History of the Town and County of Wexford. By Philip
Herbert Here. (Elliot Stock. 40s. net to subscribers.)—This is the fourth volume of Mr. Here's exhaustive work. More than half of it is occu- pied with the history of Duncasmon Fort. "Duncannon" appears to be a corruption of Dunmechanan,—i.e., the Fort of the son of Conan, which was granted in 1195 A.D. to Dunbrody Abbey. It became a fort, in the modern sense, late in the sixteenth century, chiefly, it would seem, to defend the local fisheries against chance attack by pirates. The Lord Deputy of the time did not think much of it, recommending that what had been built should be pulled down rather than that more money should be spent. His advice, however, was not taken. The works were carried on, but not with any completeness. The Acting Commander, Sir John Broekett, sends in a statement of "exceeding defects and wants of this fforte " in 1602. Sir John was accused of employing his leisure in coining, and an inventory of effects found in the fort gives some support to the charge. What was the result we do not know, but the accused man never came back from England. In 1624 the fort was "very much out of repair " ; but something was done to it, for in the following year it is described, with two other strongholds (Limerick Castle and Fort Falkland), as exceptions to the statement that all the forts in the kingdom are "utterly untenable." In the Rebellion of,4342 and the troublous time that followed it had an eventful history, far too complicated for us to epitomise. In 1684 we have a catalogue of the ordnance. There were thirty-two pieces in all, the largest being a " culverin," 10 ft. 5 in.; one curious article is a "sling piece or murtherer." The store of "round shot and shells" seems inadequate,—eight hundred and seventy-four in all. In 1690 it was James II.'s last abode in his dominions. Since then it has been happy in having no history. The other subjects treated in the volume are Templetown Parish, Fethard, House- land. Portersgate, Loftus Hall, and various places quas nunc per- scribere longum est. The full detail with which Mr. Hore tells his story, a subject which he has every means of thoroughly knowing, recalls the old-fashioned county histories. The History of the Town and County of Wexford, which it will take another volume to complete, is quite worthy of being reckoned among these.
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