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HISTORY
OF THE
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND.
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-^rm THE VARim^S DEPARTMENTS ^'
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LITERATURE, SCIENCE,^ THEARTS.
THE CIVIL WARS IN IRELAND VOL. I.
THE SEVEN CHURCHES OF WICKLOW
CLENDAtOTTGH. „ ,,.
EDINBURGH;
PBINTED FORCOK'S'IMLE & C9 EDINBURGH %
AND HIJEST, CHANCE * C? LOOTJdN,
1831.
HISTORY
OF THE
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND,
I FROM THE ANGLO-NORMAN INVASION, TILL
I THE UNION OF THE COUNTRY WITH
GREAT BRITAIN.
BY W. C. TAYLOR, Esq. A. B.
OF TRINITY COLLEGE, DUBLIN.
IN TWO VOLUMES.
\^
i
EDINBURGH :
PRINTED FOR CONSTABLE AND CO.; AND HURST,
CHANCE AND CO. LONDON.
1831.
//CIlA'^'"
DR
CONTENTS.
PAGK
'eeface vii
CHAPTER I.
lent History of Ireland — Political Condition of the Country at the Time of the Anglo-Norman Invasion 13
CHAPTER II. Causes and Occasion of the Anglo-Norman Invasion SO
CHAPTER III. )ngbow's Invasion 39
CHAPTER IV.
Reign of Henry II. . .... 67
CHAPTER V. Reigns of Richard I, John, and Henry III. . 81
CHAPTER VI. The Reigns of Edward I. II. and III. ... 97
CHAPTER VII.
The History of Ireland during the Civil Wars between the Houses of York and Lancaster . . . .213
VI CONTENTS.
CHAPTER VIII.
From the Accession of Henry VII. to the Refotmation 143
CHAPTER IX.
The Effects of the Reformation in Ireland . . 161
CHAPTER X.
The Wars against John O'Neill and the Earl of Desmond 178
CHAPTER XL
The Administration of Sir John Perrot • . 204
CHAPTER XII.
The War against Hugh O'Neill . . . . 213
CHAPTER XIIL The Reign of James 1 234
CHAPTER XIV.
From the Accession of Charles I. to the Commencement of the great Civil War in Ulster . . . 248
CHAPTER XV. The War of 1641 in Ulster . ... 259
CHAPTER XVI. The War of the Confederates .... 267
PREFACE.
The History of Ireland, from the period of the Anglo-Norm an invasion, presents a series of ano- malies not to be paralleled in the annals of any other European comitry. Even now, after the lapse of nearly seven centuries, the suspicious jealousy of fo- reign rule remains as strong as at the first arrival of the invaders. The Government obtains at best a sullen and reluctant obedience. The laws are viewed |i8 institutions framed exclusively for the benefit of a |ruHng party, and not for the general advantage of I he nation. England and France, when first subju- gated by the Teutonic tribes, suffered more severely han Ireland ; — William and Clovis were more un- principled leaders than the second Henry; — their bllowers more cruel and rapacious than the compa- lions of Strongbow and Fitz- Stephen ; but, in these ountries, the age of oppression and suffering passed way. The Saxons and Normans coalesced. The lauls were united with the Franks. The victors
VOL. I. a
viii PREFACE,
and the vanquished became one people, having com- mon feelings and common interests. Ireland is the only country in which the condition of the conquer- ed has not been amehorated, and where the separate interest of two distinct races is still maintained, as if its subjugation was but a thing of yesterday.
The evils that have flowed from this disunion, and^
the dangers which it still threatens, are universally
acknowledged ; but there is not the same unanimity
in assigning the cause of its continuance. On this
subject the theories are as numerous as the writers;
and each is supported with a fierceness and violence
unusual even in the most furious political warfare.
The blame of the long catalogue of ills under which
Ireland has suffered, we find alternately cast on the
British and on the local government ;— on the
churches of Rome and of England ;~on the sue
cessive oligarchies that controlled the destinies o\
the country, and on the several factions by whicli
they were opposed ;— on the oppressions of magis-
trates, and on the artifices of demagogues ;— and oi
a thousand other causes, potent enough, collectivel;
to produce considerable mischief, but, separately, m
sufficient to account for that vast amount of evil t(
which the country has been subjected. An impar
tial inquirer might be led to surmise, that blame ii
diff'erent degrees belonged to all the parties enurae
rated ; and a careful investigation would confirm hi
J
PKEFACE. IX
suspicion. But when he proceeds to apportion to each their several shares of censure, he must pre- pare to encounter the most virulent opposition. At variance in every other respect, the several political partisans, who have written on Irish history, are wondrously unanimous in one principle — each main- taining, that there was nothing wrong on the side which he chose to advocate, and that, there was no- thing right in the opposite.
The application of this creed greatly simplifies the historical judgment of Irishmen. All questions finally resolve themselves into the single topic of party. The name of rebel or patriot, and loyalist or oppressor, is given without further inquiry ; and all difficulties are thus settled in a moment. This compendious, but not very accurate mode of form- ing opinions, is strengthened by the absurd and mischievous sophism, that identity of name proves identity of character. Tliere is no sophism by which inen are more deceived — there i« no part of the globe where it is more prevalent than in Ireland* The Roman Catholic feels himself personally wound- ed by the historian who faithfully describes the blas- phemous insolence with which the Pope transferred to a foreigner the sovereignty over a free people, and the base cupidity shown by the Irish prelates, in bartering their country's independence for wealth and privilege. The zealous Protestant is offended,
X PREFACE.
when the ignorance and indolence of the clergy sent over by Henry VIII. and Elizabeth are portrayed ; and will equally be displeased with him who de- scribes the ferocious fanaticism of Cromwell's Puri- tans, and the more crafty intolerance of their suc- cessors. Frequently must the writer of Irish his- tory feel the truth of the complaint made by the venerable Bede, " Dura est enim conditio historia- graphorum : Quia si veradicant homines provocant,. si falsa scripturis commendant, Dominus qui veri- dicos ab adulatoribus sequestrat, non acceptat. "
Unconnected with any of the parties by which his native country is distracted — reverencing many individuals ranged on opposite sides — persuaded that rancour would be abated, if the diflPerent parties were acquainted with the true feelings and principles of their opponents — the writer of these volumes has no motive to disguise truth — no interest in invent- ing virtues or concealing vices. It is not easy to execute a task where the occasions for censure are numerous, and for commendation few, without pro- voking the hostihty of those who are bigoted to a partial and uncandid view of transactions. To blame the government, will probably be deemed ad- vocacy of treason, and censure of the people be termed justification of oppression. The violent Ro- man Catholic may call the author an Orangeman ; while the equally violent Protestant may stigmatize
PREFACE. XJ
him as a Papist. He condescends not to refute either. Let them war against the perpetrators of the crimes of which they are ashamed, and not a- gainst the person by whom they are narrated.
There is a part of the First Chapter which needs some apology, as it will probably give offence to a very innocent, but not a very wise portion of the community — the believers in the authenticity of early Irish history. The author shelters himself under the sanction of Niebuhr, who has impeached the- credibiHty of Livy and Dionysius, though either authority is a thousand times more valuable than the dreaming monks, and adulatory sennachies, whose stories have been collected by Keating and OTla- herty. It would be an insult to the understanding . of Englishmen, if a writer should now seriously re- fute the tale of Brute the Trojan. It ought to be equally unnecessary to examine such idle tales as those which grave writers in Ireland still maintain as^ genuine traditions. But it is surely pardonable, that a true lover of his country should be allowed to turn from her authentic annals of blood and crime, to re- fresh his saddened mind in those regions of romance which fancy has peopled with fairy images of har- mony, tranquillity, and civilization. Still, such re- veries are sometimes used for a mischievous purpose j. and the assertion, that Ireland owes all her misery to English cpnuection*^an assertion as false as it is
Xll PREFACE.
pernicious — has been made too frequently to be passed over without examination.
The following work may be considered as divided into six periods of unequal duration. The first con- tains the formation of the English connection, and includes the time from Strongbow's invasion to the death of Henry II. The second period is occupied by the baronial wars, which deteriorated the English interest, until the sovereignty was merely nominal ; and spreads over all the reigns between Henry II. and Henry VIII. The third commences with the accession of that monarch, and contains the detail of the struggle for re-establishing and extending the English supremacy, which was completed by Eliza- beth and James I. The fourth is occupied by the great civil war of 1641, and its various revolutions, until the passing of the Act of Settlement. The fifth contains the wars between James II. and his son-in-law William, until the restoration of tran- quillity by the treaty of Limerick. And the sixth brings the history down to the Act of Union, at the commencement of the present century.
It does not become a writer to speak of the me- rits of his work ; but he may be permitted to assert the purity of his intentions. The author can safely say, that truth has been his only object ; that, amidst the conflicting statements of historians, he has al- ways selected that which was supported by the best
PREFACE. Xlll
authorities ; that he has, in almost every instance, consulted the original records, and made no asser- tion which they did not fully support. He is aware that he cannot please all parties, and he has not laboured to flatter any. He may be maligned and misrepresented ; but, feeling that he has at least per- formed his task honestly, he can console himself, under calumny, by the approbation of his own con- science.
THE
HISTORY
OF THE
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND.
CHAPTER I.
Ancient History of Ireland — Political Condition of the Country at the Time of the Anglo-Norman Invasion.
The pretensions of the Irish to an antiquity more i-emote than that of other Europeans, and their claims of being descended from the most powerful and enhghtened of the Eastern nations, have been attacked and defended with a zeal and vigour be- yond the laws of literary controversy. In this contest, the cause of Irish history has suffered far more from the extravagant claims of its advocates, than from the fiercest assaults of its opponents. The suspicious particularity of the more remote in- cidents, and the still more suspicious coincidence of the epochs with the received system of chrono- logy, are gravely quoted as proofs of genuine anti- VOL. I. A
14 HISTORY OF THE
quity, while, in fact, they are decisive evidences of falsification. The materials from whence the histo- rians have compiled their narratives, were the songs of the bards, the genealogies of the sennachies, and the popular legends current in their day ; and it is manifest that such records must have been replete with errors and defects, and, above all things, must have contained little or no reference to dates and eras. The monks of Ireland, in the middle ages, seem to have surpassed their brethren of Britain in the art of fabricating history. The latter went no higher than the days of Brute the Trojan ; but the former boldly ascended to the days of Adam, and brought his grand-daughter to Ireland with a nu- merous colony, before the primitive race had yet degenerated into crime. The intervention of the deluge might have been supposed to throw some difficulties in the way of this hopeful legend; but for this a remedy was easily provided— one fortunate individual was saved in the western world, to relate the circumstances of that great event to the next band of colonists who arrived in the country. The new settlers could boast of an origin equally illus- trious : they were Greeks, under the guidance of Partholanus, whose genealogy from Noah is traced with edifying accuracy. After this, several new tribes arrive from places equally illustrious ; but their fame is absorbed in the superior glory of the. Milesian colony, whose arrival in Ireland is dated previous to the Argonautic expedition ; that is, be- fore Greece had even a traditional history ! The history of the Milesians before their arrival in Ireland, is detailed at length in the Irish legends. They were, it appears, a Phoenician branch of the vast Scythic nation, to which thft greatest re-'
1
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 15
jj^olutioris in ancient and modem times have been generally ascribed. Phenius, the chief legislator of the tribe, having invented letters, and some im- portant ai-ts of civilized life, acquired great fame in the neighbouring nations, and the Egyptian king sent ambassadors to his court. Niul, the son of Phenius, progenitor of the O'Neill family, was sent with a numerous train to return the com- pUment, and so highly pleased Pharaoh, that he obtained his daughter in marriage, and a fertile tract on the banks of the Egyptian river as her dowry. From him the river Nile takes its name ; and from him Egypt derived all that knowledge which in subsequent ages entitled her to be named the parent of civilization. Shortly after this the Exodus occurred; and the Phoenicians treated the departing Israehtes with so much generosity, that the silence of Moses on the subject is a matter per- fectly unaccountable. The Egyptians who survived the calamity of the Red Sea, were indignant at the kindness shown to the Israelites. They expelled the Phoenicians from their territories; and, after a long course of wandering, in which they successive- ly established themselves in Crete, in Africa, and in Spain, they at last landed in Erin, bringing to that favoured country the knowledge of letters, and the ele- ments of civilization, long before Greece had emer- ged from barbarism, or Italy received the arts of so- cial life. When attempts are made to impose such a wild romance as this on the world for history, it is no wonder that the whole mass of the Irish annals should be rejected with disgust, and that the few important truths which are mixed up with a mass of similar fictions, should share in the merited coiif^ demnation such legends must inevitably meet.
16 HISTORY OF THE
There is really no authentic history of Ireland be- fore the introduction of Christianity into the coun- try ; but there are some genuine traditions which ap- pear to be based in truth, because they accord with and explain the peculiar cUistoms which were found to prevail in the island at the time of the English in- vasion. These traditions declare, that the original Celtic inhabitants were subdued by an Asiatic co- lony, or at least by the descendants of some Eastern people, at a very remote period : they aver, that the conquerors were as inferior to the original inhabi- tants in numbers, as they were superior in military discipline and the arts of social life : they describe the conquest as a work of time and trouble ; and as- sert, that, after its completion, a hereditary monarchy and a hereditary aristocracy were for the first time es- tablished in Ireland. It has been judiciously remark- ed by Faber, that, " in the progress of the human mind, there is an invariable tendency not to intro- duce into an undisturbed community a palpable dif- ference between lords and serfs, instead of a legal equality of rights ; but to abolish such difference by enfranchising the serfs. Hence, from the universal experience of history, we may be sure that, whenever this distinction is found to exist, the society must be composed of two races of men differing from each other in point of origin. " We shall soon show that such a distinction prevailed in Ireland ; and shall now only add, that the original difference between the suc- cessive settlers in the country is not even yet effaced. The blue eyes, flaxen hair, and fair complexion of the peasantry on the eastern coast and in the midland districts, shows that they are a different race from the dark-visaged, black-haired inhabitants of the south- western counties. Besides the uniform tradition, that
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 17
tiie Milesian colonists were of Asiatic origin, there are many customs still preserved in Ireland, plainly de- rived from some Eastern source. The forms of salu- tation, the Beltane fires, manifestly derived from the former prevalence of solar worship, and the feastings and cries at funerals, so completely coincide with the descriptions of Asiatic manners given by all travellers ancient and modern, that it is difficult to refuse as- sent to the traditionary account of the Milesian ori- gin. Those unaccountable edifices, the round tow- ers of Ireland, are frequently quoted in proof of this theory ; and certainly the most plausible account given of them is, that they were erected for the pur- pose of fire-worship. But this is a subject involved in hopeless obscurity, and cannot consequently af- ford much additional strength to our previous argu- ments.
The state of society in Ireland, the form of go- vernment, and the tenure of land previous to the Anglo-Norman invasion, are subjects of much more importance than the origin of the nation ; for, with- out a previous investigation of these matters, much of the subsequent history of the country would be scarcely intelligible. The attachment of the Irish to their ancient usages, and the eager desire of the first invaders to adopt these institutions, was the pri- mary source, of the greatest evils by which the coun- try was afflicted; and, notwithstanding the many dianges of rule and chances of time which have oc- cuwred in Ireland, their pernicious consequences are felt at the present hour.
At some unknown period, Ireland was divided by the Milesian conquerors into five kingdoms, Ulster, Leinster, Connaught, Munster, and Meath ; the lat- ter was at a subsequent, but equally uncertain age,
18 HISTORY OF THE
considered as the peculiar property of the paramount sovereign. It is impossible to determine at what time the entire island was first united under a single monarch. Neither is the inquiry of any impor- tance ; for the authority of the Lord Paramount was merely nominal, unless he had the good fortune to possess sufficient forces in his hereditary dominions to ensure obedience.
These kingdoms were again subdivided into se- veral principalities, inhabited by distinct septs, each ruled by its own carfinny or chieftain. The obedi- ence of these local rulers or toparchs to the provin- cial sovereign, was regulated like his to the general monarch, by the powers that he possessed for en- forcing his authority. Each petty lord presided over the administration of justice in his own dominion, and possessed, or at least exercised, the right of making war and peace with his neighbours at his pleasure.
The succession to every degree of sovereignty was regulated by the law of Tanistry, which limited here- ditary right to the family, but not to the individual. The chiefs could only be selected from noble houses ; but there was not an individual of each royal or no- ble family that might not become a candidate for the office of tanist or chieftain-elect. The love of off- spring might probably have induced the toparchs to limit the right of succession to their immediate descendants, had it not been the custom t?o elect the tanist immediately after the accession of the chief; and the interest which procured his designation, would of course be sufficient to secure his right of inheritance. This pernicious custom was produc- tive of unmixed misery. Every election of tanist was necessarily productive of party-feuds, which rare- ly terminated without bloodshed. The chiefs looked
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 19
with jealous eyes on those who only waited for their deaths to attain the rank of princes ; and the tanists, conscious of these suspicions, frequently endeavour- ed to accelerate the moment of their elevation by open war or secret assassination. In the list of 178 tnonarchs of the Milesian line enumerated by the Irish historians, only 47 died natural deaths, 71 were slain in battle, and 60 murdered. It may in- deed be said, and with some truth, that this list is a fabrication ; but it was probably composed by com- bining the genealogies of several provincial monarchs, whose pride was flattered by the notion that their ancestors ruled the entire island ; and at all events, it shows the proportion between violent changes and peaceful successions in the opinion of the native his- jtorians themselves.
, Each district was deemed the common property of the entire sept ; but the distribution of the seve- ral shares was intrusted to the toparch. The culti- vators had, consequently, no property in the soil, and were little interested in improving it by cultiva* |;ion. The tanist alone was assigned an inalienable portion of mesnal land ; all the others were tenants at the will of the toparch, and removable without the formality of a notice. The accession of every chief, the death of a large proprietor, the reception of a new member into the sept, and the banishment of any who had displeased the chief, usually pro- duced a new division of land, which kept property m a state of constant fluctuation ; and die custom <of inheritance by gavelkind, extended and perpetu- ated the evil. The gavelkind of Ireland and Wales differed, in several important particulars, from that which still prevails in some parts of England. By the Irish custom, females were absolutely excluded
20 HISTORY OF THE
from all right of inheritance ; and no distinction was made between legitimate and illegitimate chil- dren. The lower orders were divided into freemen and betageSf * or, as they were called by the Nor- mans, villains. The former had the privilege of choosing their tribe ; the latter were bound to the soil, and transferred with it in any grant or deed of sale.
These institutions f are manifestly inconsistent with
* In the grants of land made for the support of monasteries by the Irish monarchs, the Betaghs or Betages are expressly named, and the property in them transferred together with the land.
f The nature of the Irish tenure and law of Tanistry is very clearly laid down in an inquisition taken at Mallow, on the 25th October 1594, before Sir T. Norris, Vice-President of Munster, W. Saxey, Esq., and J. Gould, Esq., justices of said province, by virtue of a commission from the Lord Deputy and Council, dated the preceding 26th of June. It is found, among other things, " That Conogher O'Callaghan, alias the O'Callaghan, was and is seized of several large territories in the inquisition recited in his demesne, as lord and chieftain of Poble Callaghan, by the Irish custom, time out of mind used ; that as O'Callaghan aforesaid is lord of the said country, so there is a tanist, by custom of said country, who is Teig O'Callaghan, and the said Teig is seized as tanist, by the said custom, of several plough-lands in the inquisition mentioned, which also finds that the custom is further, that every kinsman of the O'Callaghan had a parcel of land to live upon, and yet that no estate passed thereby ; but that the lord and the 0'Cal-» laghan for the time being, by custom time out of mind, may re- move the said kinsmen to other lands ; and the inquisition fur- ther finds, that O'Callaghan MacDermod, Irrelagh O'Callaghan, Teig MacCahir O'Callaghan, Donogh Mac Thomas O'Callaghan, Conohor Genkagh 0*Callaghan, Dermod Bane O'Callaghan, and Shane MacTeig O'Callaghan, were seized of several plough- lands, according to the said custom, subject, nevertheless, to certain seigniories and duties payable to the O'Callaghan, and that they were removable by him to other lands at his plea-
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 21
the high degree of civilizatioH which the Irish his- torians describe in such glowing colours. Where the great majority of the people could not possess landed property, and where the circumstances of the country prevented the accumulation of commercial wealth, the elements of comfort and greatness were wanting. There could have been no money, no trade, no manufactures, and there could have been no towns whose municipal privileges might have re- strained the despotic power of the toparchs. The cities of Dublin, Limerick and Waterford, found in the country by the Normans, at the time of the in- vasion, if not originally built by the Danes, at least owed all their greatness and celebrity to that maritime people.
But though this state of society appears to modern writers replete with so much evil, it had many attractions for a people such as the Irish were at that day, and such as they continue at present. With few and simple wants, reckless of danger, ar- dent speculators, full of buoyant spirits, eager for any new enterprise, however culpable or dangerous, their best and their worst qualities were equally gra- tified by a system, which flattered their vanity and supplied objects for their ambition. Eligibility to the office of Tanist being common to everj^ man of noble birth, it became the interest of the nobility to conciliate the affections of the people ; and this pro- duced a connexion, not the less intimate because the hustings became frequently fields of battle. The law of gavelkind offered to every individual the hope of that great object of every Irishman's ambi- tion, a bit of land; and though the tenure was in- eeciire im4 ,^nce^tajn, Irishmen then, as now, lite*
22 HISTORY OF THE
rally fulfilled the precept, of " taking no thought for the morrow. "
The customs oijbstering and gossipred drew closer the links tl\at bound the lords to their vassals. The sons of the nobility were invariably nursed by the wives of the tenantry, and the associations thus formed were esteemed ties fully as binding as those of nature. On the other hand, the nobles became name-fathers to the children of their favourites, and were thus supposed to establish a claim to filial, ra- ther than feudal obedience. It is amusing to find, that these innocent and interesting customs were de- nounced as high treason, by the statute of Kilkenny, jn the reign of Edward III., because they were deemed the greatest support of the overgrown power of the Irish aristocracy.
The administration of justice was regulated by the •Brehon law, which is said to have been formed into ^ code at a very early period. Its most remarkable feature was the almost total absence of capital pu- nishment ; for every offence, even for murder, a pe- cuniary mulct, called an eric, was provided ; but the friends of the deceased were rarely satisfied with such a compensation, and deadly feuds were conse- quently multiplied.* The office of Brehon, or
* The following copy of a Breton's decree will probably interest the reader : —
*' These be the allegations and challenges I have in the be- half of Donagh MacSeayn and Teig MacFynyne, against Cahall O'Connor and his people, viz. That Cahall O'Connor, together with his people, came forcibly to the land of the said l)onagh, and seized upon a prey belonging to him, and have taken away with them [ ] cowes of the said prey, and have also taken with them the said Donagh and Teig prisonei-s, and the rest of the prey being taken from the said Cahall against his will : but having beaten, bruised, and deadly wound-
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 23
|tulge, was hereditary in certain families ; and, by a custom which seems to have been derived immedi- ately from the East, all honourable professions were similarly limited.
The first introduction of Christianity into Ire- land is a subject involved in impenetrable obscurity. The tradition which ascribes the conversion of the island to Saint Patrick, though generally received, is not worthy of implicit credit ; and the romantic nar- ratives of the Saint's adventures are a mere compila- tion of extravagant fictions. It would be, however, an excess of scepticism, to follow Dr Ledwich in denying the Saint's existence altogether ; but the precise period of his mission, and the extent of his success, must remain uncertain. There is, however, satisfactory evidence, that the form of Christianity established in Ireland, as well as in Britain, resem- bled that of the Eastern churches, rather than that which Rome had adopted. In such matters of dis- ieipline — as the form of clerical tonsure, the time of celebrating Easter, and the celibacy of the clergy — this difference between the Hibernian and Roman diurches might seem of little importance ; but they were at issue on more important topics. The ecclesi- astical constitution of Ireland was completely at va- riance with the model which the Roman See was anxious to establish; and several doctrines, con-
©d the said Donagh. and Teig, therefore I say, that they came with intent to kill the said Donagh and Teig, and that they shall have remedy and release as if they had been killed, in re- gard the said Donagh and Teig never submitted themselves to the mercy of the said Cahall and his people, but scoope ^escaped) by their own valour and assistance, as by the law in that behalf appeareth, which is in hcBC verba." (The words of ^e law are not quoted. ) — HardmarCs Irish Deeds, p. 26.
24 HISTORY OF THE
demned In the Papal councils, were vigorously main- tained by the Irish clergy.
The bishops, in the primitive church of Ireland, were as numerous as the parishes. They paid no canonical obedience to a foreign head ; they be- queathed frequently their pastoral charge to their children ; and generally held their Sees at the plea- sure of their chieftain. They also possessed not any of the lordly privileges which the Continental prelates enjoyed. It was not until the eighth centu- ry, that they were exempted from military service ; and they always remained subject to taxation, and to the jurisdiction of the ordinary tribunals.
The Irish church also provoked the hostility of the pontiffs, by its adherence to the doctrines of Pe- lagius, and the share it took in the controversy of *' the three chapters." Jerome, whose right to the title of Saint assuredly rests not on his moderation, assails the entire Irish nation for its supposed heresy, with a virulence surpassing the ordinary bounds of theological controversy. He even asserts, that the Irish were cannibals, and that he had himself seen a party of them eat a child in Gaul ; forgetting, as the Jesuit Slainhurst wisely remarks, to account for the permission they obtained to commit such a crime in the country, which was then the chief seat of ortho- doxy. The controversy of " the three chapters," which once agitated the entire of Christendom, is now consigned to oblivion. It seems, that the Council of Chalcedon had tacitly approved the writ- ings of three Eastern prelates, which were supposed to favour the Nestorian heresy. The Roman synod took a different view of the matter, and condemned the chapters in no very measured terms. The Irish unanimously supported the authority of the Council ;
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 25
nnd, as we are informed by Baronius, attributed the calamities, by which Italy happened to be afflicted, to the fatal heresy of the Papacy.
The Irish clergy, though deficient in orthodoxy, were honourably conspicuous for their learning, zeal, and piety. Their missionaries travelled into the neighbouring heathen countries, not like the papal legates, with all the pride, pomp, and circumstance oi imperial ambassadors ; but like their predecessors the apostles, in the garb of unaffected poverty, with the words of persuasion on their lips, and the gospel of everlasting peace in their hands. The pious la- bours of Columb-kill and Columbanus, if they were really different persons, are to this hour justly the boast of the Irish nation ; though, unfortunately, the ecclesiastical system which produced numbers of men ^animated with similar zeal has long since perished. ,, The invasions of the Franks, the Saxons, and o- ther barbarians, seconded by the dark intrigues of the Romish See and its partisans among the clergy, de- stroyed the primitive churches which had been esta- blished in Gaul and Britain. The persecuted clergy and those of their flocks who were anxious to main- tain the independence of their national churches, ei- ther fled, or were forced into a reluctant submission. The Irish generously offered to the fugitives a safe asylum ; thither came all those whom barbarous vio- lence and Roman ambition had driven from their - homes. The unfortunate Britons, in particular, threat- ened with extirpation by the Saxons, fled to the sister-island, and spread such a horror of the violence they had suffered, that the Irish to this day call their invaders by the odious name of Saxons. During the ^sixth, seventh, and eighth centuries, Ireland was pro-
26 HISTORY OF THE
verbially the chief seat of piety and learning. True, the learning of the period was confined to a very li- mited range of subjects, and, even such as it wasi, monopolized by the clergy : still, the respect shown to information, and the ardour exhibited for literary distinction, produced beneficial effects which extend- ed far beyond the circle of those who enjoyed the im- mediate fruits.
The invasion of the Danes in the ninth century, reduced Ireland to the same miserable condition as those countries for whose calamities she had shown such generous sympathy. Though these piratic hordes were not numerous, they obtained extraordi- nary success in a country distracted by internal com- motions, where each sept rejoiced in the depression of its rival, and where the feelings of nationality were lost in the virulence of party-spirit. As the Danes came into Ireland from the East, they called them- selves Eastmen, or Ostmen, just as in France they took the name of Northmen, or Normans. They first confined themselves to mere predatory expeditions ; soon after they erected castles, or seized on towns near the shore, to shelter their booty ; until, at length, encouraged by their own success, and the dissensions of the natives, they resolved to attempt the conquest of the entire island. Early in the ninth century, this was effected by Turgesius, a monarch distinguish- ed by great abilities, and greater depravity. After a brief reign of cruelty and lust, Turgesius was mur- dered by the contrivance of a petty prince whose daughter he designed to seduce ; and in the general revolt which ensued, the power of the Ostmen was completely overthrown. But the private feuds of the Irish princes rescued the Ostmen from total destruc-
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 27
tion ; and, retaining possession of the seaports, they soon became formidable, though they never regained their former supremacy of the country.
In the beginning of the eleventh century, a ma- jority of the Irish determined to make a great na- tional effort against the invaders : the nominal Lord Paramount of the island, Malachi King of Meath, was deposed, and the sovereignty transferred to the celebrated Brian Boiromhe, whose administration of bis provincial kingdom had raised it to the highest rank among the surrounding states. During a reign of ten years, Brian ruled the country in tranquillity ; the Danish settlers purchased safety by becoming tributary, and the feuds of the Irish princes were checked by the vigour and prudence of the monarch. But the spirit of faction, though quelled, was not extinguished ; the partisans of the deposed monarch secretly meditated a new revolution ; and their pro- jects were favoured by many who viewed with jea- lousy the elevation of a rival tribe. A trivial cir- cumstance kindled these materials of discord into a flame. Murchard, the eldest son of Brian, incauti- ously reproached Maolmordha, King of Leinster, for his former treacherous connection with the Danes, and so irritated the vindictive passions of the haughty prince, that he determined to purchase revenge, even at the price of his country's ruin. An alliance was so©n formed between the King of Leinster, and the Danish colony of Dublin. Auxiliaries were summon- ed from Norway, and the northern islands ; emis- saries were sent to stimulate the discontented princes into rebellion ; and Brian, now in the extremity of old age, found himself involved in a contest more fearful than any he had hitherto experienced. The monarch, however, proved himself equal to the emer-
i
23 HISTORY OF THE
gency ; he summoned to his standard all the princei who owed him obedience, and collected together hii hereditary forces, on whom alone he saw that ini- plicit reliance could be placed. The battle, which for the time decided the fate of Ireland, was fought on the plains of Clontarf, now a pretty village near Dublin. The engagement commenced on the morn- ing of Good Friday, A. d. 1014, a circumstance which added religious enthusiasm to the patriotic Keal of the Irish, for the Danes had not been as yet converted to Christianity. At the very moment that battle was joined, Malachi, King of Meath, with- drew his forces, leaving Brian with only his own provincial army to withstand the overwhelming num- bers of the enemy. The soldiers of Munster were not, however, disconcerted ; they had with them in the field every member of the royal house, to which they were passionately attached ; for the King brought with him to the battle his five sons, his grandson, and his fifteen nephews. The conflict lasted the entire day ; but at length the valour of the Irish pre- vailed. The traitor Maolmordha, with his chief as- sociates, were slain. His followers immediately broke their lines and fled ; and the Danes were driven, with dreadful slaughter, to their ships and the gates of Dublin. But this success was dearly purchased. Brian was slain, while praying in his tent, by a wandering party of the enemy ; his son Murchard, with the best and bravest of the Irish nobility, fell in the arms of victory ; and the gallant sept of the Dalgais, Brian*s own tribe, was almost annihilated. With Brian perished the glory, th? tranquillity, and the prosperity of his country. Ireland no longer existed as a nation, but was broken up into a num* ber of independent sovereignties, animated by the
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. ^29
most rancorous mutual hostility. " There was no longer a king in the land. Every man did that which was right in his own eyes. " From this pe- riod to the Anglo-Norman invasion, the annals of Ireland record little more than a series of intestine wars begun for some petty object, and concluded without any remarkable consequence. A new in- vasion of the Danes, under the guidance of Mag- nus, King of the Isle of Man, is indeed stated to have been repelled ; but how deplorable must the condition of the country have been, when the King of Man would venture to invade it with the hopes .of conquest ! Tlie evils produced by this long un- , varying scene of civil discord, predisposed the Irish princes to submit to the power of the Norman prince. They felt the necessity of possessing a sove- jreign ruler ; and they knew, by bitter experience, .that mutual jealousy and ancient rivalry would ren- der the government of any native prince equally in- secure and inejHicient.
â–
\\ VOL. I. B . i
. .. . lir..l-d
30 HISTORY OF THB
CHAPTER IL
The Causes and Occasion of the Anglo-Norman Invasion.
The establishment of the Anglo-Norman dynasty in Ireland, was but a part of that great system by which the Papal supremacy was enabled to prevail over the national churches of Western Europe. Henry came to Ireland as the deputy of the Pope. To establish his spiritual authority was the avowed ob- ject of the expedition ; and on the Papal gift alone did the Norman monarch rest his claim to the sove- reignty of the country. By a very rare coincidence, the zealous Protestant and Catholic writers of Irish history have agreed in suppressing this important fact. The former were unwilling to acknowledge that their ascendancy, which they justly identified with English connexion, was derived from the great ob- ject of their fear and hatred ; the latter, equally at- tached to their country and their religion, were dis- inclined to confess that their spiritual head had de- stroyed their national church, and given the domi-; nion over their native land to a stranger, in order t^' extend his own power. The contest between pa^ triotic spirit, and habitual submission to the Roma# pontiff, is evident in some of the writings of the earliei? Irish historians : they zealously contend for the piety
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 31
and purity of their national church ; but, when they labour to identify its doctrines with Romanism, they are sorely at a loss to account for the harsh epithets given to the Irish clerical establishment by the Popes and their authorized advocates.
The power of the Roman See had acquired addi- tional strength by every revolution caused by the suc- cessive immigrations of the Northern barbarians. The pontiffs deemed the ignorant pagans more hopeful subjects for the bold experiment of establishing their supremacy than the Christians of Gaul, Britain and Erin, who were zealously attached to the indepen- dence of their national churches. They therefore uni- formly supported the cause of the invaders, concili- ated their leaders by giving them extravagant titles, and presenting them with rich dresses, whose unusual splendour attracted their admiration, and gratified their vanity. The Franks were encouraged in their warfare against the Gauls, the Goths, and the Bur- gundians ; because, after the conversion of Clovis, they readily adopted whatever creed his Holiness thought fit to dictate ; and the former possessors of the country were sentenced to utter ruin because they were heretics, or at least schismatics. The Goths were accused of Arianism ; the Britons were said to have adopted the errors of Pelagius; and paganism itself was declared preferable to such abominable he- resies. Many of the bishops in the devoted nations leaded the machinations of the Roman pontiffs ; they •were eager to become spiritual princes, and to share in those privileges and immunities which Rome claimed for the Episcopal character. Foreign vio- lence was thus aided by domestic treason ; and the JK^pal authority was established in France and Eng- ilfi^d by the.swoxds of the Franks and the battle-axes
SS' HISTORY OF THE jl
of the Saxons. But no opportunity of reducing Ire*! land to obedience was afforded. The successors oi\ Augustine in the see of Canterbury vainly sent em- bassies to the island ; their authority was spurne^ their threats derided, and they were left to vent theii indignation in slander and reproach. Bede has pre- served a curious specimen of the remonstrances ad* dressed to the schismatic Irish by the Papal legates; it is full of pride and bitterness, as may be seen in the following extract : — " We, deputies from the A- postolic See to the Western regions, once foolishly believed in your island's reputation for sanctity ; but we now know, and can no longer doubt, that you are no better than the Britons. Of this the journey of Columbanus into Gaul, and that of one Dagammon into Britian, have fully convinced us ; for, amongst Other things, this Dagammon, passing through the places where we dwelt, has refiised not only to come and eat at our tables, but even to take his meals in the same house with us. "
The crimes of Columbanus have been mentioned in the preceding chapter ; they were simply ardent zeal, sincere piety, and unpretending poverty. He found- ed no bishopricks, he courted no kings, he preached Only to the poor and to the afflicted. Leaving courts and camps to the Papal legates, he spent his life in preaching the gospel to the wood-cutters and hun- ters in the mountains of the Vosges. The discour- teous conduct of Dagammon was not wholly without (Bxcuse. The massacre of the British monks at Ban- gor by a body of pagan Saxons more than suspected of having been employed by the Italian Archbishop of Canterbury, and the bitter persecution of the na- tive clergy of Wales, disgusted a man who believed in his simplicity that Christianity was, as it ought to
CIVIX WARS OF IRELAND. 83
JbC; a system of peace and love, an4 who was, besidei^ allied in faith to the sufferers.
The invasion of the Danes was fatal to the nation- <al church of Ireland. The seats of learning, which had been ever spared in the disastrous feuds between rival princes, were but the more tempting objects to ■these avaricious savages. The seminaries were des- .troyed, the students scattered, and the means of sup^. jjort taken away from those who laboured to instruct 'a new race of pastors. Hence innumerable abuses ^rose ; the toparchs appointed to the sees persons •wholly inadequate to perform the duties ; monaste- ries were seized by ambitious laymen ; and religious -ordinances were either entirely neglected, or perform- ed with a negligence which degraded them into an .unmeaning ritual. The power possessed by the -Anglo- Saxon clergy, contrasted with their own weak- ness, naturally excited the emulation of the Irish bi- shops. They began to wish for the lofty titles and sthe substantial privileges enjoyed by the prelates of f^e neighbouring island ; and as they clearly saw 4hat this object could not be attained without the asr sistance of the Roman See, they determined to make -the acknowledgment of the Papal authority the basis of their own aggrandizement. It may be, that some were actuated by better motives. There may have been a few who thought tliat external aid was neces- sary to reform the abuses which had been produced by centuries of commotion, and who looked to Rom^, indisputably the head of the Western churches, as the only source from whence the means of an effi- cient reformation could be derived. The Holy See was not slow in availing itself of these favourable . dispositions, especially as, by its aid, a new dynasty -had been just established in England, moi:e devoted-
IS4 HISTORY OF tHE
ly attached to the Papal cause than that of the Saxons, because the benefits received by the Normans were , more important and more recent.
The conquest of England by the Duke of No*- mandy, was hailed by the descendants of the Danes in Ireland as a triumph that prognosticated the revi- val of their own power and eminence. They relin- t[uished the name of Ostmen for the more important title of Normans, and sent ambassadors to congratu- late William on his success. They also broke off their connection with the Irish Church, asserting, â– with truth, that they had been instructed in Chris- tianity by the Saxons ; and they sent over their bi- shop-elect of Dublin to receive ordination from Lan- franc, the Norman Archbishop of Canterbury. This was the first step towards submission ; but it was not made without resistance ; for a letter is extant irom the people of Dublin to Ralph, Archbishop of Canterbury, about the year 1121, in which they complain of the dislike shown to them by the Irish bishops, on Account of their Having submitted to the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of a foreigner. The first Irishman who advocated the Papal supremacy was Gillebert, Bishop of Limerick, who accepted the of- fice of apostolic legate. He wrote a curious tract, which is yet extant, recommending his countrymen to tender their spiritual allegiance to the common father of Christendom ; but he urges it as a novel proposal, which assuredly he would not have done, if, as some pretend the first preachers of the gospel in Ireland had made the authority of the Pope a part of their system. Gillebert was succeeded as legate by the celebrated Malachy, whose life has been written by St Bernard, the pious and learned abbot of Clareval. Malachy took the decided measure of going to Rome
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 35
,40 solicit palls, the Roman emblem of investiture, lor the metropolitan see of Ardmagh and the new archbishopric of Cashel. He did not, however, com- plete the journey ; he died at Clareval in the arms of his friend and biographer. The court of Rome did not allow the favourable impressions produced by Gillebert and Malachy to remain unimproved. In the year 1152, a synod was convened at Kells, over which Cardinal Paparo, the apostolic legate, presided.
; There, for the first time, palls were distributed to the Irish prelates, and the Papal authority formally ac- knowledged. The other enactments, made at the «ame time, clearly show the motives by which the clergy were induced to resign their independence : — tithes never before collected in Ireland ; immunities hitherto withheld ; the freedom of their order from taxation and civil jurisdiction were granted at this synod ; and thus, the last of the Western national churches was united finally to the Roman See.
The new ecclesiastical establishment was not, how- ever, received universally. Many of the inferior
!*«lergy, animated by different motives, vigorously con- tended for their ancient usages ; and the toparchs were opposed to a system, by which their power was limited and controlled. Complaints were made in Rome, that the Irish clergy still continued to mar- ry ; that tithes were paid irregularly ; and that the native princes usurped the nomination to ecclesiasti-
. cal dignities. The Pope saw that some ally was ne-
â– cessary to confirm the supremacy which he had al- ready gained ; and the abilities and ambition of Hen- ry II. pointed him out as the most eligible auxiliary.
, In the year 1 155, the negotiations between Henry II. and Pope Adrian were concluded. The holy father entered into a compact with the enterprismg young
SS HIStORY OF THE
monarch, by which it was stipulated, that the loTd- ship of Ireland should be transferred to Henry, pro- vided that he would maintain the Papal supremacy and the ecclesiastical constitutions, which had been established by the synod of Kells. This negotia-* tion, which was the foundation of the connexion between England and Ireland, is a precious sample of the hypocrisy, the injustice, and the mutual trea-*' chery of both parties. Henry, by no means a de-* voted slave to ecclesiastical power, suddenly founJ. his Christian feelings wounded, by the schismatitit state of the Irish church ; he therefore proposes to* invade the island with a missionary army, not to ex-^ tend his own dominions, but to diffuse the blessings' of pure religion in that benighted country. Adrian, oil the other hand, without even affecting to consult the wishes of the inhabitants, transfers to the Nor- man prince the sovereignty of an independent coun- try, with as little scruple as if it had been an estate,^ of which he held the title-deeds. The genuineness of Adrian's bull has indeed been sometimes disput-' ed ; but this is a matter of little importance. The fact, that Ireland was literally sold to the Norman in- vaders by the Pope, is indisputable, and is proved by a host of documents, which never have been ques- tioned. The bull of Pope Alexander, read at the council of Cashel, which, by the way, refers to A- drian's bull as an authentic document, is to the full •ds explicit a declaration of the terms of the bargain, as that whose cretlit has been impugned. The de- claration of the Irish clergy in their synod at Cashel, that they recognised Henry's authority, because it was founded on the infallible decree of Christ's vi- car, and the unanimous consent of all cotemporary historians^ native, English, and Continental, that^
CIVIL WARS OP IRELAND. ^^
Henry undertook the conquest of Ireland, by com- mand of the visible head of the church, in order to' extirpate the religious abuses which prevailed in that country, are sufficient to prove the true cause and nature of the invasion, if -Adrian's bull had never existed. During four centuries, the English mO" narchs and the parliament of the pale, unable ta maintain their supremacy by the sword, constantly appealed to these Papal grants as the sacred source of their power ; and, during the same period, every effort to restore the independence of Ireland was placed under ban and excommunication, as being a rebellion against the deputy of the sacred successors to the patrimony of Saint Peter. After the Refor- mation, when the Catholics of Ireland divided into^ tWo parties, which may be called those of the Low and High church, the latter, so far from denying tbd fact, of Ireland having been ceded to England by Papal authority, laboured strenuously to maintain the right of the Pope to make such a grant, and to resume it when the conditions had been violated. The origin of the right of the Holy See to Ireland was variously stated by different writers. One found out that all islands were included in the magnificent donation bestowed on the successors of Saint Peter by the Emperor Constantine ; another discovered, in the prophecies of Isaiah, a divine right to islands ; a third asserted, that some of the Irish Kings, dur- ing a pilgrimage to Rome, had resigned the supre- macy of their dominions to the Sovereign Pontiff; while a whole host contended, that the Irish, in the time of Saint Patrick, had, in a sudden burst of na- tional gratitude, placed 4;hemselves and their country at the disposal of their spiritual father. These idle legends are now only calculated to produce a smile ;
^O HISTORY OF THE
but there was a time when they were potent causes of evil ; and many and bitter were the calamities which such wicked absurdities inflicted on the un- fortunate island.
Continental wars, and the rebellion of his unnatu-, ral sons, long prevented Henry from availing himselC of the Papal grant ; but, in the mean time, he en- tered into negotiations with some of the Irish pre- lates, who were anxious to purchase the pomp, power and privilege, possessed by the English and Conti- nental bishops, even at the price of their country's independence. What might have been the result of unaided negotiations is mere matter of conjecture. An accidental circumstance hurried them to a rapid conclusion, and brought the Normans into Ireland, before Henry and his partisans could make any pre- vious preparations for the unexpected event.
;^7>i 'lo- i^fssM; .BWit^aM:.
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 39
CHAPTER III.
' Strongbow's Invasion.
If the worst evils of civil commotion could form an -excuse for transferring the sovereignty of a country •to a foreign potentate, the Pope and the clergy might have found a powerful apology in the state of ■Ireland during the century that preceded the English •invasion. The fatal victory at Clontarf so weakened the power of the Munster princes, that the O'Briens were unable to retain their preeminence, and the -kings of the North and West became the principal <»ndidates for the supreme power. Turlogh O'Con- nor, King of Connaught, nominally obtained this dignity ; but he was fiercely opposed by O'Lachlan, chief of the northern sept of Hy-Nial, aided by many other princes of Ulster and Leinster. After a long and desultory warfare, the rivals agreed to divide the sovereignty between them ; but, like all -.similar expedients, the peace obtained by this ar- rangement was partial and temporary, and war was soon renewed between the partisans of the competi- tors. O'Rourke, Prince of BrefFny (the present county of Leitrim), was a warm supporter of the O'Connors ; while his neighbour, Dermod Mac- 'Murchad, King of Leinster, was as vigorous a sup-
^0 HISTORY OF THE
porter of the Hy-Nial dynasty. Their poUtical dif- ferences were further heightened by personal causes. O'Rourke, far advanced in years, had married Der- vorghal, a princess of Meath, that might have been his daughter, and had soon cause to suspect that her affections were fixed on the youthful Dermod, the fame of whose beauty and courtesy was spread through all the surrounding septs. The war be- tween the partisans of O'Connor and O'Lachlan was renewed ; Dermod invaded the territories of O'Rourke, and . carried away Dervorghal a willing captive into Leinster. The injured prince com- plained to O'Connor of the gross wrongs he had ■received; and the King of Connaught at once le*- ■vied an army to support his ally. Dermod's terri- tories were invaded before O'Lachlan could come -to his assistance ; but he purchased peace, by re- Storing the lady to her husband, and making com:- pensation for the ravages his soldiers had committed in BrefFny (a. d. 1154). This event, which most historians assign as the immediate cause of the -Anglo-Norman invasion, really occurred sixteen years before Dermod was driven into exile, and con- sequently before he had any necessity to ask for fc»- reign assistance. On the death of Turlogh 0'Con>- Jior, the undisputed sovereignty of Ireland was given to O'Lachlan ; and the partisans of the Hy-NiaJs immediately prepared to extend their dominions, and punish their rivals (a. d. 1156). The fidelity of -Dermod was richly rewarded ; he was enabled to ex:- tend his sway over many of the neighbouring septs, •and soon reckoned among his vassals the Kings of Ossory and Meath, the Danish lord of Dublin, and •the toparchs who ruled in the districts which now ibrm the counties of Wicklow, Carlow, and Wex-
CIVIL WARS OF IRBLAND. 41
ford. The Prince of BrefFny had reason to dread the use which his rival might make of his newly acquired power ; but while Dermod was preparing utterly to destroy the power of O'Rourke, an unexpected event produced a complete revolution in Irish politics, O'Lachlan, after concluding a solemn treaty with Dunlevcj Prince of Ulad (the present county of Down), treacherously made him captive, and tore out his eyes in prison. This abominable perfidy roused the northern chieftains into insurrection ; a rapid and general revolt took place ; and at the bat- tle of Litterluin O'Lachlan fell, and the power of his femily was annihilated (a. d. 1167). Roderick O'Connor, the son of Turlogh, ascended the vacant throne, appai*ently without waiting for the forms of au election, and immediately prepared to avenge the iKTongs which had been inflicted on the partisans of Lis family. The Prince of Breffiiy was a willing as- sistant to the new monarch ; and the feudatories of Dermod, anxious to regain their independence, readi- ly promised to favour his designs. On the advaiK5e p£ O'Connor into Leinster, Dermod found himself deserted by all his vassals ; and, unable to make any effective resistance, he set fire to Ferns, his capital city, and fled with a small train to solicit the aid of foreigners. This is the account given by the native Irish historians, and it bears all the internal marks of truth. The assertion, that Dermod was driven out as the ravisher of Dervorghal, rather than the partisan of O'Lachlan, rests solely on the authority of Giraldus Cambrensis, who, coming into the coun- try as a stranger long after the transaction, might easily have mistaken a prominent, though incidental circumstance, for the principal cause of the war,
43 HISTORY OF THE I
especially as it was the occasion of the first act of hostility on the part of Turlogh O'Connor.
Henry's claim to the lordship of Ireland was pro- bably the motive that induced Dermod to invoke the assistance of that monarch, since no other plau- sible reason can be assigned for his not rather seek- ing the aid of the Munster princes, who were the hereditary rivals of the O'Connors, or claiming aid from the Kings of France or Scotland, both more intimately connected with Ireland at the period, (a. d. 1 168), When the exiled prince arrived in Bristol, he found that Henry was absent in Gui- enne ; and thither he immediately proceeded, accom- panied by his secretary, Maurice Regan. Having stated his wrongs to Henry, he made him a tender of his allegiance; and having performed liege ho- mage, received from the Norman king letters-patent, authorizing any of his English subjects that pleased to aid in the restoration of the dethroned monarch. Henry also recommended Dermod to remain in Bristol, until he could himself come personally to his assistance. The quarrel with Thomas-a-Becket, and the hostility of the French King, however, de- layed the English monarch so long, that Dermod 'was almost reduced to despair. In this extremityj. he resolved to avail himself of the King's letter, and solicit the assistance of those Norman adventurers who had settled in Wales.
In the beginning of this century, several of theNcH*- man soldiers, who had not received any share of the Saxon estates, or who had wasted in dissipation the lands acquired by the conquest, obtained from the Anglo-Norman kings letters of license to conquer for themselves dominions in Wales* The southern
CIVIL WABS OF IRELAND. 43
part of the country was the principal scene of these invasions, which were for the most part successful ; and the county of Pembroke having been subdued by a mixed body of Normans, Flemings and Eng- lish, was so completely dissevered from the princi- pality, that it was usually called Little England be- yond Wales. Gilbert, Earl of Pembroke, the chief of this little territory, had a son, Richard, Earl of Strigul (now Chepstow), surnamed Strongbow, from his feats of archery. Strongbow was celebrated for his valour and military skill ; but his dissipated ha- bits had ruined his fortunes ; and his notorious am- bition deprived him of royal favour. To this no- bleman, Dermod made application for assistance, promising him, that, if restored by his aid, he would give him his daughter Eva in marriage, and secure him the inheritance of his kingdom — a promise di- rectly at variance with the Irish law, which made the succession to the crown elective, and acknow- ledged no right in the female descendants. Strong- bow lent a willing ear to these conditions ; but, fear- ing the jealousy of Henry, refused to sail, imtil he received his sovereign's special permission. While Richard was thus delayed, Dermod succeeded in en- gaging other adventurers, equally brave and unscru- pulous, but not so powerful as Earl Richard. The chief of these was Robert Fitz- Stephen, the gover- nor of Cardigan, in South Wales. He had been thrown into prison by Rice, or Rhees-ap-Griffith, one of the Welsh princes, for refusing to join in an insurrection agamst the Norman power ; and he was now released, on condition of departing with his fol- lowers to another country, where they could offer no resistance to the meditated revolt. Witli him were joined Maurice Fitzgerald, his maternal brother, the
!44 , HISTORY Of THE
«on of the Bishop of St David's, Meiler Fitz-Henry, Maurice de Prendergast, Herve of Montmarais, and some other knights of reputation. Having made these arrangements, Dermod prematurely returned to Ireland, where he was soon exposed to the most im- minent danger. On the news of his arrival, O'Con- nor and O'Rourke marched against him with their united forces ; and MacMurchad, unable to make any effective resistance, retired with a few adherents into the fastnesses of Hy-Kinsellagh, a wild district on the banks of the river Slaney. At the same time, he despatched his friend and secretary Maurice into Wales, to expedite the auxiliaries who had promised their assistance. The attempts made by the troops of Connaught to force the post occupied by Der- ■mod, were repulsed with some loss ; and Roderick, being at the same time alarmed by the report of a meditated revolt in Munster, entered into an accom- modation with the crafty monarch, and allowed him 40 retain a portion of his dominions, on condition of paying tribute.
', In the beginning of May, A. D. 1170, the Nor- man invaders for the first time appeared on the coast of Ireland. They landed at a place called Bann, on the southern coast of the county of Wexford, and immediately sent messengers to notify their arrival to -Dermod. This little army consisted only of thirty knights, sixty heavy-armed soldiers, and three hun- dred archers, under the command of Fitz-Stephen, and ten knights, and two hundred archers, headed by Prendergast — forces so apparently inadequate to the feats recorded of them, that their achievements, at first sight, seem like the wild fictions of romance. But a little examination of the circumstances in which the Normans and Ifish were placed, will soon
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 45
explain this apparent disproportion between cause and effect. The former had been miUtary adven- turers for more than a century. Having no depend- ence but their swords, they had devoted themselves, from infancy, to the exercises of chivalry, and valued no possession but their arms and horses. Their cross-bows and their discipline had decided the fate of England at the battle of Hastings ; and the wars on the Continent had taught them to improve these advantages to the utmost. The Irish, on the con- trary, had never served out of their own country. They had learned none of those improvements in the art of war which made the name of Norman formid- able throughout Europe. Their soldiers still used the light weapons and the thin defences which had suf- ficed for their ancestors ; their cavalry was mounted on the native breed of horses, called hobbies, light and active, indeed, but not so formidable as the powerful war-horse of the foreign knights. It is no wonder, then, that the Normans, locked in complete steel, and mounted on their brilliant chargers, should have easily routed the half-naked and badly-mount- ed troops with whom they had to contend.
The first enterprise undertaken by the King of Lcinster and his associates, was the siege of Wex- brd, a Danish town of great strength and import- iRcu. An attempt was made to carry it by assault, n which eighteen of the assailants, and only three ;f the garrison, were slain ; but such was the im- ,)rc,ssion produced by the formidable array of the jSIormans, that the garrison, at the instigation of the jlergy, offered to capitulate; and after a delay of jhree days, principally caused by the obstinate pride )f Dermod, the town was surrendered on equitable erms.
VOL. I. . C
46 HISTORY OF THE
In pursuance of his promises, Dermod bestowed the lordship of Wexford and the surrounding dis- tricts on Fitz-Stephen, conjointly with Fitz-Gerald, though the latter had not yet arrived ; and he pre- sented to Herve of Montmarais two districts on the coast between Waterford and Wexford. Herve planted in these territories, which form the present baronies of Bargy and Forth, a colony of the Bel- gians who had settled in Pembroke ; and their de- scendants, even at the present day, continue to be distinguished from the inhabitants of the surround- ing districts by their peculiar dialect and customs.
After these donations, Dermod resolved to turn his arms against Donald Mac-Gilla Phadric, (a name afterwards anglicized into Fitz-Patrick), the King of Ossory. Donald had not only deserted Dermod at the commencement of his misfortunes, but had also been guilty of the murder of his son in a fit of ma- trimonial jealousy. Suspecting that his queen view- ed the princely prisoner too favourably, Donald tore out his eyes with his own hands, and the hapless youth died in consequence. The war in Ossory (part of the modem county of Kilkenny) was more formidable than the attack of Wexford. Donald stationed his forces in an intrenched camp, whose strength defied the assaults of the Normans ; and the utmost efforts of valour and skill were unable to overcome the advantages of his position. In this difficulty, Fitz-Stephen had recourse to stratagem. He ordered his men to feign a retreat ; and when the Ossorians rushed from their camp with alj the ela- tion of imagined victory, the men-at-arms suddenly wheeled into line, and presented " a wall of steel,
* The forcible expression of an Irish annalist on a Simifi' occasion. â– . '
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 47
which the half-naked Irish could not penetrate. Sur- prised at this sudden check, they wavered ; and the charge of the knights, at this decisive moment, at once decided the fate of the day. Ossory was wasted with fire and sword ; but the victors were terrified by the dangerous nature of the country, and resolved to secure their booty by a timely retreat. Donald, more irritated than daunted by calamity, seized a dif- ficult pass through which the invaders should pass on their return, and, but for the precipitancy of his followers, must have obtained decisive revenge. De- ceived by the same stratagem as before, the Ossori- ans rushed from their intrenchments. A party placed in ambush by Dermod suddenly assaulted their rear, and the lines of the Normans in their front could not be broken. The people of Ossory suffered more severely in this than in the former engagement. As soon as the fate of the battle was decided, the Irish of Dermod's party, whose equivocal fidelity seems to have been decided by success, made a fierce slaugh- tier of their flying countrymen ; and when the pursuit ceased, cut off the heads of the fallen, and brought them to Dermod as a trophy. It is said that the King of Leinster, finding among these ghastly spoils the head of one of his most virulent persecutors, in- dulged his ferocious revenge by mangling the face with his teeth ; but the story rests on the unsupport- ed testimony of Giraldus Cambrensis, a credulous writer, who loses no opportunity of maligning the character of the native Irish.
Dennod, encouraged by his successes, proceeded to punish the defection of the several septs which had been subject to hira during the Hy-Nial dynas- ty ; but, contrary to the advice of his allies, he con- tented himself with plundering the country, and took
48 HISTORY OF THE
no measures to secure his conquests. The defectiijii of Maurice de Prendergast exposed him to new and unexpected danger. This military adventurer, be- lieving that his services were not properly appreci- ated, went over to the Prince of Ossory, and thus enabled him to act on the offensive. But this new alliance was of brief duration. Prendergast, after hav- ing assisted the Ossorians in an expedition against the O'Moores of Leix, discovered that Donald's follow- ers treacherously meditated the murder of their al- lies, in order to secure their part of the plunder ; and, justly irritated, returned once more to Dermod. The arrival of Maurice Fitz-Gerald with a fresh band of Normans, made the superiority of the King of Lein- Ster so decisive, that the Ossorian prince offered terms of submission, which, on the recommendation of the Normans, were reluctantly accepted.
While the first adventurers were thus employed, Strongbow had proceeded in person to King Henry, in order that he might obtain permission to lead the adventurers in Ireland. Henry, swayed both by jealousy and ambition, was equally unwilling to as- sent or refuse. He made an equivocal answer, which the Earl took for a full approbation, and, returning to Wales, made extensive preparations for his expedi- tion. Raymond le Gros, who headed the vanguard of the new armament, was sent with ten knights and seventy archers to secure a landing-place for the rest of the army (a, D. 1171.) He arrived about the middle of May in the noble estuary formed by the confluence of the Nore, the Suir, and the Barrow, a little below the city of Waterford, and, landing at a place called by the old historians Downdonnell, or Dundonolf, immediately erected a fortification of earth and sods to protect his little army.
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 49
Waterford had been originally a colony of the Danes or Ostmen, and was still inhabited by their descendants. It was governed by two Danish prin- ces, Reginald and Swarth, and appears to have en- joyed a qualified independence. The news of Ray- mond's landing considerably alarmed the citizens, es- pecially when they remembered the fate of Wexford which was now subjected to the Norman Fitz-Ste- phen. Resolving to crush the evil in the bud, they summoned to their assistance some of the neighbour- ing septs, and closely blockaded the new fort. Ray- mond had, in the meantime, collected a great store of cattle from the neighbouring districts, which he drove against the lines of the besiegers. Before the Irish could recover from their confusion, the Normans charged and obtained a victory, as great as it was unexpected. More than a thousand were slain, and about seventy taken prisoners. The conquerors did not make a generous use of their victory. The captives were massacred in cold blood, * by order of Raymond, enraged at the loss of his brother-in- arms, De Bevin, who was slain in the battle.
Henry had, in the mean time, peremptorily com- manded Strongbow to desist from his enterprise. But the Earl, trusting that success would atone for his disobedience, set sail, and arrived in the bay of Waterford with a force of two hundred knights, and about twelve hundred infantry. The day after his landing, Strongbow, by the advice of Raymond, advanced to the attack of Waterford ; and, after
* In this aud some other details, the authority of Maurioe Regan (secretary to King Dermod) has been followed, in pre- ference to that of Giraldus Cambrensis. Regan was an eye- witness, and a principal actor in all these transactions. The information of Cambrensis was derived from hearsay.
50 HISTORY OF THE
having Inspected the fortifications, determined to hazard an assault. Twice the Normans were rer pulsed by the garrison ; but one of the captains ob- serving, at the eastern angle, a cage-work house that projected beyond the walls, cut away the props by which it was supported ; and. the breach caused by the fall of the house opened an entrance for the as- sailants. The resistance of the garrison was pu- nished by a merciless slaughter, which continued until the arrival of Dermod. The king successfully exerted himself to save the lives of his countrymen ; and as soon as the work of murder had ceased, so- lemnized the stipulated marriage between Strongbow and his daughter Eva. The nuptials were celebrated with such maimed rites as the time allowed ; and immediately after, the confederates determined to march against Dublin, whose inhabitants had thrown off their allegiance to Dermod.
The news of these successes at length roused Roderick from his inactivity. He assembled a nu- merous army, with which he advanced to Clondal- kan, between the invaders and Dublin ; but no sooner had his followers seen the formidable array of the Normans, than they lost all courage, and dispersed without coming to an engagement. Dermod pur- sued his march without further interruption ; for Hesculph MacTurkill, the prince of the Ostmen in Dublin, after the retreat of the King of Connaught, was unwilling to hazard an engagement. Though the number of the besiegers was less than that of the garrison, the governor readily offered to capitu- late ; but as the terms could not be arranged to the mutual satisfaction of both parties, Strongbow re- solved to hazard an assault, which was completely successful. The slaughter was dreadful ; for the ci-
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 51
tizens, though deserted by the soldiers, made a desperate defence. It was of course unsuccessful. Many were slain ; and numbers of those who es- caped the sword were drowned in the river. Hes- culph and a great part of the garrison, on the first alarm, fled to their ships, and escaped to the He- brides. The victorious Normans next made an in- cursion into Meath, where they met with little re- sistance. After a brief campaign they returned to Dublin, laden with plunder. Roderick, unable or unwilling to meet the enemy in the field, sent am- bassadors to remonstrate with Dermod ; but, finding that the King of Leinster, elated by success, paid little regard to his requests, he ordered the hostages which had been given to him before the arrival of the Normans to be instantly beheaded. One of these unfortunate victims was Dermod's natural son. The slaughter of him and his companions complet- ed the alienation of MacMurrough from the cause of his country; and at his death, which occurred soon after, he bequeathed his dominions to Strong- bow, and exhorted him to maintain the possession.
The death of Dermod was followed by the defec- tion of his vassals ; and several other events which occurred about the same time were still more unfa- vourable to the Normans. A general council of the Irish clergy was held at Armagh. After a long de- liberation, they declared that the success of the in-, vaders was owing to the anger of Heaven, which the Irish had provoked by purchasing English slaves fi-om the merchants of Bristol — a city long infamous for this traffic in human flesh. The slaves through- out the country were immediately liberated ; and the Irish, believing that the Divine wrath was thus avert- ed, felt proportionally elated. In England, Henry,
52 HISTORY OF THE
more jealous than ever of Strongbow's success, issu- ed an edict, strictly forbidding the exportation of men, arms or ammunition, to Ireland.
Under these circumstances, Strongbow learned, with dismay, that a formidable confederacy for the expulsion of the, invaders had been formed by the native Irish, the Danes of the Hebrides, and the corsairs in the Isle of Man. Strongbow immedi-^ ately sent orders to Fitz- Stephen to send part of the garrison of Wexford to assist in the defence of Dub- lin. But the people of Wexford no sooner saw the number of their masters weakened, than they burst into insurrection, slew the greater part, and sent the rest as prisoners to an island in the bay. The news of this calamity reached Strongbow at the mo- ment when his courage began to waver on account of the overwhelnjing force of the enemy. He imme- diately sent Laurence O'Toole, Archbishop of Dub- lin, to propose terms of accommodation to Roderick^ I and offered to acknowledge himself his vassal. The' ' Archbishop is said, by many authors, to have been the original instigator of the confederacy ; but this opinion seems to have little foundation in truth ; for he would scarcely have remained voluntarily in a garrison of which he had planned the destruction. Roderick declared, that he would enter into no treaty, of which the departure of the Normans from the island should not be a preliminary ; and, in case of a refusal, threatened to give immediate orders for an assault. When these terms were proposed in the council of the adventurers, Milo de Cogan declared his resolution rather to die in battle, than to pur- chase uncertain safety by disgraceful submission. These noble sentiments were applauded by the en- tire assembly ; and, before their enthusiasm had j
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 53
time to cool, the troops were drawn out, for the ap- parently desperate enterprise of assaulting the Irish camp. The effect of the surprise was decisive. The besiegers fled, almost without striking a blow. Roderick made no effort to rally his troops ; and the Normans, with the loss of only a single man, ob- tained a complete victory. The Danes returned to their ships as soon as they learned the event, and, departing to the Hebrides, relieved Strongbow from all his difficulties. The affairs of the south next en- gaged the attention of the Earl. He advanced to Wexford, which the inhabitants burned, and deserted on his approach ; but ♦while he was preparing to take a severe vengeance for their revolt and inve- terate hostility, he was deterred, by their threat of massacring Fitz- Stephen and their other prisoners. On his march, he escaped imminent danger from an ambuscade prepared by the sept of the O'Ryans at Hydrone (in the modem county of Carlow). The Normans were assailed in a narrow pass, where their superior discipline availed but little ; and their de- feat would have been inevitable, had not the leader <rf the Irish been slain by an arrow, on which his followers immediately dispersed.
The Earl next proceeded to Waterford, where he was visited by his brother-in-law, O'Brien, Prince of Thomond, who had married the daughter of Der- mod. An expedition against the King of Ossory was planned by the two kinsmen, and a powerful anny advanced into the territories of this inveterate enemy of their deceased father-in-law. Donald was unable to withstand the united forces, and sent to offer terms of peace. A personal interview was ar- ranged, by the mediation of Maurice de Prender-
54 HISTORY OF THE
gast ; and Donald having received an assurance of safety, came to the Norman camp. O'Brien and Strongbow were inclined to violate their safe-con- duct, and throw the King of Ossory into prison ; but Maurice de Prendergast, notwithstanding what he had himself suffered from Donald's treachery, openly protested against this breach of faith, and threatened to resist it by force of arms. The Earl yielded to this noble remonstrance ; and the Prince of Ossor)' was dismissed in safety. Soon after, an expedition was undertaken against the O'Byrnes of Wicklow, who were easily subdued ; but, in the midst of his triumphs, Strongbow received an order from Henry, so peremptory that he dared not disobey. Intrust- ing, therefore, the government to De Cogan, he em- barked for England.
A. D. 1171. — During the Earl's absence, Hes- culph MacTurkill, with a powerful army raised among the Norwegians of Man and the Hebrides, made a formidable attack on Dublin. Cogan ob- tained the assistance of a neighbouring Irish prince named Gillemoholmogh, whom he bound by oath to slay the Normans if they fled, and to join in the pursuit of the Norwegians, should the followers of Cogan obtain the victory. A fierce battle was fought at the eastern gate of the city, nearly on the ground occupied by the modern Dame Street and Cork Hill. The Normans, under the command of the governor, vigorously repulsed every assault ; and Richard Co- gan, issuing with a chosen band from the south gate, suddenly attacked the Norwegians in the rear, and threw them into fatal confusion. This was the time for Gillemoholmogh to perform his promise. He accordingly ordered his light troops to pursue the
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 55
fugitives ; and the Irish, mindful of their ancient hostility to the Danes, sternly refused all quarter. More than two thousand of the enemy were killed ; and the few that escaped to the ships only delayed their fate; for a fierce storm arose, in which the greater part of the fleet was dashed to pieces. Mae- Turkill was taken prisoner by Richard Cogan, and sentenced to immediate execution — the governor pre- tending, that, as a pirate, he was excluded from the laws of war. Thus ended the last expedition of the Danes or Ostmen to Ireland ; and though many of their descendants remained in the country, especially in the seaports, they are never, after this event, no- ticed as a separate people.
Before venturing into the presence of Henry, Strongbow sent his friend Raymond le Gros to con- ciliate the irritated monarch ; but Raymond unfor- tunately arrived at the time of the murder of the unfortunate Becket, when Henry was too deeply engaged in averting the consequences of that rash and wicked deed, to attend to the affairs of Ire- land. By exerting all his ability and ingenuity, Henry succeeded in regaining the favour of the Pa- pal court ; and, immediately after his return to Eng- land, summoned Strongbow into his presence. By the intercession of Herve de Monte-marisoo (now called Mountmorris), the Earl was reconciled to his sovereign, and permitted to retain all his Irish possessions under the English crown. But, notwithstanding the pardon given to Strongbow, Henry availed himself of the Irish expedition, as a plausible pretext for seizing on all the castles in Pem- broke, under pretence that they were justly forfeited, by their owners having encouraged an illegal arma-
56 HISTORY OF THE
ment. Having thus strengthened his power in Wales, Henry offered up his solemn devotions in the church of Saint David's, and then proceeded to Milford Haven, where a powerful fleet and army had been directed to assemble.
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 57
CHAPTER IV. The Reign of Henry II.
A. D. 1172. — The news of Henry's extensive pre- parations were received in Ireland with an apathy and unconcern which would be wholly unaccountable, if there had not been some previous negotiations with the Irish prelates and princes. While he was yet delayed in Milford, many tenders of submission and allegiance were received in the royal camp ; and, a- mongst others, the men of Wexford sent ambassa- dors to excuse their late insurrection, declaring that they had seized Fitz-Stephen as a traitor to his ma- jesty, and only detained him until the royal pleasure was known. In the latter end of October, Henry arrived in the harbour of Waterford. He came pro- fessedly not to conquer the country ; but to take pos- session of an island granted him by the Pope ; and he relied for success on clerical intrigue, rather than force of arms. The morning after his arrival, he received the submission of MacArthy, the powerful chief of Desmond, or South Munster, who resigned all his estates into the hands of the King. They were all regranted immediately on the usual conditions of feudal tenure, except the city of Cork, which Henry reserved to himself. MacArthy's example was im- mediately followed by the Princes of Thomond, Os-
58 HISTORY OP THE
sory, and the Decies. Even O'Rourke of Breffney, whose family had been so long the most eminent partisans of the O'Connor dynasty, came to meet the English monarch on his march to Dublin, and humbly tendered his allegiance. On his arrival in Wexford, Henry allowed himself to be persuaded to pronounce the pardon of Fitz- Stephen. The gallant adventurer was permitted to retain the lands which he had received from MacMurchad ; but the town of Wexford was declared a royal garrison and an inalienable possession of the crown. While the most extensive preparations were making to celebrate the festivities of Christmas in Dublin, on a scale of magnificence to which the Irish toparchs were hi- therto unaccustomed, Hugh de Lacy and William Fitz-Adelm de Burgo were sent against Roderick O'Connor, who, with the haughty chief of the Hy- Nials, still disdained all terms of submission. The inclemency of the season, and the difficulties of the country, rendered this expedition ineffectual, and the army returned to Dublin. In a temporary struc- ture, erected outside the gates of the city, the Irish pinces who had submitted were splendidly feasted by their new sovereign ; and, far fi-om regretting the loss of their iradependence, they congratulated them- selves on becoming the subjects of a monarch so powerful as Henry Fitz-Empress, for by this name the native historians invariably designate the Norman monarch, in order to gratify their national pride, and excuse their subjection by the great nobility of their master. To fulfil the conditions of the Papal grant, and to provide for the future administration of the country, Henry summoned a synod of the Irish princes and prelates at Cashel, under the presidency of Christian, Bishop of Lismore, the legate of the
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 59
Holy See. To this council came the Archbishops of Dublin, Tuam, and Cashel ; the Bishops of the different sees in the South and East ; a few of the Enghsh clergy ; the most powerful toparchs of Mun- ster and Leinster ; and all the Norman barons who had obtained, or hoped to obtain, grants of Irish estates. The bull of Pope Adrian, and its con- firmation by Alexander, were read in the assem- bly ; the sovereignty of Ireland granted to Henry by acclamation ; and several regulations made for in- creasing the power and privileges of the clergy, and assimilating the discipline of the Irish church to that which the Romish See had established in west- ern Europe. Gelasius, Archbishop of Ardmagh, did not attend the synod, but excused himself on account of his age and infirmities ; but he subse- quently came to Dubhn, and publicly gave his full assent to all the proceedings. The rest of the win- ter was spent in preparations for extending and se- curing the conquests ; but, unfortunately, before Henry could put the wise plans which he meditated into execution, he was suddenly summoned to Eng- land by the alanning intelligence of the rebellion of his ungrateful sons, and of the arrival of two Papal legates, to inquire into the circumstances of Becket's murder. Sensible of his danger, the monarch sailed from Wexford on the feast of Easter, 1173, " leav- ing behind him, " as Sir John Davis remarks, " not one more true subject than he had found on his first arrival. " The government of Ireland was intrusted to Hugh de Lacy, with Robert Fitz-Stephen and Maurice Fitz-Gerald as his assistants. The celebrated John de Courcy, the tales of whose prowess are so wild and romantic, was encouraged to imdertake the conquest of Ulster, by a grant of all the land which
60 HISTORY OF THE
he could wrest from the native possessors ; and tlil§ entire county of Meath was given to Hugh de Lacy. The premature departure of Henry was the primary cause of all the evils under which Ireland laboured for centuries. Had he completed the subjugation of the country, he would naturally have established a uniform system of law and government ; he would have made his followers, and the native inhabitants, bear the common name of fellow-subjects. Unfor- tunately, after his departure, the extension of the Anglo-Norman power was intrusted to private ad- venturers, whose rewards were the spoils of the van- quished. When spoliation was thus legalized, it is not surprising that many Norman leaders were im- scrupulous in the selection of their victims, and seized the lands of those who were in the King's peace, as eagerly as the estates of those who still disdained submission. Indeed, the septs which had been foremost in acknowledging the Norman sove- reignty, were the greatest sufferers. The adven- turers seized their lands on any pretence, or on no pretence. The provincial governors were bribed by a share of the spoil to refuse redress ; and an ap- peal to the sovereign was difficult on account of the distance, and not likely to succeed, when the crime was supposed favourable to the royal interests. The settlement at the synod of Cashel was manifestly misunderstood by all the parties concerned. The clergy believed that Henry assumed the title of Lord Paramount only as deputy to the Pope. The to- parchs supposed, that, by their tender of allegiance, they only conceded the precarious sovereignty which had been enjoyed by the native princes ; and Henry imagined that he had secured the possession of the island, though his power really extended not beyond
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 61
ike places actually colonized by the Normans. The distinction between the new settlers and the natives was preserved more forcibly by the continuance of the Brehon law, and the old customs of tenure and descent. The English laws were granted only to the Norman settlers, to the citizens of the principal seaports, and to a few who obtained charters of deni- zation as a matter of favour. Five principal septs, the O'Neills of Ulster, the O'Connors of Con- naught, the O'Briens of Thomond, the O'Lachlans or Melachlans of Meath, and the MacMurroghs, called also Kavenaghs, of Leinster, were received within the pale of English law ; but all the rest were esteemed aliens or enemies, and could neither sue nor be sued, even down to the reign of Eliza- beth. This, in fact, amounted to a total denial of justice for any wrongs inflicted on the natives. *
'- * One instance may be quoted as an example. It occura among the rolls of pleas, 28. Edward III.
" Simon Neal complains of William Newlagh, tliat he, with force and arms, on the Monday after the feast of Saint Mar- garet, at Clondalkin, in the county of Dublin, broke the said Simon's close and his herbage with oxen, calves and sheep, consumed and trampled, contrary to the peace, &c. ; whence he says, that he is damaged to the amount of twenty shiUings j and thereof, &c.
I ** And the aforesaid William comes now and says, that the aforesaid Simon is an Irishman, and not of the five bloods ; and asks judgment if he be held to answer him.
" And the aforesaid Simon says, that he is one of the five bloods, to wit, of the O'Neales of Ulster, who, by the conces- sion of the progenitors of our lord the king, ought to enjoy and use the liberties of England, and be deemed as freemen ; and this he offers to verify, &c.
" And the aforesaid William says, that Simon is an Irish- man, and not of the O'Neales of Ulster, nor of the five bloods; and thereupon issue is joined, &c. Wherefore let a jnry, &c.
VOL. I. D
f9' HISTORY OF THE
The old rolls contain numberless instances of com- plaints made for various acts of violence, to which the defendants plead, that " the plaintiff is an Irish- man, and not of the five bloods, " an answer which, if verified, was always held sufiicient. When ai> English settler was slain, the murderer was executed according to English law ; but the death of a native was compensated by an ericy according to the Bre- hon code. Such an incongruity afforded so many chances of escape to the powerful, and opened so many facilities for suppression, that we cwmot won- der at the opposition which all plans for the esta- blishment of a uniform system of law received jfroia, the adventurers and their descendants.
The incompleteness of the conquest produced ano- ther evil of even greater magnitude, whese effects are not wholly effaced at the present day. We have seen that land was held at the pleasure of the to- parch, that all his followers were tenants at will, who might be dispossessed at a moment's warning. The possession of similar power was ardently desired by the Normau barons. With short-sighted policy, they preferred a horde of miserable serfs to a body of sub- stantial yeomanry ; and they sacrificed readily their true interests,, and the interests of both countries, to secure this object of their unworthy ambition. A similar folly seems to have seized oa the successive
" Whlcli jurors say upon their oath, that the aforesaid Simon is of the O'Neales of Ulster, and is of the fivse bloods, which, by the concession of the progenitors of our lord the king, ought to enjoy and use the liberties of England, and be deemed as freemen ; and they assess the damages at ten pence. Therefore it Ls considered, that the aforesaid Simon should re- cover against the aforesaid William the damages aforesaid, and that the aforesaid William should be committed to jail, ua- tU, " &c.
fp eXVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 63
•Hgarchies that have wielded the destinies of Ire- land. Nothing was deemed so formidable as an inde- pendent tenantrj' ; no possession more desirable than m estate stocked with beings who were slaves in all but the name. Hence, for many centuries, the valu- able class of substantial farmers was utterly un- known in Ireland — hence the number of such is even now inconsiderable — and hence the great mass always ready for insurrection, when summoned by popular leaders or by their own passions ; men possessing no sympathy with their landlords, for never did commu- nity of feeling exist between master and slave ; men having nothing to lose in agrarian tumult, and every thing to hope from the prospect of revolution. The iforman oligarchs (if such a word may be used) ilrere bad masters and worse subjects. The monarchs 'soon found the degenerate English who had adopt- ed Irish customs more obstinate and more formidable enemies than the natives. In the language of the old •historians, " they were more Irish than the Irish themselves ;" and, from their first settlement, their principal object and that of their successors was, to control, and if possible prevent, the wholesome in- fluence of the British government, in order to main- tain their own monopoly of oppression. Had Henry remained a sufficient time to complete his prudent plans, he might really have established an English interest in Ireland ; but he only left behind him an oligarchy, which, like all other oligarchies in a coun- try possessing the semblance of freedom, was ever jealous of the sovereign, and odious to the people.
Scarcely had Henry departed, when new commo- tions proved how insecure was the settlement which he had effected. Strongbow was obliged to send an army to collect the promised tributje from tlie tor-
64 HISTORY OF THE
parchs in Ofally. On his return, his forces were sud- denly attacked in a defile, and Robert de Quincy, his son-in-law and standard-bearer, slain. The grant of Meath to Lacy occasioned more important tumults. Some of the toparchs,but especially O'Ruark of BrefF- ney, had been received into the King's peace, and con- firmed in their possessions ; but they justly dreaded, that the formidable castles which Lacy was erecting and garrisoning, would prove too powerful for royal 'â– \ grants and legal claims. It was proposed that O'- Ruark and Lacy should arrange their respective boundaries in an amicable conference on the hill of Tarah ; and thither both repaired with trusty bands of their adherents. Both parties are accused of treachery, and very probably both were equally guilty. The conference terminated in a furious engagement. Lacy was with difficulty rescued by Fitz-Gerald ; but O'Ruark was slain on the spot with a great number of his followers. Similar incidents alienated th6 af- fection of the princes who had submitted to the Nor- man dynasty. They found that the sovereign was un- willing or unable to afford them protection against the avaricious adventurers ; and they resolved to take advantage of the difficulties in which Henry was placed, and make one bold effort for independence. The rebellion of Henry's unnatural children was supported by his inveterate enemy the King of France, and by many of the diminished native tribes that inhabited the north-western shores of Gaul. His queen and several of the English nobles had joined the infamous confederacy, and there seemed no means by which his ruin could be averted. But the abili- ties of Henry rose superior to danger. He took into his pay a large body of those military adventurers called Braban 90ns, who wandered through Europe
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 65
in, search of an employer. He summoned his adhe- rents from every part of his dominions ; and he used all the diplomatic arts, of which he was a con- summate master, to sow discord between the mem- bers of the alliance formed against him. The alacri- ty with which Strongbow hastened in this con- juncture to bring assistance to his sovereign, effaced the jealousy which had been previously entertained of his designs. He was sent back to Ireland with the authority of Lord-deputy, and, with what he deemed of equal importance, permission to avail himself of Raymond's abilities in any enterprise that appeared advisable. Immediately after his arrival, Strongbow took care to remove those leaders whose ambition would probably have induced them to re- sist his authority. Lacy, Cogan, Fitz- Stephen and Fitz-Gerald, were ordered into England to assist the King of England in his war against the Scots ; and the danger of their jealousy being thus removed, Raymond was ordered to lead the English army into the territories of the revolted princes. This expe- dition was equally successful and profitable. Ray- mond laid waste the district of Ofally, and extended his ravages into the south of Munster. He led his army, laden with plunder, to Lismore, and resolved to send the booty thence to Waterford for greater security. The Prince of Desmond and the people of Cork, having heard of the rich stores about to be transmitted to Waterford, fitted out a fleet, support- ed by an army, to intercept them on their passage ; but on the same day they were defeated both by land and sea, and Raymond entered Waterford in all the pomp of military triumph.
These victories made Raymond a great favourite vith the soldiers ; and his readiness to wink 'it ''^^"
66 HISTORY OP THE
(excesses, secured him their affections. Relying ofi this power, and elated by success, he now ventured to ask for the hand ofBasilia, Strongbow's sister, and the office of standard-bearer of Leinster. Irritated at the peremptory refusal of both his demands, Ray- mond returned to Wales, and the command of the army was given to Herve of Mountmarais, a man of inferior abilities, and greatly disliked for the severity of his discipline. Emulous of rivalling Raymond's fame, Herv6 persuaded Strongbow to attempt the subjugation of Munster. The army advanced to Cashel without encountering any opposition ; but an auxiliary force of Ostmen from Dublin was sur- prised by O'Brien near Thurles, and cut to pieces. The news of this calamity showed Strongbow the ne- cessity of immediate retreat. He retired with great precipitation to Waterford ; and the Irish, magnify- ing this slight advantage into a decisive victory, de- clared that they would never make peace until they had expelled the invaders. The new confederacy was joined by the Kavenaghs, and the other princi- pal septs which had hitherto supported the Normans in all their efforts ; a fact from which it may fairly be presumed, that gratitude to their allies was as little a virtue of the invaders as mercy to the van- quished ; and Roderick O'Connor was induced to place himself at the head of a confederacy which seemed to enjoy the fairest prospects of success. ) In this difficulty, Strongbow found himself forced to have recourse to Raymond le Gros, and sent mes- sengers to solicit the return of that valiant leader. Raymond readily acceded to the request. He col- lected a new band of adventurers ; and, crossing the Sea, arrived in Waterford when the inhabitants were called*,* point of attempting a general massacre of the
CIVIL WARS OP IRELAND. B7
gcrrtson. The nuptials of Raymond and Basilia were celebrated at Wexford ; and on the following morning, the bridegroom proceeded to check the advance of O'Connor's army, which now threatened an attack on Dublin. But the Irish monarch was unable to bring his tumultuous forces to an engage^ raent. Eager to secure the plunder they had ob- tained in Meath, the chieftains insisted on returning home ; nor could they be persuaded to make a stand when Raymond overtook their rear, and slaughtered several companies almost without resistance. Hav- ing repaired the castles which had been destroyed in Meath, Raymond next led his army into Munster, to punish O'Brien, Prince of Thomond. He was attended by his usual good fortune. The Irish troops everywhere fled at his approach. Limerick was taken with little loss, and its plunder enriched the victorious army.
This last defeat convinced Roderick O'Connor, who seems to have desponded from the very begin- ning, that nothing but timely submission could save him from impending ruin ; but, disdaining to nego- tiate with Strongbowj he sent ambassadors to King Henry, then in England. A treaty was concluded on equitable conditions, which, like most treaties of the time, was observed no longer than served the purposes of the stronger party. Roderick was con- firmed in the possession of his hereditary domi- nions, and permitted to retain the empty title of King of Ireland.
The favourable prospects thus opened, were threat- ened with speedy extinction by the jealous suspicions of Henry. He lent a greedy ear to the tales which Herve told of Raymond's ambition ; and sent over four commissioners, two of whom were charge Ai^
68 HISTORY OF THE
conduct Raymond into England, and the others di- rected to investigate the proceedings of Strongbow.i The commissioners were received with all the respect due to their station. Raymond professed his readi- ness to obey ; but, while his departure was delayed by contrary winds, news arrived that O'Brien ol Thomond had again renewed the war, and had al- ready so vigorously pressed the siege of Limerick, that the garrison, unless instantly relieved, must ca-l pitulate. The army, zealously attached to Raymond,] and conscious of its own importance, refused toj march unless headed by the favourite general ; and the commissioners were forced to yield a reluctant assent to a requisition which confirmed all their sus- picions.
The expedition into Thomond was completely successful. O'Brien's army was routed near Cashel, notwithstanding the advantages of superior numbers, and a formidable position ; the siege of Limerick was raised ; and Munster was filled with terror and dis- may, by the rapid career of the victorious army. A civil war in Desmond, originating from that pregnant source of convulsions, the law of Tanistry, afforded Raymond a pretext for advancing into that country, Mac Arthy, Prince of Desmond, had been dethroned by his son Cormac, who feared that the succession would devolve on some other individual. The exiled toparch, having sworn allegiance to Henry, claimed the assistance of the English general, and promised a munificent reward if his restoration could be effect- ed. Raymond eagerly embraced the offer. He ad- vanced into Desmond, and, by the mere terror of his' arms, compelled the inhabitants to submit to their rightful sovereign. He was rewarded by the gift of
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 69
«)me valuable lands in Kerry, which he retained and transmitted to his posterity.
In the midst of his triumphs, Raymond was a- larmed by the receipt of a mysterious letter from his wife Basilia. It stated, that her great tooth, which had ached so long, was at last fallen out, and entreated him to return with all speed to Dublin. This enig- matical announcement of Strongbow's death justly alarmed Raymond. He knew that the Irish, notwith- standing their pretended submissions, really abhorred the invaders, and he dreaded their seizing this op- portunity to join in a general revolt, and overwhelm the English army in detail. In this juncture, he ad- opted the wise plan of concentrating all his forces cwn the eastern coast, where assistance might easily be received from England. Withdrawing, therefore, the garrison from Limerick, he gave up the possession of the city to O'Brien, pretending to confide in his la- vish promises of fidelity, and his solemn oaths of al- legiance. The garrison, however, had scarcely pass- ed over the bridge, when they had the mortification to see it broken down behind them ; and at the same time, the flames that arose from the devoted city> showed how little oaths and promises could bind the perfidious Prince of Thomond.
The obsequies of Strongbow were performed in Dublin with great magnificence. He left behind him no male heir, which the superstitious chroniclers at- tribute to the sacrileges which he had committed or authorized. His character is drawn in very different colours by the historians of the English and Irish parties. From both it appears that he possessed, in no ordinary degree, the military skill, romantic dar- ing, and high chivalrous valour, that usually belonged to the Norman adventurers ; but that his military vir-
to HISTORY OF THE
tues were sullied by the cruelty, rapacity, and reck- lessness of the misery inflicted on the vanquished, which the Northern tribes and their descendants ex- hibited in all their conquests.
Raymond was chosen chief governor by the coun- cil until the King's pleasure could be known ; but Henry, yielding to jealousy, appointed as his deputy^ William Fitz-Andelm de Burgo, a nobleman allied to him by blood. The new governor was accompanied into Ireland by a gallant train of knights, among whom^ Fitz-Stephen de Cogan, and Fitz-Walter, the ances-' tor of the Ormond family, were most conspicuous* Another, and equally important deputy arrived at the same time. Vivian, the Papal legate, came over with a bull confirming the previous grants, and was attended by Wallingford, an English ecclesiastic, who was to assist him in reforming, that is, enslaving the Irish church (a. d. 1177.) While Fitz-Andeliit made an ostentatious progress along the coast, irit specting the fortifications which had been lately erect** &A., Vivian convened an assembly of the clergy at Waterford, in which the Papal bull was read and re- oisived, and the severest threats of spiritual vengeance denounced against those who should impeach the grant made by the successor of St Peter.
The state of Ireland during the administration of Fitz-Andelm, was the most miserable that can be conceived. The original invaders looked on the at- tendants of the Lord-deputy with suspicion ; and the new comers eagerly coveted the broad lands which had rewarded the valour of the first adventurers. The sons of Maurice Fitzgerald were compelled to exchange their lands, which lay in a secure part of the eountry, for others more exposed to the incursions of the Irish. ^ Raymond le Gros, and Robert Fitz^
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 71
Stephen, were forced to a similar compliance; and the dangerous feeling of insecurity of property was uni*- versally diffused. De Courcy, with his brother-in- arms, Armoric St Laurence, invaded Ulster on his owTi account, and conquered the principality of Ukd (the county of Down). But the Irish would not tame*- ly submit to such spoliation, but maintained a bitter and wasting, though unsuccessful warfare, against the adventurers. MUo de Cogan was invited to invade Connaught, by the son of Roderick O'Connor, who wished to dethrone his father. He entered the couiUry with a powerful army; but the Irish burned their po- visions and destroyed their cattle, in order to deprive their enemies of subsistence. Desmond and Thow* mond were miserably devastated by civil wars between rival chieftains and ambitious claimants for the office of Tanist ; and the whole country was laid waste in these unnatural and bloody quarrels. All that had hitherto been regarded as sacred, was disregarded ; the churches afforded no shelter, the monasteries yielded no protection, the Norman soldiers paid no reverence to the sanctuaries, and the Irish burned them down when they found that they were no longer a safe refuge. Treachery and assassination were of such ordinary occurrence, that they ceased to be re* garded as criminal. The Tanist of the Hy-Nial was murdered by a rival lord ; the murderer, in his turn, fell by a similar crime ; and the partisans of both butchered each other without mercy, striving which could boast of the greater amount of iniquity. The imperfect records of the time, detail nothing but si- milar enormities ; and their accounts would lead us to believe, that during this calamitous period, all ^restraints of religion and law were banished from
72 HISTORY OF THE
Ireland, and its native and new inhabitants equalb subjected to the tyranny of their own brutal passions Repeated complaints at length directed Henry's attention to the dangers of Fitz-Andelm's misgO' vemment. He was recalled, and Hugh de Lacj appointed in his stead. At the same time, Henr} conferred the lordship of Ireland on his favourite son John. We are not told whether this was con- sidered a violation of the late treaty with Roderick but certainly the rights of the Irish monarch were disregarded in the transaction, for the grant to John contains precisely the same stipulations and reserva- tions which had been made with Roderick. With an equal disregard of the terms on which the Irish princes had given their allegiance, the kingdom of Cork was granted to Milo de Cogan and Robert Fitz-Stephen, with the reservation of the city to the crown. The territory of Waterford, with a similar reservation, was given to Robert de la Poer ; a great part of Connaught to William Fitz-Andelm ; and the territory of Limerick to Herbert Fitz-Herbert. The prudence of the adventurers prevented the evils which these unprincipled cessions were likely to pro- duce. They entered into negotiations with the natives ; and, having obtained possession of some districts, they left the rest to the original inhabi- tants. Herbert, indeed, resigned the grant made to him. He was already sufficiently wealthy, and too indolent to engage in any new adventure. It was therefore transferred to Philip de Braosa, who was as little inclined to brave difficulties or dangers. When Braosa advanced to take possession of his new estate, the Irish set fire to Limerick; and Braosa, affrighted by this act of desperation, fled
CIVIL WARS OP IRELAND. 73
precipitately with his followers to Cork. Nor could jny persuasion induce them to renew their efforts.
Hugh de Lacy's administration was equally vigor- ous and prudent. He dealt out impartial justice ^vithout any distinction of Irish or Normans. He restrained the rapacity of the latter, and endeavour- 2d to conciliate the affections of the former. His carriage with the daughter of Roderick O'Connor jeemed, in the eyes of the Irish, to give him a claim ;o Meath more legitimate than that conferred by the yrants of Henry ; and no opposition was made to lis erecting castles and forts for the security of that jart of the country. Jealousy of the power or po- jularity of his subjects was Henry's besetting sin. The accounts he received of Lacy's administration, lis prudence, his skill, and his tried valour, induced ;he monarch to suspect that he meditated throwing jff his allegiance, and becoming an independent sovereign. The deputy was recalled, and three Lords Justices appointed ; but the readiness with whi<;h Lacy resigned his power lightened, if it did not sfface, Henry's suspicions ; and the incapacity of his successors leading to a renewal of former evils, the King was obliged to restore Lacy to his government in less than three months. The King, it is said, at Lacy's request, sent Robert of Shrewsbury to Ire- land, with the Lord-deputy, nominally as his domes- tic chaplain, but really as a spy on his conduct. The Irish clergy had sacrificed the independence of their country to their avarice and ambition ; but they found themselves cheated of the expected reward. They immediately had recourse to the Pope ; and a deputation, headed by Laurence O'Toole, Arch- bishop of Dublin, and five bishops, was sent to Rome. Their complaints were well received ; and
T4 HISTORY OF THE
his Holiness armed Laurence with the powers o apostolic legate. But Henry was aware of this ii» pending danger, and arrested Laurence in Normand] on his return. The prelate, notwithstanding all hi lemonstrances, was detained a prisoner until his deatl in 118L The Irish historians have generally chosei to celebrate Laurence as a patriot, and the Irisl Catholics venerate him as a. saint ; but the doubl* Iraitor had few claims to either honour. The Eng lish writers dwell on his hostility to the invaders ai an excuse for the ungrateful treatment he receive( from Henry. The Irish, anxious to find one frien( of his country among the clergy, eagerly adopt thii unfounded representation. The undisputed fects ii the Archbishop's life are few ; but they decisivel) prove, that he began by being a traitor to his coun- try, and, not receiving the expected reward, endec by becoming a rebel to the King of his own selec- tabn. In the very beginning of the invasion, we find him acting as ambassador for Strongbow. Al the synod of Cashel, he was foremost in recognising Henry's title ; and at Waterford, he joined in de- nouncing curses against all who should resist the arrangements made by the Holy See. He was suc- eeeded by John Comyn, an Englishman, and a great favourite of the King ; and the appointment was con- firmed by Pope Lucius.
Five years had elapsed since Cogan and Fitz- Ste- phen had tranquilly settled on their new estates, and lived on amicable terms with their neighbours. Though grieved by the loss of a favourite son, Fitz- Stephen had every prospect of terminating an ho- nourable life in a peaceful old age. The jealousy oi his old rival Cogan was averted by the marriage ol another son to Cogan's daughter ; and the hostility
civil. WARS OF IRJELAND. 75
of the Irish toparchs seemed to have yielded to time and familiar intercourse. But these appearances were fallacious. Cogan and his son-in-law were treach- erously murdered by a toparch, named Mac-Tire, who had invited them on a visit ; and, in the midst Off the grief and consternation occasioned by this outrage, Fitz- Stephen was compelled to provide for the safety of Cork, to which MacArthy had kid siege, as soon as he heard of Cogan's murder. The flame of revolt spread rapidly through Desmond and Thomond. The toparchs hasted to join MacArthy, believing that Cogan's death afforded them a favour- able opportunity of expelling the invaders ; aad Fitz- Stephen, broken down with age and sorrow, applied to his nephew Raymond for assistance, Le Gros lost no time in marching from We3iford to re- lieve his uncle. He soon raised the siege, and com- pelled the Prince of Desmond to sue for peace on i humiliating conditions ; but Fitz- Stephen was no |; longer sensible of this success. Grief lor the death of his son had deranged his intellects, and, during the rest of his life, he continued a lunatic.
To repair the injuries which the late insurrection had inflicted on the English power, Henry sent Richard de Cogan, the brother of the murdered ba- ron, and Philip Barry, a celebrated knight of Wales, with a powerful army into Munster.. The soldiers were accompanied by a train of ecclesiastics, amongst whom was Gerald Barry, better known by the name of Giraldus Cambrensis,. an ecclesiastic to whom Henry intrusted the guidance of his son John, and whose visit to Ireland was principally to acquire such information as might serve for the direction of his pu^ pil, when he should come to take possession of hi» lordship. The foreign and native clergy were soon
76 HISTORY OF fHE
engaged in angry controversy concerning the relative merits of their respective establishments. The virtues and miracles of their national saints became subjects of fierce and tedious debates. " Saints ! " said Cambrensis to an Irish prelate, " tell me not of saints ; — your whole catalogue contains not a single martyr. " — " Alas ! " said the Irishman, " your re- proach is too true. My countrymen were always too pious, to dip their hands in the blood of holy men ; but now that the wicked Normans have come among us, we shall have martyrs in plenty. " This allusion to the murder of Becket silenced Cambren- sis, for he records not his reply ; but he raised other questions equally ludicrous, but more mischievous^ which threatened to add religious rancour to nation-' al hostility.
• As if Henry had determined to try every means in his power for destroying his new kingdom, he a- gain recalled Lacy from the government ; and nomi- nated in his place Philip de Braosa, whose expedi- tion to Limerick has been already commemorated. The brief administration of the new deputy was dis- tinguished by several acts of outrage and rapacity, among which his exactions from the clergy are most forcibly denounced by the monkish historians. But the evils which Braosa commenced were consumma- ted by a power superior to his ; and a measure^ from which Henry expected the greatest advantages, prov- ed more fatal than all his former errors together.
The Pope readily confirmed Henry's grant of the lordship of Ireland to John. He even offered the title of King to the young prince, and sent him the appropriate present of a coronet of peacock's fea- thers, as a token of investiture. Such a gift would, in the present day, be considered a bitter satire on
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 77
the folly and vanity of John ; and the Pope would obtain the credit of a witty sarcasm on the foppish- ness and imbecility of the youthful prince : but the peacock, in the middle ages, was the honoured bird of chivalry, and shared with the ladies in knightly reverence and devotion. Henry, however, was not willing to encourage the Papal interference any far- ther. He sent his spn to Ireland without any new title, accompanied by a train of young nobles, and a few more steady counsellors, whose influence he hoped would check the presumption of the youthful prince and his wild associates. When the news of John's landing in Waterford was spread abroad, the Irish chieftains hastened to pay their respects to the son of their sovereign. They came in their national costume, wearing linen vests, flowing mantles, long hair and bushy beards ; objects of curiosity to the wise and aged, but of unceasing ridicule to the I giddy and insolent young courtiers. When admit- : ted to the prince's presence, they advanced with dig- I nified ease through the circle, in order to salute their lord with the kiss of peace, according to the fashion of their country. Here they were rudely repulsed by the young Normans, who looked upon such a ceremony as a profanation. Not contented with this, the wild nobles heaped further insults on the chieftains ; they plucked their beards, mimicked their gestures, and finally thrust them with violence from the presence. " Irishmen, " says an old Irish song, " readily forgive injuries, but insults never. " The chieftains returned home burning for revenge ; they detailed the story of their reception to all whom they met coming to the court ; and they spread every where the account of their wrongs, until the entire island was animated by one sentiment of deadly hate
VOL. I. E
78 HISTORY OF THE
against the English government. Regardless of t\ coming storm, John and his associates proceeded sti further to alienate the affections of his new subject In defiance of the privileges which Henry had gran ed to the maritime towns, the citizens were loade with heavy taxes, to support the expenditure of a extravagant court. The " men of iron, " who ha conquered Leinster, were studiously discourage( and had reason to dread that their estates would \ wrested from them, to gratify the cupidity of tt silken flatterers by whom the prince was accompj nied. About the same time. Lacy, whose person influence might have abated these evils, was murdei ed by a labourer whom he had employed in erectin a castle. The news of his death was joyfully re ceived by the Irish, who dreaded his abilities ; an the clergy, attributing it to the vengeance of til saints, for some act of sacrilege, contributed not little to make this event an additional stimulus to ir surrection.
The storm at length burst forth with fearful vie lence. News of disasters poured in from every quai ter ; and the alarmed prince, having wasted all h; treasure in idle pomp, had no means of paying th soldiers, and had no hold on the affections of th veterans, whom he had wantonly insulted. Robei Barry and his whole troop were surprised and slai at Lismore ; the garrison of Ardfinnan seduced int an ambuscade, and slaughtered by the Prince ( Limerick ; Robert de la Poer, after a gallant resist ance, fell in Ossory ; Canton and Fitz-Hugh, tw knights of great fame, met a similar fate ; and, bi for the gallantry of Fitz- Walter, Cork must hav yielded to MacArthy of Desmond. Even in Meatl which the castles erected by Lacy rendered the raos
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 79
;ecure part of the English settlements, William Petit lad great difficulty in repelling' a dangerous inroad )f the northern Irish.
Eight months of disorder had elapsed, before 3enry was fully informed of the ruin which threat- ;ned his Irish interests. He immediately determin- :d to recall John from a government which he had o wantonly abused, and to intrust the administra- ion to De Courcy, whose desperate valour seemed he best qualification in this moment of danger. The young prince and his gaudy train gladly quitted , country where their personal safety was no longer ecure ; and the defence of the English interests was gain confided to the old settlers.
EXe Courcy, left to his own resources, acted with 11 the vigour which the crisis demanded. He was bly seconded by young Lacy ; but he derived more mportant assistance from the dissensions of the Irish hemselves, who, even at this most important mo- nent, renewed the feuds which had previously prov- d their ruin. The northern chieftains engaged in ivil war, and allowed the English to recover their ■JSt ground without interruption. In Connaught, loderick being deposed by his sons, retired into the nonastery of Cong, where he ended his unfortunate areer ; and the nominal sovereignty of Ireland, now he very shadow of a shade, became the subject of a iolent contest between the chieftains of the west and lorth. Still De Courcy was unable to surmount 11 the difficulties by which he was surrounded. He .ttempted to invade Connaught, but was compelled o retire before two armies, each far superior to his •wn. The ability with which he extricated his army, i^as more honourable than any triumph ; but the Irish aagnified this slight advantage into a glorious vic»
80 HISTORY OF THE
tory, and boasted that they would now drive the fc reigners from their shores. A combined effort fc the purpose would probably have succeeded; bi this was prevented by the private feuds of the chie tains, and the vacillation of the superior leaders, wh made war and peace on the impulse of the momen and could never be persuaded to adopt any stead policy. Several desultory incursions were repelle by the Deputy ; but the ravages were renewed £ every fresh opportunity, and the country remaine distracted and desolate. Affairs were in this wretch ed condition, when the news arrived of Henry's deatl and the accession of his son Richard (1189.)
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 81
CHAPTER V.
The Reigns of Richard I. , John, and Henry HI.
Che state of Ireland, at the time of Henry's death, 'as wretched ; and unhappily there was every pro- pect that the evils by which the country was afflict- d would increase, rather than diminish. Every arty that had shared in forming the connection be- iveen the two islands, was equally dissatisfied and isappointed. The Pope found that his claims for •ibute were disregarded ; the clergy found that thes, the great bribe for which they had sold them- slves to the foreigners, could not be obtained from le Irish, unused to such exactions, nor from the ew settlers, who set all laws at defiance ; the King )und his sovereignty an empty title; the barons, oor and rapacious, were eager to make new terri- )rial acquisitions; and the Irish toparchs, jealous f the foreigners and of each other, would neither reserve peace nor wage war effectively. The clerg)', owever, were fixed in their determination to sup- ort the English ascendancy. They dreaded no- ling so much as a return to the piety and poverty f the Irish national church ; they felt themselves levated, by their connection with Rome, to the tate and dignity of princes; and, conscious that
82 HISTORY OF THE
their privileges would be lost if their country attain ed independence, they zealously preached the doc trine of submission to Rome and England. Bu the Papal authority, which afterwards proved a po tent instrument of rebellion, was of little avail in en forcing obedience. Indeed it was at this time, anc for many subsequent years, almost wholly disregard- ed in Ireland ; a portion of the native clergy stil clinging to the usages of their ancestors, and th( laity, in general, paying little attention to claims o supremacy which they could not understand.
Richard, on his accession to the throne, was to( much busied in preparations for his romantic expe^ dition against the Saracens of Palestine, to pay anj attention to Ireland. He allowed his brother John as Lord of the country, to exercise all the regal func- tions ; and in his name all charters were granted] and deputies appointed. John's first act was to re- move De Courcy from the government, which wai now intrusted to Hugh de Lacy. The deposed deJ puty immediately retired to his estates in Ulsterl without attempting to conceal his hostility to hi: successor ; and this dissension between the two great est Norman leaders, encouraged the Irish to renev their attacks on the foreigners.
The throne of Connaught was at this time pos sessed by Cathal, to whom his countrymen gave th( epithet of Bloody-handed. He owed his election tt intrigue and violence, and was conscious that hi? sovereignty could only be secured by spirit and acti- vity. Taking advantage of the hatred generally in- curred by the Normans, he declared himself resolve( to restore the ancient honours of his name and na- tion ; and he denounced speedy and fearful vengeance on the foreigners who had usurped the fairest por-
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 83
timis of the land, and were still extending their ra- vages and oppressions. All the toparchs applauded tliese sentiments ; the chieftains of Thomond and Desmond hastened to express their concurrence ; and the tribes of Ulster sent messengers to offer their assistance. De Courcy saw the coming storm, and sent to summon his brave friend Armoric of Saint Laurence to his assistance. Armoric, collecting a little troop of about two hundred foot and thirty horse^ hasted to obey his leader's summons ; but, passing through part of Cathal's country, he fell into an am- buscade, and, overwhelmed by numbers, perished, with all his companions.
The news of fresh disturbances in Ireland induced John to confer the government on William Petit, and, soon after, on William Earl Marshal, who had married the daughter of Earl Strongbow, and in her right possessed extensive estates in Ireland. Lacy resigned his power with great reluctance, and, retir- ing to his estate, imitated the example of De Cour- cy, and almost affected independence. The Earl Marshal exerted himself to retrieve the English in- terests in Munster; and, though defeated by the Prince of Thomond near Thurles, he penetrated into the very heart of the country. These successes, however, were sullied by the most shocking cruel- ties. One of O'Brien's children was blinded, and another dragged from the very altar, and remorse- lessly murdered. Such atrocities provoked revenge, but did not inspire fear. Cathal hastened to relieve his allies ; and the English, on his approach, were forced to a precipitate retreat. Soon after. Limerick was captured by the Prince of Desmond ; and Ca- thal, being joined by O'Lochlan, the head of the -ppwerful sept, of Hy-Nial, advanced to the siege of
84 HISTORY OF THE
Cork, the only post of strength now remaining to the EngHsh in Munster. The army sent to the re- lief of this important post was totally defeated ; but the fate of the place was delayed for a time, by a re- newal of the ancient feud between the rival houses of O'Connor and Hy-Nial. The siege was raised ; but the garrison, having exhausted all their provi- sions, and being hopeless of relief, surrendered to the Prince of Desmond.
A. D. 1197. — Hamo de Valois was the next go- vernor. He found a ruined army, and an empty exchequer ; and to relieve the pressing necessities of the state, he unscrupulously seized some of the estates of the Church. Comyn, the archbishop, was by no means disposed to submit patiently to such a pro- ceeding, and immediately had recourse to those spi- ritual weapons which, in that age, possessed such wondrous efficacy. He went in solemn procession to the cathedral, and ostentatiously removed all the apparatus of public service. The crucifixes were laid prostrate ; the image of Christ crowned with thorns, as if the agony of the passion was renewed by this attack on ecclesiastical property; and after this solemn farce, the prelate having laid his dio- cess under an interdict, departed from the kingdom. The rest of this extraordinary contest is involved in obscurity. We only know, that after the lapse of several years, Hamo felt remorse for having injured the Church, and made a large grant of land to the see of Dublin as an atonement for his oiFence.
A. D. 1198. — Twelve years had passed since the unfortunate Roderick had been confined by his re- bellious children in the monastery of Cong, and, du- ring that period, his family had been gradually wast- ed by civU discord and mutual murder. His death
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 85
was regarded as a matter of little moment ; and the last monarch of Ireland was consigned to the tomb with as little noise as the meanest of his vassals. In the following year King Richard died, and the throne of England was usurped by John, in defiance of the rights of his nephew Arthur ; the lordship of Ireland was thus reunited to the crown of England, and it was expected that the royal authority would consequently command more respect than it had hi- therto received. The war with France, the discon- tent of the barons, and the claim of Arthur, allowed John little leisure for regulating the affairs of Ire- land ; and the pacification of the countrj' seemed as far off as ever.
De Valois by his exactions, provoked the resent- ment of the clergy and the laity. Urgent petitions for his removal were sent to the King, and John sum- moned him to appear and plead to the charges urg- ed against him. His defence was deemed unsatis- factory, and he was forced to pay a fine of a thou- sand marks to the King ; but when this was paid, he was allowed to escape without making restitution to those he had plundered. Meiler Fitz-Henry, one of the original invaders, was appointed his successor ; and at the same time John confirmed the grant of lands in Thomond to Philip de Braosa, and assign- ed their custody to De Burgho, one of the Fitz- An- delm family which had formerly been gifted with lands in Connaught. De Burgho was not a man disposed to lose so rich a grant by negligence. He set out im- mediately with a gallant train, and exerted himself with such extraordinary vigour, that he soon obtain- ed possession of Limerick, and established there a power which threatened the independence of Mun- ster and Connaught. The affairs of the latter pio-
86 HISTORY OF THE
vince were now in a state favourable to his designs ; the popularity of Cathal O'Connor had declined as ra- pidly as it rose ; and a strong party was formed to raise his cousin Carragh to the throne. The aspir- ing Carragh solicited and obtained the assistance of X)e Burgho. By his aid Cathal was dethroned, after a brief and faint resistance. He fled to Ulster, and a large share of his domains were assigned to De Bur- gho for his timely aid. Cathal had sufficient influ- ence with the northern chieftains to obtain from them a powerful army. He even contrived to gain the sup- port of Lacy and De Courcy ; and thus, for the first time, the Norman barons were divided against each other. Carragh and De Burgho defeated Cathal and his allies in a desperate engagement. The northern septs attributed the calamity to the incapacity of their prince, whom they immediately deposed ; and Ulster, like Connaught, was of course distracted by all the evils of a disputed succession. Cathal did not yet despair of success. He solicited the friendship of De Burgho, who felt dissatisfied with the small reward given him by the usurper, and drew him over to his side by magnificent promises, which he had no inten- tion to fulfil. A second revolution ensued, in which Carragh was slain, fighting bravely to the last. Ca- thal was restored to his throne ; but De Burgho found that the valuable cessions which he expected were not to be obtained. Stung by this falsehood and ingratitude, the proud baron invaded Connaught, but suffered a defeat ; and, before he could take measures to retrieve his fortunes, he was recalled to Limerick by the appearance of a more formidable enemy. The Lord-deputy, finding that De Burgho had virtually re- nounced his allegiance by making peace and war at his pleasure, advanced with a numerous army to reduce
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 87
him to obedience. He was joined by several of the Irish princes who equally feared and hated the pow- erful baron ; and thus reinforced, Meiler Fitz- Henry soon forced De Burgho to submission. At the same time new treaties were formed with the Irish princes of the south and west, which for a short time restor- ed tranquillity to that part of the country.
While Fitz-Henry was employed against De Burgho, Lacy with his brother marched against De Courcy, who was said to have abjured allegiance to John as a usurper and murderer. The entire de- tails of the subsequent transactions are unknown ; but the writers of Irish history have invented an in- genious romance, which, though improbable in all its parts, and contradicted by authentic documents yet in existence, has been gravely narrated by all the earlier writers. They tell us that De Courcy was betrayed to Lacy by his servants ; but, though sur- prised, he made a fierce resistance, and with a wooden cross slew thirteen of his assailants. Lacy retained the noble prisoner, but punished with death the traitors who had sold their master. De Courcy was sent to England, and confined in the Tower, where he long remained neglected and for- gotten. At length, a French champion comes over in the train of King Philip, and challenges all the chivalry of England. No one ventures to enter the lists with a knight of his fame, when John at length recollects the hero whom he had so long confined in a dungeon. De Courcy readily agrees to meet the Frenchman. On the appointed day he appears in the lists; but the challenger, terrified by his Herculean proportions, refuses the combat, and returns home in disgrace. To gratify the curiosity of the two monarchs, De Courcy orders a coat of mail to be
88 HISTORY OF THE
placed on a post driven firmly into the earth. He strikes it with his sword, divides the mail as it were gossamer-threads, and drives the sword so deep into the stake, that it can be extricated by him alone. Hereupon he is restored to the royal fcivour, and re- instated in his title and estates. He is offered any additional favour that he may desire ; and asks and obtains, for himself and his descendants, the privilege of remaining covered in the presence of their sove- reign.
The only portion of truth in the entire legend is, that De Courcy was sent a prisoner to England. John and the King of France never presided in the same lists ; and the restoration to the royal favour is manifestly false, because the earldom of Ulster, and all the lands belonging to it, were granted to Hugh de Lacy ; and the privilege of wearing a hat in the royal presence, enjoyed by the barons of Kin- sale, De Courcy 's descendants, is a harmless pri- vilege, originating nobody knows how, and few would care for ascertaining. It is justly remarked by Le- land, that this instance of the falsification of history by the Irish Sennachies, fiiUy justifies the scepticism with which their boasts of extravagant antiquity and early civiliz^ation are received ; for the earlier the date assigned to their legends, the more difficult will be their detection.
The vigorous administration of Fitz-Henry releas- ed the English settlers from the imminent dangers with which they were threatened, Cork was recover- ed and secured by new fortifications ; the incursions of the northern septs were restrained by castles erect- ed along their frontiers ; and the toparchs of Des- mond and Thomond were either terrified into sub- mission, or so engaged in domestic feuds, that they
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 89
had no inclination to renew their attacks on the fo- reigners. At this tranquil moment John resolved to pay Ireland a visit, for the purpose of chastising Bra» osa — by whose wife he had been insulted — and re- straining the power of the Lacys, who, by John's inju- dicious grants, had been raised almost to the rank of princes (a. d. 1210). On the King's arrival in Dub- lin, Braosa and the Lacys fled to France, where the latter were reduced to such distress, that they could only support themselves by becoming gardeners in a monastery. Their dignified bearing, after some time, betrayed their rank to the abbot ; and, having learn- ed their history, he interceded so powerfully for them with John, that, on paying a heavy fine, they were eventually restored to their titles and estates. John's military operations were confined to the reduction of several castles belonging to the Lacys in Meath ; and, though he received the homage of several Irish princes, he did not in any instance extend the bounds of the English dominion. The allegiance tendered by the toparchs was merely nominal ; and one of them, the chief of the Hy-Nials, set the King at defiance a few days after he had performed the idle ceremony of submission. There was, however, a beneficial change made by the introduction of the English laws and jurisprudence into those districts which the Anglo- Normans possessed, and which, from this time forward, were usually called the English Pale ; the lands sub- ject to the King were divided into counties ; sheriffs and other officers necessary to the administration of justice appointed ; and supreme courts of law establish- ed in Dublin. The twelve counties established by John were, Dublin, Meath, Argial now called Louth, Kildare, Katherlagh now Carlow, Kilkenny, Water-
90 HISTORY OF THE
ford, Wexford, Cork, Kerry, Limerick, Tipperary. To these were subsequently added Roscommon and Connaught, but at what period is uncertain.
After John's return to England, the administration was confided to John de Grey, Bishop of Norwich, who kept Ireland tranquil during the remainder of this troubled and disgraceful reign. We find that several Irish nobles and prelates shared in John's councils during his long contest with the Pope, and afterwards with his own subjects. Among these, Henry de Londres, who had succeeded Comyn as Archbishop of Dublin in 1213, was honourably con- spicuous, by his opposition to the insolent demands of Pandulph the Papal legate, and by the indignant remonstrance he made against the humiliating sub- missions demanded from his sovereign. The power of the native Irish princes seemed rapidly declining. The Northern sept of Hy-Nial, indeed, still mainr tained their independence and their inveterate hosti- lity to the foreign dynasty ; but Cathal O'Connor, no longer able to resist De Burgho in the field, was forced to petition the British monarch for protection, and to exchange his character as a warrior for that of a suppliant. The toparchs of Thomond and Des- mond were similarly humbled ; and, had proper ad-^ vantage been taken of the opportunity, Ireland might at this time have been, without difficulty, entirely subjected to the English dominion.
The early part of the reign of Henry III. was dis- tinguished by several wise measures, which tended greatly to remedy the evils produced by the misgo- vernment of John, both in England and Ireland. William, Earl of Pembroke and Earl Marshal, the young monarch's guardian during his mincrity, was
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 9l
possessed of extensive estates in both islands, and set an example, rarely followed by English statesmen and Irish proprietors, of paying equal regard to the inter- ests of both countries. The great charter was con- firmed, and its provisions extended to Ireland ; the administration of the local government intrusted to Geotfrey de Maurisco, a knight celebrated for mili- tary skill ; and with him was joined Henry de Lon- dres, a prelate still more eminent for political wisdom. The reconciliation of the native Irish to the dominion of their invaders was the best evidence of the supe- rior ability that now ruled the councils of the state ; and, so completely had they resigned all hopes of in- dependence, that they petitioned the King to send one of the royal family to rule in Ireland, in order that his lustre might obscure the disgrace of submission, and the respect due to royal blood might control the turbulence of the powerful barons. Unfortunately this request was rejected. The death of the Earl of Pembroke followed soon after ; his policy died with him ; and Ireland entered on a new career of dis- traction, and suffering, and desolation.
A. D. 1219. — Immediately after his father's death, William, the young E^rl of Pembroke, was sudden- ly called into Ireland, to check the inroads of the Lacys, who had attacked his castles, and determin- ed to seize his estates. While this struggle devas- tated Leinster, the Lord-deputy was engaged in war with the Mac Arthys of Desmond, and the De Burghos were involved in a fierce struggle with the O'Con- nors of Connaught.' After a bloody but desultory warfare, the Lacys were defeated, and the Princps of Desmond forced to submission. The De Burghos, however, were defeated in Connaught ; and Fedlim
92 HISTORY OF THE
O'Conndr, taking advantage of the disgrace of Hu- bert de Burgho in England, not only obtained from Henry a confirmation of his title and possessions, but a mandate to the Lord-deputy Maurice Fitzgerald, to assist in restraining his enemy's usurpations. On the death of WiUiam, Earl of Pembroke, his title and estates devolved on his brother Richard, a po- pular young nobleman, odious to the King and his unworthy favourites, on account of his spirited resist- ance to their unwise and arbitrary measures. Under the most frivolous pretexts, an attempt was made to strip him of his inheritance ; and he, provoked by such outrage, had recourse to arms. He levied some forces in Ireland ; and, returning to Wales, fortified himself in his castle of Pembroke. The royal forces sent against him were defeated ; and the unpopularity of the ministry rendered it probable that this example > of successful resistance would lead to a general insur- j rection. The King and his creatures, unable to sub- due Earl Richard, determined to deprive him of his Irish estates, and sent over letters declaring his ex- tensive possessions forfeited, and ordering them to be shared between Maurice Fitzgerald — the Lord-depu- ty, the Lacys, the De Burghos, Geoffrey de Mauris- co, and some other barons. Such an allurement was not to be resisted by the avaricious adventu- rers. They immediately proceeded to take pos- session ; and, just as tranquillity was restored in , Wales, Earl Richard was recalled to the defence of ! his estates in Ireland. On his landing, he was join- ed by the treacherous De Maurisco, who pretended to aid his quarrel, in order to ensure his destruction. Several successful expeditions were undertaken ; but, at the moment when the Earl was about to engage
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND, ^S
his enemies in a pitched battle, De Maurisco drew off his forces, and Richard was left with only fifteen followers to support the attack of one hundred and forty chosen men. Even under these circumstances, the gallant Earl disdained to yield. His followers, with equal spirit, shunned not the hopeless contest. They fell, overwhelmed by numbers ; and Richard, having fallen senseless by a dagger-wound, was car- ried to a neighbouring castle, where he soon ex- pired.
The death of this heroic and popular nobleman excited universal indignation, both in England and Ireland ; and the King, with dissimulation equal to his former perfidy, disavowed all knowledge of the transaction, and threw the blame on the Bishop of Winchester. But he did not check the depredations committed on the estates of the deceased Earl, nor restore his inheritance to his brother Gilbert, until compelled by fear of the King of Scotland, whose sister Gilbert had married. At length, a hollow pa- cification was effected ; Gilbert was allowed to enjoy his estates without interruption ; and Fitzgerald pur- chased pardon for the destruction of Earl Richard, by founding a monastery where masses should be ce- lebrated periodically for the repose of his soul. A- bout the same time, Fedlim O'Connor appeared at court, to complain of the usurpation of the De Burghos, who steadily pursued their career of vio- lence and extortion. Moved by a dread of this proud and powerful sept, perhaps also in some degree influenced by a sense of justice, Henry sent strict orders that the territories of O'Connor should be protected from further depredations. In return for VOL. I. F
94 HISTORY OF THE*
this unusual act of equity, Fedlim led, a strong bo- dy of auxiliaries to the King's assist^mce in the Welch war, j^nd performed good service against Prince David.
The rest of this troubled reign presents an un- varying scene of petty wars, produced by baronial ugurpaiipns., The Geraldines seized on several dis- tricts of Desmond, in spite of the resistance made by the powerful sept of the MacArthys. The De Burghos, with less success, endeavoured to make themselves masters of Connaught ; and the inferior barons, equE^ly bent on aggrandizement, seized oa the lands of those toparchs,, who were too weak ta make effective, resistai^ce. So little was the royal, authority raspjeqted, . that the Geraldines seized and. imprisoned a Lord-deputy fqr opposing their usurpa- tions ; and it was not without difficulty, that they., were persuaded to set him at liberty. The barons, were at war, not only with the natives, but with, each other ; and the devastations committed in their several expeditions, added to the failures of several successive harvests, reduced the wretched country to. a state which the imagination may possibly conceive,.- but whiph nq human pen can portray.
The miseries of this calamitous period were ag-, gravated by th^e extortipns of the I?ope, and the ty- ranny of the clergy. The. royal, troops were em-, ployed in levying the tribute claimed by his Holi- ness ; and the enormous demands of the King were' in turn sanctioned by the Pope. IJfForts were made- by both to fill all valuable ecclesiastiqal offices with, foreigners. The native clergy made a spirited re-, sistance ; but the powers against which they had to, strive wej-e too formidable. Their real str^^gth, the
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 95
confidence of the people, had been destroyed for- ever at the Council of Cashel. Nor was the con- duct of the Irish prelates much better than that of their oppressors. The records of the period, scanty as they are, contain several instances of prelatic ra- pacity and insolence, which would scarcely be cre- dible, were they not supported by the authority of official documents, and in perfect accordance with the spirit manifested by the church in that misguided age.
The administration of justice was almost wholly neglected; and, though repeated proclamations were Issued, conunanding the observance of the English laws and charters under the severest penalties, we find that they were all ineffectual ; and that a man- date was obliged, to be issued, entreating, rather than commanding, the barons, that, for the sake of pub- lic tranquillity, they would permit the country to be governed by the laws of England. The Irish still preserved their Brehon code ; and, in a curious re- monstrance of Fedlim; O'Connor to King Henyy,.. we find, among other claims of damages for the cruel- des and robberies of De Burgh o, a charge of three thousand marks for the burning of churches and the aiassacre of the clergy. Several of the native Irish, in the immediate vicinity of the pale, finding the in- L^onvenience of this motley mixture of jurisdiction^ purchased charters of denization, by which they be- came entitled to the benefits of English subjects ; i)ut the barons vigorously opposed the extension of such privileges, and the English government had not sufficient strength to overcome their resistance.
\n the latter part of his reign, Henry invested his )pn Edward with the title of Lord, of Ireland;, but.
96 HISTORY OF THE
the young prince never visited the country. The ba» rons disregarded his authority ; and, after his depar- ture to the Crusades, his title was utterly ne- glected.
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 97
CHAPTER VI. The Reigns of Edward L II, and IIL
A. D. 1272. — The accession of Edward I. produc- ed no beneficial change in the state of Ireland. The Geraldines, now become the most powerful of the Nor- man barons, waged incessant wars both on the na- tive princes and their rival peers, in order to extend their influence and possessions ; and the marriage of the young Lord De Clare to a daughter of their house, promised them the means of gratifying their imbition. Edward inconsiderately gave De Clare % grant of extensive domains in Thomond, without paying any regard to the rights of the native posses- sors ; but when De Clare came to enforce his claims, the O'Briens laughed him to scorn, and he was for- 3ed to have recourse to arms. Aided by his father- in-law Maurice, De Clare invaded Thomond ; but was completely defeated, and obliged to accept peace 3n the most mortifying conditions. De Clare i^e- ;umed to England, and laid his complaints before the King ; at the same time, intelligence of fresh commo- ions in various districts was received ; and Edward, ustly indignant, recalled Ufford, the Lord-deputy. But the troubles in Scotland began now to en- gross all the attention of the English monarch ; and, ifter a brief inquiry, he restored Ufford to his go-
ilS HISTORY OF THE
vernment, having recommended him to «xert all hia vigour in repressing these disgraceful commotions.
A century had now elapsed since the Norman in- vasion ; repeated defeats had broken down the spirit of the Irish princes ; all hopes of repelling the fo- reigners were resigned ; and those who lay contigu- ous to the English settlements, were only eager to secure the protection of ihe English law. To ob- tain this valuable privilege, they offered to the King, through his deputy, a subsidy of eight thousand marks, on condition of being admitted to the rightj of British subjects ; and Edward, who was attached tc justice when it did not interfere with the schemes o: his ambition, eagerly hastened to perform their rea- sonable request. In this, as in a thousand subse- quent instances, the wise and benevolent measures of the government were defeated by the local aristo- cracy. They preferred their own ascendancy to th( interests of the state. They were eager to prevent j body of men, whom they could tax and oppress a pleasure, from sharing in the immunities of Englisl subjects. Exclusion was the first, and almost th« only principle recognised by the different oligarchic which successively held under their control the des tinies of Ireland ; and to preserve this darling prin ciple, they unhesitatingly sacrificed the peace and pro sperity of that country, and not unfrequently perilled its connexion with England. An evasive answe was returned to the royal mandate ; but the suffering of the people urged them to renewed apphcations and two years after they repeated their request. Oi this occasion, the King earnestly recommended th consideration of the petition to the Lords Spiritua and Temporal of Ireland ; but both were too deepl
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 99
interested in perpetuating abuses, and Edward's wise designs were again defeated.
The civil' wars between the barons were soon re- newed with All their former violence. They took •advantage of their disorders, arid laid wastfc the new ■settlements. The Lords- deputies were destitute of ■power or influence, and the royal authority was scarcely recognised. William d:e Vesey was sent •over to remedy these disorders ; but unfortunately lie became involved in a contest with the Geraldines, which ended in his ruit>. A more vigorous and •successful effort was made by his successor "Sir Johti Wogan. He prevailed on the rival houses of De Bur- •gho and Fitzgerald to consent to a truce ; and having thus partially restored tranquillity, he summoned a •parliament to take the public grievances into consi- <leration (a. d. 1295). Several judicious acts werfe tnade by this assembly, the first that appears to have been constitutionally convened in Ireland; but the general corruption of morals cotild not be cured by legislative enactments ; and tliough peace was so far restored, ihat "several Irish baronrs were enabled to attend Edward in his warfs against Scotland, hostiK* ties were continued by their followers, and their set- tlements devastated during their absence.
The death of Edward I. while inarching against the Scotch, and the pusillanimous retreatt of Edward II., was followed by the dispersion df the army, and the Irish nobles retumed home. De Burgho hav- ing obtained, by marriage, the title of Earl of Ulster, and the extensive estates of the Lacys, was now vir- tually the Lord of Ireland ; but he did not abuse his power ; and, content with the barbarous pomp of feu- sdalism, he allowed his weaker neighbours to remain immolested. The insane attachment of Edward to hh
100 HISTORY OF THE
unworthy favourite Gavestone, whom he had recalled in spite of the solemn promise plighted to his dying father, gave so much displeasure to the English no- bility, that they formed an association too powerful for the sovereign to resist, and compelled the dis- â– missal of the obnoxious minister. The King was very reluctant to part with his minion ; and at length appointed him governor of Ireland, whence he might be recalled at the first favourable opportunity. The administration of Gavestone was distinguished by vigour and ability. He repressed the incursions of the hostile Irish, and repaired the castles that were erected along the marches of the English Pale. Unfortunately, his haughtiness and love of ostenta- tion, which had been the cause of his expulsion from England, still continued, and excited against him the hatred of the barons, whom he affected to despise. Before these angry feelings could produce open war, Gavestone was recalled by his unwise mas- ter; and soon after. Sir John Wogan was reap- pointed to the government. He came in time to witness a new civil war between the De Burghos and Geraldines, whose violence it was not in his power to restrain. The issue of the contest, how- ever, proved favourable to a temporary restoration of tranquillity; for De Burgho being taken prisoner, entered into terms of accommodation, which were cemented by the marriage of his daughters to Mau- rice and Thomas Fitz-John, afterwards the heads of the illustrious houses of Desmond and Kildare.
A. D. 1314. — This alliance between the leaders of the two parties, whose hostility had hitherto been the great source of intestine broils, promised to se- cure the country an interval of tranquillity ; but a new storm from an unexpected quarter was impend-
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 101
Ing, which produced fresh and greater calamities. The memorable triumph of the Scotch over the mighty army of England on the field of Bannock- burn, produced great excitement in Ulster. Con- stant tradition declared, that the northern Irish were descended from the same stock as the Albanian JScotch, though antiquaries had not yet begun to discuss the relative antiquity of the branches. The Ulster princes were delighted at the success of their brethren, and anxious to emulate such an example of successful resistance. At the same time, Robert Bruce had reason to dread the impetuous ambition of his brother Edward, and was consequently an- xious to find some employment which might prevent him from engaging in an insurrection at home. The condition of Ireland presented to one brother the tempting prospect of a new kingdom, and assured to the other the tranquillity of his recovered domi- nions. Both eagerly embraced the opportunity ; and emissaries were immediately sent through Ulster to stimulate the people to strike for freedom. The enterprise, however, had been nearly defeated in the very beginning, by the impatience of Edward Bruce. He crossed over with a small force, before his friends were prepared for his reception, and was forced to make a precipitate retreat. The news of this at- tempt created some alarm in England. The Deputy, Lord Edmund Butler, a worthy descendant of the gallant Fitz-Walter, was summoned over, with some other noblemen, to consult about the state of the kingdom ; and orders were issued to take all proper precautions of defence. The winter was spent in deliberations ; and Butler, with the other barons, jeturned in spring, barely in time to rescue the kingdom.
102 HISTORY O^F THE
A. D. 1315.--On the 23th of May, ^dwaVd Bruce, at the head of six thousand hardy veterans, landed on the north-eastern coast, and was imme^ diately joined by the principal toparchs of Ulster. There was no force in Ireland able to resist the combined armies. They fell on the unprotected settlements in the North, a;nd butchered the colo* •nists with as little mercy as they had themselves ex* perienced. Castles were stormed ; Dundalk, Ather^- <iee, and almost every town of "note burned ; and, in 3. very short space of time, no trace of the English remained m Ulster, but the desolation of their for- mer dwellings. The news of these transactions spread dismay through the English Pale. Several barc>ns were disposed to naake terms with the in* vader ; others iiasfcened to secure their possessions in the south and west. Tiie Earl of Ulster and the Loid-deputy alone determined on a courageous re- sistance. The unreasonable pride of De Burgho, exhibited even at this important crisis, increased the danger. He rejected the proffered aid of the Lord* deputy, and assumed the entire conduct of the war. Being joined by Fedlim O'Connor, he advanced against Bruce ; but was defeated, though not deci- sively. Before the Earl could retrieve his losses, Fedlim was recalled by an insurrection in his own dominions ; and De Burgho, thus weakened, was soon a;fter compelled to retire.
The army of Fedlim suffered so severely in this retreat from the hostility of the northern septs, that he was unable to resist his rival ; and the dispirited forces of De Burgho could lend him no effectual assistance. He was, however, soon relieved by the arrival of Sir Richard Bermingbam with a select body of English soldiers. By the aid of this reinforce-
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 103
ttient, he was enabled to take the field. His rival fell in the engagement that ensued ; and Fedlim was restored to his former dignity and possessions. But gratitude had no place in the breast of the Irish prince. The first use he made of his recovered povper, was to enter into a strict alliance with Bruce, And draw his sword against his deliverers. The O'Briens of Thomond, and a great proportion of the toparchs of Munster and Meath, followed his CKample. Even the descendants of English settlers, and especially the once powerful Lacys, declared themselves adherents of the Scottish invader. A great body of the native clergy eagerly embraced his cause ; the rest waited for the Pope's decision, for they knew that the Bruces were not on the best of terms with his Holiness. Confident of success, Ed- ward Bruce was solemnly crowned at Dundalk, and immediately afterwards prepared to march south- wards— a step now become imperatively necessary, for the resources of the north were exhausted, and his army suffering the extremity of famine.
Fitz-Thomas, baron of O'Phaly, the head of the Geraldines, and Butler, the Lord-deputy, made every exertion to prepare for the coming irruption, and were immediately rewarded with the titles of Earls ; the former of Kildare, the latter of Carrick. The other Lords of the Pale also declared themselves determined to support tiie King with their lives and fortunes, and readily gave hostages for their alle- giance to Hotham, the royal commissioner. The most pressing danger arose from the revolt of Fedlim O'Connor, who had already defeated several inferior leaders, and severely harassed the settlements in Connaught. A powerful army, commanded by Wil- liaHi de Burgho, brother of the Earl of Ulster, and
104 HISTORY OF THE
Sir Richard Bermingham, was therefore sent into the western districts, to restrain and chastise these ravages. FedUm, encouraged by previous success, ventured to hazard a pitched battle. The engage- ment took place near the town of Athenry, and was long and bloody. At length, the Irish were routed with terrible slaughter ; their monarch, and most of their princes, were among the slain. This was the most decisive victory which the settlers had ever ob- tained. The power of the O'Connor family was irretrievably destroyed, and the entire province of Connaught placed at the mercy of the De Burghos. An interesting anecdote of fidelity is recorded by the original narrators of this battle. They tell us, that after the battle, Sir Richard Bermingham directed one of his attendants, named Hussey, to search the field, and try whether the body of his great enemy, O'Kelly, was among the slain. Ac- companied by a single attendant, Hussey commenced his search ; and O'Kelly, who had heard the orders, came with his squire from a thicket in which he had been concealed, and, presenting himself to Hussey, endeavoured to seduce him from his allegiance. He represented to the young page the inferiority of the station assigned him by Bermingham, and made the most liberal promises of wealth and preferment if he would desert his master's banners. Dazzled by such splendid offers, Hussey's servant eagerly besought him to comply ; but the young page indignantly slew him as a traitor. He was immediately assailed by O'Kelly and his servant ; the latter he luckily felled to the earth by a single blow ; and, after a tedious combat, he struck down O'Kelly with a mortal wound. The servant, in the mean time, had par- tially recovered ; and Hussey compelled him to take
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 105
tip the body of his master, and bear it to the Eng- lish camp. When Bermingham heard the account of this gallant exploit, he immediately conferred the honour of knighthood on his page, and assigned him a large estate out of the forfeited possessions of the O'Connors.
The death of his ally did not check the opera- tions of Edward Bruce. He extended his ravages to the very walls of Dublin, and filled the capital with consternation. The Earl of Ulster, having been married to a sister of the Scottish King, was suspected of favouring the pretensions of Bruce ; and his inaction during the incursion seemed to prove, that he was not a steady supporter of his rightful so- vereign. On this account, he was seized and thrown into prison by the chief magistrate of Dublin ; nor Could all the remonstrances of the English govern^ ment procure for a long time his liberation. Walter de Lacy, after having solemnly disavowed all con- nection with the Scotch, joined Bruce, and acted as his guide, in the march of the invaders, through Meath and Leinster. Led by this traitor, Bruce tra* versed Ossory, and even penetrated into Munster; but the savage devastations of his licentious soldiery alienated the affections of the inhabitants, who were previously disposed to regard him as a liberator; and the Geraldines were easily enabled to collect an army sufficient to prevent his farther advance.
The soldiers of the Geraldines were too deficient in arms and discipline for the leaders to hazard a re- gular battle ; but they were soon reinforced by the new Lord-deputy, Roger Mortimer, who landed at Waterford with a train of forty knights and their ; attendants. Bruce was now compelled to retreat, which he did with precipitation, leaving the Lacys
106 HISTORY OF ^HS
exposed to all the consequences of their rash rebel- lion. Mortimer exacted a heavy vengeance from the faithless chieftains. He seized all their castles and estates in Meath, and compelled them to seek refuge in the wilds of Connaught. The English interest soon began to revive ; and the Pope lent his pov^^er^ f\il assistance to restore its ascendancy.. Sentence of excommunication was solemnly pronounced againstr Bruce and all his adherents, but more particularly^ those priests who had preached so zealously in his cause. This interference seems to have been antici- pated ; for the northern Irish princes sent a deputa- tion to Rome, in order to lay before the Pontiff a full statement of all the evils which the English had iiiflicted on their country. It was, indeed, a black catalogue of crimes, and yet there is something ir- resistibly ludicrous in the manner of describing the, grievances. The massacre of thousands is placed on the same scale as the imprisonment of a prelate ;= and the injury done to a cathedral described as more atrocious than the robbery of a nation. Popes John XXII. transmitted the appeal to Edward, withi a recommendation to redress all these wrongs, lay and clerical ; but the state of the country prevented the introduction of any improvements.
After the departure of Mortimer, the administra- tion was intrusted successively to the Archbishops of Cashel and Dublin. They published the bulls of. excommunication, and ordered them to be read daily at every mass celebrated in the English army. The- Archbishop of Armagh did not confine himself to, spiritual weapons ; he resided constantly in the camp, , and took an active part in directing all military ope-, rations. In the mean time, Bruce's army was en-, during the most horrible extremities of famine. Shut
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Bp in. the- northem districts, which had lain desolate since the- commencement of tbe war, lie could not procm-e any subsistence for his foJlowers. The most loathsome and revolting objects were eagerly sought by the famishing wretches ; and we are assured, that they even fed on the dead bodies of their brethren. Robert Bruce, hearing of his brother's precarious si- tuation, made hasty preparations to bring him relief, but by this means only accelerated his ruin. Jealous ©f his brother's fame, Edward determined that vic- tory should be entirely his own, and hastily led his forces against Sir Richard Bermingham, who had advanced into Ulster at the head of fifteen thousand men (a. d. 1318). The fate of Ireland was de- cided iiX the battle of Dundalk. The famished Scots- were broken by the physical stuength of their oppo- nents ; the Irish felt that they fought under the curse- of the church ; while the English were roused by the belief that heaven was on their side, and that th& Wessing pronounced on their arms by the primate, that very morning, rendered them invincible. Irh the midst of the engagement, Bruce was singled out by an English knight, named Maupas; and so fu- rious was the encounter, that both fell dead together on. the plain. The carnage was frightful ; for quar- ter was refused to wretches who had incurred the« penalties of excommunication. A fow escaped by their superior knowledge of the country, and carried to their brethren certain intelligence, that their hopes of independence were frustrated for ever. In a lew days after, Robert Bruce arriv-ed on the coast ; but' hearing of his brother's fate, he immediately retired ;' and Bermingham, thus freed from- all apprehensions. ; of the Scotch, led back his victoiious troops, having;
108 HISTORY OF THE
first expelled from their lands the toparchs that had been the most zealous supporters of Bruce. The successful general was created Earl of Louth, and baron of Atherdee — a distinction which he well de- served.
The evils of war are not to be measured merely by the number of the slain, or the extent of devastation ; there are frequently calamities more oppressive, and more permanent, which escape the notice of the or- dinary historian. Bruce had been slain, his follow- ers dispersed, and tranquillity of some kind restored ; but the land was desolate, the exchequer empty, the soldiers mutinous for pay, the people starving for lack of food. The great barons, who always main- tained a large train of followers, were unable to sup-- port their retainers, and they began to exact what they called " coyne and livery, " — in other words, pay and food for their soldiers. This compendious mode of supporting an army, by quartering it imme- diately on the people, has been more than once tried in Ireland. It has been found an excellent means of converting a petty disturbance into a formidable insurrection, and of diffusing through some devoted district, intense hatred of a government that exposed the peasant's little property to licensed plunder, and- his wives and daughters to insult and pollution. But the Irish oligarchies never were famous for look- ing to remote consequences. They did not fear the serf, whom they crushed down by their brute force ; but the wretch incapable of obtaining open redress, sought for secret revenge. They believed that the money wrung from their oppressed tenants was clear gain ; but they saw not, that, when the substantial yeomanry fled before extortion, and their places were- supplied by miserable thralls, that the land was no
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. i09
longer efficiently cultivated, and that their actual re- ceipts bore an amazing disproportion to their nomi- nal rent-roll. The fable of the boy and the goose that kid golden eggs, has been often faithfully and fatally realized in Ireland. The landlord that robs his tenantry of a fair share of their profits, is his own worst enemy ; he destroys all motives to industry ; he puts a stop to the improvement of his own ground ; he actually offers a premium for exhausting the fer- tility of his own land. If no better motive has any influence over the minds of Irish proprietors, self- interest ought long since to have shown them the ruin that such short-sighted avarice was bringing on themselves as well as on their country ; and it might, if miserable pride had not interfered — the pride of showing an enormous rent-roll, in which the first figure to the left was rarely significant. " It is well to have at least the name of the thing, *' is recorded as an Anglo-Irish proverb in the earliest times ; and this love of the name, without the reality, continues to the present day. It is easy to swell the nominal income, by demanding L.IO per acre for ground not worth half the sum ; but the tenant will be unable to perform his promise. In many such cases, he will pay very little ; in most, nothing. But we have digressed from the first establishment of the system to its present modified operation, and must now re- sume the regular course of our narration*
The exaction of coyne and livery was first com- menced by Maurice Fitz-Thomas of Desmond ; and the severity with which this arbitrary tax was levied, was so great, that Baron Finglas declares " it would destroy hell, if used in the same." Finglas was ^(Qhief Baron of the Irish Exchequer, and, subsquently, Chief Justice of the King's Bench in the reign of
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Henry VIII. ; and his brief account of the evils that- followed from this tyranny, comes to us recommend-^ ed by the weight of judicial authority, independent of the internal evidence of its truth. He says, " Nevir sithence did the Geraldines of Mounster, the But- lers, ne Geraldines of Leinster, obediently obey the King's lawes in Irlaund ; but continually alhed them- selves with Irishmen, useing continually coyne and livery, whereby all the londe is now of Irish rule, ex- cept the little English Pale, within the counties of Dublin and Myeth, and Uriell (Louth), which passe not thirty or fourty miles in compasse. Item, in the forsaid mannere for the lacke of punishment of the grete lordes of Mounstere by ministracione of jus- tice, they, by ther extortione of coyne and livery, and othir abusions, have expelled all the English free- holders and inhabitants out of Mounster ; so that in fiftie yeres passid was none ther obedient to the Kyng's laws, except cities and walled townes ; and soo this hath been the decaie of Mounster. " The Geraldines unhesitatingly seized on the lands of all the proprietors whom their oppression drove into ex- ile ; and in a very few years Desmond was the prince, rather than the proprietor, ofWaterford, Cork, Kerry, and Limerick. Thus began the fatal system under which Ireland continues to suffer at the present hour ; a system pursued with little variation by every race of landlords which the different revolutions introduc- ed ; a system of giving the land only to miserable serfs, and discouraging, by every means, the growth of an independent middle class. The feudal barons drove out the first race of freeholders ; the under- takers in the reigns of Elizabeth and James, refused to grant leases on such terms as would encourage a tenant to expend capital and industry on the land ;
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. Ill
the Cromwellian settlers steadily pursued the same course ; their descendants,' tbrough the greater part of the last century, invariably discouraged the protestant or English tenant, who refused to pay a rent which would deprive him of every comfort, and who felt himself entitled to the rights of a citizen, and the protection of equal laws. The natural consequence has been, that the landlords have heaped up the ma- terials of a servile waf , ever ready to explode ; and have kept the country on the verge of a general Agrarian insurrection, whose danger is increased by the violent means used to check its partial eruptions. The conduct of the clergy, at this period, was not such as should have been expected from ministers of the gospel of peace. The ecclesiastics only imitat- ed the barons in setting the English government at defiance ; but there was more consistency, more unity of purpose and design, in the opposition of the spi- ritual aristocracy. The barons were frequently forced to yield ; but the prelates uniformly prevailed in every contest. One circumstance illustrative of the daring spirit manifested by the bishops, as well as of the ludicrous fanaticism of the age, deserves to be recorded (a. d. 1324). Richard Ledred, Bishop of Ossory, having, for some unknown reason, be- come the enemy of a noble lady, named Dame Alice Ketler, summoned her, with her son and several of her dependents, before his spiritual court, on a charge of witchcraft. The indictment was wondrously spe- cific, and the overt acts charged as precise as possi- Dle. She was accused of going through Kilkenny ?very evening, immediately before curfew, sweeping the refuse of the streets to her son's door, and mut- iepxig the poetic incantation^-
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« To the house of William my son, Hie all the wealth of Kilkemiy town. "
It was further alleged, that she made assignations near a cross-road, with a demon named Robin Ar- tysson, and provided a strange supper for her strange paramour, to wit, nine red cocks', and eleven pea- cocks' eyes. After this delicate repast, it was stated that Alice and Robin were accustomed to help di- gestion by taking an evening excursion all the world over ; and the broomstick which served as her charger was produced in court. Finally, it was stated that a sacramental wafer, on which the name of the devil was inscribed, had been found in her chamber. Not- withstanding this body of evidence, the lady was ac- quitted ; but one of her attendants was found guilty, and executed. But the Bishop was not so easily foiled. The lady was again brought to trial, on a new charge of heresy, convicted, and burned at the stake ; and Adam Duff, a gentleman of a respectable family in Leinster, being convicted of the same of- fence, shared the same fate. Lord Arnold de h Poer, seneschal of the palatinate to which Kilkenn} then belonged, disgusted at these exhibitions o: mingled folly and barbarity, interfered to check Led- red's proceedings. The Bishop immediately arrest- ed him as a heretic ; and when the Lord-deputy in- terfered for his protection, the undaunted prelate ex- tended his charge to that personage himself.
In Ireland, now was exhibited the extraordinary spectacle, of the chief governor arraigned before the Bench of Bishops on a formal charge of heresy All the business of the State was suspended, for th<: Lord-deputy was also Chancellor. Parliament, thei sitting, was unable to proceed with any business;
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and the courts of law were closed. After a long and tedious trial, the Lord-deputy was formally ac- quitted, and testified his joy by a magnificent ban- quet, open to all comers. Lord de la Poer was not equally fortunate. He had been seized by the Bi- shop in the first instance, and perished in the mi- serable dungeon to which he had been confined. Not satisfied with this vengeance, the Bishop ap- pealed to Rome, and obtained a Papal brief, exhort- ing the King to prevent the growth of heresy in Ire- land. But the mischief luckily reverted on the head of its author. Ledred was himself accused of he- resy before his metropolitan, and forced to save him- self by a precipitate retreat. The remainder of his worthless life was spent in poverty and exile ; but the effects of his mischievous efforts were long and lasting.
A. D. 1327. — During the administration of the Earl of Kildare, a civil war commenced, in which the greater part of the English barons were engaged. The cause of this furious contest was the most tri- vial imaginable. The Lord de la Poer had called Maurice of Desmond a rhymer ; and Maurice, pro- bably believing that the imputation of any literary attainment was inconsistent with the barbarous dig- nity which he affected, resolved to revenge the af- front by arms. The Butlers and Berminghams joined the side of Maurice. De la Poer was assist- ed by the De Burghos. The struggle was long and dubious ; for, though Poer was easily driven from his territories, his allies could not be subdued with equal facility. The lands were laid waste by the fu- rious inroads of the rival partisans ; and the Irish septs in Leinster took advantage of these commo-^ tions to revolt. In the midst of these tumults Kil-
Ili4 HISTORY OF THE
dare died, and was succeeded by Roger Outlaw, Prior of Kilmainham.
The first effort of the prelate was to reconcile the barons ; and in this he succeeded the more easily, as they were alarmed at the extent of their own devast- ations. The Irish septs, hopeless of success, also tendered their submission, and again petitioned to be admitted to the privileges of British subjects. But the barons were too fond of their old system of policy, to allow those whom they destined to be their serfs to obtain the privileges of freemen. They declared the proposed grace injurious to the cause of English ascendancy, and, by their com- bined influence, disappointed at once both King and people.
The Irish were justly indignant at this gross in- stance of tyranny and injustice. They immediately took up arms, and, ranging themselves under the ban- ners of O'Brian, Prince of Thomond, obtained seve- ral advantages over the English in Leinster. Their career was marked by ruthless massacre and deso- lation. We are told, that on one occasion, they sur- rounded a church in which about eighty English settlers were assembled. These unfortunate victims, hopeless of escape, petitioned for the safety of their pastor ; but even this was refused. The priest was the first victim. He was slain at the very altar, and the consecrated elements trampled in the dust. The in- vaders had first shown the example of despising all that was in that age deemed holy. The example now reverted on themselves, and they were doomed to pay a heavy penalty for their former excesses. The Lord- deputy, finding the forces of the government unable to quell the insurrection, solicited the aid of Mau- rice of Desmond, and treated with this haughty dy-
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 115
nast more as an independent prince than a feudal baron. To secure the support of Maurice, he was created Earl of Desmond, and his territories erected ^jinto a county palatine, in which he was allowed to exercise independent jurisdiction. The number of palatinates was shortly after increased to nine ; Car- low, Wexford, Kilkenny, Leix, Meath, Ulster, and the territories of the Earls of Desmond and Ormond. The palatine lords in these districts exercised all the lights of sovereign princes ; made barons and knights ; exercised both criminal and civil jurisdiction ; ap- pointed their own officers of justice ; and claimed the right of making war and peace at their pleasure. Under such circumstances, the authority of govern- ment was merely nominal, and the country was in effect divided into several independent sovereignties beyond the control of the crown.
Such was the condition of affairs when Sir An- thony Lucy was appointed to the government. He was an English knight, eminently distinguished for wisdom, firmness and valour, and there was rarely an occasion when such qualifications were more re- quisite in a lord-deputy. Suspecting that the Irish were secretly encouraged in their depredations by the barons, he summoned a parliament to meet him at Kilkenny. The thinness of the attendance, and the pretexts used by those who did come for depart- ing again, converted his suspicions into certainty, and he took the decisive measure of arresting all the leading nobles. Desmond, Mandeville, the two De Burghos, and the two Berminghams, were thrown into prison by the spirited Deputy, and soon after brought to trial. William Bermingham was convict- ed on the clearest evidence, and immediately execut- ed. Desmond was forced, after a long ccnfinement,
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to give great surety for his appearance, and was then sent into England.
The Irish nobles would scarcely have submitted to this rigour, but that Edward was expected to come over in person, and strictly investigate the state of affairs in Ireland. Extensive preparations were made, apparently for this expedition ; but they were only intended to veil the monarch's real de- signs against Scotland. The forces collected on the western coast were suddenly ordered to march north- wards ; and Ireland was, as usual, neglected. The only measure taken to tranquillize the country, was the most injudicious that could possibly be adopted. The Prior of Kilmainham was directed to enter into tenns of accommodation with all the insurgents of English and Irish race. He thus, indeed, for a time, restored a hollow tranquillity ; but he revealed to the disaffected the secret of their own strength, and the royal weakness. About the same time, an event fraught with the most pernicious consequences occurred. The Earl of Ulster was assassinated by his own servants at Carrickfergus ; and his Coun- tess, with her infant daughter, fled to England iii consternation. The vast estates of De Burgho were thus left without any adequate defence ; and the King, who, as guardian of the infant heir, ought to have held them in ward, took no measures for their security. Of course, they became the prey of rapine and violence. The sept of the Q'Nials took up arms, and, passing the river Bann, drove out the English settlers, after a desperate resistance. They then parcelled out the conquered territories amongst themselves, and gave them the name of Upper and Lower Clan-Hugh-Boy, in honour of their leader^ Hugh-Boy O'Nial. The Earl's possessions in Con-
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 117
naught were seized by the junior branches of the De Burghos ; and, as the usurpers were conscious that the law of England would deprive them of their acquisition, they resigned at once the English law, language and name, and assumed the character of Irish toparchs, under the title of MacWilliam Oughter and MacWilHam Eighter, that is, the fur- ther and nether MacWilliam. Similar degeneracy was exhibited in almost every part of the country ; and it soon became proverbial, that the descendants of English settlers were Hibernis ipsis HibernioreSy I* more Irish than the Irish themselves. "
The course adopted by the government under these circumstances was so unsteady and vacillating, that the evils hourly increased. In a moment of impetuous indignation, Edward issued a proclama- tion, that none but those of English birth should be eligible to any office ; but, finding the Irish aristo- cracy preparing for resistance, he limited the exclu- sion to the native Irish, and eventually excepted from its operation all those who had obtained char- ters of privileges. Again, he encouraged the Lord- deputy UfFord in his vigorous efforts to control the Earls of Desmond and Kildare ; but immediately after, he took both these lords into favour, in order to procure their aid in the invasion of France. The Irish forces were honourably distinguished by their achievements in the French war ; and Kildare show- ed so much valour at the siege of Calais, that he re- ceived the honour of knighthood from the King's own hand. But these favours only served to exalt the pride of the Geraldines, and to make them less inclined to yield obedience as subjects^
A. D. 1333. — The only gleam of sunshine in this long and gloomy period was the brief adminis-
118 HISTORY OF THE
tration of Sir Thomas Rokeby. Mild in his man- ners, and upright in his conduct, this excellent go- vernor successfully laboured to conciliate all parties by justice and moderation. When advised to enrich himself by arts well known to all that went before, and many that succeeded him, he nobly replied, " I am served without parade or splendour ; but let my dishes be wooden, rather than my creditors unpaid." But the abilities of Rokeby were not equal to the purity of his intentions. Indeed, powers absolutely miraculous were required to tranquillize a land, where every spot was filled with the elements of discord, and where every person felt an interest in creating public disturbance.
A.D. 1361. — Edward, seeing the little respect paid to his deputies, resolved to commit the govern- ment of Ireland to his second son Lionel, Duke of Clarence, who had married the heiress of the Earl of Ulster. Extensive preparations were made to en^ able the young prince to conduct himself with vigour in his new government ; and the highest expectations were formed of the benefits that were to follow from his visit. By one fatal error, all these well-ground- ed hopes were disappointed. The youthful Duke was surrounded by men of English birth, who in- duced him to slight the Lords of the Pale ; and these haughty nobles refused to give him the least assist- ance in his military operations. Left to the guid- ance of his own inexperienced followers, Lionel marched against the O'Briens of Thomond; and, from his ignorance of the country, was soon involved in difficulties from which he saw no means of escape. In this mortifying condition, he was obliged to ap- peal to the compassion of the Lords of the Pale, by whom he was speedily relieved, and even enabled tq^
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gain some advantages over the enemy. He returned soon after to England, having added a new and dan- gerous distinction to the parties, by which the coun- try was already distracted. Henceforth, the terms, English by birth, and English by blood, became in- vidious marks of separation, and caused new hosti- lities as violent and inveterate as any yet recorded.
After a brief absence, during which the reins of government were held successively by the Earl of Ormond and Sir Thomas Dale, the Duke of Cla^ rence returned, and summoned a parliament to con- sult on the state of the country (a. d. 1367). The most numerous and respectable assembly that had hitherto been convened in Ireland met on this occa- sion at Kilkenny. The result of their labours was an act memorable in the dark annals of Irish legisla- tion, the celebrated Statute of Kilkenny. It provided, that marriage, fosterage, or gossipred with the Irish, or submission to the Irish law, should be considered and punished as high treason. It de- clared, that if any man of English descent should use an Irish name, the Irish language, or observe Irish customs, he should forfeit his estates, until se- curity was given for his conformity to English ha- bits. It was also declared penal, to present a mere Irishman (that is, one who had not purchased a charter of denization) to any benefice, or to receive him into any monastery. And finally, it was strictly forbidden to entertain any native bard, minstrel, or I story-teller ; or to admit an Irish horse to graze on the pasture of a liege subject !
This precious specimen of legislation was lauded as a masterpiece of policy, by those who thought that the conversion of the English into merelrish was the great danger to be apprehended ; and even in
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later times, there have been found some to join in the eulogy. Yet, could there be any thing more impolitic than thus to denounce all the institutions, civil and religious, of a people not yet subdued — and this too, after all their petitions for admission within the pale of the English law had been contumeliously neglect- ed ? In fact, the Irish were forced, by their oppres- sors, to retain their ancient system, and then punish- ed for their adherence to what they would gladly have resigned. In the words of Lord Clare, " it was a declaration of perpetual war, not only against the native Irish, but against every person of English blood, who had settled beyond the limits of the pale, and from motives of personal interest, or convenience, had formed connexions with the natives, or adopted their laws and customs : And it had the full effect which might have been expected ; it drew closer the confederacy it was meant to dissolve, and implicated the colony of the pale in ceaseless warfare and con- tention with each other, and with the inhabitants of the adjacent district. " The conduct of the clergy is not the least astounding part of this extraordinary proceeding. Not satisfied with their efforts in con- veying the statute through the parliament, they de- nounced anathemas and excommunications on all those who disobeyed its provisions ; declaring that every thing Irish was an object of abhorrence to God and man. Three of these bishops were themselves Irishmen ; and we may well be surprised at the viru- lence with which these apostates branded the insti- tutions of their violence. But our wonder ceases when we learn, that tithes and other ecclesiastic ex- actions were always resisted in those districts where the Brehon law prevailed.
But the Statute of Kilkenny failed to produce the
i
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 121
effects that Edward anticipated. The insurrections and civil wars continued ; the authority of the Lords- deputy was disregarded ; and the expense of the Irish government became a serious burden to the British Parliament (a. d. 1376.) Sir William Windsor, the Lord-deputy, by the royal command, assembled the parliament of the pale ; but they pleaded poverty, and refused the supplies. Edward had recourse to the ex- traordinary measure of summoning a species of Irish parliament to meet him in England. The Bishops were directed to send over two of the clergy from every diocess ; the commons were ordered to send two re- presentatives from each county, and two burgesses from each city and borough. The returns made to these writs of summons prove clearly, that the pre- lates were as little disposed to submit to the royal power as the barons. The greater number of dio- cesses expressly prohibited their deputies from con- senting to any subsidies ; and the counties and cities followed their example. Cork, Youghal, Ross, and a few other places, gave full powers to their repre- sentatives ; but the limitation placed on the majori- ty rendered the whole proceeding nugatory. Money was the only thing the King wanted, and money was precisely the subject on which the different constitu- encies prevented the deputies from deliberating. The deputies went over and assembled at Westminster ; but as they had no authority, their debates were a mere idle form, and they soon separated. During , the remainder of Edward's reign, the royal authority ., continually declined, and the unrestrained excesses of the barons kept the country in a state of the utmost .misery. Foreign merchants refused to visit the hap- less land without special letters of protection. Trade .^ and commerce were^ consequently, all but extinguish-
122 HISTORY OF THE
ed. New adventurers coming over from England^ inflamed dissensions by their grasping avarice ; and the clergy, already demoralized, were further degrad-* ed by being employed to raise and lead armies, which, the crown feared to intrust to the barons. These were the fatal consequences of Edward's foreign wars, which withdrew his attentions from his domestic con- cerns, and prevented him from applying any remedy to the evils which he saw and vainly lamented.
I
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 123
CHAPTER VII.
The History of Ireland during the Civil Wars between the Houses of York and Lancaster.
The accession of the unfortunate Richard II. had no immediate effect upon the affairs of Ireland. The expenses, however, of its misgovernment, called the attention of the British Parliament to the state of that country, and they adopted the judicious measure of compelling absentees to return under pain of for- feiture. The war with France and Scotland, though not vigorously maintained by any of the belligerent powers, wasted them all by the encouragement it af- forded to predatory expeditions. The coast of Ire- land was long infested by a French fleet, until, at length, the enemy was overtaken in the harbour of Kinsale by the English, and completely defeated. Little of importance occurred during the administra- dons of the Earl of March and Sir Philip Courtney. iFhe latter governor was removed in consequence of his illegal extortions ; but historians have not record- ed the particulars of his crimes and punishment. The government was next conferred on the King's prime ^vourite, Robert de Vere, Earl of Oxford, and Mar- |uis of Dublin. Extraordinary preparations were inade for his departure ; but when he had proceeded k'far as Wales, Richard found himself unable to
124 HISTORY OF THE
part with his minioti, and the administration was managed by his deputies*
The EngUsh nobility soon revolted against the dominion which Oxford exercised ; and, after a brief struggle, he was driven into Flanders. His crea- tures in Ireland shared his fate. They were stripped of their power, and the administration confided to Sir John Stanley, and afterwards to the Earl of Ormond. The latter acted with more vigour than his predecessors. He compelled the O'Neals of Ulster to give hostages for their fidelity ; and he gained a great victory at Kilkenny over a numerous army of Irish insurgents. The disordered state of Ireland, however, continued to be the subject of bitter complaints in the English parliament ; and the King at length resolved to lead over a sufficient army, and complete the conquest of the country. He is said to have formed this resolution, partly be- cause he dreaded the Duke of Gloucester, who was first nominated to the command, but principally on account of a sarcasm uttered by some princes of Germany, when Richard canvassed them for his election to the empire. Having married a Bohe- mian princesS) he trusted that, by this connection, he had acquired sufficient interests to be chosen Em- peror. But the electors refused to confer the dig- nity on one who had been unable to defend the ac- quisitions made by his ancestors in France — who could not control the factions of his English sub- jects, nor subdue the enemies of his authority in Ireland. The truth of this reproach made it the more bitter ; and Richard determined to acquire military fame in Ireland, where he had the fairest prospects of success.
A powerful army, led by the King in person,
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 125
could not be resisted by the Irish toparchs. As soon as Richard landed, the native princes and the barons hastened to tender their allegiance, and per- form homage. The vain-glorious King was satisfied with this appearance of submission ; he traversed the country in all the pomp of military triumph, and soon returned to England, after having expended enormous sums, and performed absolutely nothing. ifi The young Earl of March, who remained in ijreland as Lord-deputy, fatally experienced how de- lusive were the submissions which Richard had ac- cepted. It had been stipulated, that the Irish septs should completely evacuate Leinster ; but when the time for the performance of the agreement arrived, they not only refused to stir, but boldly took up arms. In this petty war the Earl of March was slain, with several of his companions ; and Mac- Murchard, who, though pensioned by the King, headed the revolt, severely harassed the English set- tlements, no longer protected by the forces of the Deputy. When the news of these events reached England, Richard at once determined on a second expedition into Ireland, to avenge his cousin's death. Orders were issued for levying forces and raising money ; but the royal emissaries behaved so harshly in the execution of these commands, that the dis- affection which the King's misconduct had already caused soon became universal. The banishment of Hereford, and the illegal seizure of his pater- nal property, had justly offended that powerful and popular nobleman. He had previously formed an extensive connection with a great body of the Eng- lish nobility ; and Richard, just before his depar- ture, added to the strength of the conspiracy, by , |H:oclaiming the Earl of Northumberland a traitor,
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and his lands forfeited. Having thus almost wantonly provoked a rebellion, Richard set sail, and on the 13th day of May arrived in Waterford.
The entire progress of the weak monarch was marked by vanity and incapacity. When a great part of the season had been wasted in idle parade, he advanced against the enemy through a difficult country, where no provisions could be procured. MacMurchard, secure in his fastnesses, could not be forced to an engagement. He left the English to contend with his formidable allies^— fatigue and^i famine ; — enemies that soon thinned the ranks of the invaders. Richard, forced to retreat before an enemy he despised, had recourse to negotiation ; but his terms were haughtily rejected by MacMurchard. Irritated by these disappointments, the King vowed never to return, until he had chastised the insolent chieftain ; but the news that reached him from Eng-. land soon compelled him to change his resolution. Unfavourable winds had prevented any intercourse between the two countries for some weeks ; and. when tlie weather changed, the news of Hereford's, invasion, and its rapid success, came upon him like a thunderbolt. Even in this crisis, he neglected alL reasonable precautions ; — he delayed in Ireland un- til the Welch army, collected by the Earl of Salis-^ bury, dispersed in despair ; and he returned, with a scanty train, to a country where he had no longer a friend. He threw himself into the Castle of Con- way, with the design of returning to Ireland ; but was betrayed into the hands, of his rival, and soon after perished in prison.
The usurpation of the House of Lancaster shook to its very foundation the English interests in Ire- hind. Henry IV^ was too busily engaged in sup-
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 127
pressing the numerous insurrections, which the de- fect of his title encouraged, to pay any regard to the state of a distant province. His son, unfortunately, preferred the barren laurels acquired in France, to the substantial advantages which might have been acquired nearer home. During both tliese reigns, the Irish septs acquired fresh power and territory. They hemmed in the settlers on every side, and were paid a large tribute for granting them a precarious protection. The Statute of Kilkenny could no long- er be observed, for there was no force to exact the penalties for its violation. The barons degenerated into Irish chieftains ; the exactions of " coyne and livery " were levied in open violation of the law ; and the Royal authority was so little regarded, that many Peers disdained to attend their du- ties in Parliament. The jealousy between the descendants of the old settlers and the English by birth, assumed the appearance of national hosti- lity, and was rendered more virulent by the unwise enactments of the English Parliament, and the in- discriminate rigour of the English administration. In the beginning of the reign of Henry V, an act was passed prohibiting Irish adventurers from coming to England ; and all such as had previously arrived were ordered to depart forthwith. This law was ex- tended, by the insolence and folly of the ministry, to the sons of the Irish nobility in the universities and inns of court. Stung by this insult,, they returned home, anxious to harass a government by which they had been stigmatized, and restrained from open rebellion only by their dread of the native Irish. The governors and legal officers sent over from Eng- land, scarcely deigned to disguise their contempt of i thcr old colonists ; they CYen. ventured to insult the
128 HISTORY OF THE
Parliament of the Pale ; and when the Legislature was anxious to present a petition of grievances to the Sovereign, the Chancellor (Merbury) refused to affix the seal, so that it could not be transmitted. The appointment of the Earl of Ormond as Lord- deputy, was a proof that the government began to be conscious of its error in excluding the Irish no- bility from power ; and the tranquilhty which he esta- blished proved the wisdom of this change. But Ormond was guilty of some great errors which more than counterbalanced his services. To aggrandize their own power was always the policy of the But- lers ; and in his haste to eifect this favourite object, the Deputy did not always observe the dictates of equity, or even sound policy. In order to gain the assistance of the Earl of Desmond, in a struggle for power with the Talbots, Ormond not only pro- cured for that nobleman a confirmation of his title and privileges, but also greatly extended his juris- diction. James Earl of Desmond had obtained this rank by means equally criminal and extraordinary. His nephew, the rightful heir of Desmond, offended the prejudices of his retainers, by marrying a beau- tiful girl of inferior rank. They rose in rebellion, forced him to surrender his title and estate, and drove him into exile. Through the friendship of Ormond, James procured an acknowledgement of his claims from the Parliament, and permission from the Crown to purchase what lands he pleas- ed, under whatever tenure they were holden. He was also constituted governor of the southern coun- ties, and obtained the privilege of absenting him- self from Parliament, and of voting on all ques- tions by a sufficient proxy. The effect of these mischievous grants was soon manifested. Desmond
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 129
became, at the same time, conscious of his own strength, and jealous of Ormond. Mutual insults and recriminations exasperated their hatred, which finally brought on open war. Desmond had suffi- cient strength to resist the forces of his rival, though supported by all the strength of the government ; and, after a desultory campaign, concluded a truce with all the form of an independent sovereign. The jivals of Ormond in Leinster, took the opportunity of his absence to send over such representations to Henry VI. as induced that weak monarch to remove him from the government.
Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury, and now constituted Earl of Waterford, was the new Lord-deputy. He came attended by a gallant train, at the moment when fresh commotions were beginning to arise, which fortunately his power overawed. The new Deputy was a violent enemy of the Butlers ; but Ormond was protected by the personal friendship of the sovereign ; and his family, grateful for this kindness, continued ever after firmly attached to the house of Lancaster.
A. D. 1449. — A change now took place in the go- vernment, more important than any yet recorded, be- 4cause its effects were more permanent and extensive. Richard, Duke of York, descended from an elder bro- Ither of the Prince, through whom the reigning family claimed their right to the throne, was universally be- loved in England. His hiffh birth and exalted station were of little moment, compared with the influence he derived from his exemplary virtues and consummate ability. Valiant in war, prudent in council, elo- quent in debate, he was regarded by his peers as the brightest ornament of their order. Conciliating in ahis manners, of a kind disposition and fascinating laddress,^ he won the hearts of the commons, but too
130 HISTORY OF THE
justly weaned of aristocratic insolence. The con- trast between this nobleman and his inglorious so- vereign, was too glaring to escape observation. The claims of the house of. York to the crown began to be canvassed publicly ; and the disgrace of the Eng- lish arms in France, rendered the people still more discontented with the Lancastrian dynasty. Mar- garet of Anjou, the proud queen of Henry, saw the, danger to which her husband's crown was exposed, by the popularity of the Duke. His power was too* great for her to attempt any open attack ; and sh«^ therefore determined, on some honourable pretence, to remove him from the country. It was asserted in England, that the native Irish had joined in a formidable confede&icy, and that, unless speedy measures were adopted, the English power in that country would be speedily overthrown. This fur-- nished a plausible pretext for appointing the Duke Lordrdeputy ; and he was urgently entreated to hasten, with all speed, to suppress these imaginary commotions. The Prince, wiser than his adversaries, showed no reluctance in accepting the office. He justly believed that his sons would maintain the dig- nity of his family in England ; while he, closely al- lied to the De Burghos, heir to the earldom of Ulster, and the lordships of Connaught, Clare, Trim, and Meath, could not fail to increase the number of his partisans, and the power of his house in Ireland. i3efore his departure, he took care to procure more extensive authority than had been granted to his pre- decessors. Besides the uncontrolled disposal of the Irish revenue, he stipulated for a pension from Eng- land ; and he claimed the right of disposing of the King's land, and of appointing to all offices civil and military. In her eager haste to remove the Duke
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 131
from England, Margaret forgot the dangerous influ- ence which such unparalleled powers would give the object of her jealousy in a country where the crown possessed no countervailing authority. The Duke's demands were readily granted, and he proceeded to Ireland with all the state of a sovereign^
The administration of the Duke of York is one of the brightest periods in Irish history. For years afterwards, it was quoted as the time when peace and prosperity ruled the land ; when the excesses of fac- tion were restrained by impartial justice ; when the native Irish, the English by birth and the English by blood, forgetting former animosities, seriously applied themselves to improve the country which they inha- bited in common. Even now, after the lapse of four centuries, the memory of these halcyon days is preserved in popular tradition ; and at this hour, the white rose, the cognizance of the House of York, is the favourite symbol of the partisans of the people. Though aware of the attachment of Ormond to the House of Lancaster, the Prince received him with the same kindness and attention that he showed to the Geraldines and De Burghos, his own faithful ad- herents. On the birth of his son, afterwards the un- fortunate Duke of Clarence, the Deputy invited Des- mond and Ormond to be the sponsors of the infant prince ; an honour which Desmond, filled with the extravagant ideas of gossipred that prevailed in Ire- land, esteemed as almost raising him to an equality with the Duke, but which Ormond, enlightened by travel, viewed in its proper colours. The federal transactions with the Irish princes were marked with a regard to justice and good faith, such as had been rarely exhibited by former governors ; and, what none of them had evinced, he displayed an anxious desire
X8^ HISTORY OF THE
to improve the condition of the peasantry, and to protect them from the oppressive exactions of their lords. Such a paternal government, as excellent as it was rare, was rewarded by the most enthusiastic attachment of all classes. Its longer continuance would probably have made the growing reconciha- tion of hostile interest permanent : But, unfortunate- ly, it has been too often the fate of Ireland, to lose her best governors at the very moment when theif i measures were most likely to be beneficial. <i
The rebellion of Jack Cade, who assumed thi|[t popular name of Mortimer, was supposed to have ' been secretly contrived by the Duke of York, in or- der to feel the pulse of the English people. With- out making any inquiry into the truth of this sur- mise,the King, at the instigation of his haughty Queen, sent letters to the sheriffs of the western counties, declaring the traitorous designs of the Duke, and commanding them to oppose his landing. This in- discreet declaration of the fears and suspicions enter- tained by the court, afforded the Duke a pretext for returning to England. He declared his anxiety toM justify his conduct, and his determination to face hi»{ accusers. Embarking with a small train, he landed,/ in Wales, and, eluding all opposition, speeded t<(t, London, where he was apparently reconciled to the^' King.
The Duke, at his departure, intrusted the adminis- tration to Ormond. The Earl, being summoned over to England, was succeeded by the Archbishop of Ar- magh ; but troubles arising, which the peaceful pre- late could not allay, he resigned his charge to Sir Edward Fitz-Eustace, a knight of great military fame, and well fitted for a government which required more than ordinary exertions. The O'Connors of Ofally
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 133
were the first who experienced the vigour of the new Deputy. He surprised this turbulent sept while en-^ gaged in a predatory expedition, and inflicted on them a severe defeat. In the rout, the toparch O'Connor fell from his horse. He was remounted by his son, the companion of his flight, but fell a se- cond time from exhaustion. It was long before the chieftain could persuade the youth to leave him to his fete ; but at length he commanded him to fly, un- der pain of incurring his displeasure. O'Connor remained a prisoner, but was only detained a short time. The Deputy, finding that he had no design of revolting, liberated him without ransom.
The sept of the O'Nials, ever the most hostile to the English, after long remaining quiet, were induc- ted to take up arms by the hope of plunder. Hear- ing that a rich fleet was sailing from the bay of Dub- lin, they fitted out some barks, attacked and took the ships, plundered the cargoes, and made all the passengers, among whom was the Archbishop of Dublin, prisoners. The Deputy immediately has- tened to punish these marauders ; and O'Nial, being joined by some other toparchs, advanced to antici- pate the invasion. The two armies met at Ard- glass ; and, after a fierce engagement, the Irish were defeated with the loss of seven hundred slain, and a still greater number, including all the principal lead- ers, made prisoners. By this defeat, the O'Nials were so humbled, that they long continued quiet, and af- forded the Deputy leisure to attend to the regula- tion of public affairs.
In the meantime, the dissatisfaction of the Eng- lish public had produced a general revolt. The un- fortunate Henry was made prisoner at St Alban's, fttid the whole authority of the crown was transfer-
134 HISTORY Ot TtlE
red to the Duke of York. To strengthen his autho- rity in Ireland, the Duke appointed the Earl of Kil- dare Lord-deputy ; and this nobleman being consi- dered the chief of the old settlers, was gladly ac- knowledged by the descendants of the original conquerors. The death of his great rival Ormond, and of several turbulent toparchs, freed Kildare from the fear of civil commotions. The Butlers indeed, at first, made some resistance, but they were quick?y subdued.
Margaret of i^njou was by no means disposed to I submit to the loss of power, consequent on her hus- band's degradation. She assembled the partisans of the house of Lancaster, and defeated the Yorkists at Blore Heath with great slaughter* Deserted and betrayed, Duke Richard fled for safety to Ireland, while he and his adherents were attainted by the English Parliament. The Irish received their fa- vourite governor rather as a sovereign prince than a destitute fugitive. The ParUament passed an act for his protection; and further decreed, that whoever should attempt to disturb him or his adherents, un- der pretence of writs from England, should be deem- ed guilty of high treason. An agent of Ormond violated the law, and was immediately executed. Se- veral laws, equally designed for the Duke's service, were passed with the utmost enthusiasm ; and the prince, who, a short time before, wanted a refuge, now found himself in possession of a kingdom.
Edward, Earl of March, the Duke's eldest son, had followed his father into Ireland, but was soon summoned to Calais, where the Yorkists, headed by the Earls of Warwick and Salisbury, had prepared a mighty armament. They passed into England ; and, having obtained -a great victory at Northampton,
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 135
invited the Duke to come over and head his partisans in person. On this occasion, the attachment of his Irish adherents was eminently displayed. They crowded to his standard with the utmost zeal ; and the district of Meath, in particular, was almost de- serted by the English settlers, who hasted to enrol themselves under the banners of the white rose. •With a gallant train of devoted followers, Richard E&tiirned to London ; but Margaret unexpectedly renewed the war, and attacked the Duke before he eoiild make adequate preparations. With only five thousand men, mostly his Irish adherents, he was encountered at Wakefield by an army four times more numerous than his own, and, in this unequal contest, fell, with the greater part of his followers.
This battle, in its consequences, proved fatal to the English interests. The best and bravest of the settlers had accompanied their beloved governor, and shared his fate. The Irish septs seized on the dis- tricts now stripped of their defenders ; and the co" lonists were forced to purchase a precarious security, by paying a heavy tribute to the toparchs in their neighbourhood. The Earl of Kildare was chosen by the Irish privy council to administer the govern- ment, until a new Lord-deputy was appointed. He preserved the country tranquil during the brief strug- gle between Henry VI. and Edward IV., which ter- minated in favour of the house of York. One of Edward's first acts was, to appoint his brother George, Duke of Clarence, to the government of Ireland, and to reward the fidelity of his adherents .in that kingdom, by elevating the leaders to the peerage. Clarence appointed Fitz-Eustace, now created Lord Portlester, his deputy^ His former administration had been characterized by vigour and
136 HISTORY OF THE
talent — qualities again imperatively required, by the struggle which the Butlers were about to make for the house of Lancaster. The Earl of Ormond, whom the late King had raised to the English peer- age, by the title of Earl of Wiltshire, had been seiz- ed and beheaded by the triumphant Yorkists ; but his brothers and retainers were nothing daunted by his fate : they resolved not to mourn, but revenge it. Being joined by some Irish septs, and a great num- ber of Lancastrian fugitives from England, they formed a party too numerous for the troops of the Deputy, who was forced to rely for success on the exertions of the Earl of Desmond. The hostility at this time between the Geraldines and the Butlers, was continually manifested by predatory incursions ; and the eastern counties of Munster were incessant- ly disturbed by the war-cries of the contending faq*t tions. The Geraldines of Kildare took for their warison Crom-aboo from the castle of Croom, in the county of Limerick, where the chief r'esided. The Geraldines of Desmond shouted Shannatt-aboo from the castle of Shannatt, in the same county, where the Earl maintained a kind of barbarous court. The Butlers' war-cry was the name of their sept ; and Butler-aboo was the cognizance of the troops Iq. the palatinate of Ormond, which included the coun»j ties of Kilkenny and Tipperary. In the long coiW test that was maintained by these rival septs, thC; Geraldines were honourably distinguished by daunt- less valour, and a daring heroism, which border- ed upon rashness. The Butlers, less valiant in the field, were more prudent in council. Artful, steady in purpose, crafty in intrigue, they frequently gained the fruits of victory after the severest defeat ; and finally destroyed the gallant house of Desmond
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 137
by cunning and fraudful policy. The O'Briens of Thomond, whose war-cry was the imposing sen- tence, " Lamh- ]aider-aboe, " (" the cause of the strong hand, ") sometimes joined one and sometimei the other of these factions ; but, even when alHes, they feared to trust the Butlers. " Fair and false like those of Ormond," was a proverbial expression with the sept, -which is still preserved, though the cause is forgotten. Wliile on this subject, it may not be amiss to men- tion some few particulars of these baronial wars : — The general war-cry of the native Irish was " Far- rah ! Farrah ! " an exclamation of encouragement. The gathering cries of the different chiefs were taken either from their cognizance, as in the case of the O'Briens whose crest is a naked arm holding a sword, or from some accidental circumstance, as in the instance of the Geraldines. The other most re- markable warisons were of the O'Neals, " Lamh- dearg-aboe," (the cause of the red or bloody hand,) from their cognizance ; of the Fitz-Patricks, " Gear- laidir-aboe," (the cause of the strong and sharp,) from the same circumstance ; and of the De Burghos, " Gal-Riagh-aboe," (the cause of the Red English- man), in honour of the second Earl of Ulster, who was commonly called the " Red Earl," and looked upon as the founder of the prosperity of the De Burghos. The Irish and baronial cavalry were mounted on small but active horses, called hobbies. They formed part of the forces witli which Edward invaded France, and were found very useful as light troops. The Irish hobellers are frequently mention- ed in the early English chronicles, and praised high- ly for their daring and activity. They wore scarcely §ny defensive armour, and used short spears and sa- bres, or battle axes. They could not, of course,
1S8 HISTORY OF THE
stand for a moment against the charge of the mail- clad Norman chivalry ; but they could act efficiently in a difficult country, where the others would be wholly useless, encumbered by the weight of their armour, and unable to manage their heavy steeds. There were two kinds of infantry ; the Galloglasses, (a corruption of " Gall oglach," English servant), a heavy armed infantry ; they wore an iron headpiece, a coat of defence studded with naiJs, and bore a sword and broad axe. The light troops were named Kernes; they used no defensive armour, but the headpiece, and their weapons were a retractile ja- velin, and a long knife called a skene^ In the wars of Edward III. and Henry V. several troops of kernes were employed in the invasion of France. They per- formed the useful, but not very honourable service, of cutting the throats of those knights and men-at- arms, who were overthrown in the combat ; and the Irish skene was more dreaded by the French knights, than the lances of the English. The arbitrary ex- actions by which these irregular aranies were support- ^3d have been already mentioned. It is only neces- sary to add, that robbery was considered honourable by these soldiers, since plunder enabled them to a- void becoming burdens to their chieftain and their friends.
The war maintained by Desmond against the Butlers, was desultory and of varied fortunes ; but the Lancastrian fugitives from England were found of little service to their Irish allies. They could not bear the fatigues of marches through bogs and mountains ; they eagerly desired to try their fortune in the open field, and prevailed on their leader to accept the challenge of Desmond. The battle was fought][near Wexford ; and the overwhelming num-
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 139
bers of the Geraldines afforded them an easy victory. Kilkenny, and the other towns belonging to Or- mond, were soon after seized and plundered ; the Butlers were driven from their ancient possessions, and forced to seek safety in their mountain-forts and fcistnesses. As a reward for this service, Desmond was created Lord-deputy- — an office for which he was every way unfitted. In his first expedition a- gainst the Irish septs, who bad seized on the set- tlements in Meath, he was taken prisoner, but was soon liberated by O'Connor of OfaDy, who had been always a zealous partisan of the Geraldines. Equal- ly inglorious was the termination of the war with the O'Briens of Thomond. On the advance of this sept, and some others, beyond the marches, Des- mond could find no better method of securing the Pale, than purchasing the forbearance of the invad- ers by a promise of regular tribute. An unsuccess- ful attempt to remove- the Lord-deputy being de- feated by the partiality of the King, he was encou- raged to pursue his career of headlong extravagance ; but, though permitted to plunder and spoil the peo- ple at his will, Desmond was destined to find, that royal failings could not be mocked with impunity. On the marriage of the King with Elizabeth Grey, Desmond incautiously ridiculed the meanness of the
ady's origin.r His watchful enemies transmitted the news to England, and the Queen immediately re- solved on his destruction. Tiptoft Earl of Wor-
ester was soon, sent over to Ireland as Lord-deputy ; jtid he was. secretly instructed to examine his pre- decessor's conduct wiih the greatest strictness, and :o pu-nish him with the utmost rigour if any charge 30uld be established. A new Parliament was sum- moned, which, with the usual servility of Irish Par-
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liaments, was ready to sanction any measure that their rulers would propose. Several acts were pass- ed, indirectly condemning the conduct of the late governor, and, amongst others, one against paying tribute to the Irish, which every one of its sup- porters was notoriously violating at the moment. Another act of this Parliament is too important to be omitted. It declared, that the Kings of Eng- land held the lordship of Ireland by a direct grant from the Holy See ; and therefore directed^ that all archbishops and bishops of Ireland, on a monition of forty days, should excommunicate all disobedient subjects as heretics. > ,j
The Parliament was then adjourned to Drogheda; and, deeming it unnecessary to dissemble any longer, they hurried through both Houses an act " for at- tainting of treason the Earls of Kildare and Dei$» mond, with Edward Plunket, Esq., for alliance^ fostering, and alterage with the King's Irish ene^ mies, " &c. Kildare was arrested, but luckily made his escape to England. Desmond, confiding in his innocence or his power, came boldly to the chief governor to justify his conduct. He was immor diately seized, and, without the formality of a trials hurried to instant execution.
This monstrous act of tyranny and injustice diij not remain long unpunished. Kildare so effectually justified himself to Edward, that he was not only restored to his title and estates, but appointed Lord- deputy ; and Tiptoft was recalled into England^ where, in a new revolution, he suffered the same fate which he had inflicted on Desmond. .
The administration of Kildarfe was distinguished by the institution of a military order for the defence of the Pale, called the Fraternity of St George. It
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consisted of thirteen great proprietors, one hundred and twenty mounted archers, forty knights, and as many esquires. To show their attachment to Eng- land, they assembled annually on St George's day in Dublin, and elected a captain. It is evident that « force, consisting of thirteen officers and two hun- dred soldiers, would have been unable to resist any general effort of the native Irish ; and, consequently, it appears that all idea of a national resistance was abandoned, and that the settlers had only to dread predatory expeditions and tumultuous incursions.
The depression of the house of Ormond did not long continue. John, the eldest surviving brother of the late Earl, contrived to obtain the favour of his sovereign, and even his personal friendship. The partisans of the Butlers formed cabals against Kil- dare, and forwarded complaints to England, which the heir of Ormond supported with all his influence. The Earl was soon removed from the government, which was transferred to his personal enemy, the Bishop of Meath. A parliament was assembled, which immediately repealed the acts of attainder against the Butlers, and restored the heir of Ormond to his titles and estates.
The Butlers and Geraldines soon renewed their icMrmer feuds. The war-cries of Crom-aboo and Butler-aboo, were raised in every quarter ; and there fras reason to dread that the entire pale would be involved in the quarrel of these great rivals. Ed- ward sent over a commission to the Archbishop of Annagh, to act as mediator between the parties ; but the discord was too fierce to be so easily allay- hd. Fortunately, superstition proved more effica- jfckms than the royal mandate. Ormond suddenly ilSsolved to undertake a pilgrimage to the Holy Se»
VOL. I. I
142 HISTORY OF THE
pulchre, and quitted the countr)\ Kildare ended his life shortly after ; and when the chiefs were rer moved, their followers tacitly agreed on a truce.
The Geraldines seem about this time to have be- come the prevailing faction ; for we find Gerald, the young Earl of Kildare, appointed Lord-deputy, and retaining his power in defiance of the King, when Lord Grey was appointed his successor. After a vigorous contest, in which each party summoned a parliament, the Viceroy appointed by the King was forced to yield. Lord Gormanstown was appointed Lord-deputy, and he soon resigned in favour of the Earl of Kddare. The Earl strengthened himself by forming a matrimonial alliance with the chief of the O'Nials, to whose son he gave his daughter in marr riage ; and the influence which he thus obtained with the native Irish, enabled him to preserve the country in peace during the remainder of Edward's life, and the short and troubled reign of Richard, IIL
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 14*3
CHAPTER VIII.
From the Accession of Henry VII. to the Reformation.
The accession of Henry VII. was an event that threatened to destroy the poweE of the Yorkists in Ireland ; but, to the surprise of every body, Kildare was continued in the government, and his adherents permitted to retain the great offices of state. There was no person in Ireland to control the pride of the potent Earl. His great rival Ormond having been restored to the titlfe- of Earl of Wiltshire, resided in England, and became a member of the privy coun- cil. Desmond resided in his own principality ; and, if he paid any attention to the concerns of the Pale, it was to aid the Deputy in extending the influence of the Geraldines. The De Burghos had become virtually an Irish sept, and no longer regarded the colonists as brethren.
The bane of Henry's government in England;, was his jealousy of the partisans of the house of York. He unwisely kept up the distinction of party, which would have soon sunk into oblivion^ and the cruelty with which he treated his Queen,, for no other cause but her descent from the family of his former rivals, convinced the lovers of Edward's memory that the ^ King was tbejr deadly enemy.. Rumours of plots and;
144 HISTORY OF THE
conspiracies were spread abroad. It was said that Rich- ard III. had not succeeded in murdering both his ne- phews ; that Richard, Duke of York, had escaped, and would soon appear in Ireland among the devoted friends of his house. Alarmed by these reports, the King summoned Kildare to appear at court, and give aa account of his administration ; but the Earl was not to be caught so easily. He saw that this artifice was designed for his destruction, and took his mea- sures accordingly. Summoning an assembly of the, peers, he laid the royal mandate before them, which, he professed the utmost anxiety to obey ; but, at the, same time, he secretly contrived that the barongi should present a remonstrance, declaring his de- parture inconsistent with the safety of the reahn. The Earl forwarded this instrument to England; and the King, unwilling to avow his suspicions, af- fected to be satisfied.
The imposture of Simnel soon proved that Henry had just grounds for caution. This young man was taught by a priest to personate the Earl of Warwick, then a prisoner in the Tower. The detection of such a fraud in England would have been easy. Warwick was still alive, and his person was known to most of the nobility, who had frequently met him at the court of Edward. It was therefore resolved to make the experiment in Ireland ; and there was another reason for selecting that country. War- wick's father, the late Duke of Clarence, was bom in Dublin, and the Irish, it was hoped, would readily support the son of their countryman, (a. d. 1487). The success of this attempt surprised the contrivers themselves. Kildare received the impos- tor as his lawful sovereign, surrounded him with all the pomp of royalty, and proclaimed him King in
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Publln, under the title of Edward VI. The en- thusiasm with which the impostor's claims were ac- knowledged, seems like a national insanity. Through- out Ireland, none were found to impugn his title but the Butlers, the Berminghams, and the citizens of Waterford. He was solemnly crowned in tlie cathedral of Dublin, with a diadem taken from a statue of the Madonna ; and, immediately after, his writs to summon a parliament met with general obe- dience. The arrival of some German auxiliaries from Flanders, commanded by Martin Swart, filled &e partisans of Simnel with such confidence, that they determined to invade England. The Deputy's two brothers were appointed to lead the Irish forces ; and, on their landing in England, they were joined by the Earl of Lincoln, Lord Lovel, Sir Thomas Broughton, and some other persons of distinction. The invaders directed their course to York, but Were disappointed in their hope of raising the coun- try. The English have ever shown a proper jea- lousy of foreigners ; and the people generally dread- ed the fortune that had hitherto attended all the op- ponents of Henry. Sinmel's army, while hastening to attack Newark, were met by the royal forces at the village of Stoke, in the county of Nottingham. The engagement was long doubtful, though the army of Henry was far superior to that of his adversaries, both in quantity and quality. The Irish being most- ly light armed, in vain made the most desperate- efforts to break through the iron lines of their op- ponents ; — -they were driven back, charged in their turn, and tlirown into remediless confusion. But, though routed, they disdained to fly ; each resisted singly, and' fell overwhelmed by numbers. Four thousand of the rebels, including the principal lead-
146 HISTORY OF THE
ers, fell in this bloody engagement. Simnel and his tutor were made prisoners. Henry, with aiFected magnanimity, spared the life of the impostor, and made him a scullion in the royal kitchen ; the priest, by whom he had been instructed, was treated more harshly, being sentenced to perpetual imprisonment. Though Henry was naturally inclined to punish severely the Irish partisans of Simnel, the state of Ireland compelled him to restrain his indignation. The barons, who had supported the impostor, were the defenders of the English interest ; and if they were destroyed, the country must again revert to the native Irish. Henry, therefore, contented himself with rewarding his friends, deferring the punishment of his enemies to a more favourable opportunity. Htf' sent a letter, written with his own hand, to the citi*^ zens of Waterford, thanking them for their fidelity ^. and at the same time he graciously received the de- puties from Dublin, and readily granted a general pardon. To secure the fidelity of his repentant sub- jects, he sent Sir Richard Edgecombe to Ireland with a train of five hundred men, to receive anew the oaths of allegiance, and take under the royal pro- tection all who gave assurance of their loyalty. Edge- combe arrived in Kinsale, and received the submis- sion of the neighbouring barons. He then proceeded coastwise to Dublin, and was welcomed by the ma- gistrates with apparent submission. It was not so easy to prevail on Kildare to perform homage. He in- vented several pretexts for delay ; and, when all these failed, he appears to have intended a religious fraud, to save hiin from being bound by the oath of alle- giance.
It is not universally known, that, in the Romish church, the intention of the officiating priest is held
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 147
necessary to the perfection of a sacrament. If, then, the Host, on which the Irish Lords should be sworn, was consecrated by a priest, on whom they could prevail to withhold his intention, transubstantiation would not take place ; the wafer would still be sim- ply bread, and the whole an idle ceremony, which imposed no religious obligation. It was not with- out difficulty that Edgecombe, who suspected the fraud, prevailed on Kildare to permit the Host to be consecrated by his own private chaplain.
Soon after, Kildare and several of the Irish nobi- lity came over to England, and did homage to the King in person. They were magnificently entertain- ed by Henry at Greenwich ; but had the mortifica- tion to see their former idol Simnel waiting as but- ler at table.
Kildare, on his return, continued to exercise all his former authority, and preserved the pale in greater tranquillity than it had enjoyed for a long time. In the south, the Geraldines of Desmond extended their territories at the expense of their neighbours, the MacArthys and O'Carrolls, whom they severely defeated. In the north, O'Nial, the brother-in-law of the Deputy, declared war against the chieftain of Tyrconnell. The diplomatic cor- respondence between these petty princes, before the declaration of war, evinces a Spartan spirit worthy of a nobler contest. O'Nial wrote, " Send me tri- bute ; or else ." To which the other replied,
^* / o'we you none ; and if- ." The war that
followed produced no incident of importance ; but it terminated to the disadvantage of the O'Nials.
Walter, Archbishop of Dublin, and the Earl of Ormond, had been long engaged in a series of in- trigues, to remove Kildare from the government,
14^ HISTORY OF THE
and finally succeeded. The Archbishop was ap- pointed in his place, and the office of Lord-trea- surer was bestowed on Sir James Ormond, a natural son of that Earl, who had died on his pilgrimage. Immediate measures were taken to depress the Ge- raldines, which, of course, readily met the sanction of a servile Parliament. The attainders against the Butlers and their adherents were reversed, and an act passed for the resumption of all grants made since the first year of King Henry VI .
While the Geraldines were smarting under these wrongs, an adventurer, claiming to be Richard Duke of York, son of Edward IV, arrived in Cork. This is not the place to examine the validity of Perkin Warbeck's claims. It is difficult to prove that he was the prince ; it is equally difficult to demonstrate that he was an impostor ; on the whole, the present writer inclines to believe that his pretensions were well-founded. Warbeck wrote from Cork to the Earls of Kildare and Desmond ; he was cheerfully recognised by the latter ; but before Kildare could decide on the part he should take, the adventurer was summoned to the French court, and immediate- ly accepted the invitation. The King sent for Wal- ter, the Lord-deputy, to inquire into the state of a country that seemed at every moment ripe for revo- lution ; and, after some deliberation, he resolved to confide the administration of Ireland to Sir Edward Poynings, a knight of distinguished ability. He was sent over to Ireland with an army of one thou- sand men. Several of the best English lawyers ac- companied him, to fill the offices of judges ; foe those who then occupied the bench were notorious for their incapacity, and owed their elevation to the favour of parties.
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. l4&
' A. D. 1494. — The administration of Sir Edward Poynings forms a new era in the history of Ireland. For the first time, the government began to manifest the fixed intention of breaking down the enormous power of the barons, and restraining within proper li- mits a factious oligarchy, which frequently insulted th« sovereign, and always oppressed the people. The first military enterprise of the Lord-deputy was against the Northern sept of O'Hanlons, whose incursions had been very frequent and injurious. The difficulties of the ^untry rendered the superior forces of the English Useless ; and Poynings would have been forced to re- tire in disgrace, had not the rashness of the Geral- ^nes furnished him with an honourable pretext for 'withdrawing. The brother of the Earl of Kildare seized on the castle of Carlow, and garrisoned it with his own retainers. Kildare was immediately arrested on suspicion ; and the Deputy, advancing to Carlow, soon forced the castle to surrender.
A parliament was now summoned, in which se- veral very useful and important laws were enacted ; but one, well known to Irishmen by the name of Poynings' Law, more particularly demands our atten- tion. This statute enacted, that no parliament should be held in Ireland, until the Lord Lieutenant and Privy Council had first certified to the King in council in England, the causes and considerations of its being assembled, and all such acts as seemed to them necessary to pass ; and that these had been ap- proved by the sovereign, and his license for the affir- mation of these acts, as well as for the holding of par- liament, had been obtained. This act was afterwards confirmed and extended in the reign of Mary, where it will be more convenient to discuss its policy and effects. It is sufficient to say here, that its immediate
150 1*1 IS TO Rl^ 01? tllE
consequelices were highly beneficial, since it armed the government with additional power to restrain the excesses of the oligarchy.
Warbeck now made a second descent on Ireland, and was openly assisted by the Earl of Desmond ; but being defeated before Waterford, the unhappy ad- venturer fled to the King of Scotland. The Butlers thought this an excellent opportunity to crush their great rival the Earl of Kildare. They importuned the Deputy to imitate the example of Tiptoft, and consign him to the executioner. But Poynings was too wise and too good to listen to these treacherous; suggestions. He refused their solicitations, and sent the Earl to England, to answer for his conduct in presence of his sovereign.
The emissaries of the Butlers were not idle in the court of Henry. They besieged the King with all manner of calumnies and accusations against the accused ; but they were not a little confounded, when Henry directed that the Earl should be brought to confront his accusers. Great was the King's asto- nishment to behold, instead of a crafty conspirator, a frank, blunt soldier, of manners so simple, that they bordered on rudeness, and of a demeanour so easy and confident, that it could only be supported by conscious innocence. Henry advised the Earl to provide himself with able counsel. " Yea, " re- plied Kildare, grasping the King by the hand, " I choose the ablest in the realm ; I take your High- ness to be my counsel against these false knaves. " Gratified by this rude compliment to his equity and discernment, Henry looked with favour on the ac- cused, and coldly listened to the long catalogue of suspicions and surmises which his adversaries brought forward. The charge of treason was decisively re-
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 151
fiited, the greater part of the others were found to be frivolous and vexatious ; at length the accusers al- leged that he had sacrilegiously burned the church of Cashel. " Spare your evidence," exclaimed Kil- dare, " I did burn the church, for I thought the Bishop had been in it." This extraordinary justifica- tion produced a shout of laughter, which threw ridi- cule over the whole proceeding. Driven almost to despair, the accusers exclaimed, " All Ireland can- not govern this Earl. " " Well, then, " replied Henry, " he shall govern all Ireland " — and forth^ with he appointed him Lord-deputy. • Kildare repaid the confidence of his sovereign by the zeal, energy and fidelity, which he displayed in his administration. The boundaries of the Pale, which had been gradually narrowing during the pre- ceding half century, were now enlarged ; and several septs, whose forbearance had been purchased by tri- bute, were forced to submission. He endeavoured to effect a reconciliation with his rival of Ormond ; but, unfortunately, the train that accompanied the chief of the Butlers to Dubhn on the occasion, be- came involved in a quarrel with the citizens, and though the Deputy successfully interfered to protect his rival, yet Ormond could not conceal his angry suspicions. After a long but not satisfactory inter- view, the Earls parted with mutual professions of attachment, but with more than their former animo- sity, not the less violent because it was concealed.
The Deputy soon after engaged in a war of very questionable policy. He had given his daughter in marriage to Ulick de Burgho of Clanricarde, the head of a powerful sept of degenerate English in Connaught ; and having heard that she was badly treated by her husband, he determined to use the
152 HISTORY OF THE
royal army as an instrument of vengeance. Clanrl-i carde, nothing daunted by the power of his ene* mies, boldly prepared for resistance, and obtained the aid of the O'Briens, and other septs of Munster. Kildare was joined by the nobles of the Pale, the numerous retainers of all the Geraldines, and the northern O'Nials. The armies met at Knocktow, near Galway, and the Deputy obtained a decisive victory. The triumph was stained by the cruelty of the conquerors, who sternly refused to grant quarter, and continued the massacre until forced to desist by ^igue and darkness. The hostility of the most an** dent settlers to the aboriginal inhabitants of the country, seems not to have abated with the lapse or time. After the battle of Knocktow, Lord Gor-i manstown, in all the insolence of success, said to?' Kildare, " We have slaughtered our enemies ; but^- to complete the good deed, we should cut the throats' of the Irish by whom we have been assisted." This feeling, however, was not general. Several of the' English families, but especially the Geraldines and^ De Burghos, were closely connected with different Irish Princes by numerous intermarriages ; and w^^ find the native annalists of this period recording the* exploits of some nobles of the Pale, with the sam# enthusiasm as the deeds of their own toparchs. Th# victory of Knocktow reduced Connaught to obe- dience ; and the O'Nials and O'Briens were almost the only septs which continued to withhold their al- legiance.
The accession of Henry VIII, produced no im- mediate change in the government of Ireland, Kil- dare, whose services had been rewarded by the Order of the Garter, was continued as Deputy, and daily extended the English influence (a. d. 1513). So
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. IQ&
great was the confidence reposed in this gallant no- bleman, that, on his death, the army suddenly dis- persed, and there was every reason to dread a new series of tumults. This was fortunately prevented by the privy council. They met in a hurry, and unanimously elected Gerald, the young Earl of Kil- dare. Deputy, until the royal pleasure could be known ; and this nomination was confirmed in Eng- land. Gerald inherited the valour of his illustrious family, but, unfortunately, a more than ordinary share of their characteristic pride and imprudence. He was soon called on to display his military skill, by a dangerous insurrection of the Irish, whom some febricated prophecies had stimulated to revolt. False prophecies have been often used by the lovers of sedition in Ireland, as the most powerful stimulants of its enthusiastic population. It is not long since the whole island was thrown into confusion, by a misprint in a ridiculous commentary on the Reve- lations. Pastorini's Prophecies, as this precious work was named, contained a calculation, by which iU> appeared that the year 1835 would be the era of tibte restoration of the Catholic religion. It was un- jtounately printed 1825; and the alarm which con- sequently prevailed through the entire of that de- lated year, will not easily be forgotten. The ques- tiMi of Emancipation was then in debate. Pasto- ^ni's Prophecies, whimsically enough, furnished both
rrties with an argument, the more valuable because was perfectly novel. One side used it as a threat* ^the other as a warning, until the delusion became so extravagant as to cure itself, and perished m a f«torm of ridicule.
If a prophecy, even in the nineteenth centurfi jii^uld produce such commotions, we must not be
154 HISTORY OF THE
surprised at its powerful effects in the beginning of the sixteenth. The Irish were every where in arms ; but the promptitude and celerity of Kildare bafHed all their efforts. They were vanquished in detail, and forced to remain quiet, until the calculations of some more accurate seer should discover another period more fortunate for the cause of insurrec- tion.
But though Kildare was able to subdue his ene- mies in the field, he could not contend with his secret foes in the intrigues of the cabinet. Too haughty to court the favour of Wolsey by meanness and subserviency, he incurred the displeasure of that proud prelate ; while his rival, the Earl of Ormond^ submitted to every degrading compliance, in order to conciliate the powerful cardinal. In consequence of these machinations, Kildare was removed, and the Earl of Surrey appointed in his stead. ;
The Earl of Kildare was summoned to England^ to give an account of his conduct. Soon after his arrival, he obtained the daughter of the Marquis of Dorset in marriage, and, by the aid of this influen-- tial nobleman, was enabled to baffle the malice of the CardinaL Conscious, however, that his absence would give his enemies a great advantage, he re-* solved to remain at court. He attended Henry to Calais at the time of his celebrated interview with Francis, and contributed, largely to the splendour of the " Field of the Cloth of Gold," by the brilliancy of his suite and equipage* Surrey displayed great vigour and ability in Ireland. He chastised the revolt of several septs, and received the submissions of some powerful toparchs ; but, unfortunately, he was a stran- ger in the country, and was led into many errors by the interested deception of his advisers. Tha
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND* 155
successor of Surrey was Pierce Earl of Ormond, commonly called Pierce the Red. His administra- tion was principally directed to extend the power and influence of the Butlers, and he was not very scru- pulous in the use of any means by which this object might be effected. One Irish chieftain, Mac-Gilla- patrick prince of Ossory, having been plundered by Ormond, sent an ambassador to lay his complaints before the King. The execution of this commission was intrusted to the chieftain's bard or sennachy ; who, impressed with a lofty sense of his lord's dignity, stopped Henry on his road, to church, and denoun- ced war against him in the name of the high and mighty Mac-Gillapatrick, if he refused to chastise the tyranny of Pierce the Red. No notice seems to have been taken of this extraordinary threat. Or- mond was allowed to continue his excesses with im- punity, and the hostility of Mac-Gillapatrick was checked by the most powerful of all reasons, a total want of means. The return of Kildare proved a much more formidable event to the Deputy. The Geraldines, relying on his connections in the Eng^ lish court, renewed their struggle with the Butlers ; and the contest soon became so important, that com- missioners were sent from Epgland to investigate the wrongs of which both complained. After a brief inquiry, they decided in favour of Kildare. Their report was then sent to the sovereign, who immcy diately removed Pierce the Red from his ofBce, and, fatally for himself, appointed Kildare Lord-deputy. , Desmond^ the head of the southern Geraldines, had long acted as an independent prince. He claimed the privilege of absenting himself from parliament, and of being never obliged to come within the walk i«£a fortified town. Living thus entirely among his
156 HISTORY OP THE
and dependents, he naturally over-estimated his power and importance, and was easily led to be- lieve himself a match for his sovereign, Francis, King of France, finding that Henry had joined the Emperor against him, determined to raise some com- motion in Ireland, and for this purpose sent an em- bassy to Desmond. The vain baron, proud of be- ing treated as a sovereign prince, readily entered into an alliance offensive and defensive with the French King ; but ere the treaty could produce any effect, Francis was made a prisoner in the fatal battle of Pavia, and Desmond left exposed to the vengeance of an outraged and vindictive sovereign. Orders Vrere sent to Kildare, commanding him in the strong- est terms to punish the presumption of his kinsman ; but the Deputy ventured to elude the performance, and marched into Ulster, on the pretence of some disorders in that province, but really to support his brother-in-law O'Nial. The enemies of Kildare re- presented this suspicious conduct at court, and the Deputy was ordered to appear before the King and answer to these charges. After a short interval, during which Ireland remained in a state of shock- ing distraction, the Earl recovered the confidence of the King, and was once more restored to the go- vernment.
This victory over his rivals would have danger- DHsly elated a man of stronger mind and cooler pas- sions than Kildare possessed ; and his actions soon showed that his little remnant of prudence was de- stroyed by his recent elevation. It is said also, that his intellects were partially injured about this time, in consequence of a wound in his head ; but it is not necessary to have recourse to such an explana- tion for the extravagant effects produced by repeat-
CIVIL WARS OP IRELAND. 157
#1 triumphs on a character naturally weak and haugh- ty. The officers of the Irish government became reasonably alarmed. They met in secret conclave, afld prepared a representation of the evils by which Ire- land was affected, which was soon laid before the King.
Though Kildare Was hot named in this petition^ the evHs mentioned were such as could not have oc^ ciirred without his sanction or connivance. The jea- lous temper of Henry was fired by the recital, and M sent Kildare a peremptory mandate to come at OWce to London. Aware that his conduct would not bear a strict investigation, the Earl, by means of his wife's relations, endeavoured to obtain delay ; but, finding that the King's resolution was not to be shakeh, he supplied his castles with arms and am-^ ifitmition from the royal stores, and intrusted the go^ vemment to his son Thomas, a youth scarcely tvf^eseM ty years old. ^ '
A. D. 1534. Kildare, on his arrival in Ldn« ! don, was sent to the Tower ; and this mark of dis* favour Was reported in Ireland with the usual exagge- ration. Skeffington, who had been formerly Lord'- deputy, and the faction of the Butlers, reported that he had been sentenced to death, and soon after pre- tended to have received an account of his execution. The young Lord Thomas lent a credulous ear to these inventions of his enemies. Determined on re- venge, he consulted with his Irish adherents; and having received promises of support, determined td raise the standard of rebellion. The chivalrous man- ner in which this young nobleman proceeded to ex* . ecute his insane designs, fills us at once with sur- prise and pity. Attended by a body of one hun- Ired and forty armed followers, he entered the city-
_. VOL. I* K
158 HISTORY OF THE
of Dublin, and immediately proceeded to Saint Mary's Abbey, where the council was assembled in deliberation. The sudden and tumultuous en- trance of armed men, filled all with consternation ; but their fears were calmed by Lord Thomas, who, repressing the violence of his attendants, declared, that he came to resign the sword of state, to re- nounce his allegiance to the tyrant Henry, and to proclaim himself the mortal foe of the English go- vernment and its adherents.
While the other Lords remained astonished and silent, Cromer, who was both Chancellor and Pri- mate, rose, and, taking the young Lord by the hand,, remonstrated with him in terms the most aflPectionate and winning. Unfortunately, an Irish rhpner, at the end of his address, burst forth into a wild rhapsody on the glory of the Geraldines, and the high des- tiny for which the present heir of the house was de- signed ; and Thomas, kindling with enthusiasm, made no reply to the Chancellor, but rushed out of the house.
The war thus madly begun, was supported with the same disregard to the simplest dictates of pru- dence ; and it is but fair to add, with the same ge- nerous attention to the laws of humanity. With the exception of Archbishop Alan, whom the Irish murdered, not wholly without his concurrence. Lord Thomas sanctioned no act of cruelty, but laboured strenuously to restrain the excesses of his followers. His career, however, was brief. Without adequate forces or engines, he laid siege to Dublin, and wasted his time and forces in vain assaults on the city. Succours soon arrived from England ; and, though one division was severely defeated, and almost an- nihilated, two others, commanded by Sir William
CIVIL WAKS OF IRELAND. 159
Brereton, and the new Deputy, Sir William Skef- fington, made good their entrance into the city, and soon forced Lord Thomas to raise the siege.
The Deputy, infirm in body, and vacillating in mind, made no efforts to follow up this success. Lord Thomas not only escaped, but, by entering into a treaty with the O'Connors and O'Nials, soon became formidable. Roused by the strong repre- sentations of the military officers, Skeffington at length took the field, and laid siege to Maynooth, one of the strongest Geraldine fortresses. The spirit of the garrison, and the strength of the place, baf- fled the besiegers for fourteen days. They were about to raise the siege, when the unexpected treach- ery of Lord Thomas's foster-brother laid it at their mercy. Skeffington paid this double traitor the sti- pulated reward, and then ordered him to be instantly executed — an act of substantial justice, which may well redeem many of the Deputy's misdemeanours. The greater part of the irregular army assembled by the young Geraldine dispersed, when the capture of Maynooth became known, and as the heir of the I great Desmond had been gained by Henry, he was driven to maintain a desultory warfare in the woods and mountains. Even thus, he made such a formi- dable resistance, that he obtained from the English General, Lord Grey, the most solenm assurances of safety and protection on condition of dismissing his troops.
The indolent Skeffington died about the time ihat this war was concluded, and was succeeded by Lord Grey. The first act of the new governor, was one of atrocious perfidy. In spite of his former pro- mise, he sent the unfortunate Lord Thomas a pri- soner to London, where he had the mortification to
160 HISTORY OF THE i
find, that his father had not fallen by the hand of ^ the executioner, but had died of grief, when he heard of his insane rebellion. This crime was followed by a greater. The five uncles of Lord Thomas, three of whom had notoriously opposed the insurrection, were invited to a banquet by the Deputy, and, in the midst of the entertainment, seized, hurried on shipboard, and sent to England as victims to the in- discriminate vengeance of Henry. Even these were not enough to glut the royal appetite for blood. A child of twelve years old, whom his aunt had con- veyed to Munster, was sought for so eagerly, that he was forced to be sent to the Continent for safety. Even there, he was followed by the enmity of the tyrant. Henry had the inconceivable meanness to demand him from the King of France as a rebellious snbject ; but the French monarch connived at his e- scape to Flanders. A similiar demand was made to the Emperor ; but, before an answer was obtained, the youth had been taken under the protection of Cardinal Pole, by whom he was treated as a son.
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 161
CHAPTER IX.
The Effects of the Reformation in Ireland,
The great moral convulsion, which changed the ec- clesiastical establishment throughout the north of Europe, produced a new era in Irish history. Hi- therto, the papal and priestly influence had been em- ployed in the support of the English government, because the interests of both were in a great degree identified ; but from henceforth, we must look upon the Romish church as the great engine of opposition to the royal power, and find it earnestly supported by a people which it had long injured and insulted. The long baronial wars, and the desultory struggles of the natives, had effaced the memory, both of the learning and piety of Ireland's national church ; the new discipline introduced by Henry II. had triumph- ed over all resistance ; and the church had become a i^hird power, placed between the king and people, able to command and control both. The barons and toparchs looked upon the influence of the clergy with no little jealousy. Of doctrines and dogmas they knew little ; but they knew that there had been a kime when these prelates, now their rivals and com- peers, depended on the chieftains for protection and support. They were, therefore, not averse from any
162 HISTORY OF THE
change by which the paramount authority of the church might be diminished. Henry, in conse- quence, found as little trouble in introducing the first principles of the Reformation into Ireland as he had experienced in England (a. d. 1536.) The parlia- ment summoned by Lord Leonard Grey commenced, by enacting a declaratory statute, which excluded fi-om the privilege of voting the proctors that had been previously returned from the several diocesses ; and, having thus secured a majority of the laity, proceed- ed with all speed to the regulation of the state. The King's supremacy was formally established ; his mar- riage with Catharine of Arragon declared null and void ; and the succession of the crown pronounced to be in the heirs of the King and the Lady Anne. The last act had scarcely passed, when news of Anne Boleyn's disgrace reached the assembly. With equal readiness they changed the inheritance to the de-^ scendants of Queen Jane ; and, in default of such heirs, acknowledged the King's right to dispose of the kingdom of England, and the lordship of Ire- land, by letters-patent or by will.
Several acts of a similar tendency were passed with little opposition ; but Lord Grey was too poli- tic to rely on statutes alone ; he collected a numer- ous army, and, marching through Leinster, received not only the submission of the septs, but hostages for the fidelity of the chieftains. Unfortunately, he at the same time showed that the government was a- bout to adopt a new line of policy in other matters, fully as beneficial as the religious reformation, but one for which the country was not prepared, and which, consequently, added to its distractions. Henry had firmly resolved to break down the extravagant power of the barons and toparchs, and check the in-
CIVIL WARS OF miTLAND. 163
science of an oligarchy, whose authority more than rivalled his own. With his usual impetuosity, he overlooked all the difficulties which impeded the ex- ecution of such a plan ; he pushed on the civil and religious reformation together ; and thus united in determined opposition the advocates of the abuses in both. The Butlers, triumphant over the Geraldines pf Kildare, were the most violent antagonists of the Deputy. Secretly encouraged by Cromer, Archbishop of Armagh, the most zealous adherent of Rome, they openly resisted the Deputy, and even assailed him by force of arms. They were, however, too wise to un- dertake open rebellion ; and, while engaged in resist- ing the local government, sent over the most fulsome professions of allegiance to the court of England.
A. D. 1539. — O'Nial did not use even this thin disguise. He proclaimed himself chieftain of the Northern Irish ; and having, by the aid of the clergy, assembled a numerous army, he advanced to Tara, the seat of ancient monarchy, and there indulged his. pride in an ostentatious review of his numerous forces. But this champion of Rome was incapable of any great enterprise. He contented himself with wasting the country ; and, having collected a great booty, prepared to return home. The Deputy had expected this storm ; but it burst forth before his preparations were completed. He summoned Sir William Brereton to his aid from Cheshire ; and, be- ing joined by volunteers from Dublin and Drogheda, he pursued the Irish army, and overtook them at a place called Bellahoe, on the borders of the county of Meath. The van of the Irish army was the only part engaged ; the rest looked tamely on, until their associates were totally routed, and then fled without ,2^ blow. About four hundred were killed in the
164 HISTORY OF THE
battle and the flight. The superior celerity of the fugitives, and their knowledge of the difficult country, saved them from a vigorous pursuit.
With this victory ended the administration of Lord Grey. He was recalled to England, and sent to the Tower, on charges equally futile and mali^- cious ; but, knowing the irritable temper of Henry, he dared not prepare a defence, but pleaded guilty, and threw himself on the royal mercy. But justice and mercy were in vain opposed to a tyrant's ca- price. Grey was ordered to execution, and perished by the same fate which he had treacherously pre- pared for the unfortunate Geraldines.
Some trifling insurrections, after the departure of Lord Grey, were so effectually quelled by Brereton, that the partisans of Rome were completely discou- raged; and the new Lord-deputy, on his arrival, found all parties prepared to submit to the royal will. Taking advantage of these favourable circum- stances, he summoned a Parliament, and proposed to them a change in the government of Ireland, which, though apparently nominal, was really of great importance. The English monarchs had hi- therto only borne the title of Lords of Ireland. The style and title of King was now conferred on Henry and his heirs ; by which act, the autho- rity of the Pope to bestow the kingdom was virtu- ally disclaimed. Peerages and promotions were at the same time liberally bestowed on the most pow- erful descendants of the original settlers and the na- tive chieftains ; further honours were promised to those who showed zeal in the King's service ; and such a spirit of loyalty was created, that, when the son of Fitzpatrick, Baron of Upper Ossory, com- mitted some outrages, he was delivered up to justice
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 165
fey his ovm father. The most formidable enemies of the EngHsh power were invited to Parliament ^ Peers. De Burgho was created Earl of Clan- ricarde, O'Brien became Earl of Thomond, and O'Nial resigned the title of his sept for that of Jiarl of Tirowen or Tyrone. Unfortunately, in the c^e of the last chieftain, the government counte- nanced some of the anomalies of the Brehon code ; for the inheritance to his title and estates was taken from his legitimate offspring, and conferred by pa- tent on his natural son Matthew, created Lord J)ungannon.
The good effects of Henry's wise policy were shown, by the restoration of public tranquillity, and |he submission of all to his claim of supremacy. The groundwork of the Reformation was laid ; and nothing was wanting to its complete success, but a continuance of the wisdom and justice, the mingled pioderation and firmness, which marked the Irish administration during the remainder of Henry's reign.
The reign of Edward VI, was the crisis of the Reformation in Ireland. The guardians of the young King, intent on their own schemes of petty ambition, neglected the important interests of the nation ; and the fabric, which Henry had erected with so much labour, soon fell to ruin. The first recorded incident of importance in the new reign, is a monstrous in- stance of impolicy and injustice. The O'Moores of Leix, and the O'Connors of Ofally, excited some disturbances in Leinster. An army, commanded hy Bellingham, was sent to restrain their excesses, and soon drove them to seek refuge in their fast- nesses.
A. D. 1548. Representations were made to these
166 HISTORY OF THE
chieftains of the favour that Henry had shown to O'Nial and others in similar circumstances, by which they were easily induced to submit, and to undertake a journey into England. Scarcely, how- ever, had they arrived at court, when they were treacherously seized and thrown into prison, while their estates were seized by the rapacious adven- turers who had advised this base act of perfidy. The high spirit of O'Moore sunk under the indig- nity of confinement. He died, bequeathing to his family the memory of his wrongs, and a heavy debt of vengeance, which they failed not subsequently to exact. O' Carroll was less fortunate, and long lin- gered in hopeless captivity and exile.
The effect of this detestable transaction on the mind of the Irish princes and the colonial barons, may be easily conceived. Their nascent confidence in the government was destroyed ; and Bellingham, who had been appointed Deputy for his treachery, found it impossible to restrain the agitation which everywhere prevailed. At this unfavourable mo- ment, the Protector, Somerset, determined to in- troduce the reformed liturgy into Ireland, and sent over Saint Leger again as Deputy for the pur- pose.
The Reformation in England was supported by the majority of the people, and a great body of the clergy, weary of the Papal yoke. Even before the preaching of Luther, the English church had ob- tained a qualified independence, and the nomination to its dignities was virtually vested in the crown. The sovereign, in asserting his supremacy, only con- summated what had been commenced by the consti- tutions of Clarendon, and completed an influence which had been already exercised. The condition
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 167
of the Irish church was far different. The English owed their possession of Ireland to a bargain made with the Pope and the prelates. The Romish church was the guarantee of their security ; and they gladly assisted in strengthening the power which seemed alone able to ensure their safety. The Romish church in Ireland had consequently been long an estate of the realm paramount to all the rest, com- pared with which the power of the crown and the oligarchy was as nothing. As for the people, they did not possess as yet a voice in the state. Had the ju- dicious measures of Henry been steadily pursued — had the barons and toparchs been conciliated by kindness — had the people been won by gentle remon- strance, the Papacy would soon have lost its Irish followers ; but measures jfar different were pursued, and we all know the consequence. The reformed clergy were strangely and culpably negligent. We are told by an Irish chancellor of the time, that they did not preach more than once a year ; and that this annual sermon was the only instruction they vouch- safed to afford their flocks. In default of more effi- cacious means, they placed their reliance on acts of parliament and bands of soldiers, substituting the law and the sword for the gospel and the cross. Saint Leger would wilHngly have used expedients less violent, but more efficacious. He was, however, stripped of his office, on the representations of the reformed Archbishop of Dublin, and the adminis- tration given to Sir James Crofts, who was suppos- ed not to be troubled with unnecessary scruples.
The means of conversion which the Protectpr de- signed to use in Ireland were soon exemplified. A party, issuing from the garrison of Athlone, attack- ed the ancient church of Clonma'cnoise, destroyed
168 HISTORY OF THE
its ornaments, and defiled its altars. Similar ex- cesses were committed in other parts of the country' ; and the first impression produced by the advocates of the reformed religion was, that the new system sanctioned sacrilege and robbery.
Dowdal, who had been appointed to the Arch-« bishopric of Armagh by Henry, on the death of Cromer, in opposition to the Papal nominee, unex-^ pectedly became the most violent impugner of the royal supremacy. But Dowdal was a coward ; and when the parliament, to punish his obstinacy, trans^ ferred the primacy from Armagh to Dublin, he a- bandoned the contest and his diocess together. O'Nial, the Earl of Tyrone, was a much more for- midable enemy. The fate of the O'Moore and the O'Carroll excited his fears. The plundering of Clon- macnoise alarmed his prejudices ; and the eldest of his legitimate children, Shane or John O'Nial, suc- cessfully laboured to prejudice him against Matthew, on whom the late King had settled the inheritance. While Tyrone yet wavered, Matthew, seeing the danger by which he was threatened, made the most alarming representations to Crofts, the Lord-deputy ; and the governor, with the short-sighted policy which characterized his administration, contrived, by treach- ery, to secure the persons of Tyrone and his Coun- tess, whom he instantly placed in close confinement. The inevitable consequence was, to place the clan entirely at the disposal of the turbulent Shane, who, assisted by a body of Scots, committed the most fear- ful depredations.
While affairs were thus in confusion, the death of Edward VI. produced a new revolution. The offi- cers of state changed their religion with the same facility they had displayed on former occasions, and
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 169
the great body of the clergy followed their example. Unfortunately, some priests and prelates had evi- denced the sincerity of their conversion by marrying. Wives were not so easily got rid of as creeds ; and they were unwillingly forced to preserve their consis- tency, and retire. Dowdal was restored to his see and the primacy, while the most violent of his op- ponents were compelled to fly.
The Queen commenced her reign by several acts equally just, humane and politic. She granted an amnesty to those who had proclaimed Lady Jane Grey in Dublin ; she restored the heir of Kildare to his title and estates ; and she liberated O'Connor of Ofally, who had been so long a prisoner.
The restoration of the old religion was effected without violence ; no persecution of the Protestants was attempted ; and several of the English, who fled from the furious zeal of Mary's inquisitors, found a safe retreat among the CathoKcs of Ireland. It is but justice to this maligned body to add, that on the three occasions of their obtaining the upper hand, they never injured a single person in life or limb for professing a religion different from their own. " They had suffered persecution and learned mercy, " as they showed in the reign of Mary, in the wars from 1641 to 1648, and during the brief triumph of James II.
Even in Ireland, however, Mary fully proved her right to the title of Bloody. The septs of O'Moore and O' Carroll argued, with great justice, that they had no right to forfeit their lands for the errors of their chiefe. The ground was the property of the dan ; and the guilt of the leaders, though ever so clearly proved, coulql by no means involve their feu- datoriesy against whom not the shadow of a charge
170 HISTORY OF THE
could be brought. The Irish government answered, by an argument sujSiciently characteristic. They deign- ed no reply, verbal or written, but sent an army to drive the people of Leix and Ofally from their pos- sessions, and to punish by martial law all who dared to make any resistance. Military violence and mar-» tial law are species of reasoning, to which the local governors of Ireland have, on more than one occa- sion, had recourse, to silence the clamours of suffer- ing innocence, or to punish resistance to intolerable oppression. In this instance they were successful. The inhabitants of the devoted districts were pursued with fire and sword. In the words of an old historian, " the fires of burning huts were slaked by the blood of the inhabitants ; " and it was with difficulty that a miserable remnant was saved by the generous inter- ference of the Earls of Kildare and Ossory. To perpetuate the memory of the massacre, it was di- rected by the government, that Ofally and Leix should for the future be named the King's and Queen's; County, and their chief towns Philipstown and Mary- borough, in honour of King Philip and Queen Mary.
The turbulent Shane O'Nial, or O'Neill, as the name now began to be written, was as little incHned to submit to Mary as he had been to Edward. In^ contempt of the Deputy's remonstrance, he renewed, the war against his brother Matthew, and procured his assassination. He then joined a son of the: diieftain of Tyrconnell in an attempt ;iO subdue Cal- vagh, the heir of that chieftaincy, who had deprived his father of power, and detained him in prison.. This expedition nearly proved fatal to the adven- turous youth. His camp was surprised by night, his followers routed, and he himself escaped with diffi~
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 171
culty by a rapid flight. John, though thus defeated, lost neither his courage nor his spirit. On the death of his father, he unhesitatingly took upon himself the command of the sept, and thus openly set the government at defiance.
- A. D. 1558. — Elizabeth, on her accession, found Ireland in a state of the utmost distraction. Daniel O'Brien and the Earl of Thomond were engaged in. a, fierce war for the chieftaincy of North Munster, The Geraldines of Desmond, and the Butlers of Ormond, filled the entire south with confusion by their incessant hostilities. In Connaught, the De Burghos of Clanricarde were fiercely assailed by the rival branch descended fi-om MacWilliam Ough- ter. In Leinster, the plundered refugees from Leix and Ofally sought revenge by marauding and laying waste the country in small bands ; and in Ulster, John O'Neill was fast making himself master of the entire province. The Earl of Sussex, the Lord-de- puty, on his departure for England, intrusted the government to Sir Henry Sydney^ and directed him to march to Dundalk, and demand from O'Neill an explanation of his proceedings.
The enemies of O'Neill have described him in the most inconsistent colours. They assert that he was addicted to the most brutal excesses, particular- ly to beastly intoxication ; that he was rude, ignorant, and barbarous ; while, at the same time, they repre- sent him as cautious, circumspect, and acute. A man, however, who was able to win the confidence, of the gallant Sydney, and subsequently to obtain a more than ordinary share of Elizabeth's favour, could neither have been uncivilized nor brutal. They who plundered his estates . by their rapacity, slander- ed him by their malice ; but time, the redresser of
172 HISTORY Oi" tHE
injuries, permits us now to do justice to the unfor- tunate with impunity. =' Warned by the fate of O'Moore and O'CarroU,- John was too wise to enter the English camp. When summoned, he replied, that he was engaged in celebrating the christefiing of his child ; and add- ed a request, that Sydney would come and witnea^ the ceremony, and become sponsor to the new-bony babe. To the great annoyance of those underlings who infested the seat of government, and hoped to carve out fortunes for themselves by confiscation and plunder, Sydney accepted the invitation. He was entertained with great hospitality, and even magni- ficence. The ceremony was performed with more than ordinary solemnity, and Sydney then proceeded to enter on the real business of his visit. To his great astonishment, the account given by O'Neill of all former transactions, was totally different from the- representations made at the castle. So far froitt"'' being an obstinate rebel, he proved himself a man " more sinned against than sinning, " one who had been driven to take up arms as the only means left for protecting his property and person. With great dignity and composure, he stated his right to the succession of Tyrone, which was equally clear by the English and the Irish law. According to the former, he was the heir, as being the eldest legiti- mate son ; and, in accordance with the latter, he had been unanimously chosen tanist by the sept. He denied the authority of any letters-patent to de- stroy a right of succession derived from a long line of illustrious ancestors ; and though he professed himself a liege subject of the Queen, he claimed his right to the sovereignty of Tyrone, both by descent and the free election of the clansmen. Sydney was
' i
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 173
Struck with the force and justice of these arguments. He consuhed his counsellors, whom the candour, and firmness of O'Neill had thrown into confusion. By their advice, he declared that the matters stated were too important for him to decide, but promised to lay them before the Queen. In the meantime, he advised the chieftain to preserve his allegiance, and to €onfide in the royal honotu* for such an ar- rangement as would be found right and equitable. O'Neill promised to observe this advice, and they parted in the utmost amity. This incident has been detailed at some length, on account of the important light it throws on the character and motives of this gallant but unfortunate chief, whose future career must occupy no inconsiderable portion of this his- tory.
The Earl of Sussex soon returned from England^ with special directions to restore the reformed wor- ship. So far as the prelates and parliament were concerned, the Deputy found little opposition. Out of nineteen bishops, seventeen abjured Popery, as readily as in the former reign they had rejected Protestantism >; and the two recusants were speedily punished for their obstinacy, by being ejected from their sees. The peers, whose descendants in our days are for the most part Roman CathoUos, did not at this time show any particular zeal for a reli- gion in whose cause they subsequently suffered so severely ; and the commoners, though rather more obstinate, had little ambition to become martyrs. After some opposition, acts were passed lor securing the royal supremacy, establishing the use of the re- formed liturgy, vesting th€ appointment of bishops in the crown without the formality of a conge (Telir^ and inflicting severe penalties on all who absented
VOL. I. L
174 HISTORY OF THE
themselves from the service of the church of Eng- land. Having thus accomplished the purpose foi which it was convened, the parliament was dis- solved.
There were two parties overlooked by the wise legislators in this transaction, who were not to be changed so rapidly and so easily as the peers and, prelates. These were the inferior clergy and the Irish people. Notwithstanding the introduction ofl the Papal system by Henry H., much of the primi- tive simplicity and Christian kindliness of their na- tional church was preserved among the lower ranks of the Irish ecclesiastics. They lived on terms of familiar intercourse with their flocks, imbibed many of their prejudices, and shared in most of their suf- ferings. While the prelates looked to Rome or England as the source whence their wealth and power flowed, the native clergy, excluded by a jealous po- licy from the higher offices of the church, consoled themselves for the disappointment of ambition in the love of their congregations. They disliked the Re- formation, because it was a system introduced by a people whose conduct had given too much reason for their being esteemed oppressors. They were disgusted at the marvellous celerity with which their superiors changed creeds and religions, as if they were matters in which it was only necessary to Jbl- low the example of the sovereign. Under these cir- cumstances, they readily lent an ear to the emissaries of Rome, who encouraged them to maintain the " ancient religion ; " and by this equivocal term they were led to become advocates of those papal usurpa- tions, which their predecessors had strenuously re- sisted when introduced by the English. Wliether this influential body could have been induced to.
CIVIL WARS OE IRELAND. 175
support the new system, if measures were taken to conciliate their affections, is uncertain. The expe- riment never was tried. They were not even asked to change their opinions, but were unceremoniously driven from their cures, and their places filled by strangers, the refuse of the English church.
The conversion of the people was seemingly not meditated by those who patronized the Reformation in Ireland. Compulsion was the only means of dif- fusing the reformed doctrine which they could un- derstand ; and their imsparing use of it soon made the name of Protestantism detested. The very first and most essential part of the Protestant discipline was neglected. The boast of the reformers justly was, that, the prayers being no longer read in an unknown tongue, all the congregation might share with heart and spirit in the worship of their heavens- ly father. But, though it was notorious that no language but Irish was intelligible beyond the walls of Dublin, no provision was made for a liturgy or preaching in the only language known to the great majority of the population. In the very act that esta- blished the reformed liturgy, its framers, with whim- sical inconsistency, introduced a clause, permitting the service to be celebrated in Latin, where an Eng- lish reader could not be procured. Of English and Latin the multitude being equally ignorant, preferred that which was sanctioned by old associations. With greater reason, they adhered to a clergy who under- stood their language, felt for their wants, and sym- pathized with their feelings, in preference to a host of foreigners, with whom they could maintain no conversation, and by whom they were regarded as an inferior order of beings. The attachment of the Irish to Popery, is not unfirequently brought as a. serious
176 HISTORY OF THE
charge against them — when, m truth, they wierc driven to embrace that religious system by the per^- tinacious folly of their Protestant governors.
The clergymen imported into Ireland by the go- Ternment, were for the most part needy adventurer^ as bankrupt in reputation as they were in fortune. They were collected from the candidates that had been refused admission to the English church, and sent over, like a band of conscripts, to Ireland. A few made some exertions to discharge their duty ; but the difference of language was a stumbling-block which they had not the industry to remove. The rest paid no regard to the matter ; they collected their revenues in those districts where the authority of government was supported by the presence of an army ; where that protection was wanting, they abandoned the field to the native clergy, and con- tented themselves with petitioning the government against the horrid abuse of allowing their tithes to be diverted to the support of Popery. One of the statutes for establishing the reformed religion in Ire- land, enacted, that every rector, on induction, should take an oath to establish and maintain a school in his parish, for the education of the poor. So far, the statute was obeyed. The oath was regularly taken, and its obligation as regularly disregarded, down to the commencement of the present cen- tuiy.
The intentions of the Queen and her advisers in England, were doubtless wise and good ; but, igno- rant of all the circumstances of the country, and surrounded by those who thought it their interest to mislead her, she made use of means, not only in- adequate, but ruinous to the cause they were de- signed to support. Thus it happened, that the Re-
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 177
formation, the primary and great cause of the hap- piness and the glory of England, produced in Ire- land nothing but confusion and misery and degrada- tion. There were many golden opportunities offer- ed, when, by temperate and judicious measures. Protestantism might have been fixed in Ireland on a secure basis. They were all lost by the culpable negligence of some, or the more culpable profligacy of others. It is painful to dwell on the sins of omission and commission of the church of England, of which the writer is a devoted member ; but it is worse than useless to disguise the truth. Its esta- blishment in Ireland exhibits the most flagrant in- stances of both positive and negative delinquency, which, as our history will show, have produced the priost pernicious a^d fataj consequences.
178 HISTOHY OP tHE
CHAPTER X.
The Wars against John CNeilt and the Earl of Desmond.
The proceedings of John O'Neill continued to fill the inhabitants of the Pale with alarm ; — he had forced the O'Reillys to become his tributaries, and give hostages for their fidelity ; — ^he had revenged his late loss in Tyrconnel, by a new and successful in- vasion of that district ; — and he had erected a strong fort on one of his islands, whose name, Foogh ne Gall (the terror of the stranger), showed that he was determined to assert his independence. The re- presentations of the colonists induced the Deputy to march with all his forces against this powerful chief; and O'Neill, assembling his vassals, prepared for a desperate resistance. Neither party was willing to commence hostilities. O'Neill dreaded to encounter the entire power of England : Sussex, the Deputy, a blunt honest soldier, was disinclined, by an unne- cessary war, to gratify the rapacity of those who longed to enrich themselves by confiscations. By the mediation of the Earl of Kildare, an accommo- dation was effected. O'Neill, as before, professed entire submission ; but stated that he was compelled to take arms, by the artifices of his enemies, who seduced his vassals to revolt, and had even attempt-
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 179
ed to destroy him by assassination. Of such de- testable practices he offered the strongest proofs ; and Sussex, satisfied with the apology, acknowledged his title as tanist, and gave him reason to hope, that the patent formerly granted to his brother Matthew would be revoked, and that he should himself be ac- knowledged heir to the earldom of Tyrone.
Encouraged by the Deputy, O'Neill resolved on proceeding to London, and laying his claims before the Queen in person. He even accompanied the Deputy to Dublin, though he well knew that the un- derlings of the government there were bent on his destruction. Soon after his arrival, the Irish chief was informed, that a plot was formed for his arrest ; and that nothing but a speedy departure for England could save him from imprisonment. The character of Sussex forbids us to believe that he had any con- cern in the meditated treachery. It is, however, doubtful, if it had succeeded, whether he could have resisted his colleagues at the council-board. O'Neill lost no time in making his escape. He set sail with a trusty band of followers, armed and dressed after the manner of their comitry, and soon arrived in London.
The actual appearance of a native chief, attended by his escort of wild Irishmen, created a sensation in the English capital that has rarely been equalled. O'Neill had judiciously selected the tallest and best looking of his Galloglasses ; — their heads were bare, protected only by long and flowing tresses ; they wore linen vests of a deep saffron-colour, with wide open sleeves, protected by a light and graceful coat of mail ; — their arms were broad battle-axes and short swords, forming altogether a spectacle equally novel and interesting. The citizens of London, then as
180 HISTORY OF THE
now, ardent admirers of novelty, were enraptured ; they crowded round the chief, and loedly cheere^.. him as he passed through the streets. Elizabeth herr self was delighted at so romantic an incident ; she received O'Neill with more than ordinary favour ; lis- tened to his allegations with complacency ; promised to do his claims full justice; and added to these subr. stantial benefits flattering courtesies of a more intoxi- cating nature.
The return of O'Neill, confirmed in all his ho- nours, and the complete acknowledgment of his right to the title and estates of Tyrone immediately after, filled the Queen's Irish servants with dismay. The Irish chief, with more loyalty than prudence, proceeded to give the strongest proof of the sincerity of his allegiance, by attacking the Hebridean Scots, who had been hitherto his most zealous allies in the. wars with the English. O'Neill completely con- quered these marauders, and obtained the warmest thanks fi-om the Queen as his reward ; but her gra- titude was limited to words, and was more than counterbalanced by the jealousy and hatred with, which the Lords of the Pale regarded this great leader. The services of O'Neill could not be mis- represented ; his conduct defied the strictest scruti- ny ; but it was easy to attribute to him evil designs:. and dangerous intentions. The officers of the crown in Ireland were liberal in discovering motives for the most innocent actions of the great northern Earl. They sent over countless letters, detailing the dan- gers to be apprehended from the revolt which they asserted he meditated. His success over the Scots was, in their representations, a mere cloak for trea- son ; — his war against these invaders, a pretext for axaintainvng an army without suspiciori. Worn out
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 181
by a succession of such messages, Elizabeth at length repHed, that " if he revolted, it would be the better for her servants, as there would be estates enough for them all."
This memorable answer has often been quoted as on exemplification of the detestable policy subse- quently practised in numerous instances ; namely, to provoke the Irish proprietors to revolt, in order that their estates might be forfeited, and shared among the rapacious retainers of government. Such, how-» ever, was not perhaps Elizabeth's design. Though she was indisputably a heartless tyrant, and, on mor^ occasions than one, openly and atrociously violated, the first principles of justice, it would be too violent an inference to say, that her hasty reply to calm groundless fears, and check absurd terrors, was in-i tended as a serious avowal of abominable treachery, adopted as a principle of government. But, what- ever meaning the Queen affixed to this ill-omened phrase, her servants in Ireland interpreted it in the worst sense. Thenceforward, the hope of acquiring great northern estates became their ruling principle of action, and the commencement of a rebellion the object of their earnest prayers.
Sir Henry Sydney, the new Lord-deputy, was persuaded by the council to station a gJtrrison at Derry, in the very heart of O'Neill's country— a measure equally unnecessary and insulting. It was unnecessary ; for the country was perfectly tranquil ; and, at all events, the distance of Derry from the Pale made the garrison useless, in case of commOi* tion. It was insulting, for it showed O'Neill that he was suspected by the government ; and it besides lowered his dignity with his followers, who thought, that, having been received into favour by the Quee;?^
182 HISTORY OF THE
he had a right to the command of any royal force stationed within his districts. Many modern writ- ers, looking upon the relation between O'Neill and Elizabeth as precisely the same as that which exist- ed between the Queen and any English nobleman, have taken the pains to show, that this garrison formed no just ground of complaint. But the Irish chief stood in no such relation. He was a petty prince, and not a feudal baron. The allegiance which he owed the crown, was the same as that which the German princes anciently gave to the Emperor, as may easily be proved, by referring to the numerous treaties made at different times be- tween the O'Nials and the English government.
As had been foreseen, O'Neill resolved to remove the garrison of Derry at all hazards ; but, with his usual policy, he contrived to make the English the aggressors. He led a body of forces before the waUs of the garrison, which Randolph, the governor, immediately attacked, but was defeated and slain. O'Neill sent a strong remonstrance to the Deputy against this unwarrantable act of hostility, and pro- posed a conference at Dundalk, in order to explain his grievances. But, before any amicable arrange- ment could be made, news arrived that the magazine of Derry had been blown up by accident, and the garrison forced to evacuate the town. This event was magnified into a stupendous miracle by some idle fanatics. It was asserted, that the holy Kolum- kill, indignant at the profanation of his favourite re- sidence, had sent an enormous wolf, with a blazing brand in her mouth, which she dropped in the church desecrated by the heretics to an arsenal. This mon- strous fiction could scarcely have imposed on O'Neill, but it was greedily received by his ignorant follow-
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. l83
ers. Pretended miracles in favour of the Romish religion have been of frequent occurrence in Ireland, and are not quite laid aside at the present day. The writer of this history remembers to have heard of at least a hundred within the last twenty years, which, though to the full as absurd as that of the incendiary wolf, were firmly believed by the lower orders. In- spired either by behef in the miracle, or the confi- dence which the tale gave his adherents, O'Neill re- fused to meet the Deputy, and openly raised the Standard of revolt. His first enterprise was an at- tack upon Ardmagh, which he took by assault, and burned down the cathedral, because it had been pol- luted by the reformed worship. He then devastated Fermanagh, and even ventured to attack Dundalk, but was repulsed with loss and disgrace. O'Neill soon found that the Deputy had anticipated the war, and that the emissaries quartered at Derry had been secretly undermining his power, from the first mo- ment of their arrival in his country. O'Donnell of Tyrconnell, and M'Guire of Fermanagh, were per- suaded to support the English government ; and se- veral inferior septs, which had hitherto acknowledged his power, now refused obedience. Still the gallant chief was undaunted. He sent emissaries to the Earl of Desmond and the chiefs of Connaught, inciting them to revolt ; and even despatched agents to the courts of Rome and Spain, requesting them to assist him in restoring the Catholic church of Ireland. But all his efforts were vain ; he was now fairly in the toils, and escape was impossible. Desmond, his chief hope, declared for the government, and from abroad there appeared no sign of relief. His faithful fol- lowers, surrounded by enemies on all sides, fell gal- lantly, but fell in vain ; and at last the chief was
184 HISTORY OF THE
unwillingly forced to acknowledge, that further re- sistance was vain. He now resolved to surrender himself to the Deputy, and throw himself ou the mercy of the government. But, just as he was ar bout to depart, his secretary reminded him of the fate of O'Moore, and recommended him to seek, in preference, the protection of his old allies the He- 1 bridean Scots. A large body of these adventurers | was now encamped at Clan-hu-boy ; and though they had lately suffered severely from O'Neill's hostility, he trusted that they would aid him against the Eng- lish, their common enemy.
Having sent an embassy to Clai\-hu-boy, and ob- tained a favourable answer, O'Neill, with a few faithful followers, proceeded to the Scottish camp. But an en^issary of government had preceded him. Piers, a British officer, a disgrace to his country and his profession, had undertaken the task of per- suading the Scottish chief to murder his unsuspect- ing guest. The desire of revenge united with the thirst of gain in seducing Clan-hu-boy to cansent*. At an entertainment given by an Irish Lord, a pre-i' concerted quarrel was raised with some of O'NeiU's followers. At a given signal, the banqueting-room was filled with soldiers, and all the Irish were slain. O'Neill's head was sent to Dublin, and Piers reiS' ceived a thousand marks from the government as a reward for the murder. The Deputy then marched through Tyrone without meeting any resistance, and nominated a feeble old man tanist of the sept, to prevent the clan from choosing a more efficient leader.
Thus teraiinated the first important civil war after the Reformation. It cannot, without a gross abuse qi terms, be called a rebellion ; and the authors wl^^iy
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 185
have chosen to describe it as a religious rebellion^ are guilty of positive and wanton falsehood. The burning of the cathedral at Armagh, the only evi- dence of hostility to the newly established form of religion, was, in O'Neill's circumstances, an act of necessary policy. When his old feudatories and friends were bribed to desertion ; when his allies in the West and South became either neutral or hoe- tile ; when he was left almost alone amidst his ene- mies, the only chance of escape remaining was to obtain aid from abroad. The orthodoxy of the chieftain was more than suspected. In fact, he was supposed to have become attached to the principles of the Reformation during his visit to England, and to have been deterred from a public acknowledgment of his conversion, by a well-grounded fear of los- ing the confidence of his followers, without in the slightest degree abating the rancorous and rapacious enmity of the Irish government. He burned the cathedral as an evidence of his sincerity in the cause of the old religion ; but the Romish party still refused to trust him ; and some of its most vio- lent supporters united with the Deputy for his de- struction. But, though the war against O'Neill had no connection with O'Neill, either in its cause or progress, its consequences were most injurious to the cause of the Reformation. The detestable policy by which their favourite leader was destroy- ed, inspired the Irish with a fierce hatred against every English institution, civil and religious. They judged of the new system by its effects ; and these they found were treachery, robbery, and assassi- nation.
The Lords of the Pale, and the other barons of Norman descent, witnessed the destruction of O'Neill
186 HISTORY OF THE
with indifference. They little thought that the go- vernors looked with equal cupidity on the estates of the native Irish, and the extensive domains acquired by the descendants of the early settlers. But they were soon taught, that rapacious avarice is indiscri- minate in its objects ; and that one successful act of treacherous policy soon leads to the commission of another. The vast estates of the Earl of Desmond were not likely to escape the notice of those whom a cotemporary justly calls " the hungry vultures that haunted the Castle of Dublin. " His power, from the union of the privileges both of an Eng- lish peer and an Irish chief, was viewed by the government with a jealous eye ; and the seve- ral Lords-deputy were offended by the style of haughty independence assumed on all occasions by die proud nobleman. His wars with the But- lers were frequent. On one occasion he was wounded, made prisoner, and borne by his ene- mies in a litter from the field. " Where now is the great Earl of Desmond ? " asked the insulting victors. " Where, but in his proper place ? " re- plied the gallant Lord, " still upon the necks of the Butlers. " Ormond, his great rival, inferior to the Geraldine in wealth, power and valour, more than atoned for this deficiency by his political skill and superior talents as a courtier. He visited England, and soon insinuated himself into the confidence of the Queen. He returned to Dublin, justly believing that the royal favour would more than counter- balance the valour of his rival, or the justice of his claims. The dispute about the boundaries of their several estates, was referred to Sydney the Lordr deputy. After a careful investigation, he decided in favour of Desmond. Ormond appealed to the Queen,
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 187
and accused Sydney of partiality. Without the slightest inquiry, Elizabeth severely reprimanded the Chief Governor, and commanded him to examine the case again. Sydney, on the second trial, re- versed his former decision, and not only commanded Desmond to restore the disputed lands, but also to reimburse Ormond for the losses he had sustained. Irritated at such flagrant injustice, Desmond flatly refused obedience ; whereupon he was seized by the Deputy, and sent a prisoner to Dublin. The Earl requested permission to lay his grievances before the Queen, which was granted. He proceeded to Lon- don with several Irish lords, who were graciously received ; but Desmond and his brother were, with- out the slightest investigation, sent to the Tower, where they were detained as prisoners for several years. It is not surprising that such monstrous ty- ranny should inspire both with an aversion to the English government, that ended only with their lives.
The murder of O'Neill, and the imprisonment of Desmond, became the signal for new commotions in Ireland. Sir Edmund Butler, brother to the Earl of Ormond, seized the opportunity of attacking the Geraldines, now deprived of their head, and dis- tracted by internal dissensions. The Earl of Clan- carty deemed the moment favourable for claiming the sovereignty of Munster, and took up^arms for the purpose. Even Tirlough of Tyrone, who had been set up in O'Neill's place, was about to show the usual ambition of his family. In the midst of these disorders, Sydney summoned a parliament, and at the same time took very extraordinary precautions to secure a majority. Several members were return- ed for towns that had never been incorporated ; not
188 lilStORY OF THE
a few of "t^e sheriffs and magistrates returned them- selves ; and a number of the dependents of the court -Overe nominaliy elected for places of which they did not even know the name. The latter circumstance is not unparalleled in the modern history of the Irish legislature, if we may credit an anecdote that was publicly related in the Irish parliament. Shortly before the Union, a member for a Munster borough being in London, wished to hear a debate in the English House of Commons. He presented him- self to the door-keeper, and asked to be shown to the place set apart for Irish members. The door*^ keeper asked his name, and the place which he re- presented. The former query was readily answered, btit the latter could not meet a reply. " We are obliged to be particular, " said the officer, " for Barrington the pickpocket got admittance here some nights since as an Irish member. " " Really, I for- get the name of my borough, " said this worthy re- presentative of an independent constituency ; " but if you bring me the Irish Directory^ I will show it to you immediately. "
Notwithstanding all the care of Sydney, the op- J)onents of government constituted a respectable mi- nority, and the loudness of their clamours in some degree compensated for their numerical deficiency. Headed by Sir Edmund Butler and Sir Christopher Barnewal, a gentleman of great legal acquirements^ the opposition arraigned the constitution of the par- liament, and expressly denied its competency to pass any single act. The judges were consulted on this important topic, and of course decided in favour of the crown. They were, however, obliged to go to the House of Commons, and deliver their opinions in person, before Barnewal and his party could be
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 189
awed into submission. At length a bill was intro- duced, in the support of which all showed won- drous zeal and unanimity. This was an act for the forfeiture of O'Neill's estates, and vesting the pro- perty of Tyrone in the crown. The hope of sharing the spoil, for once reconciled the English by birth and the English by blood ; and this wholesale con- fiscation passed without a dissentient voice. In other matters, the opposition showed less compliance; and a stormy session, in which much was said and little done, was at length abruptly terminated by an
j angry prorogation.
I Sir Edmund Butler returned home, determined to resist the government by every means in his power. Sir Peter Carew laid claim to some lands possessed by this turbulent knight ; and Butler, aware that the law was in favour of his adversary, prepared to de- fend his possessions by force of arms. At the same time the Geraldines of Desmond, enraged at the im- prisonment of the Earl, were said to have received a Spanish emissary, and to have united with their mor- tal enemies the Butlers in preparing a general re- volt. Carew was ordered to march against Butler, and immediately put his army in motion. He stormed one of his rival's castles, ravaged his lands, and then, advancing to Kilkenny, took quiet possession of the town. Hearing that a party of Butlers were in the neighbourhood, he marched out and found an un- armed multitude seemingly assembled from mere cu- riosity. Carew, however, anxious to signalize his valour, assailed the unsuspecting, and slew four hundred without the least resistance. This of course was represented by the partisans of government as a glorious victory ; but there were many who denoun- ced it as a barbarous and inhuman carnage.
VOL. I. M
190 HISTORY OF THE
About this time, Sir John Perrot began to take a lead in the affairs of Ireland. He was supposed tcj be the natural son of Henry the Eighth, and he in- herited rnuch of the better parts of that monarch's character. Proud, fiery and inflexible, he braved ever} danger, and faced every difficulty ; but, equally poli- tic and humane, he restrained the rabid appetite for blood which Elizabeth's, officers too frequently ex- hibited. By a judicious exertion of military skill and conciliating measures, he reduced the south to tranquillity, and made Fitz-Maurice the leader of the Geraldines a prisoner.
Sir William Fitz- William succeeded Sydney in the government of Ireland, During his administration several grants of the forfeited lands were made by Elizabeth ; but by the acts of her own servants they were all rendered, ineffectual. The retainers of go** vernment thought, that, as they had struck down the victim, the spoil should be shared solely amongst themselves* Elizabeth had no such design. She me-^ ditated a project, afterwards executed by her succes- sor, the plantation of Ulster with English colonies^ holding their possessions from the crown by a spe- cies of military tenure. The most remarkable ad^ venturer that embarked in this scheme, was Walter Devereux Earl of Essex, whose hopes were so san- guine, that he mortgaged his estate to the Queen for ten thousand pounds, in order to have sufficient funds for the expedition.
Opposed by the invetei:ate hostility of the native Irish, and the secret artifices of the local govern- ment, the Earl of Essex and the other adventurers,^ after a great waste of blood and treasure, at length began to despair of success. Essex petitioned to be recalled, ; hut, by the influence of his.rival the Earl oi
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. \9X
Leicester, Elizabeth was persuaded to refuse the re- quest, and the disturbed state of Ireland afforded a sufficient pretext for detaining him in that country. The Earl of Desmond and his brother, who had been transmitted to Dublin, and still detained in custody, made their escape by the connivance of the mayor, and were supposed to be disposed to excite new disturbances. The tyranny and cruelty of Sir Ed- ward Fitton, the President of Connaught, had dri- ven the De Burghos into open insurrection, and the old sept of MacMurchard began to renew hostilities in Leinster. The perfidious conduct of Essex, who murdered a chieftain of the O'Neill's, after having treacherously invited him to dinner, increased the ha- tred which the northern Irish felt towards the intrud- ers into their possessions., He was also harassed by the jealousy of Leicester, and by the secret practices of the local government. At length he fell a victim to this combination of perplexities, and died of vex^ ation ; though others assert that he was poisoned by Leicester's agent, a suspicion partly confirmed by the immediate marriage of that nobleman to the Coun- tess of Essex.
■A. D. 1576. — Sir Henry Sydney was again sent to Ireland, at a time when plague and pestilence were added to the calamities under which that wretched country laboured.. The Deputy, by a vi- gorous display of power, overawed the discontented in the west and north.. On the removal of Perrot, he sent Sir William Drury as president into Mun- ster, trusting that his firmness and valour would es- tablish the supremacy of the law in that province. Drui^y, who had displayed considerable abilities as governor of Berwick, seems to have been in many respects well calculated for this important office. IJn-
19^ tirSTORY OF THE
fortunately he laboured under the disadtantage of being wholly ignorant of the usages of the people oyer whom he had to preside, and, like most of Eli- aabeth's courtiers, was inclined to despise the an- cient nobility of the country. The presidentiary courts, from which the present Irish courts of quar- ter-session are derived, were regulated more by the discretion of the president, than by established prin- ciples of law ; consequently, their efficiency and utili- ty depended altogether on the personal character of the judge. In Connaught, Sir Edward Fitton had made these courts shocking engines of oppression. In Munster, under the administration of Drury, they were made to contribute essentially to the tranquil- lity of the country. Edward III. had granted the royalties of Kerry to the Geraldines of Desmond ; and the malefactors, whom the vigour of Drury had driven from other parts of Munster, found refuge in that palatinate. Drury resolved to disregard all pa- tent rights and vested interests which endangered the public peace ; and declared his intention of pro- ceeding to hold his court in Kerry. Desmond at first remonstrated ; but, finding the President obstinate, he Contented himself with making a formal protest, and invited Drury to his house in Tralee. The invita- tion was accepted ; the President, with his train, pro- ceeded to Kerry, and was met, on his entrance into the district, by a large body of the Geraldines, whom Desmond had sent to welcome his arrival. Drury, filled with the suspicions and jealousies of an Eng- lish stranger, mistook these men for enemies ; and, without waiting for a moment's parley, ordered his Soldiers to charge. The Geraldines, without at- tempting the least resistance, fled in utter amaze- ment, leaving the Countess of Desmond to explain
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 193
the extraordinary incident. Drury had the grace tp be ashamed of his suspicions, and harmony was soon restored.
Sir Henry Sydney, having thus tranquiUized the country, determined to relieve the English govern- ment from some part of the great expenses which the state of Ireland had imposed upon it. The tax of purveyance, or a certain supply of provisions for the royal garrisons and the support of the governor's table, had been levied irregularly for several years in the English Pale. Most of the nobles, however, claimed the privilege of exemption, and threw the entire burden on the labouring classes. Sydney now resolved to convert this occasional subsidy into a permanent revenue, and to levy it equitably on all, somewhat in the manner of a county rate. That this was an undue extension of the royal prerogative, cannot be doubted ; but similar violations of the con- Stitution were not unfrequent during the reigns of the Tudors, and the measure itself was manifestly equitable and beneficial. The loyalists of the Pale, however, cared little for justice or national interests, md resolved to make a determined resistance. They expressly denied the right of the Queen, or her De- puty, to levy taxes without the authority of Parlia^ ment, that is, without their own ; for as yet few, if any, but the proprietors of the Pale had a share in the Irish legislature. The Queen was confounded mi provoked by this unexpected opposition. The outrageous professions of loyalty, made by the Lords of the Pale, when they wished that their unprinci- pled aggressions on the Irish should be sanctioned by royal authority, were forgotten, when the power was to be exercised against themselves. The pas«> sive obedience and non-resistance which they had
Vd4 HIS*rORY OF THE
preached, was found to mean nothing more than thfr' support of the royal power, when it did not inter- fere with their own interested views. The Deputy, however, encouraged by the Queen, determined to persevere ; and the proprietors of the Pale were e- qually resolute not to yield. They sent over a de- putation to remonstrate with the Queen ; and that imperious Princess at once threw the agents into prison. Even this spirited proceeding failed to hum-r" ble the factious oligarchy ; they persisted in their opposition, and finally triumphed. Elizabeth com- promised the affair, by accepting an apology for the undutiful manner of the remonstrance, and the pro- posed assessment was laid aside.
Thus terminated a transaction which most Iridfl^ historians have studiously misrepresented. The ad- vocates of the oligarchy describe it as an unwarrant- able usurpation on the part of the government, which ought to have been vigorously resisted. The, few who support the cause of the native Irish pro- fess to see in it a continuation of the systematic ty- ranny which they attribute to all English rulers. Impartial posterity rejects both, even though both" Coincide for once in sentiment. The adoption o'f the measure would have given strength to the go- vernment and security to the nation. It would also have circumscribed the power of a factious ascen- dancy, whose extravagant privileges were ever op- posed to the justice and benevolence of the prince — to the peace and the happiness of the people.
The state of Ireland began now to attract the at- tention of foreign nations. The courts of Rome and Madrid, in veterately hostile to Ehzabeth, re- ceived with kindness the numerous exiles whom the tyranny of the local government had driven into ba-
CIVIL WARS OP IRELAND. 193
nlshment ; and it soofi became manifest, that new and more formidable calamities impended over that wretched island. The Pope had really some plau- sible grounds of complaint. Ireland had been lite- rally a donation from the Holy See to the crown of England ; and, up to the reign of Henry VHI. the English monarchs professed to govern the island as I deputies to the successors of Saint Peter. So far, then, as law could be supposed to regulate the af- fairs of nations, Elizabeth had, by her heresy, for- feited her claim to Ireland, and the Pope was fully justified in reclaiming the grant. These plausible arguments were so frequently repeated, that they be- gan to make a deep impression on the minds of ma- ny, who had hitherto acquiesced in Elizabeth's su- premacy ; and the systematic cruelty and injustice of the local government in Iceland disposed a great part of the people to seek for relief in a change of dy- nasty, conscious that almost any alteration would be Ibr the better.
Fitz-Maurice, one of the Geraldines, having been long detained a prisoner, was at length dismissed without a trial. Inflamed with resentment, he visit- ed successively the courts of Paris, Rome and Ma- drid, representing to the several sovereigns the hos- tility of the Irish to their present rulers, and the ease with which the conquest of that island might be effected. In France, the adventurer met no en- couragement ; at Rome, he received promises and spiritual aids in abundance, but neither men nor i money ; and Philip of Spain was too busily engaged in preparing for the conquest of Portugal, to lend him any assistance, (a. d. 1378.) Fitz-Maurice, however, was not discouraged ; he assembled a troop of eighty Spaniards, and with this handful of men determined to invade Ireland, •^o little was the
196 HISTORY OF THE
government prepared for such an attempt, that the fleet had been withdrawn from the southern coast, and Sydney allowed to resign the office of Deputy to Sir William Drury,
The ill-omened expedition arrived safely in the Bay of Limerick, in the county of Kerry ; but scarce- ly had the invaders landed, when their vessels were taken by an English ship of war. The Earl of Desmond positively refused to countenance this in- sane undertaking ; but his brothers were not equally prudent. Sir James and Sir John, with a small troop of their retainers, joined the adventurers. Fitz-Mau- rice, enraged at the coolness of the Earl, pretended to doubt the sincerity of Sir John of Desmond, and thus induced that turbulent knight to prove his zeal in the cause by an atrocious murder. Henry Davels, an English gentleman, from his well-known attach* ment to the Geraldines, was supposed to possess considerable influence over the family of Desmond, and was therefore sent by the Deputy, on the first news of the invasion, to persuade them to continue their allegiance. He succeeded with the Earl, and did not altogether despair of rescuing Sir John from his dangerous enterprise. But while Davels was quietly waiting the effect of his remonstrances in Tralee, Sir John suddenly attacked the house, and put all within it to the sword.
The invaders were every where unsuccessful, and Fitz-Maurice was slain in a petty skirmish with the De Burghos. The Lord-deputy advanced into Mun- ster, but unfortunately received a repulse from Sir John Desmond, This disgrace was, however, re- trieved by Sir Nicholas Malby, who completely over- threw the insurgents near Kilmallock, and pursued them with considerable slaughter. Among the slain wa;s found the body of Allen, a Jesuit, who had a
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 197
.,;principal share in prevailing on the Geraldines to take up aims. The Earl of Desmond was now in « most embarrassing situation. He had taken no share in the insurrection ; he had loudly denounced the atrocities which his brother sanctioned ; but he knew that he was viewed with suspicion and hatred by the local government, and that he could expect no aid from England, where his rival Ormond pos- sessed the unlimited confidence of the Queen. No prudence could probably have saved this unfortunate nobleman, whose destruction was long predeter- mined. His professions of loyalty, his complaints of unmerited injuries, were equally disregarded. Sir William Pelham, who had been elected Deputy on the death of Drury, sent him a peremptory order to surrender himself a prisoner within twenty days; and, on his refusal, wax was proclaimed against him as a traitor. That Desmond was justified in re- fiising, is evident. The political history of Ireland, and especially the state trials in that country, fully exemplify the maxim of honest old Fuller, " It is quarrel and cause enough to bring a sheep that is fat to the shambles. " In fact, the partisans of go- vernment deigned not to disguise, that the posses- sions of Desmond were deemed too extensive for a subject, and that their forfeiture was irrevocably de- termined. Besides, the Earl remembered his for- mer severe imprisonment, and was naturally disin- clined to trust a second time those who had pre- viously treated him with tyranny and treachery.
The war against Desmond was conducted with ferocious cruelty, imsurpassed in the history of man- kind. Fire, famine, and slaughter together, deso- lated the most fertile parts of Munster. From the savage rage of a relentless soldiery, innocence fur- nished no protection. Helpless infancy and totter-
198 HISTORY OF THE
ing age found no mercy. Admiral Winter, with- the humanity natural to a British sailor, was shocked by the horrid massacre, and granted protections to a few that escaped to his fleet. Will it be believed, that even this partial mercy was denounced by the zealous partisans of government, who would be sa- tisfied with nothing short of extermination ? Yes, it must be believed ; for, within the memory of man, the merciful policy of Lord Cornwallis was similarly honoured, by the opposition of those who were mad- dened by a rabid appetite for blood.
The unfortunate Earl bravely prepared to sell his life as dearly as he could, and made several gallant attacks on his adversaries. In one of these, he cap- tured the town of Youghal, and soon after defeated the Earl of Ormond, who was advancing to succour the town. Yet, from the very beginning, Desmond despaired of final success. He made the most humble tenders of submission and allegiance, which were uniformly rejected. He even offered to sur- render to Winter, on condition of being conveyed to England to plead his cause before the Queen, and was sternly refused.
The government of Ireland was now transferred to one whose name enjoys a bad preeminence in the Mst of those who rivalled in Europe the barbarities of the Spaniards in South America. Arthur Lord Grey superseded Pelham, and hastened, by what he called vigorous efforts, to put an end to the Irish war. His first enterprise was an attack on the sept of the O' Byrnes, who were said to have joined Lord Baltinglass in alliance with the Geraldines, and to have formed a camp within twenty-five miles of Dublin. The station chosen by the insurgents was in the midst of those wild and romantic valleys in " the county of Wicklow, which are now so often vi*-
CIVIL -WTARS OF ICELAND. . 199
"sited by the admirers of sublime scenery. Their principal station was Glendalough, * where the mas- sjive ruins of seven churches attest the former piety and civiHzation of Ireland. Here, secured by rock and mountain, and lake and morass, a numerous force collected, unable, indeed, to meet even a detachment of regular troops in the field, but strong enough to defy myriads in their fastnesses. The officers, expe* rienced in the Irish wars, vainly remonstrated with the Deputy, when commanded to attack this impregnable position ; but they were answered with reproach and insult, and an immediate assault was ordered. The soldiers advanced through ground which became more difficult with every step, and at length were en- tangled in a bog between two wooded hills, where it became impossible to preserve any longer the sem^* blance of order. While thus confused and broken, they were suddenly exposed to a murderous fire, that opened at once on front, flank and rear, from the woods and rocks that skirted the ravine. No
• For details regarding the present state of Glendalough, the reader may refer to the works of modern tourists, and Irish road-books. Its appearance about thirty years ago is delineated on our Frontispiece — beautifully reduced from a sketch by Dr. Wynne ; but whoever would become acquainted with its early history, and the splendour of its city andsacred edifices, must consult Ledwich's valuable " Antiquities of Ireland, " Dublin, 1790. It appears, that so early as the ninth century, a large and populous city, of undefined magnificence, existed in this lovely valley ; that wealth flowed in it abundantly ; but a- bounding, as it did, in riches and votive offerings, and consequently becoming an object of plunder to the piratical free-booters of the North, it so rapidly fell to decay, that, according to a letter still ex- tant, addressed in 1214 by O'Ruardan, Archbishop of Tuam, to Pope Innocent III., " for forty years back it had become a den and nest Qf thieves and robbers, so that more murders were committed in that valley than in any other place in Ireland, occasioned by the waste and desert solitude thereof." The Seven Churches, the ruins of which are still visible, seem to have been erected at different periods, and are unquestionably of great antiquity. Their names are, 1. the Abbey; 2. the Cathedral ; 3. St Kevin's Kitchen ; 4. Teampall na Skellig ; 5. Pur Lady's Church ; 6. Trinity Church ; and 7. Ivy Church. These interesting ruins are situated in the barony of Ballynacor, about twenty -two miles south of Dublin, and eleven north-west of Wick- U^.^JSditor of Constable's Miscellany.
200 HISTORY OF THE
exertion of the officers could save this devoted army. They were cut off almost to a man. A miserable remnant escaped to the Lord-deputy, who returned to Dublin covered with shame and confusion.
This severe repulse bitterly em-aged the Deputy, and probably rendered his hatred of the Irish insur-, gents more inveterate. To retrieve his fame, he re-, solved to bring the Desmond war to a speedy con- clusion, and made instant prepai-ations for a march to Munster. His proceedings were accelerated by alarming intelligence. He learned that a body of Spaniards, seven hundred strong, had landed in Munster ; that they brought with them arms for five thousand men, and a considerable sum of money, which they were directed to place at the disposal of the Earl of Desmond, and Saunders a Jesuit, who had taken a part in the former expedition. The forces of the Spaniards were miserably inadequate ; and, as they had been sent without previous concert, die Irish were unprepared for their reception. Scarce- ly had the foreigners landed, when they were attack- ed by the Earl of Ormond. He, indeed, obtained only a slight advantage ; but he was still able to hold them in check, until the coming up of the royal forces from Dublin. At this critical moment, Ad- miral Winter arrived on the coast ; and the Spa- niards were blockaded in the intrenchment, which they had named Golden Eort, by sea and land. It is uncertain whether the garrison finally surrendered on terms, or at discretion. The atrocity that fol- lowed is in either case inexcusable. Grey ordered the whole to be butchered ; and his orders were ex- ecuted in the spirit that they were given. There are two names mixed up with this detestable transaction, among the proudest in the annals of English litera- ture, and the highest in the records of iams^'^S'ii
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 201
Walter Raleigh and Edmund Spenser, It is with feelings of pain for the degradation of human nature, that we see Raleigh presiding at the ruthless mas- sacre, and Spenser, who was Grey's secretary, sha- ring in the counsels by which it was sanctioned, and subsequently writing in its vindication.
The news of this revolting butchery excited the indignation of all Europe, and raised an outcry a- gainst the English government, which Elizabeth was forced to allay, by declaring her public displeasure against the perpetrators ; but as they were all conti- nued in office, her anger was manifestly a mere hol- low pretence. The war with Desmond — if, indeed, the name of war could be given to a systematic ca- reer of devastation and cruelty that met no resist- ance— was continued ; and efforts were made to en- large the expected forfeitures, by involving all the Catholic proprietors in the guilt of pretended rebel- lion. Raleigh distinguished himself in the south, by insulting those who dared not resist, and seizing on the persons of men whose wealth formed their only crime. Among other heroic exploits, we find him taking the Lord Roche by surprise, and drag- ging him to Cork, whence, after a painful imprison- ment, he was dismissed, after having satisfactorily established his innocence. Grey's proceedings in Leinster were still more enormous. He seized Nu- gent, a Baron of the Exchequer, the Earl of Kil- dare. Lord Delvin, and others, on a charge of con- spiracy, and hastened to bring them to trial. Nu- gent was the only victim. To be accused and con- victed, were long synonymous terms in Irish courts of law ; and Nugent was found guilty, on evidence which no historian has yet ventured to pronounce worthy of credit. His execution followed with in- decent precipitation ; and the retainers of govern-
202 HISTORY OF THE
ment themselves were ashamed of the outrageous conduct of the Deputy, Kildare, his son Lord Ofally, and his son-in-law Lord Delvin, were sent for trial to England. The charges brought against them were disproved to the satisfaction of even the jealous Elizabeth. She pronounced them acquitted not only of the guilt, but of the very suspicion of disloyalty. The outcry against Grey's military cru- elties and judicial murders became now too loud to be disregarded. The acquittal of Kildare, the prin- cipal, as was asserted, in the pretended conspiracy, proved the innocence of Nugent and the others who had been executed as accessories. The people of England, always just when their passions and prejudices are not artificially roused, joined in the clamour ; and the Continental nations repeated the accounts of the barbarities and butcheries perpetrated in Ireland. The Queen at length yielded to these representations. She was assured, with truth, that, in consequence of Grey's tyranny, little remained for her to rule over in Munster but ashes and car- casses. Moved by pity or policy, she recalled her Deputy, appointed Loftus, Archbishop of Dubhn, and Sir Henry Wallop, the Treasurer,, Lords Jus- tices ; and offered pardon to all insurgents who would lay down their arms.
But before this, the Desmond w^r was finished. The miscreant Sir John Desmond fell in, battle. Saunders perished by famine in a miserable hovel, where his body was found mangled by wild beasts ; and the hapless old Earl had become " A hunted wanderer on the wild. "
A. D. 1583. — Ormond, with disgraceful zeal, continued to pursue his old rival, and chased- him from all his miserable retreats. At length he was
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 203
reduced to such straits, that there was reason to dread that he and his small train would perish by famine. Two horsemen and a few kernes seized on some cattle to supply the necessities of their old master. They were unfortunately watched by the owner, and chased by a party of English soldiers. It was evening when the pursuers came to the open- ing of a wooded valley, where they resolved to halt. Suddenly they saw a light in a small hut at a dis- tance, and, supposing that they had discovered a party of rebels, they cautiously advanced under the guidance- of Kelly of Morierta, a man of Irish race. On entering the hovel, they found in it only one old man of a venerable aspect, but exhausted by famine and fatigue, stretched languidly before the expiring embers. Kelly struck and wounded him. " Spare me," he exclaimed, " I am the Earl of Desmond I " Kelly repeated his blow, and the aged nobleman was slain. His head was sent to Ormond, by whom it was forwarded to the Queen, a fit present for such a sovereign, and by her direction it wa3 impaled on London Bridge.
Thus fell the head of the eldest branch of the Geraldines ; a family which, during four centuries, had held the chief power in Munster, and had fre- quently proved too strong to. be governed. The whole course of the detestable policy by which the catastrophe was effected, was perfectly consistent He was driven against his will into rebellion by the subtle malignity of Ormond,, and others envious of his powqr, and desirous of his estates. The war gainst him was marked by every cruelty and outr rage which could disgrace human nature ; and thie tranquillity thus effected was continuity of desola- ,tion and the stillness of the grave :.
« They made a solitude, and called it peace. "
204 HISTORY OF THE
CHAPTER XI.
The Administration of Sir John Parrot.
A. D. 1584.— Sir John Perrot, who had given such satisfaction as President of Munster, was sent over as chief governor to Ireland. No appointment could have been more judicious. His character was not sulHed by the craft of Sydney, or the cruelty of Grey ; in abilities, he was superior to both ; and, unlike either, his integrity was unquestionable. He was the first governor, since the days of Duke Richard, who attempted to conciliate the native Irish by impartial justice ; and the success which attended the experiment, proves how easily might England have conciliated the affections of that ardent race. The first act of his administration was to publish a general amnesty, and to issue a strict prohibition against the outrages and spoliations of the soldiers, too often encouraged by their commanders. The youthful son of the unfortunate Desmond, who had been given into his hands by his followers, he sent over to England, in order that he might receive an education suitable to his rank.
The Desmond estates amounted to six hundred thousand acres ; and it was necessary to summon a Parliament, in order that this vast property should
ClVIt WARS OP IRELAND. 205
Tjc vested in the Crown. A host of hungry ex- pectants eagerly waited the event, hoping that rich estates would reward the crimes which had brought about the confiscation. Perrot soon proved that he had not learned Sydney's art of constructing an obedient parliament. There was no secret inter- ference with the elections; and an independent House of Commons, fairly representing the people, was returned. In this assembly we find, for the first time, several of the original Irish families join- ed in deliberation with the settlers of the Pale. Cavan was represented by two of the ancient house of O'Reilly ; O'Brien was returned for Clare ; the county of Down sent Sir Hugh Macgennis ; John MacBrien was member for Antrim ; and the repre- sentatives of Longford were the O'Ferghals or O'- Ferrals. In the Upper House sat two bishops, , professed Roman Catholics, from the sees of Clogher and'Raphoe, over which Elizabeth had as yet exer- cised no control ; and Turlough, the nominal head of the O'Nials, took his seat as Earl of Tyrone. ' Never did any government meet a more hostile legislature. The suspension of Poynings' Law, now an ordinary mark of confidence in a new chief go- vernor, was refused ; thirteen bills, transmitted from England, were rejected ; the ordinary subsidies were withheld ; and two acts, of trifling importance, con- cluded the labours of the session. The cause of this spirit, so totally unparalleled in the annals of Irish legislation, was the general horror which the iniquitous proceedings against the Earl of Desmond had occasioned. The ^reat lords of English de- scent, that had cheered the bloodhounds to run down O'Neill, were alarmed by the destruction of the greatest of their own party, and felt sympathy
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for the fate of one connected with most of them bj marriage or by blood. The massacres and devasta- tions in Munster excited the indignation of man^ who had been previously attached to the govern- ment. They saw the country placed at the mere] of bankrupt adventurers, and a licentious soldiery whose excesses had been encouraged, rather thai controlled. The policy of exciting rebellions, ir order to reward the retainers of the Castle by con fiscation, had been openly avowed. And, finally the barbarous system of crushing the resources, lest if cultivated, they might enable that country to riva England, or perhaps attain independence, had beei zealously advocated in the English Parliament The members of the Irish legislature have frequent ly been deaf to the claims of justice and patriotism but never blind to their own private interest. The; saw, or thought they saw, measures taken for thei destruction, and therefore met the government wit. the most obstinate resistance.
Perrot, aware that the opposition had too gooi grounds for suspicion and complaint, showed nei ther surprise nor resentment at the defeat of hi measures. He diligently applied himself to the im provement of the country, and trusted that his ac tions would give the best evidence of his claims t confidence. His first care was to assure all partie of protection in person and property ; to administc justice without regard to sect or party ; and to re form the gross abuses that had been encouraged b his predecessors. His scheme was crowned wit success. The native Irish, conciliated by an ap pearance of equal government, vied with each othe in expressions of loyalty and allegiance. The Lord of the Pale laid aside their sullenness, and crowde
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 207
to the court of the Deputy ; the feuds between the barons were suspended ; and an opportunity was apparently offered of removing at once, and for ever, the intolerable load of evil which had been accumu- lating for centuries.
But Perrot found his wise schemes counteracted in the very quarters where he naturally looked for support. Elizabeth was just in as bad a humour as her Irish Parliament, and refused to furnish her Deputy with men or money. She even yielded to the secret whispers of the malevolent, and received the news of his popularity with suspicion. The creatures of the late government still held their offices in the Castle. Nurtured in corrupt practices, they naturally detest- ed an equitable administration, and laboured, not wholly without success, to counteract the wise and liberal measures of the Lord-deputy. Nor are we to be surprised at this state of affairs. Within our own memory, Ireland has exhibited the strange scene of a conciliating government checked, con- trolled, and insulted by its own underlings, who formed a cabal which the nominal executive wanted either the spirit or the power to break up. Unfor- tunately, Perrot added the Church to the number of his enemies, by proposing a scheme which evin- ced more wisdom and generosity than prudence. Conceiving that one cathedral was quite sufficient for Dublin, he proposed that the other should be converted into a university, and its revenues em- ployed for the diffusion of education, Loftus, the archbishop, immediately became, not only Perrot's political opponent, but his bitter and violent enemy. The most wicked perversions of his words and ac- tions were transmitted to England. Even the most audacious forgeries were framed — one, a pretended
208 HISTORY OF THfi
complaint from Turlough O'Neill, which thfe old chieftain denounced by a solemn embassy to Eliza- beth. The second, and more mischievous, was a pretended protection granted to a Romish priest, in which the Deputy was made to assume the style of a sovereign. It was easy to expose these abomi- nable frauds ; but it was impossible to remove the jealous suspicions with which they filled the mind of Elizabeth. Thenceforward she treated Perrot with mortifying coldness, and neglected the advice of the only honest servant she ever employed in Ireland. She employed Fenton, the Under Secretary of State, us a spy upon his actions ; and found this function- ary anxious to fulfil his duties in such an honourable situation.
The popularity of Perrot was fully proved In the second session of the Irish Parliament. The bills for the regulation of public affairs, and the raising of necessary supplies, were passed almost unanimous- ly ; but the forfeiture of the Desmond property was still resisted. At length, after a fierce struggle, acts were passed for the attainder of the deceased Lord, and one hundred and forty of his associates, all of whose immense estates were vested in the crown. ' t
The great object which Elizabeth's ministers had so long pursued, was now attained. An opportuni- ty was offered for planting, as it was called, an Eng- lish colony in Ireland. The needy followers of the court, the younger brothers of noble families, and adventurers of more questionable description, were invited to become undertakers^ as those who receiv- ed grants were called. The lands were granted at a nominal rent, on the condition that the undertakers should let them to none but English tenants ; should support garrisons on the frontiers of the province f;
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 209.
knd should not permit any of the native Irish to settle on their estates. A portion of the property was also granted to some of the Geraldines ; and a very considerable share of it was seized by the re- tainers of the local government, who well knew the means of resisting the royal rights, without incurring the penalties of rebellion. The entire scheme of the plantation totally failed. The undertakers scandal- ously violated their contracts. They, as others of the same class before and since have done, preferred the Irish serf to the independent freeholder ; and the opportunity of introducing an orderly middle class into Ireland, which Elizabeth had acquired at the expense of so much blood, was lost by the ve- nality of her unprincipled servants. The confisca- tion in Munster proved as ruinous to the power and interest of the crown, as it was iniquitous in itself. The new proprietors, suddenly raised to wealth and station from comparative insignificance, disregarded the royal authority ; and, being supported by the local government, were enabled to indulge in excesses and outrages with impunity.*
The jealousy of Elizabeth induced her to limit the power of Perrot, by giving the privy council a control over his proceedings. The loss of his influ- ence was soon felt. Bingham, the president of Connaught, by excessive tyranny, drove the De Bur- ghos to revolt ; and, when censured for his cruelty by the Deputy, pleaded the old excuse of state ne- cessity. The disturbance was quelled, not without some barbarous murders, which Perrot was unable to prevent ; and the Queen's officers, no longer dread- ing the Deputy, fleeced and persecuted the unfor- tunate Irish with fresh severity. The agents of Rome and Spain, took advantage of this unwise po-
210 HISTORY OF THE
Ucy, to spread among the nation a determined hosw tility to the EngHsh, and a desire to be placed under the protection of his Catholic majesty. But during the administration of Perrot, the great bulk of the native Irish clergy remained loyal, and successfully counteracted the machinations of the foreigners.
The news of these secret proceedings greatly alarms? ed Elizabeth. She was even induced to make ari effort to conciliate her Irish subjects ; and, with her usual promptitude, at once acted on her resolution. By the patent of Henry VIII., the succession to the earldom of Tyrone, and chieftainry of Hy-Niall, had been granted to Matthew, Lord Dungannon, and his heirs. Hugh, the eldest son of the baron, had been educated in England, and had served with great eclat in the royal army. His valour, activity, and skill, had been commemorated by several generals, and his fidelity proved in the long war against Des- mond. He petitioned for permission to take his seat in the Lords as earl of Tyrone, and also the re-i storation of his estates. The first request was readi- ly granted by Perrot ; for thfe second, he was refer- red to the Queen in person. Hugh O'Neill ap- peared at the court of England, not like his uncle John, as an Irish chief, but as an accomplished courtier, versed in all the politeness of the age. His easy manners, his superior information, and his win- ning address, delighted a queen never blind to such accomplishments. She treated him with the greatest partiality, and finally granted him the ancient pos-» sessions of his family. j
Nothing could exceed the rage and disappoint-i^ ment of the faction that directed the Irish governwi ment, when they received the intelligence of this e- vent. Little did they dream, when opposing the
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 211
plantation of Ulster, that, instead of securing estates for themselves, they were only preserving for O'Neill the inheritance of his ancestors. They felt like ra- venous beasts whose prey is rent from their jaws, and were unable to control some indiscreet displays of their vexation. Their malice soon found vent in calumny ; and Elizabeth, ever prone to jealousy, lent too ready an ear to their insinuations. She had ordered O'Neill to raise six companies for the de- fence of Ulster. It was reported that, by continually changing his soldiers, he was training the entire pro- vince to arms. She had directed him to build a house in the English fashion, suited to his rank ; it was asserted that the lead which he purchased for the battlements, was designed to form bullets. She re- quested him to use his influence over the neigh- bouring chieftains for the maintenance of tran-
.... quillity. His exertions for the purpose were stig- matized as a direct assumption of royal au- thority. O'Neill disregarded these plots, while Perrot continued to hold the reins of power ; but his administration was fast drawing to a close. Al- most his last act of government was the only one which cast a shade upon his character. On the re- ported defection of the chieftain of Tyrconnel, he procured a ship disguised as a Spanish vessel laden with wine. By his orders, the captain proceeded to the coast of Tyrconnel, invited the chieftain's son to come on board to taste his wines, and, as soon as he stepped on the deck, made him a prisoner, and con- veyed him to Dublin, where he was detained as a hostage for his father's fidelity. Shortly after Perrot was permitted to resign, he assured the Queen that he could govern her Irish subjects without difficulty, but that no power could control her English ser-
212 HISTORY OF THE
vants. Before his departure, he assembled most of the Irish lords, explained to them the dangers that menaced the country from a Spanish invasion, and exhorted them to preserve their allegiance. By this affectionate remonstrance, a great number were melt- ed almost to tears, and all faithfully promised to ob- serve his advice. He resigned the sword of state to Sir William Fitz- William, declaring that he left the kingdom in peace, and that, even as a private man, he would engage to quell any disturbance in twenty days, without violence or contest. The day on which this meritorious governor embarked, dis-- played a scene which, unfortunately, is not without a parallel in the annals of Ireland. It was a day of national mourning, in which the native Irish and the English settlers joined, with the exception of the official plunderers, whose rapacity he had restrained. Vast crowds accompanied him to the water-side, whose shouts in his praise were mingled with la- mentations for -his loss; and not the least interest- ing figure of the group was old Turlough of Tir- owen, whose grief for the departure of his protectoSi was inconsolable.
CiVIi WARS OP IRELAND. 213
CHAPTER XII.
TM War against Hugh O^Neill.
The judicious administration of Sir John PerroS had given to Ireland unusual peace and prosperity* The conduct of his successor produced a new train of calamities and crimes, whose consequences are scarcely yet effaced. Sir William Fitz-William had but one object in view, his own private emolument ; and in pursuit of this, he disregarded the very ap- pearances of justice and decency. After the defeat of that Armada which Philip of Spain had proudly named invincible, several of the ships were wrecked on the northern and north-western coasts of Ireland. Reports were circulated that these vessels contained enormous wealth, and that the Irish chieftains were secreting the treasures which ought to enrich the state. Blinded by avarice, Fitz-William, without examining the accuracy of the intelligence, seized â– Sir Ov/en MacToole and Sir John O'Dogherty, on suspicion of having concealed these supposed stores, and consigned them to a painful imprisonment, which lasted for several years. This unjust severity to- wards two gentlemen conspicuous for their zealous loyalty, revived the jealous hatred of the English government, which Perrot had so happily suppress- ed. O'Neill, who. had long been aware of the an*
214 HISTORY OF THE
tipathy of the local governments, resolved to antici- pate the danger ; and, without waiting for the De- puty's license, presented himself at the court of Eli- zabeth. Here he was accused by one of his rela- tives, a natural son of John O'Neill, for having en- tered into a secret alliance with the Spaniards, and endeavoured to form a general confederacy against the English. These calumnies were easily refuted ; and Elizabeth, persuaded of O'Neill's integrity, dis- missed him with marks of confidence and favour. About the same time, several hostages of the north- ern lords, who were detained as prisoners in Dublin, made their escape, as was suspected, by the secret connivance of the Deputy, They were hotly pur- sued. Hugh O'Donnel, whose seizure by Perrot has been already mentioned, and one of the O'Neills, sought refuge among the septs in the vicinity of the capital. The season was uncommonly rigorous, the power of the government justly dreaded, and the friends on whom the young noblemen relied, too weak or too cowardly to afford them protections After some days, their pursuers found them in a miserable hovel, where young O'Neill was expiring of famine, and O'Donnel deprived of the use of his limbs by cold and fatigue. The latter was brought to Dublin, where his health was finally restored ; but his hatred of the government which had subject- ed him to such misery, became, for the future, a fixed principle of action.
A still more atrocious outrage increased the hos- tility of the Irish. Fitz-William, under pretence of settling some disputed claims to property, marched into Monaghan, the territory of a chief named Mac- Mahon, and arrested that Lord on a charge of trea- son. The accusation was, that he had, two years
CIVIL WARS OP IREtAND. 2l5
before, employed a military force to collect his rents — an offence pronounced treasonable within the li- mits of the English jurisdiction, but which was no unusual practice in Monaghan and other districts beyond the Pale. For this pretended crime, Mac- Mahon was tried by a jury of common soldiers, found guilty, and, to his utter astonishment, ordered to be immediately executed. This judicial murder was followed by the immediate forfeiture of the chief- tain's lands, which were shared between the unprin- cipled Fitz-William and Sir Henry Bagnal, his worthy associate.
O'Neill viewed with just alarm this infamous transaction, and began secretly to prepare for a struggle which he knew could not much longer be averted. His marriage with Bagnal's sister had procured him the bitter enmity of that powerful officer ; and this unnatural hatred was manifested by a pertinacious system of misrepresentation at the English court, which soon revived the natural jea- lousy of Elizabeth. The prudence and political wisdom of O'Neill enabled him to baffle the arti- fices of his insidious enemies ; and he soon gave a proof of his loyalty too unequivocal to be misrepre- sented or denied. MacGuire, the chieftain of Fer- managh, had been guilty of some outrages which the Deputy determined to chastise ; and Bagnal was ordered to lead an army against him. O'Neill im- mediately brought his forces to aid his mortal enemy ligainst his kinsman. He rescued Bagnal from the dangers into which he had been brought by his pre- sumption, and was severely wounded in a successful battle which he fought against his countrymen. His enemies were for a time disconcerted by this bold
216 HISTORY OF THE
proof of loyalty, and their crafty insinuations were for a season silenced or disregarded.
About this time, the University of Dublin was founded. The suppressed monastery of All-Hallows, which stood at a short distance from the city gate, was assigned by Elizabeth for the site of the new college ; and by the strenuous exertions of those to whom the care of the new institution was intrusted, it soon obtained considerable eminence and prospe- rity.
Fitz-William was succeeded in the government of Rome by Sir John Russell, son to the Duke of Bedford. O'Neill presented himself to the new De- puty, but found himself unable to efface the unfa-^ vourable impressions which the slanders of Bagnal and his other enemies had produced. The expe- diency of arresting the chief was debated at the Council Board, and negatived by a small majority. O'Neill soon learned his danger, and fled to his own country with the utmost precipitation.
Hugh O'Donnel, soon after his escape from Dubl, lin, married the daughter of O'Neill, and, about the same time, succeeded his father as tanist of Tyrcon-' nel. Irritated by his unmerited sufferings, he took up arms against his sovereign, and prevailed on se* veral other septs, particularly the degenerate De Burghos, to follow his example. The situation of O'Neill was now in the highest degree embarrassing ; his countrymen unanimously invited him to become their leader in war ; the royal officers were resolved to discredit his sincere anxiety for peace ; the per- fidy and treachery of the Irish government was so notorious, that it would have been madness to place any confidence in it; and his letters to England were intercepted by the malignant vigilance of Bag-
CIVIL WARS O)? IRELAND. ^17
nal. Driven forward by such a combination of cir- cumstances, O'Neill, after a long and anxious delay, took the decisive step of attacking the English gar- rison, stationed at a fort called Blackwater.
On the first news of these hostilities, a force of two thousand veterans were sent into Ireland ; and soon after Sir John Norris, a general of approved skill and valour, was appointed to take the com- mand of the army. O'Neill, dreading the chances of civil war, wrote to the General, detailing his grievances, and the arts by which he was driven to revolt. Bagnal, as before, intercepted some of the letters ; but others reached their destination, and led to a general conference. The Irish chiefs detailed their grievances in simple but forcible terms. Norris, who was an honest as well as an able man, was convin- ced of the injustice which had driven them to arms, and zealously laboured to effect a negotiation. The arrangement of a treaty was protracted to a very un- usual length, and was not unfrequently interrupted by renewed hostilities. In fact, with the single exception of Norris, none of the parties sincerely laboured fof peace. The Irish Lords were now conscious of their strength. The successes they had already ob- tained were sufficiently decisive to inspire confi- dence, and they had received many promises of as- sistance from Spain. The officers of the Irish go- vernment were eager to enrich themselves by new confiscations, and threw every obstacle in the way of an equitable adjustment. The Earl of Tyrone's jXidicious question, in fact, showed that a reconcile- ment was scarcely possible. " Though, " said O'- Neill, " I might safely make peace with men of feonour, like Norris and Russell, what security have
218 HISTORY OF THE
I for the character and conduct of their succes- sors r
The little progress made by Norris in subduing the Irish, created equal disappointment and displea- sure in England. The statesmen of Elizabeth's court made no allowances for the difficulties of a country, where a defensible military position may be found at every mile ; where morasses and forests, and rocks and mountains, baffled the valour and dis^ cipline of the invaders. The Earl of Essex, Eli% zabeth's prime favourite, was also personally opposed to Norris. By his influence, both the General and the Deputy were deprived of their power, and his partisan. Lord Burgh, invested both with the civil and military authority. Norris retired to his presi- dency, where he died of a broken heart, in conse- quence of the unmerited stain cast upon his reputa- tion.
The career of Lord Burgh was brief and disa%* trous. He hoped to acquire fame and fortune by ^ vigorous prosecution of the war, and by his acti^ vity to prove the culpable negligence of which Nor-j ris was accused. He collected his forces with ex-? treme diligence ; he summoned the Lords of the Pale to attend his standard ; and advanced towards Ulster with a power apparently sufficient to bea^ down all opposition. O'Neill, on his part, display- played equal industry, and greater skill. He sent Tyrrel, his lieutenant, to rouse the septs in Con- naught, while he collected all his partisans in U1-. ster. Tyrrel obtained some sigiial advantages. He defeated and captured the son of Lord Trimbles^' town, while leading his father's vassals to the asj . sistance of the Deputy ; and he forced Sir Conyer:j^
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 219
Clifford, who headed another reinforcement, to make a calamitous retreat.
Lord Burgh, undaunted by these reverses, boldly attacked Tyrone in his lines near Armagh, and, af' ter a fierce fight, drove the Irish fi*om their in- trenchments. O'Neill retired to another and better position, which the EngUsh inconsiderately assailed. They were defeated ; and Lord Burgh, with the flower of his army, fell in the conflict. The com- mand devolved on Kildare, who was disinclined to make any new effort. Indeed, the Earl did not long retain his post ; he died of grief for the loss of his two foster-brothers, who were slain in rescuing him from the enemy.
The civil administration was now committed to Archbishop Loftus, and Gardiner, the Lord Chan- cellor, while Ormond was intrusted with the com- mand of the army. To this lord, O'Neill made overtures for an accommodation, and a new treaty was commenced. The object of Tyrone, in this negotiation, was manifestly only anxious to gain time, for the double purpose of recruiting his own strength, and wearing out the patience of his op- ponents. When his preparations were complete, he threw off the mask, summoned to his aid the sept of the O'Donnels, and that clan of the De Burghos which bore the name of MacWilliam, boldly declared his independence, and laid close siege to the fort of Blackwater. Bagnal was ordered to relieve the place ; and the armies of two generals, nearly connected by marriage, and yet animated with more than mortal enmity, met near Armagh. The forces on both sides were nearly equal. The Eng- glish possessed superior advantages in arms and dis- cipline ; the Irish were animated by a fiercer spirit,
220 HISTORY OF th:^
6,nd had a more skilful commander. In the heat^ the engagement, an explosion of some gunpowdei threw the royalists into confusion ; at the same time Bagnal, while raising his beaver, was shot through the brain. The victory of the Irish was decisive ; fifteen hundred of the royal soldiers, and many oJ their best officers, fell. Thirty-four standards, all the artillery, arms and ammunition, remained in the pos^ session of the conquerors. The bravery of CReilly, an Irish chieftain attached to the royal cause, alone saved the army from annihilation. He covered the retreat with a body of his own clan, and was ably assisted by Montague, the commander of the Eng- lish cavalry. The fort of Blackwater was imme- diately surrendered, and the town of Armagh aban- doned by the royal garrison.
This great victory was apparently decisive. The flame of insurrection spread rapidly through the west and south. The Irish, who had been deprived of their lands, with one accord attacked the under- takers, and drove them from their settlements. The O'Moore's in Leinster, the remnant of the Geral- dines in Munster, the Irish septs in Kerry, were all in arms. The English every where sought refuge in the fortified towns on the east coast, and dared not move beyond their walls. O'Neill made every use of his advantages ; he reconciled old feuds, al- layed former animosities, and gave to the Irish septs a degree of union and combination which they never before had possessed. He also sent ambassadors to the Spanish court, earnestly entreating Philip te send him effective assistance. 5
Elizabeth was now really alarmed. The base sycophants, whose avarice and cruelty had driven the J/ish into insurrection, stood aghast at the conswi*
I
CmL WARS OF IRELAND. 221
4|uences. Reports arrived that Philip was preparing two immense armaments, one to invade England, and the other to aid O'Neill in Ireland. It became manifest, that, without great and speedy exertion, the
i ^ueen would irretrievably lose the fairest possession of the crown. She acted on this trying occasion with her usual promptitude. She sent into the country an army of twenty thousand men, command- ed by the Earl of Essex, esteemed the most gallant soldier of the age.
Essex received the title of Lord Lieutenant, and more ample powers than the caution of Elizabeth had hitherto permitted her to confer on a subject. It is not easy to discover the real motives that im- pelled the unfortunate Earl to seek this fatal com- mand. Probably he expected a cheap victory, and hoped that military glory would increase his ascen- dancy over the mind of his fond mistress. His firiends and enemies alike were eager to hurry his departure ; the former, in delusive anticipation of triumph ; the latter, more wisely calculating on the diminution of his influence by his absence from court, and on the probable effects of his presump- tuous folly in rousing the jealous anger of Eliza- Hth.
The news of the arrival of such an immense ar-
" mament, did not diminish the confidence of O'Neill and his supporters. They waited with stern indif- ference the proceedings of the Lord Lieutenant, and determined to wear him down by a tedious defensive war. There is reason to believe, that a part of the Irish Privy Council had engaged in the service of the ene- mies of Essex in the English cabinet ; at all events, their persuasions precipitated his ruin. Instead of marching into Ulster, and bringing O'Neill at once
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to a decisive engagement, he marched southwards tc an exhausted country, where his troops were wast ed by fatigue and famine. The Irish avoided am decisive battle, but obtained several advantage: over detached parties. The cavalry, in their passagt through Leix, suffered severely from an attack o the O'Moore's ; and such was the quantity oifea\ thers lost by the brilliant corps, that the Irish namec the place of action the Pass of Plumes, Th< O'Byrnes of Leinster, with inferior forces, severeh and shamefully defeated another division of the army and Essex could only show his vexation, by deer mating the unfortunate soldiers, and cashiering th( officers.
Elizabeth, who had expected rapid success fron the well-known valour of her favourite, was irritated by the means of these reverses. She answered hi^ letters, detailing plans of pacification, with sever( reprimands, and could with difficulty be persuade(i to grant him a reinforcement. The gallant Earl'i; despatches evince equal benevolence and political wis- dom. He earnestly presses on the cabinet the ne- cessity of conciliation and concession, and solicitfi their attention to the interests of the people. Thti answer to all his state-papers was a peremptory ot^ to march into the North. /^.
' While the Earl was advancing through Ulstet, Sir Conyers Clifford, who led an army to his Assist- ance, fell into an ambuscade, contrived by O'Ruarc, in Connaught, and was slain. His army suffered only a trifling loss ; but the soldiers were so dispi- rited, that they retreated to their garrison. Essex advanced to the banks of the Blackwater ; but O'Neill had, by this time, learned the character of his opponent, and determined to< open
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 2231
The Earl willingly lent an ear to the flattering and submissive messages of the crafty chief, and granted him the favour of a personal interview. The two generals led their armies to the opposite banks of the river, and then rode to a neighbouring ford. Scarcely had the feet of the Lord Lieutenant's charger touched the water, when O'Neill spurred his horse through the stream, while the water rose above his saddle, and crossed over to pay his respects. This union of a delicate compliment and generous confi- dence completely won the noble soul of Essex. He at once entered into an animated conversation with the Irish chieftain, and rode with him along the banks of the river in the sight of the wondering ar- mies. Their private conference lasted a long time, and speculation has been busy in guessing at the ubjects they discussed. It is probable that O'Neill, well acquainted with the intrigues of the English court, called the attention of Essex to the machina- tions of his enemies, and promised to assist in their overthrow. Finally, the officers of both armies were summoned, and, in their presence, O'Neill, having stated the grievances by which he was driven to re- volt, proposed terms of accommodation. A truce for six weeks was established, in order to affiDrd time for the due consideration of the several articles ; and the royal army returned to their quarters in Lein- ster.
The indignation of Elizabeth at this strange ter- mination of a campaign, from which she had expect- ed so much, was violent. She wrote a severe letter io the Lord Lieutenant, reprobating his conduct in «o measured terms. Essex, at first, meditated the in- sane project of leading the flower of his army into England, and forcing his way to the royal presence ;
iPi HISTORY OF THE
but, being dissuaded by his friends, he adopted a course scarcely less pernicious ; and, resigning his power to two Lords-justices, departed to England alone. The rest of his tragical story is known to the readers of English history. — We must return to the affairs of Ireland.
Ormond, who had been appointed to the com- mand of the army, wished to maintain the peace with O'Neill ; but that chief was no longer disin- clined to war. He had lately received assurances of assistance from Spain. The Pope incited him to continue steadfast in the support of the Catholic fdith ; and sent him a sacred plume, which the holy father gravely asserted was composed of the feathers of a phoenix ! A war of petty skirmishes, inter- rupted by truces which neither party regarded, con- tinued for some time ; and in some of these little wicounters, Sir Warham Saint Leger and Sir T, Norris, the ablest of the English officers, were slain.
A. D. 1560. — Blount, Lord Montjoy, was ap- pointed by the Queen to the hazardous post of Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, His military skill and politi- cal knowledge were adorned by the rarer graces of literature ; and O'Neill, who regarded these accom- plishments as a mark of effeminacy, is said to have Expressed his pleasure at the appointment of a ge- neral, " who would lose the season of action while his breakfast was preparing." The chief soon learn- ed by experience, that a taste for refinement is by no means inconsistent with the most vigorous exertion. Montjoy was assisted by several men of great abili- ties in the inferior departments of government, a- mong whom the Earl of Ormond, and Sir George Carew, president of Munster, were the most con- spicuous.
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 225
â– 'The war recommenced with great activity, but no decisive action was fought. O'Neill, with consum- mate ability, avoided every attempt to force him to a general engagement, and broke through the hostile lines when attempts were made to blockade his troops. The Lord Lieutenant suspected that some of the Irish lords secretly supplied the insurgents with in- formation ; and a strange event made him believe that Ormond was the traitor. When Sir George Carew was proceeding to his presidency in Mimster, he was invited by the Earl of Ormond to attend a conference with O'Moore, who had made proposals of submission. Carew and the Earl of Thomond wished that they should be attended by a sufficient guard, but Ormond steadfastly refused to take more than seventeen. The place of meeting was in the vicinity of a wood, behind which O'Moore had sta- tioned a numerous band, in addition to a large body of pikemen by whom he was openly escorted. Du- ring the discussion, O'Moore's followers gradually advanced, while Carew in vain warned Ormond of his danger ; at length they seized the Earl, but Ca* rew and Thomond escaped by the swiftness of their horses. Ormond was long detained a prisoner ; for Montjoy rejected the terms of ransom offered by O'Moore. They were sufficiently exorbitant to jus- tify this refusal, even if the Deputy was not secretly pleased with the removal of a nobleman whom he regarded as the rival of his power.
The system of war pursued by Montjoy and Ca- rew, was that which had been found so efficacious in destroying the Earl of Desmond. Bribes were of- fered to the inferior chiefs for desertion. Rivals were encouraged to assail the claims of those tanists who still adhered to O'Neill. The houses were de-
S26 HIStORY OF THE
stroyed, the corn fields consumed, fire and famine Were once more brought to the aid of slaughter. Carew was more merciless in establishing this cruel System than Montjoy. He was naturally cruel and rapacious, a deliberate encourager of treachery, and not ashamed to avow and defend perfidy and assassi- nation. When any of the insurgent leaders, broken by calamity, sued for permission to return to his al- liance, Carew granted pardon, only on the condi- tion that the offender should prove his new zeal for the royal service by murdering a friend or relative ; And this detestable practice he vindicates in his writ- ings as wise and sound policy.
Devastation greatly reduced O'Neill's strength. His adversaries derived their supplies from England ; his resources were destroyed when his own fields were wasted. Still he bravely continued the war, re- lying on the promised aid of the Spaniards, and sti- mulated by the numerous emissaries of Rome, who exhorted him to perseverance. He was besides well aware, that the late submissions to the government were hollow and insincere, especially as no provision was made for the removal of the grievances which had caused the insurrection. Grievous exactions were made from the proprietors of land. Jurors were pack- ed in the most open and shameful manner. Innocent persons were executed sometimes without the formality of a trial, or, when that was granted, by the verdict of a tribunal whose forms were a cruel mockery. The penal laws against recusants were enforced, and Eng- lish settlers drove the natives from their land with- out the pretence of a claim. The knowledge of these circumstances induced O'Neill to persevere, though he knew that his chances of final success were diminishing every hour with fearful rapidity. In
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 227
Munster, Sir George Carew had reduced the most powerful septs, and gained possession of the persons of several chiefs. To one of these who was loud in his professions of loyalty, Carew put the question, ^' What if the Spaniards should arrive ? " The Irish lord candidly answered, " In that case, do not con- , fide in me, nor in any of the lords who seem most devoted to your service. "
4 ^ t The long expected succours from Spain at length » appeared ; but the English had sufficient warning, and were prepared for their reception. The expedi- tion was altogether the worst planned, and worst ex- ecuted, ever sent by a blundering government. It had been delayed too long. Its preparation was made so openly, that one would suppose observation had been courted. It was miserable in amount ; and its leader was wretchedly incompetent. Don Juan d' A- quila, to whom Philip had intrusted a small fleet and two thousand men, with the most inconceivable folly determined to land in the south of Ireland, while Tyrone, to whose assistance he had come, was shut up in the extreme north. Scarcely had he landed, when he personally insulted O' Sullivan Beare, the first toparch who offered him assistance ; and thus at once disgusted the southern septs. To add to his confusion, Carew and Montjoy, having collected a powerful army, invested Kinsale, and pushed the siege with vigour.
, O'Neill was not a little perplexed by the awkward situation of the Spaniards. A march through an .exhausted country, in the depth of a severe winter, and, with forces already disheartened by calamity, wa$ an enterprise full of danger. On the other hand, it w^s clear, that Don Juan, unless speedily relieved, would be forced to surrender. The Spaniard was
^28 HISTORY OF THE
already disgusted with the expedition ; and, while he answered the summons of Montjoy with ridicu- lous gasconade, he sent the most urgent and angry letters to O'Neill and O'Donnel, soliciting their aid. The march of the Irish army sufficiently proves the ability of the leaders, and the zeal of their followers. Notwithstanding the difficulties of the country, they advanced with their baggage and artillery at the rate of forty miles ; and, by their extraordinary celerity, baffled the Lord President, who marched to intercept them. Nearly at the time that O'Neill arrived be- fore Kinsale, a second Spanish armament reached the Bay of Baltimore, and were enthusiastically re- ceived by the neighbouring septs. Several that had hitherto preserved their allegiance, now took up arms, and O'Neill was thus enabled to blockade the Lord Lieutenant in his camp. Montjoy 's army was thus placed in a most perilous situation ; they were at once besiegers and besieged ; their supplies from the country were cut off; and the sea, which the British fleet kept open to them, was still a precarious ground of confidence. In fact, nothing was necessary for the complete ruin of an army, on which the fate of a kingdom depended, but that Tyrone should remain quietly in the position he had selected. O'Neill knew his advantages well, and could not be tempted, by all the arts of the British leader, to quit his in- trenchments ; but the presumptuous Spaniard was eager to exhibit his valour in a pitched battle. Montjoy, having discovered by his spies the feel- ings of Don Juan, made use of the most ingenious artifices to increase his daring. He sent pretended deserters into the town, who described the English ^army as reduced to a shocking state of disorganiza- tion ; and asserted, that the soldiers were so worn
CIVIL WARS OP IRELAND. 220
down with fatigue and famine, as to be incapable of an effective resistance. Don Juan wrote the most pressing letters to O'Neill, urging him to crush the English at once, and promising to aid him by a sally fk)m the town. O'Neill continued to refuse ; but the chiefs, by whom he was supported, joined in the solicitations of the Spaniard, and an unwilling assent was at length wrung jfrom the gallant chief- tain.
It was resolved to attack the English camp by night. The spies revealed the plan to Montjoy, and he made his preparations accordingly. The moment that O'Neill saw the English lines, he knew that he was betrayed. On the instant he determined to change his plan of action ; but his orders were misunderstood by a portion of the troops, and his lines were thus broken. The Earl of Clanricarde, and Wingfield, marshal of the horse, precipitated their cavalry through this fatal gap, and the fate of the battle was decided. O'Neill made several des- perate efforts to retrieve the fortune of the day ; but he was badly seconded by the other leaders, and forced at length to fly. O'Donnel, who com- manded the rear, made no attempt at resistance, but fled without striking a blow. The carnage was dreadful. No quarter was given, except to a few of the Spaniards ; and the Irish Lords who were made prisoners were hanged the morning after the action, O'Neill wished to persuade his followers to resume their former station, or to try the chances of a se- cond battle ; but their spirits were effectually broken, and they almost unanimously resolved to return home.
Don Juan now offered to capitulate, and terms of surrender were proposed. Like a true Spaniard,
230 HISTORY OF THE
he raised numberless scruples on trifling points of etiquette, but neglected matters of greater import- ance. Montjoy, whose interest it was to terminate the war as speedily as possible, made some sacrifices to Castilian pride, and obtained quiet possession of the castles garrisoned by the Spaniards. O'Sulli- van, an Irish chieftain of some note, was by no means satisfied with this arrangement. He turned the Spaniards out of his castle at Dunboy, garri- •4Boned it with his own followers, and resolved on an obstinate defence. The strength of the castle se- verely taxed the ingenuity of the general and the valour of his soldiers. At length a lodgment was effected on the walls, but the garrison refused to yield. They fought the besiegers from room to room ; and when at last driven to the cellar, the governor made a desperate, but fortunately a vain attempt, to blow up victors and vanquished, by plung- ing a torch into a barrel of gunpowder.
The war in Munster was now virtually over. The principal Irish Lords that escaped the sword fled to Spain, where their descendants still may be found. O' Sullivan Beare refused to become an exile ; and, collecting the remnant of the southern insurgents, maintained a predatory warfare under cover of the western bogs and mountains. This hopeless contest was attended by a horrid waste of life, for both parties invariably murdered their pri- soners* O'Sullivan was finally reduced to such straits by the vigour of Carew, that he resolved to force his way into Ulster, and unite his shattered troops with those of Tyrone. Carew sent a strong body of light troops to harass the fugitives ; but, maddened by despair, they turned on their pursuers, fnd boldly gave them battle. The Irish suffered
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 231
severely in the contest ; but not a single English- man escaped.
The war of desolation was now renewed in the %orth ; and O'Neill saw, every day, his bravest fol- lowers perishing by the slow and painful death of femine. His hopes from Spain were gone ; his al- lies were either exiles, or had purchased precarious iSrfety by submission; and his proud heart was hum- bled, by witnessing calamities which he could not avert, and misery he was unable to relieve. He of* fered terms of accommodation, which Montjoy as readily accepted. Elizabeth was now on her death- bed ; and the enormities which she had sanctioned in Ireland, weighed heavily on her conscience. She now endeavoured to make some tardy reparation. Orders were issued to restore Sir Finin O'Drisool to his estate In Carbery, and to make peace with O'Neill on easy terms. As O'Driscol did not hap- pen to be particularly formidable, the Irish privy council first evaded, and then openly disobeyed the royal command ; but the name of O'Neill was still dreaded, and terms of peace were arranged. Before the news of this pacification could be sent to Eng- land, the intelligence of the Queen's death was re- ceived. O'Neill, on hearing of it, burst into a pas- sion of tears. The cause he assigned for this un- usual emotion, was regret for the death of a princess whose personal kindness he had requited by ingrati- tude. It is more probable, that he grieved for hav- ing lost the opportunity of making his return to al- legiance a personal compliment to the new sove- i:eign.
The imperfect subjugation of Ireland cost Eliza- beth more than three millions Sterling, and an in- calculable number of her bravest soldiers. The un-
232 HISTORY OP THE
fortunate country was reduced to a desert ; and at kast one half of the population perished by famine or the sword. The submission purchased at this tremendous cost, could not be sincere or permanent ; and the system to which Elizabeth trusted for secu- rity, manifestly increased the perils of her govern- ment. To extirpate the ancient nobility, and to divide their estates among the minions of the Eng- lish and Irish courts, was avowedly the object of several successive administrations ; and in pursuit of that object, the common principles of justice and humanity were flagrantly outraged. The under- takers were, in general, unprincipled adventurers, who showed no gratitude to the crown, and no mercy to the country ; they were faithless subjects and cruel masters. The great body of the peasantFji hated them as intruders, and despised them as up- starts ; nor was their conduct such as to diminish either feeling. Situated as Ireland was, the ancient aristocracy might easily have been made the bond of union between the people and the sovereign. Time would have broken up overgrown estates, and the ordinary progress of events ameliorated the feudal system ; but when the nobles were sacrificed to a faction, all the links of society were broken, and government deprived of the natural means of intro- ducing improvements. An additional danger re- sulted from the numbers of the Irish nobihty who, when driven into exile, fled to the Continent, and obtained employment in the armies of France and Spain. They never resigned the hope of returning to their country, and recovering, in a new struggle, the estates of which they had been plundered.
The commerce and trade of the country was an- nihilated by these protracted contests. The finances
CIVIL WARS OF IBELAND. 233
were so dilapidated, that they were inadequate to the ordinary expenses of the government, EHzabeth, in her distress, proceeded to debase the coin — an expe- dient which of course only multiplied the difficulties. Religion could not be expected to possess much influence amid the incessant din of arms. It was, to use the language of an old divine, " in every body's mouth, and in nobody's heart. " Efforts were made by many partisans of the government, and by the papal emissaries, to give the struggle the character of a religious war ; but they signally failed. Many of Elizabeth's bravest soldiers were bigotted Catholics, and yet they never for a moment swerved from their allegiance. Desmond, the leader in the second great war, notoriously oflPered to profess the reformed rdi- gion, if his estates could be secured ; and Hugh O'Neill was so openly regardless of disputed doc- trines, that his profession of anxiety to defend the true faith was hailed with shouts of ridicule by aU parties. " Hang thee, " said the Earl of Essex, with equal humour and truth, " thou talkest of a free exercise of religion I thou carest as much for religion as my horse ! "
.S34 ,. HISTORY OF THE
^^ CHAPTER XIII.
TTie Reign of James I,
'The accession of James I. caused no little anxiety among all parties in Ireland. His real character was unknown to the leaders of the English interest : the Irish Catholics believed that in him they would find a patron and a friend. They argued, that the son of Mary Queen of Scots, who had died a martyr to the faith, would not long continue to support heresy ; and, acting on this mistaken notion, they forthwith, in de- fiance of law, proceeded to establish the public exi- ercise of the Romish religion. The cities of Mun- ster were the foremost in this incautious display; and the Lord Lieutenant immediately marched south** wards to crush this dangerous spirit. When Mont-* joy arrived before Wateiford, he was met by a deputa- tion of the citizens, accompanied by two monks, eager to exhibit their skill in argumentative oratory. The ecdesiastics pleaded the crime of proclaiming as King an enemy to the faith. The citizens showed a char- ter of King John, by which Waterford was excused from quartering soldiers. Montjoy silenced the monks, by detecting them in a misquotation from St Austin ; and terrified the citizens by threatening, if the gates were not instantly opened, that " he would cut asunder the charter of King John with the sword
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 235
" of King James I " Such reasoning was irresistible ; the city at once yielded ; and in a few days Clonmel and Cashel imitated the example. Cork showed ra- ther more obstinacy ; but it surrendered after a short and a few of the leaders were executed. The last act of Montjoy's government was one that confers deserved honour on his name. He published an act of general oblivion and indemnity for all offences committed before his Majesty's accession ; and he received, under the protection of the British law, the whole body of the Irish peasantry, who had been hitherto left at the absolute disposal of their chief- tains. Montjoy appointed Sir George Carew his deputy, and returned to England, accompanied by Hugh O'Neill and Roderick O'Donnel. The King received both the chieftains very graciously. He confirmed O'Neill in his title of Tyrone, and all his honours and estates. He revived, in favour of O'Donnel, the dormant title of Tyrconnel. The Irish Lords returned to Ireland, but were soon des- tined to experience, a second time, how frail a de- fence was afforded by the protection of the sove- reign, against the inveterate hostility of the faction that monopolized the local government. • - Sir Arthur Chichester, the new Lord Lieutenant, laboured strenuously to accomplish the great work of introducing the system of English law, which his predecessor had begun. The customs of tanistry and gavelkind were declared illegal ; the tenures of land modelled after the English form ; the division of the island into counties completed ; and the cir- ^croits of the judges permanently established. Ij^- '^rtunately, the good effects of these beneficial mea- fieares were more than counterbalanced by the revival ^ the penal code, which Sir Arthur Chichester ad-
2S6 HISTORY OF THE
ministered with a vigour beyond the law. The King was a vain and contemptible pedant, proud of his talents as a theologian, and seriously persuaded that his pen ought to be sufficient for the conversion of a people. Chichester, his lieutenant, was cruel and avaricious. His great anxiety was to make a fortune, and we shall soon see how perfectly he sue-? ceeded. The punishment of recusants at this time was the more strange, as James was more than sus- pected of a secret attachment to the Romish doc- trines. It was equally impolitic and unjust, for the Irish had no choice ; they must either have adopted the Catholic religion or none, as they were wholly des- titute of Protestant instructors. The act of Elizabeth inflicted a pecuniary fine on recusants. Chichester added deprivation of office and imprisonment. The Catholics of the Pale humbly remonstrated against these illegal hardships. Chichester, unable to con-t fute their arguments, sent the remonstrants to prison likewise.
In the midst of the confusion occasioned by these proceedings, the hearts of the local functionaries were delighted by the news of a Plot. The dis- covery of what is usually called Gunpowder Treason, and the real nature of the conspiracy formed by Catesby, Percy and Guy Fawkes, are problems of which the solution is not yet quite complete. The accounts published by royal authority are obscure and perplexed in the extreme ; the statements made by the counsel for the crown on the trials are not borne out by the evidence ; and the witnesses do not seem to have been the persons who could have given the best information. StiU there can be no doubt of the existence of this atrocious conspiracy, though all the details are uncertain. The account given by
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 237
Dryden of another plot, is much more applicable to this.
" Succeeding times did equal folly call. Believing Nothing, or believing all. "
The Irish privy council felt, of pretended, a great alarm, when they received the news of the danger to which the King had been exposed. With much more reason the CathoKc lords were filled with consternation ; for the crime was unhesitatingly a- scribed to all th^ professors of the Romish religion. A letter was dropped in the council-chamber, darkly hinting, that there was a plot formed by the Irish Ca- tholic lords against the State. No names were men- tioned, no particulars given ; and yet, the local go- vernment at once fixed upon the Earls of Tyrone and Tyrconnel, as the agents of this pretended con- spiracy. Both these lords were certainly discontent- ed* They knew that they were viewed with jealousy and hostility by the officers of state ; and they were conscious that they had frequently, in conversation, uttered sentiments which might easily be distorted into proofs of disaffection. They had learned, by bitter experience, in a former reign, that the Irish government was not very scrupulous in the use of means for increasing confiscations ; and, as they were wholly unprepared for resistance, they fled to the Continent. Strange it is, that grave historians should quote their flight, an undeniable proof of their innocence, as an evidence of their guilt. Had any such conspiracy existed, O'Neill, who had be- fore maintained a brave war against Elizabeth, would have been prepared with forces sufficient for his de- fence, and, perhaps, powerful enough to peril the security of the state. But he was totally destitute VOL. I. , P
238 HISTORY OF THE
of soldiers, money, arms, or ammunition, for he had entertained no thoughts of war. In his case, inno- cence was weakness, and consequently ruin. It has been asked, " why then did he not stand his trial ? '^ He might have answered, as another unfortunate Irish exile did in a similar case, " What chance would a fat goose have before a jury of foxes ? " Those who have looked into those records of guilt and oppres- sion, the State Trials, and especially those of Ire- land, will entertain no doubt of what the event would have been, if he had appeared before the royal court. Tlie charge for hiring witnesses was long in Ireland one of the ordinary expenses of the civil government. The name of O Neill, was well known on the Continent ; and in every European nation, the treat- ment he had received became a tubject of reproach against England. James, in consequence, publish- ed a proclamation, unfortunately too long for in- sertion, as it is a curiosity in its way, stating, in general terms, the guilt of the fugitive Earls. This document, which contains nothing but vague and general charges, mixed with no small share of per- sonal abuse, served only to prove that the King's injustice could neither be excused nor defended. Sir Cahir O'Dogherty, another chieftain of the north, took up arms under circumstances that seem to prove his insanity.. He was easily crushed, and his immense estates added to the forfeitures of Ty- rone and Tyrconnel.
The confiscations thus made by James, included the six counties of Tyrconnel, now called Donegal Tyrone, Derry, Fermanagh, Cavan, and Armagh containing more than half a million of acres. Th( King, without paying any regard to the rights of th( occupants, determined to mtth ia these districts co
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 239
iiinies from England and Scotland, and to drive the actual inhabitants into the woods and mountains. This iniquitous scheme is whoUy inexcusable. The [Irish chiefs possessed the sovereignty, but not the property of the soil ; consequently the guilt of O'Neill and O'Donnell, though ever so clearly proved, leould not affect the rights of their feudatories, who (Were not even accused of treason. The English law of forfeiture, in itself sufficiently unjust, never de- clared that the interests of innocent tenants should be sacrificed for the rebellion of the landlord ; it only placed the King in the place of him whose pro- perty had been forfeited, and left all the relations of the tenantry unaltered. Yet were all the actual liolders of land in these devoted districts dispossess- ed without even the shadow of a pretence ; and this abominable wickedness is eulogised by many even at Ae present day, as the very consummation of politi- cal wisdom I
The scheme of plantation devised by James, sur- passed that of his predecessor. The lands were di- vided into portions of two thousand, fifteen hundred, and one thousand acres, according to the capacity of the undertakers. They were bound to sublet only to English tenants ; to give these secure leases on equitable terms ; to erect houses after the English £ishion ; and to adopt the English system of agri- culture. They were strictly prohibited fi-om giving land to the mere Irish, or to such persons as refused the oaths of allegiance and supremacy. The com- panies in the city of London obtained very large grants as undertakers ; and it is but justice to add, that their estates are, and long have been, the best mianaged in Ireland. Few complaints would be made of absenteeism, if the estates of all absentees were
'240 HISTORY OF THE
managed with so much attention to the comforts ot the tenantry, and the general welfare of the country^ as those of the London companies. In the com- mencement of the plantation, their conduct was, however, far different ; they openly, and almost a- vowedly, violated every part of their contract ; they acted entirely by agents, in whose selection little care was taken ; and they permitted them to exhaust, in private emolument, resources of which they were? slow in learning the value. '^
The order of baronetage was instituted by James ; and this title was curiously connected with the plan- tation of Ulster. The number of baronets was li- mited to two hundred ; and each who received the dignity, was forced to pay to the crown a sum suffix cient to support thirty men for the space of three years/ in order to defend the new settlement. The money was never applied to this purpose, but was wasted in the riotous extravagance of the royal household.
Sir Arthur Chichester, the great contriver of this extensive scheme of spoliation, received as a reward the territory of Inishowen, and the greater part of the estates that had belonged to Sir Cahir O'Dog- herty. It was manifestly of importance to have this extensive transfer of property secured by legislative enactment ; and, for this purpose, it was resolved to summon a parliament, for the first time during a space of twenty-seven years. There was every rea- son to dread that the government would encounter a vigorous opposition, if the members of the Lower House were fairly elected ; for the illegal violence of Chichester, his rigorous exclusion of recusants from office, and his determination to continue the penalties for refusing to attend the established wor- ship, had excited universal alarm among the Lords of
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 241
Hke Pale, as well as the native Irish, To provide against this danger, James created forty boroughs at once. Created is the proper term ; for, in the great inajority of them, it would have been difficult to discover the town or village which was thus sudden- ly incorporated. Even those places which had some- tning more than nominal existence, received charters full of blunders and inconsistencies, which placed the result of the elections at the discretion of the re- turning officers.
A. D. 1613. — Notwithstanding all these precau- tions, the recusants mustered in great strength, and made a public entry into DubUn, with numerous trains of attendants and retainers. The Upper House consisted of sixteen Barons, five Viscounts, four Earls, and twenty-five spiritual Peers. As the pre- lates were unanimous in the support of government, and were supported by a majority of the temporal peers, the influence of the crown in the Upper House was irresistible. Parties were more nearly balanced in the House of Commons, and both eagerly era- braced the first opportunity of trying their strength in, the election of a speaker. The friends of the BBOurt proposed the Attorney-General, Sir John iDavis ; and the country party nominated Sir John lEverard, a lawyer of a respectable family, and equal- ly eminent for his ability and integrity. After a ong time had been wasted in violent altercation, the iers called for a division. It was agreed that e Ayes, or supporters of Davis, should go out, and :he Noes remain. The votes were, for Sir John Davis 127, for Sir John Everard 97. But the elecr tion was not decided immediately by this vote. A scene took place previously, so utterly absurd, that we can with difficulty bring ourselves to believe that
242 HISTORY OF THE
any such could have taken place in a deliberative assembly. No sooner had the " Ayes " withdrawn, than the recusants voted themselves the House of Commons by acclamation, and unanimously called on Sir John Everard to take the chair. When the government party returned, they were equally sur- prised and indignant at the trick. They attempted to pull Everard from the chair, but, failing in this effort, they placed Sir John Davis in his lap. This only added to the confusion. A disgraceful tumult followed, which at last terminated in the retirement of the recusants, who protested against the entire constitution and proceedings of the parliament, as informal and illegal.
The recusant Lords in the Upper House imitated this example. A convention of all who had with- drawn was formed, and a deputation chosen to pre- sent a remonstrance to the King. The Lord Lieu- tenant, on the other hand, sent over the Earl of Thomond, the Chief-justice of the King's Bench, and the Lord Treasurer, to defend the Irish govern- ment. Both parties were heard before the King in council ; and James, as might easily have been fore- seen, decided in favour of his servants. He fa- voured the remonstrants with a lecture on the pater- nal kindness of his government, in his own pecu- liar style of eloquence ; and ended with a threat of punishment for their late hardihood, and a promise of favour, if they made atonement by future sub- mission.
The country-party, though still powerful, made no further opposition. The bill for ratifying the at- tainders of O'Neill, O'Donnell, and O'Dogherty, were passed unanimously, and a subsidy was granted to the King with great alacrity ; for the rival ia
1
CIVIt WAHS OF IHELAND. 243.
tfons eagerly sought to claim the exclusive merit of ^e grant.
. The success of the northern plantation gave James a taste for confiscations, which the Irish officers of the crown were eager to encourage. All their inge- nuity was not, however, equal to the invention of a new plot ; — they therefore devised a scheme more certain in its effects, and more glaringly iniquitous. This was the " commission for the discovery of de- fective titles ;" at the head of which was placed Sir William Parsons, an unprincipled adventurer, on whom craft and crime has conferred an unenviable notoriety. During the long civil wars that had de- vastated the island in the preceding reigns, and es- pecially the last, property had been in a state of constant fluctuation. Deeds were lost — documents destroyed — feudal services left unperformed — and lents to the crown unpaid. By taking advantage of these circumstances, the King obtained the forfei- ture of another half million of acres. A class of informers, called Discoverers, was regularly employ- ed by the officers of the crown, to search out de- flective titles. They were rewarded by grants of con- cealed lands belonging to the crown ; and the King was interested in their support, by the hope of an advanced rent, or a heavy composition. The united avarice and prodigality of the King thus induced him to make his administration nothing better than a system of robbery ; but his officers in Ireland went far beyond their master in iniquity, and plundered with strict impartiality the loyal and the suspected, the opponents of the government, and those who had been taken under the protection of the crown.
One case may be quoted, as a specimen of Irish justice in those days. Bryjm and Turlogh Byrne
244 HISTORY OF THE
were the rightful owners of a tract in Leinster, called the Ranelaghs. Its vicinity to the capital made it a desirable plunder ; and accordingly Parsons, Lord Esmond, and some others, determined that it should be forfeited. The Byrnes, however, had powerful interest in England, and obtained a patent grant of their lands from the King. Parsons and Esmond were not to be disappointed so easily. They flatly refused to pass the royal grant ; and, deeming the destruction of the Byrnes necessary to their safety^ they had them arrested on a charge of treason. The witnesses provided to support the charge, were Duffe, whom Turlogh Byrne, as a justice of the peace, had sent to prison for cow-stealing, MacArt and Mac-' Griffin, two notorious thieves, and a farmer named Archer. This last long resisted the attempts to force him to become a perjured witness ; and his ob- stinacy was punished by the most horrible tortures. He was burned in the fleshy parts of the body with hot irons ; placed on a gridiron over a charcoal fire ; and, finally, flogged until nature could support him no longer, and he promised to swear any thing that the commissioners pleased. Bills of indictment were presented to two successive Grand Juries in the coun- ty of Carlow, and at once ignored, as the suborned witnesses were unworthy of credit, and contradicted themselves and each other. For this opposition to the will of government, the jurors were summoned to the Star-Chamber in Dublin, and heavily fined. The witnesses, MacArt and MacGriffin, being no longer useful, were given up to the vengeance of the law. They were hanged for robbery at Kilkenny ; and, with their dying breath, declared the innocence of the Byrnes.
The ingenuity of Parsons and his accomplices
i
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 245
was not yet exhausted. The Byrnes presented them-^ selves before the Court of King's Bench in Dublin, to answer any charge that might be brought against i^iem. No prosecutor appeared, and yet the Chief- justice refused to grant their discharge. During two years, repeated orders were transmitted from England, directing that the Byrnes should be freed from further process, and restored to their estates ; but the faction in the castle evaded and disobeyed every mandate. At length, on learning that the Duke of Richmond, the generous patron of the per- secuted Irishmen, was dead, it was determined by Parsons to complete the destruction of the victims. He had before been baffled by the integrity of a Grand Jury ; on this occasion, he took proper pre- cautions to prevent a similar disappointment. The bills were sent before the Grand Jurors of Wicklow, the majority of whom had obtained grants of the Byrne property, and all were intimately connected with the prosecutors. The evidence placed before this impartial body was the depositions of four cri- minals, who were pardoned on condition of giving evidence ; but even these wretches were not brought in person before the jury. Their depositions were taken in Irish by one of the prosecutors, and trans- lated by one of his creatures. These suspicious do^ cuments, however, proved sufficient, and the biUs were found.
• To procure additional evidence, it was necessary to use expedients still more atrocious. A number of persons were seized, and subjected to the mock- ery of trial by martial law, though the regular courts were sitting. The most horrid tortures were inflict- ed on those who refused to accuse the Byrnes ; and aome of the most obstinate were punished with death.
246 HISTORY OF THE
But the firmness of the victims presented obstacles which were not overcome, before some virtuous EngHshmen represented the affair so strongly to the King that he was shamed into interference. He sent over commissioners from England to investigate the entire affair. The Byrnes were brought before them, and honourably acquitted. Their lives were thus saved ; but Parsons had previously contrived to obtain a great portion of their estates by patent, and was permitted to keep them undisturbed.
This narrative, which has been rather softened in its horrible details, may appear to many too shock- ing to be believed ; but all the documents connect- ed with it are still preserved in the library of the Dublin University, and it is circumstantially related by Carte, a historian remarkable for his hostility to the Irish. Neither have the worst parts of the trans- action been without a parallel in more modern times. Evidence obtained by indiscriminate torture was used, for the destruction of individuals whose poli- tical sentiments were adverse to those of the domi- nant faction, at a period not yet removed beyond the memory of man.
The local government of Ireland, during the re- mainder of this disgraceful reign, was in every re- spect consonant to the specimen already given. Martial law was proclaimed in times of peace ; re- fractory witnesses were tortured ; obstinate jurors lined and imprisoned ; the ecclesiastical courts be- came instruments of intolerable oppression ; the judges of the land were cruel, venal, and profligate. Peculation pervaded every office of the state ; the army mouldered away, for the commanders were members of the privy council, and voted themselves the pay for full companies, while the number of
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 247
soldiers actually employed scarcely exceeded one- third of those entered on the returns; and such was the extent of public plunder, that the annual charge of the government exceeded by sixteen thousand pounds the annual revenue of the kingdom.
The rapacity of the discoverers, and the avarice of the monarch, was still unsatisfied ; and a new scheme of confiscation was devised, which, if put into exe- cution, would have forfeited the entire province of Connaught. During the reign of Elizabeth, the lords and gentry of this province had surrendered their lands to Sir John Perrot, and received them back as grants fi-om the Queen. Having neglected the enrolment of their patents, they again surrender- ed them to James, and paid a sum of three thousand pounds to have them enrolled. The officers of the Court of Chancery, from negligence or some other more culpable motive, omitted this form ; and the King, at the close of his reign, prepared to take ad- vantage of this clerical error, and seize on Connaught as he had on Ulster. The proprietors were filled with consternation at this alarming project, and im- mediately prepared to avert the blow. They knew that it would be useless to appeal to the King's jus- tice, his honour, or his humanity ; but they were aware that he was greedy and necessitous, and there- fore tendered him a bribe of ten thousand pounds. While James hesitated between the temptation of this sum in hand, and a larger in prospect, he was seized with mortal illness, and died, bequeathing to his son three kingdoms filled with internal discord, and involved in external wars, from which neither honour nor profit could be derived.
248 HISTORY OF THE
CHAPTER XIV.
Prom the Accession of Charles I. to the Commencement of the -â– great Civil War in Ulster,
There never was a time in which the spirit of re» ligious fanaticism was more fierce and intolerant, than the period to which we have now arrived. In England and Scotland, the Episcopalians and the Puritans were violently opposed ; in Ireland, the Protestant and Catholic interests were guided by the fiercest animosity. The Catholics received, with the utmost reverence, a bull from Pope Urban VIII., in which his Holiness asserted, that the oath of supre- macy " wrested the sceptre of the Catholic church from the hand of the Almighty. " The Protestant prelates, headed by Archbishop Usher, published a declaration, stating, that those who tolerated Popery were " guilty of a grievous sin, and rendered them- selves accessary to idolatry, abomination, and the perdition of souls, which perished in the deluge of Catholic apostasy. " The political condition of Ire- land was still more perplexing. The faction which had hitherto ruled the country had squandered the revenue, neglected the defences, and exhausted the resources of the nation. In Ulster, the original in* habitants, deprived of their lands, supported a miser- able existence in mountains and remote districts, wait*
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 24§
ing patiehtly for a favourable time, when the possessions of which they had been despoiled might be recovered. The unprincipled attempt of the late King to seize on all the lands in Connaught, spread great alarm among all the old proprietors of Irish estates. There was no tenure sufficiently secure to resist the acts of the discoverers, especially when the officers of state and the judges of the realm had joined in their alliance. Much, however, was to be hoped from a new sovereign ; and the Catholic recusants, then form- ing an overwhelming majority of the Irish proprie- tary, joined by several Protestants of rank, held a meeting in Dublin to propose measures for tranquil- lizing the country.
A. D. 1628. — The entire proceedings of this as- sembly were marked by wisdom and moderation; They drew up a number of articles in the nature of a Bill of Rights, to which they humbly solicited the Royal assent, and promised that, on their being grant- ed, they would raise a voluntary assessment of one hundred thousand pounds for the use of the crown. The principal articles in these Graces, as they are called, were provisions for the security of propertyj the due administration of justice, the prevention of military exactions, the freedom of trade, the better re- gulation of the clergy, and the restraining * of the ty-
* The wording of this clause proves, that however the es- tablished clergy of the day may have neglected their spirituail duties, they took care of their temporal concerns. It tuns thus : " That no extraordinary warrants of assistance, touching clan- destine marriages, christenings, or burials, or any contumacies pretended against ecclesiastical jurisdiction, are to be issued or executed by any chief governour ; nor are the clergy to be per- , mitted to keep any private prisons of their own for their ovm pauses ; but delinquents in that kind are henceforth to be committed to the king's pubhc gaols and by the king's offi- cers. "
260 HISTORY OF THE
ranny of the ecclesiastical courts. Finally, they pro- vided, that the Scots who had been planted in Ulster should be secured in their possessions, and a general pardon granted for all offences.
It is manifest, that these articles were not on y founded in equity, but in policy ; that they were well calculated to tranquillize the nation, by securing the blessings of good government ; and that a sovereign, possessing the least spark of wisdom or beneficence, ought gladly to have seized so splendid an opportu*- nity of restoring peace and prosperity to his distract- ed subjects. It is but just to add, that Charles seemed impressed by the reasonableness of the pro- posals made by his Irish subjects ; his heart was not naturally bad, but he was weak and wavering. A clamour was raised by the faction of the ascendancy in Ireland, and echoed by the Puritans in England, that these Graces were exclusively designed for the benefit of the Catholics; Charles became alarmed, and in an evil hour yielded to the treacherous ad- vice of Strafford. With detestable duplicity he ac- cepted the proffered money, while he secretly resolv- ed that the promised Graces should never be grant- ed. A technical informality in the writs for sum- moning parliament, served as an excuse for delaying the Graces during the administration of Lord Falk- land. When he departed, the sword was commit- ted to two Lords-justices, Loftus the Chancellor, and Richard Earl of Cork. They were said to be disinclined to concession, and their unwillingness was made a pretence for further delay. At lengtli the government was transferred to Thomas Viscount Wentworth, better known by his subsequent title of Earl of Strafford, who voluntarily took upon him- self the odium of refusing them altogether.
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 251
. The administration of the Earl of Strafford forms an important era in the history of Ireland. He came iover at the moment of a crisis which was to deter- mine whether the country was to enjoy peace and prosperity, or be subjected to a new course of dis- cord and calamity. Through ignorance rather than design, he adopted a system which inevitably led to ihe latter, and involved himself and his master in the general ruin. His character has often been the theme of unmeasured eulogy, and equally extrava- gant vituperation, because he was himself gr eat in his qualities both of good and evil. While, how- ever, in England some are found to advocate the cause of this unfortunate statesman, his name is at ihis hour intensely detested in Ireland. There is not a peasant who passes the ruins of the magnifi- cent edifice which he began to erect near Naas, that does not vent an execration against " Black Tom, " the tyrant and persecutor. The traditions respecting his violence and oppression, contain the most ex- aggerated tales of cruelty, bloodshed and robbery, more like the anecdotes of a leader of banditti in the eleventh century, than of a civil governor in the^ seventeenth. The Catholics, whom he certainly out- raged, by persuading the King to break his promise scJ.emnly plighted, and the puritanical Protestants, whose party he detested, have both combined to blacken his memory, as they both joined to destroy his life. His very virtues have been tortured into crimes ; the benefits which he unquestionably la- boured to confer, represented as instances of malig- nity and hate. It is impossible to deny that his go- vernment was the great source of that terrible floo4 ,«f evil which soon after overwhelmed the land ; but , die character of an action is not always to be deter-
252 ttiSToRY OF tHE
mined by its consequences. Strafford must not be corl- demnedj because that circumstances, which he could not have foreseen, made his best measures produc- tive of nought but evil. His history should be a warning to those statesmen who scruple not to use bad means for the accomplishment of a good purpose : they may, like him, be hurried away before their la- bour is accomplished ; and the evil means falling in- to less pure and less able handsj may be directed to work incalculable mischief.
Strafford had heard that Ireland was turbulent and disaflPected. He regarded it as a conquered country, whose inhabitants possessed no civil rights but by the mercy of the crown. He therefore resolved to make the sternest despotism the principle of his go- vernment, and to admit of no opposition to his im- perious will. He avowed and defended these senti- ments on his trial, when he was accused of endea- vouring to make the King absolute in Ireland, pre- paratory to a similar attempt in England ; and there can be no doubt that he conceived himself fully jus- tified in his opinions. He was also prepossessed against all the leading men of Ireland, but more especially against the best and most truly patriotic nobleman of the day, Richard Earl of Cork. Ori- ginally a cadet in the army of Elizabeth, Richard Boyle had risen to fame and fortune by honourable services. A fortunate marriage, and the purchase of the grants made to Sir Walter Raleigh, gave him extensive estates in the south of Ireland. These he diligently improved, by introducing English Protest* ants, by encouraging manufactures, and by erecting useful public works at his own expense. While he thus permanently benefited the country, he extended his own resources ; but there was no foul blot on
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 253
Ws charactet: he had not trafficked in plots, nor traded in confiscations, but ever acted consistently with the principle expressed in his motto, " God's providence is my inheritance. " Schools and alms- houses, which he erected in his towns of Youghal, Xfismore, and Bandon, still testify his benevolence ; and the crimes which led to the extensive confiscations in the reign of Elizabeth, would have been forgiven, and perhaps forgotten, if all the new proprietors had acted as well, and as wisely, as Richard Earl of Cork.
The Earl of Strafford, not contented with deny- ing the promised Graces, prepared to execute the project of a new plantation in Connaught, which •James had planned. His proceedings, in this un- dertaking, were characterized by more than ordinary vigour, and by more open violations of justice than had been expected. His own letters inform us of the preliminaries which he deemed necessary before entering on a judicial investigation of the King's title to the estates in the west of Ireland. " He took with him to each town where an inquisition was held, five hundred horsemen, as good loohers- -on. He treated with such persons as might give iurtherance in finding for the King. He inquired out Jif men to serve upon juries. He obtained a 'grant of four shillings in the pound out of the first year's rent of every estate, vested in the Crown by these inquisitions, to the Lord Chief-Justice and the Chief Baron." In Leitrim, Roscommon, Mayo, and Sligo, these precautions were found effective : the juries in every instance found a verdict for the Crown. In Galway, however, the jurors, trusting that they would be supported by the influence of the Earl of Clanricarde, ventured to give a contrary ver- dict. The irritated Lord Lieutenant immediately
VOL. I. Q
iS54 HISTORY OF THE
fined the Sheriff a thousand pounds for returning an improper jury, and bound over the jurors to an- swer for themselves before the Star-Chamber.
The compositions which the Lord Lieutenant • extorted from those who had neglected the condi- tions of their grants, were exorbitant in the ex- treme. He compelled the O'Byrnes to pay seven- teen thousand pounds to remedy a pretended defect of title, and extorted no less than seventy thousand from the London Companies that had obtained estates in Ulster. This latter circumstance added, in no small degree, to the popular clamour which had been raised in England against the pride and tyranny of Strafford. Indeed, it was probably one of the principal causes of his ruin ; for thenceforward the citizens of London became his deadly enemies, and exerted all their influence to procure his destruction.
The conduct pursued by the haughty governor towards the Irish nobility was incredibly rigorous. Lord Wilmot and the Earl of Cork were fined for alleged usurpations of property. The Earl of Kil- dare was sent to prison ; but the amazing severity shown to Lord Mountnorris, transcended all the o- thers so much, that the outcry was general through- out England and Ireland.
Sir Francis Annesley, afterwards created Lord Mountnorris, was one of the few adventurers, in the reigns of Elizabeth and James, that amassed a for- tune by honourable means. He was a pattern of integrity, and was particularly remarkable for the rare virtue of doing justice to the native Irish. He was the principal means of rescuing the O'Byrnes from the machinations of Parsons and Esmond, and had, on several occasions, come forward as the advocate of the innocent and the oppressed. His stern in«
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 253
^fcpendence was displeasing to Strafford, who took every opportunity of mortifying him in the official situation which he held, that of Vice-treasurer. Mountnorris suppressed his resentment ; but as he had cause to be offended, it was, of course, conclud- ed that he cherished some secret hostility ; and he was closely watched by the spies of the government. At a dinner given by the Lord Chancellor, it was casually observed by one of the guests, that Straf- ford had been much provoked by a domestic, who had hurt his gouty foot while removing a stool. This domestic had formerly been insulted by the chief governor ; in reference to which, Mountnorris observed, that he had probably acted by design ; " but, " added he, " the gentleman has a brother, who would not have taken such a revenge. " For this very innocent remark, Mountnorris was arrested, and brought to trial before a court-martial, over which Strafford presided in person. The pretence for this species of trial was, that Mountnorris com- manded a company in the royal army, and that the words which he uttered were mutiny. The proceed- ings of the court were brief and decided. Mount- norris was found guilty of " impeaching the obeying his general, " and sentenced to military execution. The infamy of thi^ transaction is not lessened, by the sentence not having been put in force. The fact, that a nobleman was subjected to a long and tedious imprisonment, to every indignity which the msolence of office could dictate, and to the mortifi- cation of an ignominious sentence, for an innocent remark, made in the midst of conviviality, cannot be extenuated, because a tardy pardon was wrung from .the reluctant shame of his bitter persecutors. - The general administration of Strafford, though
256 HISTORY OF THE
criminal in the extreme, possessed merits of a supe- rior order, though not sufficient to redeem its guilt. He laboured successfully to improve the character of the established church, by raising the qualifications •of the clergy. He exacted from the rectors and cu- Tates a stricter attention to their parochial duties than they had previously bestowed, and rewarded them hy restoring to the church a large portion of eccle- siastical revenue, which had been illegally seized by the aristocracy. In enforcing the penal laws, Straf- ford showed so much moderation, that he was ac- cused by the Puritans of encouraging Popery ; but this was in some degree counterbalanced, by his at- tack on the proprietors of Connaught. The scheme of a western plantation, which he had matured at the expense of so much guilt, was finally laid aside, in consequence of the universal outcry raised against such monstrous iniquity. The greatest blessing that Strafford conferred on Ireland, was the establish- ment of the linen manufactory, long afterwards the staple manufacture of the country. It must, however, be added, that he also successfully laboured to des- troy the manufacture of cloths, which was beginning to flourish, fearing that the Irish, having wool cheaper, would rival the trade of England. This was, however, the political economy of his day, and has not wanted advocates and imitators in more enlightened periods. The trade and commerce of Ireland increased ra- pidly under the firm and vigorous government of Strafford. The revenue improved with amazing ra- pidity ; and the Exchequer, exhausted at his arri- val, was full when he departed. The army, which had fallen into a shocking state of disorganization, was, by his exertion, made available for the support of the government and the defence of the country.
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 257
The revolt of his Scottish subjects compelled Charles to recal the ablest of his ministers from the government of Ireland. Before Strafford departed, he obtained the vote of a large subsidy from the Irish Parliament, which was declared to be an act of gratitude for the benefits that the country had re- ceived from the wise administration of the Lord Lieu- tenant. In a few months after his departure, the vote for the subsidy was virtually rescinded, and Strafford was impeached by the very parliament that had lately loaded him with fulsome adulation. Wan- desford, whom Strafford had left in Ireland as hi& deputy, died of a broken heart, in consequence of the vexations to which he was subjected by the Re- cusants and Puritans, who had suddenly formed an' alliance against the government.
The unfortunate monarch was now in the begin- ning of those troubles that afterwards deprived him of his life and crown. He knew that the Puritans' were his most zealous enemies ; and yet, at this cri-' tical moment, he intrusted the government of Ire- land to Parsons and Borlase, men completely at the disposal of the English parliament. We have al- ready given some account of the conduct of Parsons in his office of commissioner of forfeitures. It is . only necessary to add, that he professed the most rigid principles of Puritanism, and veiled his insa- tiable rapacity under the cloak of affected sanctity. His colleague. Sir John Borlase, was a mere sol- dier. He had received little or no education ; his understanding was mean and contemptible ; and he had imbibed all the prejudices and all the ferocity 'â– which distinguished the violent factions of that un- happy period. Borlase was governed by his wily colleague ; and both immediately joined in employ-
258 HISTORY OP THK
iiig all their power to oppose the interests, and thwart the wishes of their sovereign. They aided the parliament in preventing the levies which the King of Spain wished to make in Ireland, and thus kept in the country those men whom ambition, when left ungratified by military fame abroad, urged to seek distinction by civil war at home. They, however, soon found that the Irish parliament, hav- ing thrown off its customary submission to the crown, began to lose its respect for the delegated authority of Lords-justices ; and they therefore put an end to the session by prorogation.
The disputes between the King and his subjects in Britain, were daily becoming more alarming ; and the Irish exiles in every part of Europe began to contemplate an attempt to recover the property of which they had been deprived. The Irish of Ulster were notoriously eager to engage in any enterprise which would aiFord a promise of redeeming their wrongs. The people of Connaught, threatened with confiscation, were looking to arms as their best de- fence. The Recusants, dreading the intolerance of the Puritans, contemplated a struggle which could not be far distant. From the very beginning of the year 1641, it must have been evident to an accurate observer, that some commotion was near at hand ; but the Lords-justices were blind to approach- ing danger. They thought that the Irish, having been so long used to tyranny and oppression, would not make any defence for their religion and property, both of which were openly threatened by the govern- ment ; and they persevered in this state of fallacious security, until they had well nigh been made the victims of their folly.
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 259
-â– CHAiPTER XV.
r â–
^ The War of 1641 in Ulster,
We are now about to enter on the history of a pe- riod whose strange vicissitudes, extraordinary chances, and dreadful calamities, are unequalled in the annals <yf any age or nation. The great civil war of 1641 presented the novel spectacle of four armies, animat- â– ed by mutual hatred, wasting the country in desul- tory warfare, and exhausting themselves by insincere negotiations, until at length that which was infinite- ly the weakest triumphed, and consigned the rest to hopeless ruin. The native Irish, the confederates or Catholics of the Pale, and the Royalists, had com- itkon interests and common enemies, yet they could never be induced to form a sincere union; and the Parliamentarians, almost without an effort, conquer- ed all three, though inferior in strength and numbers to each separately. The three defeated parties threw the blame of their ruin on each other ; the victors libelled all ; and thus every narrative of these trans- -actions is full of the grossest misrepresentations to such an extent, that, in many instances, the truth cannot be discovered with any certainty. In such circumstances, the historian has a right to claim the indulgence of his readers, if, in some instances, his
260 HISTORY OF THE
account be found to contradict ancient prejudices, and to differ very materially from statements so often repeated, that they have almost received the autho- rity of axioms.
There has been no little confusion introduced into former histories of this eventful period, by the authors having neglected to distinguish between the causes and the occasions of the war. Most writers have argued, that there could have been little cause of complaint against the government, when the tran- quillity of the country had remained undisturbed for nearly half a century ; forgetting that every insurrec- tion which tyranny has provoked, broke out only when circumstances seemed favourable to the hopes of redress. The materials of a conflagration may be for years accumulating, but the presence of a torch is necessary to the bursting forth of the flame.
The plantation in Ulster, and the menace of si- milar spoliation in Connaught, completely and justly alienated the minds of the native Irish from the go- vernment. They believed that a determination had been taken to strip them of all their property, by a mixture of violence and chicanery ; and the conduct of the King and his ministers proved that they were not mistaken. In fact, the Royalists and the Parlia- mentarians in England, distinctly avowed their fixed resolution to colonize Ireland with good subjects; and opposed as they were in every thing else, Charles and the Commons showed wondrous unanimity in de vising plans for fresh confiscations. The virulent declarations of the English parliament against Po- pery were justly alarming to the Irish Catholics ; and the shameful execution, or rather judicial murder, of several priests in London, for the offence of saying mass, showed that the persecution threatened by the
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 261,
Puritans, would not long be confined to pecuniary penalties and disqualifications. The sin of tolerat-f ing Popery was a favourite theme with the Irish cler* gy of the established and Scottish church. Similar denunciations had been made even in the Irish Par- liament, and were only suppressed when the aid of the Recusants was required to complete the ruin of Strafford. The character of Parsons was a third cause of the rancorous hostility to government which was generally prevalent among the Irish. The ap- pointment of such a man to the office of Lord Jus- tice, was felt to be a direct sanction of the principles on which he acted^ The tragedy of the O' Byrnes was too enormous and too recent to be forgotten. There was every reason to expect that spoliation, and not protection, would be the chief object of an admi- nistration, at the head of which was a wicked and unprincipled adventurer.
The successful resistance of the Scotch, was the occasion of which the Irish lords determined to avail themselves. The attempt of the King to impose his religion and an arbitrary government on his countrymen, had been signally defeated. The re- bellion, if so it must be termed, of the Scotch, had been rewarded by the establishment of the religion of their choice, the security of constitutional free- dpm, and the general approbation of the English people. The flame of insurrection easily spreads from one country to 'another. We have ourselves witnessed countless examples of the contagion of re* volution. It is no wonder then that the Irish, who had suffered under severer wrongs, and had far greats er grievances to redress, should have resolved to emulate the successful revolt of their brethren in Scotland.
262 iirsTORY OF the
The chief heads of the Irish conspiracy were de- scended from those ancient famiUes that had been robbed of their hereditary estates in former reigns. O'Neill, the son of the deceased Earl of Tyrone, who held an important command in the service of Spain, and Roger Moore, a descendant of the old Lords of Leix, appear to have been, if not the con- trivers of the conspiracy, at least the principal agents in bringing it to maturity. Moore was the darling of his countrymen. He united the generous and lir beral disposition of the ancient chieftain, to the high and lofty principles of chivalry, which had not yet been totally extinguished in southern Europe. Ar- dent, enthusiastic, and daring, he resembled a herp of romance, rather than the leader of an insurrec- tion ; but these shining qualities were at that crisis less valuable than political wisdom ; and of this Moore possessed a very small share. The multi- tude were so taken with the brilliant accomplish- ments of their favourite, that it was a common ex- pression amongst them, " God and our Lady he our help, and Roger Moore. " The plan of revolt was sanctioned by Cardinal Richelieu, and by several Catholic potentates, principally through the influ- ence of young O'Neill ; and the death of that able young man by assassination, was the principal cause of the irregularity which soon appeared in the coun- cils of the other conspirators.
In fact, the whole of the plan was made known to the Lords Justices from a very early period. They were warned from England, that numbers of Irish officers had quitted the Continental armies to return home ; that ecclesiastical emissaries were flocking to Ireland ; and, at the same time, information was brought, that suspicious assemblages were frequently
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 263
Wd at the houses of the CathoHc lords. But Par- sons looked forward to a rebellion as his harvest. He had already gained a large fortune by trading in confiscations ; and he trusted that a new insurrection would place at his disposal more estates than even Strafford had ventured to contemplate. In fact, as Sir William Petty judiciously observes, there was BOW a great game to be played for the estates of the Irish proprietors. He adds — " But upon so great odds the English won, and have, among and besides other pretences, a gamester's right at least to their estates ; but as for the bloodshed in the contest, God alone knows who did occasion it."
On the 22d of October 1641, at a late hour in the evening. Parsons received information from a gentleman named Owen ConoUy, that a conspiracy had been formed for seizing the Castle of Dublin, and all the strong places in the kingdom, on the next day. He said, that he had been invited to join in the plot by MacMahon, a grandson of the great Earl of Tyrone ; and that he had, with difficulty, made his escape from that gentleman's house, to convey the information to government. Parsons paid very little attention to the detail. He desired Conolly to return to MacMahon, and endeavour to learn fur- ther particulars. Borlase, on hearing the account, was more alarmed than his colleague. He immedi- ately directed the council to be summoned, and in- stant search to be made for Conolly, who was found wandering in the streets. The delay and indecision of the justices gave the principal leaders time to e- scape ; but MacMahon and Lord MacGuire were taken, and, being examined before the Privy Coun- cil, fully confirmed all Conolly 's statements. . The war commenced in the north. The peasant-
264 HISTORY OF THE
ry that had been so cruelly driven from their lands, rushed down from their mountains, and swept ovei^ % the English plantations. There was little or no re- sistance made. The astonished settlers fled every where before the original proprietors ; and the roads leading to Dublin were fiUed with miserable crowds, driven from the lands which they had so long culti- vated. At first, the Irish were contented with mere- ly expelling the intruders; but a mob soon adds cruelty to violence, and, in several instances, the English were injured, and even murdered. Sir Phe- lim O'Neill, who headed the insurrection in Ulster, was a man of mean capacity, unimproved by educa- tion. He could not even, if he was inclined, re- strain the excesses of his followers ; but he seems not to have made an effort. The English and Scotch settlers retorted these outrages ; and, whenever they had an opportunity, massacred the Irish without mercy, or distinction of sex or age. These cruelties, however, have been scandalously exaggerated by the writers on both sides. After a very careful exami- nation of all the statements, the present writer be- lieves, that the number of persons killed by the in- surgents was less than five thousand ; and that ahontt an equal number was slain by their opponents, TheT great majority of the Irish gentry invariably madti^ every exertion to restrain the ferocity of their fol-~ lowers ; but the officers of the government, both by precept and example, recommended cruelty and ex- termination.
In the county of Cavan, little or no blood was, shed. This was partly owing to the exertions ofl Philip O'Reilly, the head of his illustrious family ;* and partly to the respect which the Irish had for thdf character of Bedell, bishop of Kilmore. Bedell was-?
CIVIL WARS OB" IRELAND. 265
one of the very few prelates of the established church who regarded the people as the principal objects of his charge. He was deeply impressed with the necessity of winning the affections of his flock, and anxious to redeem the establishment from the op- probrium of being a church without a congregation. For this purpose, he procured a translation of the Bible into Irish, and circulated copies at his own ex- pense. The apostolical simplicity of his character, his affectionate manners, and his pure zeal, attached to him the hearts of the lower ranks ; and even the Romish clergy regarded him with esteem and ad- miration. His house was the place of refuge for all the English who had been driven from lands in the neighbourhood, and there they long continued un- molested, protected by the general respect felt for the Bishop. He was subsequently removed to the quarters of the army ; but continued to be treated as a companion, rather than a prisoner. So convinced was this pious man of the justice of the Irish cause, that he drew up the remonstrance which they trans- mitted to the Castle, in justification of their having taken up arms. During his illness, he was attend- ed with the greatest care, and his dying moments were soothed by every attention which ardent attach- ment could dictate. He was interred with military honours by the Irish soldiers, who had no better way of showing respect to his remains ; and, when the grave closed over him, all joined in the simple prayer, " Requiescat in pace, ultimus Anglorum I " So far were the Irish leaders from aiming at esta- blishing the independence of their country, that Sir Phelim O'Neill actually pretended that he was in , arms for the King, and produced a forged com- mission as his authority. The character of the un-
HISTORY OF THE
happy Charles is, unfortunately, too notorious for treachery and duplicity, to render it wholly incredible that he would have countenanced the insurgents. But, the dying declaration of O'Neill exonerates him in this instance, since that chieftain might have saved his life, if he had consented to confirm this calumny against his sovereign.
The Lords-justices, in the meantime, took proper precautions to ensure their personal safety, and then directed their attention, not to the suppresion of the insurrection, but to the discovery of the means by which they could prolong the struggle, and derive advantages from its continuance. Their great object was, by some means, to bring in the Catholic Lords of the Pale, as participators ; fca* their great estates had remained untouched in former struggles, and were, from their vicinity to the capital, particularly desirable to the creatures of government. The Lords- justices issued a proclamation, declaring, that the Irish Papists had formed a dangerous conspiracy against the state. The Lords of the Pale were justly alarm- ed at the sweeping generality of the phrase " Irish Papists ; '* they remonstrated, and the Justices were obliged to publish a second proclamation, exonerat- ing the Catholic Lords of English descent. At the same time, they transmitted to the King, who was. then in Scotland, and to the English parliament, an account of the dangerous insurrection which had ta- ken place. It is remarkable, that neither in their proclamations, nor in the despatches sent over to the King and parliament, do the Lords- Justices say one word about the horrible massacres which subsequent authors have detailed ; a clear proof that none such had taken place. Yet, the Earl of Leicester, in his. address to the British House of Commons, unhesi*
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 267
tatingly asserted, that the object of the Irish, was the general massacre of the Protestants ! The his- - torian, Warner, deems this unwarrantable assertion of the Earl quite unaccountable. But it was mani- festly intended to increase the hatred of Popery, which the parliament had already found to be a for- midable instrument for extending their influence, and diminishing that of the King,
Charles at once saw the dangers to which he was exposed by the Irish insurrection, in causing which, his own perfidious conduct respecting the Graces had so large a share. He felt convinced that the Irish were more " sinned against than sinning. " But the time when he could have done justice was passed ; avarice and prejudice both stimulated the parliament of England and Scotland, to seize on Irish property, and destroy Irish popery. The King was forced to go with the current, and to issue a proclamation, denouncing the Irish insurgents as rebels.
The men of property in Ulster were anxious to avoid the hazards of war, and were also shocked at the cruelties which began to be committed by infu- riate leaders on both sides. They made offers to the government of accommodation, on terms remarkable for moderation, and equity. The O'Ferralls of Long- ford, who had suffered severely at the time of the •Ulster plantation, though their sept had been con- spicuous for loyalty, after having, without violence, Seized the forts and castles in their county, sent a remonstrance to be presented to the King and his ministers by Lord Dillon. Their petition begins with setting forth an oath of allegiance which they had taken, and which they profess themselves will- ing to seal with their blood. They complain of the
268 HISTORY or the
persecution of their religion, the insecurity of their property by the delay of the Graces, and their be- ing treated as aliens in their native land. They pe- tition for a general amnesty for all offences except murder; for a repeal of the penal laws; and for a general charter of freedom to all Irish subjects. . There were many, both in England and Ireland, anxious to restore tranquillity on these conditions ; and the King's friends especially, foreseeing the struggle impending between him and his parliament, were eager to terminate transactions which in every way threatened his ruin. The English parliament had at once undertaken the management of the Irish war ; and, with a complete disregard of the royal prerogative, had begun to levy an army, and to pro- vide munitions of war. The leaders of the popular party in the long parliament were the great founders of liberty in Europe. Their names will be honour- ed by remote posterity, for their noble resistance to arbitrary government. It is, therefore, with feelings of deep regret, we feel ourselves compelled to record the dupUcity with which they acted upon this memo- rable occasion. While they affected the most ar- dent zeal for the cause of the Irish Protestants, and sent them the most magnificent promises of assist-^ ance, they kept the supplies which they had collect- ed, and the army which they had assembled, to over- awe their sovereign in England. It was then, and long after, the fashion to look upon the Irish with contempt. It was supposed, that an Irish insurrec- tion could be suppressed at any time by a vigorous effort. While, therefore, the English parliament promised speedy exertion, the leaders were deter- mined to secure England first, and leave Ireland for a more convenient season. ..i, v*U 'v, -r-^^-A ^" '•
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 269
The conduct of the Lords-justices fully proved the justice of the suspicions with which they were viewed by the Irish Lords. So far from exerting themselves to check the progress of revolt, they used all their influence to discourage the efforts of others. The Earl of Ormond and some other Lords offered to join the forces of government with their adhe- rents, and, marching directly against the insurgents, crush their undisciplined forces; but these offers were peremptorily rejected. Their military opera- tions were confined to sending out Sir Charles Coote, a monster of cruelty, to lay waste the country ; and he, with little scruple, massacred indiscriminately the loyal and the disaffected — a system which, as had probably been foreseen, rendered the spirit of revolt more general and more inveterate. The designs of Parsons were more signally displayed in another in- stance. Both the King and the British parliament had directed that a proclamation should be issued, offering pardon to all who would return to their al- legiance. After a long delay, the Lords-justices did indeed issue such a proclamation ; but clogged with so many exceptions, that it was wholly nugatory. It was limited to four counties, in two of which there had not been even the slightest symptom of revolt ; and, in the others, all were excepted who had shed blood in any action, who were imprisoned . for spoil or robbery, or xvho 'possessed freehold pro* perty. Finally, the time for receiving submissions' was limited to ten days; and it was declared, that, the amnesty would be invalid, unless a complete re-- stitution of property was effected within that period.^ •*— a condition which manifestly could not be fiil*r filled.
The hopes of the nation were now fixed on the VOL. I. R
270 HISTORY OF THE
meeting of parliament, which had been adjourned to November; but Parsons, dreading that this assem- bly would be disposed to offer terms of pacification, adjourned the meeting to the 24th of February. The true friends of the King and the country were opposed to this strange proceeding ; but all argu- ments of justice and policy were disregarded by their governors. The arguments of the lawyers, however,, produced a better effect. They averred, that such a prorogation would be tantamount to a dissolution ; and their opinions being supported by the judges^ Parsons and Borlase were with, difficulty persuaded to allow parliament to meet for one day.
The session- lasted twa days, during which a pro- testation against those who had taken arms was pass- ed ; but not withjout considerable opposition. A large, minority refused to stigmatize the insurgents as rebels^ preferring the milder and more appropriate phrase, discontented gentlemen ; but the influence of the government secured the insertion of the harsh- er epithet. The justices, however, were unable to prevent the appointment of a committee of both Houses, to confer with the Leaders of the insurgents, and to lay their complaints and grievances before the King and Council. Alarmed at this appearance, of concession, the Justices, in spite of every remon- strance, prorogued the parliament.
The King's friends and the moderate party did not yet despair; they made two efforts to avert the horrors of a general war, and in both were unfortu- nately unsuccessful. The deputation sent to the leaders of the insurgents was received with every de- monstration of respect ; but when they produced the order of the two Houses, in which these gentlemen, were stigmatized as traitors, Roger Moore seized the
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 371
insulting document, and, tearing it in pieces, haughtily declined any further conference. In the mean time, a great number of members of the Irish parliament met privately in Dublin, and deputed two of their number, Lord Dillon and Lord Taafe, to go over to England and represent to the King the real con- dition of the country, the conduct of the Lords-jus- tices, and the beneficial consequences that would re- sult from transferring their power to the Earl of Ormond, or any other nobleman of approved loyalty and integrity. This salutary measure was also de- feated by the contrivance of Parsons. He sent a private message to the leaders of the English House of Commons, desiring that no attention should be paid to the representations of Lord Dillon, declar- ing that his schemes would prevent the perfect esta- blishment of English ascendency in Ireland. This was decisive ; Lords Dillon and Taafe, having been delayed by a storm which drove them on the coast of Scotland, did not arrive until measures had been taken to destroy all chance of their success. They were arrested near London by order of the House oi Commons, and detained in prison, from whence they were not liberated until all negotiation was fruitless.
• From October until the middle of December, the insurrection had been confined to Ulster, a small part of Leinster, and one county in Connaught. The Catholic Lords of the Pale, preserving their ancient jealousy of the native Irish, persevered in their allegiance, and offered their assistance to go- vernment. Some had even distinguished themselves against the northerns in the field, especially Sir Robert Talbot, whose castle was destroyed in re*
272 HISTORY OF THE
venge by the insurgents. The Lords-justices, deem- ing the aid of these Catholic Lords necessary to their own security, had, in the first instance, supplied them with arms to defend themselves against the northern Irish ; but being now encouraged by pro- mises of large armaments from England, they re- called the arms which they had granted, and issued a proclamation, ordering those who had fled to Dub- lin for protection to quit the city within twenty-four hours, under pain of death. Exposed thus to the vengeance of the insurgents on one hand, and to the persecution of the government on the other, these devoted men long struggled to preserve their loyalty ; but at length they received certain intelligence, that the English parliament and Irish government had determined on their ruin, and that their only hope of safety was in arms. In fact, on the 8th of De- cember 1641, it was resolved, on solemn debate by both Houses of Parliament in England, " that they would not consent to the toleration of Popery in Ireland, or any of his Majesty's dominions ;" — a re- solution which was virtually a declaration of a war of extermination against seven-eighths of the landed proprietors in Ireland, and almost the entire of the lower orders. Under these circumstances, Lord Gormanstown and several others proposed a con- ference with Moore ; and the war which had been hitherto confined to the northern province, became general through the entire country.
Before entering on the history of the new war, it may be permitted us to take a brief retrospect, espe- cially as the incidents of the two months which we have been contemplating, have been so often and so foully misrepresented. The Irish massacre in 1641
CIVIL WARS OP IRELAND. 27S
has been a phrase so often repeated even in books of education, that one can scarcely conceal his sur- prise, when he learns that the tale is as apocryphal as the wildest fiction of romance. No mention is made of these extensive murders in any of the pro- clamations issued by the Lords-justices, even so late as the 23d of December ; and truly, the character of Parsons does not induce us to believe that he would have suppressed any thing likely to make his adver- saries odious. The protestation of the Irish par- liament is equally silent on the subject ; nor does any state paper of the local government afford the slightest ground for the charge. Stories of mas- sacre and horrid cruelty were indeed studiously cir- culated in England, because it was the interest of the patriot party in parliament to propagate such delusions. They increased the popular hatred of Po- pery, and rendered the King's suspected attachment to that religion more generally odious ; and they af- forded a pretence for assembling an army, on whose officers and soldiers the parliament could rely. When, ^ a later period, it became necessary to excuse the inonstrous iniquity of the act of settlement, advan- 'tage was taken of the general belief in this un- jfounded calumny, to justify an instance of royal 'ingratitude and shameless injustice not to be paral- leled even in the dark annals of the Stuarts.
The accounts published by the Catholics on the .Continent are full of misrepresentations almost equally glaring. If one side avers that there was a conspi- racy for the universal slaughter of the Protestants, the others, with similar falsehood, accuse the profes- sors of the reformed religion, of designing the ex- lerinination of the Papists. If one exaggerates the
274 HISTORY OF THE
murders and cruelties perpetrated by O'Neill and his savage mob, the other adds to the excesses commit- ted by the Scotch in the island of Magee, and by Coote at Santr)^ and Clontarf, in the same propor- tion. There were doubtless many disgraceful atro- cities on both sides ; but are they not inseparable from civil war ? These crimes were owing to the wicked- ness of particular men. We wish neither to palliate nor disguise them ; but they were disapproved of by the leaders on both sides ; and it is but fair to add, that all atrocities were not only discouraged, but pu- nished by the Catholic nobility and gentry. It is equally wicked and foolish to make these sad events the subject of charge against sects and parties at the present day. This was a war for property, rather than religion. The northern Irish wished to reco- ver their estates; Parsons and his supporters desired to enrich themselves by new confiscations. Both employed the sacred name of the Deity to cover their real designs ; but assuredly religious principle of any kind had little influence on either. The present ge- neration is not answerable for the crimes and follies of those which have preceded. The errors of our an-* cestors are recorded for our instruction, that they should be avoided and not imitated. But though re- ligious animosity was not the first, nor even the prin- cipal cause of the calamities during this disastrous period, it materially strengthened and continued the evil. The hatred of Popery on the one hand, and of heresy on the other, led men, even of the purest minds, to excuse and palliate crimes, from the con- templation of which they would, under other circum- stances, have shrunk with horror. It would be a de- sirable consummation, if the view of the evils attend-
^ CIVVL WARS OF IRELAND. 275
ant on discord would lead to the more zealous cul- tivation of Christian charity, not only the most su- blime of virtues, but that which contributes most to the peace, the harmony, and consequently the hap- piness and prosperity, of a nation.
276 HISTORY OF THE
CHAPTER XVI.
The War of the Confederates.
The Catholic Lords of the Pale, driven to revolt by compulsion which could not be resisted, proceeded with the deliberate caution of men well aware of the danger they were about to encounter, and of the ha- zardous game they had to play. They held a con- ference with Roger Moore and other Irish leaders at the hill of Crofty, and demanded of the chieftain for what purpose he had taken arms ? Moore replied, " To maintain the royal prerogative, and make the subjects of Ireland as free as those of England, " Lord Gormanstown, on the part of his associate, asked if Moore had any further design ? He solemn- ly answered in the negative. The Lords of the Pale then promised to assist him with all their might, and, having agreed on a second meeting at the hill of Ta-^ rah, separated to raise their respective friends. The Lords-justices, not having yet received the expected supplies from England, were alarmed at the success of their own machinations. They sent letters to the Lords of the Pale, requiring them to come up with all speed to Dublin, assuring them that they were wanting to confer on the state of the nation, and, as was added, with a manifest consciousness of being suspected Jbr no other end. Even if these lords
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 277
could repose any confidence in the sincerity of Par- sons and his colleague, they had now gone too far to retreat. They excused themselves, by referring to the sanguinary speeches of Coote at the council-board and to his indiscriminate massacres in his several excursions, declaring that they would not peril their lives by coming within the sphere of his influence.
They next prepared an address to the King, drawn up in a moderate and submissive tone. They com- plained of the injurious treatment which they had received from the Lords-justices, whom they justly denominated enemies to the King as well as them- S€dves. They declared their intention to support the royal prerogative as well as their own rights, and their readiness to confer with such commissioners as the government should appoint, on the means for the advancement of his Majesty's service and the restoration of tranquillity to the kingdom, in any place where they could be protected from the malice of their deadly enemies. A manifesto, worded in the same spirit of loyalty and moderation, was exten- sively circulated through the kingdom. Finally, they wrote a letter to the Queen, soliciting her interfer- ence with his Majesty, and despatched it, together with a copy of their address by Sir John Reid, who held a situation in the royal household.
The proclamation of the confederates produced a powerful effect. The Lords of the Pale, who had not joined in the conference at Tarah, were induced now to join the alliance. Every county in Leinster W|B soon at the disposal of the insurgents ; and the authority of the Lords-justices was confined to the city of Dubhn and the town of Drogheda, which latter was closely besieged. In Connaught, the county of Galway was preserved in its fidelity, by
278 HISTORY OF THE
the exertions and influence of Lord Clanricarde, a Catholic nobleman remarkable for his devoted and chivalrous loyalty. In Munster, the Irish leaders found a powerful assistant in Sir Warham St Leger, the president of that province, whose cruelties ri" vailed, if they did not exceed, those of Coote. Hav- ing heard of a robbery committed on the lands of his brother-in-law, in the county of Tipperary, St Leger marched into the country, put to death seve- ral innocent individuals, burned their houses, and encouraged his soldiers in the commission of indis* criminate outrage. The gentry of the country re* monstrated against these excesses ; but he dismissed them with studied insult, and even threats of violence. There have not been wanting advocates who attempt to palliate the criminal fury of St Leger, though they are reduced to plead an excuse absolutely ridi- culous. They say that he merely retaliated the out- rages of the insurgents in Ulster I They might just as well assert, that the people of Wales should have been subjected to military execution for a rebellion in the north of Scotland.
The nobility of Munster, alarmed at the proceed* ings of the President, applied to the Lords-justices in Dublin for permission to take proper measures for securing the public tranquillity. Lord Muskerry offered to raise a thousand men in support of the government, at his own expense, and to mortgage his estate in order to supply them with arms. A similar tender of service was made by Lord Mount- garret ; but both received a peremptory refusal. They waited until the middle of December before they could bring themselves to take any decided course ; but having then every reason to believe that arms' were necessary for their preservation, they d^tennin-
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 279
ed to join the confederates. The first proceedings of the Munster Lords were characterized by great promptitude and forbearance. Richard Butler of Kilcash seized Clonmel, Carrick, and Dungarvan, without meeting any resistance. Martin Hacket, the sovereign of the town, admitted Butler of Ard- mayle into Fethard; and Cashel was taken by O'Dwyer of Dundrum. The entire of the county of Kilkenny was easily secured by Lord Mountgarret, and the western part of the county of Cork as quiet- ly mastered by Lord Roche. The Earl of Tho- mond was averse to the cause of the confederates ; but his followers and relatives set his authority at defiance, and added the county of Clare to the pa- triotic association. In all these transactions, the lives and properties of the English Protestants were carefully protected by the Catholic nobility. The only place where any murders were committed was Cashel ; in that town, twelve or thirteen persons were killed by the relations of those whom St Leger had recently slaughtered. The exertions of the Catholic clergy * saved the rest ; and by their influ- ence, the English were sent under an escort to Cork; -Lord Dunboyne sent the prisoners taken at Fethard 'to Youghall. Sir R. Everard and Lord Muskerry > gave an asylum in their houses to all the distressed < English who sought their protection; and Lord '- Mountgarret shot Richard Cantwell, a man of great , - influence, being the brother of the superior of Holy-
15 * The names of the persons who thus generously interfered, /were James Saul, a Jesuit, and Joseph Everard and Redmond,
English Franciscan friars. Their meritorious interposition .'Was proved at an assizes held in Clonmel, a. d. 1652, and s^was rewarded by their receiving protections from the Croin-
Welliaji government.
280 HISTORY OF THE
cross, for daring to plunder some of his prisoners. All Munster would have been reduced with the greatest facility, but for the unreasonable pride of Lord Roche, who insisted on being appointed com- mander-in-chief in his own county, and refused obe- dience to Lord Mountgarret, whom the Munster confederates had appointed as their leader.
The Lords-justices, having received some rein-* forcements from England, were now encouraged to pursue openly the scheme of confiscation which they had long meditated. Finding the number of pri- soners brought in by the leaders of their marauding parties an ineumbrance, they issued a commission for trying them by martial law, under the pretence that they could not find freeholders to form juries. Men possessing estates were kept for a more regular trial, in order to preserve the King's escheats upon attainders ; and so diligent were the retainers of go- vernment in hunting for forfeitures, that, in two days, bills of indictment for high treason were found against all the Catholic nobility and gentry in the counties of Meath, Wicklow, and Dublin, and three hundred gentlemen of fortune in the county of Kildare. To implicate the King in the alleged guilt of the Irish revolt, was a favourite object with the leaders of the English parliament ; and their creature Parsons dili- gently exerted himself to discover some plausible pretence for the imputation. Hugh MacMahon, who had been seized on the information of Conolly, Sir John Reid, who had voluntarily come to the quarters of the Earl of Ormond, as bearer of the address of the confederates to the King, and Patrick Bamewall, an old and respectable gentleman, who had attended the meeting on the hill of Crofty, but had taken no part in the insurrection, were subjected
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND, 281
to the excruciating tortures of the rack; but nothing important was elicited. Of this useless cruelty the Justices seem to have been ashamed, since they per- mitted Barnewall afterwards to reside peaceably in Dublin, and protected his estates from the general havock of the soldiery.
The mode in which these precious governors chose to conduct the war, may be best learned from their instructions to the Earl of Ormond, the Com- mander-in-chief of the royal army. He was direct- ed not only " to kill and destroy rebels, and their adherents and relievers ; " but also, " to burn, waste, consume and demolish, all the places, towns and houses, where they had been relieved and harboured, with all the corn and hay there ; and also to kill and destroy all the male inhabitants capable of bearing arms ! " Nor were these sanguinary edicts disregard- ed. Dr Borlase, who wrote a history of these trans- actions, professedly to vindicate the character of his near relative, the Lord-justice, boast s^ that Sir W. Cole's regiment killed two thousand five hundred rebels in several engagements, and adds, with horrid complacency, " there tvere starved and Jamished, of the vulgar sort, tvhose goods 'were seized on by this regiment, seven thousand I" The massacres in Ulster, we have shown by the report of the parlia- mentary commissioners, to have been grossly exagger- ated ; but, at all events, they were the acts of a mob, and were not only discouraged, but punished by the Irish leaders. But what are we to say of this mandate, deliberately issued by the chief governors of a coun- try, and obeyed by those who bore the honourable ^Hame of British officers ?
The confederates, after their first vigorous efforts, ^became alarmed at the consequences of their own
282 HISTORY OF THE
success. They were afraid of their allies^ the old Irish ; and feared that their influence would be de- stroyed by the preponderance which the native in- terest would obtain. Ormond was anxious to avail himself of this indecision, and obtained so many ad- vantages over the insurgents, in several engagements, that the war would have been speedily terminated, had not the Lord-justice issued the most positive prohibition against his improving the advantages he had acquired. The design of the confederates ap- pears to have been, simply to maintain such a warlike attitude as would ensure them safe and equitable conditions of peace. They hoped that the King would come over to undertake the management of tlie war in person ; and they trusted that they could then prove their innocency of rebellious designs.
The unfortunate Charles was fully sensible of the injury he sustained from the report of his secret par- tiality to the Irish Catholics. He issued proclama- tions, denouncing them as rebels and traitors ; he even expressed his anxiety to prove his sincerity by leading an army against them himself. But the King's falsehood and duplicity were too notorious for either party to credit his proclamations or professions. The Lords of the Pale were persuaded of his secret at- tachment to their cause. The English House of Commons, with much better reason, suspected that the expedition to Ireland was a mere pretext for re- moving to a place where he would be free from the domination of parliament ; ajid refused their consent in no very respectful terms.
'. GormMistown, the leader of the confederates iin Leinster, seeing the last hope of a tranquil settle- ment of the kingdom thus destroyed, died of a broken heart. His followers and friends, united
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 283
themselves to Lord Mountgarret's forces. Mount- garret led his army into the county of Kildare, where Ormond was employed in relieving the castles block- aded by the insurgents. A battle was fought at a place called Kilrush^ in which the discipline of the royalists enabled them to triumph over the superior number of their opponents. The confederates were totally defeated ; but Ormond, being destitute of am- munition and provisions, could not follow up his success.
For some months the war lingered on both sides. The confederates were disunited ; they were unpre- pared for war ; and they had no leader possessing military talent. The royalists, on the other hand, were in a wretched condition :. their soldiers were mutinous for want of pay ; their provisions were ex- hausted ; and the supplies they received from Eng- land were scanty in the extreme. Notwithstandhig all their affected zeal for the relief of their Protestant brethren in Ireland, the English Commons made no exertions adequate to the- crisis. They sent over, indeed, some few troops of fanatics, who vented their vexation for the miseries they endured, by in- sulting the old army a^ Irishmen and rebels. But, in another respect,, they showed an attention to Irish affairs not very creditable to their character. They passed an act for the sale of two millions and a half, of acres belonging to those whom they were pleased to designate as rebels ; and they introduced severaL clauses, by which the King was prevented from en- tering into any terms, of accommodation with his un- fortunate subjects*, In this detestable plan of re- ducing a nation to despair, the Lords-justices eager- ly concurred. They severely censured the Earl of Qlanricarde, for having entered intp terms with the
284 HISTORY OF THE
confederates in Galway ; and strictly commanded all their officers to grant no protections, and to hold no correspondence with Irish or Papists. These mea- sures were sanctioned by an Irish parliament, which sat for three days in Dublin. By expelling all who had joined the confederates, and excluding all that refused to take the oath of supremacy, the number of members was so reduced, that the creatures of government had a decided majority. The only busi- ness done in this brief session, was the enactment of new penal laws, the denouncing of Popery in un- measured terms, and the preparation of an address to the English parliament for new and more severe laws against recusants. Having thus performed its part in exasperating the insurgents, and rendering the restoration of tranquillity hopeless, the parlia- ment was prorogued. Like their masters in Eng- land, the Lords-justices totally neglected the war. St Leger, in Munster, was so mortified by the vexa- tions which he suffered for want of aid, that he died of grief, and was succeeded by Lord Inchiquin. The confederates were unable to avail themselves of the misconduct of the government, and were so dispirit- ed by repeated reverses, and by the arrival of a large body of troops sent to the north by the Scotti^ parliament, that they almost resolved to give up the contest, and become voluntary exiles.
The arrival of Owen O'Neill, who had acquired a high character in Continental warfare, revived the hopes of the Irish. He was a leader whose noble qualities would have done honour to any cause ; a skil" ful and circumspect soldier, and a prudent statesman. Cool, cautious and calculating, he was celebrated for his Fabian policy in protracting war. Mild, gene- rous and humane, he was respected by his enemies.
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 285
and beloved by those whom he protected. On as- suming the command, he denounced, in the strong- est terras, the excesses which his kinsman Sir Phe* iim had sanctioned, and declared, that if any cruel- ties were again perpetrated, he would quit the coun- try. About the same time, the Earl of Leven ar- rived with reinforcements to the Scotch in Ulster ; but though his army was sufficient to crush the raw levies of O'Neill, the Earl made no warlike effort. Having advanced a short distance into Tyrone, Le- ven addressed a letter to the Irish hero, expressing his surprise that a man of his reputation would have quitted his dignities abroad, to maintain so bad a cause as that of the Irish. O'Neill replied, that he could assign better reasons for coming to the relief of his country, than his Lordship for marching into England against his King. Thus terminated the correspondence. Leven retired, after having received this reply, and soon after returned to Scotland, as- suring Monroe, to whom he resigned the command, that when O'Neill had collected his forces, he would give him a very sound drubbing. This strange ter- mination of an expedition from which so much had been expected, greatly encouraged the northern Irish. They hastened with alacrity to range themselves under the banners of O'Neill ; while Monroe, re- membering Leven's prophecy, confined himself to his quarters; and his army, neglected by the parlia- nient, had to struggle against the miseries of naked- ness and famine.
The confederates now determined to organize a civil government ; and, in this necessary work, the clergy being already a constituted body, took the lead. A provincial synod was held at Armagh; â– '". VOL. I. S
286 HISTORY OF THE
and, soon after, a general assembly from all the pro- vinces at Kilkenny. Their acts were numerous and solemn, and breathe a spirit of charity and moderation, powerfully contrasted with the sanguinary and intolerant declarations issued by the fanatics in Dublin. They began with sanctioning tlie war which had been un- dertaken " against sectaries and puritans for defence of the Catholic religion, the prerogative of the King, the honour and safety of the Queen and royal issue, the preservation of the rights and liberties of Irish* men, and the lives and fortunes of the confederates," as j ust and necessary. They declare that no order of the King, whom they very properly regarded as an unwilling instrument in the hands of their ene- mies, should be obeyed until they were certified by their own agents of his real intentions. They di- rected, that an oath of association should be taken by all the members of the confederacy, and that no distinction should be made between the old and new Irish. They denounce the heaviest censures of the church on those who remain neutral in the contest ; and prohibit, under pain of excommunication, any in- jury to a Protestant who was not an adversary to their cause. They direct that exact registers should be kept of all murders and cruelties committed by the Puritans in the several provinces, but prohibit reta- liation under the severest penalties. They ordain, that provincial assemblies, composed of the laity and clergy, should be formed for local government, but that the chief authority should be lodged with a na-t tional council, to which the others should be sub- ordinate. " There were some other regulations of minor importance, but the above articles contain the substance of the ordinances published by the Catho- lic clergy ; and we can discover in them no trace of
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 287
the bigotry and persecuting spirit vulgarly attributed to that much calumniated body.
The national assembly was soon after convened at Kilkenny ; it consisted principally of the Anglo- Irish nobility, and was conducted with all the form and order of a regular parliament. The proceed- ings of this noble but unfortunate body will not suf- fer by comparison with those of any other conven- tion that has ever assembled under similar circum- stances. Having first solemnly professed their un- shaken allegiance to the King, they renounce the authority of the Irish government administered iff Dublin, " by a malignant party, to his Highness's great disservice, and in compliance with their con- federates the malignant party in England. " They declared, that they would maintain the rights and immunities of their national church (the Roman Catholic), as established by the great charter. They profess to accept the common law of England, and the statutes of Ireland, so far as they were not con- trary to the national religion or the national liber- ties. They erected provincial councils for the ad- ministration, but allowed an appeal from their deci- sions to THE SUPREME COUNCIL OF THE CONFE- DERATE Catholics of Ireland. This body, which was to exercise all the functions of the exe- cutive government, was to consist of twenty-four persons chosen by the general assembly. Nine members should be present to transact any business; and a majority of two-thirds was required to give validity to any act. For the greater honour and security of this important body, a guard was assign- ed, consisting of five hundred foot and two hundred horse. The generals appointed for the conduct of the war were Owen O'Neill in Ulster ; Preston^ who
288 HISTORY OF THE
had lately come from France with arms and ammu- nition furnished by Cardinal Richelieu, for Leinster ; Garret Barry for Munster ; and Colonel John Burke for Connaught. The latter bore only the title of lieutenant-general ; for the confederates designed the chief command for the Earl of Clanricarde ; but that â– nobleman refused to join the alliance.
Though disappointed by Clanricarde, the confe- derates obtained a valuable assistant in Lord Castle- haven, whom the Lords-justices had forced into their ranks. This nobleman was a peer of England as well as Ireland. On the breaking out of the north- em insurrection, he hasted to tender his services to the government, but was mortified by a refusal. He then asked for a passport to return to England, which was also denied ; and he was then prohibited from residing in Dublin. Castlehaven retired to his estates in Kilkenny, determined to interfere no more in politics, and affording a refuge to the distressed English, who were driven from their settlements by the insurgents. He was employed by the Lords of the Pale as a mediator, to transmit their remonstrance to the Lords-justices, and received, in reply, a se- vere reprimand, for daring to correspond with rebels. He again solicited permission to return to his Eng- lish estates, and again met a peremptory refusal. After the battle of Kilrush, he prepared a dinner for* the victorious Earl of Ormond, and feasted him and his principal officers. The wretched creatures of government circulated a report, that this feast was originally designed for Lord Mountgarret and the confederates ; and soon after, on a report that one of his servants had stolen a horse, he was indicted for high treason. Castlehaven, with the boldness of conscious innocence, hastened to Dublin, and
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 289
presented himself at the council-board. The Lords- justices refused him a hearing, and committed him to prison. His brother, Colonel Mervin Touchett, applied to the King, who was then at York, that the Earl should be tried by his peers. Charles re- ferred the matter to the parliament, and the parlia- ment refused to interfere without the King, After having been detained a prisoner for twenty weeks, Castlehaven, justly dreading the insidious practices of Parsons, contrived to make his escape. He fled to Kilkenny, and was received with open arms by the confederates, who, delighted by the accession of an English peer, appointed him to command the Lemster cavalry under Preston.
The civil war had now broken out in England, and the parliament sent over agents to engage the Irish army on their side. These attempts were di- rectly encouraged by Parsons, who admitted the parliamentary emissaries into the privy council, with- out waiting for the royal sanction. Ormond, on the other hand, strenuously laboured to keep the soldiers in their allegiance, and partially succeeded. A re- monstrance, complaining of the manner in which the war had been conducted, was transmitted to Eng- land, notwithstanding all the resistance of Parsons ; and soon after, the Justices were further mortified, by being forced to send over the address of the con- federates. Conscious that the charges contained in this document were true, and the requests reason- able, they addressed themselves craftily to the avarice £>f the King, and the prejudices of the people. They sent a letter with the document, stating, that con- cessions " would be inconsistent with the means of rai^ng a considerable revenue to the crown, and qs-* lablitshing religion and civility in Irelaixl. " But;^
290 HISTORY OF THE
-Charles was no longer under the necessity of dis- sembling with his parliament ; he issued a commis- sion to the Earl of Ormond, Clanricarde and others, empowering them to treat with the confederates ; be removed Parsons from the government, and nomi- nated Sir H. Tichbume in his stead.
The affairs of the confederates were now in a pro- sperous condition. Owen O'Neill obtained a vic- tory over Monroe in Ulster ; the Lords Castlehaven and Muskerry defeated Sir Charles Vavasor at Kil- worth in Munster, and confined Inchiquin to his garrisons. Connaught was totally at their disposal ; and, through the rashness of Preston, though they had suffered a defeat near Ross, yet Ormond, having been prevented from improving his victory by the treachery of the parliamentarian general Lord Lisle, could not boast of any decisive advantage. Yet the violent party in the Irish privy council and the English House of Commons, whose neglect had reduced the Protestant forces to so low an ebb, exclaimed vio- lently against any negotiation with the insurgents. To remove every pretext from these infuriate bigots, Ormond proposed that they should suggest ajiy o- ther mode for the preservation of the kingdom ; and offered to continue the war, if they would supply him with ten thousand pounds, one half in money, and the rest in victuals.
This negotiation proved the ruin of the confede- rates, and the destruction of the King. This was principally owing to the conduct of the Earl of Or- mond, who was far more bitterly opposed to the Ca- tholic Lords than to the English parliament. His hatred of Popery and his love of wealth were too powerful for his loyalty ; and in the hope of some fa- vourable circumstances arising, he craftily protracted
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 291
the negotiations until his insincerity was manifest to all, and his royal master ruined. Unquestionably, in the situation of affairs at the time, the wisest plan would have been to assemble a new parliament, which would instantly have superseded the council at Kil- kenny, and to have united the royalists and confe- derates into one body. The Lords of the Pale eagerly desired such a consummation ; they knew the secret of their own weakness. Dissensions had al- ready appeared in the supreme council. Some violent ecclesiastics had insisted on the establishment of the Roman Catholic religion in all its splendour, and denounced their more moderate brethren as traitors to the cause of religion. The jealousies between the new and old Irish, had manifested themselves on more than one occasion ; and the confederates at once envied and dreaded the power and popularity of O'Neill. Ormond knew all these circumstances ; and hoping at once to crush Popery, and reap some share of the future harvest of confiscations, he basely sacrificed, to these unworthy motives, the happiness of his country, and the life of his sovereign.
The cessation of arms was at length signed ; for Ormond steadily resisted any proposals for a final ar- rangement. The confederates, however, grateful for such a respite, stipulated for the payment of thirty thousand pounds to the King ; one half in money, and the other half in cattle. The war ought now to have been at an end ; for it is impossible to dis- cover any reasonable pretext, that the most zealous royalist could adduce, for regarding the confederates any longer as enemies. The Charter of Graces, for which alone they contended, had been purchased from the King at the very beginning of his reign. -The conditions which it contained were just and
292 HISTORY OF THE
reasonable, such as a monarch, anxious for the wel- fare of his people, ought to have conceded in an in- stant. The loyalty of these noblemen to their so- vereign was unquestioned ; they were all animated with a generous zeal to rescue him from the Puri- tans ; but, by the contrivance of Ormond, they were kept in a hostile position, and at the same time pre- vented from making use of their arms.
The clergy and the old Irish were justly dissatis- fied with the truce, which had checked their full tide of success, and weakened their strength by the loss of the men and money sent to aid the King in Eng- land ; they, however, confined themselves to remon- strances. The parliamentarians, on the other hand, declared that this alliance with murderous Papistsj,'^ as they designated the Lords of the Pale, was a cry- ing sin, and sent orders to their generals to disregard the truce. l
Monroe and his followers took the solemn leagu0 and covenaTii, which had been framed by the Scotch in the beginning of their war against the King. He was soon after appointed, by the English parliament, commander-in-chief of all their forces, and directed to lead them against all opponents of their causeil The confederates, now eagerly besought Ormond to place himself at their head, and lead them against the Ulster Scots. This would, however, have beea fatal to his avaricious views. He refused to pro«*v' claim the Scots rebels ; and he would not acknowi« ledge the confederates as good subjects. He prO"^!^^ fessed, however, his willingness to employ in th« King's service any men or money that might be" placed at his disposal. The Catholic Lords were not, however, now so foolishly confident in Or- mond's integrity as they had been ; and they in'
kV
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. ^90
trusted the command of the forces sent against Monroe to the Earl of Castle.haven. Owen O'- Neill was provoked at the distrust manifested by the council of Kilkenny, in withholding from him the command of the forces employed in Ulster. Indeed, he seems to have foreseen, that the cre- dulity and folly of the confederates would prove- the ruin of their cause, and to have determined on a separation of interests. Castlehaven, unsupported by O'Neill, could do nothing ; and Monroe, perse- vering in his usual inactivity, the campaign in the north produced no important result.
In the meantime, a deputation from the Catholic confederates proceeded to lay their demands beforo the King ; and a committee from the Protestants of Dublin was also sent over to state their proposals for the pacification of the country. The articles presented by the rival parties are full of instruction ; and we request the reader to compare them atten- tively, as they illustrate the objects and motives of this protracted contest. The Catholics demanded the freedom of their religion, and a repeal of the penal laws ; a free parliament, with a suspension of Poyning's Law during its session ; seminaries in Ire- land for the education of the Catholic lawyers and clergy; a general act of pardon and oblivion, and the reversal of all attainders against those who had shared in the war; the exclusion from the Irish parliament of all who were not estated and resident in Ireland ; ^n act, declaring the Irish Parliament independent of that in England ; an act, that no chief governor should retain his office more than three years, and that, during that time, he should be disqualified from acquiring new lands in the co-mitry ; a Parlia- mentary inquiry into all breaches of quarter, and
294 HISTORY OF THE
acts of inhumanity, committed on either side, during the contest ; the exclusion of all who had been guilty of such crimes from the act of oblivion, and their pu- nishment in due course of law. " On the granting of these propositions, the confederates engaged to support the King with their lives and fortunes, and to contribute ten thousand men immediately for his assistance in England.
The Protestant deputation demanded " the rigo- rous execution of all penal statutes against recu- sants ; the immediate and total disarming of all Ca- tholics ; *the compelling them to repair all damages sustained by Protestants ; the punishment of all of- fences committed by recusants, without pardon or mitigation ; the vesting of all the estates forfeited under the administration of Parsons in the crown ; and, after satisfaction had been made to such as claim- ed under the acts of Parliament, the distribution of the residue entirely to British planters." It must be re- membered, that at the time these proposals were made, the confederates were in possession of the entire kingdom, except Dublin and a few posts; and that six-sevenths of the property and po- pulation of Ireland were Catholic. It is scarcely necessary to add, that the claims then made by the confederates have been granted by degrees, as the light of knowledge has become gradually more dif- fused ; though, in that age, the system advocated by those violent Protestants prevailed, and brought on the country more than a century of misery and de- gradation.
Charles, with his usual indecision, neither ac- cepted nor rejected the proposals of the confederates. He addressed them in kind and soothing terms ; pa- thetically lamented the difficulties of his situation
CIVIL WARS OP IRELAND. 295
assured them that he felt a tender interest in their welfare ; and then threw the burden of the negotia- tion on the Marquis of Ormond. This fatal vacil- lation, to give it no harsher term, was ruinous. The confederates could not be expected to rely on the simple word of a sovereign, who had already de- ceived them so grossly respecting the Charter of the Graces. They would not, therefore, move until the treaty of pacification was signed ; and this was de- layed by the reluctance of Ormond, until the King's ^ause was hopeless.
In the midst of the negotiations an unexpected revolution took place in Munster. Inchiquin, hav- ing been refused the office of Lord President by the King, declared for the parliament, and made him- self master of Cork, Youghall, and Kinsale, from which he expelled all the Catholic inhabitants. His example was followed by Lord Esmond, who be- trayed Duncannon to the parliamentary forces. The Earl of Inchiquin was the lineal representative of the royal race of the O'Briens ; but there was never a scourge of Ireland animated by a greater hatred of his countrymen. Whether fighting for the King or the Parliament, and he changed sides more than once, he was invariably the bitter enemy of his coun- trymen, and the savage profaner of those religious edifices in which the ashes of his own ancestors re- posed. His name is preserved in the traditions of Munster, as the symbol of every thing that is wick- ed and terrible. Nurses scare their children by the threat of calling black Morough O'Brien ; and the •superstitious peasant tells of the curse that he brought upon his family, and the failure of male heirs to the title of Inchiquin. His cruelty on one occasion presents a remarkable contrast to the conduct of the
296 HISTORY OF THE
Catholics at the same place : when he stormed Ca* shel, he pursued the fugitives into the splendid ca- thedral of that city, called from its situation The Rock ; there he mercilessly slaughtered the unre- sisting multitude, and the blood of no less than twenty priests polluted the altars of the God of mercy.
When the news of this revolution reached the council at Kilkenny, they directed Lord Castleha- ven to march against the Earl of Inchiquin, while Preston was sent to besiege Duncannon. The Eng- lish parliament seemed in no hurry to succour their new partisans. Duncannon was forced to surrender, after a short but vigorous siege ; and Castlehaven, having defeated Inchiquin in the field, proceeded to reduce the different castles along the rivers Lee and Blackwater. His enterprises were crowned with success ; he reduced several places of importance ; made a great number of leading men prisoners ; and finally, advancing to the coast, laid siege to Youg- haJl, though the town was well garrisoned, and fur- ther protected by two parliamentary frigates that lay in the harbour. Castlehaven directed his Lieute- nant-general, Purcell, to attack Croker's works, which formed an advanced post on the south of the walls, while he, crossing the river Blackwater, plant- ed some cannon on the ferry point, which juts out opposite the town. The fire of Castlehaven's guns destroyed one of the frigates ; but Purcell was de- feated in a sally of the garrison ; and, before this calamity could be remedied, the siege was raised by the arrival of Lord Broghill. The winter soon af- ter set in, and military operations were laid aside to resume the long pending negotiations.
Ormond was resolved not to grant the terms de-
CI VIE WARS OF IRELAND. 297
manded by the confederates ; and they, feeling that they had been more moderate than what prudence or even justice required, refused to recede from a single claim. He tried in vain to persuade them of the expediency of assisting the King as promptly as possible. They very properly replied, that they would not weaken themselves until the signature of the treaty had secured their future safety. During this delay, Rinuncchii, Archbishop of Fermo, ar- rived in Ireland, as legate from the Pope, and showed himself as hostile to any pacification, which did not secure the public establishment of the Ro- mish religion, as the Ultra-protestants were to terms that granted simple toleration. Charles, harassed by the increasing difficulties of his affairs, and anxi- ously hoping that the promised aid from Ireland would retrieve his losses, determined to employ an- other negotiator, since he found Ormond disobe- dient. This envoy was Edward Lord Herbert, son of the Marquis of Worcester, whom, for his warm attachment to the royal cause, the King had created JEarl of Glamorgan. He found the confederates in- clined to insist on more favourable terms than they had previously demanded, in consequence of Castle- haven's recent successes ; but he had influence e- jiough to prevail upon them to make both a public and a private treaty ; the latter of which, Glamorgan declared, contained terms too favourable to the Ca- tholics, to be published at a time when the rage against Popery absolutely amounted to a national in- sanity.
There has been a long dispute, whether Glamor- gan did not exceed his instructions, by agreeing to certain articles in the private treaty ; and some warm defenders of Charles assert, that the Earl certainly
298 HISTORY OF THE
exceeded his instructions. The question is not really important, because the principal additional conces- sion could have been no disgrace to the King. It was simply that the Catholics should pay tithes to their own ecclesiastics, and the Protestants to the teachers of their own church. Protestant historians, however, describe this article, and a statute of simi- lar tendency, in the reign of James, a cruel mockery ^ because that many ministers of the establishment had notoriously no congregations. To which the Ca* tholic writers reply, by asking, why then should they be paid for their instruction ? And it has not been our good fortune to meet with a satisfactory answer to the question. A second article was, " that the churches should remain in the hands of their present possessors ;" which has been impugned and defend- ed on the same grounds as the preceding.
Rinunccini, and the Papal party, objected to the treaties, as not sufficiently securing the establishment of the ancient religion ; but found few supporters among the laity. The legate, on his way to Ire- land, had stopped some time at Paris ; and had there entered into some negotiations with the Queen of England, then at the French court soliciting assist- ance. Her bigoted attachment to the church of Rome, and extraordinary influence over her husband, gave the legate reason to hope that he would be able to restore the influence of the Holy See over Ireland in all its former strength ; but he found the great ma- jority of the Irish leaders little disposed to the cause of priestly domination. The resistance of Rinunccini to the peace has been made the subject of countless invec- tives ; but he can hardly be blamed, when he had obtained a promise of more favourable terms from one whom he describes in his Memoirs, as " Queen
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. S99
over the King himself, rather than over the nation. " With much more reason Rinunccini objected to the treaty with Glamorgan being kept secret. He said, that, " if the publication of these articles would offend the Protestant royalists, there was reason to dread that the Catholic princes on the Continent would be displeased by their concealment ;" and add- ed, " that a secret treaty might easily be disowned by the King and his ministers whenever it was their convenience to do so. " The latter argument made a deep impression, especially on the minds of the old Irish, who had so often suffered by the violation of royal promises ; and an accidental circumstance soon proved that the legate's apprehensions were not alto- gether groundless.
A second Sir Charles Coote, for the former had been killed in a skirmish during the first year of the war, had been sent by the parliament to aid Monroe in Ulster, and, unlike that general, soon distinguish* ed himself by zeal and activity. He advanced into Connaught, and made himself master of Sligo, and extended his depredations into the neighbouring counties. Sir James Dillon was sent with a body of eight hundred men to aid the titular Archbishop of Tuam in recovering this important post. The war- like prelate assaulted Sligo, and had nearly succeed- ed, when his soldiers were alarmed by the report of another army advancing from the north. Coote sal- lied out, attacked the Irish army in its retreat, and put it to the rout. The baggage of the Archbishop was taken, and in it was found a copy of the treaty that had been made with Glamorgan. The victori- ous general immediately transmitted the document to the English parliament, by whom it was at once pub-
'300 HISTORY OF THE
iished, and extensively circulated in Britain and Ire* land.
All the parties to the treaty were now in a singu- larly awkward position ; and the efforts they made to extricate themselves, exhibit scenes of treachery, meanness and duplicity, in high places, which would be ludicrous if they were not disgusting. The King set the example. He boldly denied having given Glamorgan any authority to conclude such a treaty ; he declared to the English parliament that the only purpose for which the Earl had been sent to Ireland was to raise forces for his Majesty's service. This he contradicts in a letter to the Irish privy council, in which he states, " that it is possible he might have thought fit to have given the Earl of Glamor- gan such a credential as might give him credit with the Roman Catholics, in case the Marquis (of Or- mond) should find occasion to make use of him, either as a further assurance to them of what he should privately promise, or in case he should judge it necessary to manage those matters for their greater confidence apart by the Earl, of whom they might be less jealous. " To complete the whole inconsist- ency of his excuses, the King wrote a private letter to the Marquis of Ormond, in which he declared, " on the word of a Christian, he never intended Gla- morgan should treat of any thing without his (the Marquis's) approbation, much less his knowledge. " Glamorgan next appears upon the stage ; the Lord Lieutenant and Lord Digby, affecting to believe that he had exceeded his powers, caused him to be arrested on a charge of high treason, and brought for examination before the council. Glamorgan's de- fence was as extraordinary, and as disgraceful, as any part of the transaction. He astounded his hearers
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 301
by declaring, that " what he did was not, as he con- ceived, any way obligatory on his Majesty ; " to which he added, after some recollection, " and yet without any just blemish of my honour, honesty, or consci- ence ! " To explain this strange speech, he produ- ced a defeazance, signed the day after the signature of the treaty, and by the same parties. It declared that the Earl, by his engagements, no way intended, " to oblige his Majesty, other than he himself should please, after he had received the ten thousand men. Yet he faithfully promised, on his word of honour, not to acquaint his Majesty with this defeazance, till he had used his utmost endeavours to procure the fulfilment of the treaty ; but when he had made these exertions he was to be relieved from all further res*- ponsibility ; he was also bound by oath, never to disclose this defeazance without the consent of the commissioners. "
The King sent a letter to the Irish Privy Council, ordering that Glamorgan should be de- tained a prisoner ; but at the same time he vn-ote privately to Ormond, " to suspend the execution of any sentence against him, until the King was in- formed fully of all the proceedings. " It will not lessen the reader's surprise to learn, that, notwith- standing all this heat, Ormond had long before re- ceived instructions from the King to conclude a peace with the confederates, on terms nearly, if not fully, as favourable to the Catholics, as those granted by Glamorgan.
While the Earl remained in prison, he received two letters from the King, one designed to be seen by Ormond and Digby, the other private and con- fidential. Both are still preserved in the Harleian
VOL. I. T
302 HISTORY OF THE
collection of manuscripts at the British Museum ; and they illustrate the King's share in these transac- tions too forcibly to be omitted.
The first is the ostensible letter, and was trans- mitted officially.
" Glamorgan,
" I must clearly tell you, both you and I have been abused in this business ; for you have been drawn to consent to conditions beyond your instruc- tions, and your treaty hath been divulged to all the world. If you had advised with my Lord Lieute- nant, as you promised me, all this had been helped. But we must look forward. Wherefore, in a word, I have commanded as much favour to be shewn to you, as may possibly stand with my service or safety ; and, if you will yet trust my advice — which I have commanded Digby to give you freely — I will bring you so off, that you may be still useful to me, and I shall be able to recompense you for your affection. If not, I cannot tell what to say. But I will not doubt your compliance in this, since it so highly concerns the good of all my crowns, my own parti- cular, and to make me have still means, to shew myself,
" Your most assured friend,
« Charles, R. "
" Oxf(yrd, Feb. 3, 1646-6. "
The second letter was sent by Sir J. Winter, Glamorgan's cousin-german, a Roman Catholic gen- tleman high in the confidence of the Queen, and who had been once her private secretary. Its ad- dress is much more familiar than that of the pre-
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 303
" Herbert,
" I am confident that this honest trusty bearer will give you good satisfaction why I have not in every thing done as you desired ; the want of con- fidence in you being so far from being the cause thereof, that I am every day more and more con- firmed in the trust that I have of you. For believe me, it is not in the power of any to make you suf- fer in my opinion by ill offices. But of this and divers other things, I have given to Sir J. Winter so full instructions, that I will say no more, but that I am,
" Your assured and constant friend,
" Charles, R. "
" Oxford, Feb. 28, 1645-6. "
Before these letters reached Ireland, Glamorgan had been liberated on bail. At the first news of his arrest, the confederates at Kilkenny determined to rescue him by force of arms ; but, learning that the threatened prosecution was a mere pretence, they resolved to remain quiet.
We have detailed the transactions with Glamor- gan at rather disproportionate length, not only on account of its intrinsic importance, but because of the scandalous manner in which it has been misre- presented by several historians. Clarendon omits the proceedings altogether ; and his silence is a con- clusive proof that he believed the King's conduct indefensible. Hume, by a long and laboured argu- ment, endeavours to prove, that the entire blame rests on Glamorgan ; and declares, that the King never could have designed to show such favour to the Catholics. Carte, who saw the original docu- ments, by suppressing some, and misrepresenting
304 HISTORY OF THE
Others, labours to show, that the ascendancy of the Protestant church in Ireland had been always made by Charles a primary article in all instructions con- cerning the peace. And Smollett declares, that *• the King was incapable of dissimulation. " If there be any person who entertains any hesitation in pronouncing the conduct of the King a tissue of fraud and falsehood, his doubts must be removed by the perusal of the two following letters, addressed by the wretched monarch to Lord Glamorgan, the ori- ginals of which are also still preserved in the British Museum. The first is partially ostensible ; but the concluding words (printed in italics) are written in cipher.
" Glamorgan,
" I have rro time, nor do you expect, that I shall make unnecessary repetitions to you. Where- fore, referring you to Digby for business, this is only to give you assurance of my constant friendship for you, which, considering the general defection of common honesty, is in a sort requisite. Howbeit, I know you cannot but be confident of my making good all instructions and promises to you and the Nuncio.
" Your most assured constant friend,
" Charles, R. "
" Oxford, April dth, 1646. "
The other letter is as follows ; and its contents decisively prove, that Glamorgan's concessions to the confederate Caitholics had the King's full consent and approbation.
" Herbert,
" As I doubt not but you have too much cou-
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 305
rage to be dismayed or discouraged at the usage you have had, so I assure you that my estimation of you is nothing diminished by it, but rather begets in me a desire of revenge and reparation to us both ; for in this I hold myself equally interested voith you. Wherefore, not doubting of your accustomed care and industry in my service, I assure you of the continuance of my favour and protection to you, and that in deeds, more than in words, 1 shall shew myself to be,
^' Your most assured constant friend,
" Charles, R."
« Oxford, April 6th, 1646. "
So much for the sincerity of the Royal martyr, in his disavowal of Glamorgan's negotiations I
The publication of the defeazance, and the refusal of Ormond to recognise the secret articles to which Glamorgan had consented, destroyed the little re- mains of harmony in the council of the confederates. The Anglo-Irish Lords had been driven to revolt by irresistible compulsion, and were anxious to con- clude the war on any terms. The old Irish were justly suspicious of Ormond, and as justly indignant that no care had been taken of their peculiar inte- rests in either of the treaties. Rinunccini, who knew that negotiations were in progress at Paris be- J;ween Charles and the Pope, insisted that they should wait for the Pope's peace. The Iri^h clergy declar- ed, that no terms should be accepted which did not include the ecclesiastical articles in Glamorgan's se- cret treaty. Meantime, the King's affairs had be- come desperate ; and Ormond, at length awakened to the dangers of delay, when it was too late, con- fiented to the repeal of the penal laws, and signed
306 HISTORY OF THE
the treaty with the confederates on the 28th of March 1646.
Owen O'Neill had been, during all this time, em- ployed in training his forces, and making such pre- parations as would ensure his success. He con- trived to bring Monroe to an engagement at Ben- burb ; and though the Scottish general had forces superior to the Irish in number and discipline, O'- Neill completely fulfilled Leven's prophecy, and gained the most decisive victory that had occurred during the war. While preparing to improve his success, and completely expel the parliamentarians from Ulster, the northern general received a letter from Rinunccini, requiring him to march into Lein- ster, to overawe the confederates. The nuncio had not only disavowed the peace, but had prevailed upon a large body of the clergy to join with him in excommunicating the commissioners by whom it had been signed, and all who ventured to observe it. In consequence of this denunciation, the heralds ap- pointed to proclaim the treaty were violently assault- ed by the populace in several towns ; and at Lime- rick, the mayor and king-at-arms hardly escaped with their lives. The King had now surrendered himself to the Scots ; and Ormond, seeing the royal cause hopeless, began to negotiate with the parlia- ment. The violence and fury of the nuncio soon spread ruin through the armies of the confederates^* Even those who had at first been his most strenuous supporters, became alarmed at the pernicious conse- quences. Charles himself unfortunately increased the arrogance of this haughty prelate, by declaring, in a letter to Glamorgan, * that, if he could contrive
* This letter was first published on the Continent; but
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 307
by any means to make his escape, he would throw himself into the arms of the nuncio. Rinunccini, elated by such a prospect, prevailed on Preston and O'Neill to join him, and, with the two armies, laid siege to Dublin. Lord Digby, who was in Ireland on behalf of the King, and was willing to make any sacrifice in his master's service, endeavoured to mo- derate the stubbornness of Ormond. Clanricarde made similar exertions with the nuncio ; but both were too obstinate to be moved.
Carte must have been aware of its existence, since he quotes, from the nuncio's Memoirs, the pages immediately preceding and succeeding that in which it occurs. It will at once be seen, that it contains a complete refutation of his defence of Charles. The following is a copy : —
" Glamorgan,
" I am not so strictly guarded but that, if you send to me a prudent and secret person, I can receive a letter, and you may signify to me your mind ; I having always loved your person and conversation, which I ardently wish for at present more than ever, if it could be had without prejudice to you, whose safety is dear to me as my own. If you can raise a large sum of money, by pawning my kingdoms for that pur- pose, I am content you should do it ; and if I recover them, I will fully repay that money ; and tell the Nuncio, that if once I come into lua and your hands, which ought extremely to be wished for by you both, as well for the sake of England as Ire^- land, since all the rest, as I see, despise me, I will do it ; and if I do not say this from my heart, or if in any future time I iiflil you in this, may God never restore me to my kingdom in this world, nor give me eternal happiness in the next ; to which I hope this tribulation wiU conduct me at last, after I have satisfied my obligations to my friends ; to none of whom I am so much obliged as to yourself, whose merits towards me exceed all expressions that can be used by
" Your constant friend,
« Charles, R. « Newcastle^ July 20, 1646. "
308 HISTORY OF THE
Ormond was soon avowedly engaged in a nego- tiation with the parliamentarians ; he even declared, that he had received an intimation from the King ta submit to that party rather than the Irish. That this was utterly false, is clear from the following let-, ter of Charles :-r-
'< Ormonde,
" Xhe large despatch from you and Digby of the second and third of December, with the full account of your London treaty, I have re- ceived by several messengers ; thereby finding, with great contentment, that I am no ways deceived in my confidence of you. For I really and heartily approve of all that you have done hitherto, and, in particular, concerning Colonel Preston ; but, for fur- ther directions, I can only say tliat you must, in no case, submit to the CW JK, * and that you endea- vour what you can to repiece your breach with the Irish, in case you can do it with honour and a good conscience ; both which are so rightly understood by you, that I will neither trouble you nor myself with more particulars. I command you to follow such orders as th^ queen and my son shall send you ; and so desiring to hear often from you, I rest
" Your most assured, real, faithful, " and constant friend,
" Charles, R.."
" Newcastle, Jan. 3, 1647. " . ,.\
While the council of the. confederates, distracted
* It is scarcely necessary to mention, what is sufficiently evident from the context, that these ciphers designate the Eng- lish and Scottish parliaments. . •• «' t-d^iii^'i*
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 809
by the violence of the nuncio, and the intemperate zeal of his followers, could neither be persuaded to maintain peace, nor prosecute the war with vigour, Ormond completed his treaty with the English par- liament, and received their troops into Dublin. The terms for which he stipulated, were a sum of fourteen thousand pounds to reimburse himself for his pri- vate expenses during the war, a pension of three thousand pounds per annum for his wife, and per- mission to reside in England, on condition of sub- mitting to the authority of Parliament. The Puri- tans, under the command of Colonel Jones, had no sooner obtained possession of Dublin, than they treated Ormond with the greatest harshness and con^ tempt. Alarmed for his safety, he hastily embarked for England, but had scarcely arrived there when he learned that the parliament had given orders for his arrest, and he escaped precipitately to France. O'Neill had long despised the confederates ; he was now equally weary of the nuncio, whose presumptu- ous folly had given disgust to every reasonable man in his own party. Even the court of Rome had signified its disapprobation of his proceedings, and refused to ratify his promises. The Catholic armies, too, had been generally unsuccessful. Preston, after having gained a splendid victory near Dublin, failed to improve his advantages, and soon after suffered a defeat. Inchiquin gained several triumphs over the confederates in Munster, and pushed his depreda- tions almost to the walls of Kilkenny. O'Neill re- fused to obey the general council, declaring himself the soldier of the nuncio. At this crisis, an attempt was made by O'Neill to negotiate with the English par- liament, whose cause he foresaw must be victorious, •from the superior abilities of those by whom it was
310 HISTORY OF THE
supported. The^particulars are recorded by Ludlow, who was one of the committee appointed to confer with the Ulster delegates by the Council of State. The Irish demanded indemnity for the past, the fu- ture security of their estates, and liberty of con- science. They complained bitterly of the King's duplicity, and declared that they would have made application to the parliament sooner, had not the men in power been obstinately determined on their extirpation. The Puritans, however, hated Popery too sincerely to grant it toleration, and the treaty was broken oflP abruptly.
The defeat of the confederates under Lord Taafe by the Earl of Inchiquin, so alarmed the council at Kilkenny, that, in spite of the nuncio's exertions, it was resolved to renew the treaty that had been con- cluded with Ormond, and the Lords Muskerry and Geoffrey Browne were sent to confer with the Queen and the Prince of Wales on the subject at Paris. By the influence of the nuncio, ambassadors were also sent to solicit assistance from the courts of Rome, Paris, and Madrid. The declining influenceof Ri- nunccini was also shown in another important n- stance. A treatise was published by an Irish Je- suit, advising the nation to throw off its allegiance to the English crown, and choose a Catholic prince as an independent sovereign. ' The council, by an overwhelming majority, voted that this mischievous work should be publicly burned by the common hangman.
Muskerry and Browne, on their arrival in France, earnestly entreated that Prince Charles should come over and place himself at the head of the Irish royalists, a measure which would probably have pro- duced a complete revolution. This was refused ;
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 311
but a promise was made that a person should soon be sent over, empowered to give the confederates every satisfaction ; and they were secretly assured, that the person intended was Ormond.
The answers received from Paris and Rome com- pleted the destruction of Rinunccini's power. The Papal court had refused to assist the confederates with money or munitions of war, and had further left them at liberty to make any terms for their reli- gion, suitable to the circumstances of the time. They now determined to make a truce with Inchi- quin, who had of late resolved to return to the King's party, being disgusted with the ingratitude shown him by the parliament, and shocked by the abolition of royal power in England. While a se- cret negotiation was proceeding, the Puritans in Cork and Youghall, suspecting the designs of their leader, determined to secure these towns ; but the plot being discovered, the principal leaders were thrown into prison. Inchiquin was thus forced into a premature avowal of his designs ; and the nuncio became acquainted with the secret of the armistice. He denounced this treaty, as he had done that of 1646, with the most intemperate violence. He ex- communicated all those by whom it was favoured, and denounced an interdict against the places where it should be maintained. But these spiritual wea- pons had been used so often, and on such frivolous occasions by the nuncio, that they were no longer formidable. The armistice was signed, and a for- mal appeal made to the Pope against Rinunccini's censures. It was signed by two Archbishops, twelve Bishops, all the secular Clergy, and by the Jesuits, the Carmelites, and a great majority of the Augus- tinians, Dominicans, and Franciscans.
312 HISTORY OF THE
The nuncio, and the small portion of the clergy that adhered to him, now proposed, that O'Neill should ad- vance to Kilkenny, disperse the council of the confe- derates, and assume the dictatorship of Ireland ; but O'Neill wanted energy of character, and, besides, was unwilling to shed blood, unless on the field of battle. He advanced for the purpose of overawing the coun- cil ; but while on his march, the armistice was con- cluded, and he was exposed to the attack of the ar- mies, both of Inchiquin and Preston, each of which was superior to his own. By an exertion of the most consummate ability, he extricated himself from these difficulties, and retreated with little loss to Ul- ster, while he was proclaimed a traitor by the su- preme council.
Another partisan of the nuncio was the Marquis of Antrim, who, during the whole struggle, had ex- hibited the greatest vanity and incapacity. Through the favour of the Queen, on whom his boasts pro- duced a very powerful impression, he had been com- missioned by the King to raise a body of forces in Ulster, to assist the projects of Montrose in Scot- land. Though he had failed to execute his pro- mises, he solicited now the appointment of chief governor of Ireland ; and finding that it was already bestowed on Ormond, he resolved to harass the royal- ists, whom he could not command. He appeared before Wexford with a body of Scotch Highlanders and discontented Irish ; but was totally defeated by the confederates. He then entered into terms with Jones, 'the parliamentarian governor, and was per- mitted by him to pass with the relics of his foUow- e;rs to O'Neill's quarters. O'Neill was at first duped by Antrim's boasting, and placed himself under his command ; but soon discovering his insignificance,
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 313
he resumed his place as general of the northern Irish. It is remarkable, that Rinunccini sanctioned the ne- gotiations of O'Neill and Antrim with the Puritans, who had vowed the extirpation of Popery, while he denounced vengeance on all who treated with those who were willing to give the professors of the Ro- mish religion every reasonable security. Such are the inconsistencies of bigotry and fanaticism.
Orniond returned to Ireland with a much more sincere inclination for peace than he^had previotisly manifested. The treatment he had received from the parliament convinced him that nothing was to h6 hoped from that party ; and he resolved to devote himself entirely to the King. But it was now too late : the confederates could no longer trust a mail whd had so grossly betrayed the confidence which they had formerly bestowed ; and Ormond found that op- portunities neglected never again return. He push*- ed on the negotiations with a vigour quite unlike his former tardiness ; and was stimulated to greater speed by the following letters, which he received froni the King, then a prisoner in the Isle of Wight i
« Ormonde,
" Lest you might be misled by false rumours, I have thought fit by this to tell you my true condition. I am here in a treaty ; but such a one, as if I yield not to all that is proposed to me, I must be a close prisoner, being still under restraint. Wherefore, I must command you two things ; first, to obey all my wife's commands ; then, not to obey any public command of mine, until I let you know I am free from restraint. Lastly, be not startled at my great concessions concerning Ireland, for that
314 HISTORY OF THE
they will come to nothing. This is all at this time from,
" Your most real, faithful, constant friend, " Charles R."
" Nevjport, in the Isle of Wights " Oct. 10. 1648."
" Ormonde,
" I hope before this, mine, of the tenth of this month, will have come to your hands. I sent it by the way of France. This is not only to confirm the contents of that, but also to approve of certain commands to you ; likewise, to command you to prosecute certain instructions, until I shall, under my own hand, give you other commands. And though you will hear that this treaty is near, or at least most likely to be concluded, yet believe it not ; but pursue the way that you are in with all possible vigour. Deliver also that my command to all your friends, but not in a public way ; because, otherwise, it may be inconvenient to me, and parti- cularly to Inchiquin. So being eonfident of your punctual observance of these my directions, I rest, " Your most real, faithful, constant friend, " Charles R."
** Newport, Saturday, « 2Qth Oct. 1648."
A few days after having despatched this letter, the King, whom sundry historians declare " incapable of dissimulation, " declared to the parliamentary com- missioners, who remonstrated against Ormonde's re- newing his treaty with the Irish : — " Since the first votes passed for the treaty (between the King and British parliament) in August, I have not transact-
1
CIVIL WARS OF IRELAND. 315
ed any affairs concerning Ireland, but with you, the commissioners, in relation to the treaty itself. "
The treaty with the confederates was, however, protracted by various delays, until the 16th of Ja- nuary 1649 ; and, before any advantage could be taken of the pacification, Charles had perished on a scaffold. It is not necessary to recount the particu- lars of this treaty,* which, by the King's death, be- came waste paper. It is sufficient to say, that it em- bodied the greater part of Glamorgan's concessions, and provided for the summoning of a new parlia- ment ; until which time the power of the Lord Lieu- tenant was to be shared by a council, called Com,' missioners of Trusty elected by the confederates.
Thus terminated the second act of this eventful drama. The fatal catastrophe, by which it was to be terminated, could not be foreseen ; and every one rejoiced in the hope that the distractions of the coun- try were at an end.
The wars might have been concluded long before, had any of the parties acted with vigour, consistency, or honesty. The King's notorious duplicity, mani- fested in every act of his Irish government, made him suspected by all. The cruelty and tyranny of Parsons, Coote, St Leger and others, prevented the confederates from laying down their arms, until suffi- cient security had been given for their lives and pro- perty. Ormond, avaricious and bigoted, was reluc-
* One of the articles is too curious to be omitted. It pro- vides, " That all laws prohibiting ploughing by horse-tails, and the burning of oats in the straw (an Irish substitute for thrash- ing-machines), should be repealed." The reformed systems of religion and agriculture were both taught, it appears, by the comprehensive agency of penal laws.
616 HisroRY, &c.
tant to grant such security; and they themselves pre- vented O'Neill from obtaining it by force. The council of Kilkenny yielded to ancient prejudices, and the spleen of party. The fanaticism of Ri- nunccini and his associates created a new source of irreconcilable discord. And finally, O'Neill, the only man who could have saved the country, was cursed, by the support of the intolerant clergy ; and, justly fearing the increase of their power, showed in- decision, when promptitude was most necessary. Bit- ter was the penalty paid for these errors. An aven- ger was now at hand, who involved the foolish and the criminal in one common ruin.
END OF VOLUME FIRST.
HRINTED BV J. HUTCHISON', FOU THE HEIKS OF D. VTILtlSON.
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