The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #13133   Message #1991239
Posted By: GUEST,mjnear toomebridge
09-Mar-07 - 06:20 AM
Thread Name: Origins: facts behind 'Roddy McCorley'
Subject: RE: Tune Req: facts behind RODDY MCCORLEY
i have come here by acccident, but find this very interesting reading.what i know of roddy he was church of ireland and whilst he fought or may not have fought in the battle of antrim, he was an opportunist and stole or plundered in shanes castle estate in antrim the english army wwere fooled many times by him and the head buck who's name escapes me took roddy's act as a personal insult, yes he was tried in ballymena, marched to toome where his gallows were built on the bann bank and from stones taken from shanes castle estate(or so it is told) the gallows was designed to swing over the water when roddy was dropped, he was then cut down taken to the then police station and drawn and quartered inside where his kin watched through a window, this remains were buried under the road where all traffic passing through toome woould go over him. many years later a relative of roddy's was empolyed to make a new road, a different route was to be taken, the remains were taken up and given a christian burial in duneane church of ireland, however the local loyalist people who believed roddy to be a catholic,irish rebel, desecrated the grave, so he was apparently moved again and, is still in duneane church of ireland ground unmarked. his traitors mc erlain and finnison were hated by the people about who sympathised with roddy. mc erlains remains i dont know where they are but finnison is buried in cranfield church ground which is now an ancient monument but still taking in residents, this i know because my parents are buried a few feet from finnison. i hope this helps it has been passed down word of mouth, and read as part of school history