County Louth Archaeological and History Society

Burns' Associations with County LouthAuthor(s): Noel RossSource: Journal of the County Louth Archaeological and Historical Society, Vol. 23, No. 3(1995), pp. 340-343Published by: County Louth Archaeological and History SocietyStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/27729779 .

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Burns' Associations with

County Louth

By Noel Ross

Visitors to Dundalk, and particularly those from Scotland, often express surprise on seeing a

monument to Robert Burns on the town's main street. Since 1996 is the bicentenary of the poet's death it may be appropriate to explain why his only monument in Ireland is situated in St Nicholas's

churchyard.

The monument was erected in 1859, the centenary of the poet's birth, by admirers of Burns in

and around Dundalk. They also placed the tombstone that covers the grave of Agnes Burns. It carries

this inscription: Underneath lie the remains of AGNES BURNS, sister of Robert Burns, Ayrshire

poet. 25th January, A.D. 1859.

The monument, an obelisk about thirty feet in height, carries the following inscriptions:

As a tribute to the genius of Robert Burns, the national bard of Scotland and in respect for the

memory of his eldest sister Agnes, whose mortal remains are deposited in this church-yard. Erected by the contributions of the poets numerous admirers in Dundalk and its vicinity 25th

January 1859.

"Time but the impression stronger makes

As streams their channels deeper wear." (west side)

Sacred to the memory of Agnes Burns, eldest sister of Robert Burns, who departed this life at

Stephenstown on the 17th October 1834, aged 72 years. Her mortal remains lie interred in

the south east corner of this church-yard, (east side)

Both memorials were renovated by the Dundalk Burns Club in the early years of this century, and

again by the Belfast Burns Association in the 1930s.1

Agnes Burns was born 30 September 1762 and in 1804 married William Gait2 who in 1818

became land steward to Mathew Fortescue of Stephenstown which is about four miles south-west of

Dundalk along the Dundalk-Ardee road. She died, without issue, at Stephenstown on 17 October

1834, and as the above inscription states, was buried in St Nicholas's churchyard, Dundalk.

Mathew Fortescue (1791-1845) had married Catherine, daughter of Col. Blair of Blair in

Ayrshire, whom he had met while he was a student at Edinburgh University.3 He succeeded to the

Stephenstown estate when he became of age in 1812. A large sum in savings which had accumulated

since the death of his father in 1802 was now at his disposal.4 He adopted the improved Scottish

system of agriculture and to apply it he hired William Gait, also a native of Ayrshire.

1. 'Burns Memorial at Dundalk', Burns Chronicle and Club Directory, Second Series, Vol. XI, (1936), 78-81; in one of

these renovations the date 1859 on the west side of the monument was unfortunately re?ut as 1839. 2. Ibid.

3. Introduction by Edythe Pyke-Fortescue to a proposed publication of the diary (1797-1818) of Mary Anne Fortescue (n?e

McClintock). Manuscript now in the writer's possession. 4. H. S. M'Clintock, Random Stories (Belfast, n.d.), 128. Neither Burke's Landed Gentry nor Lord Clermont's History of

the Family of Fortescue (London, 1869) gives the date of death of Mathew's father, also Mathew. From the vestry minute

book of the parish of Louth it can be ascertained hat he died between 23 Sept. 1802, when he attended a vestry meeting and signed the minute book as church warden, and the following 27 Dec. when Samuel Adams is described as 'surviving church warden'.

340

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Burns' Associations with County Louth 341

Fortunately Mathew Fortescue's account book survives.5 This tells us that Gait was hired on 2

March 1818 'at ?40 a year, grass for one cow, a house, half an acre of potatoe land, and vegetables, as

land steward & gardener. I am to draw home his coals'. But prior to this Gait had been engaged on

contract work at Stephenstown.

His first contract (September 1817) was 'to excavate a piece of ground, stub trees out and make a

head according to an estimate in McHughs hands to my satisfaction for ?17 10s. 6d. '.

The second contract (October 1817) was

to make another head, stub trees out and dress all the banks of the former pond and the one

we have agreed upon ? board the top and side of former head ? fill up a ditch which I made

? pave the face of the new head and finish all the sides and copes in a workmanlike and

completely finished manner ? but I am to fund all the wood work which was not the case in

former agreement and I am to pay him when all is finis ?15.

Fortescue was obviously pleased with Gait's work as in settling the account he gave him ?4 'for doing his work well'.

This pond and its surrounds, recently purchased by the Stephenstown Pond Trust, have been

converted into a carp fishery and nature reserve, thus providing a very pleasant amenity. It

encompasses c. five acres of woodland, willow copse, grassland, water meadow and pond habitats.6

William and Agnes Gait lived in Lake view Cottage, a short distance to the west of the pond. This

house has also been purchased by the Trust which hopes to restore it as a Burns centre.

Mathew Fortescue's account book has no record of the terms under which Agnes was engaged

but Canon Leslie tells us that she was employed as a dairy maid.7 A cousin of Fortescue's, Major H.

S. McClintock, has recorded his impressions of the Gaits:

He [Mathew Fortescue] hired an Ayrshire land-steward, a man named Gait; purchased the

newest farming implements; bought short-horns, high-class sheep and pigs, and was led into

such fearful expense by his model agriculturist, that he told me, years after, that if

Stephenstown had been flagged so that Gait could not have broken it up, he would have been

a rich man.

Strange to say, this Gait had for a wife a sister of the great poet Robert Burns, as

unprepossessing a female as one would care to see. But, oh! to hear her read her brother's

poems was a caution, with hard Scotch rasping delivery, that I question if many out of

Ayrshire could make out the meaning of a word she said.8

Despite McClintock's strictures it would appear that both the Gaits remained in Fortescue's

employment until their deaths.

Inserted loosely in the account book are various documents. Two invoices from Dicksons and

Co., Edinburgh show that a major tree-planting operation was in progress at Stephenstown in 1821

and 1822. Over the two years 16,000 larch, 16,000 Scots fir, 8,000 beech and 8,000 elm were

purchased as well as 5,000 thorn and a wide variety of flowers and vegetables.

Agnes returned to Scotland on at least one occasion. On 3 June 1824 Gait's account was debited

with four pounds 'for your wife going to Scotland'.

The late Edythe Pyke-Fortescue has recorded that Colonel Blair, Mathew Fortescue's

father-in-law,

5. Purchased by the present writer at the Stephenstown House auction, 17 July 1975, lot no. B140.

6. Louise Collier, Stephenstown Pond Carp Fishery & Nature Park (n.p., n.d., [Knockbridge, 1996]), 3.

7. J. B. Leslie, Armagh Clergy and Parishes (Dundalk, 1911), 287.

8. M'Clintock, Random Stories, 128-9.

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342 County Louth Archaeological and Historical Journal

was a cousin of the famous Duchess of Gordon, three of whose daughters became

respectively, Duchess of Manchester, Duchess of Bedford and Duchess of Richmond, and

when the Duke of Rutland was Lord Lieutenant of Ireland [April 1807 to June 1813], they were entertained at Stephenstown by Mathew and Catherine Fortescue in a far too lavish

manner, the story being that the main road from [the original] Martin's Cross to

Stephenstown House was cut through the estate, and made in their honour.9

This is the road that now skirts Stephenstown pond. William Gait died 2 March 1847 aged 85 and was buried in St Nicholas's churchyard the

following day.10 Although he had been hired as 'land steward & gardener' his status appears to have increased over the years: the list of subscribers to his wife's monument describes him as 'confidential

manager to the late Matthew Forescue'.11

Later that year a correspondent styling himself 'A Recently-Imported Caledonian' wrote to the local newspaper asking 'Is it true that the eldest sister of Burns ... is buried in the parish churchyard . . . without any monumental tribute whatsoever?'.12 One reply reminded readers 'that the relics of a

more illustrious Scot ? even the brother of the great Robert Bruce

? Edward Bruce ... lie in the

burial ground of Faughart, unmarked and unhonoured, without even a stone to shew the spot'.13 A

Robert MacKenzie in Glasgow offered to collect subscriptions in Scotland towards the erection of a

monument over Mrs Gait's remains.14 A desultory correspondence ensued; the editor on two

occasions saying he hoped to announce a list of subscriptions for a memorial to Mrs Gait.15 But

nothing came of these efforts, in marked contrast to the instantaneous response to a similar call as the

centenary of the poet's birth approached.

'Shall we in Dundalk not participate and do our part in the great festival? . . . and pay our regards to the memory of Robert Burns whose sister dwelt amongst us for seventeen years'. Thus the editor of

the Dundalk Democrat addressed his readers in mid-December 1858 referring to the preparations

being made all over the world to commemorate the centenary of the poet's birth.16 A week later he was able to report that a meeting had been held, a committee appointed and the secretary instructed to

'procure drawings, with specifications, of suitable monuments, . . .V17 On 1 January 1859 it was

announced that a dinner would take place in the Market House and that a contract had been entered into with Mr Magee of Newry for the erection of the monument which would cost ?60.18

On 22 January 1859 the final arrangements were published:

On Tuesday morning next the people of Dundalk will pay their homage to the genius of

Robert Burns by laying the first stone of a monument in honour of his eldest sister, Mrs.

Agnes Gait; and in the evening the 100th anniversary of his birthday will be celebrated by a

public dinner . . . The celebration will not be a one-sided affair, but an union of men of all

creeds . . .19

The ceremony of laying the first stone appears to have been almost a non-event.

9. As footnote 3. 10 His death of 'old age' is recorded in the register of Dundalk Presbyterian Church; his burial in the register of St Nicholas'

Church. 11. Dundalk Democrat (hereafter cited as D.D.), 12 Feb. 1859. 12. Newry Examiner (hereafter cited as N.E.), 21 Aug. 1847. 13. N.E., 4 Sept. 1847.

14. N.E., 2 Oct. 1847. 15. N.E., 9 Oct. and 3 Nov. 1847.

16. D.D., 11 Dec. 1858. 17. D.D., 18 Dec. 1858.

18. D.D., 1 Jan. 1859. 19. D.D., 22 Jan. 1859.

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Burns' Associations with County Louth 343

At four o'clock on Tuesday last the first stone of this [Gait] monument was laid in the part next Church Street of Saint Nicholas's graveyard, by the Hon. Major Jocelyn. There was a

considerable crowd of spectators, but the Major did not even utter a word to tell them even

the name of the person the monument was intended to honour or who she was ! Very strange

conduct indeed.20

Lengthy reports of the dinner appeared in both the Dundalk Democrat and the Newry Examiner.21 In the course of his speech Mr Robert Wood22 of Stephenstown, chairman and treasurer

of the organising committee, adverted to his unsuccessful effort to have a monument to Agnes Burns

erected ten (sic) years previously.23

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I wish to thank the following: Rev Mark Wilson for permission to consult the Dundalk burial

register and the Louth vestry minute book, Rev Stanley Millen for supplying William Gait's date of

death from the Dundalk Presbyterian death register, and to Mr Anthony O'Hagan who drew my attention to the MacKenzie letter.

20. D.D., 29 Jan. 1859. 21. D.D. andAf.?\, 29 Jan. 1859. 22. Robert Wood died at Stephenstown on 10 Feb. 1864 aged eighty-four (tombstone inscription, St Nicholas' churchyard,

Dundalk). A glowing account of his farm appeared in the N.E. of 21 Aug. 1847. '. . .we had the good fortune to visit the farm of Mr Wood ? a Caledonian, of no ordinary intelligence and enterprise, whose grounds constitute a model of

superior agriculture . . . though a tenant-at-will ... we have never seen [in England] a farm for the extent which afforded more evidence of industrial intelligence and industrial energy, than that of Mr. Wood'.

23. N.E., 29 Jan. 1859.

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