Sir Thomas Norreys Lord President of Munster [2506]
went as a soldier to Ireland in 1579 and acted for a few mont hs as president of Connaught. He fought against the Fitzgeralds and al so in Ulster; in 1585 he became vice-president of Munster, and in 15 97 he succeeded his brother, Sir John Norreys, as president. In Ireland wi th Captain Careill in 1584 before he became general of troops for the Roan oke voyages. Thomas Gates his lieutenant. The old Desmond fortress on t he Blackwater River at Mallow was granted in 1584 to him, son of Queen Eli zabeth's life-long friend. He built a "goodly strong and sumptuous hous e, upon the ruins of the old castle, with a bawn to it about 120 foot squa re" sometime between 1593 and 1599. This building, whose shell still stand s, is a three-storey gabled oblong, one room thick, with an attic floor a nd a cellar below the centre. At the front there are two octagonal corn er turrets, one for a stair and a projecting turret in the middle for t he entrance. There is also a turret at the centre rear for the main sta ir and latrines. The style is essentially English and early Jacobean wi th its high gables, single-stepped battlements and large mullioned window s, but the place was well-adapted for Irish conditions with numerous loop- holes for muskets, notably in the turrets and beneath the upper windows.
Thomas married Bridget Kingsmill [64691] [MRIN: 422], daughter of Sir William Kingsmill [64692] and Unknown. |
Another name for Thomas was (Sir Lord President Of Munster).