The ruins of Morett Castle are located near Cullenagh in County Laois in the Irish province of Leinster. A dark secret surrounds this fortified manor house. Lady Elizabeth Fitzgerald plays a major, even tragic role in the story.
Stephen Fitzgerald was a Protestant lord of the manor in a deserted corner of the Emerald Isle. His capable wife was called Lady Elizabeth. Their house still had the character of a castle, which meant it could withstand a siege if the besiegers didn’t have cannons with them. They didn’t, nor did they have any firearms of any kind. And so, no matter how hard they tried, they did not succeed in taking the house. It happened in 1609, the supporters of King James, which in simple terms were the Irish Catholics, fought against the supporters of King William, who were the Irish Protestants. And as so often on such occasions, there were old scores to be settled, spoils to be taken and revenge to be exacted. The Catholic O’Cahils were after the property of the Protestant Fitzgeralds. Well, Morett Castle was not so easy for the Jacobites, as the followers of King James were called. It was a castle, after all. The lower window openings of the castle were too small to squeeze through, or they were barricaded. The walls of the castle were quite high and the inhabitants dropped all sorts of heavy, sharp and nasty things on the heads of those who tried to get in uninvited.
The besiegers therefore concentrated on the entrance door – a heavy wooden door with iron fittings. They set fire to it. However, this was not a risk-free undertaking, as the door was located in an entrance area that jumped back from the wall front. If you stood in front of the door, you stood under a hole that was not coincidentally called a “murder hole”. If the besiegers had losses, the besieged rejoiced. The attackers retreated a little and it seemed as if they had given up their degrading endeavor. Stephen Fitzgerald realized that they had not yet done so when he carelessly left the house. He quickly fell into the hands of the Jacobites. They devised a diabolical plan. The leader of the Jacobites appeared within sight of Morett Castle. He first showed the horrified inhabitants the bound Stephen Fitzgerald and then his fighting men. He then shouted to the lady of the castle to give up the castle, otherwise they would hang poor Stephen Fitzgerald. Lady Fitzgerald shouted back: “Mark the words of Elizabeth Fitzgerald of Morett castle; they may serve for your own wife upon some future occasion. I won’t render my keep and I’ll tell you why – Elizabeth Fitzgerald may get another husband, but Elizabeth Fitzgerald may never get another castle.” She did not want to hand over the castle because she might get a new husband, but probably no castle. It was now clear that both sides were probably more interested in the property than in the welfare of the poor lord of the castle.
The attackers carried out their threat and murdered the defenceless Stephen Fitzgerald, then attacked Morett Castle with increasing fury. Meanwhile, Lady Fitzgerald’s servants had devised a creepy device. A beam that was reinforced with iron at the lower end and held by a thick rope on a hook at the upper end. This device was lowered through the murder hole as soon as an attacker appeared in front of the door. The beam could then be pulled up again by the rope. After a while, King William’s soldiers appeared on the scene and the besiegers hurriedly gave chase. A great-nephew of Elizabeth and Steven Fitzgerald wrote this story down. Morett Castle is a little off the beaten tourist track in the county of Laois.
