys the cultural landscape of this dramatically beautiful, complex and conflicted area, with emphasis on what may be interpreted through aerial photography. A prominent feature of the recent history of the Hebrides has been depopulation. The history and heartbreak of this phenomenon, experienced in differing degrees in rural areas throughout Europe from the mid-18th century, is clearly shown in aerial photographs and discussed by co-authors Angus and Patricia MacDonald.

Boss Croker

Author: O'Farrell, Padraic

ISBN: 1 903305 10 1

In 1846 the Crokers, a Presbyterian landlord family, flee famine-stricken West Cork aboard the ‘Henry Clay’, survive shipwreck and land in New York. There they are confronted with the grim realities of the teeming city - poverty, prostitution, and street gangs. In this world their youngest son, Richard Eyre 'Boss' Croker (1841-1922) thrives. Through sheer ambition, the barely literate Croker - engineer, prize- fighter, fixer, union organizer -battles his way from the backstreets to seize control of Tammany Hall, the very seat of power in New York. Charming but corrupt, Croker manipulates all who fall within his sphere, becoming one of the city's most influential citizens in the late nineteenth century. Boss Croker also captures the drama of his later years - his move to Dublin, where he rebuilds Glencairn in Sandyford; how in 1907, his horse Orby becomes the first Irish horse to win the Epsom Derby; and his support for rebellion in Ireland through his contacts with Clan na Gael and Michael Collins. After the death of his first wife, heiress Elizabeth Frazer, he defies the disapproval of his children by marrying Bula Edmondson, a beautiful young Cherokee Indian. He is finally carried to his grave in 1922 by Oliver Gogarty and Arthur Griffith.

Boss Croker is a gripping novel that unleashes all the extravagant energy of its subject. Telling Croker's story in full for the first time - and brings New York and Irish America into vivid focus through the prism of one extraordinary, flamboyant, life.

PADRAIC O'FARRELL Padraic O'Farrell was born in Staplestown, Donadea, County Kildare. One of Ireland's best-known journalists and most prolific authors, he was a regular contributor to the Irish Times, Irish Independent, Sunday Independent and Irish Examiner. His thirty-five books include The Burning of Brinsley MacNamara, a study of the controversy surrounding the publication of The Valley of the Squinting Windows; the bestselling Rebel Heart, a fictional account of Michael Collins's love affair with Kitty Kiernan; Who's Who in the Irish War of Independence and Civil War 1916-23; The Blacksmith of Ballinalee; and Ancient Irish legends. He also wrote and directed a number of plays, including Matchmaking, based on the work of John B. Keane and Scullabogue, a drama about the 1798 Rebellion. His play Kitty, about the women in the lives of Michael Collins and Sean MacEoin toured throughout Ireland, including performances in Cork's Everyman Palace Theatre and Dublin's Andrew's Lane Studio. CRITICAL ACCLAIM FOR PADRAIC O'FARRELL'S LAST HISTORICAL NOVEL, REBEL HEART 'I read it in one mid-night sitting. It has the button-holing compulsion of a man met in a dark alley. I can't wait to see the film.' Hugh Leonard 'O'Farrell writes with pace and verve; his dialogue is crisp and credible and his characters always believable. He neither beatifies his hero as republican saint, nor caricatures him as a fenian serial killer. An emerging generation, unschooled in the troubled origins of its country, could do worse than spend an evening in the company of Rebel Heart. A compelling read.' Evening Herald The Killing Time

Author: David S Ross

ISBN-10: 1906817049 ISBN-13: 978-1906817046

Mixing history and biography, author David S Ross explores the lives of six people who were at the heart of the political and social turmoil: John Graham, Viscount Dundee, first and greatest hero of the Scottish Jacobites; James Dalrymple, first Viscount Stair and his son John, who was behind the Massacre of Glencoe; Sir George Mackenzie, lawyer, poet and philosopher forced into politics of the bloodiest sort; Richard Cameron, martyred religious leader or fanatical terrorist; James Drummond, Earl of Perth and Lord High Chancellor; and William Carstares, secret agent. Relive the power struggles of this significant period of Scottish history.

Breakfast the Night Before Recollections of an Irish Horse Dealer

Author: Quarton, Marjorie

ISBN: 1901866 56 4

This sparkling memoir gives a personal view of Irish rural life from the Economic War of the 1930s to the farming boom and recession of the 1970s. It describes the upbringing of a Protestant only-child on a farm near Nenagh in north Tipperary-an idyll interrupted by school in Dublin during the 1940s. Taking over the farm on her father's death, working the land and animals (dogs, sheep, horses, cattle), the author recounts with great humour, acuity and poignancy her dealings, from the age of seventeen, at fairs throughout the country-Limerick, Kilrush, Cahirmee, Thurles, Ballinasloe, Spancilhill, Clonmel- a lone woman in a man's world. With rare brio and eye for character, incident and idiosyncracy, Quarton lovingly documents a world of country people, eccentric relatives, home cures and recipes, and unaffected living. Breakfast the Night Before is both entertaining and enduring.

Comments and advance reviews: 'It makes rivetting reading and I was desperately disappointed when I reached the final page all too soon S Marjorie Quarton is a natural storyteller' - Grania Willis, The Irish Field

'I defy anyone, even the non-horsy minded, to dip into Breakfast the Night Before and put it down without reading to the end. This special blend of humour crosses the divides of age, sex, religion and social standing. - The Irish Times

"Mrs Quarton writes with wit. Her experiences are related in a lovely, dry style which does not conceal her deep love for horses and understanding of that strange animal which is the human being. Breakfast the Night Before is a passport to another world that anyone can enjoy, and I recommend it highly. - Morgan Llwelyn, author of Lion of Ireland and The Horse Goddess

Marjorie Quarton, née Smithwick, was born in Nenagh in 1930 and educated in Dublin. Her novels include Renegade (1991), No Harp Like My Own (1987) and Corporal Jack (1988). She has written short stories and standard works on dogs (The Farm Dog, The Working Border Collie, One Dog and His Trials) and for children (The Cow Watched the Battle, The Other Side of the Island) and contributes regularly to provincial and national newspapers and magazines.

Confessions of a Poacher

Author: Connell, Jim

ISBN: 1 84351 057 x

In 1889 Jim Connell wrote 'The Red Flag', which became the anthem of the international Labour movement. He was born near Kilskyre, County Meath, and in his teens moved with his family to Birr, County Offaly, where his family worked as a groom for the Earl of Rosse. He became involved with land agitation and was sworn into the Irish Republican Brotherhood, moving to Dublin in 1869; failing to unionize the docks, he went to London in 1875. There he worked as a navvy, railwayman and poacher, and was a popular figure in Fleet Street and a friend of Keir Hardie, with whom he produced the Socialist Journal. From his journalism grew his books, the most popular of them, Confessions of a Poacher (1901).

This book is a vivid series of autobiographical sketches that describe Connell's early life among the Slieve Blooms and his move to London's East End. At weekends he sallies forth with his companions and beloved lurcher Nellie in quest of game: hare, pheasant, rabbit, partridge and salmon - most of it illegally trapped, snared and shot. He encounters magistrates and landlords, evoking a hierarchical late-Victorian world in which town and country merge, and peasant and gentry find common cause in a love of sport and the call of the wild. A biographical essay by historian Francis Devine accompanies the reissue of this forgotten rural classic, published by Lilliput Press in association with the Jim Connell Memorial Committee.

Kings, Mormaers, Rebels Early Scotland's Other Royal Family

Author: John Marsden

ISBN-10: 1906566194 ISBN-13: 978-1906566197

The 'other royal family' of the sub-title is first noticed in the seventh century as the Cenél Loairn, one of the principal dynastic kindreds of Dalriada, the embryonic kingdom of the ‘Scots’ (Irish) in Argyll. By the end of that century they had displaced the Cenél nGabráin, a kindred descended from the traditional founding dynast Fergus Mór, from over-kingship of Dalriada and clung on to power until the Pictish onslaught of the 730s. While the Cenél nGabráin extended eastward into Pictland as the MacAlpin kings of Alba, the Cenél Loairn moved up the Great Glen to reappear as hereditary mormaers of Moray, effectively kings in the north who achieved their pinnacle of ascendancy when Macbeth seized the high-kingship of Scots in 1040. His death, and that of his kinsman and successor Lulach, at the hands of Malcolm Canmore signalled the resurgence of the Cenél nGabráin and launched the Cenél Loairn into terminal decline. Yet the house of Lulach still pursued its claim on kingship through a sequence of rebellions against Canmore kings which continued into the second quarter of the thirteenth century. Kings, Mormaers, Rebels traces the story of the Cenél Loairn and its descendent kindreds through more than six hundred years to throw an unfamiliar side-light on the emergence of the medieval kingdom of the Scots (Decendants of the Palriada-Irish).

Gringo Revolutionary The Amazing Adventures of Carel Ap Rhys Pryce Author: John Humphries ISBN: 9781903529188

John Humphries unearths the amazing story of Carel ap Rhys Pryce from his origins in south Wales, through his adventures in South Africa and America, where he eventually becomes generalissimo of the Magonista revolutionaries in Mexico. "John Humphries obviously has a love for both untold history and swashbuckling adventure. Gringo Revolutionary is his second book in a genre that could be described as docu-adventure. His first, ‘The Man from the Alamo’. ‘Why the Welsh Chartist Uprising of 1939 Ended in a Massacre’, had a title which really said it all. ‘Gringo Revolutionary’ leaves a little more to the imagination, even with its promising subtitle, The Amazing Adventures of Carel ap Rhys Pryce. Apparently almost called 'General Scallywag', the book is based on five years of personal research by Humphries that began after hearing an intriguing comment whilst on a visit to Alabama about a ‘Welsh guy’ . . . who caused a lot of trouble around the (Mexican) border. The ‘Welsh guy’ (and Scallywag) in question was Carel ap Rhys Pryce, a distant descendent of none other than Owain Glyndŵr. Like his more famous ancestor, Pryce also had revolutionary tendencies. Humphries pieced together the story of how he lead a socialist army of mercenaries across the Sonoran dessert in 1911 to capture the border town of Tijuana, so alarming the US authorities that they sent 20,000 troops to the border to contain the uprising. Exciting stuff, and an adventure too for the author. In a recent interview he described a close call with some Mexican quicksand, being mistaken for drug smugglers by armed Mexican Indians, and paying $50 to an aged informant for information about Pryce that he was unable to understand. John Humphries, who in less adventurous days was editor of The Western Mail, is willing to go to extraordinary lengths for a story."