had them reinstated in a tomb within the abbey on 9 June 1186 by Cardinal Vivian. The abbey was desecrated by the Lord Deputy of Ireland,
Leonard Grey in 1538. He was executed three years later for his callous actions. It appears that the relics of the saints remained intact until 1790 when the building was being remodelled as
Down Cathedral. Accounts have given record that the tomb was vandalised and the relics were scattered over the abbey yard prompting the Downpatrick people to hurriedly bury them at their present site. The town cross was reportedly placed on the grave but it was carried off and vandalised. The
Belfast Naturalists' Field Club erected the large granite slab over the grave in 1900 to protect the grave as it had become customary for those leaving Ireland to take soil from the grave with them.
Medieval and modern Lecale The Earls of
Kildare formerly held control of the customs of
Strangford and
Ardglass, both in Lecale Lower, of which it is noted that: "The port offered excellent sea communications and the fertile area of Lecale was prosperous, so de Courcey incorporated the whole as part of the Pale and rewarded his followers with grants of land. Later, Henry VIII granted the revenue of the port, amounting to £5,000, to Gerald Fitzgerald, Earl of Kildare. The association of the Kildare family with Ardglass continued for three centuries" Lecale is also recorded under the name of "Ladcathel" as one of the five counties of the
Earldom of Ulster in 1226, the other four being Antrim, Carrickfergus, 'del Art' (Ards) and 'Blathewyc' (Newtownards). By 1333, Antrim and Carrickfergus were still counties, Twescard had been added, 'del Art' seems to have become a part of Blathewyc and Lecale had been replaced by Down. It was also the name of a former barony in Ireland, which by 1851 had been split into
Lecale Lower and
Lecale Upper. The Russells of Downpatrick have been established in Lecale since the 12th century having been recorded in the area since Osberto Russell accompanied John de Courcy in 1177 into Ulster. Thomas Russell, one of the leaders of the
United Irishmen who led the rising of 1803, was imprisoned in Downpatrick
gaol and on 21 October 1803 was hanged at the gate of the gaol. "The Man From God Knows Where" is a ballad written by Florence Wilson in commemoration of him. ==Geography==