Wills: Maurice Hurly (1634) & Sir Maurice Hurly, Baronet (1683) (pp. 118–121)

Immediately after the 1601 Privy Council letter (Section 10), the article resumes with the patent that letter had petitioned for, then two more wills: Maurice Hurly of Knocklonge's own, from 1634, and that of his descendant Sir Maurice Hurly, Baronet, of Doone, Co. Galway, made in 1683 (printed here as 1688 in its opening line — see the Historical Note below) — the same Sir Maurice whose Galway estate is the subject of the 1688 forfeiture table later in this series (Section 16).

Pages 118–121

[p. 118] Note. A copy of this letter, from the Carew MSS. in the Lambeth Library, was given to me by the Rev. A. B. Nowan.⁽¹⁾ Sir George Carew was President of Munster in 1601.

"Grant from the King to Maurice Hurly, of Knocklonge Castle, in Limerick Co., to hold free of any cess or any contribution whatever, the following landes in the Limk. Co. and in the County of the Rope whereof he is hatefully seized, viz.: The town and landes of Knocklonge, 1 ploughlands; Garrencaharra, 1 ploughland; Downe Common, Brianstown, Moorestown, Carrowenstown, Garryhenod, 1 ploughland. Which several parcels have been of ancient time free land and not chargeable with any contribution whatever, altho' of late years during the wars and troubles of these parts, some parts of them have been charged and burthened with impositions contrary to the ancient freedoms thereof."—Patent Rolls, fourth year of James I., No. 97.

11½. "Grant of late possessions to Maurice Hurley."—Patent Rolls, fifth year of James I.

Copy of the Will of Maurice Hurly, Esq., of Knocklonge, Co. of Limerick, dated July 16, 1634.

"Memorandum that the 16th of July, 1634, Maurice Hurly, of Knocklonge, in the Co. of Limerick, Esq., being then and there sicke of body, but of perfect memorie and understandinge, made this his last will and nuncupative Testament at Knocklonge, in manner and forme following: First, he bequeathed his soul to Almighty God and to the Angels of Heaven, then he left his goods, viz., cows, garrons and mares, in three parts, viz., a third pte to his wife, and the other two pts to his eldest sonne and heir, Thomas Hurly. Item, he left his sheepe, hogs, and swyne wch he had in three parts, viz., a third pt to his wife, and th' other two pts to his said son, Thos. Hurly. Item, he left all his householde stuffe to be divided in three parts, a third part thereof to his wife, and the rest to his son, Thomas Hurly. Item, he left his plate to be divided in three equal pts betwixt his wife and his son, Thomas Hurly. All the Batterie which he had, both great and small, he left the same, viz., two parts thereof to his said eldest sonne, Thomas Hurly, and a third thereof to his wife.

[p. 119] "Item, his corn in grounde and above grounde he left in three equal pts, viz., a third to his wife, and the other two pts to his said sonne and heir, Thos. Hurly. Item, he left the farme he held of my Lord of Ormonde, of the parsonages of Creane and Kiltitie to be divided between his said wife and his said sonne, Thomas Hurly, a third thereof to his said wife during her naturall life, and the rest to his said sonne and heir, Thomas Hurly. Item, the third of all landes wch he purchased since his marriage,⁽²⁾ he left to his said wife only during her life, as they are conveyed to Sir Edward FitzHarris in writinge.⁽³⁾ The rest of his purchases he left to his said sonne and heir, Thomas Hurly, together with the reversion of the landes in third to his wife. Item, he left Thomas Hurly and John Cantwell his Ex'ors.

"All the aforesaid laste will and nuncupative Testament, the day, year, and place aforesaid, was made and declared by the said Maurice Hurly in p'sence of John Cantwell, Teige Hagh, and Bryan Kennedy.

Maurice Hurly. (Seal)

This copy of the will of Maurice Hurly is taken from the original in the Registry Office of the Prerogative Court in Dublin.

Grace Thornton, second wife of Maurice Hurly, was probably a daughter of Sir George Thornton, one of the Undertakers to plant the forfeitures.

The following is a copy of the will of Sir Maurice Hurly, of Doone, in the Co. of Galway, Baronet.

Will of Sir Maurice Hurly, Baronet, 1688.

"In the name of God, Amen, the 3rd day of September, 1688. I, Sir Maurice Hurly, now of Doone, in the Co. of Galway, Baronet, being of good and perfect memory, thanks be to Almighty God, do make and constitute, ordain and declare this my last will and Testament in manner and forme following, revoking and annulling by these presents all former wills, Legacies, and Testaments by me heretofore made and declared to be made either by word or writing, and this to be for my last Will and Testament. And, first, being penitent and sorry from the bottom of my heart for my sins past, and most humbly desiring forgiveness for the same, I give and committ my soul to Almighty God, praying and desiring that the Blessed Virgin Mary and all the Holy Saints, Angels in Heaven, may be intercessors to my Blessed Saviour Jesus Christ, that I may, after my leaving this world, be seated amongst that blessed Tribunal, desiring that I may be buried according to the Roman Catholic and Christian Religion, wherein I ever lived and now dye, in such decency and manner as my Ex'ors hereafter named shall think fit and proper and for settling of my real and personal estate, I do order, give, and dispose of the same in manner and form following, that is to say, first, I do settle and confirm unto my eldest son, William Hurly, Esq., all my real estate after my own decease, now in my possession, saving to my wife a third part during her life, whereof my chief mansion, known and called by the name of Doone, to be part, and after her decease all to be and revert to my said son, William Hurly, and for the lands that I have been dispossessed of and to which I have a just title, and now is depending in Law, after the recovering thereof, I leave and bequeath unto my sons, William and John Hurly, to be equally divided amongst them for ever, together with the maine issues and profits thereof, and as to my personal estate, I do bequeath the two parts thereof to my dear and loving wife, Margaret O'Dyer, alias Hurly, whom by these I nominate my Ex'ors, and my son, John, to be joined therein with her in execution of all and singular the premises [p. 120] according to the true intent and meaning of my last Will and Testament. I also bequeath and leave to my servant, Owen Hagh, one house and garden and the freedom of six collops during his life.

"In witness to all which I have hereunto put my hand and seal the day and year above written.

Maurice Hurly. (Seal)

"Sealed, delivered, and published in the presence of us, Roger Kelly, Owen Hagh, Ricd. Butler."

"Post Scriptum. It is also my further will and I do hereby give and bequeath unto my son, John Hurly, and my daughter, Lettice, three hundred pounds sterling, to be equally divided between them, and to be paid by my son, William Hurly, out of the real estate hereby settled upon him, upon his being possessed thereof after my decease, or the due interest thereof yearly until the said sum be paid, and in case the said Lettice should dye unprefered, that her share of the said will should revert to my son, William Hurly, only that she may be allowed to dispose of twenty pounds thereof, as she think fitt and proper, and if said John should dye without issue, that his part should reverte to my son, William Hurly.

"I do also bequeath all the debts and demands due to me, both of John Bullinbrook, John Burke, Esqs., and all others, to be equally divided betwixt my two sons, and also the Lease parole of four years made by Bullinbrook to me of Ballincarown. I do further declare that if my daughter, Letise, should survive my son, John, that her part should revert to my son, William.

"As witness my hand and seal, the day and year above written,

Maurice Hurly.

"Being present as witnesses, Roger Kelly, Mortage Byrne, Richard Butler."

"Post Scriptum.—I do give and bequeath unto my wife all my householde stuffe of what kind or quality soever, and after her decease the same to reverte and be to my son, William. And this being my last Will and Testament, I do publish and declare, the day and year above written, the same to all intents and purposes, to be executed, performed, and done by my said Ex'tors according to the true intent and meaning thereof. I do leave and bequeath unto my Lord Bp. of Clonfert two Pounds sterg.; to the convent of Kilconnell, three pounds sterg.; to the Bishop of Elphin, 20s.; to the convent of Athenry, 20s.; to the Parish Priest, 20s. I do bequeath to my sister, Elizabeth, Tenn pounds. I do likewise leave and bequeath to my brother, William Hurly, five pounds, together with my coat, sword, and young coult. Item, unto Richard Butler, 20s. It is my will and pleasure that my brother, William, and my sister, Elizabeth, are to take the value of the money in cattle. I do further give and bequeath [p. 121] to the Convent of Lora 20s. I do leave to my son, John, if my ancient estate be recovered, two hundred Pounds per annum, for himself and his heirs for ever. I do further declare this to be part of the will. As witness my hand and seal this 3rd day of September, 1683."

Maurice Hurly. (Seal)

Although Sir Maurice Hurly here styles himself Baronet, and although his father, Sir Thomas, and his son and grandsons, Sir William and John, are styled Baronets in all the old histories and prints and manuscript records I read, many of them now in my possession, yet the name of Hurly does not appear in the existing or extinct Baronetcies. This appears very strange to me, for I cannot believe that they would assume any title to which they did not consider themselves fully and legally entitled.

⁽¹⁾ As noted at Section 10, the Rev. A. B. Nowan who supplied this copy is almost certainly the Rev. Arthur Blennerhassett Rowan (1800–1861), Archdeacon of Ardfert from 1856 and a noted Co. Kerry antiquarian and historian — not, as an earlier note here once suggested, a rector of Dunmanway (no such identification is supported by any clergy record we've checked, and the Dunmanway connection has been withdrawn). Rowan's own historical writing, including The Old Countess of Desmond, Her Identitie, Her Portraiture, Her Descente (1860), concerns exactly the Desmond-era Munster material this letter touches on, which fits well with his passing a Carew MSS. copy to a fellow antiquarian. The gift itself must have taken place well before Rowan's death in 1861 — potentially several decades before this article's 1905 publication, since the two men would not otherwise have overlapped.

⁽²⁾ A footnote in the original identifies these as "Estates of the Earl of Desmond in the county of Limerick."

⁽³⁾ A footnote in the original identifies Sir Edward FitzHarris as "A distinguished officer in the English Army, more especially during the rebellion of Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone, from 1599 to 1603."

The will of Sir Maurice Hurly is dated twice within the same document—"the 3rd day of September, 1688" in its opening line, and again "this 3rd day of September, 1683" in its closing postscript. This is very likely a simple transcription or typesetting slip (1683 for 1688, or the reverse) rather than two separate documents merged, but we reproduce both dates exactly as printed rather than silently correcting one to match the other. Update, September 2026: a second, independent account gives some weight to 1683 specifically — see the Historical Note below the article for the full passage and citation.

Historical Note — A Corroborating Account (1858)

An independent source, predating this 1905 article by nearly fifty years, describes the same will and lands directly enough to quote here in full. Richard Caulfield's "Notes on the Cathedral of Emly and the Family of Hurly," with an appended "Notes on the Hurlys" contributed by the antiquarian John D'Alton, appeared in The Topographer and Genealogist, vol. III (John Gough Nichols, ed., 1858), pp. 462–467. D'Alton's account of Sir Maurice's death and will reads (cleaned up only for spelling/punctuation from a poor scan — not yet checked against a clean copy):

…All his estates were seized for Cromwell's adventurers, and himself transplanted to Connaught, where he died in 1683, leaving by his wife, the daughter of — O'Dwyer, Sir William Hurly, his eldest son and successor. In his will, dated in that year, he with "a sweet remembrance" of his ancient patrimony — dulces reminiscitur Argos — directs, in regard to "the lands that I have been dispossessed of, and to which I have a just title, and now is depending in law, after the recovery thereof, I leave and bequeath the same unto my sons William and John Hurly, to be equally divided between them for ever," together with the "maine profit thereof;" and in a codicil he further leaves to his said son John, "if my ancient estate be recovered, 200l. per annum for himself and his heirs for ever."

The overlap with the will transcribed above is close enough to be the same document at one remove — the "sweet remembrance"/"dispossessed of... just title... depending in law" language and the identical bequest to "my sons William and John Hurly... equally divided between them for ever" both echo this page's own text closely, and D'Alton's pedigree chart (not reproduced here) independently captions the same man "Sir Maurice Hurly [died 1683]." That's two places in one outside source agreeing with each other on 1683, which is real corroborating weight, though not final proof: this transcription's own copy of the will still opens with "1688," so whatever produced the discrepancy predates even the 1905 printing. We are treating 1683 as the better-supported date without altering the transcription itself, which reproduces both dates exactly as printed in the original 1905 article.

Historical Note — a Title That Doesn't Appear in the Rolls

The author's own puzzlement about the missing baronetcy, printed here without resolution, is a useful reminder of how family tradition and documentary record can diverge even among educated, well-connected nineteenth-century antiquarians working from genuine family papers.

Update, September 2026: the title itself turns out not to be an error or a piece of family tradition at all — it is real, and it is documented in the standard modern reference work the 1905 author simply didn't have access to. G. E. Cokayne's Complete Baronetage, vol. II (1900–09), carries a "Hurly, of Knocklong, co. Limerick" entry (confirmed directly against the scanned volume on the Internet Archive, item completebaroneta02coka, via its own full-text search — not via a summary or a secondary site), with an index cross-reference at p. 489 and the main entry running across pp. 291–292, not pp. 273–274 as one modern source circulating online states. Cokayne's own succession, so far as the located search snippets show it, runs to five holders rather than the four named here in 1905: I. Thomas Hurly, of Knocklong (created a baronet, 1645?); II. Sir Maurice Hurly (1647?) — presumably the testator of the 1634 will above, or his heir; III. Sir William Hurly (1681?); IV. "Sir John Hurly, Baronet" (1691); and V. "Sir John Hurly, Baronet" again (1720?), with a note that "the same year may be assigned to Bourke and Hurly." That the 3rd-to-4th transition falls exactly in 1691 — the year of the Williamite settlement — fits the Jacobite-attainder explanation neatly, but Cokayne's snippet doesn't itself say why the succession moved that year, so we're not treating that connection as confirmed, only as suggestive.

Two further claims sometimes attached to this succession are not as well supported as the bare Cokayne entry. Wikipedia's own "William Hurly, 3rd Baronet" article does credit him as MP for Kilmallock in the 1689 Patriot Parliament, sourced to O'Hart's Irish Pedigrees and to O'Driscoll & Hodkinson's Who Was Who in Early Modern Limerick — reasonably specific citations, worth treating as likely true — but the same article flags his 1691 attainder itself as "citation needed," i.e. unsourced even there. Separately, a story that circulates of a "Sir John Hurly," titular 4th Baronet, arrested in Dublin in 1714 as a Jacobite recruiter does not match what we can find: the only sourced Wikipedia article about a Jacobite Sir John Hurley (citing O'Hart and Ó Ciardha's Ireland and the Jacobite Cause) places his proclamation, arrest, and escape to France in December 1694 — twenty years earlier — and never actually identifies him as a baronet at all. Whether this is the same John Hurly as Cokayne's 4th (1691) or 5th (1720?) baronet, a different relative entirely, or a case of the 1694 and 1714 dates being confused somewhere along the way, we can't currently say. So: the baronetcy's bare existence is now genuinely resolved, in a primary reference work, in a way the 1905 author lacked the tools to check — but the fuller, more colourful narrative sometimes told about it (attainder in 1691, a fourth Baronet's arrest in 1714) is only partly and unevenly sourced, and shouldn't be presented as equally settled.