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The town of Raphoe is dominated to the east by the imposing ruins of the Bishop's Palace or "Castle" as it is known locally. For over 200 years the Palace was the residence of the Bishop of Raphoe until 1834 when the Diocese of Derry and Raphoe was created after the death of Bishop William Bisset.
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Standing on a mound outside the Diamond of Raphoe the former palace is an impressive edifice. Even though totally destroyed by fire in 1838, its massive walls and parapets are still standing today.
In the early years of the 17th century the town of Raphoe as we know it today did not exist. The surrounding countryside had been fought over by the rival O'Donnell and O'Neill clans and some of their most famous skirmishes had taken place in the vicinity of Raphoe, e.g. Knockavoe (near Strabane), Kiltole (near Convoy) and Farsetmore (near Letterkenny). The huts of the monks, which had been located at what is now known as "The Close", had long since disappeared and the state of the churches in Ireland was a grave cause for concern.
Thus Sir John Davies (c. 1570 - 1626), the Irish Solicitor-General, described the conditions prevailing in 1604 :
"The churches are ruined and fallen down to the ground in all parts of the Kingdom. There is no divine service, no christening of children, no receiving of the sacrament, no Christian meeting or assembly, no, not once a year; in a word, no more demonstration of religion than among Tartars or cannibals."
The cathedral (founded at the end of the 7th century) was a roofless building until c. 1620 when Bishop Knox restored it. With the influx of Scottish settlers into Ulster ("The Plantation") restoration began on houses in the area and waste land was reclaimed.
In 1633 John Leslie, a soldier of fortune from Scotland, who had as a reward for his services to the Crown on the continent been made Bishop of the Western Isles, was transferred to Raphoe where he succeeded Bishop Knox. The Latin inscription on the foundation stone on the East wall tells us that work on the palace commenced with the laying of the stone in May 1636. The building was completed after only 15 months in August 1637 when the topmost stone was placed in position. Surprisingly Leslie was the first Bishop to live in Raphoe, earlier Bishops had all lived at Rathmullan
The labour was provided by the predominantly Presbyterian tenants on the Church estates who were provided only with corn and vegetables from the Bishop's farms for their labours. The palace is a square with corner turrets and an indication of the troubled times in which it was built is provided by the musket slits and flagged parapets around the flat roof which would have been made of lead.
Almost immediately after it was completed the palace was besieged by Cromwellian forces. Bishop Leslie, a fierce Royalist, had taken an active part in the siege of La Rochelle, the capital of protestant France, as part of Buckingham's army. The ruins of his headquarters can be seen to this day on the Île de Ré off the French Atlantic coast. The palace was captured but he was spared and allowed to remain until 1660 when he moved to Clogher. He was paid an annuity during the Republic by Cromwell on condition of remaining peaceably in the palace, the Church of Ireland having been suppressed at that time. Indeed he was the only Episcopalian Bishop allowed to remain during the Commonwealth period in Ireland, having his own private army! In 1638 at the age of 67 he married Dean Conyngham's daughter Katherine, who was aged only 18. One of their children was the famous "non-juring" clergyman Rev. Charles Leslie, who refused to take the Oath of Allegiance to King William III. Ironically his articles attacking the King, whom he alleged to have been more involved in the massacre of Glencoe than he would admit to, led to his imprisonment for a time in London.
During the 18th century conditions were more settled but in 1797 the palace was attacked once again, this time by the United Irishmen, but was successfully defended by the local yeomanry. The famous monument in the surrounding grounds (incidentally destroyed by a bomb in later years) recalled the episode:
"In grateful memory of the loyalty, spirit and, it is hoped , the friendship (sic!) of the Raphoe Corps by whom under God this place was defended when surrounded by robbers, murderers and rebels in the year 1797."
Three of the "robbers" were reputedly killed by musket fire from the palace roof and buried in the field outside the palace where they fell. The Presbyterian members of the Raphoe Corps may have had mixed feelings about defending the palace as a short time earlier the Bishop had imprisoned four of their own clergy in Lifford Gaol!
In 1838 the palace was vacant and for sale, the Bishop having removed to Derry on the amalgamation of the two Dioceses. A skeleton staff kept the building warm with turf fires. A burning cinder is believed to have fallen out and started the fire which rapidly consumed the building, only some pieces of furniture, the Bishop's chair and organ were saved. A primitive fire engine was useless in preventing the palace's total destruction. Water was supplied from large pipes along a mound, which can still be traced, close to the Royal School building from artesian wells in the old "waterhouses" beside the town.
In addition to the immediate grounds of the palace there was also a large Demesne of good land attached which was purchased by the caretaker, William Bisset Kerr. The old farmhouse, known to this day as "Shanagard", were resold to the Hamilton family and is presently occupied by Doctor Quinn. The Farm was bought later by another branch of the Hamilton family from Coolaghey who sold it to Captain Stoney of Oakfield (the old Deanery) and in 1924 it came into the ownership of the Morrow family.
The Bishops who lived in the palace were often military adventurers like Leslie who used to bring back exotic plants and seeds of trees (such as orange) from their foreign travels. These were planted in the park which lay to the East of the palace. There was formerly a walled garden of almost two acres in extent, lined with brick and greenhouses, in front of the palace. After the fire and the disposal of the farm, the trees were felled and nothing remains of the garden.
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Last updated on : 14/02/98
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