Byrne's Dictionary of Irish Local History (53 page)

Reportorium Viride
. Compiled in 1532–3 by John Alen, archbishop of Dublin (1528–34),
Reportorium Viride
comprises an annotated schedule of the churches of the dioceses of Dublin and Glendalough. It should be examined in conjunction with
Alen's Register
, a contemporaneous compilation of documents relating to the see. (White, ‘The Reportorium', pp. 173–222.)

Representative Church Body
. A corporation authorised by government to hold and manage the property of the Church of Ireland after it was disestablished in 1869. Although the church was largely disendowed the clergy were guaranteed a life income in the form of annuities payable by the state. To shed the administrative responsibility of paying the annuities Gladstone offered a bonus of 12% if the majority of the clergy in each diocese agreed to commute their annuities to a lump sum and vest it in a new paymaster, the Representative Church Body. A majority accepted the proposal and a sum in excess of £8 million was paid. Skilful management of the fund, augmented by a lay annual subscription known as the parochial assessment, secured the financial future of the church.
See
Irish Church Act, sustenation fund. (Acheson,
A history
, pp. 205–7.)

reprisals
. Compensatory grants of land which were to be offered to Cromwellian settlers to persuade them to yield their holdings to Catholics restored by the
Acts of Settlement
and
Explanation
.

reredos
. A decorative screen on the wall behind an altar.

rescript
. A written reply from the pope to a petition or legal inquiry. This could be in the nature of an edict or decree.

reserved pleas
. The four pleas which the crown reserved to itself when granting liberty or manorial status. These were arson, rape,
forestalling
and
treasure trove
.

resiant
. Resident.

respit
. In the legal sense, to postpone, defer or delay or to grant the same, particularly in relation to a sentence, duty or punishment.

Resumption, Act of
(1700). The Act of Resumption (11 & 12 Will. III, c. 2) was introduced and carried by the opposition in the British house of commons to revoke William III's grants of forfeited estates in Ireland and to sell the resumed estates to defray army arrears and allied military expenses incurred during the Williamite war. William had granted a vast amount of forfeited land to his mistress, Elizabeth Villiers, to military commanders such as Ginkel and to favourites and advisers. Opposition fury at such profligacy during a period of strained national finances was the visible evidence of a deeper struggle for primacy between parliament and monarch, a struggle which resulted in humiliation and defeat for the king when, after a successful passage through parliament, the resumption act cancelled the royal grants and the forfeited estates were canted (auctioned) or sold at 13 times the annual rent to those who had purchased from the king's grantees.
See
Trustees Sale.

retting
. The first stage in the process of preparing flax for linen-making. It involved weighting and submerging the flax stalks in water to rot the woody outer fibres and so prepare them for
scutching
.

revenue police
. Public disorder and a significant loss of state revenue associated with the illicit distillation of alcohol prompted the establishment of the revenue police in 1800. Supported successively by the military, the peace preservation force and armed bands of enlisted men, this undisciplined, poorly-trained body made little headway until 1836 when a drastic overhaul was undertaken by its new chief, Col William Brereton. Brereton divided the country into four divisions and placed each under the supervision of a revenue lieutenant. To energise the force he sacked two-thirds of the men and recruited young, literate men of good character in their place. He acquired a steamer to harass distillers on the western islands. The force's success in curtailing the activities of poteen-makers led to its demise in 1858 when responsibility for illicit distillation was transferred to the Irish Constabulary. (Dawson, ‘Illicit', pp. 283–94; Herlihy,
The Royal
, pp. 33–7; McDowell,
The Irish administration
, pp. 137–9; O'Sullivan,
The Irish constabularies
, pp. 18–19.)

reversion
. 1: In conveyancing, refers to the granting of a lesser estate than that held by the grantor. The effect of such a grant is that at some future time the estate reverts to the grantor. If Smith holding the
fee simple
(freehold) to Ballyduff conveys a life estate to O'Brien, then upon O'Brien's demise the estate will revert to Smith 2: A grant of property by lease to commence after the termination of an earlier lease or under certain specified conditions 3: The return of property to the grantor or his heirs.

rerebrace
. Arm greaves or armour for the upper arm.

revision
. In 1878 the General Synod of the Church of Ireland authorised a revision of the
Book of Common Prayer
to eradicate anything that might be associated with Roman Catholic practice or theology. The names of all but a few specifically exempted saints were removed from the church calendar, a plain dress code was introduced for ministers at divine service, bowing to the altar was forbidden as was the ringing of bells during service, the use of incense, lighted lamps and candles, crosses on the communion table, the elevation of the chalice, processions and the carrying of icons such as crosses, banners and pictures during service. (Daly, ‘Church', pp. 29–37.)

rhymer
.
See reacaire
.

Ribbonism
. 1: A term used to describe the activities of a number of secret Catholic agrarian societies in the early nineteenth century 2: Ribbonism, a continuation of the earlier
Defender
network, developed rapidly in Ulster (most notably in Armagh) in the early years of the eighteenth century. After 1815 the movement extended southwards and a new and rival centre emerged in Dublin. Exclusively Catholic, Ribbonism prospered in the northern half of the country where sectarian tensions were greatest but made little headway in Munster, possibly because of a continuing rift between labourers and farmers in the southern province.
See
Caravats and Shanavests. Ribbonmen, themselves, did not use the term Ribbonism; it was a term used by outsiders because ribbons were worn as a means of identification at a street-battle in Swatragh in 1810. The Ulster society was called The Society of Saint Patrick, that of Dublin, The Irish Sons of Freedom. Ribbonism was, essentially, a response to the rise of Orangeism and mimicked the masonic-style oaths, banners, sashes, parades and passwords of the Orange lodges. Despite vigorous opposition and threats of excommunication from the Catholic church, Ribbon numbers grew, helped by the claims of senior Ribbonmen that the threats were a blind to conceal a secret alliance of church and Ribbonmen. Local societies or ‘bodies' were led by a ‘body master' and the cohort of masters in a parish constituted a jury or council which exercised discipline over the members and directed threats or acts of violence against anyone taking the land of an evicted tenant. Although the society attracted members from all classes, leadership was largely in the hands of shopkeepers, publicans and farmers. Ribbon demands included the concession of fixity of tenure (
tenant-right
), disestablishment of the Anglican church and civil rights for Catholics. (Garvin,
The evolution
, pp. 35– 45; Lee, ‘The Ribbonmen', pp. 26–35; Ó Muireadhaigh, ‘Na fir ribín', pp. 18– 32.)

right, writ of
. Also known as a writ of
praecipe
, an instruction to the sheriff by the king ordering a wrongdoer to restore property of which another person was wrongfully disseised and to summon him before the justices if he failed to do so. It was an order to a man to do what he should have done already. Cases of right were originally resolved by
battle
in which champions for the parties fought a duel. By the time of Henry II, however, trial by battle could be replaced by jury verdict where the defendant so desired. Where an individual was wrongfully disseised of land, seisin was recoverable by
novel disseisin
.

Rightboys
(1785–8). An oath-bound secret society which agitated against church rates, priests'
dues
and the level at which
tithe
was fixed. Supporters of the Rightboy movement came from a broad spectrum of society across southern Ireland. Named after their fictitious leader, Captain Right, Rightboy activities included the posting of warning notices, grave-digging, the erection of gallows, the seizure of guns, the tendering of oaths and the sending of emissaries into neighbouring parishes to extend the campaign. The protest was accompanied by a relatively low level of violence – far less than was to be experienced during the later campaigns of the
Defenders
, the
Caravats
, the
Rockites
and the
Terry Alts
– and it was curbed by the use of troops, a magistracy act (27 Geo. III, c. 40, 1787) and a riot act (27 Geo. III, c. 15, 1787). (Donnelly, ‘The Rightboy movement', pp. 120–202.)

Rights, Declaration of
. A declaration accepted by William III and his wife, Mary II, in February 1689 which outlines the principles of the British constitution, notably the requirement of parliamentary consent for the levying of taxes, the annual convening of parliament, the right of MPs to freedom of speech, free elections and the right to trial by jury. The crown was not to keep a standing army during peacetime and its power to suspend laws was abolished.
See
mutiny act. In addition to taking the oath against transubstantiation, a requirement which barred Catholics from the throne, the monarch must not marry a Catholic.

ringfort
.
See
rath.

rising out
. Military service owed to a Gaelic overlord by an
urrí
or vassal, usually requiring the mustering of a specified number of horse and
kerne
.

roads, rodes
. Punitive incursions by the English administration into the territories of the native Irish.
See
hostings, journeys, posse comitatus.

robinet
. A light sixteenth-century field gun.

rochet
. A surplice-like linen vestment worn by senior clergy.

Rockite
. An agrarian protest group prominent in the early 1820s which sought regulation of rents, wages and
tithe
, protection of tenants threatened with eviction and wider access to land for tillage. The movement took its name from Captain Rock, the signature often appended to threatening letters. Heavily influenced by
Pastorini millenarianism
, Rockite agitation declined with the emergence in 1823 of the more respectable
Catholic Association
.

rococo
. A decorative style dating from the eighteenth century which is characterised by the use of shell motifs.

Rocque, John
. Influential and renowned Anglo-French cartographer who visited Ireland between 1754 and 1760 and produced his
Exact survey of the city and suburbs of Dublin
, a magnificent plan of the capital in 1756. He followed that with a county map,
An actual survey of the county of Dublin
in 1760. In both, Rocque's preference for depicting landscape and graphics is clear. His oyster-beds are, literally, stocked with oysters. Rocque was indifferent to administrative boundaries and eschewed writing where possible except in relation to toponym. Streams and lesser roads are less well drawn than rivers and main roads. Field boundaries, unlike parks and gardens, are representational rather than authentic. Rocque's vivid Kildare estate maps influenced a move away from the spartan
Down Survey
style of surveying towards the production of more elaborate estate and urban maps. (Andrews, ‘The French school', pp. 275–92.)

rod
. A perch or five and a half yards (5.029m). The rod was derived from the length of an ox-goad.

Rogation days
. The Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday before Ascension Thursday. Rogation is the equivalent of ‘litany' and on the three rogation days the litany of the saints was chanted by the clergy and people in public procession.

rolls
. Government records composed of parchment documents stitched together to form continuous rolls.
See
close, memoranda rolls, patent, pipe rolls, plea rolls.

rolls, master of the
. Keeper of government records (the rolls), formerly a senior judiciary figure in chancery and deputy to the lord chancellor.

rood
. 1: One-quarter of an acre or 1,210 square yards 2: A cross or crucifix.

rood-loft
. A loft above the chancel arch or screen in medieval parish churches where the rood or image of Christ crucified was placed on view. Where there was no rood-loft, the rood was supported by a rood-beam.

rood-tower
. A tower built above the intersection of a cruciform church.

round tower
. (Ir.,
cloigtheach
, a bell house) Round towers appeared in Ireland around the tenth century. They were usually constructed to the west of a monastery with the doors of tower and church facing each other. (Barrow,
The round towers
.)

rotten borough
. A borough where the franchise was vested in a few persons. The term is usually considered to refer to a decayed
borough
which contained few if any residents yet which retained the right to return two members to parliament, an entitlement which was exercised by the borough owner. Harristown, Co. Kildare, for example, had no houses yet returned two MPs. In reality, however, size was irrelevant. Any constituency, irrespective of population, where the franchise was vested solely in a corporation of 12 or 13 burgesses was rotten. In all, 86 members of the eighteenth-century Irish parliament were returned by rotten boroughs. Taken together with the nominees of the patrons of pocket boroughs, about two-thirds of the seats in parliament in 1790 were, effectively, private property.