In 1533 the Earl of Kildare furnished the stronghold with guns and ammunition out of the King’s store, and in direct opposition to his commands, which the Master of the Rolls pointed out to him in the presence of the Bishop of Meath. The following year it is reported to have been one of the six best castles of the Geraldines, and it was the chief stronghold of Lord Offaly, the “Silken Thomas,” during his rebellion, after the fall of Maynooth. There is a letter from the former constable of this latter fortress, written in 1535, to Cromwell, saying that Lord Thomas had removed the Countess’s apparel to Ley, as well as other valuables, and that he, Boyce, had resigned his office in consequence of the insurrection. The Carew MSS. record the Castle of Ley was of “no value” in 1537, and state it was granted to James FitzGerald after the attainting of the Earl. In 1548 he required two gunners at the King’s charge, and powder and shot. Thomas Scotte petitioned to lease it in 1549. In 1554 the Lord Deputy, Thomas Earl of Sussex, is said to have taken it from Patrick O’More, but it was regained by Anthony O’More in 1598, after which he defeated Essex at the Pass of Ballybrittas, called the “Pass of Plumes” from those worn by the gay English soldiers. Lea was held by the Irish in 1641 upon the breaking out of the rebellion, but afterwards the loyalists took possession under the command of Lord Lisle. They planted an ash-tree to commemorate the event which lived 170 years, and had a girth of from 29 to 33 feet, while its shade had a diameter of 60 feet. In 1642 Lord Castlehaven retook Lea, and at this time some of the brass money known as St. Patrick’s halfpennies was struck here. These coins have the letter L on them and are very rare. O’Neill is said to have lodged in the castle. The Parliamentary Colonels, Hudson and Reynolds, took and dismantled the fortress in 1650. It was repaired and held by lease under the Crown by an O’Dempsey until confiscated after the fall of the Stuarts. In 1695 it was granted to the Earl of Meath as part of Sir Patrick Trant’s estate. A horse stealer called O’Dempsey and nicknamed “Shamas a Coppuil,” or “James the Horse,” inhabited it at the beginning of the eighteenth century until the Government interfered. Hampden Evans owned it in 1791, and it afterwards passed to Viscount Carlow. The following legend was related by Widow Gorman in 1818 to Miss French of Glenmolire, and noted by her:-- Redmond M’Comon O’Byrne, chief of Donamace and Leagh, had two gigantic sons named Roderick and Maurice. The latter was married to a daughter of The O’Neill and had one son called Connell. Upon the death of the old chieftain O’Byrne, he divided his territory between his sons, leaving Donamace to the elder, Roderick, and Leagh to the younger, Maurice. Roderick, believing he should have inherited all his father’s possessions, determined to murder his brother. [Illustration: LEA CASTLE (EXTERIOR).]