Transcribed from the newspaper ‘Galway Advertiser’, ‘Old Galway’ section, July 13, 2000

Leacht Katherine French,

a tale of a murder

and a memorial

Part 1

A side-road about a mile before Oughterard, now much disused, once lead to the old MARTIN home of Birch Hall, on the west shore of Lough Corrib.  About half-way down the road are the remains of a leacht, or memorial stone erected by a member of the MARTIN, family to commemorate her murdered son.  In 1705, the year of the event, it was the residence of Captain Richard MARTIN, Esq. (aka Nimble Dick), and his family, which consisted of his wife, Katherine FRENCH of Duras (daughter of Christine MARTYN of the Gregans), sons Robert - nicknamed "Brave Young Robin" - and Anthony, and daughters Christina (who later became a nun, taking the name of Sister Theresa), Annable (wife of Edmond FITZPATRICK of Aran and Michael O'FLAHERTY of Park), Mary (wife of Patrick KIRWAN of Cregg Castle), Margaret (wife of Martin Blake Fitz ANDREW of Cummer), Elizabeth (died 1737, unmarried) and Miss MARTIN, who married John SKERRETT of Ballinaduff Castle.  The eldest son, Robin, was apparently a hot-headed young man who was quick to note an insult and even quicker to avenge it; this would be his downfall.

Relationships between the MARTINs of Galway and the O'FLAHERTYs

of Connamara had been less than cordial for several centuries before Robin was born (circa 1682). One old story relates that the O'FLAHERTYs nearly massacred the MARTINs entirely on a Good Friday, though the latter managed to defeat them and survive.  It is to be remembered that the West Bridge of Galway - constructed by Thomas Oge Martin Fitz WILLIAM between 1558 and 1562 - allegedly bore the inscription "From the Furious O'FLAHERTIES deliver us oh Lord."

Relations between the two only worsened during the 1690s when Richard "Nimble Dick" MARTIN - he earned his nickname from his practice as a lawyer, and being able to exploit legal loopholes to his advantage - obtained the better part of Connemara, consisting of a quarter of a million acres, as his personal estate.  Much of this had previously belonged to the O'FLAHERTY clan, who never forgave him for stealing their lands.  One member of the clan, Captain Edmund Laider O'FLAHERTY, went to far as to fight numerous sword duels with Dick whenever the two happened to meet, all to no avail.  Until their deaths, Thomas Barnwall MARTIN (who died of famine fever in Black '47 trying to save his tenants) and his daughter Mary Letatia MARTIN, the MARTINs would rule supreme in Connemara.

And now for the story of Leacht Katherine FRENCH.

It allegedly all grew out of an insult.  Robin MARTIN heard that the aged Sir John O'FLAHERTY of Lemonfield had spoken disparagingly of his mother, Katherine.  Not waiting to verify the truth or falseness of this, he mounted his horse and road off alone to Lemonfield to demand satisfaction.  Sir John was by then an old man, but still youthful enough in spirit to give as good as he got.

Both decided that the duel was to be fought there and then, as tradition then dictated, on horseback with swords.  The opponents would face off from a distance, then like jousters, run full tilt at each other with swords flying.

However, unknown to both combatants, an illegitimate son of Sir John's, along with some friends, stole behind some bushes to the rear of Robin, and just as the duel was about to commence, stabbed Robin in the back.  He fell forward, and the startled horse galloped off for Birch Hall.  Though dying, Robin managed to hold his grip on the reins for more than half the distance, till he died and fell to the side of the road.

The horse's arrival without its rider at Birch Hall naturally caused consternation, and a search party, led by Robin's mother, Katherine, set off to find him.  Within a short time, the body of the unfortunate youth was found.

Nimble Dick, his grieving father, caused warrant to be issued for the arrests of Bryan Flaherty FITZDONNEL, Edmond FLAHERTY, Patrick FLAHERTY, and John JOYCE, but to no avail.  Perhaps it was because of this that Katherine caused the following inscription (or curse?) to be written on the leacht, or memorial cairn, that she erected at the spot of Robin's death.

"May there be neither luck nor prosperity, but ever wailing and distraction, and may there never be a rightful heir in the place where the murder of young Robert MARTIN was perpetrated."

The cairn was thereafter called after Katherine, under the name "Leacht Katherine ni FRENCH'. With the passing of time according to the old Irish custom, everyone who passed by the leacht cast a stone upon the place, so that within a number of decades, a fine heap of stones was raised.

-Adrian J. MARTYN

Transcribed by Mimi Steven